“Then is this Ceras my mother?”

“Yes. Though it seems you don’t remember her.”

Spinel burst into laughter. Did Ceras raise such a human as her son? A child who doesn’t even remember her?

“…Perhaps my mother…”

“She’s dead. Accused of being a witch by the lord of Selvas.”

“A witch… you say?”

Ilion’s hand trembled briefly at the word ‘witch’.

“Do you happen to know how she passed away?”

“I don’t know either. When I went to find her, Ceras was already dead.”

Ilion recalled his own curse. A curse said to have been created by killing a witch.

A doubt arose that he might have been involved in her death.

“Was my mother really a witch?”

“Ceras wasn’t human. She was a dragon.”

Though he had vaguely thought it might be so, Spinel confirmed his thoughts once again.

“That’s why I was confused about your identity at first. You smelled of both human and dragon.”

“……”

Ilion looked at Spinel, seemingly shocked, but Spinel continued speaking without giving him time to recover from the shock.

“That’s why I pretended to give in to Ravenne’s suggestion and came to the mansion. To find out what you are. And when I saw Eline’s portrait, I finally understood who you were.”

Ilion sat silently for a while, mulling over Spinel’s words.

He was wondering which parts he could trust. Then suddenly, he remembered something she had said in passing.

“What did you mean earlier when you said Ravenne would become a widow?”

“Well, because you won’t live long.”

“Do you know about the curse too?”

“Curse? Don’t tell me you’re calling the power Ceras passed on to you a curse?”

Spinel had tried to engage in conversation with her stupid son for Ceras’s sake, but realizing it was no longer worth talking, she stood up.

“The curse was probably placed by your kind, not Ceras. I’m sick of all this talk about witches and curses.”

“Wait a moment. We’re not done talking…”

“Ah, right. We’re not done talking.”

Spinel stopped her steps as she was about to leave, saying she had forgotten something, and looked at Ilion.

“Get rid of the people watching me. Unless you want to clean up corpses. That’s what I came to tell you today.”

With those words, Spinel returned to her room.

***

“Did you sleep well last night?”

“Of course. Look at my face.”

Perhaps because I had slept so soundly the night before, I was able to return to my room with a puffy face.

Lily smiled brightly and asked if that was all.

“Did you really just sleep?”

“I told you. Nothing would happen.”

Of course, I was half-doubtful even as I said that, but nothing truly happened. When I woke up in the room, Ilion had already left.

The surprising thing was that the documents that had filled the desk were considerably organized?

It seems his words about being fine without sleeping for a day or two weren’t just a joke.

“What’s that in your hand?”

“Oh, this. The Duke gave it to me.”

I showed Lily the object Ilion had given me yesterday.

Perhaps because the room was bright, the light wasn’t as visible as yesterday, but the sweet melody was still there.

“Oh my, the singing voice is so lovely. It sounds like elves speaking.”

“Elves?”

“Yes. I’m not sure, but if it’s such a sweet language, wouldn’t it be the language of elves?”

So is this object related to elves? The more I thought about it, the more curious I became about Ilion’s past.

“Ravenne!”

While I was waiting for Lily to do my hair, sitting in a chair listening to the peaceful song, the door burst open and Spinel entered.

“Miss Spinel. Please knock when opening the door.”

“My, how fussy.”

“Knock.”

“Fine, I got it.”

Spinel pouted, seemingly displeased, then closed the door and knocked.

Knock knock.

“Yes, come in.”

I greeted her while putting the marble in a drawer.

“Ahem…”

Clearing her throat a couple of times, Spinel came in again.

“What brings you here?”

“I want to eat cake. Didn’t you say you’d make me cake?”

“Ah, about that…”

I trailed off slightly.

“Actually, it tastes better if we buy it rather than me making it.”

Most importantly, I don’t even know how to make it.

“Shall I send someone to buy it?”

Lily, who had been listening to our conversation, asked.

“No. I was thinking of going out for some fresh air while we’re at it.”

“Hmm, why don’t you avoid going out today?”

“Why?”

Lily handed me a mirror, saying my hair was done, and said,

“I heard the Saintess is coming to the temple in town today. It will be very crowded with people trying to catch a glimpse of her.”

“What? That’s today?”

I stopped looking in the mirror and urgently asked Lily.

“Yes. Why?”

“Lily, let’s go out. Prepare the carriage.”

“What? I just said it’s better to avoid…”

“No, we need to go today.”

As they say, strike while the iron is hot. I can’t miss this opportunity.

***

To take care of a task I had been putting off, I headed to the knight order’s storage.

“Hello, Miss!”

“Hello. May I go inside for a moment?”

“Inside?”

“Yes. There’s something I want to check among the items confiscated by the church this time.”

At my request, the knight opened the storage door without any suspicion.

Among the cluttered items, I saw Bertel’s staff carelessly stuck with swords on one side.

