“Let’s walk a bit for exercise. Besides, Felicita will help me. Right?”

“Of course, I should help you.”

Felicita answered with a small smile, but it seemed uncomfortable somehow. I blinked. Could something have happened to Elodie?

‘I need to find her quickly.’

However, contrary to my expectation that I would find Elodie soon, the child and Sonya consistently moved to different locations one step ahead of us. A remarkable coincidence might happen once or twice, but after coming up empty-handed five times in a row, I began to suspect the reason. The problem was that it was a reason I absolutely didn’t want to acknowledge. By the time lunch had passed, I finally admitted it.

‘Elodie… is avoiding me.’

It wouldn’t have been difficult for Elodie to hide from me. She probably threatened the maids to help her. Even though Elodie was a child, since she was a Duke’s daughter, Felicita and Sonya had no choice but to comply with her request.

“Felicita.”

I looked directly at Felicita, who had been following behind me with a somewhat dejected face.

“Please don’t lie. Did Elodie ask you to help her avoid me?”

Felicita’s eyes widened.

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

I sighed.

“You couldn’t help it.”

“….”

Felicita’s gaze fell to the ground. I bit my lip. I hadn’t intended to blame innocent Felicita in this situation, but it seemed that’s how she took it.

“Do you know where Elodie is now?”

“…Yes.”

Felicita nodded. I spoke quietly.

“Please. Take me to Elodie.”

“M-Miss Bertin.”

Felicita finally raised her head to look at me, her gaze wavering.

“I know that normally Elodie’s orders far outrank mine. But if she continues to avoid me like this, Elodie is the one who will suffer greater hurt. So…”

I swallowed dryly.

“Don’t think about me, but please think of it as being for Elodie’s sake.”

“….”

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for Felicita to quietly nod. I followed her, quickly crossing the corridor.

“She’ll be in the attic.”

“There’s an attic?”

I blinked. For some reason, it seemed like a space that didn’t match this splendid mansion of the Duke.

“So you really don’t know.”

Felicita smiled.

“The young lady said you wouldn’t know about it.”

“…Elodie really is avoiding me, isn’t she?”

“Yes. But I think Miss Bertin is right. The young lady needs you.”

I nodded. If it had been a normal situation, I would have respected Elodie’s wishes and stepped back, but now it’s different. Elodie must be in shock after wielding the power of spirits for the first time in her life. Meanwhile, she’s avoiding me because she doesn’t want me to hate her.

‘How silly.’

I muttered inwardly.

‘No matter what Elodie does, there’s no way I could dislike her…’

The attic we finally arrived at was called an attic, but in reality, it was a space like a huge warehouse.

“Elodie.”

I slowly called the child’s name.

“I know you’re here.”

“….”

A small figure walked out dejectedly from between the boxes. She had cried so much that her eyes were swollen, making my heart ache.

“Elodie!”

I hurriedly ran toward Elodie to embrace her, but the child stepped back with a frightened face. My heart sank.

“Elodie, what’s wrong?”

“…Elodie hurt Aria.”

It was like being hit on the head. So that was the problem.

“Elodie, I’m fine.”

“…No, you’re not.”

Elodie’s voice was filled with tears.

“Now you’ll hate Elodie. Because Elodie is different… because Elodie hurt you…”

“Elodie.”

I called the child with a stern voice.

“Come here.”

Elodie shook her head.

“No. Because now Aria will hate Elodie…”

“I don’t hate you.”

I answered in the calmest tone possible.

“It’s not like you hurt me on purpose.”

“Still!”

I felt that continuing the conversation wouldn’t lead anywhere. I approached Elodie in one swift movement and tightly embraced her small body. Within seconds, Elodie burst into tears.

“Hic, waaah…”

I waited until the child calmed down a bit before speaking.

“Do you understand? I will never hate Elodie. I was actually worried that Elodie might hate me.”

“Me… hate Aria?”

Elodie’s voice was as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Yes.”

“I absolutely don’t hate you.”

I smiled slightly.

“Me neither.”

“…Really?”

“Of course.”

Elodie tightly gripped my clothes and looked up at me with swollen eyes.

“Then, will Aria continue to love Elodie? Even if Elodie is a monster?”

“You’re not a monster.”

I gritted my teeth. What had Marquis Carbodin done to this innocent and fragile child?

“And… shall I tell you how much I love Elodie?”

“Yes.”

Elodie looked up at me with a very tense face.

“Just a tiny bit more than Elodie loves me.”

Elodie’s eyes widened.

“Then that’s a whole lot of love. Because Elodie loves Aria very, very much.”

“Yes.”

Tears that I thought I had been holding back well began to flow. I turned my head to hide them from Elodie, but because of my terribly trembling voice, the child must have noticed.

“I… love Elodie very, very much too.”

***

Scratch, scratch. The sound of the quill pen moving ceaselessly across the parchment echoed throughout the office. Theodore Baniche did not stop for a moment until he had processed all the documents he needed to review.

“You’re working hard today.”

When he looked up, Count Jacob, who had entered the office at some point, was looking down at him with a grinning face.

“I always work hard.”

“Well, I think it’s been a while since I’ve seen Your Grace so focused.”

“….”

Theodore avoided Tom Jacob’s gaze. It was because he easily read the meaning hidden between the lines.

‘He means it seems like I’ve returned to how I was before Elodie disappeared.’

Theodore did not regret the past years he spent searching for Elodie. Thanks to that, he was able to soothe Elodie’s wounds at least a little. But if he had the chance to turn back time, he would have managed his territory a bit even while searching for Elodie.

“I hear Marquis Carbodin has begun to move.”

“Hmph.”

Theodore snorted.

“It seems he doesn’t like the situation where he can’t use all his limbs.”

The black magic with which he had bound the Marquis’s hands could, if he so desired, be maintained forever until either the caster or the target died. Of course, side effects would continue to occur, so he had no intention of maintaining it for long. But Marquis Carbodin wouldn’t know that, so his worries would deepen.

Would he choose a life of permanent disability, or would he confess his crimes to the world and pay the price? It was a difficult dilemma, but Theodore knew which way he would choose. Marquis Carbodin was a man who valued himself above all else in the world. The family and sister who would be affected by his confession wouldn’t even be a concern for him. Perhaps he might even sell them out for his own safety.

“Did you have a good conversation with Miss Bertin?”

Theodore’s body momentarily stiffened before relaxing again. He slowly gazed at Count Jacob and spoke in a monotone voice.

“We didn’t even talk about anything.”

“I heard you rode in the carriage together from the Marquis’s stronghold.”

“Miss Bertin was badly injured. We rode together because of Elodie, but it wasn’t a situation where we could have a conversation.”

“The doctor said that while there were many wounds, they weren’t deep enough to prevent self-treatment.”

“Tom, what exactly are you trying to say?”

Theodore put down his quill pen on the desk with a thud. He had no intention whatsoever of revealing what he had said to Aria Bertin during the carriage ride.

It was a vulnerability he never intended to voice if not for Elodie’s outburst. In fact, if the other person had been anyone but Aria Bertin, he wouldn’t have revealed it regardless of who the witness was. Count Jacob’s eyes narrowed.