To think the sole member of the Lucid family was in such a state.

‘I need to get her to a doctor quickly……’

Just as he hurriedly moved, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

Turning his head, he saw Edgar with his hand on Lloyd’s shoulder, looking at him.

“I will take her, Your Highness.”

It was a calm voice that was hard to believe belonged to a mere fourteen-year-old. Though his attitude was infinitely respectful, his blue eyes were anything but.

There was sharpness in the gaze directed at him. Like a wild beast whose territory had been invaded.

Just making eye contact for a moment made Lloyd feel various emotions, causing him to wonder if he had done something wrong to Edgar in the past.

“Melissa has been treated by the ducal family’s physician all this time. It would be better if I took her, so please return inside, Your Highness.”

Though he maintained his manners, his attitude was excessively firm for addressing a member of the imperial family.

But everything he said made sense, and there was no particular reason to object, so Lloyd handed Melissa over without further comment.

After taking Melissa in his arms, Edgar gave Lloyd a simple bow. Only then did his contorted face relax, as if everything had returned to its proper place.

Edgar adjusted the limp body in his arms and walked in the direction Melissa had come from. Since Edgar seemed about to leave, Lloyd found himself stopping him and asking,

“Could you let me know when the lady wakes up? I’m a bit worried.”

It wasn’t just because the person who collapsed before his eyes was a ‘Lucid.’ He was concerned about how Melissa had looked before she fainted.

The Saintess Lucid, always praised by many, seemed unlike what he had always heard—it looked as if she might crumble and disappear with the slightest breeze.

The eyes that widened upon discovering him looked desperate, as if she had met a savior.

“His Majesty told me to help the lady during the funeral anyway, so please do.”

So Lloyd told a lie that wasn’t really necessary.

Of course, it was true that the Emperor had mentioned Melissa.

He had always been curious about what bound the Shortiras ducal family and the Lucid family together. After all, the Lucid family, said to be the treasure of the Artzen Empire, always refused even the Emperor’s requests and stayed only at the duke’s residence.

According to public knowledge, the Lucid family was repaying their debt to the ducal family for saving Lucid in the past, but no one truly believed this.

People speculated there must be something more intimate between them. The fact that the Shortiras ducal family had grown incomparably larger than before due to the Lucid family’s influence added to this speculation.

The power to read the future. What a sweet ability this was.

The Emperor wished to somehow break the relationship between the two and have the Lucid family belong to the temple, where he could extend his reach.

Therefore, the Emperor would welcome, rather than oppose, Lloyd staying at the duke’s residence a little longer.

He could even play along with Lloyd’s words.

Of course, he had no intention of digging into the duke’s residence according to his father’s wishes.

“Would that not be acceptable?”

Lloyd asked, looking straight at Edgar.

Even while receiving that gaze, Edgar did not immediately show signs of agreement. In some ways, he seemed unwilling to answer.

But Lloyd stubbornly held onto Edgar. It was truly a strange feeling.

A kind of intuition that he shouldn’t just let this go.

Finally, a faint sigh escaped from Edgar’s mouth as he looked at Lloyd who was gripping him tightly. Lloyd flinched at the feeling that he was looking at someone much older than himself, but he didn’t let go.

“Alright. I’ll let you know when she wakes up.”

After speaking as if reciting the words, Edgar stared at Lloyd, seemingly asking to be released now. When Lloyd loosened his grip, Edgar walked outside, leaving behind the people coming and going from the funeral hall.

Despite being quite far from the funeral hall, Edgar slightly bit his lip at the gaze still fixed on his back.

The arm he wrapped around Melissa’s shoulder involuntarily tensed.

His steps gradually quickened.

* * *

“Ah.”

Melissa let out a small groan at the slightly ringing in her head as she raised her body. When she opened her eyes again, she was lying on a soft, plush bed.

The sun had already set, making the room dark, but she could quickly recognize where she was from the familiar ceiling and objects.

‘It’s my room.’

