Chapter 170: Aftermath (2)

“Urgh…!!”

After experiencing the side effects of the medicine and losing consciousness for days several times, I was starting to get used to it.

No, I’d gone beyond getting used to it. Now I could roughly guess how many days I’d been out just by how stiff my body felt.

‘Judging by how much stiffer I feel than last time, it must’ve been over a week this time. But…’

I frowned and smirked at the transparent skill window that still filled my vision, refusing to disappear.

Even if I didn’t want to acknowledge the power of Baldo, wasn’t it a bit much for this to still be here days after the fight ended?

[The power of Honhuld, the demon of strife, to seal strong abilities isn’t the type that puts a burden on itself.]

This skill window kept filling my vision, reappearing every time I tried to swipe it away.

“Give it a rest already.”

As I kept swiping at the persistent skill window and tried to get up from the bed, I suddenly felt my leg catch on something.

Looking down, I noticed Jessica’s face, using my knee as a pillow. I hadn’t realized she was there because I was so distracted by the skill window.

“Jessica…”

Seeing the bedding on the floor, it looked like she’d been eating and sleeping here while taking care of me.

She didn’t need to do that, but seeing how she’d stayed by my side all this time was touching.

“Jessica!! Jessica!! Wake up!!”

Wanting to show her I was awake, I shook her shoulder. Jessica slowly sat up, blinking at me with half-closed eyes.

“…Ian?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

For a moment, Jessica’s face lit up with a bright smile when she realized I was awake, but it didn’t last long.

“…So you’re up. I was worried.”

Her bright smile vanished instantly, replaced by an icy expression that could rival the coldest winter. She abruptly stood up.

Then she turned her back on me and started to leave as if fleeing. Confused, I called out to stop her.

“Jessica!”

“…What is it?”

“Oh, um… Could you get me some water? My throat’s a bit dry from just waking up.”

Not knowing what to say, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. Jessica grabbed a cup and a water jug from the shelf, came over, and handed me the cup.

“Here.”

“…Thanks.”

Bewildered by her sudden change in mood, I took the cup. Jessica started pouring water into it.

The water, as cold as Jessica’s expression, filled the cup almost to overflowing, but she didn’t stop pouring.

Even when I said it was enough, she kept going until the jug was empty, soaking the bed.

“…Is that enough?”

“……”

I nodded, looking at my soaked hands and sheets. Jessica put down the jug and left the room without looking back.

‘What happened while I was asleep?’

As I roughly dried my hands on the blanket and left the room, Jessica was nowhere to be seen, having disappeared in that short moment.

Instead, I spotted Hori wandering nearby. When she saw me, she lit up for some reason and came trotting over.

“Ian!! You’re finally awake!! You were out for almost a week!!”

“Yeah… But did anything happen while I was out? Jessica seems angry for some reason.”

“Jessica? Oh, is it because of that?”

“That?”

As I tilted my head in confusion, Hori was about to explain when Nana suddenly appeared behind her, as if by coincidence or as if she’d been waiting.

“…Lord Ian, you’re awake.”

“…Lord?”

Her voice sounded oddly stiff, but she was definitely addressing me.

It was natural for non-Baldo users to use honorifics with Baldo users, but such a drastic change in attitude after just a week felt jarring.

No, more than jarring – it felt sarcastic, which annoyed me.

“Cut it out with the ‘Lord’ crap. Just talk to me like normal. Drop the honorifics too.”

“…I can’t do that anymore.”

“Why? Did something happen while I was asleep?”

Instead of answering, Nana just nodded and gestured for me to follow her.

My curiosity grew with each passing moment, wondering what could have happened during the week I was unconscious to cause such reactions.

After parting with Hori, I followed Nana to a small room in the mansion, typically used by maids or butlers.

Nana lightly knocked on the door, then opened it. The person inside nervously came out to greet us.

“I-Ian? No, um… Master…?”

“Euclid?”

The still-unfamiliar female Euclid stood there, wearing a maid outfit that was slightly more revealing than what the mansion’s maids usually wore.

“…Seriously, what happened?”

“We couldn’t completely cover up the events of the past week, so we had no choice but to inform His Majesty. As a result, this is the reward bestowed upon you, Lord Ian.”

Since this matter had to be handled discreetly, they couldn’t give me any obvious rewards like raising my rank or granting me land.

So what the king gave me was the corpse of the demon I defeated, Euclid who had become a woman, and Nana as her bodyguard.

“He gave them to me?”

“Yes, but His Majesty emphasized that they were given to you as individuals, not as royalty, so you needn’t feel burdened. He said you could keep them or send them away as you please.”

Even if he told me not to feel burdened, how could I not when I’d been handed over two people’s human rights?

Wondering if Euclid… no, Julia was okay with this, I looked at her. She just stood there with her eyes closed, as if waiting for her fate to be decided.

‘What should I do about this…?’

——

“Y-you’re going to give me as a reward?”

At first, I thought Father hadn’t given up on recruiting Ian and was trying to force me on him.

I was prepared to bite off my tongue since they’d taken my dagger, but Father’s next words made my jaw drop.

[Yes, but I’m giving you as Julia the individual, not Princess Julia of the royal family.]

“…What?”

Julia? Was that to be my new name?

No, more importantly, giving me as an individual rather than as royalty meant…

“Have you… given up?”

[…Half and half. I’ve given up on recruiting him, but not on earning his goodwill. But are you okay with this?]

“…Pardon?”

[Giving you as Julia the individual rather than as royalty is essentially stripping you of your royal status.]

As Father said, his words meant I’d have to give up my royal status and live as Ian’s slave, but I didn’t mind at all.

Of course, if I could be greedy, I’d want to be by his side as his wife rather than a slave. But as a criminal, I didn’t dare hope for such luxury.

Being a slave was fine. Just being able to stay by his side was enough for me.

The first day at the mansion, following Father’s orders, wasn’t smooth sailing.

Lady Jessica glared daggers at me from the moment she heard Father’s decree, and Ian showed no signs of waking up.

The other servants in the mansion seemed to sense something was off and didn’t give me any tasks, so I spent my days just waiting in my room.

I couldn’t just keep sitting around doing nothing, so I went to Ian’s room to help take care of him. But Jessica, who’d been eating and sleeping there, glared at me and slammed the door shut.

It stung to receive such cold treatment for the first time, but what hurt more was not knowing Ian’s condition.

A week passed like this after I was assigned this room. Finally, Ian woke up.

“So that’s why Jessica was so angry.”

“Yeah. I-it’s all my fault…”

“It’s not your fault… Things just got complicated. So, what do you want to do, Euc… Julia?”

“…Huh?”

“I mean it. You said you’ve been living in this mansion for a week. Jessica must have given you a hard time. Can you handle that?”

For a moment, I hesitated to answer, sensing he was implying he wouldn’t intervene if such things happened again. But I only had one answer.

“Yes… I can handle it.”

I can endure it. A life of hardship I’ve never experienced before might await me, but somehow, I felt I could bear it if Ian was by my side.

“I-I know I’m in no position to ask, but can I make one request?”

“…Sure, go ahead.”

“Even if I’m your second or third or fourth choice, could you spare a little love for me too? If you do, I think I could endure any treatment.”

Ian smiled gently at my words. Instead of answering, he placed his hands on my shoulders and slowly brought his lips to mine.

It was warm. As our lips met, I felt Ian’s affection flowing into me along with his body heat, and I couldn’t help but smile.

Wishing this moment could last just a little longer, I stood on my tiptoes and leaned in closer to Ian.