Chapter 29
After a moment of silence at her gloomy face, Kylus spoke.
“…You don’t need to worry about that. Lady Quillian will be driven out of the duchy before long.”
It was quite a confident assertion.
As if he was certain he would win the upcoming power struggle with Lady Quillian.
Of course, in the original story, it was Lady Meltain who dealt with Lady Quillian.
But that was after Kylus had already died.
Alice didn’t know how the original power structure of the Dearrut Duchy had worked.
Recalling Lady Quillian’s attitude earlier… it seemed Kylus had the upper hand.
But there was no guarantee that Kylus, who had lost both his knights and advisors, could immediately deal with Lady Quillian.
Moreover, the ultimate villain Alice feared wasn’t Lady Quillian anyway.
“If Lady Quillian leaves the duchy, I have even less reason to stay here. As you know, it was Lady Quillian who brought me here in the first place.”
“…”
“Your Grace, you said my holy power saved you, right?”
“…That’s correct.”
“Then please grant the wish of the one who saved your life. Help me become a priest safely.”
“Hmm…”
“I just want to live quietly as a priest. That’s my only wish.”
And enjoy life without working.
As Alice lowered her eyes and feigned a sorrowful expression, Kylus’s lips parted.
“I can’t help you.”
“What… what?”
“I have no intention of letting you go.”
“…Is that a threat?”
“Let’s call it a negotiation. I’ll give you what you want, and you’ll give me what I want.”
“No, I’m telling you I don’t want anything from you!”
“Think about it for two weeks. Whatever you want.”
What kind of negotiation is this?
Alice exhaled in disbelief at his one-sided declaration.
Is this how you treat someone who saved your life?
The words rose to the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t bring herself to say them to Kylus.
…Because she was scared.
Kylus with his eyes open was a million times more handsome than when they were closed, but he also exuded an aura a million times more frightening.
There was an unapproachable intimidation even when he was just sitting still.
It felt like if he wanted to, he could blow her away with just a flick of his finger.
If only the original story had shown what kind of personality Kylus had, this wouldn’t be so difficult.
But Kylus had only been described with his eyes closed before dying.
Damn it.
She had a bad feeling from the moment Lady Meltain appeared early.
She had no idea how twisted the original story had become.
“Why are you going this far? Now that you’ve recovered like this… there’s no particular reason for me to be here, is there?”
“…My body hasn’t fully recovered yet. And I don’t want to be sucked back into that hellish darkness again. Since you were the one who pulled me out of it, take responsibility.”
Here’s someone asking for the shirt off your back after you’ve saved them from drowning.
Alice couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at Kylus’s shamelessness in casually telling her to take responsibility.
“Hah…”
“You have two weeks, so think carefully about what you want. I’ll make sure the butler sees to it that you’re comfortable staying at the duchy in the meantime.”
“…If I decide to become a priest after two weeks, will you tell the priests about my holy power?”
Kylus let out an indecipherable chuckle.
“I promise on the honor of House Dearrut. I won’t do anything to endanger you.”
Unlike his shameless demands just moments ago, his eyes now looked earnest.
His unwavering black eyes were so reassuring that Alice felt a sense of relief.
As if her well-being was guaranteed in this world.
“…”
As a strange silence enveloped the two, there was a knock at the door.
Knock knock-
“Your Grace. The doctor is waiting on Lady Quillian’s orders.”
It was the butler’s voice. Kylus, who had been staring at her, turned his gaze to the door.
“I understand.”
“If you have nothing more to say, I’ll be going now.”
“If you think of something you want, you can come to me anytime.”
Annoyed by Kylus’s smooth smile, Alice stood up without a word.
As she turned away, his soft farewell reached her back.
“See you tomorrow, Alice.”
Alice stopped in her tracks.
Because it was the same greeting she always gave him.
It’s just a common greeting…
Alice shook off the sudden sense of déjà vu and resumed her halted steps.
* * *
Click.
Alice stared blankly at the bedroom door that had closed after Dr. Helkin entered.
What did I just experience there…
Kylus had regained consciousness, and her perfect plan to join the temple had fallen through.
Moreover, Kylus had told her to take responsibility since her holy power had saved him.
A series of dramatic events that would be believable even if it were a dream had occurred in succession.
Could this really be a dream?
