When I walked through the front door, I found Master Gino standing there.
"Gino-sama! ! ! !
I ran up to him.
Anna, do me a favor.
She's my child, will you raise her with me? Gino
Gino-sama said with a troubled smile.
"Of course"
If you come back, I'll raise him with love.
Gino-sama will return.
That's enough for me.
I'm overflowing with tears of joy.
I'm sure the Duke won't object if we have a child together.
'Yes. Yes, yes.
I'll do anything if you come back to me, Gino-sama.
My body is ugly and full of bumps but if that's okay with you then please do as you please.
I was very sad and frustrated when I heard that Gino-sama had a child with another woman.
I too would like to have your child.
Thank you Anna.
I'll always be with you.
"Mr. Gino."
I said Gino's name and stretched out my hand on the bed.
It was a dream, wasn't it?
I must have fallen asleep before I knew it.
I felt a little better after I fell asleep.
I looked at the side of the bed and saw Bridget looking at me with a worried face.
She must have heard me calling out to Gino in my sleep.
Gino will come back with the child.
This is what I imagined many times when I was awake.
It's as if this desire became a dream.
But reality is cruel.
I don't think Lord Gino will abandon his wife and come back to me for the governorship of the House of Cousins.
If anything should happen to her, she will remain loyal to the house and raise her children on her own.
And he would never ask me for premarital sex.
When Bridget once said to Lady Gino, "Do you mean to defile your daughter's virtue? "No way!
I would never do such a thing.
If you have a child, Anna will suffer from the ugly news.
I would never hurt you for a single desire."
He said.
The real Gino is sincere, unlike the dream Gino.
It would be nice if the real Gino were as cunning as the dream Gino.
I hope you will return, even if it is for a knighthood at Seventh Worth.
◆◆◆◆◆
When I opened my eyes, I was on my bed.
It seems I fell asleep before I knew it.
When I woke up, I thought about Mr. Gino again.
In my unglamorous and miserable life, the time I spent with Gino-sama was truly a sparkling and wonderful time.
I don't think I'll ever meet anyone as wonderful as her again.
I don't think there will be a man in the future who will call me pretty when I'm ugly and full of bumps.
"Never give up on happiness.
I have been living my life based on what Gino said to me.
But now that I've lost Gino-sama, how can I hope to be happy?
I feel like I'm going to break.
◆◆◆◆◆
It's probably for the best, if you think about it.
Master Gino can be free from this ugly woman and make love with a normal woman.
I have been called a goblin woman since I was a child, and even recently I have heard the word "goblin lady" mixed in with the whispering voices around me.
Rather than marrying me, you would be happier marrying another ordinary woman.
That's right.
It was a mistake in the first place for such a wonderful woman to become engaged to a woman like me.
It's only natural that mistakes will be corrected.
The mistake has been corrected and you've been returned to your rightful place.
That's all that matters.
If you are happy, that's all that matters.
If you are happy and smiling, I am happy too, and that is my own way of being happy, isn't it?
However, I can't help but overflow with tears.
Why am I so sad that Mr. Gino is now happy?
I never thought I'd fall in love until I met Gino.
It was only a dream to have a picnic with the man I love, or to go for a long ride with him.
I should be satisfied with that, because I was able to actually experience those dreamlike experiences that I thought would never come true.
The time I spent with Mr. Gino was a colorful time.
It was a colorful time, even if it was only for a short time, in my gray life.
I should consider myself lucky for that.
◆◆◆◆◆
How long has it been since the graduation party now?
I haven't had much sleep, but there have been times when I found myself asleep.
Since the graduation party, I have been spending most of my time in bed.
While I was lost in sad thoughts, there was a knock at the door.
It was your father.
He seemed to have a difficult look on his face.
"You seem to have recovered a lot.
Good."
Your father said with kind eyes.
"Isn't that so?"
I replied.
Has he recovered?
I'm not aware of it.
But he is still able to talk, so I guess time has healed him a little.
Your father placed a wooden box on the table.
