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Chapter 22
After telling Rishid my plan and finishing the letter to the High Priest, it was already almost midnight.
“Ugh…”
I melted the wax and stamped the seal onto the letter, then slowly stretched.
Once I had finished everything I needed to do, I suddenly felt hungry.
“Grand Duke, aren’t you a little hungry?”
Come to think of it, I hadn’t been able to eat anything since the banquet, so my stomach was completely empty.
The same was probably true for Rishid, who had been inside my hat.
“A little.”
As if on cue, Rishid, who had just finished the letter he was sending to Kassel, stood up.
He had written a letter to Kassel conveying my plan and instructing him to try to make contact with the Ather Chamber.
“Give it to me. I’ll do it for you.”
I took Rishid’s letter and was about to melt the wax when a sudden throbbing pain shot up from my left arm.
“Ah…”
I frowned and instinctively dropped the letter.
Rishid approached me, looking slightly surprised.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah, it’s nothing. My arm suddenly started hurting.”
“Your arm?”
Rishid frowned slightly.
“…Come to think of it, when the Duke approached earlier, your body tensed up. Did the Duke do something to you?”
Wow, he figured that out just from that? He really was perceptive.
I was a little surprised, but pretended not to know what he meant and waved my hand.
“Oh, it’s not like that, Grand Duke. Maybe it’s because I’ve been writing for so long after not having written in a while. You know how your neck starts hurting if you keep your head lowered for too long?”
“Roll up your sleeve.”
“What? Grand Duke, I’m really fi—”
I instinctively backed away in surprise, but Rishid reached out and grabbed my wrist.
His face twisted.
“Don’t make me say it twice. Roll it up. That’s an order.”
“…”
What was wrong with him? Why did he look so angry…?
“Ah, all right.”
I tried to resist as much as possible, but eventually flinched and slightly rolled up my sleeve.
That was when Rishid reached out and abruptly pushed my sleeve all the way up, apparently frustrated with how slowly I was doing it.
“G-Grand Duke…!”
“Stay still.”
The lace sleeve that had completely covered my arm was pulled up above my elbow.
It was nothing more than exposing my arm, but for some reason I felt embarrassed and turned my gaze away.
A faint sigh escaped Rishid’s lips.
“…As I thought, it’s going to leave a nasty bruise.”
A bruise?
Only then did I turn my gaze back and look at my arm.
Ah, no wonder.
I had said it was throbbing a little, and there was indeed a red handprint left on my arm. It seemed to have appeared when the Duke grabbed me earlier.
But it wasn’t anything worth making a fuss about.
This much is nothing…
I hurriedly lowered my sleeve and smiled.
“I’m fine. It doesn’t even hurt that much.”
Then I melted the wax again and carefully sealed Rishid’s letter.
Rishid, who had been staring intently at me, asked quietly,
“Was this… something that happened to you often before?”
“What?”
“I mean the Blandiche Duke putting his hands on you.”
At that unexpected question, I tilted my head slightly.
I wasn’t sure, but…
Wouldn’t it be?
It hadn’t appeared in the original story, but given Airel’s circumstances, it wouldn’t exactly be surprising if something like that happened.
Judging from how the Duke raised his hand and then lowered it, it didn’t seem like this was the first or second time, either.
Actually, the fact that he hadn’t hit me was already something to be grateful for.
I had caused so many incidents today that I had been thinking it wouldn’t have been particularly strange even if I had gotten slapped a few times.
So if it had ended with only this, then I was honestly very lucky.
“No, Grand Duke. Nothing like what you’re thinking happened. And I’m really fine.”
I deliberately gave Rishid an exaggerated smile.
Of course, there was no way Rishid would worry about me, but I didn’t want to make him concerned for no reason.
If I show that I’m hurt, he’ll find me troublesome.
My uncle, aunt, and cousin had all been like that too.
“Exactly what do you mean by ‘fine’…”
“I mean you don’t need to worry about it. I’m sturdy, so something like this really doesn’t bother me!”
I shrugged and bent my arm as though showing off my muscles.
Who was I?
I’m an invincible person who has lived my whole life enduring fevers of up to forty degrees without ever showing a hint of it.
I wasn’t saying that just to reassure Rishid. I really was fine.
After all, things like this had happened occasionally even where I originally lived.
So something this minor truly didn’t bother me.
It was only a handprint left on my arm, after all.
