Chapter 31
At the same time Alice was visiting Helkin,
Sienna Meltain and the butler had already arrived in Kylus’s bedroom.
As soon as she saw Kylus, Sienna asked,
“Brother, the reason you moved up the schedule was because of the Duchess, wasn’t it?”
Sienna knew in advance that Kylus would reveal he had regained consciousness yesterday afternoon.
However, she knew nothing about the matters related to Alice.
She was so surprised by Alice’s unexpected commotion about becoming a priest that she was momentarily stunned.
But Kylus seemed to have known everything.
After all, he had pretended to regain consciousness at precisely that timing.
So she guessed:
Perhaps Kylus had moved up the date to prevent Alice from leaving for the temple.
As if Sienna’s intuition was correct, Kylus nodded lightly.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Why? Was the Duchess such an important person to you, Brother?”
Sienna frowned, unable to understand no matter how much she thought about it.
Kylus pondered for a moment before telling Sienna the truth.
“She is an important person. Because Alice, that person, is the one who saved me.”
Sienna’s green eyes widened.
“The Duchess… saved you?”
“Yes, her prayers saved me.”
Of course, he didn’t tell her everything.
The fewer people who knew about Alice’s holy power, the safer she would be.
Well, since one needed to pray to use holy power, it wasn’t a complete lie.
“Prayers? Are you talking about those prayers she offered at the temple?”
Sienna asked back, as if she couldn’t believe it.
“…That must be it. She didn’t offer prayers here.”
“No, how could a few prayers there have saved you when you were dying…”
Sienna’s brow furrowed.
Seeing Sienna’s look of disbelief, Kylus added:
“She has holy power. So her prayers were different from those of ordinary people.”
“Ah, holy power…”
“I didn’t tell you, but just before I woke up, I clearly saw the light of the gods. I only found out for certain recently, but the Duchess is indeed the one who saved me. That’s why I couldn’t lose her and moved up the plan.”
As Kylus spoke decisively, Sienna muttered with a slightly dazed expression:
“…To think that person is Brother’s lifesaver.”
After all, the Alice she had seen didn’t seem like someone who would offer desperate prayers for Kylus.
She was a naive woman who showed no interest in her husband and smiled stupidly at her mother-in-law’s orders.
Yet Kylus was pushing himself because of such a woman.
The Duchess really must have a special ability. Otherwise, Kylus would never have recklessly moved up the schedule.
The brother Sienna knew was a rational person, almost to the point of being cold.
“…I must have completely misjudged the Duchess.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s because her acting was so excellent.”
“I thought she was just an ordinary rabbit…”
Sienna muttered in a small voice.
She really thought Alice was just a cute, foolish rabbit.
But she turned out to be a much smarter and cleverer rabbit, no, person, than expected.
A fleeting glint appeared and disappeared in Sienna’s eyes as she thought about Alice.
“Then is the Duchess no longer associated with Lady Quillian?”
“She probably wasn’t Lady Quillian’s person from the start. She’s not the type to obey anyone.”
“What will happen to her now?”
“That… depends on her choice. I’ll handle matters related to Alice from now on, so you just focus on the tasks I’ve asked of you, as you’ve done until now.”
Kylus naturally drew a line, noticing Sienna’s attitude had somehow become more interested in Alice.
As if to say, don’t be interested in Alice.
“Your Grace, will you return to your duties immediately?”
The butler, who had been listening quietly, carefully asked as the conversation seemed to have settled somewhat.
Kylus shifted his gaze from Sienna, who looked somewhat displeased for some reason, to the butler.
“If I say I’m returning immediately, they’ll try to stop me, citing my illness. I’ll return after my people come back. For now, I need to go to the Imperial Palace first.”
He needed to inform the Emperor that he had awakened.
That way, no one could deny the fact that he was alive.
They must have been certain he would die. No, they must have been waiting for news of his death.
What face would the Emperor make when he returned perfectly fine?
Kylus, concealing a sneer, continued speaking to the butler:
“More importantly, did you convey my message to that woman clearly?”
“Yes. I informed her that the priests would come in two weeks, and asked her to be especially careful not to spread unnecessary rumors about the Young Mistress.”
On the surface, it was a message concerned about the duchy’s well-being, but in reality, it was nothing short of a warning.