"This is a medicine that was sent anonymously to our family.
It is said to be a cure for your illness."
He said, tapping the wooden box.
I looked at your father suspiciously.
"So, what does he want to do by sending us that suspicious medicine of unknown origin?
You didn't send that suspicious medicine to us thinking that we would use it, did you? "
Suspicious mail sometimes arrives at our house, but it is usually disposed of by the servants.
Which political rival sent it and with what intention?
Aside from your father, whose job it is to guess, I would not normally receive such a mail.
Unsure of his intentions, I asked him.
"Look at this.
It's the document that came with this medicine.
It's a paper on the principles of your disease and its treatment."
I don't think I would be able to understand something so technical, but I took the paper he offered me and looked at it.
"What? ! !
What is this? ! "
I haven't read it yet, but even so, I recognized it immediately at a glance.
Her handwriting is very good for her age, her writing style is polite and clear, and her handwriting is a bit angular.
There's no way you could mistake it for something else.
It's Mr. Gino's handwriting.
"I hurriedly had the paper read by the court mages.
As you know, magic is a closely guarded secret within the clan and only a small part of it is open to the public, so it's impossible for us non-mages to determine what this paper is about.
That's why I asked a mage to take a look...
He said that the paper is at least 500 years ahead of modern medical magic.
Some of the mages said it was a thousand years ahead."
Tears began to well up in my eyes.
I almost spilled them onto my papers and hurriedly put them on the bed.
I thought my connection with Gino-sama had been severed, but that connection still existed here.
"At least, I had the court pharmacist analyze the ingredients of the potion.
It was said to be enchanted, but I didn't know what kind of enchantment it was.
But the ingredients of the potion are the same as the cure described in the paper.
It's up to you to decide what to do.
You want some? "
My father said as tears welled up in my eyes.
"Of course. I'll take it."
I don't hesitate to answer.
"So you've come to the same conclusion as Jenny."
After letting out a big sigh, your father says so.
Apparently, your mother thinks you should drink too.
"Oh? Is your father against it? "
There doesn't seem to be any reason to be against it, but for some reason your father seems to be against taking the medicine.
"It's a spell of unknown effect.
At worst, you might die."
That's what your father says.
I could die.
Will Master Gino be sad if I die from taking this potion?
It's Gino-sama.
I'm sure he'll at least visit my grave out of a sense of responsibility even if his feelings for me are gone.
Oh?
That's a good idea.
You'll remember me for ten years to come and Gino-sama will visit my grave every year on the anniversary of my death.
Perhaps he will bring a bouquet of flowers?
That's nice.
What I fear most now is that Gino will forget me.
I'll never forget you.
I want Gino-sama to remember me too.
Even if it is a thorn in my heart, I will be extremely happy if you will never forget me.
I didn't know until I lost my love that it was so scary to be erased from the memory of a loved one.
Even if I die, it won't be a bad thing, so I'll just have to take the medicine.
And you forgot your father.
"Lord Gino went to unexcavated ruins in search of a cure for my disease.
This potion must be the culmination of his efforts.
It's impossible for you not to take it."
I learned at the academy that the average survival rate of a challenge to an unexcavated site is about three minutes.
It varies from site to site, but even in low-risk sites, the survival rate is not likely to exceed 10%.
He has done such a dangerous thing for me.
When I realized that Mr. Gino had gone to the unexcavated ruins, my blood really ran cold.
"Yes, but he betrayed you."
I see. So your father was concerned about that.
"Don't worry.
He's moved on to another woman, but I don't think he hates me."
He didn't say anything bad about me at the graduation party either.
Rather, he praised me too much.
So I'm sure you don't hate me.
By the way, you also said that I was the best woman in the world.
At the time, I was so preoccupied with Gino-sama that I didn't care, but I wonder how the people around me looked at me when they thought so highly of an ugly woman like me.
It's scary to think about.
"Then read this."
It was a letter from Mr. Gino written separately from the paper.
Oh.
I could die at any time, couldn't I?
Then it's the same if I take the pill and die.
