Chapter 28- Sunburn

"She's alright. She just got a bit too much sun. Her body also has severe sunburns around her face and hands, and minor burns on her arms, so I'd advise to get her some moisturizer. And have her drink lots of water too. Her sunburn should go away in a few days."

"Thank you, Dr. Media," said Lady Claudia.

Dr. Media then turned to me and glared. "You should be lucky! As a cursed child, you should know to stay away from strong sunlight. Are you trying to call for Pandora to put you out of your misery!?" he scolded.

"I'm sorry," was all I could say.

When I came too, I found Dr. Media by my side talking to Lady Claudia about my condition. I was lying in a large bed that smelled really pleasant. I assumed I was in Lady Claudia's room since she was with me. This was also a single dorm room which was only opened to high nobility. So Earl and under had no access to request for a single occupant room.

"Next time you head out, think about your cursed condition! You are already lucky enough to not have blindness in your blood eyes like most cursed children, don't make your body worse!"

"Yes, Doctor," I muttered.

It seems that in this world, albinos are called cursed children. Well, now I don't feel as bad when people call me a cursed child since that's what I am. But when they use the phrase as a slander, well, I'll feel pretty bad for being born an albino then.

"You need to rest, luckily tomorrow is the seventh day of the week, or you'll have to skip the first half of lessons. Don't move too much unless you want to get a headache," warned Dr. Media.

I nodded. "I'll sit still."

"Good." Mr. Media grumbled as he walked away. "Honestly, cursed children are so troublesome to deal with. They never listen. They should just be nocturnal."

Then I'll really be a vampire, doctor…

Lady Claudia bowed and closed the door. She huffed and turned to glare at me. I subconsciously pulled the covers up to my chin as I suddenly felt threatened.

Lady Claudia walked over to her bed and sat down on the chair beside me. She crossed her arms and said, "Care to explain?"

I nervously cleared my throat and innocently asked, "Explain what?"

"Why were you chasing some random person and almost got yourself killed?"

I nodded and hummed, "Hmm, a reasonable question to ask."

"Answer," she growled.

"I um… I thought they were someone I knew…"

Her expression was blank. "Okay, fine. Don't explain, but you owe me. I risked my life to save you. Do you understand what could have happened if I didn't make it in time?"

"I'm sorry for worrying you…"

"You should be. It would ruin my reputation if someone died under my watch. If worse, I could have been accused of your death! I am a daughter of Carlos Arcement. My family has many enemies and they would use your death to bring me down. If you are to stay beside me, you best watch your actions!"

I sat up straight and smiled, "Are you saying I can be with you?"

Lady Claudia slightly jerked at my phrasing. "W-What I meant was, you are in debt to me! I saved your life, so you must return the favor!"

I touched my beating chest and claimed, "Lady Claudia, my heart, soul and body belonged to you when you stole my breath away with your beauty. I would even die for you, that's just how far my love goes for you."

She frowned and glanced away. "What are you saying? Who's stupid enough to die for someone?"

"If you truly love someone, you would gladly give your life away."

Lady Claudia tensed up as her eyes slowly widened. I giggled when I saw how the tip of her ears turned red. Celestia, please tell me why this villainess is so cute?!

"You are so annoying," she muttered.

"Then why did you save me if I was so annoying?" I smirked, "If I'm correct, don't you hate me?"

Lady Claudia held her head high. "Hmph! Like I said, I don't want accusations flying around about me."

"But you could have stayed out of it. You weren't even near me at the time. If you stayed silent, no one would know you were with me at the time," I explained.

"I could, but saving you also gave me another plus."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What's the other plus besides getting out of accusations?"

She grinned, "It can also raise my reputation. I'm practically a hero now. Everyone was praising me when I saved you."

I giggled, "Eh, is that so."

"That's right! You should be bowing down to me. I'm your savior after all."

I rolled my eyes, but played along. "All hail the mighty Lady Claudia Arcement. You are so brave and magnificent. I am so thankful that you saved my life. I shall now follow you for the rest of my life!"

Lady Claudia's smirk instantly fell when she heard my last sentence. "Please don't."

I chuckled, "I was just playing. But I do plan on staying by your side."

"Of course, you must repay me!"

A knock suddenly came from the door accompanied by a soft angelic voice. "Lady Claudia, I've brought some water like you asked."

Lady Claudia recompensed herself and voiced, "Come it!"

