Chapter 27
Chapter 27
I had fallen into a deep sleep without dreaming.
Only when my eyes suddenly opened did I realize I had been asleep.
“……”
As my eyes slowly opened, the first thing I saw was white cloth fluttering in the wind.
The cold, refreshing northern wind brushed the tip of my nose, as if the window had been left open.
That freshness made me feel like I could accomplish anything.
So when I got up and flopped down on the pleasantly rustling white bedding, the memory of the last moment before I lost consciousness flashed through my mind.
“Ugh.”
The scattered system windows, the ringing in my ears, and the headache that struck my head.
Just recalling it made me feel like my insides were turning over.
Right.
That’s when the system said it was forcibly terminating the connection.
‘System?’
I cautiously called out to the system, but there was no response.
Not just no response, but the system window that had always been with me for the past 5 years was nowhere to be seen.
‘System window.’
Still nothing.
“…It will come back, right?”
[We’re shutting down! Wait a little! We’ll reconnect again!!]
Yeah, that’s right. They said they’d definitely come back when they forcibly terminated the connection.
So they’ll come back.
I pushed away my anxious feelings and slowly recalled the situation to figure out why this had happened.
The system suddenly shook as if paralyzed, and just before that shaking, I was with Isiel and Cassis, and…
“Sian Terezia.”
The person in ancient clothing.
“The system reacted to the name ‘Sian Terezia’.”
I wonder why.
Who is that person, that the ‘system’, which claims to be the god of this world, would be shaken like this over someone who was just found at the bottom of the suspicious lake?
I rubbed my chin as I tried to get out of bed.
It was starting to get cold too.
Just then, the door slid open.
“Irina?”
A welcome voice.
I waved my hands to show my delight.
“Good morning, Cassis.”
Strangely, I seem to collapse in front of Cassis quite often.
I’m not usually this weak.
I hope Cassis doesn’t misunderstand me as being frail.
Cassis stood still at the doorway with a stiff face.
I’m just a subordinate to him, but he comes looking for me with such a concerned face just because I collapsed a bit.
This shows that he has quite a kind personality.
As I waved my hands in greeting, his stiff expression finally softened.
Even then, he didn’t move until I called out “Cassis?” again.
“…It’s well into the afternoon.”
Morning has already passed.
He spoke in a whisper as he strode over, standing in front of me in just a few steps.
His face had become a bit gaunt in the time I hadn’t seen him.
Indeed, when a capable subordinate disappears, it’s the superior who suffers.
Huh, I hope he realizes my value even more.
Thinking such thoughts, I tilted my head to look up at him, and he reached out his hand.
His fingertip touched my forehead, followed by his large, warm hand covered in calluses.
“……”
I blinked at the unexpected contact.
Suddenly like this?
“Fortunately, your fever has gone down.”
Is this the etiquette of the upper class to go this far?
It doesn’t seem like it.
“I’m in great condition now.”
I answered without breathing, trying to lower my eyes and bow my head as much as possible. But with Cassis still pressing his hand to my forehead, it was impossible to bow deeply.
“You were unconscious for a week.”
What?
A whole week?
What about the debt repayment?
“Is that so?”
When I jerked my head up, I found myself face to face with Cassis, closer than I expected.
I could only freeze in place, unexpectedly encountering Cassis’s face so closely.
Of course.
He’s the male protagonist, after all.
Meeting such a handsome man right in front of my nose?
It’s only natural to freeze up.
“Yes, for that long.”
Not realizing why I had frozen like this, Cassis started to carefully examine my face.
“Um, Cassis.”
When I finally managed to back away slightly and sit on the edge of the bed, Cassis frowned, not understanding what the problem was.
At this point, I wonder if this aspect is what made him the male protagonist.
He’s just carelessly spreading it around everywhere.
That’s why villainesses or whatever keep getting entangled.
Clicking my tongue internally, I tried once again to emphasize that I was fine.
“I’m perfectly fine!”
Although my entire system has temporarily disappeared, all my skills are gone, and I feel a bit empty, I’m fine.
Cassis remained silent.
I’m not someone who dislikes silence, but at this moment, the silence was painfully suffocating, and Cassis’s gaze was persistent.
When he finally opened his mouth, his answer was quite unexpected.
“Irina, you don’t know. What thoughts I had with you in front of me.”
“Pardon?”
What thoughts did you have?
