episode_0138

“Chris?”

“Phew… I almost thought I was dead.”

Christine, who had somehow escaped from beneath Lucilla, rubbed her neck and glared at her resentfully.

“You’re lucky it was me. You almost killed some poor innocent person.”

“It was a mistake. I reflexively reacted when I heard someone approaching—”

“Mhm, mhm. It’s natural to get jumpy when you’re on guard duty. I doubt you meant to do it on purpose.”

Christine opened her mouth to speak again but stopped when her gaze drifted to Eric, asleep in the room, before returning to Lucilla.

“Lucilla, do you have a minute now?”

“A minute?”

“If it’s too late, I won’t push it.”

“No, it’s fine.”

To Lucilla now, sleep was merely a means to rest her body, not a necessity. Though she no longer bore the divine sword’s protection, staying awake one or two nights was nothing to her.

“While we’re at it, there’s something I want to talk about regarding Eric. It won’t take long.”

“I don’t mind staying here. What is it?”

“Wouldn’t it be awkward to whisper away in the same room where he’s sleeping? What if he wakes up?”

Hearing that, Lucilla paused. She wondered how Eric would react if he overheard their conversation about the future… or about her.

“Then we should step outside.”

“Right?”

“But that would leave Eric alone in this room. That’s too dangerous.”

Though Eric had insisted no one would attack him, Lucilla had volunteered to stand guard—not for Eric’s sake, but her own priorities. Yet Christine knew her too well.

“Didn’t you see his artifact earlier? It renders most ambushes pointless. Besides, I’ve layered multiple defensive spells around the mansion without him realizing. You felt them too when you entered, didn’t you? He thinks they’re just wards against pests.”

“That eerie presence earlier… was all your magic?”

“I may not compare to Elia, but I’m still a once-in-decades prodigy in my own right. That much is child’s play for me.”

“So there’ll be no outside attacks. But my real concern isn’t just intruders. Even when we fought, the greatest threats came from—”

“I know. You’re worried about the servants inside, right? Don’t worry, I accounted for that too.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Lucilla quietly closed Eric’s door. But the next instant, she pinned Christine down again—this time harder.

Thud.

“Ghk… ugh…! W-What—?”

“Proof. There’s no way you’d come to his room at this hour without reason. So prove to me you’re really Chris.”

“Keh… And if… I do… will you believe me?”

“Just use the same escape magic again. That was Christine’s signature spell.”

“Hah… Haha… You know full well… I can’t use it now… So why bother…?”

Tap.

Lucilla quietly stepped off her.

“I apologize again. I’m sorry, Chris. Leaving Eric unprotected didn’t sit right with me, so I had to test you once more.”

“Cough, cough! Yeah, being thorough isn’t bad. But Lucilla, what if I had used that spell again? What then?”

“Feign trust and kill you in one strike. Christine’s body wouldn’t withstand me. If that failed, I’d grab Eric and flee. The palace isn’t far—once there, tracking you, or whoever’s possessing you, wouldn’t be an issue.”

“Tracking, huh.”

“No matter how fast that spell is, I know its flaws. It can’t be sustained, and the backlash is severe.”

“Yet you’d kill me without hesitation.”

As Christine dusted herself off, Lucilla replied plainly,

“If you could use it consecutively, the real Christine Grave would almost certainly be dead. Better to destroy the body before it causes more harm. That spell consumes its user like fuel—no one would waste it like this.”

She exhaled sharply.

“And forgive my bluntness, but what we need now isn’t just a skilled mage. We need an irreplaceable prophet.”

“Yeah… At least you see that. Good. Because after you, Eric’s the most important.”

Christine motioned lightly.

“Follow me.”

After trailing her briefly, Lucilla found herself in a garden bursting with blossoms.

“Well? Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“It’s well maintained. Do you tend to it yourself?”

“I wish… No. I drop by here occasionally—to rest when work gets overwhelming, or talk like tonight.”

“Are we safe from prying eyes here? Even at this hour, surveillance lurks everywhere.”

“It’s secure. I’ve stacked wards upon wards. Not the whole garden, but at least inside this building—even if Elia or the First Hero himself came, they couldn’t eavesdrop.”

“Hm.”

Lucilla nodded, convinced. To doubt Christine now would be an insult.

“Why come to Eric’s room anyway? You share this house—you could’ve met anytime.”

“Because I was worried! Why else?”

“Worried?”

Lucilla couldn’t comprehend. Moments ago, Christine herself had assured Eric’s safety—inside and out.

“I know how it sounds. But worry’s worry. No, I doubled down because I was worried.”

“Elaborate.”

“Like how I funded his indestructible artifact… or how I layered so many wards even I got lost… Plus, anytime someone gives him disgusted or suspicious looks during his shifts, I replace them…”

“Replace them? So that’s why you were confident about internal threats.”

“Not ideal, yeah, but protecting Eric comes first. Like you said, ambushes from insiders are unpredictable.”

“Eric swore no one would target him.”

“True. The people I… convinced to leave probably never intended to kill or harm him. The Demon King’s army hasn’t mobilized yet, and his prophet status is still secret.”

Christine’s voice shook.

“But I still overreacted. Tonight was no different—I came to check on him. Even if it weren’t you, I’d have visited his room.”

“Then you visit him daily?”

“Work keeps me up till dawn. I can’t stay long, but seeing him sleep peacefully helps. Like, Thank goodness—he hasn’t disappeared yet.”

“Still fearing his vanishing… I won’t dismiss your feelings, but this seems futile.”

If someone truly wanted Eric dead, Christine’s brief visits wouldn’t stop them.

At best, they’d just find the body sooner.

“I know. It’s self-soothing at best, pointless at worst. But after how he was treated last time… I can’t just stand by.”

Lucilla watched quietly as Christine spoke bitterly.

“It was brutal. Even though he was the only one who offered to help us.”

As the Hero’s party, they were bound to save everyone. Prepared for that duty, they’d had no room for someone who tagged along offering aid.

“Remember how people treated Eric in our old world?”

Lucilla began to answer but stopped—it wasn’t a genuine question.

In their former world, everyone had scorned and pointed at Eric Grave.

A lunatic throwing tantrums, deadweight to the Hero’s party.

A parasite clinging to his family’s name, flailing pathetically to survive.

A man who’d be more useful dying quickly to demons than living.

“They tried to kill him… again and again. Said he didn’t belong with us. Funny, isn’t it? In hindsight, he was the most vital among us… but we just abandoned him.”

“So now you’re protecting him?”

“Like that’ll stop him from charging into danger. I wish I could lock him in that room forever. You wouldn’t understand.”

“No… I do. I worry for Eric too. That’s why I stayed silent when he insisted on remaining here.”

“Liar.”