I’m All Out of Health!

Chapter 9

“Here we are, Lady Ninenya.”

“Please sit down here. Let me help you.”

The butler and the head maid worked in perfect harmony, directing me toward a pretty sofa. The golden armrests of the white sofa gleamed in the sunlight.

A sofa in a garden?

The butler had no taste when it came to furniture, but I had given up caring about such small things.

“Huh?”

I felt a small piece of fluff on my lips. I picked at it, wondering what it was, and then saw my maids opening a thick cover.

“What…”

What are they up to this time?

“Are you sure this will be enough? The wind is strong.”

“It’s still early in the morning, and it’s chilly.”

Lindsey and Lia, the trusted aides of the head maid Sarah, were worried.

“I’m afraid it’s the best we can do. Let’s hope it works,” Sarah said.

She clutched the fluffy cover with much determination, as though she were a soldier leaving for war. She approached me first, with Lindsey and Lia loyally flanking her. If anyone had seen them like that, they would have thought that they were about to face some kind of huge challenge.

Lindsey dashed over to me and put a warm stone on my lap.

“Here, Lady Ninenya. This will warm you up.”

It was too heavy for me to move, so I had no choice but to keep it there.

Then Sarah approached, spreading out the cover. I gave her a puzzled look, doubting if she was doing what I thought she was doing. It turned out I was right, and Sarah started wrapping me up in the blanket. The experienced head maid wrapped it around me again and again as though I were a spool. When she was done, she wiped her forehead and backed away.

Then I locked eyes with Meya, who was drenched and kneeling.

The maids had made a fuss about the day being cold, but the truth was that the weather was excellent. The morning sunlight and warm breeze had almost dried the girl’s clothes already.

Meya looked calm, gazing at me with pity as I trembled from embarrassment. The heroine was pitying me before I even said a word.

This is mortifying…

I put a hand on my head, suddenly feeling dizzy.

“My lady—”

Sarah started to rush toward me, but I stopped her with a wave of my hand.

“Stop! Just leave me alone…”

I knew I sounded miserable. I was feeling miserable.

Sarah gave Meya a harsh glare, clearly thinking it was all her fault. Then the others followed suit and glowered at her as well.

You dare to make our lady come out here with your childish act? She’s just gotten better. If she catches another cold, it might actually kill her!

That was what Sarah said with her eyes, and both Meya and I understood it. But instead of being afraid of all the accusing glares, Meya started to regret her actions. Tears welled up in her eyes, and I was very puzzled.

But why? I haven’t said anything. I felt like a mean girl bullying a kid with a pack of friends.

“First…”

I wanted to ask why she had washed the horse here, but the situation bothered me too much. Everyone else was standing up, but Meya had been kneeling there for an hour. I feared her legs might hurt.

“Get up,” I said in the coldest tone I was capable of. And yet, it was obvious that I was worried about her.

I was from the contemporary world, and it felt inhumane to have a person kneel for a whole hour. Of course, there were much harsher punishments here. Having a slave starve and kneel for three days and nights was standard. They could die or lose their legs, but slave owners cared very little about their well-being, so it happened all the time.

“My kind master…”

Meya’s voice was thick with tears, and I looked away sheepishly.

“Why were you washing that horse here?”

I tried to sound severe, but I couldn’t help softening my tone a little. I sounded like a nice teacher asking a troublemaker why she’d done what she’d done.

“It’s all my fault, Master!” Meya shouted, bowing her face to the ground.

“N-no. I’m not trying to scold you. I’m asking because I’m curious.”

I stammered a little because I was flustered, then gestured for her to stand up.

She stole a glance, then slowly got up and replied, “The horse’s name is Kurz, and I take care of him in the stables. But he ran here while I was bringing water to wash him. I chased him, but he must have touched the mana stone with one of his hooves because we suddenly got sprayed with water. I should have stopped him, but he was so overjoyed, and I got excited too, so…”

“Hmm…”

I knew there was no way she would have done that for herself.

Well, he is a very cute horse.

The young and innocent horse didn’t understand what was going on, yet his wide, soft eyes seemed to beg me not to punish Meya.

Back in the world I was from, it was nothing to be mad about. A girl played with a horse and sprayed some water—that was all. But it wasn’t taken that way in this world. Everyone thought the slave had dared to use her mistress’s mana stone to have some fun. That was the cold reality.

So how should I use this to my advantage?

My lips almost curled up, but I didn’t let them.

“That excuse is not good enough,” I said in a feigned icy voice. “You should have taken care of the horse. That’s your duty, after all.”

“I will gladly take any punishment.”

“It’s not a punishment if you’re glad about it.”

“Please punish me harshly.”

Meya’s face hardened. I liked the way her eyes were shining.

Maybe she can be useful to me. I was going to have to test her further, but that was the first impression I got. However, I now had a problem: I’d never punished anyone before.

“I should punish you, but I don’t know how…”

“Excuse me?” Meya asked, having heard what I’d just said to myself.

I held my chin high and declared as arrogantly as I could, “I’m still thinking about it. I need more time—I want to give you an extremely severe punishment.”

“Yes, Master…”

I was bluffing, of course, but Meya nodded seriously.

“Come to my room tomorrow at this hour. I want to mull it over for a day.”

“I will, Master…”

Meya’s shoulders drooped sadly.

She and I were the same age, but she looked somewhat younger. She looked like a small boy, and I thought she was adorable.

“Leave now.”

I almost smiled, but I managed to hold back as I dismissed her.

I shouldn’t make this decision rashly. I was going to keep Meya with me and watch her. I wanted to find out how I could use the heroine to my advantage. Of course, to do that, I’ll have to survive first…

Perhaps it was all futile. It would do me no good if I died.

“I want to be alone,” I said to make everyone leave.

If this was all going to be in vain, I wanted to at least enjoy the sunlight while I was in the garden.

I sat and stared blankly, which was what I did all the time in my bed, but at least I could see the sky—it made all the difference. I saw a giant oak tree with green leaves. Its leaves turned white in the sunlight, then regained their fresh green hue. The tree must have lived for centuries. Compared to that, human lives were short. I wished I could live as long as an average human, even though it would be much shorter compared to the tree.

“How long will I get to live?” I asked myself.

But the answer came from someone else.

“Five months, if you’re lucky.”

I had asked, so he told me. I was a poor girl who didn’t have long to live, and he was probably the only person who would break that kind of news without any hesitation.

“Five months…”

I liked that he didn’t pity me at all, so I smiled brilliantly. His calm, indifferent gaze made me happy.

“Why?”

“Excuse me?”

In a good mood, I wiggled my legs.

“You’re like froth,” I said.

“What?”

“You’re all white, but only your eyes sparkle in blue. It’s strange.”

“Excuse me? Would you keep those kinds of thoughts to yourself, please?”

“You look like you will disappear soon, so why do you smile like that all the time?”

“Ha… You wouldn’t answer any of my questions, so why are you so curious about me?”

“Curious… Well, I’m not sure.”

“Then you’re a fool. You don’t know yourself.”

I cackled like a witch and mocked Kaisar.

“Indeed, I am a fool,” he said. “I didn’t know that before. I am a fool—”

“S-stop saying that! Now you’re making me feel bad!”

I quickly raised a hand to stop him. After all, it wasn’t like I wanted to hide the reason from him.

“I smiled because five months is longer than I expected. Happy now?”