🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter : 17
The Price of a Promise
“Ugh….”
The next morning, Lowell groaned as she pushed herself upright. As if proving the chaos of the previous day, her body creaked and protested from every corner.
It hurts….
With effort, Lowell turned her head to look out the window. The sun hung low in the sky, with scattered clouds drifting lazily past.
After staring at the view for a long while, she put strength into her legs and moved closer to the window. Gazing at the peaceful scene outside made everything that had happened yesterday feel like nothing more than a dream.
“……”
But Lowell knew. From today onward, a morning unlike any she had ever experienced before would begin.
A moment later, she picked up the letter on the table that only reinforced that realization.
It was a message delivered at dawn—sent directly from the imperial palace. The letter contained a thinly veiled threat, warning that yesterday’s incident could plunge the Empire into great turmoil, and ordering everyone involved to keep their mouths shut.
So they’re still trying to save face, even now.
That was the thought that crossed Lowell’s mind as soon as she read it.
If it became known that demons had infiltrated close to the capital and that the knights hadn’t even noticed until much later—only to let the demon escape—the reputation of the knight order and the imperial family that led it would be in shambles.
Well, none of that matters to me.
The imperial family’s intentions had never been important to Lowell. Whether it was the knight order or the emperor himself, she had abandoned any expectation long ago that anyone would help Aria.
After finishing her morning preparations, Lowell headed straight to Aria’s room to check on her condition.
“Miss, are you feeling any bett—”
But when Lowell opened the door, the sight that greeted her was unexpected. Her entire body froze, her hand still gripping the doorknob.
She took in, one by one, Aria sitting on the edge of the bed with a pale face, Sion standing beside her, and the servants he had brought with him.
“…Young master.”
Lowell recognized him immediately—the former employer she once served, and Aria’s older brother.
Her presence didn’t seem welcome. Everyone’s gaze except Aria’s and Sion’s snapped toward Lowell, their eyes sharp and hostile.
He came to take his sister, but he filled the place with only his own people.
Lowell thought this as she endured their stares.
The servants of the Heinstain household were divided into two groups: “Sion’s people” and the rest. “Sion’s people” were all personally chosen by him and usually handled outside affairs rather than work inside the estate.
Their most striking trait was their hostility toward Aria. An open, undisguised animosity toward the young lady of the house. It was proof of how much trust and protection they enjoyed from their master.
“It’s been a while.”
Seeing Lowell frozen in place, Sion greeted her first.
A gentle smile rested on his beautiful face, so similar to Aria’s. Anyone would think he was a refined noble warmly welcoming a family member he hadn’t seen in some time.
“…Yes.”
After briefly glancing at Aria’s profile, Lowell bowed politely a few beats later.
“Right. Lowell. We were just talking about you, actually.”
Sion slowly approached her, looking her up and down.
“I’ll do it.”
At that moment, Aria’s voice cut in.
“I’ll do it. Let’s do it your way, Brother.”
Still seated on the bed, Aria fixed her gaze on the floor as she continued.
“……?”
In that instant, Lowell noticed a satisfied smile spread across Sion’s lips—a slick, unpleasant smile she was sure she had seen before. A bad feeling crept over her.
“Really? You’ve thought it through. Good.”
Soon, Sion’s gaze shifted away from Lowell and back to Aria. Smiling faintly, he turned to his people, who began pulling something out of their bags.
“What are you—”
Realizing something was wrong, Lowell hurriedly opened her mouth.
“Lowell.”
Her words were cut off immediately.
“Could you step outside? I have something to discuss with my brother.”
After taking a deep breath, Aria spoke as if warning her.
“……”
Despite that warning, Lowell wanted to refuse. But Aria’s tone—unyielding and firm—left her unable to say another word.
“…Yes.”
In the end, Lowell lowered her gaze and replied weakly.
“…What are you doing?”
As Leon was heading upstairs, he raised one eyebrow the moment he spotted Lowell.
She was crouched in front of a door on the third floor, her ear pressed against it.
“Hey! Come here for a second.”
Without even listening to his question, Lowell grabbed Leon by the hem of his clothes and pulled him down beside her the instant their eyes met.
“……”
With nothing left to surprise him, Leon let himself be dragged over and sat with his back against the door. After a while, watching Lowell fidget on her own, he finally spoke.
“What is this supposed to be?”
“Shh!”
When Leon spoke at his normal volume, Lowell pressed her index finger to his lips.
Leon frowned slightly and brushed her hand away. Lowell looked at him, then whispered again.
“Don’t you hear anything?”
“What?”
“Ah—never mind. That spell for eavesdropping, it was in a book. If you know how to use it—”
“I don’t.”
“What? Why not?”
“Knights don’t learn spells that go against chivalry. A knight must always be honorable and—”
“What? What good is chivalry if you can’t use it when you need to!”
They were probably arguing far too earnestly.
Creak.
That must be why they failed to notice the door opening right beside them.
“I was just about to go thank you myself, you know. Riffman.”
Sion spoke leisurely as he looked down at the two sitting in front of the door.
“It’s been a while, Young Duke Heinstain.”
In the few seconds it took Lowell to blink, Leon had already stood up and politely returned the greeting as if nothing were amiss.
Following him up, Lowell briefly wondered whether that calmness was the dignity of a knight—or just shamelessness.
After that, at Sion’s sudden suggestion that they have tea together, the four of them gathered in the garden of the villa.
“Mmm, the aroma is lovely.”
