How To Save A Time Limited Young Master - Chapter 38

The both of them were escorted to the tea room.

In there, there was a mix of girls that would appear at the ‘children’s gathering’, and girls that wouldn’t.

The most notable amongst them was the host of today’s tea party and the one that won the first prize in the Flower Maiden Contest, the daughter of Count Infanta.

She welcomed Heloise happily, as expected from the hostess of this party.

“Welcome. You’re Miss Lorca, right?”

As a smooth greeting flowed from her lips, Andrea’s shoulders trembled out of anxiousness.

Heloise gave up on trying to soothe her and directed a smile at the young lady of the Infanta County.

“Yes, I do believe it’s my first time that we’ve officially met, please feel free to call me Heloise.”

“Alright. I’d be happy if you’ll call me Julia too.”

Young Lady Infanta, who’d boldly introduced herself by her name, looked at Andrea, who was standing close beside her like she was an ornament of Heloise’s.

She seemed to be older than all the girls that were gathered here, but she acted like a scared cat, and she was dressed fancily like she had been invited to a king’s party, while everyone else was dressed simply, so she stood out.

Before Andrea became more frightened and ran away, Heloise introduced her first.

“This is Young Lady Bigelow from a duchy from abroad. She’s an old pen pal of mine, and came to the Eastern continent for the treatment of her ill younger brother.”

“Oh, my.”

They were instantly interested in the words ‘ducal princess from a foreign country’, but expressions of sympathy appeared on their faces when it was revealed that she came for her ill younger brother’s treatment.

“As she couldn’t get used to Ballide, so I brought her along to attend today’s tea party. I hope that I haven’t been discourteous.”

“Of course she’s welcomed here. I’m so sorry about your brother. I hope that you’ll obtain a favourable outcome here before returning. As I’ve just introduced, I’m Julia Infanta.”

“…… I—I’m Andy Bigelow.”

Andrea hid behind Heloise, who was smaller than her, and replied in a wary tone.

Her obviously impolite behaviour was moderately appeased with Heloise’s intervention.

“It’s because she’s weak in our language.”

“Oh, dear. I see.”

Julia Infanta accepted it easily, without the slightest hint of displeasure.

She was bright by nature and was eloquent.

“It’s an honour to have you refined ladies here today. Thank you all for coming all the way here.”

The women present burst into laughter at her playful tone.

“If the Young Lady of the Murray Barony wasn’t embroiled in a huge scandal first, we wouldn’t have had this many people in attendance, would we?”

As Julia spoke, she turned her gaze to some of the girls that didn’t attend parties often, such as Heloise.

Heloise forced a smile.

She seemed to think that Heloise attended as she was curious about the hot topic about the troublemaker of high society, Young Lady Murray.

At that, another girl placed down the teacup she was drinking from and playfully told her off with a look that wasn’t reluctance.

“How could you bring up the main topic of today’s tea party so quickly?”

“Oh! That was my mistake.”

As Julia pretended to be surprised, the tea room was filled with the girls’ laughter.

Unlike the image of arrogance that was often linked to noble ladies, Julia Infanta knew how to lighten the mood and led the situation easily.

The gloomy and strange atmosphere that came to mind at the thought of Kashuaism disappeared completely.

“In any case, I’m feeling especially great today as there’s so many faces that I haven’t seen before.”

“Same here.”

A young lady that seemed to be close to her, replied.

Just as the topic was coming to a close after a while of buzzing about the topic of the troublemaking Young Lady Murray, who changed men easily.

A young lady started a conversation with the stiff Andrea.

“But didn’t Miss Bigelow say that you came all the way to the Eastern continent for your ill younger brother?”

“Ah, yes.”

“If you don’t mind, may I know what kind of disease he has? We might be able to help you.”

“That’s right. I also know of an outstanding healing mage.”

“Ah……”

Andrea turned and looked at Heloise.

Her gaze was filled with a desperate request for help.

She knew very little about this setting.

Heloise poked Andrea behind her and replied in her stead.

“Well, it’s an illness that causes great agony and loss of consciousness when magic is used.”

The model she’d used for the ‘ill younger brother’ was Zenon.

“Magic? Is your younger brother a mage?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Did magical treatments work?”

“Ah, yes.”

Andrea replied stiffly, like those words were the only ones she knew how to speak.

An illness so severe that a wealthy duchy from a foreign country was helpless in the face of it.

A heretic’s daughter was seated before a worried ducal young lady.

That’s what Heloise was after.

If it was an illness that made all the doctors and healing mages in this country to completely surrender, contrary to what these girls tried, there’s no way that it would work.