The door to Lady Claudia's room opened and came in a tall girl in a maid outfit. She was holding a small tray with two glass cups filled with water. She traveled over to the bedside and Lady Claudia held up a cup before shoving it into my hands.

I made sure to have a proper grip on the cup so I don't accidentally spill it all over Lady Claudia's bed.

"Drink it all," she commanded.

I didn't protest as I chugged down the cool water. My god, I feel like I'm being revived. I must have been immensely parched. "Thank you."

Lady Claudia smiled and took hold of her own cup of water. She took a sip and placed it down on the bedside table. "You should be thanking Heather. She was the one that helped me carry you back to the Academy. We were quite lucky that she was out in the city today."

"Really?" By Heather, I'm assuming she's talking about her maid…

Miss Heather was a pretty looking girl with waving brown hair and bright grey eyes. She looked only a few years older than us, but her eyes showed many hardships giving her a mature vibe. My eyes then wandered down to her right hand where I noticed a bruise. The end of her sleeve was also missing a button. Suddenly, I felt uncomfortable.

Miss Heather was in the city… What a great coincidence that she met up with Lady Claudia when we could be in any part of the city. I really want to deny it, it could have just been a coincidence that she found us when we were in need of help, but that person was also a girl with brown hair and grey eyes. I can't just let that possibly go.

"Um… Miss Miss Heather, what happened to your cuff?" I asked."

Miss Miss Heather blinked and then followed my line of sight to her cuff. She smiled and said, "Oh, this? My sleeve accidentally got caught on the carriage door, so the button came off. It was already loose to begin with."

That's a reasonable explanation, but what if she already prepared that knowing I would ask? I swallowed and hesitantly asked, "D-Do you still have the button? To… To fix your sleeve of course…"

Miss Heather smiled and reached into the pocket of her apron and pulled out a brown button. "Yes. I have it right here."

I blinked and then realized that the buttons on her attire were a different color. I subconsciously let out a breath of relief as my body relaxed. So Miss Heather wasn't the one I was chasing. Thank goodness. I don't want to suspect one of Lady Claudia's people.

"I should… I should probably go back to my dorm room. Still have assignments to finish after all," I voiced.

Lady Claudia narrowed her eyes into a glare. "Didn't the doctor say not to move?"

"But I'm feeling much better now."

"Really?" Lady Claudia raised an eyebrow and poked my arm causing me to yelp in pain.

"Ouch! That's not playing fair, Lady Claudia. I have a sunburn," I pouted. "Besides, it's already late, so I don't want to overstay my right."

Lady Claudia glanced out the window to see the purple orange sky. She let out a sigh and said, "Fine, but I'm having Heather walk you back to your dorm room."

I smiled, "I'm alright with that."

Lady Claudia nodded. "Heather, please send Reiré back to her room. I don't need to be accused of harming her if Reiré unexpectedly collapses."

Miss Heather bowed. "Of course."

I smirked, "Like I'm gonna accuse you of anything. You could just say you're worried."

Lady Claudia pouted, "I'm not worried! I don't care what happens to you!"

I slid out of the bed and chuckled. "Is that so? Thank you for taking care of me, Lady Claudia." I bowed and walked towards the door where Miss Heather was waiting.

Exiting out the room, Miss Heather closed the door behind her and guided me down the hallway. I was a few steps behind the elegant woman. She had a different air to her compared to Miss Abigail. She feels almost lonely… Even with a smile on her face, her eyes… I can't explain it but other than hardships her eyes also showed resentment. But towards who? That I do not know.

In the novel, Miss Heather was actually mentioned a few times, but not by name. She was always with Lady Claudia, just a single step, a single touch, and a single breath away. She was there whenever Lady Claudia felt betrayed or wronged. She was always there for Lady Claudia, soothing her worries and anxieties when things don't go her way. So it's sad that her life was ended by the hands of her own master.

"Miss Heather…"

"Hmm? What is it, Lady Reiré?"

I quickened my steps so I could match her pace and kindly said, "Thank you for carrying me back to the academy."

Miss Heather's eyes widened slightly before she softly smiled. "It was Lady Claudia's order."

"Still, thank you."

Walking around the corner to the other side of the building, we quickly reached my dorm room at the end of the hall. I bowed and thanked Miss Heather as she returned to Lady Claudia's side.

I opened the door to my shared dorm to see Lady Rium's back in the middle of the large room. "Ah, you're back, Lady Rium. You usually don't come back this early," I voiced as I walked into the room, closing the door behind me.

