Chapter 31
“Seniel. Want to repeat after me?”
“…Yes.”
Seniel took his hands away from his face and answered obediently. His eyes, slightly reddened beneath, looked at me with seriousness, as if he had been given an important mission, and he waited intently for my next words.
“Alright, repeat after me. ‘I am already sufficiently helpful.’”
Seniel, who had faithfully repeated up to “I am already,” abruptly stopped when he heard the rest of the sentence. He looked at me with an expression that seemed to question whether he had heard correctly. I nodded once to confirm that he had indeed heard right and gently urged him on.
“Go on.”
Seniel couldn’t speak for a while. I waited silently for him to repeat it. His jaw tightened, and then he slowly began to repeat my words.
“I-I am already sufficiently… helpful…”
As he struggled to say the simple sentence, Seniel’s eyes wavered. Still holding his hand, I lightly clapped to praise him.
“Good. Well done. That’s all I wanted to say to you.”
“……”
“If you ever feel guilty while looking at me, just repeat what you said earlier to calm yourself down. I don’t want you exhausting yourself every day apologizing to me. You need to conserve your strength to endure.”
As I spoke, I wondered if this even counted as comfort—but I wasn’t good at giving emotional advice, so this was the best I could do.
“But in the end, I’m still Kid, so how can I—”
Seniel couldn’t finish his sentence and closed his mouth. The strength drained from the hand that was holding mine.
Objectively speaking, Seniel’s words weren’t wrong. However, I shook my head.
“Well, yes, Seniel is Kid—but Kid, unlike Seniel, is completely useless.”
It was true that Kid and Seniel were the same person, but they were so different that they might as well have been entirely separate individuals. And now, I was starting to regard Kid and Seniel as different people. Thinking that way was healthier for my mental state.
I also wanted Seniel to see himself that way—but given his personality, that was probably impossible. I spoke honestly.
“I’m not someone who says empty words, so don’t overthink it—just take my words as they are. Seniel is helpful. Got it?”
At my question, Seniel couldn’t respond. His red eyes wavered, overwhelmed by thought and confusion.
It didn’t seem like saying anything more would help. Enough time had passed, and it would only make his thoughts more complicated, so I decided to send Seniel off to work for now.
“Anyway, stop apologizing to me and let’s get back to normal. You need to go to work.”
Seniel remained silent. Still holding his hand, I gently led him to the door. Before opening it, I turned to face him.
“I’ll see you in the evening.”
“…Yes.”
I opened the door, released his hand, and stepped out first. Standing in the hallway, I waved at him. He looked at me with an expression I couldn’t quite interpret, then soon left the spot.
‘Should I have comforted him differently?’
Even after returning to my room, Seniel’s complicated expression kept lingering in my mind. If I had sent him off without comforting him as I did, I probably wouldn’t have been so bothered by that expression. I had intended to encourage him, but it seemed like I had only hurt him slightly, which left me feeling a bit down.
I exhaled roughly in frustration. The more I replayed it, the more unjust I felt.
‘But I’m struggling too, you know. How was I supposed to comfort him any further?’
Shaking off my emotions, I refocused on survival.
‘For now, I should think about meeting Ronan later.’
Since I couldn’t rely on Ezet, I would present Ronan with some evidence. I needed to make him suspicious, then firmly bring him onto my side. If this had been a short-term relationship like before—leaving within a week—I could have just left after planting the evidence. But since I needed to stay long-term, it was better to solidify the relationship properly.
‘Ronan is a holy knight, but he seems oddly free. Like when we went to the harbor last time. Seniel, on the other hand, works almost without days off.’
Was that normal for a holy knight? If I met him today, I should ask Ronan about his days off in detail.
While I was thinking that, someone knocked on the door. At this hour, when Seniel had already left for work, there shouldn’t have been anyone coming to my room.
I instinctively shrank back and looked toward the door.
Even though I knew Kid wouldn’t visit during the day, and that he wasn’t the type to politely knock, a chill ran down my spine.
From outside, along with the knocking, a voice was heard.
“Madam, it’s butler Herben. A letter has arrived for you, and I’ve come to deliver it.”
At Herben’s voice, the tension immediately left my body, and I felt warm blood return to me.
“…Come in.”
A letter?
Just like last time, I didn’t expect any letters addressed to me. Could it be Ronan? Perhaps he had sent a letter to say he couldn’t make our appointment.
I took the letter and a paper knife from the butler, then nodded for him to leave. After delivering the letter, the butler bowed again and exited.
As soon as I took the letter in hand, I covered my nose.
Ugh, perfume.
Before even opening the envelope, a strong artificial rose scent hit me. It was so overpowering it made breathing difficult.
The letter itself, like Ronan’s previous one, had no pattern or seal, but the material was clearly high-quality. Instead of a seal, a golden rose was drawn at the bottom right corner.
Who on earth sent me this?
No family crest, and drenched in excessive perfume—it felt suspicious, almost like a secret love letter.
However, the original owner of this body didn’t have any known lover.
When I pulled out the letter paper, an even stronger fragrance assaulted my senses. It was too strong to read comfortably, so I shook the paper out the window. After the scent seemed to lessen slightly, I held it up again properly.
The handwriting was extremely ornate, making it difficult to read.
As I deciphered the text word by word, a chill ran down my neck.
“Who… sent this…?”
I checked again to confirm the recipient was indeed me, and searched the paper for the sender’s name, but none was written. I called the butler back.
“This. Where did you receive it?”
“From the postal courier. Is there a problem?”
“Track down that courier. And find out who sent this letter to me.”
“Yes, madam.”
I anxiously bit my nails. A different kind of fear from when I faced Kid began to take hold of me.
After a short while, the butler returned, his face pale.
“I apologize, madam. The master had instructed us not to question anything regarding the household matters, so we delivered the letter to you without any inspection. From now on, we will only accept letters bearing a seal.”
At the butler’s apology, I shook my head firmly.
“No. From now on, accept all letters addressed to me.”
At my words, the butler looked up in confusion, then quickly bowed again upon seeing my expression.
“As you wish.”
“Dismissed.”
“Thank you for forgiving my mistake.”
I clenched my teeth. The more I struggled to survive, the more entangled my life became.
Bibi Jezline.
It is quite unfortunate that you were unable to flee via smuggling. I had hoped you would disappear quickly.
To be direct, what was your purpose in arranging a meeting with the holy knight Ronan Philaxis? You have likely already seen the true nature of “that person,” Seniel. Do not engage in any unnecessary actions.
This is a warning: do not interfere with “that person’s” plans. Do not meet the holy knight any further. Stay quietly and unobtrusively in place.
If you show even the slightest non-cooperation with “that person’s” plans, we will report your attempted escape by smuggling to him. You know well that he would not simply stand by and watch you run away after learning his secret.
However, if you cooperate with us, we will ensure that you can safely leave the McCurt mansion. You do not belong beside him.
I couldn’t tell where my information had been leaked from.
And how on earth did this person know that Seniel is Kid?
In the original story… was there anyone who knew Kid’s true identity?