More precisely, it was the room Melissa used when she was young, that is, until she became Lucid.

Melissa’s room changed as soon as she became Lucid. When her mother, who had been protesting to break the magical contract, lost her life in a falling accident, Lionel, anxious that the same might happen to her, changed her room to the basement.

Though it was the death of Saintess Lucid, no one could hold anyone accountable because Lionel had taken preemptive measures to disguise it as a carriage accident. Her father’s death seemed to have been handled similarly even before Melissa was born.

‘Though I only found out about it later.’

Melissa placed her feet on the floor, feeling deeply relieved that her condition was much better than before. She must have been lying down for quite some time; when she let out a small cough, a scratchy sensation rose from inside her throat.

“Water……”

Suddenly, a glass of water was thrust before her, who was suffering from a caught breath. Without thinking too long, she reached out with both hands and hurriedly grabbed the water glass.

Gulp, gulp.

The sound of water flowing down her throat echoed throughout the room, almost embarrassingly loud. But there was no time to worry about that. It truly felt like coming back from the dead.

‘Well, that’s not wrong either.’

After finishing the water, she tried to put the glass down, but a hand reached out again as if asking for it. Only then did Melissa realize that someone else was in the room.

‘A maid?’

Her gaze, which had been on the empty water glass, slowly lingered on the hand receiving it, then traveled up the arm.

And finally, when she reached the end of that path, Melissa couldn’t help but frown.

“Edgar.”

“You look a bit better now.”

Edgar spoke softly, revealing clear blue eyes even in the somewhat dark room. Rain was pouring outside the window behind him. Melissa watched the scene for a moment before opening her mouth.

“How long was I unconscious?”

“About an hour.”

“When did the rain start?”

Melissa asked urgently.

Edgar answered while placing the water glass on the bedside table.

“About 10 minutes ago.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Melissa hurriedly rose from the bed.

It happened in an instant, before Edgar could catch her.

‘I clearly remember it rained like this on the funeral day last time too.’

The rain, which seemed like it would pass lightly, soon became an uncontrollable downpour. She remembered it clearly because the Adore River in front of the duke’s residence had overflowed as a result.

Eventually, all roads along the Adore River were blocked, and most people who attended the funeral couldn’t return home and stayed at the duke’s residence.

Except for one person.

‘Lloyd Helia Artzen.’

The Crown Prince of the Artzen Empire.

In her past life, Lloyd left the duke’s residence when the downpour was still light drizzle after receiving an urgent message from the imperial palace. Then he couldn’t avoid the overflowing river water and was caught in it, losing his life.

That was why Melissa hadn’t immediately thought of Lloyd as someone who could help her.

‘The rain hasn’t been falling for long, so he probably hasn’t left yet.’

She needed to catch Lloyd before he left the duke’s residence.

Considering all conditions, no one was more suitable to help Melissa than Lloyd.

Melissa reached out and pulled the door handle. The wind that touched her face was somewhat cooler than the room where a fire was burning.

But before Melissa could feel that coolness, the door closed again with a bang. It was because Edgar had caught up with her in an instant.

“Where are you going.”

He said while holding Melissa’s hand.

In a low, deep voice.

Melissa felt momentarily choked up feeling the warmth enveloping her hand, but soon bit her lip.

Irritation suddenly surged.

She couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason. Whether it was because her attempts kept being thwarted, or because she felt confused by Edgar standing in front of her.

Or perhaps both.

The important thing was that it wasn’t easy to suppress the tears that kept welling up. The emotions she had been trying hard to hold back in front of Edgar poured out.

“Why? Is there also a clause in the magical contract that says I can’t go outside?”

“What?”

“You must have heard about it too. The contract between the Lucid family and the Shortiras ducal family.”

Edgar’s face contorted roughly.

He raised his hand to run it through his hair. A hint of impatience was evident in the small sigh he let out.

“I did hear about it from Father today. But that’s not why, Melissa.”

“Then why can’t I go out?”