I have another reason to take the potion.
By the way, even though it's an anonymous letter, it's easy to figure out who wrote it with such concern for me.
For the past month or so, things have not been going well with Mr. Gino, and our engagement has been broken off.
And yet, you have written me such a warm letter now.
I can't read the letter well through my tears.
Following the instructions in the letter, I will concentrate on getting in shape.
I will eat even if I have no appetite, and at night I will use sleeping pills to fall asleep.
Gino-sama took great pains to make this medicine for me.
I'll make sure I'm in good shape and the treatment will be a success.
Oh?
Not long ago, I was thinking of dying, but now I'm thinking of making the cure work.
Are you feeling a little better now that you're back in shape?
Now that you're feeling well enough, it's time to take the medicine.
Since taking the remedy will cause a high fever, you should also take this antipyretic and sleeping pill together.
"Father, mother.
I'm going to take the medicine now.
The cure will take about fourteen hours, so I think we can have lunch tomorrow."
"Keep your mind steady.
Remember that you will live through this."
"Whether you are cured or not, you are still our daughter.
We'll have a feast for you tomorrow for lunch, so make sure you come to the cafeteria."
My father and mother hugged me in turn and encouraged me.
"Bridget.
I've heard that it won't work if I wake up in the middle of the day, so please arrange not to make any noise nearby until I wake up naturally."
"As the mistress of the house, I'll make sure of that."
I was going to ask Bridget to do it, but I think your mother will do it for me.
I'm sure no one will make a scene.
After everyone has left the room, I crawl into bed and take the potion.
As you would expect from a sleeping potion with magic, within a minute I was feeling very sleepy.
Magical medicines take effect much faster than ordinary medicines, but the cure for this strange disease takes 14 hours.
It's a very special medicine.
While I was thinking about this, I fell asleep.
◆◆◆◆◆
Slowly my consciousness awoke, and I opened my eyes.
I looked to my side and saw Bridget crying silently.
"Aaahhhh.
That's my girl. Good grief.
Wake up!"
Sobbing, Bridget hugs me.
Oh. She was worried that I might not wake up.
"My lady. Look quickly."
Then Bridget holds out the mirror.
"Is that... me? "
In the mirror, I see a beautiful woman with silver hair and young grass-colored eyes, with a face very similar to your mother's.
I wonder if this is really my face.
I've become a completely different person in one night.
I couldn't feel that the unfamiliar woman's face was my own, and I kept looking into the mirror from different angles.
"Now, young lady.
Let's get you dressed and show your appearance to the Master and Mistress.
They've been waiting for you in the dining room all morning."
I stared at the mirror for a long time, and before I knew it, Brigitte was back on her feet and ready for the morning.
As I was getting dressed, I saw that the bumps were gone not only from my face but also from my whole body.
(You did it! Gino-sama!
We've succeeded in making the cure! )
I'll tell Gino in my heart.
◆◆◆◆◆
"Anna! ? You're Anna! ? "
"Are you really... Anna? ? "
When the servant opened the dining room door, your father and mother stood up and were astonished.
Both your mother and father rushed to me and hugged me together.
My father's eyes were bright red and he wiped his tears with a handkerchief repeatedly.
Your mother, her face crumpled up in tears, cried aloud and held me in her arms for a long time.
It is very rare for a mother who was raised as a princess to express her emotions to this extent.
'Why do I look like this? Why do I look like this?
When I was a child and came home after being bullied because of my appearance, I once asked your mother that question.
"I'm sorry.
I'm sorry I couldn't give birth to you beautifully.
I'm sorry I couldn't give you a beautiful birth,' she said, hugging me with her big hands and crying.
I was so shocked by her tears that I stopped talking to my parents after that, even though they abused me.
I didn't want to make my mother sad.
That's what I thought.
I'm sure she's been blaming herself all this time.
I'm sure she's been regretting that she couldn't give birth to me beautifully.
That's why she is so distraught, I thought.
The feelings of your mother and father were so warm that I burst into tears as I hugged them back.
