Chapter 51: Lost Switch (1)

Yukomis, sitting across from Minon, looked nothing like she remembered.
The last time she saw Yukomis, she was a person full of confidence and self-esteem, as overbearing as she was.

“I’m sorry for visiting you so suddenly. I’m… Lady Yukomis.”
“…Yes.”

She had never expected to see such a gloomy and static figure.
Was this what she always looked like at the mansion?

“Please have some. Baron Minon.”
“Ah, yes, yes…”

No… more than that expression.
She now had such a lack of composure, as if she was at her limit…

“Thank you.”

That wasn’t the only thing that was burdensome.

For some reason, the person who brought her tea wasn’t an ordinary maid, but the head maid.

Head Maid Parnen, a member of the Solenas family and the Duke’s confidante.

Strictly speaking, she was closer to a status where she should get up and serve, not be served.

Humbly always serving Yukomis at the mansion,

but if Parnen were to appear at the Imperial Palace, nobles who wanted to create even a small connection with her would gather like clouds.

“Parnen makes tea very well.”

Yukomis said dryly, lifting her teacup.

“I’m a little worried because it’s the first time with these tea leaves… I wonder if it suits your taste.”
Parnen, who was standing beside her, also said with a smile.

“Ah, no, no. It tastes better than what I made…”

“I also really like the Baron’s gift.”

The gift was the young sprouts of the mist grass that Yukomis was drinking now. She had brought it, wondering if she liked it at the Irendel mansion, and fortunately, it seemed to suit her taste quite well.

“I saw the letter.”

In an awkward atmosphere, they savored the tea for a while,
then Minon spoke first.

“I… I really received the large sum of money you sent.”

“Did the knights I sent do their job properly?”

She asked, but it was a tone that didn’t doubt at all that they would handle it well.

“Yes. Everyone was actually too kind to me.”

Yukomis didn’t seem to have any feelings about giving such a huge favor.
It would be more comfortable for Minon if she pretended to be a little bit pretentious, given the amount of money and knights she had dispatched.

“That… the gold coins…”
“Don’t worry about it.”

Yukomis, who said that, looked more anxious than pretentious.
Rather, Yukomis was glancing at Minon’s face,
and she noticed that she was glancing out the window several times.
Was she waiting for someone?

“I can’t help but worry. I didn’t hear any explanation. At least I need to know why you gave it…”

“Sign…”

Yukomis stammered for a moment.

“So ‘Signo’ saved my life.”

“What happened?”

“That is…”

She seemed to be choosing the right word.

“I got sick on the trip.”

“Sick?”

“Yes. It was quite a serious illness. But Signo did a good job of first aid.”

It wasn’t as much as a letter, but it was still an indirect and fragmentary explanation.
Minon got the impression that there were many facts she wanted to hide from her.

“That’s all. So you don’t have to refuse it, or anything.”

Of course, Minon couldn’t do that easily.

When the difference in status between families was this large, it was difficult to refuse a favor.

“Then… let’s put that aside…”

This was what Minon really wanted to ask.

“What about the letters that came after that?”

Yukomis didn’t answer and just sipped her tea.

“You said to Signo… as if something was wrong. But you didn’t give me any explanation…”

In fact, it was a far cry from being polite.

Suddenly visiting the Duke’s mansion without an appointment and asking the Duchess questions like this was like questioning her.

However, Yukomis and Parnen, who was standing beside her, understood that Minon was naturally in a position to do so,
so they didn’t push her with authority.

Because she was family. Because she was worried about her family.

They both knew that Minon had the right to do so.

“Is there something wrong with Signo?”

“It depends on your point of view.”

It was still a vague answer.

With just that word, Minon’s anxiety was already soaring.

“Please don’t beat around the bush and answer me properly.”

“…Baron.”

Yukomis, who had been sipping tea for a long time, finally spoke with difficulty.

“It’s a really complicated story to explain.”

It looked like it just by looking at Yukomis’s expression, who was avoiding the topic.

“But today, Signa isn’t here, and you must be tired from your long journey…”

After speaking, Yukomis got up first without the other person’s consent.

“Let’s talk about this again tomorrow.”

“Wa, wait a minute!”

Minon unconsciously tried to follow Yukomis, who was running away from the seat. But just before she could do that, there was a hand that gently wrapped around her shoulder and stopped her.

It was Parnen.

“Baron Minon.”

Parnen gently shook her head.

“I’m really sorry. But you can’t follow her.”

Knock knock.

“Signa…”

Unlike usual, Yukomis came to the detached palace late in the afternoon.

“Open the door.”

Knock knock knock.

“Signa. I have something to say. Let’s talk while looking at each other.”

Knock knock knock knock.

“Please.”

After having a brief meeting with Minon during the day, she became acutely uneasy.
As soon as the sun went down and she was out of the public eye, Yukomis had secretly come to this place.

‘I can go back to the main house today.’

What filled Yukomis’s mind the most at the meeting with Minon was none other than the words Signa had said.

Minon’s impression that she seemed to be looking at her side was accurate.

She kept looking towards the detached palace without realizing it.

‘Let’s keep our distance for a while.’

Yukomis didn’t know how to accept the fact that Minon had visited her as soon as Signa had said that.

“You’re listening, right. Just say something…”

Your family has come to see you.

Those words came up to her throat, but Yukomis couldn’t do that.

Signa’s other words and intentions were all forgotten by Minon’s visit,
and the only thing that filled her mind was the fact that ‘Signa might leave her.’

Sister.

Yukomis was reminded of the fact that Signa had a great resistance to calling her sister.

Why did she hate it so much?

Was she embarrassed because she was a boy until recently?

Logically speaking, that was right. That was the most natural explanation.

But… But. What Yukomis was thinking now was.

Could it be that Signa thought that her only sister was ‘Minon’?

