次の日、治療を終えて包帯を巻き直したあと。
ルクレツィアは少しの間ラミリオから目を離して、薬を片付けていた。どれも劇薬なので、間違ってラミリオが触れたりしないよう、きちんと管理する必要がある。
それがよくなかったのだと思う。
「ルクレツィア? もう帰ったのか?」
ラミリオが何の気なしに伸ばした腕が、ルクレツィアに当たった。
――!!
ラミリオの手のひらがルクレツィアの胸の上に落ちる。
ちょうどむき出しのデコルテに触れて、ラミリオは火傷したようにすばやく手をひっこめた。
「す......すまん。当たってしまった」
ルクレツィアは恥ずかしいなどというものではなかったが、ラミリオには何も見えていないのだ。触れたのがどこかも分かっていないだろう。
「薬を片づけておりました。もう少しで終わりますから、お待ちくださいまし。終わったら、本を読んでさしあげます」
平静を装ってラミリオに優しく声をかけ、ふと視線を感じて振り返ると、手燭を顔の真下に掲げて手術を手伝ってくれていたボスコが、面白くなさそうな顔でじっと見ていた。
「......おふたりの婚約はいつごろになりそうでしょうか?」
ボスコの質問に、ラミリオは声を裏返して反論する。
「予定はない! 昨日も言っただろうが!」
「ですから、なぜそう茨の道を行きたがるんですか。早めに決めていただかないと、こちらにも段取りというものが」
ルクレツィアはのけ者にされた気分で、むーっと唇を曲げた。
――わたくしもボスコさんのように、楽しくお話をしてほしいですのに。
ルクレツィアはその日いちにち、ちょっとだけ機嫌が悪かった。
ルクレツィアはマメに礼拝堂へと顔を出している。
そうラミリオに教えてくれたのは、司祭だった。
パストーレ宮殿の礼拝堂付きの専任司祭は、ラミリオが生まれる前からそこに務めている。超高齢の彼にしてみれば、ラミリオなどまだまだ洟垂れのガキにすぎないようだ。
司祭は療養中のラミリオのベッドサイドまで出張してくると、よたよたとした口ぶりで、長話を始めた。
「いやしかし、彼女は感心なお嬢さんですね。よく祈りを捧げにきていますが、近頃は、人に嫉妬して仕方ない、と。はっきりとは言いませんでしたが、どなたか高位の方と仲良くなりたいのに、その男性はいつも側近の男性と仲良さそうにしていて、間に入れないのだとこぼしていました」
ラミリオは、聞かなければよかった、と思った。
――いやもう、可愛すぎないか?
ボスコに嫉妬してどうするというのだろう。あんなのはラミリオにしてみれば腐れ縁である。
司祭は真面目くさった調子で説教を続ける。いわく、『通常、人から聞いた秘密はペラペラしゃべるものではない。しかし、それが高貴なご令嬢のことで、色恋沙汰であるならば、大変な間違いを犯す前に、何としてもラミリオが止めてあげるべきだ。それがこの家の当主として、よそから預かった娘に果たすべき責任なのだ』と。
要するに司祭は、足しげく通い詰める可憐な令嬢に、ほだされてしまったのだろう、とラミリオは見当をつけた。それで、軽率にご令嬢に無体を働かないよう、釘を刺しに来たのだろう。
ラミリオは天に向かって宣誓するように、軽く右手を挙げた。
「誓って言うが、俺はやましいことなど一切していない。もちろん、少しばかり罪深い思いは抱えている。しかし、それは美しい娘を見たら誰もが反射的に抱いてしまうような感情で、俺には理性があり、その力でもって完全に制御している」
ラミリオの熱弁は無事に司祭へと届き、彼は満足そうに立ち去っていった。
――そうだ。俺は紳士なんだ。誘惑になんか負けてたまるか。
そうは思いつつ、ラミリオはその夜も可愛らしいルクレツィアのことが頭をちらついて、眠れなかったのだった。
ルクレツィアの介護は涙ぐましいまでに献身的だった。
ときには杖の代わりとなって手をつないで先を歩いてくれ、ときには召使いのように汚してしまったテーブルや床を掃除してくれた。
そこには何の下心も感じられない。ひたすらな、胸を打つ優しい母性だけがルクレツィアの心に宿っていることを、しだいにラミリオも認めざるを得なくなった。
――こんなに健気でいい娘に、俺は......
