Krrrrrr...
The ceiling began to collapse.
No, the world, the space, began to collapse.
The figure of the first head of the family gradually blurred.
Again. It's happening again.
'She's trying to disappear again!'
Leaving only incomprehensible questions, she was trying to disappear without a trace.
"Who do you think would let you go...!"
I ran towards her.
I stretched out my arm as far as it would go.
With the sole determination not to let go.
But I was too small and short to catch her as she disappeared.
She blurred beyond my grasp.
Then, at that moment, the first Duke moved his lips.
A soft voice spread in my ear.
And...
"Huff...!!"
I gasped and opened my eyes.
"Cough! Cough!"
My airways were constricted, and I twisted my body, coughing.
"Young lady...!"
Someone screamed and rushed over.
I blankly raised my head.
The figure of the first head of the family was faintly visible.
She moved her lips.
The last words I heard when the world was collapsing.
[─Find me.]
Find me, what on earth does that mean...?
"Young lady, are you awake?"
"Marin, I..."
"Don't speak. F-First, some water, have some warm water."
Marin, embracing me as if to lift me up, poured warm water between my lips.
Gulp, gulp.
After drinking the water, my throat, which felt like it was tearing, felt much better.
"Haa..."
"Young lady, are you alright? Is there anything hurting you?"
"Yes, but..."
What happened?
I was about to ask that question when...
Bang!
"Young lady!"
The door slammed open and Rigrin rushed in.
"Head Butler?"
I looked at him with a surprised face, and he immediately knelt before me.
"I'm so relieved you've woken up safely."
He looked disheveled, as if he had rushed over as soon as he heard the news.
This was the second time I had seen Rigrin like this.
Rigrin, examining my condition from head to toe, sighed and said.
"We have completed the treatment of external injuries with the healer's power, but I was worried because you didn't wake up. How is your body? Are you dizzy or does anything hurt? Please tell me even if it's just a slight abnormality."
Rigrin pressed me with an unlike his usual anxious tone.
I shook my head.
"I'm fine."
It wasn't a lie.
When I first woke up, I was breathless, but now my breathing was comfortable and my body felt light.
My ankle, which had been badly injured, had also been completely healed.
Is this the power of a healer?
'Amazing.'
Impressed by the healer's ability, I asked Rigrin.
"How long have I been lying down?"
It felt like only a few hours had passed.
At my question, Rigrin's expression darkened.
He replied in a somber tone.
"You haven't woken up for more than four days."
"Four days..."
I was inwardly surprised.
I had been asleep for that long?
'A lot must have happened in the meantime.'
It was such a big incident.
Did they find the terrorist?
Did they figure out what that crystal was?
Is Aen... is Aen okay?
Many thoughts flashed through my mind, but the first thing I asked Rigrin was...
"Is the Duke... is he safe?"
It was the Duke's well-being.
The last time I saw him, his injuries were so severe.
'Experiencing the power of the healer makes me think it's an unnecessary worry, but still.'
I somehow felt uneasy.
After all, he was injured trying to protect me.
'He's not dead, is he?'
The last thing I remembered of the Duke was his ice-cold face as he questioned me about 'power'.
But well...
'My memory is hazy.'
I don't know if it was a dream or reality. Maybe the Duke was already dead before that.
'That would be too anticlimactic.'
Seeing the Duke's composure in the face of impending death, I realized something.
'It's not enough to just die.'
As deep as the despair I felt, I want him to fall into a despair deeper than death.
'I'm going to make it happen.'
So he can't die yet.
I looked at Rigrin with eager eyes.
Tell me he's not dead.
Tell me he's still alive.
Looking down at me, Rigrin sighed.
"Young lady, surely you're not still..."
It was then.
"You're worrying about unnecessary things."
A low voice was heard behind Rigrin.
Noticing his presence, Rigrin flinched and stood up.
"...Lord."
"How is her condition?"
"Fortunately, the treatment seems to have been successful, but the psychological aftereffects-"
"Besides that."
"Pardon?"
The Duke, passing by Rigrin, stood before me.
I looked up at him with slightly surprised eyes.
The Duke said with his usual demeanor.
