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Chapter 31.
‘Well, anyway, this worked out nicely, you bastard! From today on, I’ll give you top-notch nursing care.’
It wasn’t that I was some kind of demon who delighted in seeing a sick person suffer, but still—wasn’t this a case where everyone benefited?
‘Aletheia gets cared for, and I get acknowledged as the owner by the vault.’
Whatever the motivation, the outcome was nothing but positive, so in the end it was a good thing. Having finished rationalizing things that way, Mio took Aletheia’s hand and started walking ahead. As Aletheia was pulled along, he asked,
“Where are you going?”
“You said you couldn’t sleep well. If you get some rest, your condition will improve.”
Mio succeeded in leading Aletheia all the way to the bedroom. It happened to be the same room that doubled as his study, so it wasn’t as though she had changed his destination—she had merely walked ahead of him. Still… please let the vault misunderstand this scene in just the right way.
But once they were standing in front of the bed, Aletheia began to grumble—not quite complaining, but close. It was right after Mio patted the bed a few times and said, “Here, lie down.”
“No need. I won’t be able to fall asleep anyway.”
“Oh, come on. Just lie down first. You’ll fall asleep soon.”
Mio took his arm and tried to lead him, but this time Aletheia didn’t go along quietly. Standing his ground without budging, he said,
“I don’t want to waste effort on something that won’t work. I’ve already tried enough.”
So it really was true. He hadn’t stayed behind out of consideration for me—he’d been too busy being unable to sleep.
‘Still, I’m glad that bought me enough time.’
It was a little embarrassing to think I’d praised him for waiting patiently, even for a moment.
‘But if he really can’t sleep properly… is it the aftereffect of collapsing at the banquet?’
Mio thought for a moment, then offered a solution.
“I’ll hold your hand. All those attempts you made were when I wasn’t there, right? So this time will be different.”
Once mind reading is turned off, it’ll be quiet—perfect for sleeping, right?
Aletheia, apparently not having thought that far, nodded in belated agreement.
“Ah… I see.”
Maybe because he hadn’t slept, his reactions were unusually slow. Aletheia took off his outerwear and slowly climbed onto the bed.
‘Good. Things are going smoothly right from the start.’
Beaming, Mio pulled over a chair and sat down. If anyone walked in right now, they’d think Mio was nursing Lete. More than enough to earn the vault’s recognition. Mio felt proud.
‘They said once the vault acknowledges me as its owner, it’ll reveal its physical form on its own.’
If so, it’d be best if it appeared when I’m alone. The vault probably wouldn’t want to see the face of its indifferent former owner who never acknowledged it.
‘Come on out. Vault. Into the arms of your new owner!’
Trying not to show how excited she was, Mio gently took Aletheia’s hand as he lay there. Aletheia blinked vacantly, as though the concept of effort were foreign to him.
“No one sleeps with their eyes open.”
With her free hand, Mio closed Lete’s eyes, then, still holding one of his hands, hummed a prayer she’d heard somewhere before.
“Goddess who watches over this land, bestow your blessings upon the growing sprouts…”
Aletheia frowned and said,
“I don’t like prayers.”
“Oh… is that so?”
What an odd preference. Maybe it had something to do with that story about the archbishop saying he was fated to be imprisoned in some tower and die or whatever.
“I thought maybe hearing a prayer would help you sleep.”
“It’s uncomfortable, so don’t.”
“Okay.”
Answering meekly like a gentle lamb, Mio lowered her gaze and looked at Aletheia. Having an offer of kindness rejected didn’t feel good, after all. Her face had been expressionless, but then she suddenly realized something and relaxed her facial muscles.
‘Oh, right. The vault.’
The vault might be watching. Mio repeated to herself, ‘Aletheia is a patient right now,’ and softened her expression. Maybe that was why he kept saying such irritating things today. Thinking that way, she found she could tolerate Aletheia’s lacking personality just fine.
‘Hmm. But just sitting here doing nothing is kind of boring.’
