It was a face of Ricardo I had never seen before. As I tilted my head in confusion, he cleared his throat and composed his expression. His pupils wandered in the air.
“Ahem, so, are you saying you were pretending to be sick?”
Correct!
“You understood that very well.”
“Seriously... You only get smart at times like this.”
No matter how I heard it, it sounded like “Your rock-for-brains only gets clever when it’s scheming,” but I decided to interpret it as a compliment to my intelligence.
There was a rustling sound from the chocolate in Ricardo’s hand. I was pretty sure I had brought two handfuls of chocolate, but in Ricardo’s hand, it looked like only one handful.
Did I eat that much? If not, did Ricardo sneak some?
Imagining it made me chuckle a bit.
As I entertained silly thoughts, I stared blankly at Ricardo.
I had to ask him to give it back, but something about it made me hesitate.
“Um—”
“Well—”
We spoke over each other.
“You go first.”
At my words, Ricardo hesitated for a moment, then let out a deep sigh.
“More importantly, Bianca.”
“Yes?”
“You seem not to know this.”
Ricardo inhaled deeply, then exhaled.
“Originally, it’s proper to give a handkerchief to one’s fiancé. That’s the custom, and the law set by the Empire…”
Law?
“...No, I meant it’s an old tradition. If you want to give the handkerchief to me, I will accept it out of courtesy.”
Ricardo fired off his words like a machine gun and then abruptly turned on his heel.
I stared blankly at his retreating back and fumbled through my pocket, which still had no holes, as I spoke.
“Your handkerchief is right here—”
At that moment, Ricardo, who had somehow returned without me noticing, snatched the handkerchief from me.
After checking the clumsy embroidery, Ricardo let out a small laugh.
“An embroidery that resembles you.”
…Just go ahead and insult me, why don’t you.
Feeling a little miffed, I reached out to him.
“If you don’t like it, give it back.”
“I’ll accept it for now.”
Then, as if nothing had happened, he walked away.
I stared at Ricardo with dumbfounded eyes.
I mean, you really didn’t have to accept it…
* * *
A crow cawed in the distance. A trumpet sounded again, long and loud, signaling the start of the hunting competition.
I lay on the sofa, staring up at the ceiling.
I wanted to get out of the tent immediately, but I felt like I needed to lie down for a while to justify pretending to be sick to Hestia.
I wondered if Idette had made it out safely without any trouble.
“Lady Bianca, it’s me. Idette.”
Just in time, I heard Idette’s voice from outside the tent.
Idette, you got out safely!
“Come in!”
At my voice, Idette entered the tent with a harmless, puppy-like face. I welcomed her warmly, glancing at the maid who followed behind her.
“You came back quickly.”
“She told me to leave the moment she saw me.”
Idette sighed in relief and gave a bashful smile.
“That’s good.”
Well, she does have that kind of face.
I cautiously asked Idette,
“Should I ask them to bring some refreshments?”
“Oh, I’ll bring them! I have cookies His Highness gave me.”
Am I allowed to eat cookies from the Crown Prince?
But I couldn’t turn down Idette’s request as she looked at me with such expectant eyes.
“For me… it’d be an honor.”
“Then I’ll be right back!”
Idette quickly dashed out of the tent. Since she was already out, I hoped she’d bring Peril along too.
I sighed inwardly and leaned back against the sofa.
Just as the tension in my body started to ease.
“…So it’s you.”
A slow voice echoed in my ear. Startled, I opened my eyes, and a beautiful person I’d never seen before was sitting beside me.
Ash-gray eyes that matched the long, flowing silver hair.
A sacredness in those calm eyes that no one could ever imitate.
It was a face I was seeing for the first time, but it didn’t take long to realize who he was.
…Peril Edwin.
He really came.
Peril, who had been quietly observing me, curled up the corners of his lips. His eyes weren’t smiling, and that made it all the more chilling.
“That disciple of mine said you knew who I was.”
“…”
“Go on, speak comfortably. Who am I?”
You say to speak comfortably, but why are you looking at me like that…?
You’re practically shooting lasers at me with your eyes.
I forced myself to speak in a calm voice.
“Uh, teacher.”
“…Teacher?”
“It’s a title that contains my respect.”
He was a thousand years older than me—I didn’t know what I could possibly call the Tower Master. I couldn’t possibly copy the female lead’s audacity to just call him by name.
“There shouldn’t be a single person who knows the name you just said…”
Peril tapped my lips lightly with his finger.
“You don’t look like someone who said it because you wanted to die.”
The air around me began to sharpen. It gradually pressed against my neck, tightening my breath.
“I’ve read a banned book in the present. It described someone who had been watching the world for a very long time.”
Since it was written that way in the original work, it wasn’t a lie.
“I investigated the Tower Master. As a result, the traces of the missing Babe and the Tower Master were quite similar.”
“How did you learn about the shop?”
“I’ve heard and seen a lot. I figured only the Tower Master could manage a shop that has existed since ancient times…”
“A flimsy excuse. Words like that won’t convince me.”
“…I was just throwing out a guess to your disciple. I didn’t think the owner of Sun’s Shop would actually show up.”
At my words, Peril’s gaze narrowed.
Peril wore a white shirt, and his upper body was covered in dense magical sigils that I couldn’t begin to comprehend.
I grew nervous and quietly scooted backward. But at that moment, Peril gripped my chin roughly.
“…!”
Peril turned my face this way and that.
“The world has really changed while I was asleep. To think someone would dare to call my vanished name and disturb my slumber…”
“Ha ha…”
I averted Peril’s gaze. As he stared at me intently, his eyes narrowed.
“…You’re quite curious.”
“I—I get that a lot.”
That probably wasn’t what he meant, but I answered literally anyway.
What if he kept questioning me and then suddenly said, ‘You talk too much,’ and killed me…!
Peril bared his teeth in a smile at my reply. Seemingly done with his inspection, he released my chin. It felt oddly numb.
“Well, fine. I’ve always liked the cheeky ones.”
“Th—thank you!”
I bowed my head quickly.
“So, why did you call me?”
“There’s someone who needs your help.”
I took a deep breath.
“Do you know about Drimokan disease?”
At my words, Peril’s gaze tilted. For some reason, it gave me chills the way he murmured the name of the disease.
“…That too must be a name that disappeared a hundred years ago.”
Peril tapped his folded arms with his fingers.
“…Is this in the same vein as what that child said?”
That child…?
I wasn’t sure, but I had a feeling he was referring to Idette. After a moment of thought, Peril snapped his fingers lightly.
Swaaah—
A chilly wind blew in from afar. I flinched and quickly turned around.
The place we’d been transported to from the tent was none other than the Helios Forest.
Teleportation, huh.
I was a little jealous of that.
Peril gestured with his chin toward a rabbit carcass lying in front of him.
The rabbit’s body was split open, as if its innards were about to spill out. The stench of rotting flesh tickled my nose.
…Ugh, that’s kind of gross.
“It hasn’t even been dead for an hour.”
But the innards looked completely rotten to my eyes. They had turned black, and it was hard to believe this animal had only just died.
As I stood there confused, Peril continued his recollection.
“I sent my disciples to Drimokan not long ago.”
Drimokan…
That was the forest connected to the temple. Fifty years ago, it was also the site of the war where the Marquis of Roygin and the Duke of Hessen returned victorious.
Because the war heavily damaged both the royal family and the temple, the ruins of Drimokan were dumped on the Marquisate of Roygin.
“The result was: missing.”