手が触れるたびに、密かにドキドキしてしまっている。
彼女にとってはただの介護なのに。
もしも彼女にバレたらと思うと気が気ではない。
きっと彼女はラミリオを軽蔑するだろう。
彼女の親切心につけこんで、おのれの劣情を満たすようなみっともない真似だけは、死んでもしたくない。
ラミリオはできる限りルクレツィアを避け、そばに使用人を増やして、じかに触れる介護はさせないように徹底した。
「......閣下は本当に不器用ですね。普通そこは、『俺の財産がほしければ言うことを聞くんだな』とか何とか言いながらおいしい思いをする場面ですよ」
「悪役じゃないか」
「彼女が内心で期待していれば、その限りではありません。どう見ても彼女はラミリオ様に惚れているでしょう。好きな相手に言われるのならば、それもまた楽しい恋のエッセンスです」
「お前は何を言っているんだ......」
馬鹿げた空想を語るボスコに、ラミリオは軽蔑して、言い返す。
「さてはお前、俺の介護にうんざりしてるんだろう」
「分かりますか? ラミリオ様がルクレツィア様を妻として迎えていただければ解決する話なんですよ。私をこの苦行から解放してください」
ラミリオは一蹴して、ボスコの空想を頭から追い払った。本当に馬鹿げている。
ルクレツィアは毎日経過観察をしながら、ラミリオの世話をした。
「よくなってきておりますわ、ラミリオ様」
治療は目覚ましい効果をあげ、目に見えて斑点が薄くなってきた。
「あと少し我慢したら、治療はもうおしまいです。がんばりましょうね」
そうして、一か月の治療期間はあっという間に過ぎた。
一か月後、ルクレツィアは包帯を解いて、彼の目が完全によくなっていることを確信した。
「ラミリオ様、おめでとうございます! すっかりよくおなりですわ! さあ、どうぞご自分の目でもお確かめになって!」
ルクレツィアは嬉々として部屋の窓に走っていき、暗幕を引き下ろした。
部屋に黄金色の光が差し込み、埃っぽい室内をまぶしく照らし出す。
ラミリオは目をぱちぱちさせた。
手元にある鏡を覗き込む。
ぼんやりとした金属鏡を近づけ、瞳をアップで映し出すと――
薬のせいで色素が抜け、金色になってしまった瞳が映った。
ラミリオは絶句して、鏡に魅入られてしまった。
ルクレツィアの存在など忘れ果てたかのように、まぶたをむき、白目の具合を確かめ、右に左に視線を動かしている。そのどこにも、斑点は残っていない。
「......いかが?」
ルクレツィアがそっと声をかけると、ラミリオはつと目線を上げた。
「......まあ!」
治療中は、わずかなろうそくの明かりを頼りに瞳ばかり覗き込んでいたルクレツィアである。
正面きって彼の顔を見たのは、これが初めてだった。
鋭い金の目をした男性だった。飢えたワシを思わせるぎらついた目つき。気難しく引き結ばれた口元。
それらの欠点を差し引いても、彼は十分に美男だった。
そばで控えていたボスコでさえも「ほぉ......」と感嘆の声を漏らすほど。
長い引きこもり生活のせいで顔色は悪く、やつれていたが、青白い顔にふっくらとした肉づきと血色が戻れば、目元の鋭すぎる印象もまた変わってくるだろう。
ルクレツィアは彼の肩に手を置いた。
「とても素敵ですわ」
小さく、しかし力強くささやいて、彼の快気を祝う。
ラミリオの目には涙が薄く盛り上がっていた。
「......泣いている場合ではありませんわ、ラミリオ様。さっそく快気祝いのパーティをしなくては。娯楽がなくて退屈しているパストーレの皆さんに、一面の新聞記事で楽しい話題を提供して差し上げましょう?」
彼の泣き顔を眺めながら、ルクレツィアは、謝ってもらうのはまた後でいいかな、と思っていた。
The next day, after finishing the treatment and rewrapping the bandages.
