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Chapter 166 If I Could See You Again, I Would Do Anything.
"Master... GĂ©rard..."
When she weakly called his name, his expression twisted as if enduring something.
"...I told you to tell me if you had any troubles."
It seemed Ortansia had been caught by GĂ©rard just before collapsing to the ground.
GĂ©rard lifted her up, settling her on his lap.
"Why are you in such a place..."
"The other maid attending Marguerite kept insisting she should check on you, so I came. As I suspected."
Brushing aside Ortansia's fringe, which was stuck to her forehead with sweat, GĂ©rard let out a deep sigh.
"Did Marguerite order you to do something unreasonable?"
"...No. I simply overestimated my own abilities, thinking I could manage alone."
Ortansia lied.
She didn't want something like this to cause discord between Gérard and Marguerite... the biological siblings of the Vérité ducal family.
"Lady Marguerite did nothing wrong. It was all me…"
"That's enough."
GĂ©rard's hand hesitantly touched her cheek, and Ortansia's breath hitched.
...If he treated her so gently.
She couldn't help but overlap them. Him with her beloved one.
‘Big Brother…’
Her vision blurred with tears.
Even so, Ortansia desperately held back.
Because if she cried pathetically here...
...surely the GĂ©rard before her wouldn't leave Ortansia alone.
Again, Ortansia's existence would disrupt the ducal family's peace.
‘I absolutely don't want that…’
So Ortansia forced herself to smile.
"Today's work is finished, so I'm all right. I managed it all by myself."
"You're pushing yourself again..."
"Master GĂ©rard, I'm happy working here. So... won't you simply watch over me?"
She wanted to protect the beloved Vérité ducal family. This happy family.
So... let things stay as they are.
Surely Marguerite would understand someday.
Hoping this, Ortansia timidly gripped the edge of GĂ©rard's clothes.
"Please, Master GĂ©rard..."
Unconsciously, it came out like when she'd acted spoiled with GĂ©rard in the original world.
GĂ©rard said nothing. He simply stared intently at Ortansia.
Suddenly, his fingertips, which had been resting on Ortansia's cheek, moved.
As if confirming her contours, his fingertips traced from her cheek to her chin.
His gentle, almost nurturing touch made Ortansia forget the situation they were in and become enchanted.
"You really are..."
In a voice tinged with slight intensity, GĂ©rard whispered.
But just as he was about to spin his next words, all sound vanished from the world.
‘What?’
Wondering if her senses had gone awry, Ortansia's eyes widened.
Though GĂ©rard's mouth before her was moving, no voice came.
Moreover, the sounds of wind, insects, and the bustle within the ducal residence that she'd heard until moments ago had all disappeared.
‘What's this, what's happening…’
What reached the confused Ortansia was a strange sound like static.
In her ears... no, that wasn't it. The noise was resonating directly inside her head.
‘Is this... someone's voice?’
If she concentrated her consciousness, it became clearer.
It was someone's... a voice that made her feel nostalgic enough to cry.
‘Please, let me hear more...!’
Ortansia desperately followed the faint sound that would disappear if she diverted her attention even slightly.
And she heard it clearly.
『Wake up』
『...sia』
‘Brother!’
She knew intuitively.
This voice was GĂ©rard's voice.
But not this world's GĂ©rard.
It was her stepbrother GĂ©rard from the original world.
‘Brother! Are you there!? Brother...!’
Ortansia desperately called out.
But gradually the noise grew more distant…
"Ortansia!"
Suddenly called in a loud voice, Ortansia's body was startled.
"Ah..."
When she came to, GĂ©rard was desperately gripping Ortansia's shoulders, shaking her body.
"You suddenly stopped responding... Are you all right!? Marguerite really did make you overstress out...!"
The GĂ©rard before her was indignant.
He was unmistakably "this world's" GĂ©rard.
The moment she became conscious of this, what sprouted in Ortansia's heart was disappointment.
‘Was that a dream? Was it my auditory hallucination…’
What she'd heard just now was the voice of GĂ©rard from the original world.
Had she heard a voice that didn't exist because she missed him so much?
‘That's right. Because the world changed and "GĂ©rard" is this person before me…’
The real GĂ©rard was directing a concerned gaze at her.
"I'll take you to a physician immediately."
"No need, I'm fine! That was just... er... I dozed off for a moment!"
"Dozed off...?"
"Yes, exactly! Actually, being able to sleep anywhere is my special talent... oh, I should have mentioned that in the ducal house employment interview!"
Hortensia tried to cover it up by acting especially cheerful.
Perhaps it worked, as GĂ©rard sighed as if exasperated.
"You really are peculiar. ...Very well. Today's work is done, isn't it? Rest well."
"Yes! Thank you very much!!"
Borrowing GĂ©rard's hand, Ortansia stood up.
Though she'd said she was fine, in the end GĂ©rard accompanied her to the entrance of the servants’ lodging like before.
"Thank you so much, Master GĂ©rard."
"...Ah."
She thanked him and bowed, but GĂ©rard didn't leave.
Rather, he was staring at her with a gaze as if appealing for something.
‘Hm, am I forgetting to say something? ...Ah, could it be’
Last time here, she'd carelessly said "good night" to GĂ©rard.
...Perhaps GĂ©rard was waiting for those words again.
"G-good night..."
When she timidly said this, GĂ©rard's expression seemed somewhat satisfied.
"Ah, good night."
Saying this, he finally departed.
That back overlapped with her stepbrother's back that she'd always watched.
‘Brother…’
The moment she was alone, what welled up was longing for GĂ©rard from the original world.
That voice that had resonated in her head earlier. Surely it was just an auditory hallucination.
She told herself this repeatedly. But even so—
‘Brother... are you calling me?’
She couldn't shake that wandering thought.
She couldn't help but think that perhaps "her stepbrother GĂ©rard" was somewhere, calling for Ortansia.
‘I want to see you, Brother…’
The tears she'd held back before this world's GĂ©rard spilled out in drops.
‘If I could see you again, Brother, I'd do anything…’
That voice resonating in her head had said "wake up."
If this were a dream, and when she woke everything had returned to normal... how happy would that be?
‘But that's not Brother's happiness.’
Ortansia's selfish wish conflicted with the peaceful happiness GĂ©rard should have obtained.
‘So... this is fine. This world is right.’
Forcibly suppressing the emotions threatening to overflow, Ortansia wiped her tears.
She didn't know if she'd make it in time, but tomorrow she would have to rise early to iron Marguerite's dresses.
She had no time to stand still here.
After gazing once more in the direction GĂ©rard had departed, Ortansia stepped into the building, halting her hesitation.
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