A Story of a Noble Lady Who Was Ravaged by an Incurable Disease and Covered in Bandages All Over Her Broken Body; After Healing Her, She Turned Into a Stunning Beauty and Started Desperately Courting Me - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Meeting Alicia’s Little Sister

Gilbert threw out that suggestion for me. I got a little caught off guard, but I still asked him back like this.

“Uh, so… I’m just a totally normal, average guy, y’know? Is it really okay for someone like me to stay over at the Elfemina family mansion?”

“Of course it is. As long as Setsuna-dono is fine with it, that is.”

“Well yeah, getting to stay at the mansion is seriously amazing—like, it helps a ton both money-wise and for how comfy the bed probably is. But… there’s Alicia-san, right? A girl around our age living in the house. Isn’t it kinda weird for a guy like me to crash there…?”

“Hm, that’s actually a very reasonable concern. Well, if it’s Alicia we’re talking about, I’m pretty sure she’d say it’s fine. So how about this—could you go ask Alicia right now whether she’s okay with Setsuna-dono staying here? If she says yes, then feel free to stay as many nights as you want.”

“Got it! Alright, I’ll head over and ask her right now!”

“Great. Thanks. Oh, and after this I actually have to head out for work. So if Alicia gives the okay, could you just let one of the servants know? They’ll prepare a guest room for you.”

“Yes sir! Thanks so much for everything. I’ll go find Alicia-san’s room right away. Good luck with work, Gilbert-sama!”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

So I said goodbye to Gilbert and headed straight for Alicia’s room.

◇◇◇◇

Not long after that.

I arrived in front of Alicia’s room. And right then…

“Huh? I can hear some lively voices coming from inside. Is she talking with one of the maids maybe?”

Fun-sounding voices were drifting out from Alicia’s room. It was a young woman’s voice. One of the maids who works here, probably?

Anyway, while I was thinking that, I went ahead and gave the door a light knock.

—knock knock

“Fufu, so that’s how it is… Oh? Yes? Who is it?”

“It’s me. Setsuna.”

“Oh my! Setsuna-sama! The door’s unlocked, so please come in!”

“Thanks. Alright then…”

—click

“Excuse me. Hi, Alicia-san.”

“Hi! Hello. Your rehab session already finished for today, but you still came back to the mansion? I’m really happy to see you again, Setsuna-sama.”

“Yeah, I’m happy too. Um… so, who’s the girl sitting right next to you, Alicia-san?”

After greeting Alicia, I immediately asked about the young girl sitting beside her.

At first I figured it was probably a young maid, but nope—the girl in front of me wasn’t wearing a maid outfit. She had on a super expensive-looking one-piece dress. So maybe she’s nobility, just like Alicia?

By the way, at first glance she looked younger than Alicia. Same golden-blonde hair, but hers was short and gave off a slightly boyish vibe.

Hmm… I wonder who this girl is…?

“Ah, right, this is your first time meeting her, isn’t it, Setsuna-sama? Let me introduce her properly. This is my little sister, Estelle. She’s sixteen, so the same age as you.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Estelle, the second daughter of the Elfemina family. My sister has told me a lot about you. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“Uh… oh! Right, yeah, you did mention you had a little sister before, Alicia-san. Thanks for the polite intro. I’m Setsuna. Nice to meet you!”

So yeah, the girl right in front of me was Alicia’s little sister, Estelle.

Come to think of it, Alicia did tell me about her sister once before. Makes sense. So this is her. She’s got that boyish look going on, but yeah… the overall vibe and the way she carries herself really does feel kinda similar to Alicia.

“? Is something wrong? You’re staring really hard at my face… Do I have something on it?”

“Huh? Oh, n-no, it’s nothing! I was just thinking you and your big sis have a similar atmosphere, so I kinda ended up staring… Sorry!”

“Ohhh, that’s what it was. Fufu, I’m really happy to hear I give off the same feeling as my beloved big sister Alicia. Also, I’ve actually wanted to meet you for a while, Setsuna-sama, so I’m super glad we’re finally meeting like this. And… thank you so, so much for saving my big sister from that terrible illness.”