However, Julia Infanta quickly grabbed Andrea’s hands with a sympathetic expression.

“Though it may be rude to say this at our first meeting, I’m really sorry to hear that. If only I could be of support to your brother.”

“I–it’s alright.”

“What?”

Julia Infanta was flustered when she saw Andrea babble thoughtlessly.

Heloise kicked Andrea’s heel sharply and hinted for her to stay put.

“Ahh, no. What I meant was, thank you for your concern.”

“Oh, right.”

Without retracting her greatly sympathetic gaze, Julia Infanta continued cautiously.

“Then, have you ever prayed before?”

“Yes…?”

“If you invoke the favour of God, your brother would definitely get better.”

“Ah…….”

Andrea threw a gaze asking what she should do to Heloise.

Heloise nodded slightly.

At that sight, Andrea swallowed with difficulty and pretended to be interested in earnest.

“Can he really get better with prayers?”

“Of course. You should do everything possible for your brother.”

“But I don’t really know the exact way.”

“If it’s alright… May I introduce you to a priest that I know?”

“A priest?”

Perhaps the priest that she’ll be introducing isn’t a believer of the one of the only God that Ballide believes in, but a believer of Kashuaism.

Upon finding a possibility she could penetrate into, Andrea’s gaze changed into earnestness.

With a desperate voice, she asked while holding Julia Infanta’s hand.

“Please, I’d like to know what kind of person they are.”

“As much as you want!”

As Julia Infanta remarked confidently, Heloise held Andrea by the shoulder and added.

“That’s great, Andy.”

Now, they’re able to approach a Kashua priest.

It was an excellent opportunity for Andrea, who held a grudge against them for exterminating the fairies in the Northern Forest.

“……Yes.”

With quiet anger within her black eyes, Andrea smiled at Heloise.

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Heloise visited Langbert Mansion.

Zenon greeted Heloise like usual.

He looked so nonchalant that it made him look more unstable.

“Are you alright?”

“What?”

“It’s just… about everything.”

At Heloise’s question, Zenon replied with a smile.

“What’s there to not be alright about?”

She wanted to soothe him, who seemed a little emaciated after learning about the butler’s betrayal.

As such, she’d only realised that something was strange about the direction that Zenon was walking in belatedly.

“Zenon?”

“……”

“Where are you going now?”

“The study.”

“Your study isn’t this way though?”

“Not my study, but my father’s study.”

“Huh?”

“This mansion’s study was originally a different room. The butler asked me if I was going to use the room my father used as it is… I refused.”

After saying that, Zenon tightened his grip on Heloise.

Then, Heloise read his mood and asked carefully.

“Why?”

“There’s too many traces of my father.”

Zenon replied calmly.

“He was a mage. A mage like me.”

That was a matter of course.

For generations, Lionerik has been a family of magic swordsmen.

Although the previous duke didn’t live long and passed on early, since he was Zenon’s father, he couldn’t have been an incompetent mage.

Zenon arrived in front of a strange door and grabbed and turned the doorknob.

Perhaps because it had been a long time since it was maintained, the doorknob only rattled open with a loud noise when strength was applied.

“Amongst them, the field that Father was interested in was sealing. I don’t know why but… he was especially interested in that.”

Zenon paused for a moment and forced open the door.

Beyond the opened door was air that’s dark and damp, and as it hadn’t been taken care of for a long time, dust stirred the instant they stepped in.

“Though my magic had only awakened after my parents’ death, my father might have already known something.”

“Then, this is the previous Lord’s study that you remember.”

In order to pull up Zenon’s gaze, which was sinking into the distant past, Heloise talked about the surroundings.

Zenon nodded slowly.

“This is both the place that I spent time with my parents, and where I used to play in often.”

“……”

“After my parents’ death, the butler and I are the only ones that knew about this place…”

Zenon stopped talking mid-speech.

While his voice was very dry without a crying tone, for some reason, the heart of the person listening hurt.

She had no idea how he was feeling right now.

The butler was probably the only family he had left.

As Heloise pondered over how she should console him, she opened her mouth awkwardly.

“What did you usually do here?”

“Like any other child, I’d make a mess of things, and Father would have a headache as things kept going missing or lost.”

With slow steps, Zenon headed towards the desk in the study.

He scanned the dusty desk indifferently, and searched in the third of the desk’s in-built drawers.

The inside was a mess, containing notebooks and fountain pens, as well as an ink bottle with solidified contents, like these belongings hadn’t been organised.

“As such, Father used to keep important things in this compartment. As I would pilfer things easily…….”

As he muttered while retracing his memories, Zenon’s lips stopped at a certain point.

⋄────∘°❃°∘────⋄