DFBE 08

Chapter 8

Lucy was still utterly dumbfounded.

Cecil brought her all the way back to the bedroom and carefully examined her condition. Though Lucy obediently let him treat her, dissatisfaction was written all over her face.

‘It’s not like it was something worth getting that angry over.’

Asking whether she wanted attention?

The more she thought about it, the more absurd it felt.
Because he had hit the mark perfectly.

‘Fine! Since you already saw through my dark little motives, why don’t you just marry me already and help me escape this game!’

Still, today’s outing had been because of Bartholomew, not Cecil.

In the end, though, she hadn’t even caught a glimpse of Bartholomew before being dragged back by Cecil.

Lucy stole a glance at him.

The sharpness in her gaze gradually softened.

Cold sweat had formed on Cecil’s forehead.

He was so focused on using healing magic that he didn’t even notice her staring.
He wanted to identify exactly what was wrong with Lucy and finally free himself from her.

Yet no matter how carefully he examined her, Lucy’s body appeared perfectly healthy.

‘Then why is she still suffering from aftereffects?’

Regardless of what Cecil personally thought of Lucy, her condition was something he couldn’t help but care about as a healer.

All this time, he had prided himself on being more skilled than anyone else in his profession.

Lucy felt like a trial placed before him.

No matter how much he pushed against it, it wouldn’t budge.

As though it were telling him that only by mobilizing every scrap of knowledge he had accumulated could he hope to open the door.

That was why Cecil had no choice but to pour far more energy into healing Lucy than he normally would.

‘The principle behind healing magic is transferring the healer’s own energy into the patient.’

That energy sought out damaged areas, destroying and rebuilding them.

Normally the problem would be resolved quickly, allowing the energy to be withdrawn again.
But in Lucy’s case, because the cause was unknown, it was like pouring water into a bottomless jar.

“…Haa.”

Cecil let out a quiet sigh.

For some time now, a splitting headache had been squeezing at his brain so fiercely that even keeping his eyes open felt difficult.

Even so, he stubbornly continued the healing spell.

Then—

“!”

Suddenly, Lucy placed her hand over the back of his.

The touch was extremely careful, but because he hadn’t expected it, Cecil flinched as though he had touched burning fire.

His concentration broke, and the healing spell collapsed with it.

“What exactly do you think you’re—!”

Cecil was about to snap irritably at her when he froze again in surprise.

Lucy had pushed herself halfway upright and was reaching toward him.

Faced with such incomprehensible behavior, Cecil found himself unable to react at all.

Looking into Lucy’s calm eyes, he decided it was better to figure out what she was plotting.

Soon, Lucy’s hand reached his forehead.

Using her sleeve, she gently wiped away the sweat gathered there.

The soft fabric brushed the dampness from his skin.

At the same time, her slightly cool hand touched his overheated forehead, and Cecil almost let out a drowsy sigh without meaning to.

‘I’ve lost my mind too.’

His expression hardened even further as he spoke.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Cecil slapped her hand away.

His anger at Lucy for touching him as she pleased was evident in the gesture.

“Do not interrupt healing magic again.”

Lucy quietly looked at the hand he had knocked aside before lifting her gaze back to him.

Despite Cecil’s sharp attitude, she wasn’t angry.

‘Healing magic means healers carving away at their own flesh to heal others.’

That was why she secretly felt guilty toward Cecil for trying to heal someone who wasn’t actually sick.

‘Cecil is far too patient.’

It had to be exhausting, yet he never showed it.

Part of that was because it was a healer’s duty, but an even greater reason was that he hated showing weakness to others.

Cecil was the type of person who would endure until his mind went numb from healing magic, only collapsing once he was finally alone.

‘Besides, it rained today.’

Lucy could easily imagine how bad his condition must be.

Whenever it rained, his chronic headaches always flared up.

Even though he had harshly shoved away her hand for touching him without permission, Lucy was still worried about him.

