CHGD 35

Chapter 35

After the Jerry incident passed, I had to take quite a long break. The reason was, of course, the matter of Icabel’s altered orders.

*’The Count seems to think it was Loaz’s doing.’*

Naturally, Loaz hadn’t done any such thing.

Given the circumstances, it was highly likely that a third party had infiltrated the castle at almost the same time as Loaz and killed Valos.

In any case, since there was definitely someone who had threatened me, the Count recommended I rest while the investigation was underway.

Rest in name only—it was essentially an order to stay put and not go anywhere.

The somewhat stifling routine continued.

Just as I was beginning to realize that, despite the slight danger, taking on requests from monsters had been quite interesting, I received an unexpected visitor.

And it was in a dream.

“You found your way well this time. You’re definitely the real Deliana. …Are you awake?”

I blinked blankly, staring at the suddenly appearing androgynous figure.

A pale, dark-eyed woman who looked like the Count dyed in black and white… she was my mother-in-law.

“It’s been a while, daughter-in-law.”

She met my eyes with an artificial smile.

“Are you so happy to see me that you’re speechless?”

“…No, it’s not that.”

I answered vaguely and looked around. Warped windows, an uneven bed, chairs with more than four legs… I saw an unreal, ambiguous backdrop.

I remembered falling asleep, but when I opened my eyes, the world had changed. Which meant this was a dream.

I calmly composed myself.

“…You can even enter my dreams.”

“No, this is *my* dream. I invited you into it. Haster has thoroughly guarded against invading your soul, so I had no choice but to use this roundabout method.”

“Does the fact that the Count goes to such lengths mean there are many monsters targeting my dreams?”

“That’s one way to put it. You’re quite the talker, aren’t you, daughter-in-law?”

Seeing a face so similar to the Count’s wearing an expression he would never make gave me a strange feeling.

“But just now, when I woke up, what did you say?”

Even in a dream, I was half-asleep, so I hadn’t heard properly. She shook her head at my question, saying it was nothing.

I took a step back from her and spoke.

“What did you call me here for?”

“You don’t have to be so wary. I came to thank you.”

“Thank me… for granting your request?”

“Yes.”

She nodded smoothly.

“You’ve been helping my children well, haven’t you?”

*’That’s a stretch… it was only once.’*

I had resolved the lake village issue well, but the matter with Tandalos, who had tried to use our Jerry, was more accidental.

Seeing my dubious expression, she offered an artificial smile.

“That hunting dog is also a child of our lineage. So it’s practically the same as helping.”

“Ah, I see…”

“Since you’ve been doing so well, I didn’t intend to interfere, but on the other hand, Haster hasn’t been proactive. Even though it’s something he needs to be involved in.”

She seemed displeased that the Count had requested I rest.

“So this mother has arranged a child in need of help.”

“…Pardon?”

“Right after you wake from this dream, if you go to Haster’s study, you’ll be able to meet that child.”

*’Now she’s bringing monsters to make me do her bidding?’*

At her high-handed behavior, the corners of my mouth twitched.

Recalling that she was a monster on par with the Count, I calmly suppressed my emotions.

*’Right, and she did say there would be a reward if I completed all the requests.’*

The reward she had promised last time.

For that, I was willing to accept this bargain.

“This child is a bit peculiar, but I believe you, daughter-in-law, can handle it well.”

“…Understood. Well then, is that all?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

At least there was no need for further conversation—thankfully. As I was internally sighing with relief, the surroundings slowly began to be consumed by darkness.

I instinctively knew it was a sign that the dream was fading.

“Then I’ll leave the next child in your care as well.”

“…Yes.”

As I forced myself to answer and was about to close my eyes, my mother-in-law murmured in a voice tinged with amusement.

“Oh, and just so you know, since this is my dream, I can hear everything.”

“Pardon?”

“So I heard clearly how you think of me.”

My eyes widened again. Did that mean she had heard all the complaints I’d been voicing in my mind until now?

The answer came from my mother-in-law, who had suddenly appeared right before my eyes.