Even if she insisted that they were family, all that tied Yukomis and Signa together was the relationship of ‘godmother,’ a guardian with almost no legal obligations.

In comparison, Minon and Signa were a real family, tied together by blood and more than ten years of time.

Yukomis suddenly recalled how ridiculous it was to call herself sister in front of Minon.

Even though Signa was rejecting her so much.

If she said that Minon, her ‘real’ sister… now her ‘real sister,’ had come to see her,
wouldn’t she run to Minon without hesitation?

‘Real sister’

As she repeated that word, Yukomis felt like her heart stopped.

Would she choose Minon over herself, who was so annoying and bothersome, visiting her every morning and knocking on the door?

If Minon, who was terribly angry that her younger sibling’s s*x had changed, insisted that Signa break off ties with this cold-blooded, crazy woman immediately,
would she willingly do so?

It was a ridiculous, stupid, and crazy thought.

If she had calmly looked back at Signa’s attitude towards her, it was clear that such a thing would never happen.

However, Yukomis’s rational reason and thinking power really couldn’t exert any power if Signa was involved.

That terribly bad habit, of only having self-deprecating thoughts after Thermis’s death, relapsed first in these situations.

That was almost like a natural nature to Yukomis in just a period of about three years.

Besides, why did Minon have to come at this time?

If Signa had sent a letter without her knowing.

If she had secretly sent a letter to Minon, her family, asking her to come and pick her up…

If she had asked Aisha or Karat to secretly send such a letter, deceiving them about the contents…

“It’s definitely it.”

“She’s smart. She’s clever.”

“She’s capable of doing such a thing. No, she certainly did.”

Otherwise, how can I explain this amazing timing?

Did I hate her too much…?

Was she trying to escape?

To that extent?

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for making you a woman because of me.”

Without any preamble, Yukomis apologized again first.

“I didn’t realize that your feelings might be much more complicated than I thought.”

There was no answer from beyond the door.

Knock knock knock.

“I’m sorry for forcing you to do this and that. I just like you so much…”

The love between family and lovers was clearly different.

So, if it were an ordinary person, there would be no reason to be so anxious just because their family had come to see them.

There was nothing more ridiculous than being jealous of a lover’s family.

“I’m so happy that you became my family…”

However, Yukomis, who couldn’t draw a line on any affection, was seeing all of Signa’s relationships as if they were her rivals.

And she wasn’t even aware of that.

She just thought she might lose Signa right away…

Yukomis couldn’t think of anything else but that.

A very small sign of life was felt from beyond the door.

Yukomis didn’t miss it.

“…Signa? Signa! You’re listening, right?”

A painful breath was heard quietly from beyond the door.

Signa was, on the contrary, inciting Yukomis.

Signa deliberately didn’t answer, even though she knew that her voice sounded uneasy.

‘Just break this door. It’s really nothing.’

She was just going to break the door and come in, say she did well and she was sorry, and then spend the next day as if nothing had happened.

Signa was more than willing to do that.

She had only been in the detached palace, so she of course didn’t know that Minon had come to visit.

She didn’t know that the anxiety that Minon had inadvertently stirred up had completely broken all the plans that Signa had initially made.

“Maybe it was a mistake to bring you out of Irendel.”

“I’ll also apologize for taking you to the north and making you go through hardships.”

Of course, that wasn’t something Yukomis had to apologize for.

But she just apologized for everything.

“I’m sorry. I’ll apologize. I’m just… I’m just so happy that you thought of me as your family…”

“I didn’t know that this could be a much bigger problem for you than I thought.”

“I’m also sorry if you didn’t like that I treated you too strictly.”

“I’m so sorry for forcing you to be ‘instead’ of my sister.”

“But… but I really wasn’t looking at you like a sculpture or some object.”

“I swear. I just… I just wanted you as much as my real sister…”

Signa, who was standing inside the detached palace, didn’t answer in the end.

For some reason, Yukomis was only saying the opposite of what Signa wanted.

Signa didn’t want her to blame herself like this.

It was never like her to be so attached to herself like this.

“Open the door… otherwise I…”

Just a little bit

Could she come back with that arrogant attitude? Oppressive and

“Otherwise… otherwise I really have no choice but to do something you hate… to do something you hate…”

Yes. That’s it.

Please commit it. You can do it.

However, unlike Yukomis’s words, and contrary to Signa’s expectations…

The hinges didn’t break, the doorknob didn’t corrode, and not even the door frame was twisted or smashed.

“I don’t want to do it… I really don’t want to do it…”

That voice, which had been muttering for a long time beyond the front gate of the detached palace, faded away.

The footsteps disappeared, and Signa, who had been relieved of her tension, leaned against the door and collapsed.

“That idiot…”

Haa.

Always acting like she could do anything.

Always acting like she wouldn’t care if anyone hated her.

Why did she have to become so desperate?

Signa thought that it would be just right for Yukomis to be a little angry,
to blame herself out of anger, and to grumble that she was an ungrateful arrogant brat.

Maybe like when Yukomis and her met in Irendel. She hoped that they could have such a bickering relationship.

It hadn’t been long, but it already felt like years had passed…

While reminiscing about their first meeting and reunion. Signa sincerely hoped that Yukomis would return to that appearance.

Even though she could have broken a hill.

How long would it take to cross this one door?

While she was thinking that…
A voice was suddenly heard from outside the door without any footsteps.

“Signa.”

That voice was very cold, unlike the desperate one just now…
At the same time, it felt like it was trembling uneasily.

“I’m really sorry.”

Another apology. It was just an apology.

However, Signa felt a strange sense of incongruity that was different from before.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Please believe me. I really didn’t want to do this…”

As her voice trembled…

“But this is your fault…”

The faint sound of chains was heard from beyond the door.