Kaiden hurried his steps.

It would be fortunate if she could endure calmly as usual, but somehow he had a bad feeling.

‘From what I saw, she seemed quite close with her younger brother……’

Thinking about how she had taken care of her family first, she must have been shocked too.

‘She should be fine without any trouble.’

But should he say it was as expected?

Ellen, whom he encountered as soon as he arrived at the hospital, was truly panic itself.

“El, El……!”

She, who had barely tied her hair into one bundle and looked hardly believable as an ordinary noble lady, came running in with a very pale face, muttering her younger brother’s name.

She who had been entering with unsteady steps seemed to lose strength midway, unable to maintain her balance and swaying precariously.

“My lady!”

Kaiden hurriedly ran over and extended his hand to her.

At the hand that firmly grasped her shoulder, Ellen slowly turned her head to look at Kaiden.

“……Your Highness?”

A face distorted as if about to cry turned toward Kaiden.

He suppressed his own face from distorting and said:

“I came after hearing news of the accident. You’re going to Young Master, aren’t you?”

“……Yes.”

Ellen’s shoulder that he was holding trembled faintly.

At that small trembling, Kaiden felt his own chest trembling as well and said:

“It’s said to be room 113. Let’s go quickly.”

“Yes. Thank you, Your Highness.”

Ellen, who had tightly grasped his arm with trembling hands, put strength back into her legs and stood up.

She hadn’t been able to come to her senses at all since receiving news of her younger brother’s accident.

[Miss. Young Master is currently hospitalized at Central Hospital.]

[What? What happened to that child?]

[I don’t know. They said he was hospitalized after an accident…… That was all the messenger conveyed.]

[An accident? An accident?]

Elsier, why that child suddenly.

If something happens to you, all of this would be meaningless…….

“Take a deep breath. If the guardian shows signs of anxiety, the child will tremble more.”

Kaiden firmly grasped her shoulder.

Ellen closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Whoo. As she exhaled, Kaiden grasped the hospital room door and said:

“I’ll open it. Don’t be too agitated.”

Ellen quietly nodded.

Click.

“Ah, sister.”

When the hospital room door opened, inside were Elsier with a splint on his ankle and May Sorbon with bandages wrapped tightly around her head.

“Elsier!”

Seeing that Elsier’s condition looked worse than expected, Ellen cried out in shock.

“What is this about? What on earth happened!”

Ellen immediately approached Elsier to check his condition.

“Your leg? Are you saying it’s fine? Are other places okay?”

When she, who looked completely frantic to anyone watching, poured out questions, Elsier began to gauge her mood with a somewhat troubled expression.

Sister had told me to be careful with my body. She said that was the top priority……

Just as Elsier was rolling his eyes with exactly that thought written on his face, Kaiden, who couldn’t bear to watch, placed both hands on Ellen’s shoulders again and said:

“My lady. Just a little calmly.”

The warmth of warm hands began to heat her body.

The warmth that started from her shoulders and spread to her chest slowly embraced her rapidly beating heart.

Thump. Thump.

The beating gradually subsided.

Her reason, which hadn’t known what to do, also slowly began to find its place.

“Young Master. I came after hearing news of the accident. Is your body somewhat okay?”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

Elsier, who had stiffened at the sudden visit of the crown prince, answered while putting full strength into his shoulders.

Then, thinking this was the timing, May, who had been watching them from the adjacent bed, opened her mouth.

“I greet Your Highness. I am May of House Sorbon.”

“Ah, Lady Sorbon.”

Only then did Kaiden look to the side.

“I heard the story. You had an accident together with Young Master, didn’t you? Is your body alright?”

“Yes. Thank you for your concern.”

May Sorbon?

Ellen, who belatedly noticed May’s presence, startled and looked toward where the sound came from.

Ellen, who had quickly raised her head, and May’s eyes met.

May was the first to offer a greeting.

“It’s my first time meeting you. I am May Sorbon.”

“……”

‘Was he hurt while being with May Sorbon?’

Because I said to try using May Sorbon?

Ellen’s face turned white.

I shouldn’t have just asked him to be careful with his body, I should have thought about protecting him myself.

Even if it took a little longer, I should have kept him completely hidden…….

“……Lady Crient? Are you alright?”

When Ellen couldn’t say anything with a pale face, May, who was lying in the bed, asked with a worried voice instead.

Ellen, who finally came to her senses, tried to compose her face.

“……I heard the story. You’re a friend who gets along quite well with Elsier, right? I’m sorry. Originally I should have paid a little more attention, but I couldn’t do so because of my situation.”