"Gino-sama! ! ! !
I ran up to him.
Anna, do me a favor.
She's my child, will you raise her with me? Gino
Gino-sama said with a troubled smile.
"Of course"
If you come back, I'll raise him with love.
Gino-sama will return.
That's enough for me.
I'm overflowing with tears of joy.
I'm sure the Duke won't object if we have a child together.
'Yes. Yes, yes.
I'll do anything if you come back to me, Gino-sama.
My body is ugly and full of bumps but if that's okay with you then please do as you please.
I was very sad and frustrated when I heard that Gino-sama had a child with another woman.
I too would like to have your child.
Thank you Anna.
I'll always be with you.
"Mr. Gino."
I said Gino's name and stretched out my hand on the bed.
It was a dream, wasn't it?
I must have fallen asleep before I knew it.
I felt a little better after I fell asleep.
I looked at the side of the bed and saw Bridget looking at me with a worried face.
She must have heard me calling out to Gino in my sleep.
Gino will come back with the child.
This is what I imagined many times when I was awake.
It's as if this desire became a dream.
But reality is cruel.
I don't think Lord Gino will abandon his wife and come back to me for the governorship of the House of Cousins.
If anything should happen to her, she will remain loyal to the house and raise her children on her own.
And he would never ask me for premarital sex.
When Bridget once said to Lady Gino, "Do you mean to defile your daughter's virtue? "No way!
I would never do such a thing.
If you have a child, Anna will suffer from the ugly news.
I would never hurt you for a single desire."
He said.
The real Gino is sincere, unlike the dream Gino.
It would be nice if the real Gino were as cunning as the dream Gino.
I hope you will return, even if it is for a knighthood at Seventh Worth.
◆◆◆◆◆
When I opened my eyes, I was on my bed.
It seems I fell asleep before I knew it.
When I woke up, I thought about Mr. Gino again.
In my unglamorous and miserable life, the time I spent with Gino-sama was truly a sparkling and wonderful time.
I don't think I'll ever meet anyone as wonderful as her again.
I don't think there will be a man in the future who will call me pretty when I'm ugly and full of bumps.
"Never give up on happiness.
I have been living my life based on what Gino said to me.
But now that I've lost Gino-sama, how can I hope to be happy?
I feel like I'm going to break.
◆◆◆◆◆
It's probably for the best, if you think about it.
Master Gino can be free from this ugly woman and make love with a normal woman.
I have been called a goblin woman since I was a child, and even recently I have heard the word "goblin lady" mixed in with the whispering voices around me.
Rather than marrying me, you would be happier marrying another ordinary woman.
That's right.
It was a mistake in the first place for such a wonderful woman to become engaged to a woman like me.
It's only natural that mistakes will be corrected.
The mistake has been corrected and you've been returned to your rightful place.
That's all that matters.
If you are happy, that's all that matters.
If you are happy and smiling, I am happy too, and that is my own way of being happy, isn't it?
However, I can't help but overflow with tears.
Why am I so sad that Mr. Gino is now happy?
I never thought I'd fall in love until I met Gino.
It was only a dream to have a picnic with the man I love, or to go for a long ride with him.
I should be satisfied with that, because I was able to actually experience those dreamlike experiences that I thought would never come true.
The time I spent with Mr. Gino was a colorful time.
It was a colorful time, even if it was only for a short time, in my gray life.
I should consider myself lucky for that.
◆◆◆◆◆
How long has it been since the graduation party now?
I haven't had much sleep, but there have been times when I found myself asleep.
Since the graduation party, I have been spending most of my time in bed.
While I was lost in sad thoughts, there was a knock at the door.
It was your father.
He seemed to have a difficult look on his face.
"You seem to have recovered a lot.
Good."
Your father said with kind eyes.
"Isn't that so?"
I replied.
Has he recovered?
I'm not aware of it.
But he is still able to talk, so I guess time has healed him a little.
Your father placed a wooden box on the table.
"This is a medicine that was sent anonymously to our family.