Alice pinched her cheek just in case, but the clear pain made her cry out involuntarily.
“Ouch! That hurts…”
It’s not a dream.
Then how on earth did it come to this?
She was dumbfounded by the unbelievable situation, but there was no one to explain it plausibly.
Dr. Helkin, the only one in the duchy who had joined hands with her, had just entered Kylus’s bedroom with a shocked expression.
What on earth am I supposed to do now?
Alice’s head throbbed at her completely derailed plans.
Her desire to become a priest remained unchanged, but an even greater obstacle than Lady Quillian had appeared.
Kylus himself.
He had said he would never do anything to endanger her, but it didn’t seem like he would easily let her go to the temple either.
He had made what amounted to a threat, after all.
Why did he have to regain consciousness today of all days?
If he had woken up just a day later, or even a few hours later, she would have already safely escaped to the temple.
If this was the will of the sun god Helios…
“He can go eat shit.”
It was quite a blasphemous thing to say, but she whispered it softly with all sincerity.
At that moment, someone called out to her.
“Young Mistress.”
Ah, the butler was still here.
Only Dr. Helkin had gone into the room, after all.
Alice had momentarily forgotten his presence while lost in thought.
I wonder if he heard me cursing.
Hiding her embarrassment, Alice replied.
“…Yes?”
“I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“By Lady Quillian’s order, Maris will no longer be able to attend to you from today. It seems Lady Quillian needs Maris.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Only after hearing the butler’s words did Alice realize that Maris was nowhere to be seen in the corridor.
Normally, Maris should have been waiting for her, but it seemed she had already been taken away by Lady Quillian.
“So… there is no one to attend to you right now, Young Mistress.”
The butler bowed his head apologetically.
Alice was the mistress of the duchy.
By principle, they should have assigned another maid to her before taking Maris away.
It was unthinkable for the mistress of a duchy, not some small noble house, to have no one to attend to her.
But Lady Quillian was the one who could make such unthinkable things happen.
Especially now, when her mood must be thoroughly twisted.
She probably wants to chase Alice off to the stables if she could.
“We will assign a maid to you as soon as possible. Please bear with it for a while. I apologize.”
Probably not for a while, but forever.
As long as Lady Quillian held the authority in the duchy, that is.
The butler’s thoughts didn’t seem much different, as his apology was full of regret.
But contrary to the butler’s concerns, Alice didn’t mind at all.
No, she actually felt more comfortable without Maris.
Lady Quillian might not know, but Maris had never really attended to her in the first place.
It was more comfortable now that Maris, who grated on her nerves, was gone.
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. More importantly, did… Mother not call for me separately?”
“No, she did not call for you.”
I thought she would summon me and corner me, but this is a bit unexpected.
“I see. Alright then.”
Alice passed by the butler. Soon after, she heard the sound of the butler entering Kylus’s bedroom.
Still feeling dazed by the unbelievable situation, Alice headed towards her room in a somewhat absent-minded state.
As she was descending the stairs towards her bedroom on the second floor, she could clearly hear the voices of servants gathered in the lobby at the bottom of the stairs.
“Is it true that the Duke has regained consciousness?”
“To wake up so perfectly… it’s a miracle.”
“It is a miracle. Everyone thought the Duke would pass away like this.”
“That’s right. The butler’s face must look a bit better now.”
“More importantly, what will happen to Lady Quillian now? Will she be sent back to the annex? She wasn’t even allowed in the main house before the Duke collapsed, right?”
“Oh my goodness, don’t say such things. What if someone on Lady Quillian’s side hears? Don’t you know that half of the duchy’s servants were completely replaced after the Duke collapsed?”
“But still, the Duke…”
“The duchy is in Lady Quillian’s hands now, so don’t carelessly say things that might get your neck in trouble.”
With those final words, the servants who spotted Alice scattered hurriedly.
The duchy’s interior had also become chaotic with Kylus’s miraculous awakening.
“…I’m curious too, about what will happen.”
Kylus, Lady Quillian, and the Dearrut Duchy.
The very first button of the story she knew had come undone.
Alice couldn’t even guess how things would unfold from here on.
But one thing was clear… It seemed an enormous whirlpool was about to begin.
And she desperately wanted to avoid that storm.
Alice shook her complicated head and quickened her steps towards her room.
