CHAPTER 41…
- “Ugh, why are you waking me up? I just closed my eyes…”
- “Undine, please wake up. It looks like Lady Lian has something to say.”
- “Yawn… I’m X-ing tired, so make it quick. What is it?”
“It was because he was a dark sorcerer that he turned into a crow, right? Don’t you guys know anything about that?”
The spirits who were just yawning away suddenly fell silent.
“Hey, don’t you know anything?”
- “Uh, well? I-I don’t think we know anything in particular…”
“Don’t think? What does that mean?”
- “Undine means that the information we have isn’t much different from what you already know, Lady Lian.”
“…Is that so?”
- “Exactly! All we know is that dark sorcerer X-holes can transform into the magical beasts of the demons they’ve contracted with!”
“What?! So it wasn’t because he was a dark sorcerer, but because he was the magical beast of the demon he contracted with?”
- “…Lian, hold on a moment. I just thought of something I need to say to the fire lizard.”
“Huh? Okay.”
The spirits dragged Salamander behind a tree.
I continued my thoughts while watching them.
Chapter 2’s title is [The Lady Duke’s Secret Double Life].
Until yesterday, I thought the “double life” referred to living as both an imperial duke and a dark sorcerer.
‘But it was actually about being a human who lives as a crow…’
Out of all the animals, why a crow?
What kind of ability would a demon’s magical beast have if it’s just a crow? Probably only good enough to mimic a human.
‘Adrian, why on earth would you contract with such a pathetic demon? If your life is already a mess, you might as well go big and choose the strongest one!’
Can someone be this unlucky?
“Guys, are you done? Let’s finish the rest back at the estate. The maids will be barging in soon, so we have to get back quickly.”
- “We’re done talking. But hey, can you even walk?”
- “Now that you’re back to your original form, your mana is flowing. We’ll carry you.”
“…Please do.”
In the end, I had to rely on the spirits’ magic to get back to my bedroom.
I snuck into the mansion through the terrace.
It was still early morning, so I didn’t get caught.
As soon as I got to my room, I started taking off the suffocating dress.
“Why did it happen yesterday? I’ve never transformed into a crow before. Undine, help with the buttons on my back.”
- “Maybe transforming into a magical beast requires certain conditions? Ugh, what’s with this complicated dress? Sylph, help me.”
- “Sure. Lady Lian, did anything unusual happen yesterday? Something that could trigger the transformation?”
“Hmm… My heart did beat faster than usual… but other than that, nothing comes to mind.”
Salamander flicked his tongue and removed my high heels.
- “Maybe it’s not an action but a date or time? There was a full moon yesterday. Gnome, get the other shoe.”
- (Nods)
The image of the large full moon from last night popped into my mind.
“Then I should’ve transformed as soon as the moon rose. But I turned into a crow much later.”
- “True. Do you guys remember exactly when Lian transformed?”
- “Hmm… It was right after the briefing, so maybe around midnight.”
“Ah! That’s it!”
I snapped my fingers mid-dress removal.
“You transform into a magical beast at midnight on the night of the full moon! And then return to normal when the sun rises! What do you think of my theory?”
- “Ooh, sounds plausible! Let’s test it next month.”
- “That’s a good idea. Okay, I’ve undone all the buttons.”
I finally got out of that annoying dress. I plopped down on the bed.
“Whew, I can finally breathe.”
Undine and Sylph appeared with brushes and began brushing my hair.
Sleep crept up on me.
After everything I went through at dawn, I should really shower, but right now, rest was more important than cleanliness.
I laid down and pulled the blanket over me.
- “Lian, going back to sleep? Hold on. I’ve got good news.”
“Ugh, I’m so tired… Can’t it wait?”
- “It’ll be quick. It’s about Sir Owen’s ability. We’ve found a way to avoid the aura.”
My eyes snapped open. I forced my aching body to sit up.
“Aura? There’s a way to cancel it?”
- “Not cancel, but confuse it. Using Lulu!”
