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 15-16

Chapter 15: Chatting with Estelle

“Oh, r-right. By the way, Setsuna-sama, how come you came back to the mansion? Your rehab for today is already done, right?”

“Yeah. So actually, I’ve been staying at an inn in the capital, and when I mentioned that to Gilbert-sama, he was like, ‘Hey, why don’t you just stay at the Elfemina family mansion if you want?’”

“Huh!? My father said that?”

“Yup. And then Gilbert-sama told me that if Alicia-san was okay with it, I could stay here as long as I wanted. So that’s why I came to tell Alicia-san about it.”

I went ahead and told Alicia everything Gilbert and I had talked about earlier. Well, except the part about the curse stuff, obviously. I kept that secret. If I told her about that, Alicia would probably freak out big time, and I didn’t wanna dump any extra worry on her.

“Ohhh, so that’s what happened! Yeah, of course it’s fine! Please, stay here as many nights as you want!”

“Thanks. Hearing that really helps me out!”

“You’re welcome! I’m honestly super happy that you’re gonna be staying in the mansion, Setsuna-sama. Fufu, since you’re here, how about we chat a bunch tonight too?”

“Yeah, for sure!”

And just like that, I got the okay from Alicia to stay at the mansion. From now on I could hang out and sleep here. Getting to crash in a huge place like this? Man, I’m stoked.

◇◇◇◇

A little while later.

—click

“Setsuna-sama. Please feel free to use this room however you like.”

“Thanks! Whoa, this room is huge!”

After I told one of the servants about staying over, they led me straight to a guest room.

The room was seriously spacious. Everything inside looked super fancy, and the bed was all soft and puffy. This thing’s gonna feel amazing to sleep on.

“Seriously, is it really okay to give me such a nice room? I’m just a regular guy, y’know? I’d be totally fine with something smaller for guests.”

“No no, please make yourself at home in this room. Besides, Gilbert-sama already told us ahead of time to prepare this one specifically for you, Setsuna-sama, so there’s no issue at all.”

“Really? He picked this out for me beforehand? Man, I can’t thank Gilbert-sama enough.”

Looks like Gilbert had already chosen a room for me before he left for work. Preparing such a big nice room like this… yeah, he really is a kind guy.

“Please use anything in the room as you wish. And if there’s anything else you need, just let us servants know anytime and we’ll prepare it right away.”

“Got it. Thanks for everything.”

“Not at all. It’s only natural as a servant. Well then, I have other duties, so I’ll excuse myself now.”

—slam

With that, the servant left the room. And just like that, I was alone in this giant room.

“Hmm… but honestly, a room this huge kinda makes me feel a little restless… huh?”

—knock knock

Right when I was thinking that, someone knocked on the door.

“Yeah? Who is it?”

“It’s me. Estelle.”

“Oh, Estelle-san. Come on in.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

—click

“Excuse me, Setsuna-sama. Sorry for barging in all of a sudden.”

Alicia’s little sister Estelle stepped into the room as she said that. She still had that same elegant vibe from earlier.

“Nah, it’s fine. What’s up?”

“Yes. I just wanted to properly thank you again for saving my big sister Alicia. Setsuna-sama, thank you so much for real this time for helping Alicia-neesama.”

“Ah, like I said before, I only did what any healer would do. So you don’t have to keep bowing your head like that.”

“…Fufu. You saying that just shows how kind you are. Now I totally get why Alicia-neesama keeps saying you’re so nice.”

“W-wait, she talks about me that much? That’s kinda embarrassing…”

“Don’t worry, she only says good things. And seeing my big sister looking so full of energy again… it’s been years since I last saw her like that. When she was hit with that terrifying illness, I… I was scared every single day that she might end up going to be with our mother…”

“Ah, Estelle-san…”

Estelle’s face darkened as she said that.

Yeah… her mom passed away early, so of course she must’ve been terrified every day that Alicia might die too.

“So… so really, thank you. Thank you for healing Alicia-neesama’s body. And thank you for helping with her rehab afterward too. I’m seriously so grateful to you, Setsuna-sama.”

“Yeah, hearing you say that makes me happy too! And I’m gonna keep helping with Alicia-san’s rehab from now on, and if that awful sickness ever comes back, I’ll heal her right away again. So Estelle-san, you can relax and just keep watching over your big sister, okay?”