With that, Estelle gave a very polite, deep bow. Just that one movement screamed elegance. As expected from nobility.

“No no, I just did what any healer should do. But lately I’ve been coming to the Elfemina house every single day… and today’s the first time I’ve met you, Estelle-sama—”

“Ah, you don’t have to use -sama with me. Feel free to talk casually, just like you do with my big sister.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks. Then, if you don’t mind… This is our first time meeting, right, Estelle-san? So do you not usually live here in the mansion? Were you maybe away on some trip or business or something?”

“No, it’s not like that. I’ve already married into the Crusade Count family, so normally I live at the Crusade mansion.”

“Huh? You’re already married, Estelle-san? That’s kinda surprising—you’re so young.”

“No, in noble society pretty much everyone gets married around this age. From when we’re little, we attend tea parties and social events, build connections with tons of people, and usually get engaged around fifteen or so. Then if nothing goes wrong, we get married within a few years. That’s just how it normally goes.”

“Ohhh, so that’s the usual way. Huh… engaged around fifteen, huh…”

Come to think of it, Alicia once told me that she and Gilbert were childhood friends and got engaged with their parents’ approval.

(An engagement… man, it really feels like something straight out of a romance novel.)

I thought that while listening to Estelle. Sounds like having a fiancé is just normal life for nobles in this world. But of course, once I heard all that, one obvious question popped up. Namely…

“Um, just out of curiosity… does Alicia-san… y’know… have a fiancé or anything like that?”

Yeah, obviously what I was curious about was whether Alicia had a fiancé or not. I’ve been seeing her every day lately, but not once has any guy who looked like a fiancé shown up to take care of her.

(And honestly… if Alicia-san did have a fiancé… ugh, I’d probably feel kinda… weird about it…)

That thought crossed my mind too. No idea why it’d make me feel that way, but it did. But then Alicia’s answer was…

“Me? No, I don’t have a fiancé at all. I mean, I’ve been stuck in bed with that illness this whole time. I never even had a chance to think about things like engagements.”

“Oh… right. Phew… wait, huh?”

Hearing Alicia say she didn’t have a fiancé made me let out this huge sigh of relief… but wait, why the heck was I relieved? Huh…?

“? What’s wrong, Setsuna-sama? You’re frowning really hard… Is something bothering you?”

“Huh? Oh, uh, no, it’s nothing! Right, yeah, you’ve been sick in bed this whole time, so of course you wouldn’t have time for that kinda stuff! That illness must’ve been really rough, so yeah, no way you were thinking about engagements or anything.”

“Yeah. Well… honestly, there hasn’t been a single guy who ever wanted to get engaged to me anyway…”

“…Huh? What do you mean?”

“It’s pretty simple. Up until now I was suffering from that horrifying disease and my body was all messed up and ugly. Everyone in noble circles knew I had turned into this grotesque, broken thing because of the illness. No guy in his right mind would fall for or want to get engaged to a girl with a hideous, diseased body like that…”

“Alicia-neesama…”

“Alicia-san, that’s not true at all.”

“Huh? Oh—”

—squeeze

“Alicia-san is an incredibly kind and wonderful person. There’s no way nobody would fall for you. So don’t ever think like that—you’re gonna be totally fine.”

“S-Setsuna-sama…”

“And if some jerk ever says something mean about you looking ugly or whatever, I’ll punch them right in the face for you. So if anything bad happens, just tell me anytime, okay? I’ll get mad enough for both of us.”

“Setsuna-sama… Thank you. Hearing you say that… fufu, it really gives me a ton of courage.”

“Haha, glad to hear it.”

I said that while gripping Alicia’s hand tightly as she looked all down. She quickly gave me this soft, gentle smile in return.

Seeing her perk back up felt really good.

“…Fufu, what a warm atmosphere. But hey, don’t suddenly turn this into just the two of you, okay? I’m still here, y’know?”

“Huh?”

“Ah.”

And right after that, Estelle grinned mischievously and said that to us.

Getting seen like that by Alicia’s little sister felt a tiny bit embarrassing, but… I only ever said what I really felt to Alicia, so whatever. It’s not like I lied or anything.