episode_0032

When I dug into the medicine container, the clanking sound I heard was very pleasant to hear.

But regardless of the sound, I felt a little anxious as the medicine slowly wore off.

Since it was made from medicinal ingredients that could not be obtained through ordinary means, it was an item that I had no choice but to rely on His Majesty.

“… Betty.”

“Yes, Raoul.”

“Have there been any letters or items addressed to me?”

“No. Even though I checked every day, there was nothing like that?”

Apparently, he was supposed to send someone every fifteenth day of the month to deliver medicine, but it seemed like something had happened.

If it were anyone else, my friends wouldn’t want me dead.

Otherwise, there was a possibility that my fiancee might have sent someone to steal the medicine.

Because she is a great person who would be able to do just that.

“I guess it’ll be okay because there’s still room to spare. If something falls, it’s just a matter of closing your eyes as soon as it falls.”

“By the way, Raoul, I’ve been wanting to ask you for a while. What is that medicine?”

“It must be something similar to adhesive. Adhesive that holds it together without any problems even if it comes off at any time.”

“Ho, aren’t you eating glue by any chance…?”

“…… It’s just a medicine I take because I have a chronic illness.”

My maid, Betty, gave me a confused look, put down her coffee, and walked out.

Now that I think about it, I also felt like I had seen Betty somewhere. I thought I saw it when I came to visit the mansion, but… I also felt a sense of discomfort to ignore it like that.

I’m sure I saw it when I went to the imperial palace with my father when I was young, but I couldn’t quite remember. Neither Camilla nor I are good at using our brains, so we had no choice but to worry like this.

Two other people playing chess with their eyes closed and just talking might know something.

“… I wonder what meaning such memories have.”

After finishing my morning routine as usual, I looked for a hair tie to tie up my loose hair.

Since this was a task I had repeated every day since I was young, there shouldn’t have been any problems, but a problem arose.

The hair tie was not visible. If it were any other item, I could have passed it off as if there was no problem, but that hair tie was an exception.

I went downstairs, approached my maid who was doing laundry, and asked her a question.

“Betty. Have you seen my hair tie?”

“A hair tie?”

“… It’s an object made of black linen with small birds and trefoil claws drawn here and there. Although it is a fairly old and featureless item.”

“Ah, that strap you always wear? Well… I’m trying not to touch Raoul’s things.”

It was a complete disaster.

I hurriedly searched for the places I visited yesterday, but in the end it was all in vain.

Cecilia, who saw my expression, seemed surprised and said she would help me find it, but it didn’t mean much.

“Are you okay…?”

“Can I look for it one more time?”

“It doesn’t really matter, but it still has a big meaning…”

“Please. It’s old and worn, but it’s precious to me.”

I desperately searched her house, but unfortunately I couldn’t find anything, not even a nose.

“I’m sorry. For bothering me.”

I tried my best to kill my emotions, but I couldn’t stop my heart from shaking.

Because that item was something that did not belong to the ‘familiar’ category to me.

“Hey… If you have a hair tie, I have a lot of it, so would you like one?”

“No. It existed to tie hair, not as an object.”

“I don’t understand very well. Was it a valuable item?”

“…… I guess you could say that.”

My heart, which must have been accustomed to any kind of sadness or stimulation, began to shake, albeit slightly.

Even though I was killing my emotions as she taught me, there was nothing I could do about the pain of loss.

‘You’re not an idiot, so don’t make a fuss about killing someone on the battlefield. You can grieve later. Until then, just do as I tell you and kill your emotions. okay?’

‘At least tie your hair with this. You have a pretty face, but if you walk around with your hair down like that, you’ll definitely be made fun of.’

‘It suits you well. The problem is that it’s always soggy. is not it?’

… She has always been a self-indulgent woman. As Master said, she was like ‘a bird that can soar to the very edge of the sun.’

She was the most outstanding and brightest among us. It was really embarrassing to lose the item she gave me.

Isn’t it a bit cruel to take away even the traces of life just because there isn’t much time left to live?

“… Well, my life is basically like this. It was always a series of losses. This kind of thing can’t even be included in the disaster axis. I lost my family, my lover, my honor, my relationship with my father, and my right to be happy. Everything I was holding was slipping away like sand between my hands.