“We’ll stop here for today.”

Cecil rose from his seat as he spoke.

He turned and headed for the door, then paused.

“I’ll say it again. Never interrupt healing magic.”

With those final words, Cecil left the room.

Left behind alone, Lucy waited quietly, worried that the system window would pop up again announcing a drop in affection points.

Thankfully, the system remained silent.

Lucy let out a small sigh.

‘Back when I played my previous life, Cecil was the easiest capture target.’

If she had to compare him to an animal, Cecil was like an aloof cat.

He wasn’t easy to get close to, but once he opened his heart, he would approach first and stay by your side.

‘Can it happen like that this time too?’

Thinking back on Cecil’s attitude just now, she couldn’t feel optimistic at all.

Not to mention he had become some strange sadistic healer whenever it came to her.

‘I need to stop this bizarre route before it really begins.’

Lost in thought, Lucy’s eyes gradually drifted shut.

The healing had left her body pleasantly drowsy.

In the end, Lucy fell asleep and didn’t wake until the next day.

What woke her wasn’t the cheerful chirping of birds, but a strange commotion.

Lucy learned what was happening from the attendant who brought her meal.

“It’s a bit noisy outside, isn’t it? Sir Cecil is currently tearing through the temple searching for something. Apparently he lost something very important.”

Something important?

Tilting her head in confusion, Lucy suddenly sat bolt upright.

Her head spun, but she didn’t care.

Because she thought she might know how to find what Cecil had lost.

* * *

Cecil was frantic.

He had lost something more precious than anything else.

When had he lost it?

Retracing his memories, Cecil searched every place he had visited.

‘It’s not here.’

But it was nowhere to be found.

He tore apart his study searching for it, checked the temple hallways and every common area he had passed through.

Nothing.

‘Did someone steal it?’

Cecil soon shook his head.

To imagine a theft taking place inside the temple…

Even if someone harbored such sacrilegious intentions, the object Cecil had lost would appear trivial to anyone else.

He looked at the attendants anxiously watching his mood.

If others saw the item he was causing all this uproar over, they would probably call him ridiculous.

Cecil sighed quietly.

‘If it’s not inside the temple, then it must be outside.’

Looking up at the clear sky—so different from yesterday’s storm—he suddenly felt uneasy.

‘If the rain was that heavy, the water may have swept everything away.’

There was no guarantee the object was still intact.

Still, searching outside felt like it would only confirm that he had truly lost it.

As he hesitated, he heard another group of attendants talking nearby.

“What in the world is Her Highness doing now?”

“I have no idea. They said she suddenly ran out of the temple.”

Watching the attendants rush outside in panic, anger abruptly surged within Cecil.

‘She went out again in that short amount of time?’

Cecil truly couldn’t understand Lucy.

At first, he had assumed she was faking her illness.

He had heard rumors that the terrace accident had been staged to attract the Emperor’s attention.

But Lucy hadn’t stopped there.

She suffered severe aftereffects and even became bedridden to the point she could barely move.

Would the Emperor really pay attention to her because of that?

If anything, it might become the perfect excuse to cast her aside completely.

A foolish woman who understood one thing and remained ignorant of ten others.

Cecil irritably ran a hand through his hair.

What angered him even more was his own incompetence.

If he wanted to stop getting entangled with Lucy, all he had to do was heal her completely.

Yet Cecil was already stumbling at the diagnosis stage.

But abandoning the effort midway was something his pride as a healer wouldn’t allow.

‘As if I’m not already overwhelmed enough.’

Letting out a deep sigh, Cecil finally headed outside the temple.

Finding Lucy wasn’t difficult.

He immediately walked toward the place where attendants had gathered in a noisy crowd.

As he strode closer, their troubled voices reached his ears.

“Princess, please stop!”

“Your hands are a mess!”

Just hearing the attendants trying to stop her was enough to make irritation rise within Cecil.

‘What is she doing this time?’