North x Northwest

“I see. I saw something similar when my uncle passed away.”

Linhardt, who was wearing a justaucorps3, shrugged his shoulders. The blue velvet with silk suited him very well. Levi too got up from her seat and approached him. Even though the servant had finished the job neatly, she fumbled with his collar for no reason.

“What was that?”

Linhardt twirled his fingers in front of his face.

“His face.”

“Was it that bad?”

“…Hm, anyway, she said she’d rather die, right? Why is that?”

“What’s with your tone…”

“I don’t like that woman.”

Levi, who was tidying up Linhardt’s cravat, laughed out loud.

“Ah, what? You met her once and you can already tell?”

“…Now that we’re on the subject of parasites. The fact we have a second one really bothers me.”

“Aww, how cute.”

“…”

When Levi pinched Linhardt’s cheek, his pale skin stretched like dough. The attendants glanced at Levi, who called a man over two metres tall cute. Unconcerned, Levi patted Linhardt’s chest and smiled brightly.

“Don’t worry. I’ll find out what’s going on. She’s a critically ill patient who needs to be monitored and taken care of anyway.”

“…”

Levi hummed as she left the cabinet.

“…I like Visha. Very much…”

***

Lil stood in front of the mirror and burst out laughing.

“…Is this me?”

She ran her hand over her cheek and squeezed it. She found herself so ugly that she thought that Ed should’ve been the one who was supposed to be afraid, not herself. She even felt embarrassed that she had been screaming at him while shaking her head like a madman. Lil touched the skin beneath her hollow eyes. The woman she saw in the mirror has sunken cheeks and a generally cranial face. 

Lil then lifted her skinny arm and looked at it.

“That’s why I was so helpless yesterday.”

Lil clenched her fist and turned her wrist. Her eyes weren’t deceiving her, she truly hadn’t any muscles left. 

‘Looking at my current state, I must’ve endured hell…’

Lil initially thought that it was amazing that she managed to survive. But when she remembered that her arms had the power of a mere rat’s tail and couldn’t even shake Ed’s hand off, she groaned.

“Damn it!”

‘I have to get my body back quickly.’ 

The maids shrugged their shoulders, terrified of the crazy-looking Lil. Her hair was still a mess, and the white negligee she was wearing was splattered with red ink from her scuffle at dawn. 

Walking around, Lil spotted a tray and headed straight for it. Seeing Lil drink the soup straight from the bowl, the maid holding the tray trembled and quickly bowed her head. As the cold soup went in well, Lil swallowed it all and wiped her mouth with her sleeve when she was done.

“Is there any meat?”

Maybe they all thought that Lil was talking to herself, so the maid with her head lowered to the floor belatedly looked up. Then, when her eyes met Lil’s, she hurriedly lowered her eyes again as if she had seen a ghost. 

“But Miss Levi said that your diet…”

“Who is Levi? And who is she to decide on my diet?”

“…I think that will be me?..”

Lil looked around in search of the owner of the intrusive voice. She was easy to spot because Levi was standing tall over the maids. Eventually, a woman with pale skin and black hair in a high ponytail walked into the room. Her round eyes, without double eyelids, smiled gently at Lil.

Lil shut her mouth for no apparent reason.

‘Perhaps because the Retiro’s are originally a Northern Continental family, but all the people who reside here are clearly from the North. They all have dark hair, blue eyes, pale bluish skin and long limbs. The imperials refer to them as people from the ‘ghost-soaked tribes’ because they appear cold compared to the people of the Empire. And just in any other cases, the Empire unquestionably holds the world record for using childishly racist terms.’

As if the maids had been waiting for her, they quickly left the room upon Levi’s entrance. She looked really tall in her drab dress of apricot-coloured taffeta silk. Almost as tall as Ed. But on the Northern Continent, that height was the norm. Lil tilted her head and looked up at Levi, she then said hello when Levi greeted her first. 

