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However, Fol, whose presence wasn’t inferior to that of Lady Sophia in the slightest, had been acting a little strange since that morning. She looked a little absentminded all day and her face was flushed red. It was obvious that she wasn’t feeling alright, but she would tell everyone who showed concern that she was fine, and kept on rehearsing since morning.

And then-

“Fol?!”

Lady Sophia was acting as Fol’s rehearsal partner, when her scream echoed in the training room. At the same time, Fol’s upper body slanted forward. Her pink gold hair fluttered in the air, and she came close to collapsing onto the wooden floor.

In the nick of time, I caught her in my arms.

I managed to make it in time because I was on my guard, thinking that something like this might happen at any moment. I prevented her from slamming into the wooden floor, but the body of the princess in my arms was limp. It was clear that the reason for her collapse wasn’t something as simple as her foot slipping or anything of the sort.

I laid her down on a nearby sofa and checked her pulse. It was a little fast, but considering that she had just been rehearsing, it wasn’t at a level that might be considered abnormal. The only abnormal thing was that, at the moment, her blue pupils had a tinge of red to them. 

She was suffering magic saturation caused by the magical power overcharge illness.

However, it was unlikely that the overcharge illness caused her collapse.. The trigger was clearly her bad physical shape. As I was thinking that there had to have been another reason for it, Fol’s maid, Lea, rushed over. 

Since she was clutching a pill in her hand, I promptly made room for her.

“My Lady, your medicine.”

“Thank… you…”

Fol put the offered pill into her mouth. Even though there was no water, she let out a grunt from her white throat and swallowed it down. Without a doubt, she was used to swallowing medicine like this. However, it shouldn’t be necessary to use medicine for magical overcharge illness.

“Is Fol… sick?”

Lady Sophia asked Lea, as if she represented what we were all thinking.

“I am very sorry, but I cannot…”

“I… don’t mind… so… tell… them.”

Fol muttered a few words with her eyes closed. 

Lea, having received permission, nodded.

“First, I’ll put my Lady to bed, so if you could wait in the living room, please.”

She held up Fol in her arms and left the training room. After seeing that, we moved over to the living room like we were told to, but the atmosphere while we were waiting was heavy. From Fol and Lea’s conversation, we sensed that it was something serious, so this unpleasant sense of foreboding was quite fitting.

When she came back, Lea informed us that Fol was suffering from a deathly illness.

“That can’t be…”

Just who was it that let out this choked out voice? Lady Sophia’s eyes opened wide, as if she couldn’t believe it. In these past few days, she had quickly become closer to Fol. Despair revealed itself in her eyes, which were tinted red.

Since both Alicia and Prince Alforth also had a similar reaction, it seemed that Fol hadn’t even told her own cousin that she was sick.

I was the only one who retained his composure, since I had already taken this possibility into account.

Therefore-

“What kind of affliction is this deathly illness?”

I was overstepping my bounds as butler by inquiring into her private matters.

However, Lea shook her head apologetically.

“Forgive me, but I cannot give you the name of the illness. I can only tell you that it’s a fatal disease that currently has no treatment. However, it’s not contagious.”

“…Is… that so.”

Among illnesses, there were some types that were seen with a lot of prejudice. For example, magical overcharge illness was one of them. Although it was an incurable illness, it wasn’t a fatal one. However, it was also known to be an illness that rendered its sufferers mentally unstable. If it was a fatal illness that was also frowned upon, it was natural that they would want to hide its name. At any rate, if I were to question Lea any further, I would just be putting her on the spot.

“…I understand. Then, can you tell me anything about her condition?”

It was a roundabout way of asking how much time she had left. Lea squeezed her lips tightly upon hearing my tactless question. However, neither Prince Alforth, Alicia, nor, as it could have been expected, Lady Sophia, had interjected. They probably also wanted to know the answer.

“According to the doctor, it might be difficult for her to graduate junior high.”

Everyone’s breath caught in their throats. Fol was a third-year student, and it was summer right now. While mild, the four seasons did exist in this world. So what Lea was telling us was the unavoidable truth that Fol only had about half a year of life left.

I turned my gaze to Lady Sophia, concerned about her. Her eyes were full of sorrow. 

