I’m Just a Counselor – Chapter 97

Author: Dakku-san

After my bath, I staggered into the bedroom, exhausted. Shane, who had followed me in, grumbled.

“What’s that handmaiden… really doing?”

I could still hear Seitra’s nagging voice in my ear.

I sat down in front of Seitra and realized that Jeremiah, who had taught me to dance before, and the maids who had helped me dress before, were angelic.

‘Surely not everyone in the palace is like this?’

I thought, thinking of Kianton and Seitra.

‘Julian, you bastard, did you send Seitra to me on purpose?’

I glanced at Shane, my heart filled with remorse as I reasonably suspected Julian of putting me through this ordeal. For suggesting the blue-gray dress was better, Shane had to do all the heavy lifting.

“I’m sorry, Shane, I’m sure you didn’t follow me here to do this…”

“Nah, whatever. I’m fine, I’m the one who came along because it sounded like fun, and this way I get to see Vanessa in all her glory before Jeremiah or Princess, right?”

Shane shrugged, answering nonchalantly. He was right, though neither Jeremiah nor Estella had ever seen me in this dress.

I mumbled another apology to Shane, who assured me that was enough, and flopped down on the bed. The room smelled of roses from the balm I’d used in the bath.

‘Last time, I used the same balm as Estella…’

My mouth turned bitter at the thought of Estella. She and I were still in the middle of a cold war.

Even as she watched me go back and forth between the Snowflake Manor and the Viscount’s Manor, she was still chilly.

‘What if we can’t resolve this?’

I hope to resolve the situation with Estella before I go north again…

As I was thinking this, I suddenly heard Shane’s voice.

“Vanessa, with the princess.”

As if he could read my thoughts, I jumped up in surprise. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Shane smirked at me.

“You two have been in a cold breeze since the last time you were kidnapped. Who started it?”

“That was… I don’t know, because before that, I had asked Estella if she didn’t think she needed me anymore. But then after what happened to me…”

I told Shane the story of what happened with Estella, sounding grumpy.

Shane shook his head as he listened. Then he spoke.

“Did you know she was the first one to notice you were gone?”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yep. She asked me where you were, and I told Jeremiah, and that’s how I quickly realized you’d been taken. She almost cried then.”

I had no idea. Guilt washed over me that I had caused Estella to do this again.

I buried my face in the covers and sobbed a little. Shane shifted in his seat and patted my shoulder affectionately.

“Well, your interpretation of her behavior is up to you, but at least I don’t think she’s doing it because she hates you.”

“Of course I know that.”

“But if that’s the case, why aren’t you talking to her?”

“I thought it would be better to wait for Estella to gather her thoughts and speak first. I don’t want her feelings to be hurt if I go first.”

At my answer, Shane let out a small sigh and slapped me across the forehead.

“Oh! Why!”

“Didn’t I tell you the other day, don’t think about it. Vanessa, you think too much.”

He clicked his tongue at my tearful eyes.

“You’re not wrong, of course, but did it ever occur to you that the princess might be waiting for you?”

“Estella?”

“Yes. I was hoping you’d be the first to speak your mind.”

“…….”

“You and the princess are friends, just as you and I are, aren’t we, Vanessa?”

“Oh… That’s right…”

‘Estella and I are friends…’

I stare blankly at Shane, partially agreeing with him, but mostly because I hadn’t really thought about it that way.

Yes, Estella and I were friends, from the beginning, when she came to the Secret Garden.

“Sister Vanessa!”

I remembered Estella beaming as she called out to me.

“If you’re keeping it all in your head, the other person doesn’t know anything. Isn’t being friends supposed to be about getting to know each other and being able to talk about anything?”

Suddenly, I knew what Shane was talking about. And what I was doing wrong with Estella.

“…Okay, I get it now.”

I’d had ample opportunity to talk to Estella, and I’d blown it.

“I’ll talk to her tomorrow when I see her.”

“Is that going to make you feel better?”

“Yeah. Thanks for talking to me, Shane.”

“You’re welcome, sweetheart.”

Shane smirked, his eyes twinkling when he saw that my expression was much better. He patted my head lightly and stood up.

“So this is what happens when you decide to be real friends.”

I muttered, and Shane laughed self-deprecatingly. Though he wiped it off as soon as our eyes met.

“I’m going to turn out the lights, Vanessa. Good night.”

If I really had a brother, I might have felt more like Shane.

“Even when he was Sherry, I felt more like a sister than a friend.”

I feel so much closer to him now that we’re talking like this, seeing him as he is.

“I’m glad Shane is my friend.”

I ruffled his hair, a little wistful, before turning to face him as he said goodnight.

“Goodnight too, Shane.”

Shane waved and left the bedroom, and with my troubles solved, I was able to drift off to sleep, forgetting about the day’s exhaustion.

* * *

I was very glad I slept well last night.

“Mistress, do you want your lips to be this red? Or pink?”

“I’d like pink, but that color is too bright. Mmm, I’ll go with this.”

“Put a little pearl on top of the eyeshadow!”

I’m glad I did, or I wouldn’t have been able to endure this journey…

I stood in front of the mirror and watched the makeup mavens with a weary face. Seitra’s enthusiasm hadn’t waned by the end of the day, but the other two were a surprise.

They had been doing what Seitra told them to do, but within a day, they had changed their attitudes and started to show the same enthusiasm as Seitra.

“Did Shane do anything?”

I asked Shane pointedly as they went to retrieve the dresses, remembering how the maids had secretly clung to him yesterday.

They must have become fans, as I suspected. Shane would be his usual smirking self, charming them.

“What did I do, I didn’t do anything?”

Shane replied smugly as he ate his chocolate. When I pouted and looked at him, he smirked and popped a piece of chocolate into my mouth.

The sweetness flooded my mouth and my expression softened a bit.

“Do you want me to put my hair up?”

“Here, braids!”

After struggling with my hairstyle, they finished by pulling my hair up into a single bun and putting a headband on it.

Halfway through, I dozed off and looked in the mirror and was horrified.

“…I’m not kidding!”

With all due respect to the maids at Snowflake Manor, they were nothing compared to the New Year’s Ball.

Even for me, who thought it was just a simple…, it was a wake-up call that said, “This is what real banquet preparation is like!”

My long lashes fluttered like butterfly wings, and the pearls on her eyes sparkled. I thought the dress was not designed to emphasize glamor, but… it was different.

‘The power of makeup is greater than anything else.’

I thought to myself, as Seitra looked at me in wonder.

“It’s my masterpiece, and it’s very good. When Cornelia sees it, she’ll be like… hoo hoo hoo…”

Shane had slipped in that Seitra and Madame Cornelia went to the same design school. So Seitra has a bit of a rivalry with Madame Cornelia.

“In any case, I’m glad you’re here to defend Seitra’s honor.”

I shook my head at her, then opened my mouth, careful not to wipe my lips.

“You have done well, Handmaiden.”

“And you, Viscountess, when you go to the ballroom, remember all that I have told you.”

“It must not have been easy for you to come and help us like this, even if you were His Highness the Crown Prince…”

“Oh, you’re very kind.”

Seitra beamed with pride after receiving the ducal title. Seeing her face like that made me feel good and I smiled too.

And when I turned to thank the two maids who had helped me besides Seitra, I noticed that they were clasping hands and squealing.