"I asked how you are, Lucia Rodbel."
The firm voice contained words that didn't suit him.
Why is the Duke asking that?
Why does my condition matter?
Frankly, isn't it enough to just be alive?
Ah, I see.
'He's trying to question me.'
Before questioning me about what happened in the library, he's trying to check on my condition first.
To make sure I don't collapse in the middle.
I hardened my expression and looked up at him, answering.
"I'm fine."
At the same time, I predicted his questioning in my head and thought about how to answer it.
But...
"Then that's good."
"......?"
"Rest."
"Excuse me?"
Leaving only those words, the Duke turned his back.
Wait, is that it? Is he leaving like this?
I stared at him with bewildered eyes at the Duke's actions, which were so different from what I had expected.
"And."
He stopped with his hand on the doorknob.
I looked at him with a questioning expression.
And?
I held my breath and waited for the next words, but for some reason, the Duke remained still without saying anything.
"Lord?"
Perhaps Rigrin was the only one who found the Duke's behavior strange, as he called out to him in a questioning voice.
Soon, the Duke turned slightly towards us.
His eyes met mine through the air.
He parted his lips.
"I'm fine."
"......?"
"So don't worry about unnecessary things."
"......Pardon?"
What is this man saying right now?
Leaving only incomprehensible words, the Duke left the room.
"Um..."
Everyone was speechless at the Duke's bizarre behavior.
After a moment of silence, Rigrin cautiously said.
"It seems... that the Lord wanted to relieve the young lady's worries... somehow."
Rigrin's expression became ambiguous, as if he knew he was saying something strange.
'I don't think so.'
Actually, that didn't matter to me.
Right now, I had something more important than the Duke's strange behavior.
I grabbed Rigrin's sleeve and asked.
"Aen... where is Commander Aen right now?"
I needed to see Aen immediately.
But Rigrin's expression was somehow strange.
His next words shocked me.
"Young lady, please have some porridge. You need to eat to regain your health."
"...Marin."
I turned to Marin, who was holding a bowl of porridge.
Her face was full of worries that she couldn't hide.
I felt sorry for making Marin worry, but the words Rigrin had left kept swirling in my head.
'Commander Aen Rixus is currently on vacation...... I cannot confirm where he is or what he is doing.'
Rigrin said that Aen was on vacation.
'It's not a vacation.'
As he said those words, Rigrin slightly avoided my eyes.
Rigrin doesn't know, but he has a habit of avoiding my eyes when he lies.
'Did something happen to Aen?'
I want to see Aen right away. But I don't even know where he is, and...
'You must take absolute rest for the time being. Absolute rest!'
Rigrin, noticing that I wanted to go out, left a knight in front of my door with sincere pleas.
'What should I do?'
How can I sneak out of the room and meet Aen?
'...Should I use magic tools?'
I stole quite a few magic tools from the white building. If I use them well, I might be able to sneak out of the room without the knights noticing.
But...
'I'll get caught soon.'
Rigrin visits frequently, and Marin is by my side.
Above all, if they find traces of using magic tools, they might search the room.
I have to avoid that.
I looked at Marin, who was holding the bowl of porridge and looking at me with anxious eyes.
Marin...
'She won't let me go out, will she?'
Considering Marin's behavior so far, she would definitely try to stop me from leaving under the pretext of protecting me.
But I can't just stand idly by...
"Young lady."
I suddenly lifted my head at the voice.
Marin was looking at me with trembling eyes.
"Ah..."
I felt very sorry for making Marin worry, setting aside my own situation.
So I was about to say it's okay, I'm sorry, but...
"Let me do it."
Marin said something unexpected.
"Huh?"
Not understanding right away, I asked back, and Marin's fingertips holding the porridge bowl tightened.
Her eyes hardened.
"I will fulfill whatever the young lady wants. So don't struggle with anything, just give me your orders."
My eyes widened at the unexpected words.
I never thought Marin would say such a thing.
I was sure she would stop me from moving under the pretext of protecting me, just like she always had...
As if reading my thoughts, Marin smiled weakly and said.
"I told you, I exist only for the young lady. This is how I protect the young lady."
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