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Chapter 79
Elijia’s hurried entrance was an unavoidable choice.
“It’s obvious—he probably shouted to gather all the servants!”
That rascal Eli had gone out again! It was so predictable that he’d shout, “Bring him back immediately!” that Elijia had dashed into the room before the Duke could even finish speaking.
“…….”
The Duke, seeing Elijia outside the window, froze for a moment as if trying to assess the situation. He alternated his gaze between the Elijia on the bed and the one who had appeared inside the room, disbelief written all over his face.
The one who had climbed through the window had neither mask nor invisibility—anyone could clearly see it was Elijia.
“How can there be two of you…?”
“That is… Father, please calm down and listen to me first.”
Elijia responded quickly.
“This is all because it’s inside your dream.”
“…….”
Hearing Elijia’s rapid explanation, the Duke looked at her with a mix of pity and exasperation. As if nothing had startled him, he made a “I see, that makes sense” expression, and Elijia clicked her tongue in annoyance.
‘That was supposed to be my clever answer, and it didn’t work at all.’
Glancing at her, the Duke continued.
“I’m not in the mood to joke. Elijia, I haven’t even gone to bed yet.”
Well, it seems unusual that he hasn’t slept yet.
While Elijia grumbled internally, the Duke pointed at her and the figure on the bed.
“So, which one is the real one?”
“…What do you think?”
“Obviously, you’re the fake.”
“……?”
Elijia stared in disbelief at the Duke, who calmly pointed at the real Elijia and called her the fake.
‘Could it be… Father, are you joking?’
Before she could think of a retort, the Duke spoke in a cold voice.
“You should be the fake. If the one sleeping quietly over there were real, I wouldn’t be this angry.”
“No, Father. Wait a moment……”
Now she realized he was sarcastically angry!
While Elijia wore a defeated expression, the Duke continued without pause.
“Answer me, Elijia. I told you to stay home quietly, so why did you go out again? You didn’t secretly attend a banquet, did you?”
“…I didn’t go to any banquet.”
Because she was telling the truth, Elijia looked at the Duke with genuinely wronged eyes. Thinking about it now, the situation could have been quite dangerous.
‘I mustn’t let them know I went to the temple.’
The High Priest was already suspicious. If it was found out that Elijia had left the house at that exact time, suspicion would inevitably deepen. Elijia quickly added:
“I just took a quick look to see if there were any dangerous monsters around the house!”
Her voice carried concern.
“You’ve probably seen it too—monsters appeared in unexpected places again today. I was worried our house might also be in danger, and I couldn’t sleep……”
“…Is that really true?”
The Duke raised his eyebrows skeptically. Elijia nodded eagerly.
“Th-Then please don’t question the other servants because of me. I don’t want everyone to be put in trouble because of me.”
If she stirred up the household, the High Priest would surely hear that she had gone out tonight. Elijia looked at her father with a plaintive expression.
“Can we make tonight’s incident a secret only between us, Father?”
“…….”
The Duke, lost in thought, remained silent for a moment. After a long pause, he sighed and finally nodded.
“Fine. Since you’re back and you didn’t go to any banquet, I’ll take your word for it—for now.”
‘Yes!’
“But if that turns out to be a lie, I won’t let it slide.”
“….”
Elijia nodded cautiously. Since it was true that she hadn’t gone to the banquet, the Duke had no reason to be angry—probably…?
While she mulled over this, the Duke continued his nagging.
“And from now on, do not go out at night on your own. If you must, at least tell me beforehand……”
“Eh? If I tell you beforehand, will you allow it?”
“….”
The Duke hesitated at her question. When he didn’t respond, Elijia crossed her arms.
“See! You wouldn’t allow it even if I asked!”
“The problem is that you go out without permission in the first place! Do you know how shocked everyone in the house is every time you suddenly disappear? Just now……”
The Duke closed his eyes tightly and pressed his hand to his forehead, holding back his frustration as he spoke in a strained voice.
“…Elijia Semperion, why do you always think only of yourself?”
“….”
“Why do you always act on your own without telling me or Howell anything?”
“Well……”
Elijia started to respond but closed her mouth. What could she do? He forbade her from going out, from attending the banquet, even from doing quests that could be life-threatening. Everything she tried to do was opposed.
It’s life-or-death for me—when could I possibly ask permission? Who in the house can I trust when there’s a threat of poisoning?
This is a game in the first place, and no one even knows I’m possessed in this body.
Elijia sighed internally. Since she couldn’t explain all that, she brought up another point she could talk about.
“Father, you didn’t tell me either today. You just said I couldn’t go to the banquet and didn’t explain anything.”