I looked at Cassis with wide eyes, but he didn’t seem inclined to answer.
“Irina’s condition is for Luka and Mr. Terezia to judge.”
I raised my eyebrows sharply.
Luka is the resident doctor here, so that makes sense.
But Terezia?
Sian Terezia, why him?
Before I could express my doubt, there was a knock, and Luka and Sian Terezia entered side by side.
Luka quickly scanned my body with a magic circle and declared,
“She’s fine.”
I stood by the bed, hands on my hips, and turned to look at Cassis triumphantly.
Cassis and the butler looked at Terezia without changing their expressions.
Terezia approached me with a grin, his face still completely unreadable.
“It’s been a while since you were in your right mind.”
The moment he tried to take my hand, I raised it abruptly.
“Wait a moment!”
Everyone’s gaze focused on me.
“Why is Mr. Terezia checking on me?”
I need to address this point first.
Sian Terezia is a very suspicious person to me.
Letting a person like that examine my body?
I can’t accept that.
“Because your power is of the same kind as mine.”
“Pardon?”
Power?
What power do I have?
Cassis was the one who added an explanation to my confusion.
“When Irina collapsed, coughing up blood, it was Sian Terezia who quickly calmed her down.”
“……”
“I told you I was right.”
I carefully observed that suspicious face that was smiling brightly.
With that tear mole perfectly exuding the aura of a villain, this person saved me?
If only the system were here, I could ask, but I don’t know where on earth it’s gone.
Where have you gone, System?
I smoothed my expression and bowed slightly at the waist.
“Thank you.”
“You don’t seem thankful at all.”
“That’s not true!”
“There’s no need to be thankful.”
The hand that had been reaching out to take mine came towards my face.
His index finger touched my forehead.
I felt a cool, refreshing power.
“Wow.”
“Hmm.”
Sian lowered his eyes.
Even looking up from below, I could see his long eyelashes slowly fluttering.
He curled up the corners of his mouth elegantly.
“Well, there’s no problem.”
“See, I told you I was perfectly fine.”
I turned towards Cassis and said proudly.
Now, I’m fine, and I haven’t been able to do any work for a week.
The debt to be repaid is mountainous, and the system… is temporarily on strike.
In this situation, there’s only one thing I need to do.
“Well then, Cassis. Let’s go do some work now.”
Cassis frowned deeply at my response.
When we first met in Seike, I don’t think his expressions were this rich.
I guess he really does feel better at home.
“Ha, did you hear that you were unconscious for a week?”
“But I’m fine now, aren’t I?”
If we rest every time we’re sick, when will we ever get work done?
Of course, besides the immediate work, there’s also the task of investigating Sian Terezia.
But even that comes after I’ve done my share of work.
There’s nothing I can do in this place with Cassis here anyway.
As I dusted off my hands and said let’s go to work, Cassis roughly brushed up his fallen bangs.
“That’s not the issue right now.”
“That’s right, the issue is the work that’s piled up.”
“……”
“Cassis?”
Cassis looked at me with a gloomy face for a long time, then sighed and left the room without any lingering.
“……”
Why such a reaction when a subordinate says they won’t slack off and will work hard?
Luka, who had been watching this scene, stared at me for a while, shook his head a few times, and left.
So the only ones left in the room were me and Sian Terezia.
Sian hadn’t taken his eyes off me since he examined me earlier.
A person standing crookedly with his arms folded, silently staring at me.
Should I use this opportunity to ask him what exactly his identity is?
“Terezia……”
“Where did all those powers go?”
“Pardon?”
“At first, I thought you were the Pope or something.”
Suddenly the Pope?
Sian grabbed me with a dry face.
“What on earth are you?”
“…That’s the question I should be asking.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Go ahead and ask.”
This incredibly arrogant tone.
This person must have been a ruler from birth.
The behavior typical of great nobles, which can also be seen in Cassis and Isiel, was fully evident.
“Sian Terezia.”
I looked up at the man clearly.
If Cassis and Isiel exude the sophistication peculiar to the Empire, this man possesses a classic beauty.
His ashen hair shone white under the sunlight coming through the glass window.
“Who are you?”
Who are you to appear like this?
Sian Terezia met my gaze.
Yellow eyes that showed no emotion.
Those eyes disappeared and reappeared repeatedly as he blinked.
“My introduction has always been sufficient with just my name.”
“……”
“Sian Terezia.”