“My lord…?”

“I just lost that one thing today, so it’s not a big deal. I’ve lost my heart, but does it matter if I lose a fingernail? It’s just something like that, so it shouldn’t cause your heart to waver. At best, only one trace has disappeared. It would be an insult to her if one’s heart is shaken by something like this. Even if I shake the enemy, I myself remain immovable, like the unshakable ground, as she said…”

“Lord…?”

The habit popped out again.

It was clear that I, too, had a lot of problems because the bad habits I had tried so hard to break were popping up like this.

“I’m sorry. He seems to have become emotional after losing something precious.”

The moment I turned the doorknob and was about to go out, something heavy collided with the door.

“Ahh!”

“… I’m sorry. I guess I was distracted for a moment and didn’t see it.”

The man who collided with the door was a man I had never seen before.

Judging by his appearance, he seemed quite wealthy, but his face was covered in dirt and blood, so it seemed like something was up.

He didn’t care at all that he was hurt and spoke urgently to Cecilia who was behind me.

“Se, Cecilia…! We’re in big trouble…! On the way to this town… on the way…!”

“Do you know someone?”

“Yes, you are a merchant who often stops by this village and buys monster corpses… What is going on?”

“Suddenly, thieves appeared and stole our top employees and goods…”

I knew that people’s lives had become difficult because of the foolish war that started first, but I had no idea that bandits were still running rampant.

As soon as His Majesty ascended to the throne, He did his best to resolve the confusion.

Surely those who have tasted the sweetness of stealing are still wandering around in search of that honey.

“I was also caught and desperately escaped… But there were still other top employees…”

“What is the scale of the bandits? Were other people captured too?”

As soon as he saw me, he gave me a puzzled look. I’m sure he’s making this face because he doesn’t know who I am.

“Who are you…?”

“He is the representative person of this village.”

“Excuse me. I’m not sure about the scale, but there were several people as large as giants… and I vaguely heard that one of the people captured was a nobleman. He said he would get a good ransom.”

There is no telling what kind of foolish nobleman came to this outskirts and suffered misfortune.

I’m sure he’s a stupid person with a flowery head.

“Did you say anything more about that nobleman?”

“Obviously… I also heard that it was a hard time for a young girl to rebel…”

I wanted to see what kind of thoughtless noble lady had suffered a misfortune.

Although, unlike the brilliant Liesel, he would also have to save the noble lady who couldn’t turn her head.

But the man called the merchant suddenly grabbed my hand and said this.

“Please save our employees…! I will give you my case as you ask for it…!”

I really liked this guy.

It was strange that he was disliked as he was a man who cared more about his subordinates than the stolen goods.

A man like this could have helped as much as he wanted.

“It is done. I was already about to leave.”

“My lord…?”

When he asked anxiously, Cecilia reassured him.

“Please rest assured. Even though you have a beautiful appearance, your skills are truly monstrous. Because you are much stronger than me.”

Personally, I don’t prefer the word monster.

“Still, be careful… I don’t know if it’s real, but… Judging from what they said, it doesn’t seem like they’re ordinary thieves.”

“I wonder what on earth he said.”

“In fact, one of the five heroes known to be dead is not dead… and is actually their leader… I think they definitely said that…”

After that, my train of thought was interrupted for 10 seconds.

I’ve forgotten the name of what I felt during those 10 seconds, but one thing was certain: it wasn’t a good feeling.

And it was also clear what actions those feelings would lead to.

“… That’s what I said.”

“Yes, so I think it would be better to be careful.”

“At ease. That’s an obvious lie.”

I adjusted my wand and asked him a question.

“So where are they?”

“We met on the mountain road west of the village…”

“That’s enough.”

When I tried to go out alone, Cecilia spoke as if she was worried.

“Are you really planning to go…? We’d rather go together…”

“It’s enough for me alone. I am the representative of this village, so I will have to take some action.”

“Action?”

“… I’m thinking of touching it just a little bit. That’s just it.”

okay. I was thinking of touching it, even if it was just a little bit.

I don’t know how they will take it.