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Azur Lane: Episode of Belfast Volume 2 Chapter 4 Part 6

「Please try to keep an eye on the Head Maid as much as possible, because she is that kind of person who is going to try and do her work even when she has a severe case of cold.」

「Understood, Sheffield-san!」

With the cooling pack filled with water and something to drink being placed in Bel-chan’s hands, Sheffield started to look after the open fire again. Bel-chan left the kitchen while looking back at her when she was at the door, and immediately ran back to Belfast just as she was told.

「Belfast-nee-sama, are you still awake?」

When she reached her room and opened the door with a quiet click, Belfast was lying on the bed with only her head peeking out from the blanket that she covered herself with, looking rather pitiful and distressed.

Bel-chan immediately offered Belfast the ice-filled cooling pack and let her drink some water from the cup through the attached straw..

「Here you go, Belfast-nee-sama.」

「Thank you so much, Bel-chan.」

Belfast sat up with a pained expression on her face and started to drink some water through the straw, knowing that a proper hydration was key when you were struck with a cold.

After a while, when she was about to lie down again, Bel-chan quickly took out the ice bag and got it ready to be used again.

She then gently put it back on top of Belfast’s forehead.

「How is it? Do you feel any better?」

「Thank you so much, Bel-chan. It already feels a whole lot better with that ice pack on my forehead.」

「Are you sure that it’s more than enough? You’re not pushing yourself too much, are you?」

「Yes, I’m sure, Bel-chan. More than one hundred percent sure.」

Belfast then smiled faintly at Bel-chan. And seeing that smiling face of her elder sister actually managed to make Bel-chan happy and cheered her up a little bit.

The little maid then gleefully pulled out a book from under the pillowcase of her own bed. And then Bel-chan slipped her chair near the lower bunk bed and she opened the book.

「I will be sitting right here this entire time and I will be reading a book, so if you have any questions or if you would like me to do something for you, just go right ahead and ask.」

Belfast just nodded her head with a faint smile, and then she said something as if she just happened to remember something.

「Come to think of it, Bel-chan…… Have you seen Nee-san around when you went into the kitchen?」

「Huh? Edinburgh-nee-sama?」

Bel-chan cocked her head slightly with her book wide open, and then she just shook her head.

「I haven’t really seen her around. Why? Did something happen? You want me to pass on some message from you?」

「No, it’s nothing…… Nothing at all.」

After saying that Belfast laid back on his back on the bed, her face slightly twisted with a frown.

It was certainly surprising for Bell-chan to hear that Edinburgh was up so early in the morning and nowhere to be seen.

While reading her picture book, she turned her attention to Belfast and found that she had finally managed to fall asleep.

For Bell-chan, Belfast’s sleeping face was very fresh of a sight to behold. Looking at her with her eyes closed and breathing softly like that, her beautiful face stood out even more in contrast to her usual clean and dignified appearance.

「Like this, she looks just like the Sleeping Beauty.」

Bell-chan, who had just raised her face from reading her book, leaked such impressions from her mouth while looking at Belfast.

She continued to read her book as she sat in her chair, dangling her legs alternately in an overly cute way.

About an hour later, she suddenly heard loud and fast footsteps coming from the direction of the hallway.

「Bel! I have heard that you are down with a sickness! Is that true!?」

The one who vigorously opened the door leading into the room in one fell swoop was none other than Queen Elizabeth.

「Your Majesty, please keep your voice down.」

But even if Warspite was trying to reprimand Her Majesty about that, it was already far too late.

Belfast’s eyelids had already begun to open when Bel-chan shifted her gaze back towards her.

「Ah, are you awake, Nee-sama?」

When Bel-chan spoke to her while Belfast was slowly opening her eyes, Elizabeth lined up right next to Bel-chan and brought her face closer to the Head Maid.

「I have heard from Sheffield that you had a cold and you needed to lie down. How are you feeling?」

It was at that moment that a certain thought occurred inside of Bel-chan’s mind.

—— If you get too close to Nee-sama, Your Majesty, you might even catch her cold by accident.

She then closed her book in an attempt to stop Elizabeth from coming any closer towards Belfast, and soon after she thought the same thing and saw what Bel-chan was trying to do, Warspite stepped in and pulled Elizabeth away to a safe distance.

「Hey! What the hell!? What do you think you’re doing, Warspite!? Let go of me this instant!」

「Your Majesty, it might be a far better idea to just give the sick person some space and do not pester them needlessly. The proper rest is an important part of the recovery process, after all.」

「But I’m not doing anything at all here!」

「Yes, I do realize that, but…… Umm…… I’m afraid Belfast won’t be able to rest properly if I get so close to her, you see……」

Warspite was doing her best here to choose her words as carefully as it was humanly possible. Seeing that Warspite was doing her best here, Belfast, who had just woken up, slowly opened his mouth to speak up.

「Your Majesty…… I appreciate your kindness, I really do.」

Belfast’s voice seemed to be a whole lot more horse than before.

「However…… I don’t really want to infect you with my sickness. So, Your Majesty, if it was not too much to ask of you…… For now, could you just do what Warspite-sama is saying…… Please……」

Elizabeth then groaned in dissatisfaction for a while and turned her face away, but eventually she seemed to be convinced by Belfast’s words, and she opened her mouth again.

「Okay, if you insist……But just to let you know! I was really, really worried when I heard that you had a high fever!」

「…… I’m sorry. I know that you must have been worried sick about me, Your Majesty. I’m sorry from the bottom of my heart.」

「I even brought you some apples so that you could get better soon! So here you go!」

Saying this, Elizabeth showed Belfast the apple that she was carrying in her hand.

「Your Majesty, what happened to make you do something like that?」」

When Bel-chan asked her that, Elizabeth stroked the apple in front of her chest and said,

「I usually don’t go and buy things like this from the Purchasing Department, but this time the circumstances were quite special. So there you have it!」

And then Elizabeth placed the apple loosely on Bel-chan’s hand.

「You must be Bel-chan, correct? I want you to peel this apple and cut it nicely so that Bel can eat it without any problems!」

「Y-Yes, Your Majesty! Right away!」

Knowing that there must have been a fruit knife in here somewhere, Bel-chan jumped off of her chair and headed for her cupboard right away.

「Where are the plates?」

Warspite followed right after her, and suddenly peered into the cupboard.

Inside of the small cupboard that was in Belfast’s room, several teacups and small plates were neatly lined up. Bel-chan pulled out one of the plates from the inside of the cupboard where they were stacked, and she passed it onto Warspite’s hands.

And then, after Bel-chan managed to find that fruit knife, she started to peel the apples smoothly, the way she was so used to after all of her kitchen work.

「Hmm, I see that both Bel and Bell-chan are not all that different when it comes to being dexterous like this about their work, huh?」

Elizabeth whispered to herself while she was observing Bel-chan peeling the apples.

「Umm…… Your Majesty…… If you don’t mind…… would you like to share some of those apples with me right now?」

Seeing Elizabeth looking at Bel-chan at work, Belfast proposed such a thing in a bashful way.

「No, I think that we are going to pass. But thank you for the offer, though. When we went to that store, we asked for the most nutritious of the apples that they had there, so I will have you eat all of those apples by yourself, Bel! Eat it all, get the proper nourishment, and get better soon!」

After smiling kindly, Elizabeth turned towards Bel-chan and said:

「Bel-chan! Peel those apples off in the most delicious way possible!」