C104
It is enough that I renounced my conscience.
I don't remember it. I don't know what happened yesterday.
"Hand..."
"Oh, damn it..."
But when the scene of me touching Isidor with my hand passed, I couldn't bear the shame that came back.
Is there even more?
This ominous feeling has never been wrong.
Feeling frustrated, I let myself fall on the bed.
Now I didn't even have the strength to go crazy.
What expression should I make when I meet Isidor?
"Oh. Right. You don't have to worry about things you don't know."
I tried to desperately push away the memories of the previous night. But those pale and white hands couldn't get out of my head.
It's just a hand.
"I still feel nauseous."
I think I'm seriously ill. I rubbed my burning stomach and asked the servant to inform Enrique that today's class was canceled.
"Sister, are you sick?"
As soon as he heard the news, Enrique approached me with a concerned expression.
As soon as I saw those bright eyes, I jumped from where I was.
"I was cured."
I couldn't help but cry, knowing that there is such a wonderful, cute, and charming little brother in the world.
"It's just that I have a little headache. It doesn't hurt that much, so don't worry."
While stroking his soft hair, Enrique pouted with a sad expression and asked.
"Don't worry, sister."
The child pulled the blanket with his little hand and tried to cover me.
"It's okay. Since you've come, let's have some cake. Or would you like to play with Purple?"
When Enrique heard about Purple, his eyes blinked quickly. When I showed her to him briefly last week, it seemed like he had become attached to the turtle.
"No!"
Suddenly, as if he was arguing with himself, the boy frowned and vigorously shook his head.
"Today, I want to take care of my sister. I'll read you a book."
"It's fine. And your sister really doesn't like books."
"But you're very smart."
"Then is your sister a fool?"
I said playfully and lightly pinched Enrique's soft cheek.
"She's not a fool."
I think they treat me like a child, but at least I'm not a fool.
"Who the hell does Enrique resemble, being so kind and cute?"
The traitorous twins and Enrique are related. Unbelievable.
"I will grow up. I will be taller than you later!"
"Oh, and what about it?"
"Don't make fun of me!"
"I'm not joking. Enrique will be taller than me. And he'll keep living with his sister. Okay?"
"Yes!"
While rubbing his cake-like cheeks, I woke up Purple, who was asleep in the form of a tattoo, and placed her in Enrique's arms.
Enrique gasped in surprise.
"Purple has gotten bigger. And the diameter has lengthened."
Purple, who had the worst economy, consuming expensive mana stones as a staple food, had grown to the length of my forearm.
If I keep feeding her only mana stones, I begin to wonder how big she will grow.
"It was clearly described as a little turtle in the novel."
Perhaps due to financial issues, Mia did not feed Purple with mana stones, so she did not grow in size.
Since Purple is a spirit mix, she could have lived without eating.
"Hello, Purple."
Enrique blushed and shyly greeted her.
Purple said nothing and yawned in Enrique's lap.
When Enrique secretly took a mana stone out of his pocket, Purple blinked with her big eyes and squeezed his pinky as if she had just woken up.
"Purple is so cute."
Even today, Enrique, who was deceived by an ill-mannered turtle, smiled happily.
As I watched the peaceful sight of the adorable child and the animal together, I nodded with delight.
Those two are the light of my life in this harsh world... Huh?
"It's dazzling. I want to avoid the light."
But why does the "me" in my memory tremble as I put on the coat in front of Isidor?
It doesn't seem like a problem that can be solved simply by erasing my memory.
I seriously wondered if I should hit him on the back of the head until he lost his memory.
"Sister, are you sick?"
"...No, it's embarrassing."
"Why?"
"Enrique shouldn't drink too much when he grows up, okay?"
Enrique made a worried face again as he looked at me while pressing my temples, and I repeated senseless regrets again.
-----------------------
That night, while memories attacked me without being able to do anything.
"Kruuu..."
The magic stone that Enrique gave her as a snack and Purple, who was eating frugally, suddenly started to shake and vibrate.
