episode_0019

The view of the room that was in shambles.

Lara, who was pinned to the wall, didn’t even come into view.

“Your Highness!”

Luke’s gaze was only directed towards the fallen Elin.

I hurriedly hugged Elin.

“How on earth did you end up like this?”

I understand that there is a crowd at Mana Heart.

Even now, whenever I pat his back, he starts to cry and clots of blood pour out.

“Colok… … .”

Elin raised her head, spitting out all the blood that had gathered in her mouth.

Island-

Elin’s eyes were empty.

Enough to make the hairs stand on end.

“… Teacher.”

Elin’s eyes light up as she looks at Luke.

What filled the eerie emptiness that had disappeared.

“Ugh… .”

Moist eyes.

The sadness that had suddenly welled up in me flowed down drop by drop.

Tears are shed over the already dried tear stains.

“Doll… .”

“Doll?”

“He threw away the doll.”

“Yes?”

I looked around the room.

Even though it’s completely destroyed, it was a room that wasn’t bad to begin with.

If there’s a doll, it can’t be invisible.

The gaze naturally turned to Lara.

Now I have a rough idea why it ended up like that.

I clearly warned you, but you still bothered with Elin.

Come to think of it, it was around this time that the doll disappeared from the game.

Hug.

He hugged Elin silently.

The doll that had been with me for over 10 years disappeared overnight.

That too, unintentionally.

I couldn’t even guess what Ellin was feeling right now.

“… Black.”

Elin, who understood the unspoken signal, buried her face in her chest.

“Ugh… .”

The child, who felt awkward even crying, cried while holding back his sounds.

He got up from his seat, patting Elin in his arms.

“Huh.”

I burst out laughing.

This is the weight of a 12 year old… no, a 13 year old.

“Why did you do that?”

I asked Lara, who was holding her breath.

“Does this make you feel better after tormenting a little kid like this?”

Shudder.

Lara, who had been pretending to be unconscious, flinched.

I knew from the beginning that it was fine.

There were no serious injuries despite being pinned to the wall.

“Tsk.”

Passed by Lara.

In the first place, I didn’t really expect an answer when I asked that.

“Please wait a moment. I will take you to the doctor shortly.”

Then, Ellin, who had been shedding tears sadly, raised her head.

“… … What should I do now?”

“What should I do? I need to get treatment first.”

“What’s next?”

Although she is so small, Elin is actually 13 years old.

And 13 is not as young an age as you might think.

“Bah, the room is a mess… and the maid is like that too… … .”

At least he was old enough to know how to deal with the aftermath of an accident.

but.

“I will take responsibility.”

It was an age where I didn’t have to take responsibility for accidental mistakes.

Especially if the mistake isn’t entirely your own fault.

“You don’t have to worry about anything, Princess.”

It was so natural for a guardian to protect them.

“Please take a deep breath and sleep well. When you wake up, everything will be resolved.”

The corners of his lips were curled up.

“… Ah.”

In that strong and reassuring smile.

“… How can you take responsibility?”

Instead, Elin became anxious.

I’m afraid that Luke will suffer undue harm because of my own mistakes.

I’m afraid I won’t be able to see you again… … .

“I will take responsibility in a way that the princess won’t have to worry about. I promise.”

But I felt so relieved that my entangled little fingers were tied together.

“… … I’ll believe you.”

The consciousness that I had been holding on to slowly began to fade away.

* * * * *

“Mana Hearts are too much.”

The congressman, as expected, made the same decision as last time.

“Is rest enough this time too?”

“Yes… But this time, things are a bit off. I think I’ll have to rest for quite some time.”

“Okay.”

That makes sense.

Because I made the room like that with just pure magic power.

Luke nodded, convinced by the diagnosis.

After the congressman stepped down.

“So. What the hell is going on?”

Natia, who was standing next to him, asked.

With the maids talking so noisily in the hallway, it was impossible for the rumor to escape her ears.

“What on earth happened to turn the room upside down and make the maid look like that?”

“I don’t know exactly either.”

Natia glared at Luke with a look of disbelief.

“That’s right. It happened while I was away for a moment.”

“So you know the gist of it?”

“The exclusive maid threw away the princess’s precious rabbit doll.”

“… Yes?”

I could read the thought in Natia’s eyes.

You did this to me with just that?

You must be thinking that.

“I don’t think the princess meant to be that angry.”

“Why are you getting angry over something like that in the first place? No, rather, is it possible for getting angry to lead to this situation?”

“The princess is still inexperienced in handling mana.”

He continued speaking while placing a cold towel on Elin’s forehead.

“Didn’t I tell you, Your Highness, you are talented?”

“… … ”

“Of course, I didn’t mean to prove it this way.”

Natia, who had been glaring at Luke for a while, let out a deep sigh.

“What should I do with this… .”

It’s not ‘education’, it’s ‘processing’.

In Natia’s eyes, Elin was no longer a child to be cherished, but a troublemaker who caused trouble.

“Are you planning to punish the princess?”

“Of course. I did something like this.”

okay.

It makes no sense to let this go without any punishment.

If only the room had been a little more broken, wouldn’t it be different?

Because I harmed my exclusive maid.

Even Gerald would have been punished for this.

“There are circumstances. I hope the punishment is not too severe.”

“Is it a big deal that you’re going crazy because I threw away that doll?”

I looked at Elin in surprise.

