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Chapter 60
The Fog of Arrogance
“Seli.”
Benerucia deliberately lowered his voice as he called Senelia.
He had to hold back from shouting her name immediately, fearing he might startle her just after she had awakened.
“…Ben.”
Senelia called out weakly, her voice barely audible.
Her entire body ached as if she had been beaten.
Breathing felt heavy, as if water had filled her lungs.
“…Why did you do something so reckless?”
Benerucia murmured, almost collapsing, as he tightly held Senelia’s left hand with both of his.
Relieved that she had woken safely, Benerucia was nonetheless deeply shocked that an ordinary noblewoman like Senelia had gone through such a thing.
Senelia blinked dully.
Her body ached, clouding her thoughts.
And in that moment, she suddenly wanted to ask:
“Then why… did you go there without saying a single word to me?”
She resented Benerucia, who would stop at nothing for Lucalina.
But the moment she realized the words she had almost blurted out, Senelia instead pressed her lips tightly together.
“…Are the Duke and Lady Ellie alright?”
Senelia chose to ask about the two instead.
But this only provoked Benerucia.
“Now you’re worried about them…?!”
Benerucia’s emotions flared.
Both he and Lucalina were Swordmasters.
They had spent years on battlefields.
Bleeding and fractures were commonplace.
Even if they were injured, their bodies healed quickly.
And having returned to receive treatment from the priest, their healthy bodies would certainly suffer no lasting effects.
But Senelia was different.
Though he would never let anything happen to her, Benerucia couldn’t stop worrying that something might happen to her legs before the priest could heal her.
Yet they say pain clouds judgment.
At that moment, Senelia found Benerucia’s raised voice frustrating.
She had suffered through the mana cave because of someone, and yet he was angry at her.
“…I’m sorry.”
Even so, Senelia did not get angry.
She instinctively knew that once she got angry, there would be no turning back.
“…Seli.”
Ah, his breath caught.
Seeing her lower her gaze and apologize so naturally, Benerucia fell silent.
He had no right to raise his voice.
Benerucia regretted it deeply.
This was not the time for Senelia to be angry.
And at the same time, he didn’t know what to do.
She seemed unlikely to get angry at all.
“Seli, I want you to be honest with me.”
“I will.”
In that moment, Benerucia realized how foolishly he had thought things were.
Having a conversation like that wouldn’t suddenly make Senelia honest.
Because Senelia… had been so accustomed to restraining herself that even in a situation where he had gone to save Lucalina and she ended up in this state, she didn’t get angry.
Only then did Benerucia truly see her.
In this situation, an ordinary person would not apologize.
If it had been Senelia Daphne, raised in the Daphne estate under loving parents, she would not have behaved like this.
Even in Benerucia’s memories, she had once been chatty and talkative.
Her gradual silence had come from being with him.
It was his fault.
He had made her feel comfortable by not asking about Lucalina.
By allowing her to quietly step back when he was busy.
By making her feel at ease by not bothering him like others did.
All of this was Benerucia’s doing.
And the traces of that shaping remained in Senelia.
“…Why are you apologizing to me?”
Benerucia’s throat tightened.
Ah, how easily he had thought everything was simple.
He had been the one who made her keep her mouth shut.
And now he had the audacity to tell her to be honest.
What was she thinking as she listened to that nonsense?
Perhaps she wasn’t thinking at all.
He had always treated her this way.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t seen the truth; he just hadn’t wanted to face it.
Benerucia’s love was arrogant.
He had thought his love could change something.
It was unbearably arrogant.
“…I… I’m sorry, Seli.”
Benerucia covered his face with one hand.
He could not bear to look at her.
“…Rest. Once your body can accept the sacred power, I’ll call the priest immediately.”
Then Benerucia left her room hastily, avoiding her gaze.
“Take good care of Seli.”
“Y-yes… Your Grace.”
Benerucia entrusted the housekeeper brought from the Daphne townhouse to care for Senelia and fled.
Ah, the moment arrogance shatters is unbearably raw.
Fortunately, Senelia’s body recovered, and with the priest’s help, her leg was fully healed.
But her body wasn’t her real problem.
Clifford and Benerucia had discovered that she was a sorceress.
And perhaps—Benerucia might have even realized that she was colluding with Clifford.
Otherwise, how could she have known about Benerucia’s crisis and rushed there?
Even into the royal hunting grounds, which required the emperor’s permission to enter.
“…What should I do?”
These thoughts constricted Senelia’s throat.
The thought of Benerucia dying… was unbearable.
And now she feared the repercussions of her reckless actions at the time.
Ah, it was exhausting.
Senelia truly hated everything.
Every breath she took in these long, weary days wore her down.
Yet even as she was worn down, the world would not leave her be.
Or rather, Clifford would not.
Fwooooo—
A loud trumpet sounded outside the mansion.
A magical trumpet that carried sound far and wide.
Only one person would use such a trumpet.
The Emperor, Clifford Heliosa.
The moment Senelia realized this, her body froze.
Clifford had… come to the Apron mansion.
“No.”
“Each sorcerer is a significant human resource to the Empire. Step aside.”
“I said no.”
“Will you defy the Emperor’s command?”
“Seli has only just received the priest’s healing. She needs stability.”
“If she has been healed, there is nothing more to worry about.”
“Your Majesty!”
“Benerucia Apron! Enough leniency.”
In the Duke’s reception room, Benerucia and Clifford exchanged endless arguments.
Clifford had suddenly arrived, intent on confirming that Senelia was a sorceress.
And Benerucia stood firmly in his way.
“Seli is the Duchess-to-be. No matter how important a sorcerer is to the Empire, is she less important than the Duchess-to-be?”
“Of course, the Duchess-to-be is more important. But since you haven’t married her yet, Senelia Daphne is not the Duchess-to-be. Therefore, her being a sorcerer is more important.”
“Your Majesty issued a decree yourself. There is no way Seli and I will not marry, so she must be treated as the Duchess-to-be.”
Benerucia and Clifford faced off sharply.
Knock, knock, knock.
A knock sounded.
“The Duchess-to-be has arrived.”
It was Senelia’s entrance that ended the debate.
“Let her in.”
Clifford, as if expecting this, lazily allowed Senelia to enter the reception room.
“Seli…! You’re not lying down anymore.”
Benerucia immediately rose and approached her.
Even though her legs were healed, he was still anxious to see her walk.
Before the Emperor, if she hadn’t pushed him away, he might have lifted her onto the sofa as he had after her injury.
“Your Majesty.”
Senelia bowed to Clifford.
With a gesture, Clifford allowed her to straighten her posture and commanded Benerucia:
“Duke, step outside for a moment. I have something to discuss with Lady Daphne.”
“No. Discuss it where I am.”
Clifford was unhesitant in using people.
Benerucia could not leave easily. He didn’t know how the Emperor would handle the fact that she was a sorcerer.
“Does Lady Daphne agree?”
Yet Clifford was confident that Benerucia would leave.
After all, before Clifford, Senelia could only be the weaker party.
“…Your Grace, please allow it for just a moment.”
Finally, Senelia held Benerucia’s arm and spoke.
As he tried to object, she clung to him again.
“Ben, please.”
Hearing her use his nickname to persuade him, Benerucia could no longer insist.
Senelia rarely expressed herself so strongly.
He could not ignore her wishes.
In the end, he stood aside.
