episode_0086

The warm sunlight is coming in.

A refreshing morning with birds chirping.

Morning at Bertain, where I returned after a long time.

“Cool… .”

It was the worst.

Luke slowly raised his eyelids.

It tastes like iron for some reason.

I spat out something I didn’t know that was stuck in my mouth.

“… This kind of thing.”

Since when has this been stagnant?

A half-solid lump of blood came out of his mouth.

He got up with a body that was much heavier than usual.

“… … ”

The blanket was already soaked with blood.

So much so that anyone who saw it would think a murder had occurred.

“Hoo… .”

Luke wiped his mouth roughly with a handkerchief and thought about the contract with Bertain.

-《Your body will get a little, no, a lot worse.》

-It’s okay. You look tired even on a regular basis.

-《I don’t think that’s the problem…》

This is a side effect that was clearly predicted.

Luke also prepared himself and paid the price.

I got up and looked in the mirror.

But his face was much more gaunt than usual.

It wasn’t noticeable unless you looked closely.

Well, at this point I guess I don’t have to give up coffee.

It must have been painful to the point where you had to cut off the water of life.

That’s not it, it’s okay.

“What should I do with this?”

The next problem was the blanket.

The mattress cover was already wet, beyond the blanket.

The stain had already turned black, as if he had coughed up blood in the middle of the night.

I was glad I didn’t have to sleep with Elin again.

If Ellen had seen this scene… .

Knock knock.

-Hey, are you awake?

Luke was startled by the sudden knock on the door.

Shu-

I threw the entire blanket into the subspace.

“What’s going on?”

As soon as I answered, the door swung open.

“I think you slept a little longer today. What’s wrong? … What is it?”

Anne, still wearing her bad outfit, tilted her head.

“Where did all the blankets go?”

It was because I witnessed an unnatural landscape.

“Hmm.”

Luke thought about it for a moment.

No matter how brilliant one’s mind was, one had to have time to think of an excuse to hide the fact that one had made a contract with a dragon.

How cowardly of you to attack at such an unexpected time.

“I put it aside for a moment.”

“Why?”

“There’s a little bit of foreign matter on it.”

“… All over the bed?”

Is this still strange?

But it was the best answer Luke could come up with right away.

“Yes.”

The most important requirement for lying is to eliminate logical errors.

Now, instead of changing my words, it would have been better to just push forward.

“I can suck it.”

“It’s okay. Shouldn’t I clean up what I did?”

“Uh… well… right.”

“You only need to worry about the princess.”

The more she spoke, the more mysterious Anne’s expression became.

“Hey.”

“Why are you like that?”

“I’m asking just in case.”

“Yes.”

“You don’t have to answer honestly.”

“Yes?”

“Did you pee?”

“… … ”

I’m speechless.

Is it possible to think that way?

“No.”

“Hmm. I see.”

Anne nodded, though.

It wasn’t a look of trust at all.

I told you not to answer honestly in the first place.

It’s as if the answer was already decided from the beginning.

“People may make mistakes in life. I understand, I understand.”

Her eyes become warm in an unusual way.

As if he were to forgive and overlook the mistakes of an older, more rude friend.

I wanted to argue back that it wasn’t true, though.

“… Thank you.”

He bowed his head quietly.

Actually, it might have been better to misunderstand it like that.

It would be much more difficult to explain the situation by bringing a blood-soaked blanket.

“I wondered why you didn’t come out early in the morning, and that’s why?”

A warm smile appears on Anne’s lips.

Now, the expression on her face was so compassionate that she was telling the saint to go away.

… Let’s bear with it.

Because right now, it’s much better to misunderstand than to reveal the truth.

“Is the princess awake?”

“Oh. I’m waiting to eat breakfast with you.”

“Let’s go to the princess’s room.”

“Okay. I’m fine, so give me the blanket first.”

“… I’ll do the laundry myself.”

“Ah, right. I was inconsiderate.”

Anne followed Luke, giggling.

It was the expression of a little kid who had caught a funny weakness.

Should I just hit you once?

I thought about it seriously, but soon shook my head.

If Anne had hit him in his current physical condition, it was obvious he would have died instantly.

* * * * *

I was walking down the hallway heading to Elin’s room.

Dadadadada-

The servants run busily past beside me.

“Huh? Ann. You’re back?”

One of the maids pretended to know Anne.

“Did the princess come back with you too?”

“Uh.”

“I heard you went to the North.”

“That’s right.”

“Eek… Why on earth is it in that cold terrain… .”

Do you know Anne?