Lucrezia took her eyes off Ramilio for a moment and put the pills away. They were all strong drugs, so they needed to be properly controlled so that Ramilio didn't touch them by mistake.
That was not a good idea.
"Lucrezia? Have you left already?"
Ramilio's arm, which he extended without thinking, hit Lucrezia.
--!!
Ramilio's palm fell on Lucrezia's chest.
His palm just touched the upper part of her chest exposed by her low neckline, then Ramilio quickly withdrew his hand as if burned.
"S-sorry. I accidentally hit it...."
Lucrezia was not embarrassed or anything, because Ramilio couldn't see anything. He wouldn't even know where he had touched her.
"I was putting away the medicine. I'm almost done, so please wait. When I'm done, I will read to you."
She tried to remain calm and spoke gently to Ramilio, and when she suddenly felt a gaze on her and turned around, she saw Bosco, who had been helping her with the surgery by holding the candles beside her face, staring at her with an uninterested look on his face.
"..... When do you think the two of you will be engaged?"
Bosco's question was refuted strongly by Ramilio.
"I have no plans to! I told you that yesterday!"
"So, why do you want to go down such a thorny road? If you don't make a decision as soon as possible, we have our own arrangements to make."
Lucrezia's lips twisted in a sullen mood, feeling left out.
'I wish you could enjoy talking to me as much as you enjoy talking with Bosco.'
Lucrezia was in a bit of a bad mood that day.
Lucrezia had been visiting the chapel frequently.
That's right, it was a priest who told Ramilio this.
The priest at the chapel in Pastore's territory had been there since before Ramilio was born. To the very old man, Ramilio was still just a sniveling little boy.
The priest came to Ramilio's bedside, where he was recuperating, and began to ramble.
"Well, she is an impressive young lady, isn't she? She often comes to pray, but lately, she said she couldn't help being jealous of someone. She didn't say it outright, but she said that she wanted to get along with someone of high rank, but the man always seemed to be getting along with the men in his entourage and she couldn't get in between them."
Ramilio wished he hadn't heard.
'No more, isn't she too cute?'
What was the point of being jealous of Bosco? They had a different type of relationship.
The priest continued his preaching in a serious tone, "Normally, you should not blurt out secrets that you have heard from others. However, if it is about a noble daughter and she is involved in a love affair, Ramilio should do everything in his power to stop her before she makes a terrible mistake. That is the responsibility that he should fulfill as the head of this family to the daughter entrusted to him by a stranger."
In short, Ramilio guessed that the priest must have been moved by the pretty young lady who frequented the chapel. He must have come to warn him so that he wouldn't have any imprudent  thoughts about her.
Ramilio lightly raised his right hand as if swearing an oath to the heavens.
"I swear to you, I haven't done anything wrong. Of course, I do harbor a few immoral thoughts. But, they are feelings that anyone would have reflexively when they see a beautiful girl, and I can control them completely."
Ramilio's impassioned speech successfully reached the priest, and he walked away looking satisfied.
'That's right. I'm a gentleman. I'm not going to give in to temptation.'
Despite this thought, Ramiro couldn't sleep that night with the thought of the lovely Lucrezia flickering in his mind.
Lucrezia's care for him was completely devoted to the point of tears.
Sometimes she walked ahead of him holding his hand in place of a cane, and sometimes she cleaned the tables and floors that he had soiled like a servant.
There was no ulterior motive. Gradually, Ramilio came to recognize that Lucrezia's heart was filled with a kind and tender motherly love that touched his heart.
'Such a good and admirable girl, I'm.....'
Every time their hands touched, he secretly got nervous.
