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“I’M home.”
“Welcome back, Nina.”
When she got back, Nina slowly opened the door and found Aida in a chair waiting for her. She’d told her she could go to sleep before she got home, but Aida had apparently decided to stay up.
However, her complexion wasn’t looking good at all.
“Mom, are you feeling bad again?! You shouldn’t push yourself so hard; you need to go lie down.”
Nina rushed over and touched Aida’s cheek. It wasn’t hot but instead freezing cold.
Nina felt the blood drain from her face, but Aida’s expression was relaxed. “Did you have fun, Nina?”
“Oh, none of that matters. Wait a sec, I’m gonna get your bed together.”
“It’ll be hard in that outfit. Come here.”
Aida was right; there was no way Nina could make a bed in this gown. Frustratedly, she moved over as Aida beckoned her, who then started slowly unlacing the gown. Every single lace of the corset annoyed her right now.
“It’s a good thing you were able to borrow such a lovely dress,” noted Aida. “It makes me happy to see you all dressed up and cute.” Her voice was nothing but tenderness despite how ill she looked, which nearly brought Nina to tears.
She tossed aside the dress and shoes and rushed into Aida’s room in nothing but her undergarments, where she made the bed and put out a glass of water.
After helping Aida into bed and closing the door behind her as she left, Nina was hit with embarrassment for how swept away she got during tonight’s event. It was no party for her; it was work. She shouldn’t have bothered with dancing and have come home right away.
She picked up the dress, wiping away tears as she did, and took a deep breath.
The doctor had told them how long they expected Aida to live, and that point had already passed. Nina knew all this, but it still didn’t feel real because the contract was relieving her pain. Aida was definitely not cured, and even if Nina fulfilled the contract, she likely couldn’t extend this extra time with Aida much more.
And yet, it was the only thing she could do. She couldn’t let herself get her priorities mixed up. Aida was priority number one. And for that, Nina had to go through with the downfall.
She’d been told that the god’s power didn’t cure Aida; it only relieved pain. Even with that, it was evident that Aida’s condition had deteriorated in the past few days. It was possible her illness had advanced so far that not even the god could do anything.
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AFTER getting some rest the day after Nina’s party, Aida seemed to regain some strength back, but her limit was likely very close. Nina thought she’d already come to grips with that, but it was still a shock to have reality shoved in her face.
“Nina… Those aren’t weeds.”
Dino’s voice brought her out of her reverie and made her realize she’d pulled the seedlings straight out of the soil. “I-I’m so sorry. I’ll fix it.”
“It’s not a big deal. I only recently planted them. They should be fine if we put them back,” he placated as he reached toward the mound of seedlings Nina had accumulated and swiftly began replanting.
He was such a good farmer; it was hard to believe he was a prince.
Nina had been trying to give her all to her heroine work, cleaning and helping with the vegetable patch, but honestly…she didn’t remember any of it. She’d been like that ever since Aida became bedbound.
“You don’t seem as lively as usual,” Dino observed.
“Really?”
“I mentioned it to Ed. He’s worried about you.”
It had been a few days since the party, but she hadn’t seen Ed. Her head was filled entirely with Aida, but the mention of Ed reminded her that the feline servant of the god wasn’t a feline after all. “Ed isn’t actually a cat,” she muttered.
“Yeah, I know.”
“And he’s the son of a duke.”
“Yeah. We’ve been good friends for a long time. And he’s in the same class. He doesn’t come to the academy that often, so I don’t think many people know him.”
“Oh.” She was so fatigued that that was the strongest reaction she could muster in response to Dino’s explosive news.
It truthfully made sense that the prince would at least know the duke’s son. In any case, Nina couldn’t imagine what it was like; their social standings were so high above hers. He must also be the same age if they were in the same class. She thought it was incredibly unfair that he got his good looks and she hadn’t—they’d been developing and maturing for the same number of years.
“Is that…why you seem down?” asked Dino.
“Well, it was pretty shocking to learn that ultimate fluff ball wasn’t actually a real cat.”
“Uh, that’s the problem?”
“What do you mean?” What could possibly be the problem besides the sheer shock of learning that beautiful cat wasn’t a cat?
“Well, I thought maybe you’d drawn a line in the sand because he’s the son of a duke.”
“Drawn a line?” she repeated, bewildered at his accusation.
He scratched his head. “Uh-huh, okay… I see why Ed’s having trouble too.”
“He’s having trouble as the son of a duke? Well, I guess having a high status comes with its own problems.”
Edmund may be blessed with both status and looks, but he also had a weak body that didn’t seem good for much.
Maybe, in the end, everyone was struggling just because they were alive.
Nina sighed, and Dino sighed along with her.
“By the way, you mentioned Ed was a cat earlier when he visited you. Did he tell you he was human?” asked Nina.
“No. Before, he had threatened to make me king. You also mentioned that most people would think that’d be good. But then I literally looked at him and recognized his colors.”
“That’s when you figured it out.”
It was a very distinct color combination. A close friend could very well discern who it was based on that.
Nina wondered if Ed was genuinely trying to hide his identity. If he was, he should’ve done something about his colors.
“Ed, well, Edmund, I guess, isn’t sick, but his body is weak,” continued Dino. “He only learned he was also reincarnated because of this contract scenario with Clarissa, and he decided to go with it because he always worried that his poor constitution burdened the people around him.”
“Yeah…”
Which meant that Ed also desperately wanted Nina to play a wonderful heroine and meet her downfall. She had to work hard—for Aida, Edmund, Dino, and even Clarissa.
“Your Highness,” she started. “I’m gonna work hard. Please help me by acting like we’re close until the day of my downfall.”
And, as she declared, Nina acted like she and Dino were close from that day on. Obviously, she also didn’t forget to get into tiffs with Clarissa. She put her all into cleaning, turning the already tidy academy into a sparkling gem.
Aida’s condition remained poor, but Nina did everything she could to make sure she was at least comfortable.