Chapter 08
When I opened my eyes, it was morning.
‘When did I end up lying in bed?’
Blinking, I stared up at the lavishly patterned ceiling that had somehow become familiar to me. Then I retraced my last memory. I had definitely been watching the two of them loading arrows into the mechanisms in the garden, smiling fondly to myself while thinking, ‘Our protagonists really are a handsome couple.’ And then…
‘Looks like I fell asleep right there.’
I vaguely remembered someone carrying me while I was half asleep. I’d troubled Davin again. Stretching lazily, I sat up.
Perhaps hearing me wake, Lana spoke from outside the canopy surrounding the bed.
“Miss, are you awake?”
“Mm-hm.”
At my answer, Lana drew back the canopy. Bright sunlight poured in along with her appearance, and I spread my arms wide at her with a bright smile. Seeing me, Lana smiled warmly and hugged me tightly.
“Good morning, Lana.”
“Good morning, Miss.”
I really liked it when Lana hugged me like this. Back when I had first possessed this body and was too terrified to sleep, Lana had stayed by my side and often comforted me this way. After holding me for a while, she pulled back and asked,
“Shall I bring water for washing up?”
“Mm-hm.”
Soon, a basin of water was placed before me. I lazily dipped just my fingertips into the water and merely wiped the sleep from my eyes, causing Lana to narrow her eyes and scold me.
“Miss, you can’t wash up like a cat.”
“…No, I was just wiping my eyes first. I’m going to wash properly.”
“You said that yesterday too, and barely washed.”
“I said that’s not true…! Why do you keep treating me like a baby?”
“But you only wiped your eye crusties like a baby!”
Ugh, Lana’s mean.
My face turned red, and I properly washed up before standing. After changing into indoor clothes and stepping outside the canopy, I saw Davin standing outside the wide-open door Lana had already opened.
I greeted him.
“Good morning, Davin.”
“Yes, Lady Anise. Good morning.”
Davin smiled gently at me. Today as always, he looked dazzling. In the shade, his silver hair shimmered with a pale violet hue, and his purple eyes carried a hint of blue. To think Anise could admire a face so delicately sculpted by the gods first thing in the morning—what kind of virtue had she accumulated in her past life?
‘As expected, looking at beautiful things is good for mental health.’
While I was happily admiring Davin’s face, Lana cleaned the table and said to me,
“Please sit for a moment. I’ll bring breakfast.”
“Okay.”
I sat at the table bathed in morning sunlight and yawned. Davin walked over and sat across from me. His hair, which had seemed cold in the shade, turned warm again beneath the sunlight.
“Will you be going out again today?”
“No, I’m going to rest nearby today. Yesterday was exhausting.”
After staying indoors for so long, it seemed my stamina had completely deteriorated. How pathetic that simply going to Mr. Smith’s office had made me fall asleep outside. As I sighed in lament, Davin chuckled softly.
“You’ll need to build up your stamina.”
“I know. At this rate, I won’t even be able to run away in an emergency.”
When I pouted, Davin spoke reassuringly.
“As long as I am by your side, there will never be a reason for Lady Anise to run.”
“Still… I should at least have basic physical strength…”
Murmuring that, I asked him,
“Even if we don’t go out far today, should we at least take a walk? Or is the garden too dangerous for that?”
“If we walk toward the lake, it should be fine. Most of the mechanisms I installed are around the garden.”
But the moment Davin mentioned the lake, I froze.
In the original story, Anise died in an accident at the lake. At first, everyone thought she had drowned while trying to cool off in the water, but that wasn’t true.
The magic circle installed near the lake by the Duke of Raphtan’s family—that was what killed Anise.
‘Come to think of it, Davin still doesn’t know there’s something at the lake.’
In the original story, it had been Davin himself who discovered the magic circle near the lake. But now, because he was so busy protecting me, he hadn’t even realized such a dangerous thing was there.
Should I tell him? Since it was a serious matter, I hesitated.
