(unedited)

Bright light stung my eyes, too bright to lift my heavy eyelids. I frowned.

Slowly, I sit upright, and a familiar room comes into view. Unable to shake off the drowsiness, I stared into space with a dazed gaze.

‘The original Lucy was rude…….’

My first thought upon waking up was, why did I think she would be the same as me?

I didn’t know anything about her except that she and Liel had been friends since childhood.

But then again, isn’t she too mean?

I still don’t know for sure, but so far I’ve been most convinced that my dream is related to the original.

But why am I having this dream now?

Just as I was about to ask another question, a gurgling sound echoed in my stomach, and I realized that my stomach was empty.

As I later learned from Sarah, I had been passed out for almost a week.

* * *

The problem was that Liel had stopped coming to our manor the day I passed out.

As I soothed my empty stomach with soup, I asked in a daze.

“Have you heard from Liel?”

I hadn’t spoken in so long that my throat was tight. Sarah paused for a moment as she tried to decipher my words.

Then, after asking me to wait a moment, she scurried out of the room.

A few moments later, she returned with a letter envelope and handed it to me.

“I think it’s from Young Master Liel, but I didn’t want to open it, so I left it unopened.”

Sarah politely explained the situation. I nodded in understanding and took the letter from the envelope and unfolded it.

[I’m sick, so I’m taking a break].

I blinked like a dazed person as I read the single line of text.

Sick?

He probably wasn’t lying. We’d never had a fight this big, but if nothing else, he wasn’t the kind of guy who’d skip out on his work because he was fighting with me.

As my mind wandered, I remembered the day we’d fought.

“I won’t ask for your help in such a matter.”

I…… said it harshly.

While I was angry at his condescending attitude, I also realized that I was being harsh.

I realized that if I ever saw him again, I’d have to have a proper talk with him.

“By the way, how long was I…….”

As soon as I realized that I needed to apologize, I realized that he was sick.

There were so many things I wanted to ask him, like where and how bad it hurt, and if he had seen a doctor.

I wondered if he’d even hired someone since he’d just moved.

I was worried that he was suffering alone in the middle of the woods.

Sarah noticed my anxiety and fidgeted, asking me what it said.

I replied, “He’s sick,” as briefly as the sentence in the letter. After I said it, I felt even more worried.

So, I sent him a belated reply. I told him to get some rest and come back when he felt better. I thought that would be enough to get a response.

But after two days, and then three, I didn’t hear back from Liel.

Whether it was a blessing or a curse, the knights didn’t seem too confused by his absence.

And that was that. Some of them even muttered that they hoped the peace would last.

I slipped past them, pretending not to hear.

It had been a long time since I’d had the chance to explore the mansion at my leisure.

I’d been taking the day off from work because Sarah had told me not to push myself too hard since I’d just woken up.

‘I’ll try …… again.’

When he didn’t reply, I realized there were two possibilities.

Either he was too sick to lift a pen, or he was angry with me and ignored my letters.

I decided that the latter was more likely. If he’s too sick to hold a pen, he’s really sick.

Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine.

What if that was really the case?

I was about to pass through the front door when I realized that I should go back to my room and try to reach him again.

“Marquis, you must be the Marquis of Seywint, right?”

Rhode’s voice came from the front door.

“Rhode sunbae[1]?”

[1] Means ‘senior’

I inadvertently used the title I had used when I was at the Academy, and he corrected me with a gentle smile.

“Now that I’ve graduated from the Academy, I think you can call me Sir Rhode or Sir Edgar.”

He was right.

I nodded and approached him as he stood at the front door.

“What are you doing here, anyway?”

With a wave of my hand, I dismissed the knights in front of me, and my vision cleared.

“Well, that is to say. Last week, I dropped a note to Sir Liel that I wanted to work with him, but I haven’t heard anything from him.”

To my surprise, Rhode began to whine.

Regardless of my impression that it doesn’t suit his physique, I didn’t show any outward reaction, thinking that it was also Liel’s fault for not telling him in advance.

“He’s not feeling well right now, so he’s taking a break from work for a while.”

“Him?”

How strange…….

I could tell from the puzzled look in Rhode’s eyes what he was thinking.

“Oh, come to think of it, I think it was when I was just a sophomore…… and he told me he had a medical condition.”

