CHAPTER 124…………………………………………….
“Did you say Lady Delbe?”
“…….”
I couldn’t remove my hand from my mouth.
If I did, I felt like I might throw up.
On top of that, my chest ached. The pain was unbearable, and my whole body felt hot with blood.
I felt as if tears might come at any moment.
“……Lady?”
The sharp voice of the Duchess kept ringing in my ears like a high-pitched ringing.
And just as the veil covering her face was slowly lifted…
“Anne, you said your body wasn’t feeling well today. Looks like you should rest here.”
“…….”
The Duke of Careis turned me around, holding me close to his shoulder.
Thanks to that, I could breathe freely without anyone seeing me.
We decided to stay a night at a hotel in the south.
The Duke opposed my using teleportation because I wasn’t feeling well.
I was in so much pain that I felt like I might collapse, so I slept deeply for half a day. When I woke up, my body had recovered a little.
Alone, I took a late look around the luxurious hotel room and tried to sort out my thoughts.
“Why did Duke Alter die?”
That was the first question.
And the second:
“Why did that symptom appear so suddenly earlier?”
I couldn’t understand why my chest hurt so much.
I had to think about the first question first, which meant going back to the past.
Bianca, whom I met at the tea party.
After that, we lost contact, and one day I heard that instead of Bianca from the influential Alter family, other candidates for the crown princess had emerged.
“She must have struggled because of that.”
The Alter family was shaken as well.
Without their connection to the royal family, the Alter family was nothing more than a family of distinguished scholars.
Probably the ones hit the hardest were Duke Alter and Bianca.
“They must have suffered a lot. Duke Alter, and Bianca too.”
But in the end, Bianca ended up marrying the crown prince.
Suddenly, the image of her emaciated figure flashed before my eyes.
And at the same time, I remembered the guardian spirit’s words from the tree of the Delbe family.
“Evil spirits nest in the weak minds of those with malice.”
Could it be that an evil spirit entered Bianca’s body?
When she lost her chance to become the crown princess, her spirit must have weakened from disappointment and self-blame.
Her changed behavior, and Duke Alter’s death…
“What if Bianca drove her father, Duke Alter, to his death?”
But one crucial condition didn’t match.
There was no way Bianca had the kind of strong malice that Ron did.
“Ha… then what?”
My thoughts shifted to the second question.
The sudden symptom earlier—why had my heart hurt so badly when now it felt fine?
Why did I feel like vomiting?
It seemed my body was reacting to something.
Thinking back to that moment made my mind go blank, as if I didn’t want to remember.
“There must be something in the Alter family.”
I wasn’t certain yet, but my body’s reaction was proof enough.
Northern Loudne border region.
The battle against the monsters continued until dawn.
Bodies were strewn under the sun.
Thanks to the magical bombs Marian had made, the fight finally ended.
Sherbert, inspecting the scattered remains, instructed that the most useless and foul-smelling monsters be set aside.
“Handle them carefully. They’re a gift for the temple.”
“Yes. Should we remove the venom sacs again?”
“Yes. If Anne says so, we’ll do it. She really is kind.”
Sherbert walked among the knights and suddenly stopped.
His gaze fixed on one spot.
“Come out.”
“…….”
“I said come out. You’ve fooled me countless times already.”
The knights, including Gurtur who was inspecting his weapon, exchanged glances at Sherbert’s cold tone.
Eventually, Gurtur signaled the knights to leave, and he too stepped aside.
Sherbert then approached the one hidden within.
With a flick, Sherbert removed his helmet.
The face revealed was similar, yet not identical, to his brother.
“Ron Careis. Going out secretly again?”
Sherbert’s eyes reflected Ron entirely.
Although five years younger than him, Ron had grown to a fully adult appearance.
Tall, muscular, and no longer the boyish face he once had, his expression had become both sharp and relaxed.
According to reports, Ron’s popularity among women coming from the Hémel Kingdom border region was astonishing.
