Chapter 67
“……?”
She hadn’t gotten up yet and was playing with the mole? Moreover, she was even talking to the wild animal like it was a friend.
“Now you’re going to your master? How’s it over there? …It must be much bigger since it’s their land, right?”
‘No way. Lady Calidora isn’t the type to play like that.’
Even when she was much younger, she never paid attention to childish games. Every day she insisted on reading books meant for adults, which everyone found astonishing. And now, she was playing like this? Something felt off.
Ankus decided he would have to watch Lady Calidora closely for the time being.
After observing her for several weeks, it was clear that Lady Calidora’s behavior had changed. Most of the time, Ankus couldn’t even meet her.
“Eolante, where is the lady?”
“She’s taking a nap in her room. She said not to let anyone in.”
“Lady Calidora is taking a nap! She used to complain that sleeping was a waste of time even at four years old!”
“And the lady?”
“She’s holed up in the library reading. She wants to focus, so no one may disturb her.”
“Then why isn’t she in the garden? It should be time for her to be out and playing.”
“Sh-she might be feeling a little weak!”
For several days, Ankus only received news from Eolante. Unable to endure it any longer, he went to her room and found her looking somewhat unwell.
“Lady, I heard you’re feeling weak. Are you sick?”
“Anku? Ah, no. It’s just… I have a lot on my mind about life……”
“You’re certainly at an age with a lot of worries…….”
“I-I’ll go now!”
“Lady!”
Despite doing nothing but studying or isolating herself somewhere, Lady Calidora looked exhausted, as if she had been wandering all day.
And that damned mole.
Lady Calidora spent every day staring at that filthy creature. And yet, she didn’t even glance at him once.
“Uluru, you’re here? Wait a moment. Anku, sorry, could you take one step to the side? There’s a shadow.”
The kind, gentle expressions she never showed to him appeared freely in front of the mole.
“Hehe……”
Sometimes, she would lie on a rock, letting out a foolish laugh.
‘……Regression?’
The word flashed in Ankus’s mind. It was shocking enough that he wanted to deny even thinking it, but no matter how he considered it, it seemed to fit the current situation best.
Ankus concluded: Lady Calidora was clearly showing regressive behavior.
But why?
Typically, regression appears in beings who are sick or lacking something. But Lady Calidora was perfectly healthy.
Then there must be something unfulfilled in her, separate from abundance. Watching her try to communicate with the mole, Ankus thought he understood.
‘Lonely?’
But why?
None of the children he knew in Ignitus had ever behaved like this. Even the fragile Paulus didn’t engage in age-inappropriate play.
As he pondered, Ankus realized that no child in Ignitus had experienced what Lady Calidora was going through.
Ankus himself had played with Nonus as a child. Vivia was close with Prima, a peer from the Cassius branch. Abelus had friends from other families instead of his cousins. Paulus spent his childhood with the Skybolla and Bellicus siblings, whose current whereabouts were unknown.
But Lady Calidora was alone.
Eolante was present, but leaving age aside, they weren’t equals. Lady Calidora had no peer friends to play with at all!
‘Good heavens!’
Ankus sighed inwardly. To be so lonely that she played with a mole!
He rushed into the office, shouting:
“Emergency! This is an emergency! Assemble an emergency meeting immediately!”
“Sir Ankus? What’s the matter? Could it be that another Knight of the Fire Legion has deserted……?”
“Worse than that! Quickly, gather everyone!”
His aides turned pale at his shout. A few years ago, when knights had mass desertions demanding the abolition of class discrimination, the Fire Legion nearly disbanded. And now this was supposedly worse than that? Clearly, the survival of Ignitus was at stake.
The aides hesitated to ask more questions and began gathering people.
“We’ll inform the head of the household!”
“Yes, and summon young master Arena as well!”
“Yes!”
Ankus took the seat of the absent head and addressed the trembling attendants.
“Lady Calidora…… seems lonely.”
A heavy silence fell over the room.
“……That’s all?”
“That’s all.”
Though the attendants were shocked for a different reason now, Ankus remained entirely serious.
“We must find a solution. She’s doing things she didn’t even do at four.”
“Th-then…….”
Only now did the attendants grasp the seriousness of the situation and began speaking.
“But… Lady Calidora’s daily life is no different from other children of Ignitus. She’s surrounded by people, so why……”
“Exactly. That’s the problem.”
Ankus explained what he had discovered: no child in Ignitus had spent their childhood without at least one peer friend. And Lady Calidora’s past was filled with extraordinary incidents even most children would never experience.
“First, we’ll contact Miss Velikia and Young Master Bellicus.”
“And we should also ask Young Master Paulus to come once his term ends.”
The aides, taking the problem seriously, proposed solutions.
“That alone won’t suffice.”
Ankus responded firmly.
“This is no different from the situations she’s faced before. We must devise a new method.”
Time flew by, and it had already been a month since Titus and I first contacted each other.
To fund Aquilinus’s tuition, I decided to call Titus directly to the Colosseum.
[Shall we meet at the Colosseum entrance tomorrow morning?]
Titus, apparently quite bored, agreed without asking for a reason.
[Sure.]
The next afternoon, I summoned Io to the library and quietly revealed my plan.
“Io, I’m going out alone today. Can you make it look like I’m studying in the library?”
This time, Io didn’t follow my instructions readily.
“No, no matter what, I have to assist you closely!”
‘I don’t want to take pure Io to the Colosseum.’
I thought for a moment and rephrased my words.
“Io, I’m not leaving you behind.”
“Eh? Then……?”
“It’s a kind of operation. You stay in the mansion, I go outside. While I fetch the money, you, as my aide, tie up the targets.”
“Got it! Leave it to me, Lady!”
Io ran off seriously, bringing the nameplate we had prepared earlier. It was soon hung on the firmly closed library door.
[Calidora is reading. Do not enter •̀༚•́]
“Excellent, Io.”
“This should buy us a few hours, Lady.”
“Good, then I’ll go!”
“When will you return?”
“As soon as the match ends. Not long. About three hours?”
“I’ll guard the door no matter what!”
I waved to Io and left the mansion with my foal.
