Reborn As Noble

Juria smiled gently, her expression softening.

”So... is there anything you need from us?”

Gracelle pulled her blanket down slightly, only showing her eyes as she mumbled behind the fabric.

”Can I see... Miss Elf, please?”

”Hmm?” Juria tilted her head. ”Didn’t you just meet her this morning?”

”Mm... but... there’s something I want to ask her... please?” Gracelle gave Juria pleading puppy eyes.

Juria exhaled and pinched the bridge of her nose.

”I don’t know. First, it’s already night. She might be awake, or she might not be. Second, you may not know this, but among all Armand staff, she’s like Mrs. Erinette when it comes to duty, strict, stern, and no-nonsense. And she can be... scary.”

”I...” Gracelle mumbled softly. ”I just want to meet her, even just for a moment. I have something really important I need to confirm. So please...”

Juria let out a long exhale. ”I won’t promise anything, but I’ll see what I can do.” She glanced at her mana watch, considering the time. ”Hmm...Knowing Liana’s routine, she was likely either eating dinner, already asleep, or attending to His Highness.”

Gracelle pulled the blanket down further, pursing her lips. ”Please... I just need to confirm something, or... I won’t be able to calm down. I’ll keep worrying if I don’t know.”

Juria glanced at Gracelle and shook her head. ”I’ll try. But don’t expect her to agree to come here. She’s not just a high-ranking staff member, she’s soon to be His Highness’s official fiancée and his future first wife.”

”Mm... I... I understand... Just please... tell her I need to know something... it’s... really important.” Gracelle’s voice trembled slightly, her eyes earnest and desperate.

Juria gave a small, reassuring nod. ”Rest for now. I’ll send word. But no promises.” She turned to leave, pausing briefly to adjust the monitoring equipment beside the bed. ”Try to relax, Miss Gracelle. Worrying won’t help your recovery.”

”Mm... okay.” Gracelle nodded weakly, her expression still clouded with anxiety.

Juria exhaled and turned, heading outside the ICU room.

Once she closed the door, she moved toward where Myra, Kalea, and the others were chatting in low voices nearby.

Myra glanced up from her seat toward Juria.

”So? What is His Highness’s patient requesting this time?”

Juria let out a weary exhale and glanced at Myra and Kalea.

”She wants to meet Miss Liana again.”

Kalea, who heard it, immediately rushed toward another table and pretended to be busy, while the other healers suddenly found reasons to look away, adjust equipment, or murmur about needing to check supplies, anything to avoid being assigned the task of fetching Liana.

Myra’s eyes widened in surprise. ”H... hey!? What’s with all of you?!”

But everyone was pretending not to hear, avoiding eye contact, and some even hurried toward the bathroom or supply closet, clearly trying to dodge the responsibility.

Myra swallowed hard before glancing up at Juria with a sheepish, nervous smile. ”Ah... since everyone is busy... umm... and I need to watch over the patient... so... hehe~”

Juria exhaled, shaking her head.

”Fine... I’ll go and meet her myself.”

Everyone who heard Juria say that let out a collective sigh of relief and smiled, before regrouping around Myra’s table as if nothing had happened.

Kalea just smiled innocently, clasping her hands behind her back before walking toward the table slowly.

Juria gave all of them a flat, disbelieving look.

”Seriously? You all...”

Kalea averted her eyes while scratching her cheek. ”Well... I’m the one who called her this morning... so... well... errr...”

Juria pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a tired exhale before glancing at Myra.

”I’m going now, Leader. After this, I’m going to rest. So... don’t fall asleep again...”

After removing her scrub top, cap, and mask, Juria washed her hands and face thoroughly at the sink. She reached for a fresh towel from the rack, dried her face, and glanced at her reflection in the mirror.

I don’t know why I have to go meet Liana just for this patient.

And I’m confused about what she could possibly need to ask her that’s so urgent...

Sigh.

She glanced at the mana watch on her wrist, the soft glow of the display showing the time.

Let’s hope she’s already finished eating and isn’t asleep yet.

If she’s asleep or in a moody mood... I guess I’ll just have to tell the patient that she’s already resting and no one dares to wake her. She’ll have to wait until early morning.

But...

What if she refuses to sleep because of this?

Sigh.

Now I might have to ask Mrs. Erinette for advice... If this really becomes a problem, perhaps there’s another way to handle it...

She reached the door, opened it, and stepped out into the open courtyard. She turned and closed the door softly, letting out a long exhale before turning around to start walking toward the next building.

But she paused and glanced up, seeing the huge orange Pekko standing right in front of her.

Juria shook her head and smiled.

”Hey, big bird. Don’t scare me like that.”

”Cuquawked?” Buddy tilted his head and glanced down at her.

Juria smiled and looked up at him again. ”You might not know me well... since we rarely meet. I work at the Armand Healing Facility in Gaze City and rarely get to visit Armand Estate, you know.”

Buddy smirked with his big beak and squawked, ”Cuquawked!” nudging her gently with his huge wing, causing her to stumble slightly.

Juria giggled softly. ”Mou! Don’t do that.” She looked up at him. ”Orangie?”

Buddy narrowed his eyes and glanced down at her.

”Cuquawked!”

”Ah~ Sorry... mm...” Juria put one finger on her chin while looking up at him. ”I believe our handsome, charming Prince calls you... Buddy, right?”

”Cuquawked!” Buddy puffed his chest out smugly, a proud smirk evident on his beak.

Juria smiled softly. ”Do you think your master’s first wife...” she gestured for Buddy to lean down and whispered, ”that beautiful but scary elf, is still awake?”

Buddy gave her a shrug and turned his head to the side, looking at her with one eye.

Juria giggled softly. ”Sorry~ You don’t like anyone talking ’bad’ about your master’s future wife, huh?”

”Cuquawked?” Buddy looked at her before squawking again and giving another shrug, his expression clearly showing he didn’t care much about the topic.

Juria looked at the orange Pekko, her expression softening.

”Can I pet... your wing?”

”Cuquawked!” Buddy puffed his chest and gave her a side-eyed look, but didn’t move away.

Juria smiled and slowly reached for his huge wing, gently running her hand over the soft, puffy feathers.

”Mm~ So soft.” She leaned in and pressed her cheek against his wing, closing her eyes for a moment. ”I really wish I could own a Pekko for myself, you know.”

”Cuquawked?” Buddy glanced at her in confusion, his head tilting slightly.

”Ah...” Juria pulled back slowly after enjoying the warmth and softness of his feathers. ”You’re the first Pekko I’ve ever gotten this close to. I know there are a lot of wild Pekko around, but they never really let me touch them or get close.”

She smiled faintly. ”I wonder why. The kids in Armand can mount and play with them, and even the soldiers and guards have their own. They’re so lucky.”

”Cuquawked!”

”Thanks for comforting me.” Juria smiled, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a wrapped candy. ”Want some?”

Buddy glanced down at the small candy, giving her a choosy, judgmental look before letting out a dismissive squawk and walking away with a smug, deliberate stride.

”Prince Javier’s Pekko is really different and weird, huh?”

( End Of Chapter )