Chapter 86: Chapter 86

Living as Siora Bonetti truly brings a variety of experiences.

I tied the curtain into a makeshift rope and tossed it out the window.

A moment later, someone tugged at the fabric, struggling to climb up.

Finally, a head of silver hair peeked over the windowsill.

With a face red as a beet, the young man gasped out—

That seemed to be the last of his strength.

Gavotte Bonetti collapsed onto the floor.

His chest heaved violently, his breath ragged and labored as if his lungs might give out at any moment.

From my shoulder, Pianissimo looked down at him with pity.

"Work on your stamina."

"S-Shut up—huff, huff!"

The state he was in, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he did drop dead.

Honestly, seeing him ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) made me think it was a good thing I had ended up in Siora’s body instead.

I handed him a glass of water while glancing toward the door.

It would be great if Cruello took his time getting here.

"So why exactly did you sneak in?"

"What?! You were the one who tossed down the curtain!"

"Yeah, well, it just seemed fun."

Pianissimo had been the one creeping in so suspiciously—who wouldn’t have thought he was trying to sneak in?

It was obvious. Blaming me was unfair.

"Do you think I wanted to climb in ?"

"Did Cruello not let you in?"

"Of course not! Why do you think I had Pianissimo spying for me?!"

Gavotte huffed and downed his water in one go—only to immediately start coughing, choking on it.

Did he realize he was making a racket despite sneaking in?

"Hicc—cough! Hrk...!"

"You look more like a patient than I do, Gavotte."

I was just stating the truth, so I didn’t get why he was glaring at me.

"How’s your body, anyway? You look surprisingly okay."

"Eh, I probably lost some of my lifespan."

"What?! ...How much?!"

He made a strange face at my vague estimation.

Siora Bonetti barely had three years left to live—how much would I regret this later?

Clicking my tongue, I squatted down and shook my head.

"You call yourself family, but you don’t actually care much, do you? You didn’t even come to the ball."

"Seriously, at the very least, Minuet should have been there. It was the Emperor’s birthday celebration, and the new Count didn't bother showing up? That takes guts."

When I infiltrated the ballroom under a disguise, I had wandered around before the Emperor arrived.

Since it was his birthday, I was certain the Bonetti siblings would be there.

I had even considered slipping them a message to let them know I was alive—out of generosity, mind you.

But they hadn’t shown up at all.

Did they want to get blacklisted by the Emperor?!

Gavotte's absurd question made me widen my eyes.

"What?! No! I was worried! I thought you’d gone insane!"

"Sounds like an excuse, but we really had no choice. The Bonetti estate was under surveillance."

"After you disappeared like that, Minuet shredded the imperial investigation order."

"When the palace sent people, she told them to stop spewing nonsense and bring real evidence first."

"...Did she actually say that?"

"She phrased it politely, but everyone knew what she meant."

Gavotte’s expression was conflicted as he recalled the event, but there was a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

"Yes! You showed up that day with the Duke—but you never mentioned any of this?"

Minuet had really done all that?

There was no benefit to her doing so.

But Gavotte didn’t seem to be lying.

Maybe she had actually appreciated what happened at Whistle.

Or maybe she thought she owed me a bigger debt than I expected.

I felt oddly awkward and started fidgeting with the hem of my sleeve.

"So what exactly happened? I thought things were settled after that day, but you never returned home and instead holed up here."

"I couldn’t even see you properly because the Duke wouldn’t let me in!"

Gavotte practically shouted in frustration.

But I could already guess why Cruello had kept him out.

While I was unconscious, any visitors were more likely than not hostile.

So he had shut them out.

Of course, I couldn’t say it outright, so I glossed over it.

"That day... I kind of got caught up in some black magic. So I ended up sleeping longer than expected."

"Longer? Wait—you were unconscious this whole time?"

Gavotte immediately grabbed my arms, pulling me left and right as if checking for hidden injuries.

His frantic inspection was extremely distracting—but just slightly touching.

So I let him do as he pleased.

Finally, after confirming that I was physically fine, he released me.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

"Siora... there’s something wrong with your body, isn’t there?"

"No matter how bad the magic was, this isn’t normal! You keep collapsing, and even—"

He hesitated, then lowered his voice.

"Minuet told me. You have amnesia, don’t you?"

"...Minuet told you that?"

"Damn it. So it’s true."