I’m afraid that if you hear that, you’ll jump up.

“… … ”

Fortunately, Ellen was sleeping quietly with a wet towel on her forehead.

“That doll was precious to the princess.”

“No matter what, it’s like that… .”

Natia crosses her arms and bites her lips.

“At least you have to hit the whistle 100 times… .”

The punishment you think of is ultimately ignorant corporal punishment.

Luke swallowed a sigh and opened his mouth.

“I will take it instead.”

“Yes?”

“This incident happened because I failed to properly teach you, Princess. As the person in charge of your education, I will take responsibility for it.”

“Huh… Well, that makes sense.”

Natia nodded slowly, raising the corners of her lips.

It seems they’ve figured out that it would be easier for Luke to take the punishment instead.

“Instead, I can’t give you corporal punishment.”

“I don’t want to be hit by the Duchess either.”

Even a passing dog knows that there is no point in trying to substitute corporal punishment.

“Hmm… Then let’s do this. Recently, I’ve been hearing rumors that Ellin likes the teacher.”

The old fox declared with a grin, as if he was plotting a scheme.

“For the time being, the teacher―”

The details of the punishment flowed out of Natia’s mouth.

“Okay.”

Luke accepted the contents calmly.

* * * * *

A head that feels like it’s going to split.

A full body with a swollen face.

A forehead like a ball of fire.

Again.

It’s the same symptom as last time.

I lifted my eyelids, which were heavy as rocks.

“… Ah.”

A split voice flowed out.

What you see is an unfamiliar ceiling.

“Here is…?”

The place I was lying down was not a destroyed room.

How did it come to this?

I looked back on my memories.

I was upset that I had thrown away my stuffed rabbit.

Mana flows out of the body on its own.

I lost consciousness for a moment with the sound of something exploding.

The next thing I remember is the horrible memory of crying in Luke’s arms.

I turned my heavy head and looked around.

“Teacher… .”

Without realizing it, I started looking for Luke.

Now, Elin had become a child who sought out tutors before her parents.

“… Where did you go.”

I thought Luke would be by my side when I woke up.

Because I thought you would take care of me like last time.

But Luke was nowhere to be seen.

“I should say sorry… .”

There are words that remain clearly in my fragmented memories.

-I will take responsibility.

It was something I said to reassure Elin when she was shaking with anxiety.

That won’t do.

Punishment should be given to the person who committed the crime.

I was confident that I could take punishment better than Luke.

Because I’ve lived like that my whole life.

I was thinking that I should apologize as soon as the teacher showed up.

Click.

The visit was opened.

“Teacher?”

Elin turned her head, forgetting the pain.

“I’m sorry I’m not a teacher.”

It wasn’t Luke who entered the room.

“… Mother.”

My gaze naturally went down.

The fear imprinted on his body took effect.

“You’re finally awake. How are you feeling?”

“It’s okay.”

It wasn’t okay at all.

I felt like my body would break at any moment.

But the mouth moved first.

Because Ellen had to be okay no matter what happened.

“But… …Finally?”

“Huh? Didn’t anyone come today?”

“… I just woke up.”

“You’ve been lying down for a long time.”

Natia looked at Elin with a pitiful look.

It was not the kind of reaction one would show to a daughter who had collapsed in pain.

“It’s already been three days since you collapsed.”

three days

I didn’t realize I had been lying down for that long.

“Yeah. Three days. He says he was lying down comfortably after the accident.”

I’ve never laid down comfortably.

Rather, my body is still hot, as if my head is going to boil.

But this time, my mouth moved first.

“I’m sorry.”

This is not it.

The first person I wanted to apologize to was my teacher.

Elin bit her lip and raised her head.

“But what about you, teacher?”

“Instead, you are being punished.”

instead.

Those words stabbed Ellen’s heart so painfully.

“What kind of punishment are you receiving?”

“I’m locked in an underground prison where not a single ray of light enters.”

“… … Yes?”

I doubted my ears.

“You want me to do it myself. It’s my fault for not being able to educate you properly.”

responsibility.

The words weighed heavily on Elin’s entire body.

I didn’t want to pass the buck like this.

I opened my mouth, barely suppressing the feeling of guilt that made me feel like I was going to be crushed to death.

“Then how much further ahead… .”

“I’ve decided to stay locked up for half a month… so I guess I’ll be stuck here for at least ten more days.”

The teacher did nothing wrong, so he should be locked up in jail?

For two weeks in a cold, dark dungeon?

Swish.

I slipped helplessly.

Natia said something next to me and left the room.

But Ellen heard nothing.

You said you would never make me worry.

You promised with your fingers crossed.

Why did you go to prison on my behalf…?

All that was filling my head was meaningless grumbling.

Soon, I began to feel disgusted with myself for throwing such a tantrum.

“… It’s my fault.”

At the same time, a deep sense of guilt welled up from deep within.

“Because of me, the teacher… … .”

Consciousness is dragged into pitch-black darkness.

Just like last time, when I was on the verge of losing my mind.

The surrounding sounds fade away and your vision becomes dark.

Twinkle-

A light appeared from somewhere.

The light source was on the desk.

Elin, who was falling into the abyss of despair, turned her head.

The thing on the desk was an ordinary-looking piece of stationery.

No, actually it wasn’t ordinary stationery.

Because on the letter paper, a very familiar tone of voice was floating around.

Ellen picked up the letter with trembling hands.