Because it was slammed on the ground vigorously, it had cracks all over, which is unbecoming of its name as a holy relic.

I was planning to take the holy relic to the temple anyway, and since Artia was also visiting, I thought I’d take it along.

It might even solve Spinel’s problem of slow mana recovery.

When I returned to the room carefully wrapping the holy relic in cloth, Lily was waiting for me with a sad face.

“Um, Miss…”

“What?”

“Well, the Duke said not to let you go out alone for a while.”

“Again?”

I’m not a 5-year-old child!

“I’ll go talk to him directly.”

In the end, it seemed the only option was to negotiate directly with Ilion.

“Did you sleep well?”

When I arrived at Ilion’s office, a neat face greeted me.

“Yes, thanks to you.”

“Seeing you come like this, I suppose you have another favor to ask.”

You know everything but still pretend not to.

“Indeed, you understand my heart so well, Duke.”

“No.”

“But… I haven’t even said anything yet.”

The rejection came before I could even start what I wanted to say.

“You came because you want to go out, right?”

“Yes.”

“That’s why I’m saying no.”

“Why?”

“The church matter isn’t fully resolved yet. It’s dangerous to go out alone in this situation.”

It was quite a convincing reason, but being repeatedly told no made me feel stubborn.

“I’ll go with Sir Lucas.”

“Just be patient until the incident is resolved.”

“I’ll just quietly eat cake and come back.”

“Didn’t I already say no?”

“But…”

“Lady Rischefeld!”

Ilion suddenly raised his voice and called my name.

Startled, I just stared at Ilion with wide eyes, and Ilion also seemed a bit surprised by his own voice. Then he quickly apologized.

“I’m sorry for shouting.”

“…It’s okay.”

Ilion seemed to have a headache, pressing his temples before nodding.

“Alright. Go with Lucas. But promise me you’ll come back right after eating cake.”

He seemed very tired from work. Thinking it wouldn’t be good to irritate him further, I quickly agreed and left the room.

***

“Oh my. Did the Duke give permission?”

Lily asked, watching me prepare to go out.

“Yes. He gave permission.”

I said, recalling Ilion who looked particularly upset today.

“Then be careful. Try to avoid crowded places as much as possible.”

“Okay. Don’t worry too much, I’ll be back soon.”

“Yeah, don’t worry. I’m going with her, aren’t I?”

“……”

At Spinel’s words, Lily closed her mouth and gave an ambiguous smile. She seemed to be swallowing the words that Spinel going along was the biggest worry.

The carriage slowly left the mansion. Spinel was humming while looking out the window.

“You seem happy.”

“Yes. The guys who were getting on my nerves are gone.”

It seemed to be another story only she knew.

“By the way, Ravenne…”

“Yes?”

“What was that thing you said you wanted to do?”

Is this a continuation of the conversation we had in front of the portrait last time?

I had vaguely evaded when Spinel asked about the reason I needed to stay at the mansion then…

“Is it really about marrying that guy?”

“Um… No. It’s not that.”

“Then?”

What should I answer…

Actually, until yesterday, I had a worry that I couldn’t give a clear answer to. A worry that had been troubling me since I came here.

I knew my limits well, and I was planning to do everything I could to survive.

My goal was solely to preserve my own life. Right and wrong were secondary issues.

But as I spent more time here, a problem arose.

Lily, who was happier than anyone when I disappeared and worried, Sebastian, who prepared unfamiliar games for me, the knights who struggled to find me — I had received too much help and comfort to ignore them as strangers.

And yesterday, I even received comfort from Ilion, which I never expected.

Thanks to that, I was able to sleep more soundly than ever before. Enough to clear the worries that had been cluttering my mind.

So… now.

“It’s hard to say, but I’m looking for a way for all of us to be happy.”

I still couldn’t use magic, wasn’t physically strong, and didn’t have holy power.

But, choosing the path my heart leaned towards made me feel relieved.

Hearing my answer, Spinel rested her chin on her hand and looked at me.

“You’re even more than Ceras.”

“…Pardon?”

“Anyway, it’s fine if you don’t plan to marry Ilion.”

“Is that so important?”

Wondering why my marriage was so important, I asked Spinel.

“Of course it is. Because that guy won’t live long.”

Her bright red eyes looked at me indifferently as she spoke.

“He received treatment from the Saintess recently, you know.”

“I don’t know what treatment he received, but it’s not something that can be treated in the first place.”

“Do you know about the Duke’s curse?”

“I can only guess. I don’t know the details either. Just that his body won’t last much longer.”

“Ilion?”

For a moment, I was so surprised that I blurted out his name without the title.

“T-Then how much longer can he live?”

“How would I know? I’m not a god. But judging from his current state, it seems difficult for him to survive this winter.”

Spinel’s voice was utterly dry, as if talking about someone completely unrelated to her.