When Leslie first asked the Salvatores to adopt her, she said that she'd revoke any claim to the name when she turned 18 and could live on her own, probably to make the agreement easier due to clearly not being after any inheritance from the rich family.

Recently, she's gotten the idea in her head that it is a part of the contract that will be enforced, so when the duchess asked her to prepare for a particular task, she came to the conclusion that if she does a really good job, she might be able to renegotiate the contract and ask to be a real part of the family (which she is).

Apparently, this involves studying all night and going to bed just before sunrise, because if she goes to bed by then, she can still function the next day.

oh no

She studied until she got a headache and studied through the headache. Then she got a nosebleed, was glad she didn't get any blood on the book, held a handkerchief to her nose, and kept studying.

I don't know if nosebleeds out of exhaustion are a real thing, but apparently she used to get them all the time at the Sperado mansion due to overwork, and she just thought "oh, this is the first time it happened here. I must still have a weak nose since I get them so easily."

stress does apparently have a relationship with higher nosebleed frequency

Oh, then I guess that's what happens there.

I tried looking up causes of nosebleeds and I didn't find one related to exhaustion, but I can definitely see stress doing that because stress is real bad.

Leslie, baby, please don't do this to yourself

Now that she's been forced to take a vacation, she tried to still go to the library to study or to the training grounds for stamina-building exercises or to help the servants around the house, and when those were refused she just sat outside staring at the snow-covered garden.

She couldn't think of anything to do other than that or sleep when she wasn't working.

I thought I'd gone overboard with how many things Leslie is getting herself involved in this month, but no, apparently that's just what she does.

Poor kid...

"Should I take a nap? That just feels like a waste of time. But staring at the garden also feels like a waste of time..."

:<

no wonder she meshes so well with workaholics like el and dimi

Hahaha, yes indeed.

At least it seems like when she doesn't feel forced into it either directly or by feeling something is too important to chance, she can keep a healthier schedule, but she sure doesn't seem to know how to relax.

I don't think even her research on how to protect the outer city in Aefenglom is going to push her to quite that extent, but Edelgard might catch a light under Leslie's door later than a twelve year old should be up. Not like just-before-dawn late, but maybe midnight.

Or I guess Hubert. I said Edelgard because she's nocturnal, but then I realized Hubert just doesn't sleep at all.

On the bright side, in chapter 45, I discovered that she has always wondered what it's like to receive a letter addressed to her and gets a lot of joy out of letter correspondence after she got the maids' help in learning what to write, so the thread where she sent letters to Hakunon was probably a super happy one for her.

What a good protege

Leslie is not the first person I would think of when I think of "people who are like Hubert."

But apparently they have a few things in common.

Chapter 48 had some worrying and sad things like usual, but it also had:
1) just as I wondered if I might be exaggerating the relationship between Leslie and the shadows, she had a longer conversation with them and the translation had her calling them “you guys,” and they picked up her stuffed animal for her and did something she interpreted as consoling.

And 2) LESLIE GAVE HER ADOPTED MOTHER A KISS ON THE CHEEK WHEN SHE WAS BEING TUCKED INTO BED AND THEN HID UNDER THE BLANKETS IN EMBARRASSMENT AND AHHHHHHHHH!! SHE ASKED TO GO ON A PICNIC BECAUSE SHE READ IN A BOOK THAT THE BEST WAY TO DEAL WITH A BAD MEMORY IS TO MAKE A GOOD ONE AND SHE WANTS TO EXPERIENCE LUNCH BOXES AAAAAAAA

I'm glad we're both up and here, getting punched in the heart by this comic,

oh wait I can read timestamps

plurk didn't actually show new replies until just now :T

Rude, plurk.

I’m glad Leslie appears to have avoided getting taunted into feeling terrible about sharing blood with would-be murderers. I was worried for a moment. It looks like it was a struggle to not end up feeling that way, though.

Also Marquess Sperado continues to prove to be less and less competent, but he’s still competent enough to be A Problem.