With Levi bowing her head, Lil became wary. After all, Levi was the one who put Lil to sleep last night with an anaesthetic incense. Lil instantly suspected that she must’ve lit the same incense before talking to her. However, Levi merely put her arm gently on Lil’s arm, embarrassing Lil with the gentle action. And just as she did hours again, Levi guided Lil to the bed. 

Lil sat down on the bed and looked at Levi, who was taking a seat across from her.

“I’m Levi Grits, I’m a doctor. Edgar asked me to help you…”

“A doctor?”

“Yes?”

Lil asked back, wondering if she had heard it wrong.

“What do you mean you’re a doctor?”

Levi had always been kind and gentle, but her eyebrows twitched upon hearing Lil’s question. And when she opened her eyes wide, her black pupils expanded even more.

“Why, when a woman says she’s a doctor, does that sound like nonsense? Do you think I’m a bluffing midwife?”

“It’s not like that.”

Levi’s eyes softened at Lil’s immediate denial. She sighed and continued her words.

“I’m sorry I put you to bed yesterday. But if the pain had started again, it would’ve probably been unbearable for you. It was also crucial for your fever to break, else I wasn’t sure when you would wake up next or if it left any damage to your head. I made the decision as a doctor, so please understand even if you felt uncomfortable.”

“Why is that…”

“You… have no idea what your condition is? What the hell did Edgar do after he woke you up?”

“What?”

“No, first of all, you’re a critically ill patient who needs absolute rest. You woke up after being in a coma for more than a month and a half, so you shouldn’t think of your body as your old one. It’s actually more realistic to think of your body as a freshly awakened corpse. So, you have to be very careful with each step you take.”

“..?!”

‘A freshly awakened corpse? Is she saying that if I take a wrong step, I could die… again?’

“You’re the living witness of the fact that you are alive and moving, which in itself is a miracle, it’s even something that will be talked about for hundreds of years if reported to the academic world… Anyway, you should only eat food that’s easy to digest for at least the next two or three days. Don’t even dream about meat.”

“All right, I understand.”

“…”

Lil replied calmly. If she said no, she would be ignoring a doctor’s opinion and that was something she didn’t want to do. She’s already been rude to Levi once. So this time, Lil wanted to respect her occupation.

“And I didn’t think you were a midwife. I’m sorry if it sounded that way.”

“That’s fine. You don’t have to try so hard to be so polite to me either. My father doesn’t have a title in the Empire. And that’s how it works here, right? I’m just a foreigner without a bloodline.”

“Okay.”

“So take it easy and relax. May I know your name?”

Hearing that question, Lil suddenly realised that she was an unidentified woman here. With that, Lil assumed that both Sagastar and Ed must’ve kept her identity to themselves, giving her the feeling she should do as well. But at the same time, she felt like she had to be courteous to her hostess Levi, who was elegantly dressed and took care of the maids with ease. However, there was no reason for Levi to be close to her. 

‘What kind of situation am I in? Assuming that Levi might not know anything yet. From her point of view, my awkward response can easily be mistaken for a naive young lady who is unfamiliar with her surroundings.’ 

Lil focused on her thoughts and unintentionally frowned. Whereas Lil looked like a person who was preparing for a bloody fight, Levi looked incredibly peaceful yet a little confused.

Levi asked cautiously, as though she had read Lil’s mind. 

“Why are you so wary?”

“…I’m not.”

“Is it because you’re upset with Edgar?”

“What?”

“It’s okay. There’s not a single person on Edgar’s side in this residence. Edgar, um… should I call him a guest? Or even a parasite in this household? It’s kind of like that.”

Lil asked back at the absurd statement.

“Isn’t he the Marquess?”

“Linhardt is actually in charge of the manor affairs. So if Linhardt says Edgar is a parasite, then he is one.”

“Why…”

“Ah. Well, when Edgar became an admiral, he had to detach himself from the residence for so long that Linhardt, who was only supposed to be responsible for the residence’s work and the governor’s office, ended up managing the rest of the territory as well.”

“Then who is Linhardt? Is he the governor of Roahn?”

 – – – – –

Footnote:

3. justaucorps: A long garment for men that is close-fitting at the torso and opens slightly at the bottom.