Chapter 124: Call My Name
When I opened my eyes, I saw a familiar ceiling.
Astrid von Miterien blinked lightly a few times after waking.
Just as he’d said—Leopold’s words about heading back—it seemed that thinking about returning had made it happen, which felt strange.
When I blinked, the ceiling in my vision was familiar.
But it wasn’t the ceiling of the academy dorm—it was the familiar grayish-white ceiling of the Miterien Grand Ducal Mansion.
【H-Hey! Are you back!? Huh?!】
“Sister, Sister! Are you awake?”
“W-Woah.”
Three contrasting voices hit me all at once, and though I wondered what was going on, I immediately slipped my hand under the covers as soon as I opened my eyes.
Then I fumbled around my groin.
59
Hmm.
No foreign sensation.
No feeling of anything torn or damaged either.
Good.
It was definitely a dream, then.
【…What are you doing right now, the moment you wake up?】
‘…N-Nothing, nothing at all.’
It didn’t count.
I didn’t do anything I’d feel guilty about, that’s what I meant.
Though it felt a little disappointing since it hadn’t actually happened.
Even with the real Astrid’s sharp voice echoing in my head, I changed the subject and slowly sat up.
Two people sat beside me.
Ashray and Veracien.
“…Veracien.”
“You met Leopold, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
I’d heard everything from Leopold.
I’d also heard that Veracien was the culprit behind this mess.
Yet seeing her smile so brightly didn’t make me hate her, which was oddly fascinating.
“Ugh.”
A small groan reached my ears.
It was a familiar voice, and even the groan sounded familiar, which gave me a strange feeling—my face felt like it was flushing on its own.
“Astie, you woke up first.”
Leopold von Einthafen squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them as he sat up on the bed.
Now that I thought about it, it was strange that we were lying side by side.
“Sister, how’s your condition?”
Ashray Miterien—a man with a bandit-like build and a rough face but a kind heart.
Maybe because it’d been a while, seeing him felt even more welcoming.
“I’m fine. Your Highness, are you alright?”
【No, why are you being so friendly all of a sudden? Or were you always like this…? Anyway, what’s going on? What happened?!】
‘I’ll explain slowly. There’s a lot, and I haven’t sorted it out yet. I don’t even know what happened myself.’
I didn’t know how many days I’d been asleep.
Roughly guessing, I’d been there for about ten days.
Three days passed in a blur, and then around the third day—or was it?—that’s when I met Leopold, and then for four days… ahem.
The remaining three days, I spent with Leopold, who indulged in reading at libraries and bookstores.
Then at night, when we returned… ahem.
“Hmm, I’m fine. Ashray, nothing happened? How many days have passed?”
At that, Ashray counted on his fingers.
In truth, he’d stood guard there without sleeping, ensuring Veracien couldn’t take a single step closer.
Veracien had tried all sorts of sweet talk—“Doesn’t seeing your sister like this stir anything in you?”—but Ashray hadn’t budged.
Standing with his back to the window, it was hard for him to tell how much time had passed.
“Two days. Leopold, it’s been two days since you went to get Astie.”
“Only two days… huh. Time must flow differently. For now, get me a glass of water, Ashray.”
“Oh, yes. Just a moment.”
Ashray quickly left the room.
It’d be fine to send a servant, but having the crown prince’s order passed to a servant felt odd, so it seemed Ashray went to fetch the water himself.
While Ashray was gone, Veracien seized the chance, her eyes sparkling as she scooted closer to Leopold and me.
“I don’t know everything about the dream world either. How many days have passed there?”
Her eyes seemed to brim with question marks again.
She claimed to have the power to control dreams, yet she didn’t know everything herself—what a strange thing.
“…You don’t need to know. More importantly.”
Leopold’s gaze turned to me.
I’d been frowning slightly from a mild headache, and I looked back at him.
“The real Astrid—I mean, I’d like to talk to Astrid.”
“Switch quick… huh?”
【There’s a bit of a time limit—huh?】
Their voices overlapped.
The real Astrid, who’d been demanding answers, suddenly took control of the body,
While the fake Astrid, about to say she’d explain later and to wait, slipped into the depths of consciousness in an instant.
“You switch really fast.”