“Setsuna-sama… Yes. Thank you. That really puts my heart at ease. Please keep taking care of Alicia-neesama from now on too.”

“You got it! Leave it to me!”

So yeah, Estelle and I made that promise. Alright then—I’m gonna do my best to support Alicia so she gets better as fast as possible!

—

Chapter 16: Buying a Staff for Alicia

A few days later. Out in the garden of the Elfemina family mansion.

“Haa… haa…”

“Yeah, yeah, looking good! Keep it up just like that!”

“Haa… haa… okay…!”

I was helping Alicia with her rehab again today. Same as always, I held both her hands while we walked together around the garden.

“Alright, you walked a ton today! And the timing’s perfect anyway, so how about we call it quits for today’s rehab?”

“Haa… haa… Got it. Thank you so much…!”

She managed to walk a whole lot again today, so we wrapped up rehab right there. After that, we just plopped down on the grass in the garden to take a break.

“Haa… haa… Walked a bunch again today… whew.”

“Yeah. But man, compared to the beginning, you’re walking way better now. Your stamina’s come back a ton too!”

“Oh, yeah… maybe I really have gotten a lot better at walking since back then… fufu, it’s all thanks to you helping me every single day, Setsuna-sama. Seriously, thank you.”

“Nah nah, my help’s barely anything. You’re the one who’s been pushing so hard—that’s why your strength’s coming back like this. You’ve seriously done an amazing job.”

“Setsuna-sama… Yeah. Hearing that makes me really happy. Fufu.”

I kept my eyes on Alicia while I told her that.

Her body used to be all skin and bones, super skinny, but now she looked way healthier overall. Proof that she’s been eating properly every day.

And her walking speed and stamina had gone up a bunch compared to the start too.

Back then just standing looked tough for her, but now—even with breaks—she could easily handle walking for like an hour straight. Of course with my support the whole time, but still, she’d really gotten her body back in shape.

“Oh yeah, how’s the food been lately? You graduated from the liquid stuff already?”

“Yeah. They said it’s fine to eat solid food now, so I’m having proper three meals a day. Getting to eat yummy food every day makes me feel so happy.”

“Nice. That’s great to hear. At this rate, it won’t be long before your whole body’s back to full strength!”

“Yeah, I’d love that.”

We kept chatting like that. She’d come this far—she’d probably graduate from rehab life pretty soon.

Alright then… to help the now-healthy Alicia practice walking even more from here on out… I think I’m gonna go buy her that thing!

◇◇◇◇

—chatter chatter, buzz buzz

“Man, the streets are always this lively, huh.”

A little while after today’s rehab wrapped up. I was wandering around the capital by myself. Like usual, the place was packed with people of all ages and genders.

While I checked out the bustling streets, I was looking for a general goods store. I had something specific I wanted to buy. So I roamed all over the capital searching for it.

“Umm… a shop that’d sell that thing… oh, maybe that one over there!”

I spotted a certain general store. It kinda gave off the vibe that they might have what I was after, so I went straight inside.

—ding-dong♪

“Excuse me, anybody here?”

“Yo, welcome. You a customer? Looking for something specific?”

“Yeah. Um, I’m looking for a staff to help support the body—do you guys have any like that?”

“A support staff, huh. Sure we do. But doesn’t look like it’s for you, kid. Somebody get hurt? Or is it for your grandpa or grandma?”

“Kinda. It’s for a friend… well, not sure if friend’s the right word, but yeah, I wanna give it as a present to a woman who’s been sick for a while.”

“Hmm, gotcha. A present for a lady, huh… haha, you’re not half bad, kid. Alright, how about this staff here? It’s simple but stylish. Plus you can even embed accessories into the handle, so you can customize it into your own original one. Great for people who like that kinda thing.”

“Ohh, yeah yeah. It really is simple and stylish—looks perfect for a woman. Okay, I’ll take that one!”

“Thanks a bunch. So how do you want it wrapped? Gift style?”

“Oh, yeah. Could you do that?”

“Sure thing. Alright… here ya go. All done. Make sure to tell the injured lady to take good care of it, yeah?”

“Will do. Thank you!”

So yeah, I bought the staff I was after and left the shop. I decided I’d give it to Alicia as a present tomorrow.