IWIAHC Chapter 17

This was the first time Lily had looked directly at Aiden Casimir's face with such thoroughness.

Beneath dark brows, his eyes held a deeper shade than usual. Those eyes had lost their customary ease and now brimmed with worry and fear.

Unable to tear her gaze from that intense stare, Lily dimly registered his straight nose and the lips positioned below it.

[Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?]

Lily found herself utterly speechless. Her mind felt bleached white.

Whether that was from the shock of nearly cracking her skull or from the man's face filling her entire field of vision, she couldn't distinguish.

[Lily, are you injured? Please, just answer me.]

Aiden placed his hands on her shoulders and bent his head lower. He likely intended only to check her condition.

However, Lily felt as though she might be devoured by something enormous if she remained in place. Ignoring her frantically pounding heart, she barely managed to retreat.

"I'm, I'm fine. I'm not hurt anywhere..."

He closed the distance she'd created.

[You don't seem fine. Wait, let me look at you. Your face is too flushed. The shock must have been severe.]

She knew her face was red. With the tips of her ears burning, how could she not?

Aiden appeared almost tearful with regret.

[I truly won't let anything like this happen again. I mean it.]

"Yes, thank you, I appreciate it. Tomorrow too. I'll see you tomorrow."

Lily spouted nonsense and fled directly. As she ran toward the maids' quarters, she clenched her fists so hard her nails dug painfully into her palms.

'I should never have listened to Grandmother. Now I'm too aware of him!'

Lily wanted to cry at her heart, still pounding relentlessly.

Julia's work began immediately. Each day, Julia translated as much of the forbidden text as possible and passed that day's interpretation to Wolfram.

Meanwhile, Lily devoted herself to cleaning the main building. Endlessly hauling rolled carpets, she deeply realized how happy she'd been when assigned exclusively to the office.

Moreover, she had concerns beyond cleaning. Specifically, Duke Aiden Casimir.

[Couldn't you return to the office soon? Your absence wouldn't cause any major problems.]

The duke gently urged. Lily reflexively recited her calming mantra.

'He's doing this because he's bored. He has no feelings for me whatsoever. He's merely a wicked superior encouraging workplace isolation...'

Having exceeded three days of work, he'd lost patience and wished for her to abandon the demolition crew and return to her previous duties.

Utterly absurd.

Slipping away from the main building organization that everyone was tackling to hole up in the office that had been cleaned ages ago? Everyone would be delighted.

It didn't matter that she'd been promoted from the lowest maid to junior administrative officer level in a meteoric rise, a person simply shouldn't behave that way.

She didn't spare him even a glance. She simply moved her cleaning rag diligently while whispering with her friends.

"Still, we're finally seeing the end."

"Right. I never knew the castle had this many possessions until now."

"And so many broken things too. Will they just buy everything new this time? They'll change the interior decoration too, won't they? That's all how much money?"

"The head maid was irritated that money's leaking from the treasury as if they'd fought a territorial war."

"Our meals won't get worse, will they?"

"That absolutely cannot happen!"

They giggled in unison. That seemed to make Aiden even more despondent.

[I've been talking to myself for so long, I'm becoming afraid you won't recognize me anymore.]

Had Duke Aiden Casimir developed amnesia?

Hadn't she chattered with him just two hours ago under the pretext of returning used tools to their proper places?

[Lily, if you can hear me, tuck your hair behind your ear. Please?]

At that deflated voice, Lily found herself glancing sideways at him despite her better judgment.

He'd lost the smile he usually wore and let his shoulders droop. His sullen face pricked at her conscience.

'No. Absolutely not. Will you indulge that sulking again? But... yes, how lonely he must be...'

Unable to help herself, Lily tucked her hair behind her ear as he'd wished. Not only that, she lifted the wooden bucket where she'd been rinsing and wringing her cleaning rag.

"The water seems dirty. I'll go get fresh water."

"You're going again? They keep giving you the heavy work."

"No, it's not that heavy. I'll be right back."

Once the area grew deserted, she stopped walking and pretended to look out a broken window. In reality, she was watching Aiden, who stood before the window.

He smiled like a flower in full bloom, as if he'd never been gloomy.

'Does this man even know what expression he wears when he smiles? He must, to do this.'

