10. No Matter What Happens
That day, five days before His Highness Abelās birthday party, I was invited to the residence of Duke Laurenson.
It seemed that Philipās younger brother, Cedric, wanted to meet and talk to me who had no memories. He was two years younger and had always been good to me.
The moment I arrived, I was immediately guided inside. It seemed that Cedric would be having tea in the hall today, probably because I was with him.
āIām sorry to have kept you waiting.ā
Philip, whom was facing a small desk in the back of the room, didnāt notice me. He was holding a pen in his hand, likely doing some work. Not only was I late, the last thing I wouldāve wanted was to disturb him.
I whispered to the maid that it would be alright to prepare tea after Cedric had arrived. Then I sat down a little further away.
ā…ā
I couldnāt help but take a look at Philip who was sporting a terribly serious face. I was surprised by the sensuality produced through his gesture of tugging his hair behind one ear.
He seemed to be quite focused.
Suddenly, he looked distant and sighed. He must be doing a very difficult task.
ā…?ā
I noticed a piece of paper that had fallen by my feet. I casually picked up his work-related documentāand was at loss for words.
The paper was covered with my name, which had been scribbled over and over again. It was unmistakably Philipās handwriting.
…Is this a new method of cursing someone?
Moreover, shouldnāt that paper be a fairly important document?
I didnāt have the courage to return the eerie paper to him. Not even telling him that his paper had fell. I thought it was definitely something I shouldnāt have come across. For the time being, I gently hid it in the gap between the sofas.
While doing so, a bright voice echoed within the room.
āViola! Thank you for coming!ā
āY, yes.ā
ā…Huh?ā
With the arrival of Cedric, Philip finally noticed my existence. He stood up as soon as he saw me and approached me.
āSince when did you arrive?ā
āProbably about ten minutes earlier? I called out, but you seemed to be busy…ā
āIām sorry, I was lost in thought.ā
When I apologized for being late due to the traffic, he showed a terribly relieved expression, for some reason.
Afterwards, Cedric introduced himself politely just like in our first meeting. The three of us surrounded the table. He sipped his tea as he told a lonely story. That said, it was just a conversation between me and Cedric.
āLast week, I attended an acquaintanceās evening ball. My brother was immediately surrounded by the ladies and got attacked.ā
Only then did I recall that they were invited into an evening ball on the day of my accident.
Concerned about my physical condition, he seemed to have participated alone without saying anything. I felt sorry for him.
āThere are rumors that Viola scared her face, or that she broke her legsāeveryone seems to be expecting my older brother to annul your engagement.ā
Not knowing such was the case, I couldnāt hide my surprise. Everyone had a penchant for rumors. It was common for rumors to have neither roots nor leaves.
Even those people could see that our relationship wasnāt good. That might had encouraged those rumors.
To begin with, even though he had a fiancĆ©e, Philip was very popular. He had a good family, good looks, was smartābasically, everything about him was good. The only bad thing was the fact that he disliked women. However, the fact that a certain number of people liked that coldness of his was certainly true.
ā…It was exactly at that moment my older brother broke.ā
āEh?ā
āāNo matter what happens to Viola, it matters not to me! I canāt think of a future that doesnāt has her in it! Otherwise, Iād just remain alone for the remainder of my life!ā The others and I were super surprised.ā
Why would he do that?
Surprised, I turned my gaze towards Philip. He turned away from me, his expression was saying, āDonāt tell her anything unnecessary.ā
āPhil…ā
Even if I knew those words were a lie, I felt touchedā
āor would have, if I hadnāt seen that sheet of paper.
What was that about…?
I couldnāt help but feel concerned…
However, if he indeed said such a thing in public, wouldnāt we become a hot topic? I was even more nervous about attending next weekās party.
Eventually, Cedric moved towards my side and took my hand. Philip scolded him for it, āOi.ā But he was ignored as Cedric continued.
āViola, tell me if you have any problems.ā
āYes, thank you.ā
āYour vibes have changed… youāre more mature than before.ā
My strategy to change my clothes and hairstyles was still underway. That was the only thing praised by Rex. It seemed that the impression created by oneās appearance was quite important.
āIs that so?ā
āYes, youāve become beautiful.ā
It was when I tried to thank him for his wordsā
āāViola has always been beautiful.ā
Suddenly, Philip said that. Cedric was more surprised than I was at his words.
ā…M, my brother, did you suffer from a head trauma, too?ā
āI didnāt.ā
āThe older brother I know isnāt the kind of person who can say that in front of others.ā
Of course, the Philip I knew also wouldnāt say that.
āHuh? What is this… eek, scary!ā
Meanwhile, Cedric picked up the cursed paper from earlier. When Philip saw it, he stood up in a hurry, and slammed the paper against the table with tremendous force.
ā…Viola hasnāt seen it, right?ā
āI donāt think she has.ā
Of course, I couldnāt firmly say I saw nothing. As I thought, it was something I shouldnāt have seen.
āBut, seriously, whatās that? Itās such a turn off.ā
ā…While I was waiting, I unconsciously wrote those when I thought something might have befallen Viola, or that she had decided not to come.ā
ā…Thatās heavy.ā
The conversation between the two who kept muttering never reached my ears.
āAnyway, I was also invited to His Highnessā birthday, so if anything were to happen, call me right away.ā
āIāll be there with you, so youāll be fine.ā
āThank you for your concern.ā
The appointed day came in no time.
***T/N:
…Is this a new method of cursing someone?
No, it’s just a medieval simping method.
I can imagine the other sheets of paper having “Duchess Viola Laurenson” with hearts all over it or “Viola+Phil 4eva” or FLAMES done with their names. Phil is such a highschool girl in love <3
haha Mrs. translator I do believe we should point out one misconception! In my opinion as a professional reddit lurker and IG comment analyzer what our ML is doing isn’t simping(creepy stalker vibes perhaps) but, not simping! My understanding of the term is they come in 2 primary flavors! The first and more innocuous of the 2 would be the guy(or girl) who basically got friendzoned and continues to do an unnecessary amount of favors/kindness to someone who had zero interest in them sexually! And the king of simps would be someone who catches feels for someone whom belongs to the streets as they may say! They eventually evolve into cucks and it’s just a sad state of affairs from that point forward! End of lesson you are dismissed from class!
p.s. first ever comment I do hope Mrs. translator will take responsibility (blush emoji blush emoji) lol
Thanks, but nah.
?? oh I just wanted you to keep up the great work with this series and returnee noble lady! Also sidebar ouch! Getting stuffed from a shot I never took is a special kind of L! ??
As in, I won’t take any responsibilities.
Thank you for the chapter ? I really find Phil cute, hope it will stay that way, he has to behave š
Medieval simping ???