“Yes, I heard it all. Calling me a monster—that hurts a mother’s feelings, you know.”

With a smile that showed not the slightest hint of being hurt, she extended her finger toward me.

Her long, pale finger began to change as it approached me.

The pale skin turned black, her nails glinted with a vicious light. That finger, which had taken on a hideous form like rotten tree branches, a monster’s tongue, and withered entrails, slowly, leisurely approached… my eye.

Even trying to move was futile. Even opening my mouth was impossible.

“Shh, it’s okay. I’m not trying to punish you. I’m just trying to… help a little, so this doesn’t happen again.”

“Ugh…”

“Because I can’t have any other child reading my daughter-in-law’s mind.”

It’s okay, just leave it to Mother.

The moment I heard those words, her fingertip touched my pupil.

Squelch—like a fork sinking into pudding, softly, slowly, it burrowed in…

Bang—!

With the sound of something exploding, I woke from the dream.

—

* * *

“Huff…!”

Gasping for air, I shot up from my lying position. I was so frightened that cold sweat covered my entire body. Raising my hand, I touched my cold forehead and eyelids, then slowly looked around.

“…Dawn?”

It wasn’t quite sunrise yet; the room was filled with a cold indigo light. I got out of bed and took a sip of the cold water my maid had prepared for me. Only then did I feel my senses returning.

*’She said to go to the study right away.’*

The end of the dream was shocking, but I remembered everything we had discussed.

Logically speaking, she probably meant for me to go around the time the Count would be at work, but the word “right after” bothered me.

Rubbing my still-aching eyelids, I murmured.

“Let’s go, for now.”

Whatever my mother-in-law had done, my head was throbbing too much to go back to sleep anyway, so I grabbed my coat.

*’Loaz is… probably asleep.’*

Usually, he would have appeared from a corner of the room asking where I was going, but perhaps because it was dawn, it was quiet today.

“Woof!”

Instead, Jerry greeted me. Jerry, who had been sleeping on the canopy above my bed, jumped down lightly and nestled into my arms.

“Are you going to protect me instead, Jerry?”

Instead of answering, Jerry licked my cheek. According to Loaz, Jerry was a formidable beast, so it was more than qualified as a guard knight.

After stroking Jerry’s head as thanks, I slipped out of the annex.

Stepping into the garden, the cool, crisp air of an autumn dawn struck my cheeks.

I would have loved to take a leisurely stroll with Jerry, but the task at hand took priority.

I quickened my pace and arrived at the main castle where the Count’s study was located.

Perhaps the servants hadn’t started their full duties yet, as the corridors of the main castle were silent.

Feeling unnecessarily tense, I held Jerry tightly in my arms and moved forward.

*’Surely the monster in need of help won’t attack me, right?’*

It was only as I was about to arrive that such anxiety crossed my mind.

But having come this far, there was no turning back. I slowly opened the door to the study.

In the study, still bathed in the light of dawn, someone was waiting, just as my mother-in-law had said.

The problem was that their appearance was completely unexpected.

“…Milady?”

The person in the study noticed me. It was a polite voice I’d never heard from Loaz or Icabel, but the presence I felt was no different from theirs.

Unable to step into the study, I just stared blankly at him.

*’But that person… is a child.’*

The reason I was surprised wasn’t because I was facing a monster. If I had been confronted with something inhuman like Loaz or Icabel, I wouldn’t have been this startled.

The person standing idly in the study looked, by all appearances, like an innocent child.

A boy slightly younger than Loaz, with striking, bright eyes, bowed respectfully to me.

“…It’s an honor to meet you, Milady. I am Louis Rozelan.”

For a child, it was an incredibly polished greeting. I accepted it with an awkward posture.

“The Count hasn’t arrived yet. If you have business…”

“Are you the only one here?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

So that meant the monster in need of help my mother-in-law spoke of was this boy.

It felt ominous, but unlike other monsters, I didn’t sense any life-threatening danger. I stepped into the study and closed the door.

“I didn’t come to see the Count. I came to meet you.”

“Me?”

The boy narrowed his eyes in puzzlement.