No wonder. They became close not that long ago… no, it was precisely because they had just become close that she had learned about strong friendships with a peer for the first time. Having heard that this friend wouldn’t be alive for much longer, it was natural to get depressed.

In the end, the training camp ended that day without us possibly being able to rehearse properly. Fol was picked up by a horse carriage that came for her, and was already on her way home. And so, each of us went home in our own carriages.

On our way home from the training camp, Rouché and I were getting shaken around in the same carriage as Lady Sophia. However, today, I wasn’t the only one not talking, which was normal, but neither did Rouché, the maid. It was because of Lady Sophia, sitting next to me, who was sorrowfully gazing out of the window.

Because of this matter, a deep sorrow had arisen in Lady Sophia’s heart. The thoughts that were troubling me weren’t ‘It would have been better if I had persuaded Lady Sophia to give up on joining the student council, just as Fol had said.’

I had predicted that Fol’s rejection towards others was because she didn’t have a long future ahead of her. Moreover, I had also concluded that Lady Sophia’s meeting with Fol would be an asset to my Lady.

However, I had miscalculated.

Observing Fol’s health, I had believed that the possibility of her condition being serious was low. I thought that, most likely, she might end up leaving to a far away place in a few years due to an arranged marriage, or that she would be sent to the countryside to recuperate.

Having only half a year of life left was the worst case scenario among my conjectures.

“Cyril.”

“Yes, my Lady?”

I responded to her call, but Lady Sophia remained silent. Just with this exchange, I could guess what my Lady wanted to say. Therefore, it would be necessary to deny it ahead of time.

“Regretfully, it appears that, even with the power of Marquis Rosenberg, it is not possible to cure her illness.”

“How can that be? She is a commoner who merely has the backing of a Count, right? Since that is the case, isn’t it possible that she just didn’t have access to state of the art treatment?”

“That might have been the case, if she truly was just a commoner with the backing of a Count.”

“…Is she not?”

“She isn’t. Her true name is Eldest Heiress Fol1. She belongs to the country’s royal family.”

Lady Sophia’s eyes widened.

“You knew… and kept quiet about it?” Lady Sophia’s pupils trembled. She must have believed that I wouldn’t hide anything from her.

“Yes, I knew. I was certain that she was a member of the royal family, and I had also guessed that she might be leaving soon. Moreover,I kept it all a secret from you, Lady Sophia.”

“Why did you keep it a secret?”

“…Well.”

Immediately, I became unable to answer. I was supposed to be prepared for this question, and yet, I grew anxious, afraid that I might get berated by my Lady. Nonetheless, those were the consequences of my choices.

“I kept it a secret because I thought it would be better for you, my Lady. If you had known about her social standing and her situation, you might have felt it necessary to prioritize being considerate of her.”

Both Fol and Lady Sophia were girls who were able to treat those of a lower social class kindly. But, at the same time, they were nobles who weren’t able to forget to respect those of a higher social class.

Alicia was a good example of that.

Due to Alicia’s interest in me, they had some issues when trying to get along, but their personal affinity was pretty good. However, the difference between their social standing created some reservations between them. While they were still friends that got along, I would find it difficult to say that they were close.

However, Lady Sophia called Fol by her name2 and was fond of  her. Had she known about Fol’s social status and her circumstances, she most likely wouldn’t have called her simply Fol.

That was the reason why I kept quiet about Fol’s lineage.

However-

“Originally, I wanted to tell you, my Lady. Keeping quiet about it was my own decision. That is why I am prepared to accept any punishment.”

I bowed my head deeply.

‘There was nothing to be done. If she resented me, or if I were told off, I wouldn\'t be in a position to voice any complaints.’ Despite thinking along these lines, my Lady’s voice, calm yet brimming with sadness, let out these words: “Raise your head.

“It was certainly a shock. However, you always have my wellbeing in mind, Cyril. I do not doubt that at this point.”

Without a doubt, this meant that my selfish decision had been forgiven.

There was not even a speck of gloom in her amethyst eyes. What Lady Sophia was saying was that she didn’t regret meeting Fol and becoming close friends with her one bit.

“…You have truly become stronger, Lady Sophia.”

“That is because you are by my side, Cyril.”

