I Became the Replacement Fiancée for My Childhood Friend Who Went Missing, but Apparently He Has Been Found - Chapter 3

Clatter

“Pardon me, Lady Ellis.”

“!!!!”

…Standing before me, my heart pounding like crazy, was Harper, one of the palace servants.

He was more than twice my age, and as such, he never lost his calm and gentle demeanor no matter the situation. The very image of a gentleman among gentlemen.

“H-hello!”

“…?”

I had managed to hide Oct just barely in time.

But the fact remained that if he were discovered, it would be a very bad situation, so my heart was still leaping wildly.

Perhaps because of that, in my attempt to hide my agitation, I ended up greeting him in a tone unlike my usual one.

…Harper stared at me with a slightly surprised look.

“Is… is something the matter, Lady Ellis?”

“N-no, nothing at all. B-besides, did you need something?”

Trying to change the mood of the situation, I attempted to shift the topic.

I didn’t know if my intention got through to him or not, but Harper began answering the question I had posed.

“Well, you see, I received word from Lord Schnaud. It seems the royal council will run long, so he will be returning late today.”

“I-I see. Understood.”

“……”

“…U-um, was there anything else?”

If it were the usual Harper, once his business was done, he would quickly take his leave.

But today, perhaps sensing something amiss, he was giving me a suspicious look.

“…Lady Ellis, are you hiding something?”

“P-pEllish the thought. I am the woman who is to become the wife of First Prince Schnaud, am I not? There’s no way I would be hiding anything.”

“……”

…As I suspected, he seemed to sense something off about me, as Harper began glancing around the room, his eyes darting here and there.

I prayed, “Please don’t look over there—that’s where Oct is hiding,” but my hopes were in vain, as Harper slowly began moving toward the spot where Oct was concealed.

“…Then, Lady Ellis, may I ask one thing?”

“……!?”

Then, pointing toward one of the dresses placed in the room, Harper addressed me with those words.

…Since Oct was hiding very close by, my heart started racing so fast I felt like I might vomit it out whole.

…Could it be that he’s already noticed?

“Lady Ellis, please answer me honestly. What in the world is this?”

“………?”

Harper, pointing directly at where Oct was hiding, spoke in a slightly stern tone.

…So, he really has found out already?

Is he trying to get me to confess it myself?

I felt completely cornered.

But the words Harper spoke immediately after were not what I had feared.

“…This dress, is it new?”

“Huh?”

“I knew it! It’s a style I’ve never seen before, so I was sure of it! …And, by any chance, haven’t you told Lord Schnaud about it yet? Did you purchase it in secret?”

“W-well…”

“Ah, it’s quite all right, Lady Ellis! You prepared it as a surprise to please Lord Schnaud, didn’t you? Then I shall keep quiet! Please, don’t worry!”

“Y-yes…”

Ignoring my agitation, Harper got excited all on his own.

“Ah, that’s right, Lady Ellis. About the tea party scheduled for later—due to the other party’s circumstances, we’ll need to move it up slightly. My apologies for the inconvenience, but if you could begin preparing soon, I would be most grateful.”

“U-understood…”

“Now then, my apologies for overstaying. I shall take my leave…♪”

In a complete turnaround from before, Harper, now radiating a very cheerful atmosphere, bid me farewell and then hastily exited the room.

…It all happened so suddenly that I still couldn’t quite process the reality of the situation, but I felt relieved that, for now, I had escaped an incredibly close call.

“T-that was close.”

I let out a sigh of relief on the spot, then shifted my gaze to the dress Harper had been focusing on.

“It’s safe now, Oct.”

“W-whew! That was a close one.”

Then, as if guided by my voice, Oct emerged from within the dress.

…This dress was quite large, and the stand it was on had a hollow, human-shaped frame.

So, there was just enough space inside for one person to hide, and I had quickly stashed Oct in there.

“F-for now, I’ve escaped with my life. Thank you, Selena.”

“Of course. I’m the one who’s always being helped by you.”

“T-that’s my line. How many times have I…?”

The words Oct was about to say—I really wanted to hear them too.

But if I heard them here, I might never be able to go back.

So, I couldn’t let him finish.

I cut him off mid-sentence and said:

“Oct, I’m sorry. You heard, right? I have a tea party after this.”

“I see! That’s a shame, but I guess that’s it for today.”

“Not just today. We got lucky today, but if you keep coming here, you might end up being punished one day. So, please don’t come here anymore.”

“Selena, listen.”

This time, Oct cut me off.

Then, with a serious expression, he said:

“Right now, I’m preparing a way to rescue you. It shouldn’t be too long now. So, please believe me and wait. I will definitely take you away from here and make you discard that ‘Ellis’ name.”

“……”

“…Then, we can continue from that day.”

“…?”

“No, it’s nothing!!”

With those final words to me, Oct retraced his path into the room and disappeared from my sight.

…Even though I had told him not to come back, a feeling of happiness remained in my heart.