We ran into each other on the way and started chatting naturally.

“But where are you all going?”

“Ah, Princess Clavel collapsed again.”

“… Again?”

“Yeah, I guess training is tough these days. You collapse three times a day.”

“Is that okay?”

Anne frowned.

I didn’t have a good view of Clavel though.

They say that a person collapses three times a day.

I couldn’t help but be worried.

“I see you are taking the next class.”

“Huh? Oh, yes. I heard that.”

The maid blinked as if she hadn’t expected Luke to speak to her.

“Since I’m much later than the other next generation, I have to increase the amount of classes or something… Oh my, this isn’t the time. Then I’ll go give you the potion!”

The maid, who had slapped her mouth, ran back down the hallway.

“It looks like you’re sharpening your knife properly?”

Anne seemed to be preparing for the next competition to become the next head of the household.

“Rather than sharpening the sword, it would be a process of truly preparing for the next generation.”

Luke didn’t think so.

“I guess you already think that Princess Clavel is the next one.”

I know all about Berthain’s secrets.

The Bertains are one of the five great dukes of the empire and have extremely few members.

That’s because the curse that’s been passed down from generation to generation becomes stronger the more people there are.

If the curse gets stronger, the youngest one who has to endure it all will die.

Keep the number of people to a minimum.

It’s about whipping the best talent in the empire.

“I wondered why he wasn’t interested when the princess came back. It turns out he was harassing Princess Clavel.”

I guess they’re teaching on a fine line that can’t be broken.

Unfortunately for Clavel, though.

It’s a good thing for Elin.

While both Kalchad and Natia are focused on Clavel.

Because I can teach space magic to Elin comfortably.

“Your Majesty, may I come in?”

Luke raised his voice in front of Ellen’s room.

Dododo-

The door still opens with a clicking sound of footsteps.

“You’re late today.”

“Sorry, I overslept.”

“Does the teacher sleep late?”

“I’m human too.”

“… Really?”

“What kind of question is that?”

He went into Elin’s room, making a rude noise.

After eating the breakfast that Anne had prepared in advance, I immediately prepared for class.

When I woke up in the morning, I realized that there wasn’t much time left.

The time to decide on the next head of the household will not be long now.

I thought I had to teach all the spatial magic as quickly as possible.

* * * * *

Classes continued after breakfast.

Gulp-

We had a short break with some cute sounds.

“You look hungry.”

“… Yeah.”

Ellen shook her head.

That was understandable.

Even if you have an abundance of mana.

Using magic in succession like this consumes a lot of energy.

“Let’s have lunch and then continue.”

“Yeah.”

“Isn’t it hard?”

“Huh?”

“I tried increasing the class intensity a little bit. I wonder if it’s okay.”

“Hmm.”

Ellen tilted her head.

“Isn’t it harder for the teacher than for me?”

“Yes?”

“I think my dark circles got a little darker.”

“… … ”

I was speechless.

Even on normal days, I have dark circles all the way down to my cheekbones.

Did you notice it got a little darker?

“Isn’t it because I was up all night last night that I’m late today?”

“That’s right.”

I agreed for now.

First, there was no reason not to accept it if there was a reasonable misunderstanding.

“You have a good eye for detail.”

Ellen shook her head.

“Anyone would have recognized it, right, Anne?”

“Huh? Uh… … I don’t know?”

Anne narrowed her eyes and looked at Luke’s face.

“The dark circles have gotten this much bigger. My eyes also look a little more bloodshot.”

“… I usually don’t notice that much of a change, Your Majesty.”

Anne let out a blank laugh, as if she found it ridiculous.

“… Hmm?”

Ellen tilted her head as if she didn’t understand.

When Ellen and Anne examine Luke’s face to see if there has been any change.

Twinkle-

The long-distance communication paper in Luke’s arms sent a notification.

Since I had some free time during break time, I opened it up and took a look.

The sender is Victor.

The content was one short sentence.

But it was clear what it meant.

“Oh.”

“Why?”

“It seems that Hyungnim has received permission to marry Senior Dien.”

“Already?”

I know.

I should have arrived in Pirandello yesterday afternoon at the earliest.

Victor doesn’t even know how to use portals.

“… … ?”

Luke dropped his pen without realizing it.

Did I see something wrong because I’m not feeling well?

Even if you cough up blood, it would be a problem if your reading ability fades.

I rubbed my eyes and looked at the letter again.

The written sentence was exactly the same.

“… … ”

Luke was troubled.

Should I send a message first?

It was because I couldn’t decide the order of things, whether to ask if he was crazy first.