The girl lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.
“Haa… ….”
The ceiling above her was dazzling, embroidered with clusters of stars. Next to her lay a massive teddy bear, a birthday gift.
“Seriously, how did you even bring something like this?”
She quietly gazed into the teddy bear’s eyes, her thoughts swirling with doubt. Amelia, whose birthday was today, found herself questioning things.
“By the way, how did you know it was my birthday?”
After her father, William, left, she had asked Rachel and Ed to question the servants.
They had all said the same thing—none of them had mentioned anything about her birthday to Hyunjin that morning.
That was completely different from what Hyunjin had told her.
Still, at the very least, it proved to some extent that Hyunjin was not someone who wished to harm her.
Ed had approved of him, and given everything Hyunjin had done so far, she felt that he hadn’t entered her service with any malicious intentions.
But Amelia remained cautious. She saw no reason to be careless.
“But what is this feeling?”
Every now and then, when she saw Ryunosuke, she was reminded of her childhood.
Back when she was in elementary school, Ryunosuke had thrown a punch on her behalf when she was being bullied on the playground for being of mixed race.
Of course, the outcome hadn’t been great.
She could still picture it—the rain pouring down, Ryunosuke rolling across the wet ground.
And then, with a shy smile, he had gotten up and said: “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
His face had been scratched, smeared with dirt and mud. But even as he got up, he pretended not to be in pain for her sake.
At the time, Amelia had been the one injured, but it wasn’t the pain that made her cry. It was the kindness of the boy who had worried about her.
In her childhood, Amelia had seen that moment as something straight out of a romance story—something ideal and precious.
For years, her memories of Ryunosuke had been filled with images of them playing together at the playground.
But then came the problem.
Once they entered middle school, they ended up in different schools.
And from then on, he never returned to the playground.
Even when she went there after school or on weekends, she had always been alone.
Eventually, Amelia became a junior high school student, and those days of playing with Ryunosuke became nothing more than distant memories.
Her bullying, however, did not stop.
At her new school, students whispered behind her back, casting judgmental glances in her direction. They muttered things like “bad luck” and questioned why a noble lady like her was attending a regular school.
Despite the discrimination, Amelia forced herself to remain composed.
After all, she was a noble—the daughter of the prestigious Lionheart family.
The reason she hadn’t gone to an elite all-girls academy was simple.
She had wanted to attend the same school as Ryunosuke.
But no matter how many times she transferred, she had never managed to find his school.
Because of that, she often struggled to keep up with her classes. Still, she endured it all, determined to pass her high school entrance exams so she could enroll in the same school as him.
Towards the end of middle school, Amelia finally learned where Ryunosuke had gone.
Hoshizora High School.
But by the time she obtained this information, it was already too late to transfer.
Even so, she made up her mind—she would see him again at Hoshizora High School, no matter what.
She firmly believed that if they met again, they could become friends once more.
With that thought, she spent the winter anticipating their reunion.
Then, just before the New Year, a man appeared before her.
That man was Hyunjin.
“If you give me a gift like this…”
Amelia’s mind felt chaotic. This wasn’t good.
After entering high school, her long-awaited reunion with Ryunosuke hadn’t gone as she had hoped.
If anything, she had spent more time with Hyunjin than with Ryunosuke.
For four months now, he had been by her side.
But her feelings for her servant were definitely not love.
Her feelings for Ryunosuke were still stronger.
At least, that’s what she told herself.
“You can’t do that, you idiot! Baka!!” (G: I know I should’ve translated it as fool, but couldn’t help myself.)
Frustrated, Amelia punched the teddy bear.
As it tumbled off the bed, she sat up.
“But…“
She muttered to herself as she reached down, grabbing hold of the fallen bear.
“I still have my doubts.”
Holding the oversized teddy bear close, she quietly nodded to herself before drifting off to sleep.
Enjoy reading Transmigrated as the Butler of a Defeated Heroine? Then please show your support if you are able to.
Want to read more? Become a Transmigrated as the Butler of a Defeated Heroine ($5 per month) member at Patreon and get Five or More Advance Chapters (parts) immediately, then stay 5 or more chapter parts ahead of the regular release for the month! Or, become a KR WN Bundle ($10 per month) member and have access to all the KR webnovel advance chapters on goblinslate. Get more chapters by sponsoring chapters at BuymeaCoffee. Rate and leave a review at NU.
Check out my other projects:
Rehabilitating the Villainess
Pushover Extra Trains the Villainesses
I Picked Up an Amnesiac Witch
My Summons Are Special
My Wife is the Devil