“A medical condition……?”

As far as I knew, Liel had no such thing. Aside from the sieves he’d had as a child, he’d never been sick.

Sometimes he limped because of the snake on his ankle, but that hadn’t happened since he joined the Academy.

“Anyway, if he’s sick, I can’t help it. Can you tell him to take his medicine and call me back when he gets better?”

He obediently withdrew at the mention of Liel’s illness. I nodded, thanking him for his understanding.

Of course, this was a favor I could only grant if Liel was willing to hear from me.

I stared at the spot where Rhode had left for a moment before heading back to my office.

I thought about writing to Liel to ask him if he was sure he was okay and if he had any medical conditions I didn’t know about.

But once again, I hadn’t heard back from Liel in over three days.

* * *

He’s alive, right?

His anxiety grew with each passing day. Finally, I decided to go to Liel’s house in person.

As a courtesy, I sent a letter. I sent five letters in total, including a few more along the way.

[I’m worried about you, can I come to your house?]

Calculating the distance between my house and Liel’s house, it would take less than a day for him to reply.

So if I didn’t hear back from him by the next afternoon, I thought I’d just go visit him.

But contrary to my expectations, I received a reply from Liel the next day.

[Yes.]

[T/N: Liel replied [?.] which is an informal way of saying ‘Yes’ in a letter lmao]

Do you call this a reply?

I know we’re not supposed to be formal, but I think it’s a bit much to send such a one-syllable reply.

For a moment, I felt annoyed, but then I realized that I was glad he was still alive.

I hopped into the carriage and headed straight for the road, my legs shaking the whole way.

Once we arrive, I’ll make sure Liel is okay and apologize………. for my harsh words.

The whole way to Liel’s mansion, I told myself. I’d apologize for what I’d done, and I’d tell Liel that he shouldn’t continue to treat me as if he was looking out for me.

As I was organizing my words in my head, the carriage came to a halt.

“Marquis, we’ve arrived!”

The coachman’s shout jolted me out of my reverie and I quickly got out of the carriage. Then I walked straight up to the coachman.

“I’m going to see if Liel is all right. Please wait here for me.”

“Yes, please take your time.”

The coachman smiled and nodded his head, but then his head turned to the trail behind me. I couldn’t help but notice the concern on his face.

“You must be scared to go alone, do you want me to take you there……?”

“No, it’s okay, even if it looks like that, Liel said it’s only a ten-minute walk.”

I felt bad asking him to wait, but I shouldn’t ask him to come with me either considering his age; I didn’t think it would be good for him to walk for long.

“The Young Master said it’s 20 minutes at the Marquis’ pace.”

“…… I’ll walk faster.”

The coachman seemed to have a pretty good memory for his age. I smiled wryly and turned away from him, walking along the wooded path.

It was bright daylight, so it wasn’t as scary as the coachman had feared.

Caw—

But why are there so many crows here?

I could hear their cries, but I couldn’t see any birds.

“……No, I’m not scared.”

I said to myself, but it was creepy in a different way. I started walking faster.

I walked until my legs were stiff, and then I saw the opening. The sunlight was shining through, and it was clear that there were no trees.

In other words, there was a good chance there was a mansion on the other side.

Soon enough, the view was clear.

“Uh…… it’s not as bad as I thought…….”

It’s fine, but……?

As I expected, there was a large mansion and a large garden. I wondered why such a large mansion was not visible from below.

Aside from wondering, my eyes were busy scanning the grassy garden.

It wasn’t the size of the mansion that surprised me, but the neat appearance and well-kept garden.

Even though there weren’t any flowers, it looked like it had been carefully maintained. But aside from that, the area around the mansion was overly quiet.

Kkakk—-

I could still hear the crows behind me. I could feel them getting louder and louder as if there were more than one.

I walked to the entrance of the mansion like I was running away.

It was then.

“……? Hey, do you happen to work here…….”

A woman in a maid’s outfit appeared out of nowhere at the entrance. In her hand was a large broom.

I tried to relax, thinking she might be working here.

But it was only for a moment.

“Uh……?”

Before I could respond, the maid started running in my direction at breakneck speed.

She swung the broom she was carrying high as if she was going to hit me with it at any moment.