“That’s because……”
“I went because I was worried too. We were thinking the same thing.”
“….”
Their gazes locked. The Duke didn’t yield and responded.
“I didn’t say anything because I was thinking of you. I wanted to avoid interfering in matters that didn’t concern you……”
“Why doesn’t it concern me?”
Elijia’s voice rose.
“It’s your affair, Father. I’m your daughter. You could be in danger, so why wouldn’t that concern me?”
Her words made the Duke’s eyes widen slightly. Elijia pressed on.
“How about Howell? He knew, right?”
“….”
The Duke remained silent. Seeing that, Elijia was certain.
“You told Howell but kept it a secret from me, right? Why only me?”
“….”
“You don’t trust me, you don’t tell me everything, yet you expect me to know everything? That’s…!”
Elijia added with a sigh:
“That’s a contradiction……”
“….”
The Duke had no rebuttal to her words.
Ding!
Duke’s Disappointment increased.
Disappointment: 357 → 377%!
‘What? It went up again?’
Could he be angry? At this situation?
Elijia flinched and studied the Duke’s expression. It was time for scolding. As she braced herself, a calm voice came.
“…Fine. I admit that I am being contradictory too.”
It was unexpectedly calm, almost a quiet murmur.
Elijia slowly opened her eyes, puzzled by her father’s demeanor. He didn’t seem very angry at all. Perhaps the status window had measured wrong. Come to think of it, it had shown errors before.
While Elijia pondered, the Duke spoke again.
“Yes. It might have been a mistake not to tell you today. I think… I haven’t trusted you enough all this time.”
The Duke nodded slowly, controlling his temper and speaking with a restrained, slightly slow voice. Surprisingly, the atmosphere lightened, and Elijia’s expression brightened.
‘Is he forgiving me?’
Is he letting it go?
Elijia cautiously approached the bed while gauging her father’s mood.
“Haha, right? Thank you for understanding. It’s late now, so you should get some sleep too……”
“But, Elijia Semperion.”
As if he had just remembered something, the Duke turned to her.
“Today… with Sir Fin Ende, what exactly happened between the two of you?”
“….”
Startled by the sudden cold tone, Elijia looked up.
‘What? Weren’t we ending things warmly just now?’
The atmosphere felt even sharper than when she was first caught sneaking out. Elijia rolled her eyes, suspecting this might be the main point her father wanted to address.
‘I didn’t properly finish this matter before.’
Before pressing her earlier, he had been in a rush to get her home. At that time, there were many stakeholders, but now, with her awake and listening, he intended to ask properly.
Elijia spoke cautiously.
“Um, didn’t you hear it from Sir Ende?”
It was better for them to match their stories.
But upon hearing her, the Duke immediately frowned.
“…Sir Ende has a very tight-lipped nature.”
Seems he didn’t say much.
Perhaps to protect Elijia’s secret, he had likely brushed most of it off. Elijia felt relieved and explained.
“Exactly as you heard. Thanks to Sir Ende, the monsters were defeated and I was safe.”
“That guy… no. Was there anything strange back then?”
“Huh?”
Did he just call him “that guy”? She must have misheard. Surely her father wouldn’t have said that to Sir Ende.
Elijia tilted her head.
“Nothing unusual. Since many monsters appeared and I might have been in danger, he rushed to help. Right after defeating them, you came— that’s all.”
“…I see.”
The Duke scrutinized her face as if to check for lies. Seeing no reaction, he spoke in a low voice.
“Elijia Semperion, you don’t understand how dangerous the monsters are. By chance, you’ve been able to defeat them easily before, so you probably never felt their true strength.”
Elijia listened silently. In truth, no matter how strong the monsters seemed, she hadn’t felt truly threatened. She had many things to say, but she let it slide.
The Duke continued.
“So, you don’t realize how strong today’s monsters were. It wasn’t something a single wizard could easily handle.”
“…Yes?”
Taken aback, Elijia looked up. The Duke’s voice sharpened as he issued a warning.
“Be careful with Sir Ende. His skill isn’t that of an ordinary wizard. He’s definitely hiding something.”
“Uh…….”
But that was me! I was the one who handled it, and Sir Ende just covered for me!
Yet Elijia couldn’t say that. She just averted her gaze, feeling guilty.
‘S-sorry, Sir Ende!’
Because of her, Sir Ende had been misunderstood by her father as some suspicious wizard.
Elijia muttered a late excuse.
“Sir Ende… isn’t really a bad person……”
“You don’t know! Elijia, you trust people too easily! Maybe you have no idea what’s really going on.”
“That’s not it……!”
She didn’t know what to say.
Elijia fell silent, having nothing further to argue.