"What is it?"
Purple exposed its sharp teeth wildly and quickly approached the window.
"Anyway, what's out there?"
Purple trembled as it looked at the flower garden.
According to the novel's scenario, Purple was sensitive to the dark attribute, that is, dark magic.
"Is it a rift? Or a monster?"
There are few places in the capital as safe as the Seymour mansion, so why?
"First, I have to tell my father that something is wrong."
I grabbed the scroll of attack, held Purple, and hurriedly ran.
On the way to the main building where father was, Purple's growl worsened.
Suddenly, I smelled blood near the dark flower garden.
"Argh!"
At the same time, screams of pain echoed from inside the flower garden.
"Ah!"
"Noisy."
The cold voice that was heard from time to time was more chilling than the harsh screams.
"Who's there?"
At that moment, a young man with a large figure emerged from the garden with a creak as if he had sensed my presence.
"I thought it was a wild beast, but it was you."
"Deborah."
A man with the same facial features as Belreck but with a different mood looked at me, raising his chin.
He had blood on his face.
"I didn't know you would be the first to greet me."
He advanced towards me.
Rosad, who had been in the East all this time, appeared in front of me for the first time.
The eldest son of the family returned to the capital after the war ended.
7. Surface Tension
"I'm here to make a deal with the Seventh Golden Dragon's Fang," said a man with blue hair, a symbol of the imperial Histach family.
The Crown Prince, Behonick Histach, entered the largest armor shop in the Horun district and spoke in secret with the store manager.
The manager bowed deeply and led him in front of Master Blancia.
The Crown Prince shuddered when he saw the doll-like face of the Master.
He was a man who exuded an otherworldly atmosphere that didn't seem quite human. However, his skill alone deserved high praise.
"Master, I came here to borrow your wisdom."
"Speak."
The Master, who received the gold coin pouch, spoke in a dry tone.
The prince sighed with a worried expression.
Lately, the people of the Empire were not as good as they used to be. The inexplicable rift in the barrier was the main cause of people's anxiety.
An epidemic had spread through the changing slums, and incidents occurred here and there.
There were even those who talked about this happening because the Crown Prince was immoral.
"He needs a clever way to calm this atmosphere."
In the original novel, the Crown Prince tried to capture the anxious public by using Mia Binoche, who was referred to as the incarnation of the saint.
Because the popularity of Saint Nayla prevails in the Empire.
However, unlike the original story, Mia Binoche and her status and fame are not as high in social circles, so she didn't attract the Crown Prince's attention at all.
"Lately, the atmosphere inside and outside has been on the rise, and my popularity and position are not as good as the third prince, who is doing well in the battle against the monsters that emerged from the rift in the barrier," said the prince.
"The well-positioned third prince has strong support. Although he doesn't have blue hair."
"Honestly, he's not good at administration, so he preferred to go to war."
In the face of the Crown Prince's lament, the Master opened his mouth gently while playing with the gold coins.
"If you want to keep the third prince in check, it's easy if you publicize the newly devised formula of the Seymour family and Sir Rosad, who was active on the Eastern Front."
Rosad captured the chief of the barbarian tribe and even blocked the wave of monsters, making him popular among the people.
"That's a good strategy."
If he was praised for his good performance, it could relatively lighten the achievements of the third prince.
Even Seymour was an orthodox imperial family. This means that with Rosard and Seymour at the helm, even the aristocratic forces in the Senate can be controlled.
"Recently, Sir Rosad's performance has been excellent."
"That's right."
In fact, Rosad had established a performance that could not be compared to the original novel. He was the man of the Empire who benefited the most from the formulas devised by Princess Deborah.
Because he was the wizard who best used the terrain and weather in battle. He even got a formula to efficiently organize the mana distributed in nature, so it seemed like he had no rivals on the battlefield.
"I heard that Sir Rosad Seymour will return to the capital soon."
"He should have already arrived," said the Master indifferently.