While an awkward silence hung in the air, only Sion seemed at ease, closing his eyes to savor the scent.
“……”
Following the movement of the teacup, Lowell watched him. Blond hair fluttering in the breeze, relaxed green eyes, lips slightly curved upward.
Enjoying tea amid the lush green garden, he looked like a noble straight out of a painting.
Aria, seated beside him, gave off a completely different atmosphere. Lowell could tell that the faint vitality she had sensed in Aria just yesterday was now entirely gone. Aria looked like someone who had lost all color.
“I should have gone out to greet you myself. My apologies.”
Leon suddenly spoke, setting his teacup down with a soft clink.
That made Lowell realize she had almost been glaring at Sion. She blinked.
“No, no. You’re a guest—there’s no need for that. I heard you visited the knight order headquarters this morning.”
“Yes. There were a few things I needed to report about yesterday.”
“I’m truly grateful to you. Aria being able to sit here beside me like this is all thanks to you, Riffman.”
Sion looked at Aria with eyes full of affection, as though she were the most precious thing in the world.
“No. All I did was call the knight order.”
Leon glanced briefly at Aria before replying calmly.
“Haha, no. That demon must have fled after witnessing the might of a magic knight.”
In truth, Leon hadn’t even seen the demon, so Sion was wrong. Still, Leon merely laughed along without correcting him.
“As a token of my thanks, I’ll invite you to the estate next time.”
“Brother.”
The conversation came to an abrupt halt when Aria, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke. Her firm tone drew everyone’s attention to her.
“My sister has always been frail and a constant worry to the family since childhood. And now that something like this has happened, I can’t help but be deeply concerned as her brother.”
Of course, Sion continued speaking without a care.
Screech!
A moment later, a chair scraped harshly against the ground as Aria suddenly stood up.
“Brother. I’m not feeling well, so I’ll excuse myself first.”
Looking down at Sion, Aria enunciated each word as if chewing on them.
“Lowell. I’ll contact you later.”
After that, Aria gave Leon a slight nod and quickly left the garden.
“…My sister has been rude.”
Sion set his teacup down as he looked at the empty seat. It made a hollow sound against the marble table.
“Not at all.”
Leon narrowed his eyes at the strange atmosphere, then quickly corrected his expression and replied.
She looked like she was about to cry.
Standing in front of the villa gates, Leon recalled the earlier scene.
After the uncomfortable conversation in the garden, Lowell had returned to the villa only to be told that Aria had already packed her belongings and boarded a carriage. Her eyes had gone wide.
“I didn’t even get to say goodbye properly…”
Saying that, Lowell hurried toward the gate.
But before long, she was stopped by the villa’s servants. They claimed they urgently needed her help with something.
At that, Lowell looked utterly crestfallen. Her dark eyebrows drooped as she was led toward the kitchen almost as if being dragged. The way her purple eyes trembled was pitiful to see.
“Lowell was a child our family cherished greatly.”
At that moment, Sion—now standing beside Leon—cut into his thoughts.
“And yet, as soon as you take her with you, something unfortunate like this happens. I feel as though we’ve caused you trouble.”
Turning toward Leon, Sion continued, a slow smile curling on his lips.
“After all, a mere servant—”
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
Leon replied immediately.
“I didn’t take her away. We simply met because we were of like mind. There’s no need for you to concern yourself, Young Duke.”
He spoke evenly, looking straight ahead.
“…In that case, I’m relieved.”
At those words, Sion’s eyes hardened with coldness. But when Leon looked at him again, only the familiar relaxed smile remained.
“Then I’ll contact you separately next time.”
With that final remark, Sion stepped onto the carriage.
“Did you know Young Master Sion?”
On the road back after the chaotic leave, Lowell looked straight at Leon as she asked inside the moving carriage.
“We just know each other’s faces. Nothing more.”
Leon answered indifferently, though he felt as if Lowell were glaring at him.
“The heir of the Empire’s foremost ducal house and a promising magic knight—it’d be stranger if we didn’t at least recognize each other.”
“Ah, I see.”
At Leon’s ever-present confidence, Lowell frowned briefly, then asked what else was bothering her.
“More importantly, what did you mean about not needing to go be investigated?”
“I took care of the urgent matters. You don’t need to go to headquarters yourself. At least not right now.”
“Is that something I can just… choose not to do?”
“Why not? You were attacked by a demon—it’s only natural that you’d be considered unstable for questioning.”
“What? I’m completely stable, though?”
Lowell twisted her upper body from side to side and blinked.
“…Whether you’re stable or not, there’s no need to be investigated right now.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Yesterday’s incident happened because the current knight order failed to properly protect the Empire. So who benefits from you personally going there to be questioned and handing over information?”
Leon said irritably, knitting his brows.
As Lowell listened, her expression grew increasingly dubious.
Cheapskate.
That was a word she thought only in her head.
“What?”
“Nothing. Fine. I do need some time to sort things out myself, so going right now would be a bit much. I’ll go on my own later.”
Lowell didn’t realize that thought had slipped out of her mouth.
“…And you. You faced a demon and were even attacked. The fact that you’re ‘completely’ stable like this is what’s actually strange.”
Leon stared at Lowell and spoke, dumbfounded.
“When would I have time to be unstable? I need to return to a stable state quickly so I can grow stronger and find my proper place again.”
Lowell met Leon’s gaze directly, her purple eyes blinking rapidly.
Proper place?
And in the silence that lasted until they returned to the estate, Leon pondered the meaning of the “proper place” Lowell had spoken of.