“Not at all. Rather, I should be sorry.”

When May offered her an apology, Ellen asked back:

“You, my lady? To me?”

“Yes.”

She bit her lips tightly, perhaps due to guilt.

“For making him get into an unnecessary accident while accompanying my outing……”

Then Elsier, who was lying on the opposite side, threw out a remark as if it was absurd.

“Hey, May. Why is that your fault?”

But at those words, Ellen found a different point to question:

“The accident…… happened while you two were coming out of the academy?”

“Yes? Ah, yes. We were on our way out after reserving an academy carriage to stop by the shopping district……”

May, who had been speaking, bit her lips again as if guilt was rising.

“Elsier definitely said the sound was strange, but I said it would probably be fine since the coachman wasn’t saying anything special……”

Then Elsier, confirming that his words weren’t being taken seriously at all, cut off her words and interjected:

“May. First of all, I didn’t know exactly where the problem occurred either. And strictly speaking, it’s not that you said it was fine so I stopped, but that I gave up because I couldn’t find where the cause was.”

“El. It seems you know the accident circumstances in more detail. Tell me a bit more.”

When Ellen pressed Elsier, he began to explain the process leading up to the carriage overturning in detail.

“We got in the carriage and were going, but we kept hearing strange creaking sounds, sister. So I spent a long time looking for where this sound was coming from, but I couldn’t figure out where it was at all. It seemed like a sound that resonated throughout the whole thing.”

Elsier nodded as if he was recalling the overall appearance of the carriage in his mind once more.

“Now that I think about it, I understand. If the wheel axle itself was the problem, it would make sense that the whole carriage would be in chaos along with the ground vibration. No wonder it was difficult to locate the position from inside the carriage.”

“There was a creaking sound. And then?”

“Then as soon as we passed the straight road and entered the curved road, it overturned. When I came to my senses later and looked, one side was empty as if the wheel had completely come off.”

“What was the coachman doing while it got to that point?”

When Ellen frowned as if she couldn’t understand, Elsier pondered briefly how to say this, then chose not to select his words.

“……The coachman died, sister.”

* * *

Ellen asked with wide eyes:

“He died?”

“Yes. When the carriage suddenly started shaking violently, he seemed to panic too, and when the carriage overturned, his neck snapped and he died instantly……”

“……Yes. What a terrible thing.”

Instant death.

Thinking that this might have been what Elsier could have experienced, Ellen felt a chill at the back of her neck.

“If there’s no coachman, we have no choice but to stir up the academy. We need to find out the circumstances in more detail.”

Then Kaiden, who had been listening to Ellen’s words, patted her shoulder and said:

“That’s right. I’ll help too. If it’s an academy matter, the imperial family isn’t unrelated either.”

At those words, Ellen turned her head back to look up at him.

When their eyes met, he smiled broadly.

“Aren’t I someone who’s earnestly courting because I don’t want to lose my lady? I should show myself rolling up my sleeves and stepping forward.”

Normally, according to her theory that showing some gaps would make her seem manageable and cause confusion, she would have refused.

But this time was different.

“……Then I’ll ask for your help.”

‘How dare they try to harm Elsier.’

She had almost lost her younger brother while acting with convenience and benefit in mind.

Ellen resolved not to forget her priorities even if things took a little longer.

Kaiden, who had been thinking Ellen might refuse him again, quickly answered when she readily accepted his help, wondering what this was about:

“Of course, naturally.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. Let’s discuss that later along with a more detailed investigation, but for now, my lady.”

Kaiden led Ellen, who was still standing without even sitting down, to sit on the stool prepared beside the bed and said:

“How about we hear about Young Master’s condition now?”

“Ah, that’s right. The conversation went elsewhere.”

Right. I shouldn’t be buried in work or efficiency.

Right now I should worry about the child’s condition first, and do the rest afterward.

Ellen placed her hand on top of Elsier’s head.

“Yes. It’s extremely fortunate that you’re safe, Elsier.”

And she also left a word for May Sorbon, who was watching the siblings alone from the adjacent bed.

“The accident is not your fault, my lady. If we must assign blame, it should go to the coachman who neglected the carriage maintenance, or if not that, then to whoever made the carriage this way.”

It was a statement that showed her will to definitely not let this slide and to clarify responsibility.

‘Right. It’s okay because he’s safe. From now on I just need to be even more alert.’

Since she couldn’t and didn’t intend to live exactly the same past, naturally what would happen in the future had to be different.

In other words, like this time, accidents could break out anywhere at any time.

“Elsier.”

She called her younger brother’s name heavily.