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Chapter 42
“That Today Is the Full Moon”
“Hey, May?”
“Yes, My Lady.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
I looked around, confirming no one was nearby, then lowered my voice.
“Did I… do something wrong?”
“…Sorry?”
“I mean, the atmosphere in the castle feels strange today.”
Honestly, I usually didn’t care about how people reacted around me.
Back when I was at Piace, the servants ignored and belittled me so much that I just avoided them entirely. Even here in Esperos, I’d mostly done the same.
Because I was an unwelcome hostage, the servants ignored me. That was part of why I had holed myself up in the library so often.
Since we avoided each other, I was actually living a quieter life than at Piace, where the servants had constantly harassed me… but today was different.
“It feels like the servants keep sneaking glances at me…”
I didn’t add that they were even whispering among themselves today. It was bothering me more than I’d like to admit.
May listened quietly, then gave me a small, mysterious smile.
“I think they’re just curious about you.”
“Curious? About me?”
May nodded, and I frowned in confusion. She thought for a moment before explaining.
“You see, because of its location, Esperos tends to be isolated. The people here are closer to each other, and they’re naturally more wary of outsiders.”
“…”
“And while being the main source of Remstones is a source of pride, the frequent monster attacks and endemic diseases like Kocheer disease make Esperos a harsh place to live. That creates a sort of inferiority complex.”
“…”
“But recently, I think the servants started paying attention to you because… you helped erase some of that inferiority.”
“Me?”
I stared at her in shock.
May lowered her head with a small smile.
“Thank you, My Lady.”
“Wait… what?”
I was too surprised to reply. May simply continued with a smile.
“His Grace seems to have gotten an idea from what you said. He’s now found a new way to use Remstones.”
“A… new way?”
“Doctors came to the castle yesterday. The steward told me they’re planning to use Remstones to create a preventive medicine for Kocheer disease.”
“Seriously?”
May nodded with a bright smile.
I blinked in surprise. I remembered talking to Carriaire about Kocheer disease only yesterday afternoon.
So, he had already called doctors? He really must have been worried about it.
“Wow… he’s actually making preventive medicine using Remstones? That’s… impressive.”
The unexpected change in direction made me mutter without thinking,
“…This kind of makes me feel defeated.”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, nothing.”
I waved it off quickly, but May was still smiling brightly.
“The servants have all been in high spirits since the doctors left. If the medicine works, it’ll be a chance to shut up all those people who call Kocheer disease the ‘curse of Esperos’!”
“Yeah… I hope they succeed.”
Now I understood why the servants were looking at me differently.
But as I started walking toward the library again, I suddenly turned back.
“By the way, May.”
“Yes, My Lady?”
“If it’s because of the preventive medicine, they don’t really need to thank me.”
“What do you mean?”
I scratched my cheek awkwardly.
“I mean… I did talk to His Grace about Kocheer disease, but all I mentioned was how using Remstones could make treatment more effective. It was his idea to think about the possibility of preventive medicine.”
“….”
“And honestly, I was only able to think that way because of Lord Zion.”
“Zion?”
I smiled at May’s wide-eyed expression.
**“In the book on Kocheer disease, Lord Zion had left a note saying it seemed the medicine only failed for those without mana.
I just followed that idea. So it’s not me who erased Esperos’ inferiority complex—it’s the Esperosian they all loved.”**
May lowered her head silently, and I looked away as her tears fell onto the stone floor.
For a moment, I felt as if Zion’s face, which I had never even seen, was being drawn across the bright blue sky.
After saying goodbye to May, who promised to bring me a sandwich for lunch, I stepped into the library.
“Haa…”
I took a deep breath, the faint scent of old paper calming me.
“I guess I was a little excited too.”
I had acted casual in front of May, but it was the first time in my life that someone hadn’t brushed off my words.
In my previous life, I’d always been the listener, never the speaker. In Zeros, nobody had ever cared to hear what I had to say.
“Honestly… it feels kind of nice…”
“What does?”
“Ah!”
I nearly jumped out of my skin at the voice right beside me.
My heart felt like it dropped to the floor as it pounded painfully.
Clutching my chest, I sank to the ground.
“Why are you so startled?”
Laperre’s calm question only made me glare at him harder.
“Can’t you just… appear normally for once?”
“And can’t you react normally? It’s not like you’re guilty of something—”
“….”
“Oh, wait. You are guilty.”
…I really want to hit him.
Laperre grinned as I scowled.
“Did you come just to tease me?”
“Not really. But your reactions make it hard to resist.”
Right. I was an idiot for expecting a normal conversation with him.
I stood up and walked toward the shelves, ignoring him. He trailed behind me.
“You look pretty relaxed,” he said.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
He suddenly stopped walking, but I pretended not to notice and reached for a book.
Then his voice dropped.
“According to your plan, Delphian Zeros should be here by now.”
I lowered my hand and turned to face him.
Even as I met his gaze, I couldn’t figure out what he was thinking.
Not that I’d ever fully understood him anyway.
I shrugged.
“You said he wouldn’t come.”
“…What?”
“If the Crown Prince doesn’t come, my plan is meaningless.”
“…”
“So I just decided not to hold on to a meaningless plan.”
Laperre looked at me with a strange expression.
“Seems like you trust me,” he said.
“…”
“Why? I could have lied to you.”
He wasn’t wrong.
I didn’t know Laperre’s true intentions or why he was helping me.
I hadn’t even finished the first volume of the novel, and we hadn’t spent enough time together for me to read him clearly.
But if I hadn’t trusted him, I would have had no way to escape my father’s grasp.
“You could have lied,” I admitted.
“….”
“But I don’t think you had a reason to.”
“And what if I did it just for fun?”
“Don’t joke about that.”
I frowned, and he chuckled softly.
After a moment, he reached out and took a strand of my hair.
Then, slowly, he lowered his lips and kissed it.
I froze in shock as he lifted his eyes to meet mine.
“Don’t forget, My Lady.”
“….”
“That today is the full moon.”
Before I could even process what he had said, Laperre had already vanished.
Full moon.
The words brought back memories I had tried to forget, and my fists clenched tightly.
