Not Knowing The Betrayal Of That Day

“As you know, it was the Marquis’ order to infiltrate the Jutert House… But do you know exactly what my objective was when I came here?”

“…….”

“It was all about protecting Tessa.”

The words made Hert grimace, and he stared at Janet.

“The Marquis protected Tessa, is that what you want to say?”

“Well. I just wanted to mention it. From the very beginning, my job was to protect Tessa, so there’s nothing for you to worry about. Even though things went wrong in the middle and I got trapped here…”

Janet turned her head again and looked at Hert.

“As you asked, I will take care of Tessa on my own. There are more people on her side in this castle than you think.”

Hert kept his mouth shut instead of answering. Janet said that the Marquis’s plans for Tessa began two years ago, and that made her have her hands down so Tessa wouldn’t be in danger. And what’s more, she had prepared for the time after that.

Hert let out a small laugh. Damn woman. When did she start planning and preparing? Hert was finally able to realize a little bit of the Marquis’s plan, as if was putting the puzzle pieces together one at a time. That woman was truly a formidable person, in many ways.

He wished not to be involved with her ever again.

* * *

Tessa opened her eyes at the clattering sound. First of all, her head was dizzy, and her throat was so dry that even her voice could not come out. Her body was so heavy that it was hard to even lift her hand. Even breathing was difficult for her.

‘Ah…’

Tessa couldn’t fathom how much she slept. Perhaps a day had passed? Or three? She just hoped it wasn’t over a week. That would be a real problem.

It was only when her vision became clearer that she was able to turn her head and examine her surroundings.

She then saw a familiar figure right next to her.

“Ma…ni…?”

Mani, whom she hadn’t seen in a while, was smiling softly at Tessa, who had woken up. Tessa looked at Mani in disbelief. She even doubted if she was still dreaming.

“Are you really… Mani?”

“Yes, Madam. It is I.”

“But… Mani… how…”

“Ah, you should drink some water first. Your voice is so hoarse.”

As Tessa croaked, Mani hurriedly poured water into a glass. Then, she propped Tessa’s head up so that she could drink the water easily, and slowly let the water flow into her mouth. It took a few sips before Tessa could speak properly.

“How did you…”

“His Excellency especially allowed me to serve Madam again. Now I won’t be going anywhere. Madam, thank you very much. For helping… me.”

Mani’s eyes quickly became wet and moist. Tessa held Mani’s hand tightly without even realizing it. She was worried that something might have gone wrong with Mani, but seeing her so perfectly normal made Tessa feel more relieved.

“No, Mani… It was a natural thing to do, and I’m so glad that you’re safe.”

As Tessa and Mani held each other’s hands, they felt emotional. Tessa smiled bravely, trying not to cry. Tessa patted Mani on the back of her hand until the tears stopped.

“More than that…”

“No, no, don’t get up yet. You need to get some more rest.”

“Right, Madam. You have been sleeping for several days, so it will be difficult for you to move right away.”

At that moment, Kennis suddenly appeared in front of Tessa and helped Mani. Then Kennis skillfully examined Tessa and worked with Mani to raise her upper body and lean her back over her pillow.

“The fact that you’re very dizzy right now and your body is not strong is a temporary symptom. If you eat well and rest well like before, you will get better soon.”

“Yes…”

“I asked someone just now to prepare a meal and bring it to you, so please wait a moment. After you eat, take your medicine, go to sleep, and once you wake up, you’ll feel better. Any more questions?”

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“Ah… no.”

“Then, please just rest.”

Tessa looked around the room as Kennis, who finished saying so quickly, went outside to pack her examination bag. She couldn’t see anything different from before, but strangely, all the windows were covered with curtains.

“Hey, Mani… Is it nighttime right now?”

“No, it’s morning. What’s wrong?”

“The curtains are all drawn on the windows… Could you please pull them back? It’s a bit stuffy…”

Tessa had been confined to her room every time even before she collapsed. Perhaps because of that, when all the windows were covered even though it was daytime, she felt stuffy for some reason. But Mani’s reaction was a little strange.

“Ah, that…”

“…What’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing. I’ll open one right away.”

Hesitating, Mani eventually approached the window and began to open the curtains. Then, instead of the bright sunlight, blurry lights came into the room that had been shimmering with candle light.

Tessa noticed through the window that the weather outside was gloomy. The sky was full of dark clouds. She would have thought it was early evening if Mani hadn’t told her it was morning.

“The weather is not very good. Shall we just draw the curtains again?”

Mani asked Tessa hastily as she held onto the curtains. Tessa felt that Mani was a little, no, very strange. She seemed to be antsy about closing the curtains. Was there a special reason why the curtains shouldn’t be left open?

At that moment. Tessa noticed a commotion coming from outside the window. The sound of something moving diligently, the loud shouting of men, the neighing of horses…

Tessa hurriedly got out of bed. Terrified, Mani ran to Tessa, but Tessa was quicker to reach the window.

“…Mani, what in the world is this…”

Through the window, she could see many people in the castle moving diligently. Someone was moving weapons, someone was driving horses into one place. Some seemed busy running from place to place. In addition, there were a lot of soldiers wearing armor all over the place.

Tessa had only seen it like this once before.

‘It’s exactly what things looked like when Hert sieged the castle…’

She remembered clearly because her old husband, Marquis Jutert, made all sorts of fuss in preparation for the territorial war. Even then, these cluttered appearances filled the castle in full.

Tessa realized that her heart was beating fast. It felt like an uneasy aura was slowly overtaking her.

Tessa grabbed Mani and pointed out the window.

“Mani, tell me… What’s going on with all that…?”

“That’s— Madam…”

It was then. Kennis, who had packed all her examination bags, came back into the room. Tessa decided to ask Kennis instead of Mani, something she wouldn’t readily tell.

“Doctor, what is going on… outside?”

Kennis looked a little surprised to see Tessa now standing by the window instead of lying on the bed. She inspected Tessa’s pale complexion, then shut her mouth for a moment with a confused look.

Soon after, Kennis made up her mind to speak with a small sigh. She tried not to inform Tessa today for her stability, but she couldn’t help it. Reluctantly, she opened her mouth and began to speak.

“Actually… Madam. Word has been circulating lately that there is an army outside the residence. The castle is busy preparing for it. It looks like His Excellency is also busy with that matter.”

Kennis, who was relatively free to move around the castle as a doctor, told Tessa about what she had seen and heard. But it’s okay. Nothing has happened yet… Even as Kennis quickly added, Tessa’s face was growing serious.

An army. Did Ferdale lead an army to reclaim his land and castle? So there could be a war soon? So now here…