IMHMF 28

Chapter 28

I had to think about why Giuer had said such things, and I also had to think about how to deal with what would happen from now on.

“Right now, I just want to rest a little.”

After hearing me, Dias apologized once more, saying that she had been thoughtless, and then left the room as if she were being chased.

I lay down on the unfamiliar bed and stared at the unfamiliar ceiling.

I had asked Giuer to introduce me to a sorcerer, so Giuer would know. She would know the identity of the sorcerer the real Eloa had met.

“I couldn’t ask her… I wonder if Eden knows.”

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I thought back to the experience I never wanted to go through again. The panic that came from time to time came over me again.

So my panic didn’t disappear just because my body had changed…

In my previous life, when I started my career as an athlete, the endless pressure and burden, along with the jealousy and envy among the athletes, became too much for me to bear, and I developed panic attacks.

If Eden had not counted the numbers for me then, I probably would have struggled for a long time. I felt that if I just stayed in bed, my thoughts would become even more complicated, so I pushed myself up and got out of bed.

Don’t lie down. If I stay in bed, I’ll only be consumed by unnecessary worries.

Just as I was about to go out for a walk, I heard a small knock on the door. After my short reply, Siobhan appeared.

“Sir Siobhan.”

Unlike himself, Siobhan entered hesitantly. In his hands were a pretty teapot and teacup decorated with roses. I wondered where he had gotten them.

“This is…”

“It’s herbal tea that is good for calming the mind and body.”

“Would you like to drink it with me?”

“No, it’s alright. I thought you might want to be alone.”

“I did until just now, but that changed a little after you came in. Ah, but there’s only one cup.”

“I’ll go get another teacup.”

I hurriedly stopped him, as he looked ready to run out of the room at any moment.

“Or, would you keep me company and talk with me?”

I took the tray from Siobhan and headed toward the table near the window.

“I’ll carry it.”

Siobhan followed behind me restlessly, and I almost laughed because he looked so cute. I sat down at the table first and poured the tea. Only then did Siobhan sit across from me.

The first thing he said was, as expected, asking if I was alright.

“You were very worried, weren’t you? I’m fine.”

“No. More than me, my lord…”

He could not continue and soon corrected himself.

“I’m glad you’re alright. My lord will be back soon.”

“Did Eden ask you to bring this tea?”

“No, this is something I… Ah, I’ll taste it first.”

“From the same cup?”

“Ah…”

I took the teacup away from my lips and handed it to Siobhan. His face quickly turned red.

“Since you brought it, Sir Siobhan, I can trust it and drink it.”

“No. I only asked a maid in the Imperial Palace to give it to me.”

I put a silver spoon into the pale yellow tea and stirred it.

Hmm, the color hasn’t changed, so I guess it’s safe to drink.

“Sir Siobhan, you’re really kind.”

“I’m not really. There is someone who dislikes me because I’m too soft.”

The person Siobhan was talking about must have been Hesse Herrmann.

“Do you like her very much?”

“What?”

Perhaps it was an unexpected question, because Siobhan showed a reaction I had never seen from him before.

“If she were just someone passing by, or someone you didn’t care about, her words wouldn’t have stayed in your heart like that.”

“…I suppose that’s true.”

The way he spoke while thinking about Herrmann made him look like a boy with an unrequited love. The embarrassment on his face, his effort to hide it, and yet the love that could not be hidden at all were obvious.

“What kind of person is she? If she’s someone Sir Siobhan likes, she must be a good person.”

“She… said that I was too soft, but from my point of view, she is the same.”

“The same?”

The Herrmann lady I had seen did not seem like that at all.

“She is someone who thinks more about her family than herself.”

Ah.

That’s right. Duke Herrmann did tend to pressure his daughter quite a lot.

“Have you ever told her that you like her?”

“…She said there was someone she had to marry.”

“For the sake of her family?”

“Yes, for the sake of her family.”

The words I had read in the text and the words I was hearing directly were very different. I had thought it was simply a sad unrequited love, but it was pure love. At the same time, however, I felt a strange sense of rejection.

A familiar emotion, as if I were looking at someone I knew. It was a feeling I could not explain.

How much time had passed while I was talking with Siobhan? Eden returned from the banquet hall.

“My lord.”

As he nodded, Siobhan greeted me and quickly left his seat.

“It seems you were having quite an enjoyable conversation.”

“What?”

“The corners of your lips are raised.”

Ah, had I been smiling without realizing it?

I couldn’t help it. Who could talk to their favorite character without smiling?

“Yes. Thanks to him, I wasn’t bored.”

“I should have come back later.”

“Hmm…”

“……”

“No. There were things I wanted to ask you, and things I wanted to tell you.”

Of course, I wouldn’t have minded if he had come a little later, but it was true that I had things to ask Eden.

“Go ahead.”

“What?”

“Ask what you wanted to ask.”

“Ah, I didn’t hear who the sorcerer the Marquis mentioned was. I thought you might know.”

Eden nodded slightly and then sat down in front of me.

“I’ll tell you after we return to the ducal residence. Mentioning a sorcerer’s name inside the Imperial Palace is forbidden.”

I did not understand why he specifically wanted to tell me at the ducal residence, but I soon understood after he added an explanation.

“And?”

“I’m thinking of staying at the Count’s residence for a while. I also need to find out more about what the Marquis said…”

The answer that had been coming without hesitation did not come this time.

“We’ll go to the Count’s residence after this matter is settled.”

“When I returned to the banquet hall, I met the princess, and she mentioned the name of the Western Kingdom’s prince.”

Eden’s hand, which had been taking off his clothes one by one, suddenly stopped.

“She said that she and Enoch would keep the secret, so I shouldn’t worry.”

“……”

“I think the prince was there, even though I didn’t see him.”

“It’s alright.”

“What?”

“The magic stone we used today does not work if even one person other than the user is nearby.”

“……”

“No one will know that you and Dias used the magic stone.”

Eden’s explanation made me feel a little relieved. I had been worried because if our alibi was not certain, we would be at a disadvantage during the trial.

“That’s a relief.”

“……”

“But, Eden…”

Instead of answering my question, he only looked at me. I knew exactly what that look meant, but I could not bring myself to speak.

“……”

After the silence continued, he finally asked again, and only then could I speak.

“…You’re not asking me if I’m alright.”

“…It would be difficult for you to easily say you weren’t alright in front of someone asking whether you were okay.”

“……”

“I was waiting for you to speak first.”

“I don’t have any health problems or anything like that. It’s just that I couldn’t really handle it…”

I unconsciously kept talking, worried that he might think there was something wrong with my health. Before I could even finish what I was saying, his voice reached my ears.

“I know.”

“……”

“I never suspected that there was anything wrong with your health. So don’t worry.”

“Then, don’t you think it’s strange?”

“Not particularly.”

“Why?”

“My birth mother was the same.”

His birth mother?

Was he talking about the woman in the portrait I had seen at the ducal residence last time?

“That doesn’t mean I take it lightly.”

That’s right. He wouldn’t just brush it aside…

Before I could finish my thought, Eden’s voice came first.

“If it happens again, should I count the numbers for you?”

“What?”

“You seemed to calm down when I counted the numbers then.”

“Ah… yes.”

“Then I’ll do that.”

“Thank you.”

Unlike what I had expected, Eden did not ask anything more or show any curiosity. He simply accepted it calmly and moved on.

He placed his gloves on the table and began unbuttoning his shirt one button at a time.

Just as I was about to get up to give Eden some privacy while he changed his clothes, a strong dizziness came over me, followed by an unbearable feeling of nausea.