“N-No, Your Highness. F-First, um, yes.”
【What’s going on here?!】
I hadn’t switched on purpose.
But the moment Leopold called for the real Astrid, my consciousness flipped.
“Right, Astie. I wanted to talk to you too.”
“…Uh.”
【Could you not switch back and forth so suddenly!?】
It seemed only the fake Astrid noticed something odd.
The real Astrid was freaking out about the constant switching, but I hadn’t done it.
***
“Phew.”
“Well, it’s not like much changes, right?”
As the golden glow began to fade, Astein stood at the center of the twelve zodiac array.
“Right. Honestly, it’s not a huge change. They weren’t combat-related blessings to begin with. But at least it’s proven, hasn’t it?”
“Hmm. Yeah, I guess so.”
Eranya scratched the bridge of her nose a few times with her finger.
It actually worked.
The common understanding was one blessing per soul.
Astrid was an irregularity, an exception.
Every rule had its exception, so it wasn’t that big a deal.
But looking at this Astein standing before her, it made her wonder—was it really one blessing per soul?
“…I’m a curse-weaver, after all. I could hold onto the souls of those who had these blessings. That’s why it was possible, isn’t it?”
“Ohh? So, all the original owners of those blessings died by your hand?”
“That’s how it’d be. Yes, that’s the story.”
Astein spread his arms wide.
It almost looked like he was spreading wings—surely just Eranya’s imagination.
“Since they’re not combat blessings… right, it won’t change the current situation much. But you wouldn’t want to harm me here either, would you?”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
Eranya let out a hollow laugh.
Literally, the man before her was under a grand delusion.
“Your target’s Astie, right? Astie. Like you just said, if all the blessing owners died by your hand… then yeah, it only means you plan to kill Astie too. Am I wrong?”
“That’s true. But you don’t exactly have any attachment to Astrid… I mean, that idiot, do you?”
She did, actually.
And more importantly, the reason Eranya was facing off with Astein here—
“That little Wolfgang asked me to protect his daughter. Kreutz said the same. Plus, I’ve got something to settle with Astrid.”
With that, Eranya raised her bow again.
She had a debt to collect from Astrid.
Cotton candy.
That cotton candy she’d gone out of her way to buy.
Astrid had eaten the entire delicious, sweet tub of it just because she’d hitched a ride on her carriage.
She absolutely had to get that tub of cotton candy back from her.
“…I see. But somehow, my vision feels clearer. And the blessings are whispering to me. They’re saying now’s not the time to linger here.”
“Ohh? Gonna run? From this elf?”
“You call yourself an elf after abandoning your oath to the World Tree—what a joke, huh?”
“Whatever. Let’s end this. It’s not fun anymore. You gave me a good show, so I’ll let you off easy.”
Eranya didn’t wait any longer.
She raised her bow, the string pulled taut, ready to loose an arrow that’d pierce Astein’s forehead the moment she let go.
And then, the forcibly bound souls would be freed, and the blessings released too.
That’d be the end.
Finally, the arrow left her fingertips.
It sliced through the air, heading straight for—where Astein stood, wearing that peculiar smile with his squinted eyes.
“I wouldn’t call it running.”
Astein’s form melted away.
He vanished as if he’d never been there, the arrow passing through where his smiling face had been and embedding itself into the wall behind, quivering.
“Things don’t always go according to my plans, but this one thing did.”
His figure was gone, yet his voice still echoed.
Astein’s voice reverberated slightly, as if coming from somewhere in the vast cavern.
“I’ve been granted vast knowledge. Among it are elements to strengthen my curses. Just as with magic, for someone walking the path of curses, knowledge is another weapon.”
“…Ugh.”
Eranya shook her head in irritation.
She should’ve killed him before he pulled this stunt, but she’d let it slide, doubting it’d work—and now it had.
“I’ll need to harvest more souls. So, good luck with your efforts, Ms. Elf.”
Not an elf.
As his presence faded from the cavern, Eranya hurried her steps.
It was time to change her destination.
Her next stop was the Miterien Grand Ducal Mansion.
It was time to save Astrid.
—Only to later realize Astrid was already fine.
And on top of that, she’d learn too late that an even bigger mess had unfolded.