(Renée’s POV)

I knew that if I rejected all three missions, I would get penalized for it. But the fact that I am receiving a penalty now doesn’t make any sense.

Well, luckily, it’ll only be for 12 hours, right?

Suddenly, my breathing became rough. I found it difficult to stand up as my body grew heavy, and I could feel my temperature rising.

“Renée…?”

Anastasia was astonished by the sudden change in my appearance. She was cautiously calling my name in a worried tone, but I couldn’t respond to her. 

I could vaguely see that the nobles who were enjoying the banquet were now staring right at me through my hazy vision.

Oh, no… There are a lot of people here.

I didn’t attend the banquet to gather attention, so I had to pretend like everything was fine. Moreover, I can’t be caught by Reden.

Wait. Who cares if I get caught? It’s not like I’ll be in trouble anyway since I’m sick.

I was getting tired of the constant headaches due to childish matters.

“Renée, you’re sweating a lot… What’s wrong? Your face has been pale since earlier. Are you in any pain?”

“Uhm… Anastasia…”

I called her name out of desperation. It felt as if I was (*)grasping at straws, but she bowed her head as if she wasn’t able to hear me the first time.

(T/N:The idiom ‘grasping at straws’ means desperately finding a way to succeed even though the chances are slim.)

“What did you say Renée?”

“Let’s go over there.”

Those were the only words I could muster up. The only place that I could find in my hazy vision was an area behind a curtain at the end of the banquet hall. It’s probably a terrace.

Please do not repost our translation. Read only at Pink Muffin Translations.

It might be the only place where the nobles wouldn’t notice me, so I pointed out to it, and Anastasia escorted me without saying a word.

As expected, behind the curtains was a terrace. A small table and chairs were placed there, perhaps to serve as a place for anyone to rest.

There was no longer any reason for me to be wary. I immediately sat on the chair and took a deep breath.

Cold air, which I had been longing for, touched my skin. I felt as if I was coming back to life.

“Renée, what’s the matter? It seems like you still haven’t recovered from the last time you were sick.”

“Last time…?”

It took me a moment to realize what she was talking about. She must be referring to the suffering I went through from the fever that lasted for a week.

“How do you know about that…?”

Since it was difficult for me to speak, my pronunciation was a bit slurred when I asked. She looked slightly embarrassed at my question..

“Well, when Reden-sama came by, he told us about your situation… Are you still sick?”

“No, I’m fine. I can guarantee I’ll be better in twelve hours.”

“You’ll get better…? What do you mean?”

It was a bit difficult to answer since I could barely open my mouth. I just wanted to keep whining because of the pain.

Damn this mission. There’s no flexibility in ways of completion.

As I kept cursing about the mission inside my mind, I heard a squeak nearby. When I unconsciously turned my gaze, I saw Anastasia drag the chair in front of me and place it beside me. 

From my peripheral vision, Anastasia seemed hesitant about something. Now my curiosity was quickly resolved.

She nervously placed her hand on my forehead. Her palm, which always appeared to be warm, was cold as ice. It was surprising, but it felt nice.

“You have a fever… You need to be treated right away. Let’s call a doctor.”

“It’s okay.”

“What’s okay…?”

“Anastasia.”

It wasn’t intentional, but a whimper came out. Anastasia didn’t answer, but I continued. As if my mouth moved on its own.

“I honestly don’t understand.”

“…….What?”

“I know you’re kind but it’s so… I know how you are, but I still don’t get it.”

How can you be so nice to me, Renée Blair?

Renée has done preposterous things to everyone, which doesn’t even equate to the number of insane things she has done to Anastasia. 

Everyone else, including her only kin, Reden, had already given up on Renée Blair and gradually avoided her. From what I can remember from the story, Anastasia also grew tired of Renée’s behavior.

So, I thought it would be difficult to open Anastasia’s heart.

But right now, she’s worried because I have a fever? Even if she is the main character, isn’t she too kind?

Please do not repost our translation. Read only at Pink Muffin Translations.

Maybe it was because I hugged her the day I possessed this body. Was that what made her open her heart up?

Of course, she’s such a kind soul. So maybe it’s not that she has opened her heart to me, but that she was concerned about me out of courtesy.

My head was starting to grow heavy and my thoughts were all over the place. At that moment, my chaotic thoughts were interrupted by Anastasia’s voice.

“I… I’m not good at all.”

“What? Hey… Even the devil would admit that you’re a good person.”

Perhaps my words were funny, Anastasia laughed a little and then muttered.

“If I was kind… Then, would I have lied to you, Renée?”

What did she mean by that?

I looked at Anastasia with a face filled with doubts. She smiled faintly.

“I’m sorry, Renée. Actually, I…. I stole an invitation that was meant for you.”

“…. Huh?”

“I didn’t want you to come to the banquet, so I stole it.”

“……”

“It’s not that Reden-nim came to the banquet today and gave me yours. I’ve had it since the very beginning.”

Anastasia’s face darkened a little, as if to admit that she had done something wrong.