Don’t touch Alice.
And Lady Quillian would have understood the implied meaning well.
“Was there any particular response?”
“Her expression hardened, but she didn’t say anything specific. She only took away the maid who was attending to the Young Mistress.”
“That would be Maris.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“With Maris gone, she must have been rather pleased.”
Kylus had heard everything about how Maris treated Alice, and how much Alice had cursed Maris.
Lady Quillian probably did it to make Alice suffer a bit, but Alice would have welcomed it instead.
Imagining that scene, Kylus let out a small chuckle before continuing:
“Find a trustworthy new maid to attend to the Duchess. It’s nonsense for the Duchess to be without an attendant.”
“But then, Lady Quillian might…”
“Say it was my order.”
“I understand.”
“And… if that woman calls for the Duchess separately, inform me immediately. Sienna, it’s late, so you should go and rest now.”
“Yes.”
After Sienna left the room, Kylus asked the butler:
“By the way, why hasn’t Helkin arrived yet?”
Kylus looked at the clock and furrowed his brow.
“I’ll go check his office.”
Knock knock-
Just as the butler finished speaking, there was a knock at the door.
The butler opened the door, and Helkin, who seemed to have rushed over, greeted the Duke.
“Your Grace, I apologize for being late. My conversation with the Young Mistress went on longer than expected… I’m sorry.”
Kylus, who had been frowning at Helkin’s poor physical condition, sharpened his gaze at the mention of Alice.
“You were with the Duchess?”
“What? Ah, yes. The Young Mistress suddenly came by, and as we talked about various things… I ended up being late.”
Helkin casually explained why he was late.
But somehow, Kylus’s gaze suddenly turned fierce.
Did I say something wrong?
Helkin felt perplexed and tried to recall what he had said, but couldn’t find the reason why Kylus seemed displeased.
As cold sweat began to form on Helkin’s back under Kylus’s sharp black eyes, Kylus’s voice rang out:
“What did you talk about with the Duchess?”
“Ah…”
Is he bothered by the Duchess?
Helkin tilted his head slightly.
Among the various rumors spreading about why the Duke was able to regain consciousness, there was one saying it was because the Duchess had prayed diligently at the temple.
Of course, when Helkin heard that, he almost shouted what nonsense it was, but thinking about it, it didn’t seem completely impossible.
The Duchess had threatened him to change the poison to a nutrient, and she did go to the temple every day.
Plus, she was said to have holy power.
Maybe the Duchess really was involved in saving the Duke.
That thought had occurred to him.
After all, the Duke’s awakening was a tremendous miracle.
And miracles were the domain of the gods.
So he had wondered, but seeing Kylus’s fierce gaze now, it seemed that thought was indeed nonsense.
Come to think of it, the image of the Duchess, who had threatened him without batting an eye, praying modestly for her husband at the temple didn’t fit at all.
It’s an entirely unsuitable image.
There’s no way that Young Mistress had the ability to save the Duke.
There’s no point in going on about the Young Mistress.
Helkin, making an incorrect assumption on his own, answered:
“There wasn’t any particularly important conversation. She just asked if I was alright, told me to be careful in the future… just such concerns.”
‘I’m saying this out of the goodwill I’ve developed for you… If you want to live, abandon Mother first.’
Helkin suddenly recalled Alice’s advice.
At the time he heard those words, he had let them pass as he was thinking about going to Kylus, but now that he thought about it, it was a bit amusing.
Worrying about others when she could barely take care of herself.
She really is a strange person.
Helkin chuckled, finding it ridiculous.
But to others, that laughter seemed quite ambiguous.
As if he was recalling Alice and smiling pleasantly.
Especially to Kylus, it appeared that way.
“…You seem to be quite close with the Duchess.”
For her to visit Helkin at this late hour, worry about him, and then leave…
The more Kylus thought about it, the more his mood sank.
Alice had rarely mentioned Helkin in her monologues, so he hadn’t realized she thought of Helkin as special.
While he pretended to be unconscious, Alice had spoken to herself quite a lot by his side.
Thanks to that, he had been able to understand her personality and inner thoughts to some extent.
But he didn’t know she considered Helkin special.
What about Helkin could have appeared special in Alice’s eyes?
Kylus scrutinized Helkin from top to bottom with a sharp gaze.