I thought that she was being modest, but I realized right away that I had misunderstood when I noticed Lady Sophia’s hand, clutching onto the hem of my clothes.

“…Lady Sophia?”

“I- I apologize.”

It was an unconscious act. Lady Sophia withdrew her hand, as if she had intended to let go of the hem of my clothes. However, her hand didn’t let go. Suddenly, my clothes were being pulled.

“H-huh? Wait a moment. I’ll let go immediately.”

Seeing my Lady like this made me feel like my chest was splitting open. The least I could do was to offer some comfort. Showing that I didn’t mind if she stayed like that, I placed my hand on top of my Lady’s.

“…Cyril?”

“I am not going anywhere. From now on and always, I will be by your side, my Lady.”

I voiced the oath I made in my youth. Faced with the situation of losing someone close to her like Fol, Lady Sophia became just a little anxious. At last, I’ve realized that.

“….Is that… the truth? You won’t go anywhere, Cyril?”

The wimpy young Lady from her childhood days made an appearance, breaking her dignified air. Although I had been thinking that she had become an adult, it seemed like her tendency to succumb to loneliness hadn’t changed.

“Tomorrow, and also the day after tomorrow, and a year from now on, and ten years from now on, forever and always. Till death do us part, I will be by your side, Lady Sophia… But of course, if you tell me that I am not needed, I will leave.”

“T-there is no way that I would say such a thing!”

“In that case, I will always be by your side.”

For the first time since we sat into the carriage, I saw a tinge of reassurance surface in Lady Sophia’s eyes. But immediately, they welled up with sorrow and she pushed her face against my chest.

I could understand her feelings of anxiety, but this wasn’t something that a daughter of a marquis should do. Even the maid should have stopped it. That is what I would have expected, but the maid sitting beside her this time was Rouché. She hadn’t seen anything, because she was asleep the whole time.

…However, there was no way that anyone could be soundly sleeping while being thrown around in such a rattling carriage.

Anyhow, it seemed that there was no one to reproach the young Lady for her behaviour. Therefore, I let the young Lady do as she pleased. Before long, the she grabbed my arm tightly and lifted her face.

“Say… Cyril. If it’s you, Cyril…” 

The amethyst eyes that were looking up at me were shaking. Even without hearing what she wanted to say next, I understood. What she wanted to ask was: ‘If it’s you, Cyril, can’t you save her?’ 

I couldn’t say that the possibility of me being able to save Fol was zero. The fact that Fol was suffering from an incurable illness was the worst among my hypotheses. In other words, it was still within my expectations.

From the way Fol behaved and talked, as well as the circumstances around her up until this point, I did have something in mind.  However, even though Lady Sophia opened her mouth to speak, in the end, she didn’t voice this request. If she were to ask this of me, I couldn’t have ignored it, even if it might have been an unreasonable demand. The young Lady understood this, and was unable to voice her own selfish desire.

Since she enrolled in the academy, Lady Sophia was becoming stronger and stronger. However, that was the very reason why she might have ended up being unable to show her own weakness. Imagining that Lady Sophia would make that request…

While I was thinking along these lines, I noticed Rouché with her eyes half open, peeking our way. She was probably worried that I would say things to ease Lady Sophia’s mind and end up hurting her.

However, I understood this myself. Shallow words were just a moment’s comfort. A fleeting moment of elation could result in Lady Sophia feeling even sadder. Therefore, I didn’t say anything.

In the end-

“No, nevermind.”

It seemed that Lady Sophia had chosen to contain her emotions that ran wild inside her chest. If she chose to endure the sorrow, I, as I was now, would have no right words to say. When Lady Sophia wished for something, the only thing I could do was prepare to be able to fulfill that wish. 

The decision settling in my chest, I tightly grasped my Lady’s trembling hand.

Woo, I was getting worried I might get this chapter out on time due to promptly catching a cold after Christmast, but thanks to the diligent work of my editor who was able to edit this chapter for me today I can proudly present this week\'s chapter on time! Thank you so much, Barebones! <3 Hope you all had good holidays and I wish you all a Happy New Year! Hope it will be a good one!

1. フォルシーニア – ‘Fol-senior’
2. Literally フォル先輩- ‘Fol-senpai’, but as stated in the previous chapter, I will keep it as just Fol in the translation