Glancing over, she saw that Aletheia still hadn’t fallen asleep, his brow tightly furrowed. Even turning off mind reading didn’t seem to help him sleep soundly.
‘Yikes. At this rate, he’ll get up again.’
She couldn’t let this perfect nursing scene fall apart. Mio quickly reached out and gently patted Aletheia’s chest. At the pat, pat of her hand, Aletheia snapped his eyes open.
“What are you doing right now?”
“Huh? This usually helps people sleep.”
“Who on earth…?”
The baby foxes at our house.
‘If I did this after feeding them, they’d sleep like a log.’
It had been one of the rare peaceful moments since coming to this world.
‘Aletheia, you don’t even have fluffy fur like the foxes…’
I was just going to shut my eyes and think, ‘This is Rosa and Roy!’ and keep patting him, but—hmph, fine then. If you don’t like it, forget it. Mio pulled her hand away with an awkward look and said,
“Should I stop?”
“…No. Keep going.”
Oh? Maybe it wasn’t so bad?
‘Yeah. Just hurry up and go to sleep.’
Even a light sleep would help—then the vault would surely recognize this as “devoted nursing.” Mio raised her hand again and patted Aletheia’s chest, just like lulling a baby fox to sleep.
At that same time, Caleb was frantically searching through Duke Kelt’s castle.
‘Where on earth did she go? She was quiet for days after coming back from the banquet.’
She wasn’t in the maid’s quarters, nor in the back garden. Aside from those two places, there wasn’t really anywhere Mio would go.
‘Could it be… the Archduke? No. That can’t be.’
As long as she was sane, Mio wouldn’t decide to do something like get married. She’d already learned all too well what kind of consequences similar situations led to. And yet, strangely, Caleb’s unease only continued to grow.
‘Tch. This is all because something strange happened at that banquet.’
Roughly raking his hair, Caleb began grabbing servants and asking in an irritated voice,
“Hey. Do you know where Mio is? Have you seen her?”
Everyone shook their heads and disappeared, and just as he was repeating the same question for what felt like the twentieth time, one servant who had been cleaning the hallway finally answered,
“If you mean Lady Mio, I saw her leaving earlier with her luggage.”
“What? How could you just let her go like that!”
Leaving with her luggage—what did she think she was going to do after leaving here?!
‘…No. I have to stop her.’
If this continued, all of my efforts so far would go to waste. Breathing heavily, Caleb anxiously bit at her fingers. Wyden appeared from somewhere, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and said,
“What’s wrong? What happened, Caleb?”
“Mio is…”
“Did she bully you again?”
“…Wyden. The party scheduled at Shuola Harbor—can’t you move it to another day?”
“What? How am I supposed to suddenly change the date?”
Wyden let out a deflated sound, as if he’d just heard something ridiculous.
“Caleb. Maybe you don’t know this, but you can’t just change promises like that based on your mood. Remember that well. Later, when you become the duchess, you absolutely must never—”
After a brief silence, Caleb glared resentfully at Wyden and shouted,
“…This is all your fault. I thought you were that man!”
“Lady Mio, Lady Mio. Wake up.”
“…Mmm.”
Someone was shaking Mio awake while she was sleeping soundly.
“You must be tired, but you should eat before going back to sleep.”
Huh? Food? Who would wake someone up to share precious rations?
At the unfamiliar words, Mio slowly opened her eyes and saw Jamie shaking her awake.
“Jamie…?”
“Yes. It’s Jamie. Simon is waiting for you in the dining hall—he’s practically craning his neck.”
“Oh, right. That wouldn’t do…”
I can’t keep Simon waiting.
“Yes. If the food gets cold, Simon will cry. He was so excited to finally show off his cooking skills.”
At Jamie’s urging, Mio rubbed her eyes and noticed that whatever her body was resting against felt extremely soft. As she stretched, it seemed to fit her perfectly—so comfortable it was almost unbelievable. And without thinking, the thought slipped out.
‘What kind of chair makes you sleep this well?’