“Tch. What’s so great about this guy?”
Despite his thoughts, Sherbert felt a bit proud as an older brother, lifting one corner of his mouth.
“Next time, follow my instructions, got it, Ron?”
Ron tapped Sherbert’s extended hand and stood up.
“You’d never let me go out anyway.”
“True enough.”
Sherbert nodded vigorously at Ron’s honest words.
When Ron first arrived here, Sherbert was shocked.
He couldn’t allow his younger brother to enter such a dangerous place.
So he excluded Ron from all missions.
But at some point, Ron had secretly joined the knights and started defeating monsters.
What seemed like a few kills turned out to be an impressive number.
Ron displayed incredible strength, gradually reducing the overwhelming number of monsters.
“The wall repairs are almost done.”
Sherbert’s words meant they could soon return home.
At that, Ron quietly spoke the words he had held back.
“I have something to ask you, brother.”
“Judging by your expression, it must be serious. What is it?”
“About what I said in front of His Highness back then.”
“…….”
Sherbert’s face stiffened.
On the day the crown prince visited, Ron had asked him if he would really marry.
The news, reaching even this remote place, had shocked Sherbert.
The crown prince marrying Lady Bianca Alter?
Luckily, he found the rumor had been exaggerated. The marriage was set for next year during the national festival.
That was why he had asked the crown prince, grateful that there was still time.
“You were listening the whole time?”
“I had never seen such a serious expression from you before.”
“…….”
“You… about Lady Alter…”
“Stop.”
Sherbert cut Ron off.
“I’m already engaged. And Anne… saved my life.”
Ron’s gaze hardened.
“Ha, so you plan to marry Anne just because she saved your life, while your heart belongs to another?”
“……Ron, that’s enough.”
Their sharp eyes, so similar, glared at each other.
“I chose this for Anne.”
“How long will you keep making excuses?”
“……What?”
“That’s not for Anne—it’s for you… because you feel guilty.”
“……!”
Sherbert’s eyes shook and sank at Ron’s words.
They were sharp enough to slice his heart into pieces.
‘Not for Anne… but for myself…’
He felt a surge of self-loathing. Ron was right.
Out of petty guilt and heavy-heartedness, he had used Anne for his own relief.
For the kind, foolish Anne.
A weight seemed to lift from Sherbert’s heart, leaving him both burdened and strangely relieved.
“……You’re right.”
The brothers’ eyes met again.
Sherbert thought of Anne while looking at Ron.
Whenever the two were together, they always seemed happy.
At first, he thought their bond came from shared experiences.
But eventually, he realized it was their genuine feelings for each other.
Perhaps he had sensed it from the very beginning.
Yet his flawed judgment always came first.
With lonely eyes, Sherbert said,
“……Ron, Anne is precious—not just to me, but to all of us.”
“I know that well.”
“Want to hear a funny story?”
“…….”
“A few years ago, I returned from the academy to find Crimu on my father’s lap. I was so shocked I lost it and yelled.”
Sherbert narrowed his brows and recounted the events.
“Who did this! Who gave father medicine? Hahaha.”
Ron relaxed his stiff expression, seeing him laugh.
“I can imagine your reaction.”
“Everyone—my father, Crimu, everyone in the mansion—had changed. All thanks to Anne. That’s what she’s like. She changes people.”
“…….”
Sherbert turned his gaze to the sky.
“Three years’ worth of letters Anne sent you piled up?”
“Brother! Did you really read my letters?”
Sherbert dodged slightly as Ron growled.
“Just once.”
“Brother!”
“I was curious how yours differed from mine. I got one line; you got five pages.”
“……What?”
Ron asked seriously.
“And that one line said…?”
“Hmm?”
Sherbert chuckled.
Ron, who had five pages from Anne, was jealous of his one line.
Ron was just too cute.
Sherbert wrapped his arm around Ron’s neck.
“This guy, I won’t tell you.”
“Ugh.”
