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Once I was laid down on the bed, Finia left the room for a moment. She probably went to make sure the worried Maria wouldn’t barge in later. I was already back to my normal body so there would be no problem, but we had a delicate topic to discuss. If possible I wanted to talk in a calm environment.

She returned after a few minutes, pulled a chair next to the bed, and sat down. I sensed her movements through sound and presence. Then she just stayed silent without saying a word. I felt like she wanted to say something, but I couldn’t see her expression now.

“Uhh…”

I stirred awkwardly in place, but unfortunately, I couldn’t move from the spot now. The fever gnawing at my body had already made it difficult to even stand up on my own. The earlier situation seemed to have just shaved off my stamina too much.

Finia did not react to my words and merely waited for me to continue. I could understand her feelings. Her most beloved person who she had been eagerly waiting for turned out to be the girl she was serving, so her mind was probably in a hectic state.

Anger, confusion, maybe even humiliation.

The fact that she still managed to endure acting on her emotions before hearing my explanation showed how much self-restraint she had.

“Well, the truth is…”

It was probably impossible to hide things this late in the game. And it would be pretty lame to try to keep deceiving her. Rude even. I had been lying to her from the start. That fact would remain unchanged, but now that it got out, I had to properly explain everything.

Resolving myself, I proceeded to tell her the whole story of my experience. The fact that the White God had reincarnated me. That I couldn’t reveal myself as I had been reborn into a girl, and a daughter of my comrades. As well as how I solved various incidents that have transpired since then. Even the fact that Maxwell and Gadius were aware of it and were helping me in hiding my identity.

Once I finished, I heard her sobbing. I couldn’t hope to understand the feelings that made her cry. No, perhaps she herself didn’t understand them either. But with this, Finia had united with “me” in the truest sense.

“So there you have it. Sorry for staying quiet. I couldn’t come out and say it after so long, so I just kept hiding it.”
“I see… Lord Reid…”

She probably wanted to say I was terrible, which would be appropriate for what I did. I’d have even expected a slap or two. She took a deep breath and then started to criticize me with a resolute tone.

“While I do understand your feelings, I still wish you would have told me. I wish I could have cried and shouted more, and conveyed my feelings to you. But you haven’t told me, so I would have normally lashed out emotionally at you with all my strength, but if I do that now, you would probably die in your current condition, Lord Reid… no, Lady Nicole.”
“Yeah, sorry about that.”

I had no words to return to that. Then Finia pressed on even further.

“So, does Lady Cortina know?”
“Of course not!”

I exclaimed wildly at her question. I felt bad for Cortina, but after lying for her so long, I couldn’t just come out and go, “Hey, it’s actually me.”

Finia ended up finding out about it, but I had no plans of divulging my lie from my side. I’d take it to the grave.

“Don’t you pity her for doing that!”
“I do. I do, but that’s why I can’t talk. I never planned to tell you either, Finia.”
“…You’re cruel, Lord Reid.”

She spoke with a hint of sadness, and I sensed her raise her arm. She was going to hit me. I perceived it as such, but I had no intention of dodging it. This was her just right. But while I was resigning to my fate to receive my punishment, her hand stopped at gently tapping on my cheek as if brushing it.

It was a light touch that could never cause pain.

“You are weakened now so I’ll forgive it with this much. But…”
“Yeah. I suppose you have a lot to say. And I think I deserve getting punched, or even stabbed. Still, I couldn’t tell you about it.”

She kept gently caressing my cheeks without pulling her hand down. The cold sensation of her hand felt pleasant to my burning body, making me unconsciously rub my cheek against it.

But the next moment, she pressed her hand at my cheek and fixed it in place. And then, a soft sensation brushed my lips. A moment later came her flowery fragrance.

“…Huh?”
“It’s payback for lying to me all this time. Though it’s hard to call it that at this late hour.”

With that, it finally hit me that she had kissed me. Of course, we had exchanged kisses several times before this, but thinking back, this was probably the first kiss initiated from her side.

“Please rest for now. Once you are back to full health, we’ll have another talk.”
“So the real retribution comes then?”
“Yes, do resolve yourself.”

I felt she leaked a suppressed, mischievous giggle.

She probably hasn’t fully forgiven me, but I was relieved to know that she didn’t start hating me at least. Even after deceiving her for all this time, she put her feelings aside and prioritized my health.

“Really, you’re too good for a guy like me…”
“Oh no, Lady Nicole. Calling yourself a guy is quite improper.”
“It’s fine, I’m Reid on the inside!”

I became sulky at her remark and protested with puffed cheeks. Seeing that, she finally let out a laugh.

“I can’t believe you’re Lord Reid when you’re acting like that.”
“Oh just you wait, I’ll show you my cool side one of these days.”
“That has to wait until you’re back to full health.”

With those words, she fixed the blanket covering me and stood up.

“Lady Maria was worried so I’ll go report your condition. You should rest too, Lady Nicole.”
“Right. I can’t move properly in this state either way.”

I managed to distract myself while talking to her, but the pain in my eyes was still there. The fever hadn’t died down either, so my condition was just terrible.

With Polymorph being sealed, It was impossible for me to move properly like this. Escaping while avoiding Lyell and Cortina’s eyes was just absurd.

For the time being, even though we hadn’t come to a conclusion, I still managed to postpone the situation with Finia. All that was left was to heal this body, but I leave that to Maria.