Lady Rium abruptly whipped around and shoved a piece of paper in my face. "What is this?"

I blinked at her sudden movement. Why does she look so upset? "It seems to be a letter…"

"Yes. And do you not see the contents of this letter?"

I blinked and then… ah… Now I see it. There on the paper were large splatters of ink that said, 'Homos don't belong in this Academy. Go die, you commoner.' It was written messily so you can't figure out who wrote it. It was clearly addressed to me. Are they stupid? Did they seriously write an insult letter and delivered it to my room knowing full well that Lady Rium might see it?

"Any words?" Lady Rium urged.

"Even if you ask, I don't really know what to say. It's just an insult letter," I calmly said.

"You should be telling me to put a stop to this?!" Lady Rium screamed. "These disgusting rumors are getting out of control! I won't let anyone berate my friend with lies!"

I scratched the back of my head. "I mean, they aren't exactly lies. I wouldn't call myself a homosexual, but it's true I like girls…"

Lady Rium's eyes suddenly changed as she looked at me. I was a bit shocked by the way she looked at me, but that's when I realized that I never told her my sexual orientation.

"Lady Rium?"

Lady Rium narrowed her eyes at me. "You… like girls?"

I broke out in cold sweat as I hesitantly smiled, "I like boys too."

"..."

My smile dropped to a frown as my eyebrows knitted in worry. "Does that bother you? I'm sorry I never told you, but I'm still the same Reiré you know."

Lady Rium turned around and walked over to her desk. She gritted her teeth and slammed the paper against her table causing me to flinch.

"L-Lady Rium?" Not gonna lie, I'm a bit scared. What if Lady Rium was homophobia? That's not rare in this kind of setting. If she was, I'll be kicked out of this room, or worse, she'll stop funding for my education in this academy. "Lady Rium, are you disgusted?"

"Of course, I am!" Lady Rium yelled as she glared at me.

I felt my heart break at her confession.

"I'm disgusted that people are discriminating against you just because you are interested in girls! It's already bad that they harm you because of your status, but now they're harming you because you're a homosexual?! I won't allow that!"

I blinked. "You're… you're not disgusted by me? You're okay with me liking girls?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. It's actually better that you like girls."

Now, I was confused. "What?"

"It means I don't need to fight you for Lord Raphael. I would be in a pickle if you liked Lord Raphael too."

"Hah…" But I also like boys… Did she not hear that part?

"You always believed in Lord Raphael, even now when he changed." Lady Rium blushed as she said, "I was worried that your love for him was stronger than mine… I felt ashamed that I almost gave up on Lord Raphael when he chose Alexis Pearl over me, but you still believed in him. So I thought… that you also loved Lord Raphael."

I chuckled, feeling relieved. "Be at ease, Lady Rium. I have no interest in Lord Raphael. I know where I stand between you two."

"Is that so… I'm glad…"

I smiled, "So you're not bothered by me liking girls?"

"Well, do you like me?" she asked.

"Of course, I like you Lady Rium, just not romantically."

Lady Rium beamed, "Then we are good. By the way… why is your skin red?"

"Ah…" I looked down at my hands and my skin was indeed red. If I remember correctly, the doctor also said I have sunburns on my arms too… Rolling up my sleeve, I could see that my arms are slightly red as well. To think that the sun was so strong today that it was able to cook me through my clothes. I'm gonna have a terrible and painful shower tonight. "I just got a little sunburn." I wished sunscreen was a thing.

"It must be a terrible burn if you look like a tomato."

I groaned, "The sun was so mean today. I actually got a heatstroke."

"Oh my! Are you alright?" she asked.

I nodded. "Lady Claudia was with me at the time and she called for Dr. Media."

"What did the doctor say?"

"My sunburn should go away in a few days. I just need to keep my skin moisturized."

"I think I have some lotion," Lady Rium said. "Apply some before you go to bed."

My angel! "Thank you so much, Lady Rium."

"Oh, and…" Lady Rium hardened her expression that caused me to freeze. "We are not done talking about this!" She angrily pointed to the insult letter.

I sighed. I thought I could avoid it by steering the topic away, but nope. Looks like I'm also getting a scolding tonight. Who died and made Lady Rium my mom? No, even my own mom doesn't scold me this much. I could only groan as Lady Rium told me to kneel down like a peasant and listen.