That stubborn fool.

As I sighed and leaned my head against the chair’s backrest, a comfortable silence settled in.

I was resting to regain even a little strength.

“When I was young, I had a dog.”

Perhaps it was because I was too tired. Defenseless, a story from the past leaked out.

I opened my mouth as if recalling an old tale.

In the second fragment of memory, Belinda was completely happy.

By her side was a massive Doberman.

Just like Sir Penadel was by my side, that big fellow followed Belinda everywhere.

Its body was glossy black like velvet, but due to a genetic defect, it suffered from albinism, making its eyes blue, which made it even more precious to Belinda, who loved rare and special things.

It was like the only one of its kind in the world.

The sensation I felt at my fingertips when stroking that dog was still surprisingly vivid.

“It was loyal and only had eyes for me. It never wagged its tail for anyone else.”

I opened my eyes and lazily raised my head to look up at Sir Penadel.

Come to think of it, does Sir Penadel resemble my dog, no, Belinda’s dog a bit?

I found myself fiddling with the jewel on my choker, as if it were a very old habit.

Even though it was just a counterfeit, not the real Seal Stone, it felt like it was choking me.

At that moment, the seam that I had been tugging at all day suddenly broke.

I didn’t even have the energy to pick it up, so without realizing it, I gestured to Sir Penadel as if calling a dog.

He silently approached me and put the loosened necklace back around my neck.

Just then, Kao, who had returned through the open window, leaped into our merged shadows.

Feeling the weight of the jewel being placed around my neck, I couldn’t help but recall the day Belinda received this necklace as a gift.

I lost my parents when I was very young, so I don’t know what it’s like to celebrate a birthday surrounded by family.

But Belinda, perhaps because she had once lost her memories, was obsessed with creating a family.

And her memories affected me too.

I discovered a deep mire in my heart that I didn’t even know existed.

‘I never wanted things like family.’

‘Or a birthday table set just for me.’

‘Or hearing “Happy Birthday” as the first greeting on my birthday morning.’

‘Or dinner with everyone gathered around.’

I only realized after peeking into Belinda’s memories that I had sunk forever into that mire, unaware of how many wishes existed there.

“Lady Blanche.”

At the voice like a lantern waking me, I slowly blinked my eyes.

“Ah…”

My mind, swept up in the waves of the past, finally anchored in reality.

This is the annex of the Blanche mansion.

I am Belinda Blanche.

And this fierce and loyal knight guarding me is my escort knight, albeit for a limited time.

As I was etching these facts into my mind, I couldn’t resist the drowsiness and closed my eyes again.

* * *

“You shouldn’t fall asleep here.”

“……”

“Lady Blanche?”

“……”

Cedric gazed intently at Belinda’s sleeping face.

A dry leaf that had come along when the monster was withdrawing was stuck in her hair.

As the fairy of sleep settled on her delicate features, her sharp and sensitive impression softened, looking incredibly peaceful.

Having spent the entire evening at the ball, then searching the night streets for the child without rest, it was understandable that she was tired.

On top of that, she had strained her magic to control the monster; it was remarkable she hadn’t collapsed midway.

‘She didn’t step forward when she was attacked herself.’

Yet when Leo was in danger, she didn’t hesitate to soil her dress and kneel on the wet, muddy ground.

If anyone had seen that, they would have realized how futile rumors are.

‘Protecting the lady from such rumors is also my duty, I suppose.’

After all, I am her escort knight, even if temporarily.

To protect her so that not a single raindrop touches her, not even the smell of rain clings to her, that is my…

‘Is that truly the duty of an escort knight?’

A faint ripple appeared in Cedric’s previously calm eyes.

Cedric couldn’t easily answer that question.

No, rather than being unable to answer, it was closer to a sense that he shouldn’t answer.

Why am I feeling this way?

As he pondered, reaching out his hand to remove the leaf stuck in Belinda’s hair, a memory suddenly surfaced.

“Brother, when the soul becomes corrupted, why does it want to destroy something precious?”

He recalled asking his brother that when he was young.

What did his brother answer back then?

“Because it becomes a weakness.”

Pause.

The hand reaching for Belinda stopped mid-air.

For some reason, Cedric couldn’t bring himself to touch her carelessly.

“But Cedric, that’s the instinct of beasts, not humans. People become stronger when they have something precious.”

“Why is that?”

“Because when people fall, it becomes the reason to stand up again. Wanting to protect something precious is human instinct.”

The human instinct to protect what’s precious.

But hadn’t he witnessed it?

The sight of human instinct crumbling miserably.

“Remember this. No matter what emotions you feel, you must never name them.”

“Don’t create ripples on the surface. You shouldn’t even think about looking at what lies beneath.”

Cedric decided not to name the emotions he felt towards Belinda, heeding his father’s advice.

Instead, he weighed the pros and cons as usual.

‘It’s not something precious. It’s just something necessary.’

He withdrew his hand.

In the end, that night, his hand never touched Belinda.

* * *

“Ugh, my head.”

As soon as I opened my eyes in the morning, I was greeted by a splitting headache.

Clutching my throbbing head as if suffering from a hangover, I barely managed to raise my upper body and blinked, looking around.

“…?”

I’m sure I collapsed in the armchair in the drawing room last night.

It’s still the same armchair from yesterday, that’s for sure.

The problem is that the chair that should be in the drawing room is sitting right in the middle of my room.

‘What kind of cognitive dissonance is this?’

“Lady Belinda!”

Just then, my room door opened, and Leo came running in, circling around me like a puppy reunited with its owner after a long time, barking.

“Are you alright? I found you sleeping in the chair this morning, but you were sleeping so soundly… The knight said you’d be tired this morning.”

Yes, Leo. Seeing that you’re safe, I feel like all my ailments are cured and I could live a long, healthy life.

“I’m fi…!”

…I tried to say, but as soon as I opened my mouth, nausea overwhelmed me and I couldn’t finish my sentence.

Leo’s face, which had been examining me, turned pale.

Ugh, no, Leo. I’m not glaring at you, I’m just… urgh.

“Wa-water! I’ll go get water from the kitchen! Please lie down!”

“Wait…!”

But Leo dashed out before I could stop him.

I slumped back into the chair as if collapsing.

The bed was within reach, but I didn’t have the energy to go that far.

‘Never, ever again, no matter what happens, will I scrape the bottom of my magic reserves.’

To feel hungover without even the pleasure of drinking. This is the worst.

“Lady Belinda!”

After a while, Leo returned with a tray full of water cups and explained each one to me.

“This is cold water, and this is warm water. The one on the left is warm water with honey, and this one is cold with lemon syrup, and then…”

Although I hadn’t been drinking, what I needed most right now was the honey water.

I gulped down a cup of honey water.

Ah, now I feel a bit more alive.

“Lady Belinda, are you in a lot of pain?”

Leo kept fidgeting and checking on my condition.

Looking at that face, yesterday’s events felt like a dream.

“Go to bed and rest more.”

Leo rolled up his sleeves and grunted as he supported me.

I deliberately put just enough weight on Leo as we walked to the bed.

And as soon as I sat down on the bed, I called out to him, who was about to move away from me.

“Ratchet.”

“Yes?”

“Come closer.”

Leo blinked and took a step towards me.

I hugged Leo tightly and fell forward onto the bed.

“Kyaang!”

Leo made an adorable sound, but I paid no attention and rubbed my forehead against the child’s head.

“La-Lady Belinda.”

Leo smelled like fluffy blankets dried under the sun.

Only then did my unsettled heart finally calm down.

“At last, I’m home.”

Yes, it felt like I had returned to my real home after a very long time.