Chapter 42

“N-no……”

Ethea wanted to say it clearly to Azure.

That she disliked being seen that way by her.

“I think you may be misunderstanding something, but I am n-not, no, I am absolutely, absolutely not in that kind of relationship with Ly-no, with His Majesty……”

“Aha. Is that really so?”

‘What is this, how unpleasant. I say I am not, so why is this woman questioning it?’

Even as Ethea grumbled inwardly, Azure drank a cup of tea and looked at the children playing outside.

To be precise, it seemed like she was only looking at Gin.

“He really is the perfect half-and-half image of the two.”

‘If she says half-and-half, who is she talking about? What exactly is this woman after? And what am I supposed to say to that? Should I say, ‘That can’t be’? I do not want it to get out that he is the Emperor’s child. Though Azure may already know through Seisil.’

Ethea was thinking just that.

Then suddenly, Azure rose from her seat and went outside.

It was because the children were calling, “Magician, Magician!”

Ethea considered following, but she was tired, so she decided to remain seated.

“What is it, children?”

“Magician, you know!”

“Just call me Azure.”

“Dame Azure, Lily got a splinter in her finger. Could you maybe heal it with magic?”

Gin was worried about Lily’s injured finger, and Solei asked as well.

“If it’s not an imposition, could you heal it, Dame Azure?”

At that, Azure answered at once.

“Wow, the two of you just called me by name.”

What was so special about calling her by name?

“Of course I should heal it. Lily, come here. It’ll feel a little cool on the injured spot. That just means it’s healing quickly…….”

As Ethea listened to their conversation, she yawned.

Was it that even the tension from having a guest over was no match for her fatigue?

Left with no choice, she decided she would just lie down for a bit until Azure came back.

She had only meant to rest her eyes for a moment…….

＊  ＊  ＊

Ethea had no idea how much time had passed.

The surroundings were so quiet that she snapped awake.

There was no one inside.

Just as she wondered whether Azure had gone back and was about to turn her gaze toward the window, she heard a voice from the living room.

It was an androgynous voice, Azure’s.

“I only need a single strand of hair.”

The sound of asking for something was clear in her voice.

The one answering was Gin.

“All right then.”

“Thank you.”

What in the world was happening right now?

A single strand of hair?

There were scissors in Azure’s hand, and Gin had entrusted his head to her.

Surely Gin would never ask her to cut his hair.

Unease ran cold down Ethea’s spine.

Azure was a magician.

A magician would not approach a Homunclepet for no reason at all.

Startled, Ethea rushed over to Azure and shouted,

“What are you doing!”

“Ah, well, this is……”

Azure tried to explain something, but Ethea snatched the scissors from her hand.

The scissors were not even from Ethea’s house either-there were magical markings on them, which made it feel even more unsettling.

Having lost her reason, Ethea shouted,

“Why in the world are you cutting my child’s hair! No, I don’t even want to hear the explanation. Leave at once! Get out of my house right no……!”

It was when she had spoken that far.

Suddenly, her vision spun, and strength drained from her entire body.

“Mom? Mom!”

By the time Gin’s desperate cry burst out, Ethea had already collapsed onto the floor.

Still clutching the scissors tightly in her hand.

***

“You really went and made the person His Majesty cherishes most faint dead away. Impressive indeed, Sister.”

Even when Seisil mockingly called her Sister, Azure could not say anything back and merely kept her lips tightly shut.

She swore she had not intended to harm Gin.

Since she was going there anyway to say she had annulled things with the Emperor, she had wanted to obtain a sample as well. She had thought that if she had just a single strand of that child’s hair, she would be able to determine the traits of a Homunclepet.

It sounded like an excuse, but magicians were originally like that. Once they had a purpose, their motto became obtaining the means and method in the shortest, easiest way possible.

To think that just as she was trying to cut the hair, the child’s mother would notice.

Moreover, a magical spell had been cast on the scissors, so if someone without magic held them, they might suffer shock.

And Ethea had been exactly such a case.

According to their neighbor Solei, Ethea had recently not been sleeping properly and had overexerted herself caring for Gin, so fatigue had made her nerves overly sensitive. But in Azure’s view, it looked like she had fainted from a combination of exhaustion and magical shock.

“What should I do? I’ve gone and made the person His Majesty cherishes most end up like this.”

Seisil shook his head.

As Lyle’s close friend, he knew better than anyone that Lyle would not get angry over something like this. Azure had not been trying to cut the child’s hair out of bad intent, and this had only happened because she had tried to do it secretly so as not to cause Ethea needless worry.

“When this lady wakes up, just apologize. That will be enough.”

＊  ＊  ＊

Ethea cried out loudly, her whole body trembling.

“No. Don’t cut Gin’s hair however you please!”

At that very moment, she could feel it.

Her body was lying on something soft, and her eyes were closed.

‘Wait. Come to think of it, I think I lost consciousness while confronting Azure. Then what about Gin?’

The moment she opened her eyes, she saw the night sky. A sky full of twinkling stars was looking down on Ethea from above a glass ceiling.

And that was not all that was looking down at her. Lyle too was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching her. With his long hair tied back carelessly and the end of his shirt loosened, he looked like a young man who had come after finishing work. Of course, that impression was far from ordinary, given that the garment on his lap was the uniform worn by the Emperor.

Judging by the luxurious surroundings around the bed, this seemed to be the palace.

“Why am I here?”

“More importantly, do you feel a little better?”

Still lying down, Ethea nodded.

Her body felt light, as if she had slept deeply for the first time in a very long while.

But her heart was not at ease.

“You slept for quite a long time. The mother of the child next door told me. She said you’d been overworking yourself lately caring for Gin.”

The moment Gin’s name came up, Ethea sat up in bed.

This was no time for this.

“Where is Gin? That magician, the magician who’s your fiancée, pointed scissors at Gi……!”

As if calming her agitation, Lyle quietly took hold of her arm.

“Etty, don’t worry.”

“But if it were you, could you really not worry?”

“Gin is being looked after right now by your friend and Seisil together. You know those people. They’re the kind you can trust with a child as much as needed. Trust me. She won’t harm Gin. Never.”

Even so, Ethea shook her head.

“I don’t know. I collapsed right in front of Gin. He must be worrying about me.”

“I told him there was no need to worry. That I would stay by your side and watch over you.”

“But……”

“And do you know what Gin said to that?”

Lost in thoughts of Gin, Ethea quietly looked at Lyle’s face.

A strange light showed on the face of the man who had paused for a moment. He seemed a little proud, yet also a little embarrassed. He began repeating the words he had heard from the child, using the child’s tone.

“‘If you are taking care of her, Your Majesty, then I can rest easy.’ That’s what he said.”

It seemed being trusted by Gin pleased him greatly.

She did not want to spoil that smiling face, but Ethea was still uneasy.

“Even so, I have to go to Gin. What if something bad happens to him because of that magician while I’m not there?”

Lyle slowly lowered his hand and took Ethea’s hand.

She looked at his hand.

She ought to brush away this hand that touched her so freely, but it was not easy.

The hand against hers was too warm, and the way it was trying to calm her was conveyed through its gentle pressure.

“Etty.”

The voice calling her by that nickname was needlessly sweet.

As much as the scent of lavender pouring from his body.

“What.”

“Azure didn’t do that with bad intentions.”