“Hah.”
I was about to laugh it off comfortably as usual when Rishid lowered his head and let out a hollow chuckle.
“Grand Duke…?”
“Young Lady. The maid said she found the diary in the ventilation shaft, didn’t she?”
After running a hand through his hair, Rishid raised his gaze and looked at me.
His red eyes were strangely cold, just like when we first met, and I swallowed involuntarily.
“Ah, yes… That’s right.”
Why is he suddenly asking about the ventilation shaft?
Had I made some kind of mistake?
But Rishid simply asked coldly,
“Where is that ventilation shaft?”
“What?”
“No. It’ll be faster if I find it myself.”
In the blink of an eye, Rishid jumped down from the desk and crossed the room.
I hurriedly followed him, startled.
“W-Wait a moment, Grand Duke!”
Rishid was heading toward the curtains covering one side of the room.
No, he can’t open that!
That wall was completely covered with portraits of Rishid…!
“Since I haven’t found it until now, it must be somewhere around here.”
But Rishid was faster at opening the curtains than I was at reaching out to stop him.
I’m screwed…
I eventually covered my eyes with both hands.
This was bad.
If I had known this would happen, I should have taken them all down long ago.
Jenis had said they were incredibly expensive, and since I didn’t have anywhere else to store them, I had merely hidden them away…
At this point, I wouldn’t even be able to blame Rishid if he thought I was a stalker.
Clang!
As I covered my face in despair, the only thing I heard was the ringing sound of metal.
“I knew it was here.”
I cautiously spread apart my fingers, which were covering my eyes.
Through the gap between my fingers, I saw Rishid ripping the ventilation shaft door open.
“I’ll go through here and get some simple snacks from the kitchen.”
“What? What?”
I hurriedly lowered my hands.
“You’re going through the ventilation shaft? No, Grand Duke! It’s too dangerous!”
But before I could even finish speaking, Rishid pushed himself into the ventilation shaft.
“G-Grand Duke…!”
I hurriedly followed Rishid, crouching down and peering into the dusty ventilation shaft.
But Rishid had already disappeared from my sight.
Grand Duke, Grand Duke, Grand Duke…!
Airel’s voice echoed repeatedly through the dark ventilation shaft.
Rishid only stopped walking and turned around once the light coming from behind him had almost completely faded.
Airel’s room was no longer visible, but Rishid was certain.
The Young Lady would still be standing in front of the ventilation shaft.
She would be waiting for him anxiously, her round eyes wide open.
…I’m not an idiot.
Rishid’s face twisted.
Whenever he remembered the red and blue marks clearly visible on the Young Lady’s white skin, his fists kept clenching.
Airel Blandiche was hurt.
Because of him.
And yet, without even knowing that, Rishid had been spouting useless nonsense to the Young Lady about whether or not the High Priest was handsome.
Why on earth had he done something so childish, something that even a little kid might do…?
The moment Rishid saw the marks on the Young Lady’s arm, he came to his senses.
At the same time, an intangible self-loathing swept over him like a wave.
Rishid had lived almost every moment of his life pessimistically, but he didn’t think he had ever felt this disgusted with himself.
She should have gotten angry instead.
He couldn’t understand the Young Lady.
She had suffered something like that because of him, and yet how could she stand in front of him with such a gentle smile…
Hah.
It wasn’t the Young Lady’s fault, yet he had been blaming her.
Rishid scoffed at himself and rubbed his face.
Judging from how unconcerned she was even about such a large injury, this probably wasn’t something that had happened only once or twice.
Perhaps the ducal family had taught her to keep quiet.
So that she couldn’t say she was in pain, couldn’t even show it.
Perhaps the Young Lady who acted as though she never cared what others thought because she had the authority of the Blandiche family behind her had never existed in the first place.
Rishid realized it keenly.
No matter that she was an illegitimate child by birth, there was no way such an awkward reaction—someone who didn’t even know how to receive the slightest bit of concern—could be normal.
His mouth suddenly tasted bitter.
Until now, while spending time with Airel, he had noticed that the people in the ducal family had no interest in the Young Lady. But he had never imagined that she was being treated like this.
Rishid sighed and began walking again.
In truth, saying that he was going to the kitchen to bring back some simple snacks had been an excuse.
Of course, since the Young Lady had said she was hungry, he did need to get her something to eat.
But Rishid had another, completely different purpose.