It is said to be a cure for your illness."
He said, tapping the wooden box.
I looked at your father suspiciously.
"So, what does he want to do by sending us that suspicious medicine of unknown origin?
You didn't send that suspicious medicine to us thinking that we would use it, did you? "
Suspicious mail sometimes arrives at our house, but it is usually disposed of by the servants.
Which political rival sent it and with what intention?
Aside from your father, whose job it is to guess, I would not normally receive such a mail.
Unsure of his intentions, I asked him.
"Look at this.
It's the document that came with this medicine.
It's a paper on the principles of your disease and its treatment."
I don't think I would be able to understand something so technical, but I took the paper he offered me and looked at it.
"What? ! !
What is this? ! "
I haven't read it yet, but even so, I recognized it immediately at a glance.
Her handwriting is very good for her age, her writing style is polite and clear, and her handwriting is a bit angular.
There's no way you could mistake it for something else.
It's Mr. Gino's handwriting.
"I hurriedly had the paper read by the court mages.
As you know, magic is a closely guarded secret within the clan and only a small part of it is open to the public, so it's impossible for us non-mages to determine what this paper is about.
That's why I asked a mage to take a look...
He said that the paper is at least 500 years ahead of modern medical magic.
Some of the mages said it was a thousand years ahead."
Tears began to well up in my eyes.
I almost spilled them onto my papers and hurriedly put them on the bed.
I thought my connection with Gino-sama had been severed, but that connection still existed here.
"At least, I had the court pharmacist analyze the ingredients of the potion.
It was said to be enchanted, but I didn't know what kind of enchantment it was.
But the ingredients of the potion are the same as the cure described in the paper.
It's up to you to decide what to do.
You want some? "
My father said as tears welled up in my eyes.
"Of course. I'll take it."
I don't hesitate to answer.
"So you've come to the same conclusion as Jenny."
After letting out a big sigh, your father says so.
Apparently, your mother thinks you should drink too.
"Oh? Is your father against it? "
There doesn't seem to be any reason to be against it, but for some reason your father seems to be against taking the medicine.
"It's a spell of unknown effect.
At worst, you might die."
That's what your father says.
I could die.
Will Master Gino be sad if I die from taking this potion?
It's Gino-sama.
I'm sure he'll at least visit my grave out of a sense of responsibility even if his feelings for me are gone.
Oh?
That's a good idea.
You'll remember me for ten years to come and Gino-sama will visit my grave every year on the anniversary of my death.
Perhaps he will bring a bouquet of flowers?
That's nice.
What I fear most now is that Gino will forget me.
I'll never forget you.
I want Gino-sama to remember me too.
Even if it is a thorn in my heart, I will be extremely happy if you will never forget me.
I didn't know until I lost my love that it was so scary to be erased from the memory of a loved one.
Even if I die, it won't be a bad thing, so I'll just have to take the medicine.
And you forgot your father.
"Lord Gino went to unexcavated ruins in search of a cure for my disease.
This potion must be the culmination of his efforts.
It's impossible for you not to take it."
I learned at the academy that the average survival rate of a challenge to an unexcavated site is about three minutes.
It varies from site to site, but even in low-risk sites, the survival rate is not likely to exceed 10%.
He has done such a dangerous thing for me.
When I realized that Mr. Gino had gone to the unexcavated ruins, my blood really ran cold.
"Yes, but he betrayed you."
I see. So your father was concerned about that.
"Don't worry.
He's moved on to another woman, but I don't think he hates me."
He didn't say anything bad about me at the graduation party either.
Rather, he praised me too much.
So I'm sure you don't hate me.
By the way, you also said that I was the best woman in the world.
At the time, I was so preoccupied with Gino-sama that I didn't care, but I wonder how the people around me looked at me when they thought so highly of an ugly woman like me.
It's scary to think about.
"Then read this."
It was a letter from Mr. Gino written separately from the paper.
Oh.
I could die at any time, couldn't I?
Then it's the same if I take the pill and die.