To be honest, Anastasia’s words were a little shocking. She stole my invitation because she didn’t want me to come.

So she’s saying that she knew all along about the lies I told earlier at the entrance.

Oh my, this is so embarrassing.

“But of course, that wouldn’t stop you from coming here, even though you have no invitation.”

“You know me so well…. That I would end up coming….”

And It was all because of the mission…

As I swallowed back the words that I was about to say. Anastasia bit her lip slightly and closed her eyes tightly.

“What are you doing?”

“Huh? Oh, I thought you would be very angry…”

“And you thought that I would hit you?”

“……Aren’t you mad? I deceived you.”

“In that sense, I deceived you too. Since I brazenly said that Reden had it. I’m sorry too, because I lied earlier. I wanted to enter the banquet hall forcefully…”

I guess my fading voice couldn’t reach her. I didn’t see any reaction from her. Oh, I don’t know, I just want to sleep.

But I can’t sleep right now. Since I haven’t successfully completed a mission, if I spend all day sleeping then I would definitely receive a one-week penalty,

As if to pass the time, I strangely fiddled with her cold hands.

“So, why didn’t you want me to come?”

“Huh?”

“No. It was a stupid question. The reason you didn’t want me to come is simple. You’re afraid that I might cause trouble.”

“What? No… not! It’s not….”

Ring!

At that time, I heard something very clear even in my dazed consciousness.

Even without looking, I already had an idea what my third mission for today would be like.

I frowned and barely opened my eyes.

Last Mission of the Day
‘There are a lot of people gathered at the banquet! Slap the face of the person we’ve met for the 100th time and shower them in profanity!’
Accept / Reject

I wanted to shower profanity on this annoying mission.

‘I must really enjoy slapping cheeks’

I wanted to refuse if I could, but I knew that I couldn’t because of the pain. A person that I’ve met for the 100th time… Could it be that Renée died in the novel because of this mission?

What if the person that I’ve met for the 100th time was Diwen Fergus? If I suddenly lashed out at him and slapped him in the face, Diwen would definitely kill me, right?

In this situation where I could barely move, the curtain was suddenly lifted from inside the ballroom. Someone entered the terrace.

Please do not repost our translation. Read only at Pink Muffin Translations.

My vision was incredibly blurry, so I couldn’t see clearly. But seeing the brilliant blond hair, I could guess who it was.

“Your Excellency?”

It appears that I guessed correctly. The person Anastasia referred to as ‘Your Excellency’ was none other than Aiden Burwars.

“Anastasia? What are you doing here?”

“… Renée suddenly had a fever and was resting for a while.”

“Why do you care?”

“That’s what I said.”

Oops. I suddenly blurted out the words that I didn’t intend for them to hear. Thanks to that, I felt as if I was swimming in cold water.

Aiden’s dark red eyes looked at me fiercely. I curled my lips in and stayed silent. He glanced at Anastasia’s hand placed on my forehead before he spoke again.

“It appears Young Lady Blair is dissatisfied. But Anastasia, you need to come with me now.”

“……Still, Renée is sick…”

 “Anastasia.”

Huh? What’s wrong with these two?

He noticed something but didn’t follow up on his words. I could see a slight crack on Aiden’s restrained face.

He tried to open his mouth to say something, but a loud noise came from behind the curtain.

“The Knights of Hugo are entering!”

Knights of Hugo?

Aiden clicked his tongue and lifted the curtain to look inside. Meanwhile, Anastasia frowned while looking through the curtain.

“We need to go now. The Knights of Hugo have arrived. His Majesty the Emperor will be here soon.”

Aiden eliminated his perplexed expression and spoke softly again. Not to me, of course, but to Anastasia.

I only intended to enter the banquet and immediately go home after. How did this happen? My head felt like it was about to explode, but I couldn’t do anything about it.

I was about to get up to leave the terrace. But Anastasia, who had her hand on my forehead, didn’t move at all.

I wasn’t the only one who questioned her actions. Aiden looked at her as well.

“What are you doing, Anastasia?”

“…..”

Anastasia looked at me instead of answering him.

“Huh? What’s wrong…?”

“Renée ….. Since you’re not feeling well, why don’t you just stay here?”

“What? How could I do that?”

Following my words, Anastasia lifted her finger up in the air. Blue light seeped out of her fingertips and formed an intricate pattern.

Even without anyone explaining to me, I could easily tell what this was.

It was magic!

Even in the midst of pain, my eyes glistened in awe as I watched the pattern burst and disappear, forming frozen ice shards in her hands.

“I’ll wrap it up in a handkerchief, would you like me to put it on your forehead? Don’t worry because it’s ice that doesn’t melt, so water won’t flow.”

“….Thank you, Anastasia.”

I don’t know where she got the handkerchief, but Anastasia, who was silently wrapping the ice, stared at me for a moment and smiled.

A smile with droopy eyebrows, as if she was about to cry.

“You’re very welcome…”

Her voice that whispered quietly tickled me for some reason.