Even though for her, it was just taking care of someone.
If she found out, he didn't even care
He was sure that she would feel disdain for him.
He didn't want to do anything so pathetic as to satisfy his own inferiority complex by taking advantage of her kindness, even if it killed him.
Ramiro avoided Lucrezia as much as possible, and he made sure that he had more servants by his side so that she herself wouldn't have to care for him personally.
".... Your Excellency is truly incompetent. Usually, that's the part where you'd say something like, "If you want my fortune, you'll do what I tell you to do," or other attractive offers."
"Doesn't that sound like a villain?"
"If she's expecting it inwardly, it's not a bad thing. No matter how you look at it, she's in love with Ramilio-sama. If she's being told that by someone she loves, that's the essence of enjoyable love."
"What are you talking about...."
Ramilio retorted with disdain to Bosco, who speaks of his ridiculous fantasies.
"You must be sick and tired from taking care of me."
"Do you understand? I'm sure this will all be resolved if Ramilio-sama takes Lucrezia-sama as his wife. Please release me from this torment."
Ramilio kicked him out and drove Bosco's fantasies out of his head. He was ridiculous.
Lucrezia took care of Ramilio, monitoring his progress every day.
"It's getting better, Ramilio-sama."
The treatment was having a remarkable effect, and the spots were visibly fading.
"If you just hold on a little longer, your treatment will be over. Let's do our best."
And so, the one-month treatment period passed in a blink of an eye.
A month later, Lucrezia unwrapped his bandages and assured him that his eyes were completely healed.
"Congratulations, Ramilio-sama! You're looking much better! Go ahead and see for yourself!"
Lucrezia happily ran to the window of the room and pulled down the curtain.
A golden light poured into the room, illuminating the dusty interior.
Ramilio's eyes fluttered.
He looked into the mirror in his hand.
He brought the mirror closer and saw a close-up reflection of his eyes--
The mirror reflected eyes that had lost their pigmentation due to medication and turned golden.
Ramilio was speechless and fascinated by the mirror.
As if he had forgotten Lucrezia's presence, he peeled his eyelids, checked the whites of his eyes, and moved his gaze from right to left. There were no spots left anywhere.
"... How is it?"
When Lucrezia softly spoke to him, Ramilio raised his eyes.
"Oh...!"
During the treatment, Lucrezia was only looking into his eyes by relying on the light of a few candles.
This was the first time she had seen him face to face.
He was a man with sharp golden eyes. He had a glare that reminded her of a hungry eagle and a grim, tight-lipped mouth.
Even with these flaws, he was a handsome man.
Even Bosco, who was waiting by his side, let out an exclamation of admiration, "Oh..."
His complexion was pale and gaunt due to his long period of seclusion, but once the plumpness and blood color returned to his pale face, the too-sharp impression around his eyes would change again.
Lucrezia put her hand on his shoulder.
"You look very nice."
A small but reassuring whisper congratulates him.
Tears were welling up in Ramilio's eyes.
".... This is no time to cry, Ramilio-sama. We must have a celebration party right away. Shall we give all of Pastore, who are bored with no entertainment, a pleasant topic to talk about with a front-page newspaper article?"
As she watched him cry, Lucrezia wondered if she could ask him to apologize later.
My Sister Took My Fiancé and Now I’m Forced to Marry the Ugly Duke
書籍・漫画化／妹に婚約者を取られてこのたび醜悪公と押しつけられ婚する運びとなりました～楽しそうなので張り切っていましたが噂が大げさだっただけで全然苦境になりませんし、旦那様も真実の姿を取り戻してしまい
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/my-sister-took-my-fiance-and-now-im-forced-to-marry-the-ugly-duke/
Action Adventure Romance
Aristocracy Arranged Marriage Broken Engagement Calm Protagonist European Ambience Family Conflict Female Protagonist Hard-Working Protagonist Hated Protagonist Multiple POV Nobles Sharp-tongued Characters Underestimated Protagonist Wealthy Characters
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n3436hc/
くまだ乙夜