"She only mentioned it in case it became relevant. Even then, she wasn’t sure if it was a joke or not."

"Uh—no, I mean—it’s not that big of a deal."

"You always say we’re family, but you keep secrets . So what? You trust Minuet more than me?"

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“...Gavotte? Are you crying?”

“I know I’m not the most reliable person. But does that mean you should just keep things from me? This isn’t the first time, Siora—sniff.”

“Oh, no, wait! I just— I just didn’t want you to worry!”

He’s actually crying.

All because I hid my amnesia?

This was even harder to comprehend than when I summoned Pianissimo.

Not knowing what to do, I waved my hands awkwardly in the air before checking my pockets.

No handkerchief, obviously.

With no other choice, I grabbed the curtain he had climbed up on and started wiping his face.

“For crying out loud—you're eighteen! Eighteen! Stop crying, what if Cruello walks in?”

“Do you—huff—think I want to cry?! You—hic—you hid something like that from me...”

“Fine! I won’t hide anything anymore! I’ll tell you everything, okay?!”

And just like that, I realized I had walked straight into a trap.

Gavotte immediately grabbed my wrist.

“Then answer me. Are you really a priest of an ancient church?”

His green eyes were still wet with tears, but the intensity in them was sharp.

For the first time, I could see that he was truly Minuet’s brother.

I blinked in surprise.

Wait... had I just been tricked?

“Where is this coming from? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Marquis Somon’s corpse was found drenched in divine power. The temple is in chaos. They detected massive traces of holy energy, but no one has stepped forward as the culprit. Investigations are happening everywhere, but they have no real suspect.”

“But I started thinking about the people who disappeared from the ballroom that night.”

They all came to mind in an instant.

“Of course, the public isn’t really suspecting you. The Duke, though... well, people are keeping an eye on him. But I—”

Gavotte took a deep breath before continuing.

“I’m not that oblivious. I’ve known for a while now that there’s something going on with you.”

“And that was before I caught you sneaking into the Black Serpent’s base in a ridiculous outfit.”

I had to admit, I had underestimated Gavotte.

I had only shared a few things with him around the time of the Ares hunt.

Before that, I had assumed he would just attribute anything strange to Cruello.

“No matter what you say now, I know you’re keeping things from me. Even the things you told Minuet.”

“I don’t know if this will make you feel better, but I barely told Minuet anything either.”

Judging by his raised eyebrow, it didn’t make him feel better.

“Still, you just promised you wouldn’t hide things anymore. So, don’t you owe me at least one answer? Even if it’s not this one?”

“...Fine! I’ll answer one question.”

“Are you really Siora Bonetti?”

Throwing in a worse question afterward was just unfair.

I scowled at him, but my mind immediately echoed with Minuet’s voice.

"You’re really Siora Bonetti, aren’t you?"

Yep. Definitely siblings.

I let out a long sigh and muttered—

“Oh, hell, I should’ve asked something—”

“I am a priest of an ancient church.”

Gavotte’s eyes widened in shock.

I only had to answer one question, so it didn’t matter which one.

Though maybe... I had ended up answering both.

He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Since I had fulfilled my end of the deal, it was my turn to ask.

“What exactly is happening outside? You said they’re watching Cruello, but it seems pretty quiet.”

“The temple keeps sending people. They’re supposedly here to ‘assist’ but are actually examining Darling’s condition under the guise of helping.”

A new voice cut into the conversation, startling me.

I turned my head quickly.

A man was already leaning against the open door.

Holding a tray of soup.

“I waited patiently for your emotional reunion to end. Did I interrupt too soon?”

Gavotte stiffened like a cat with its fur raised, glaring at him.

Meanwhile, my thoughts raced.

Had he heard about my amnesia?

Anxious, I quickly replayed the last few minutes in my head.

The other thing that unsettled me was that I hadn’t even noticed when he opened the door.

I needed to do better.

Regardless of our reactions, Cruello calmly walked in and placed the tray on the table.

Then, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, he pulled out a chair for me.

All of it was far too casual.

“Did you really think I’d let you dump meat into a stomach that’s had nothing in it for days?”

“I never said I wouldn’t eat it. I already learned my lesson last time after trying to eat steak and getting sick.”

“I’m so proud of you, Darling. Look at you, growing into such a mature adult.”

“You’re treating me like a kid.”

Grumbling, I picked up the spoon.

“Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be entertained by this guy while you eat.”