After Being Reborn, My Wife Sapped Away the Game's Female Lead - Chapter 4

Downstairs, Ella spent quite a bit of effort rescuing her young lady from that dress.

The loyal female attendant originally wanted to throw the dress directly onto the ground and stomp on it a couple of times. However, upon taking a closer look at the craftsmanship and fabric of the garment, she changed from clutching it to cradling it with utmost care.

After all, this dress was the exact same model worn by Miss Fiona, who looked like a walking jewelry rack, the kind of attire that countless ordinary attendants pooling their wages together could never afford to compensate for.

Cynthia felt a bit dizzy from being struck by the weighty dress, even wondering if she had resolved to defy the divine will and was therefore being punished by the heavens.

Yet, when she finally saw clearly what had hit her head, she froze.

Cynthia turned her head to look in the direction from which the dress had fallen, and then locked eyes with Carlo, who was standing by the window.

She raised an eyebrow and walked toward the nearest side door.

Carlo thought: Cynthia surely does not think I threw the clothes at her, does she?

Dell kindly reminded Lilica, who was still hesitating over whether to let the female attendant Tina take the blame, saying: “Miss Cynthia is probably coming up.”

Tina enthusiastically continued rummaging through the wardrobe: “I will get some clothes for Milady!”

Lilica could no longer care whether she liked them or not. Tina handed her a dress, and without even glancing at it, she pulled it straight over her head.

Although theoretically speaking, whenever a lady changed her clothes, any gentlemen present should consciously avert their eyes, this was Lilica, whose hair was shorter than Carlo’s and who could send a burly man flying with a single swing of a greatsword.

Therefore, neither Carlo nor Dell had any intention of averting their eyes. In fact, when Lilica got her arm stuck in the dress, Dell even reached out thoughtfully to help her adjust the sleeve.

Yet even with Lilica bracing herself with the resolve to make a sacrifice, certain physical facts would not change, such as a dress that she could not fit into previously. Even now, forcefully stuffing her into it yielded an effect that would make every fashion designer scream that they were desecrating the sanctity of clothing.

To make matters worse, after having her brown short hair thoroughly thrashed through that ordeal, it looked even messier than a bird’s nest.

Everyone present fell into silence. Lilica tried to straighten out her clothes, but the moment she moved, the sound of seams ripping apart echoed from all over her body.

Carlo offered a sincere suggestion: “Why don’t you just be honest? I do not think Cynthia will mind these things.”

Lilica still refused to give up: “Perhaps we can try another one.”

“I think it will make no difference no matter how many you try on.”

Before she could make up her mind, she heard footsteps approaching from outside the door, followed by a gentle knock: “Carlo, are you in there?”

It was Cynthia!

She had already come upstairs!

Lilica’s mind went blank. Carlo scooped her up and shoved her onto the bed, while Dell, with absolute tacit understanding, grabbed a nightcap from the wardrobe and clapped it onto her head.

Tina instinctively tried to stop them: “No, wait, Milady is still wearing her boots.”

“There is no time.” Lilica had already grasped Carlo’s idea swiftly. She forced herself to recall her physical condition from before the age of ten while instructing Tina, “My physical condition has deteriorated, so I am lying down to rest. Do you understand?”

Tina could not help recalling her miserable past experiences of covering for Lilica. Fine, the nightmare was back.

After handling Lilica, Carlo turned around and opened the door, a reluctant smile plastered across his face: “Cynthia, were you not reading?”

“I have been reading for too long and wanted to come out for a walk.” Cynthia raised her chin toward the dress Ella was holding. “I simply did not expect you to send me such a gift.”

Carlo explained dryly: “This is not mine.”

“It is a dress, Carlo. If it were yours, the situation would be far worse.” Cynthia looked past Carlo. “You are just going to let me stand here and talk? Will you not invite me in?”

Behind Carlo, Lilica was roasting from the heat of wearing two layers of clothes and riding boots while being covered by a quilt. She wriggled back and forth on the bed, attempting to shed some of her layers. Tina could only thrust her hands into the quilt to help pull off her clothes with the tragic resignation of someone trapped on a pirate ship.

In this situation, Dell really could not step in to help. He could only monitor Tina’s progress while whispering to Carlo: “Young Master, please hold on a little longer. They are removing clothes.”

Carlo smiled resiliently, wondering why the cursed item thrown out by Lilica just now was that wretched dress instead of himself.

Cynthia’s sharp gaze swept forward: “There is someone behind you? Who is it?”

“It is Dell, of course it is Dell.” Carlo forced himself to stand his ground in the doorway. “Dell, Cynthia is asking you.”

“Yes, Milady, of course it is me,” Dell answered loudly.

Tina finally managed to pull the skirt portion of the forcibly fitted dress away from Lilica. Because she exerted too much force, the moment it tore free, she tumbled heavily onto the floor, producing a dull yet remarkably loud sound.

Cynthia asked with confusion: “What was that sound?”

“It was Dell kicking the table.”

Cynthia scrutinized Carlo: “You did not even turn around, how did you know?”

Carlo forced a smile, blocking the doorway as he loyally guarded his good friend’s honor. “He is always like that.”