But if he asked how I knew the magic circle was there, what would I say?
As I faltered, Davin carefully spoke.
“…If you dislike the lake, perhaps we should just walk around outside the estate instead? Since I’ll be with you, it won’t be dangerous.”
Since I had fallen into the water, become gravely ill, and even lost my memory, he seemed to think I instinctively feared the lake now. If I could use that excuse to avoid going near it, then that was probably for the best. I nodded.
“Okay. Let’s do that.”
So we decided that today we’d simply take a walk with Davin and then rest.
While I was changing clothes to go for a walk after breakfast Lana had brought, someone knocked on the door. Davin opened it and asked the visitor,
“What is it?”
“Um, there’s been a message from the Imperial Palace…”
From behind the folding screen Lana had set up for me while I changed into outdoor clothes, I vaguely heard Jean mentioning something about the imperial family and the emperor.
When I finished getting ready and came out, Davin was standing there with a serious expression.
“What’s wrong?”
“A messenger from the Imperial Palace just arrived. His Majesty the Emperor says he will visit the estate sometime today.”
“…Today?”
“Yes.”
Without realizing it, I frowned at the news of the emperor’s visit.
‘Ah, why is he coming already?’
I wasn’t happy about it. Should I not have invited him after all? No, if I hadn’t, I would’ve had to go to the Imperial Palace myself…
I had been the one to ask the emperor to come personally, but now that the moment had arrived, I regretted it. What if the emperor was working with the culprits? What if he tried to kill me right in front of me? Frightened, I looked at Davin, but his expression remained calm as ever.
…It’ll be okay, right?
Seeing his composed face calmed me down again. Right. Even if the emperor brought all the imperial knights, they still wouldn’t be able to defeat Davin.
And when I thought about it, I needed to meet the emperor at least once. I had to tell him I wanted to break off the engagement.
‘Still, suddenly announcing a same-day visit is pretty rude.’
With a slightly crooked smile, I asked Davin,
“When is he coming?”
Davin answered awkwardly,
“His Majesty said he’ll come whenever his schedule opens up…”
I grimaced.
‘What kind of answer is that? So I’m just supposed to stay here all day waiting?’
Silence briefly settled over the room. Irritated, I glared out at the morning sunlight pouring through the window. It was perfect weather for a walk, and this had to happen.
“…For now, before His Majesty arrives, I think I should disable the mechanisms installed in the garden. It would be a disaster if the trap devices attacked the emperor.”
At Davin’s words, I nodded.
I sat beneath the tree I had leaned against yesterday and watched Davin disable the mechanisms he had installed.
Thunk— clank.
After fiddling with things and flipping over parts of the devices as he moved around the garden, Davin dusted off his hands and walked back toward me.
“Finished already?”
“Yes, I’ve disabled them for now.”
I’d expected it to take longer, but it ended surprisingly quickly. Blinking, I gestured for him to sit.
“Sit down and rest for a bit. It’s cool here.”
“Yes.”
We sat side by side in the shade of the tree, and soon Lana came out of the mansion carrying a tray with cups on it.
“Wow, you’re already done? Sir Knight, good work.”
Standing beside us with a cheerful smile, Lana held out cups filled with orange juice.
“Fresh oranges came in this morning, so I made some juice.”
“Wow!”
The refreshing citrus scent made me beam. Just as I eagerly reached to drink it, Davin stopped me. He pulled a small glass vial containing silver needles from his pocket.
“You forgot to place the silver rod in the juice cups.”
Sharp eyes. At his remark, Lana muttered awkwardly,
“Ah, right.”
Since I didn’t suspect Lana at all, I puffed out my cheeks, wondering if he really had to be this thorough. But Davin firmly ignored my expression and dipped the silver needle into the orange juice.
Ssssss—
The needle blackened and began to melt the moment it touched the juice. My eyes widened in shock at the sight.
Clang!
In an instant, Davin sprang to his feet, drew his sword, and pointed it at Lana.