Truly the very embodiment of the inappropriate behavior Julia had mentioned. At moments like these, Lily had to repeat the objective truth to herself.

This man was behaving this way to somehow win her favor and prevent her possible second escape, she was simply the only person he could associate with and there was no emotionally significant attachment whatsoever.

Having practiced this self-hypnosis for three days now, she could calm her mind without difficulty.

She looked at the floor as she walked and murmured softly.

"Still, today will finish everything. Just bear with it a little longer."

Having accumulated experience in secretly speaking, she could now manage crude ventriloquism.

[Mm-hm. Then I'll wait just one more day. Tomorrow, no matter what happens, you're going to the office.]

"Even there, we can't really talk comfortably because of the aide."

That was true. Being in the office hadn't meant they'd chattered away famously.

'Wait. That conversation about the aide's first love was rather personal.'

She'd learned about the rosy-cheeked Miss Anna Cape deciding to marry Wolfram after seeing his passionate love letter—she'd asked first while Wolfram was away.

They'd also discussed Wendel's apples, their respective reading preferences, and other matters.

She realized she'd conversed with Aiden far more comfortably than she'd previously thought.

[No. The office is much better. Here you only engage with your friends. When you do that, I feel isolated and alone.]

Seeing him dejected made Lily uncomfortable as well.

This person relied on her to endure each day. Moreover, before his out-of-body experience, he'd been the Empire's sole duke, so he would have isolated others rather than experienced isolation himself.

"Is it very difficult for you?"

[Yes. Far too difficult.]

His pitiful act certainly contained strategic intention, yet sympathy bubbled up nonetheless. Lily encouraged him.

"I suppose it would be. When has Your Grace ever experienced such a situation? Just wait a little. Grandmother will soon..."

[Wait. What situation do you think this is?]

Aiden asked, despite having just spoken of it himself. Lily kindly explained while inwardly worrying about his memory.

"The situation of being ignored by everyone like an invisible person. That's what's difficult, isn't it?"

By then they'd reached the kitchen. Since the main building kitchen was temporarily closed, Lily could speak a bit more freely.

Despite arriving at a good place for chatting, Aiden said nothing.

"Is that not it?"

[Yes. No. It isn't.]

He looked genuinely confused.

[It's similar but different.]

"Really? How so?"

[It's not difficult because everyone ignores me, but because the one ignoring me is...]

Aiden, who'd been speaking almost inaudibly, abruptly closed his mouth midway. His face showed surprise at a sudden realization.

Even as she filled the bucket completely with water, he merely stared at Lily with an expression of disbelief.

Eventually, Lily asked cautiously.

"Um, is there perhaps something on my face?"

This wasn't genuine curiosity but a question meant to change the atmosphere.

Only then did Aiden collect himself and produce a stiff smile.

[Ah, nothing like that. Sorry.]

At signs of an extremely awkward moment beginning, Lily quickly introduced a new topic.

"By the way, you still can't leave the main building?"

[Right. Nothing's changed.]

Currently, the main building was chaotic with organization and repairs, so the duke's body had been moved to the east wing. Though it seemed his soul might follow his body to the east wing rather than the main building, he still couldn't leave this place.

Consequently, they were using the main building's fourth floor rather than the east wing as a temporary office.

"What could be the principle?"

[Indeed. We can only hope Mrs. Dienta finds a clue.]

Lily nodded. She sincerely hoped so as well.

The corridor they returned to had fewer people than when she'd left. She asked her remaining friend.

"Why are there so few people? Was I that late?"

"Don't even start. His Majesty is stopping by the estate, so chaos just erupted. He'll arrive as soon as tomorrow."

Indeed, this was shocking news worthy of chaos. The maid grumbled quietly.

"Why did he only send word after coming so close? Thanks to that, we're the only ones frantic. Anyway, that's why the head maid took the girls to the east wing. We're giving that place to the people from the capital."

Lily frowned. With insufficient personnel for organizing the main building, sudden guest reception meant an explosion of work.

"What a disaster... Do you know why he's coming?"

"Well, visiting the sick, surely. Since he and His Grace have been friends since childhood. Anyway, she said we should finish up among ourselves today, so let's move quickly."

"Mm-hm."

Lily wrung out her cleaning rag with an enigmatic expression.