TYBMB 33

Chapter 33: I’ll Take Care of It

Published: 2024.02.02

As I slowly opened my eyes and barely managed a reply, the commander immediately asked,

“Yulia! Are you awake?”

“Yes… Where am I? Why was I sleeping?”

“That’s what I’d like to know. Why were you asleep? I was worried you’d taken some dangerous drug since you weren’t responding no matter how much I called you.”

The commander continued,

“Carl told me earlier that you went looking for me. But I didn’t see you at all. I got worried when you didn’t show up, so I searched all over, only to find you lying here asleep.”

“Ah…”

“So, what happened? You were on your way to me and then disappeared?”

Hearing his question, I tried to retrace my memories before I lost consciousness.

Right, now I remember. I had told Carl earlier that I would go find the commander.

Because the commander might be surrounded by noble ladies and struggling, I thought I should help him.

After saying that to Carl, I had gone straight from the garden into the banquet hall.

And just as I expected, I saw the commander surrounded by noblewomen. I was on my way to him when I ran into—Erenant.

Then Erenant said he had something to show me and took me underground…

“Ah…!!”

I finally recalled what I had seen after following Erenant.

Just how dangerous the things in his basement were.

“This isn’t the time for this…!! Something terrible is happening in the imperial palace…!!”

“Something terrible?”

“Yes, it’s—”

I stopped mid-sentence and abruptly shut my mouth.

Because I suddenly remembered the contract Erenant had handed me before showing me the basement.

Now that I think about it, I had signed a contract imbued with the supernatural power of a curse.

I had already signed it. It was irreversible.

If I broke the contract and revealed the secret to anyone, the curse’s power would be triggered—and I would die.

“……”

Of course, to save the people of the Brauzenberg marquisate from the chimeras, I needed to break the contract and tell the commander everything right now.

Then he would be able to stop Erenant’s scheme.

But… if I did that, I would undoubtedly die.

That meant the person with future knowledge who could help close the rifts would be gone.

If one of the key forces to close the rifts—me—was gone, could the others still manage to close them all?

Even if they could, who knew whether it would take 10 years or 20? It was impossible to say.

And during that time, many more lives could be lost.

So I couldn’t just recklessly die. I kept my mouth shut, and the commander asked again.

“Why did you stop mid-sentence? What terrible thing is happening in the imperial palace?”

“…No, it’s nothing. I must’ve been dreaming.”

“How anticlimactic.”

I still couldn’t tell him.

But that didn’t mean I planned to stay silent and do nothing.

There were ways to block the curse’s power.

A curse-protection item—or someone with the ability to nullify curses.

If I could just find one of those, I’d be able to break free from the contract’s curse and reveal what’s going on beneath the palace without dying.

“If it was a nightmare, you can tell me. It’s part of a commander’s duty to take care of their subordinates.”

As my thoughts continued, the commander suddenly spoke kindly.

I looked up to see him gazing at me with warmth in his eyes.

Eyes full of compassion—so different from Erenant’s cold, selfish gaze.

His gaze alone seemed to melt away some of the worry and anxiety that had built up inside me.

“You’re being especially kind today.”

“…Don’t be ridiculous. I’m just trying to fulfill my role as your superior.”

“Haha.”

“So, what kind of nightmare was it?”

I hadn’t actually dreamed anything, so I was planning to brush it off vaguely, but the commander pressed again.

He seemed determined to get to the bottom of why I looked so pale.

“Thank you for your concern, but… it’s hard to talk about. I just want you to know it was a truly horrible dream.”

“That bad, huh? Have you been worried about something lately?”

“Worried… I guess I have. Everyone has worries, after all.”

Mine were endless.

How to safely distance myself from Erenant, what to do about the monsters under the palace, and so on.

However…

“Even so, I don’t think I can talk about my concerns with you, Commander.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s dangerous. If I talk, I might be putting myself at risk.”

I couldn’t say it was because of a curse-bound contract, so I spoke vaguely instead.

After hearing me, the commander went stiff and stayed silent for a while.

In that silence, with just the two of us in the room, my lips began to dry.

I was about to say something—when the commander broke the silence first.

“Is this worry of yours related to Erenant?”

How did he know?

Did those golden eyes have the power to see through people?

He had instantly seen through the fact that all my nightmares and worries stemmed from Erenant.

I struggled with how to respond, then shook my head.

“…No. It has nothing to do with His Majesty. It’s just personal—”

“Then why did your face go pale the moment I mentioned Erenant’s name?”

“……”

I didn’t expect him to be so sharp.

As he said, I couldn’t hide my reaction when Erenant’s name was mentioned.

The commander had picked up on that subtle shift in expression and now seemed convinced that Erenant was the reason I was acting strangely.

“Did something happen between you two? Tell me.”

“Nothing happened.”

“That’s a lie.”

“It’s true. I appreciate your concern, but this is just a personal issue.”

Despite what I said, the suspicion in the commander’s eyes didn’t fade.

I expected him to pressure me again.

To demand I stop hiding and confess, saying that if it involved Erenant, he needed to know.

But the words that came from his lips were completely unexpected.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“…Pardon?”

“Whether that concern is about Erenant or something else—I’ll take care of it.”

His statement caught me off guard.

The commander, who I thought didn’t particularly like me, was suddenly being so generous?

But sometimes, unsolicited kindness is more dangerous than open hostility.

It’s not rare for kindness that appears pure and reasonless to be hiding a darker motive.

Especially since the commander didn’t seem the type to like me enough to show such favor.

So I searched for the reason behind his unexpected kindness—and soon found it.

“You really hate His Majesty, don’t you?”

“…?”

“That’s why you want to help me. If something bad happened to me because of His Majesty, that gives you a great excuse to criticize him publicly.”

“I didn’t mean it that way…”

The commander opened his mouth as if to say something but ended up sighing instead.

That confirmed it for me.

He wanted to use helping me as an excuse to go after Erenant.

Even so, I bowed my head.

“Regardless, thank you. For offering to help.”

“……”

“Since you’ve already decided to help, could I make a small request? I don’t plan to reveal what’s bothering me, but… I could use a little help right now.”

The commander, who had been looking away with a rather complicated expression, finally turned toward me.

I reached out my hand to him.

“Would you help me stand?”

“Help you stand?”

“My body’s weak. If you could just support me to the carriage, I’d be grateful.”

Maybe it was the aftereffects of the pain in my heart earlier, but even after waking up from fainting, I felt utterly drained.

It felt like I wouldn’t even be able to walk to the carriage on my own, so I asked for help—and thankfully, he didn’t refuse.

“If that’s all, of course I’ll help.”

“Ah, thank you—wait, what are you doing?!”

I had expected him to just take my hand and help me stand.

But to my surprise, the commander simply lifted me up into his arms.

“C-Commander?!”

Even though I must’ve been heavy, his arms didn’t waver in the slightest.

Still, I was embarrassed, so I gave him a flustered look.

He saw my gaze but didn’t put me down, instead saying bluntly,

“You said you had no strength, right?”

“…Just supporting me would’ve been enough. Are you really going to carry me all the way to the carriage?”

“How can I make you walk when you have no strength? If you collapse along the way, I’d be the one everyone blames.”