Inside the room, Dell moved with supreme efficiency, tossing the detached skirt into the chest and asking: “Is it done?”

Lilica wore a painful expression: “No, the upper-body fabric is stuck on my legs. It must have caught on the trouser hooks.”

With his sharp hearing, Carlo thought that if Cynthia were not standing right in front of him, his face would probably be twisted into a knot of agony as well.

Tina broke down, crying out: “I cannot pull it loose!”

Dell could no longer care about propriety. He ripped the quilt back, causing Tina to yelp in alarm.

“Why is there a woman screaming in there?!” Cynthia stared at Carlo with incredulous eyes. “Carlo, what on earth are you doing?!”

Carlo felt like he was about to vomit blood: “I did nothing! This has nothing to do with me!”

With brute force, Dell tore apart the fabric wrapped around Lilica’s legs. Without the cover of the quilt, a distinct ripping sound echoed through the room.

“Move aside, Carlo!” Cynthia’s expression changed completely, her tone losing its previous leisure. “Let me go inside and see what is happening.”

She tried pushing the door or shoving Carlo aside, but how could a physically frail mage possibly budge a warrior who trained rigorously?

Carlo stood firm in the doorway, unmoving, silent, and loyal, resembling a guardian beast struck by a petrification spell in a fairytale.

Behind him, Tina and Dell were frantically applying powder to Lilica’s face and neck, as Lilica’s complexion looked entirely unlike that of an invalid.

Yet the more silent Carlo remained, the more anxious and angry Cynthia grew: “Carlo, you are truly degenerating!”

Finally, Dell’s voice reached his ears: “Done, done, Young Master, it is done.”

Only then did Carlo offer a dismal smile and step aside from the doorway.

Cynthia rushed into the room and demanded angrily: “Carlo! Who is this person on the bed?! How could you betray Lilica like this?!”

Carlo replied with exhaustion: “This is Lilica.”

Cynthia looked at her in disbelief: “Lilica?”

“Yes.”

“Then why were you trying to block me?”

Because they were still wrestling with the dress, he explained: “Because Lilica is not feeling well and needs to sleep.”

“You blocked the door and refused to let me in, while inside you were kicking tables and screaming.” Cynthia looked at Carlo as if he were a fool. “Is this how you take care of a patient who needs rest?”

Carlo looked toward the culprit lying on the bed, hoping she would step up and take responsibility for her actions. However, the patient herself was lying there with her eyes closed, feigning weakness and completely missing his visual cues.

Fortunately, Dell remained reliable and quickly explained: “Actually, I accidentally knocked Tina over just now. It was an accident, a complete accident.”

Cynthia remained skeptical, turning her gaze to the woman standing by the window wearing servant attire: “You must be Lilica’s female attendant?”

Tina gave her a slightly nervous bow: “Good day, Lady Cynthia. I am Lilica’s attendant, Tina.”

“If it were Ella, I imagine she would have chased these two grown men out of a lady’s bedchamber long ago,” Cynthia reprimanded. “Especially since your young lady’s health is still very fragile, you should not be so careless.”

“Actually,” Tina answered nervously, “the two of them came to visit the sick.”

Cynthia frowned, sensing vaguely that something was amiss: “To visit the sick?”

Seeing that the situation was about to spiral out of control, Lilica hurriedly opened her eyes, putting on the appearance of someone who had just woken up: “Tina, who are you talking to?”

Tina let out a long breath and practically jogged to the bedside: “Milady, you are awake. Lady Cynthia came to visit you.”

Lilica raised a hand from beneath the covers: “Is that Big Sister Cynthia?”

“It is me, Lily.” Cynthia hurried over in two steps, sitting down beside the bed and taking her hand over the quilt. “How are you feeling? I heard you have been napping all this time. Perhaps I should have a healer come examine you?”

“There is no need, I am fine.” Only after finishing her sentence did Lilica catch Tina’s frantic winks, making her realize she had spoken with too much vigor. She immediately switched back to a weak tone: “Father has already invited many healers for me, and they all said my constitution is simply too poor.” After saying that, she did not forget to fake a couple of coughs.

“I truly hope you recover your health soon.” Cynthia reached out to touch her abnormally flushed cheek, confirming that it was indeed very hot. “Heavens, Lily, your face is burning!”

Because Lilica herself was running hot, though she could not say that out loud, she replied: “I suppose it is just because I slept for too long.”

“You really should have a healer take a look.”

Carlo tried desperately to smooth things over from the side: “The healer from our estate has already checked. There is nothing wrong, she just needs more rest.”

“Very well, then I will not disturb you any longer.” Cynthia lowered Lilica’s hand. “Though your condition is much better than I expected. I originally thought you would be much thinner.”

“It is thanks to Tina’s good care.”

Cynthia exchanged a few more words with her before turning to leave, right as Lilica watched with a look of painful reluctance.

Then, the moment she turned around, her eyes landed on the wardrobe standing wide open, filled not only with a chaotic mess of clothes but even fragments of fabric scattered around it.

Seeing Cynthia stop in her tracks, Lilica followed her line of sight in absolute panic.