I have another reason to take the potion.
By the way, even though it's an anonymous letter, it's easy to figure out who wrote it with such concern for me.
For the past month or so, things have not been going well with Mr. Gino, and our engagement has been broken off.
And yet, you have written me such a warm letter now.
I can't read the letter well through my tears.
Following the instructions in the letter, I will concentrate on getting in shape.
I will eat even if I have no appetite, and at night I will use sleeping pills to fall asleep.
Gino-sama took great pains to make this medicine for me.
I'll make sure I'm in good shape and the treatment will be a success.
Oh?
Not long ago, I was thinking of dying, but now I'm thinking of making the cure work.
Are you feeling a little better now that you're back in shape?
Now that you're feeling well enough, it's time to take the medicine.
Since taking the remedy will cause a high fever, you should also take this antipyretic and sleeping pill together.
"Father, mother.
I'm going to take the medicine now.
The cure will take about fourteen hours, so I think we can have lunch tomorrow."
"Keep your mind steady.
Remember that you will live through this."
"Whether you are cured or not, you are still our daughter.
We'll have a feast for you tomorrow for lunch, so make sure you come to the cafeteria."
My father and mother hugged me in turn and encouraged me.
"Bridget.
I've heard that it won't work if I wake up in the middle of the day, so please arrange not to make any noise nearby until I wake up naturally."
"As the mistress of the house, I'll make sure of that."
I was going to ask Bridget to do it, but I think your mother will do it for me.
I'm sure no one will make a scene.
After everyone has left the room, I crawl into bed and take the potion.
As you would expect from a sleeping potion with magic, within a minute I was feeling very sleepy.
Magical medicines take effect much faster than ordinary medicines, but the cure for this strange disease takes 14 hours.
It's a very special medicine.
While I was thinking about this, I fell asleep.
◆◆◆◆◆
Slowly my consciousness awoke, and I opened my eyes.
I looked to my side and saw Bridget crying silently.
"Aaahhhh.
That's my girl. Good grief.
Wake up!"
Sobbing, Bridget hugs me.
Oh. She was worried that I might not wake up.
"My lady. Look quickly."
Then Bridget holds out the mirror.
"Is that... me? "
In the mirror, I see a beautiful woman with silver hair and young grass-colored eyes, with a face very similar to your mother's.
I wonder if this is really my face.
I've become a completely different person in one night.
I couldn't feel that the unfamiliar woman's face was my own, and I kept looking into the mirror from different angles.
"Now, young lady.
Let's get you dressed and show your appearance to the Master and Mistress.
They've been waiting for you in the dining room all morning."
I stared at the mirror for a long time, and before I knew it, Brigitte was back on her feet and ready for the morning.
As I was getting dressed, I saw that the bumps were gone not only from my face but also from my whole body.
(You did it! Gino-sama!
We've succeeded in making the cure! )
I'll tell Gino in my heart.
◆◆◆◆◆
"Anna! ? You're Anna! ? "
"Are you really... Anna? ? "
When the servant opened the dining room door, your father and mother stood up and were astonished.
Both your mother and father rushed to me and hugged me together.
My father's eyes were bright red and he wiped his tears with a handkerchief repeatedly.
Your mother, her face crumpled up in tears, cried aloud and held me in her arms for a long time.
It is very rare for a mother who was raised as a princess to express her emotions to this extent.
'Why do I look like this? Why do I look like this?
When I was a child and came home after being bullied because of my appearance, I once asked your mother that question.
"I'm sorry.
I'm sorry I couldn't give birth to you beautifully.
I'm sorry I couldn't give you a beautiful birth,' she said, hugging me with her big hands and crying.
I was so shocked by her tears that I stopped talking to my parents after that, even though they abused me.
I didn't want to make my mother sad.
That's what I thought.
I'm sure she's been blaming herself all this time.
I'm sure she's been regretting that she couldn't give birth to me beautifully.
That's why she is so distraught, I thought.
The feelings of your mother and father were so warm that I burst into tears as I hugged them back.