“Lulu? You guys had my sword this whole time?”
- “Not us! The King was holding it!”
- “Please wait a moment. I’ll go get it!”
A moment later, a strange object dropped onto the carpet.
“…What’s this?”
- “What do you mean? It’s Lulu!”
“This is?!”
Lulu used to be a greatsword nearly 160 cm long.
But this was a dagger, barely 30 cm.
The color had changed too.
The radiant silver blade was gone, replaced by a violet hue that emanated a spooky aura.
“What happened to Lulu?”
- “The King transformed it for purification.”
- “Lulu had absorbed too much dark energy.”
I gently stroked the blade, and it vibrated softly.
Wururururung—
“…It really is Lulu.”
The vibration carried a sorrowful but happy feeling of reunion.
“Sorry for finding you so late, Lulu. I missed you too.”
Lulu had changed so much it was hard to recall its original form.
At this rate, no one would recognize Lulu even if I carried it around.
‘I was just planning to bluff and say I suddenly got magical powers… This makes it easier.’
Feeling lighter, I tried to lift Lulu—
“Urgh! W-Wait, ughh!”
…But I couldn’t.
Why is it so heavy?
Back when I was Adela, I could lift it with one hand. Now, I was straining with both and couldn’t lift it an inch.
Wurururung!
Lulu vibrated irritably, as if to say, “Don’t mess around.”
With the added weight and vibration, I couldn’t hold it any longer and dropped it.
- “Lian? What’s wrong?”
“Huff, huff… This is bad. I-I can’t lift Lulu.”
- “Why not?”
“It’s… too heavy.”
- “What?! Lian! That’s so rude! Lulu is incredibly slender!”
- “You know Lulu’s very sensitive, Lian. That was too much.”
- “Contractor, apologize. If Lulu gets sulky, it’s a real pain. Right, Gnome?”
- (Nods)
“Sorry, Lulu. It’s not you—it’s me. I’ve gotten too weak.”
I massaged my sore arms.
Compared to my body when I was Adela, my arms were thin, with no muscle at all.
No wonder I couldn’t lift Lulu.
- “Ah! That’s right! It must be because your body changed! What do we do?”
- “…Now that I think about it, you’re right. It may look like a dagger, but the weight didn’t change.”
- “Then Lulu’s useless if you can’t carry it?”
That’s right.
I need to carry Lulu to hide my aura.
“We’ll find a way. By the way, who gave you this information?”
- “Who else? The Spirit King, of course.”
The Spirit King had a hobby of traveling the human world and collecting rare treasures.
As a guardian of balance, he avoided interacting with humans he was close to—but this was unexpected.
“You met the Spirit King? When?”
- “When you passed out earlier. He came himself and wouldn’t shut the X up.”
Excited, Salamander clamped his mouth shut. The other spirits glared daggers at him.
- “Phew… Lian, lie down for a bit. I just remembered something I need to say to Salamander.”
“Again?”
- “He’s really not getting it today. Won’t be long.”
The spirits gathered in the corner and returned after a while.
Whatever they said, Salamander’s mood had taken a nose-dive.
I scratched my neck while looking at his tiny flickering tail flame.
“Hmm… bit of a waste. I wanted to ask him something.”
- “Ask who? The King? What did you want to ask?”
- “Tell us. If we know, we’ll answer.”
“It’s nothing major… I just wanted to know which demon the crow beast belonged to. I assume it’s a low-tier one, but aren’t you curious?”
The spirits all clammed up.
- “U-Uh? Not really? Oh right! I had something urgent to do!”
- “Same here. Gotta head back to the spirit realm.”
- “You! Honestly, I’m X-pissed right now, so don’t call me for a while! Got it? Gnome, let’s go!”
- (Nods)
“Huh? What? What did I say… Guys? Guys?!”
I called them repeatedly, but no response. Their presence had completely vanished.
They didn’t just hide—they returned to the spirit realm.
“…What was that about?”
Something felt off, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it.
The muscle aches I had forgotten about because of Lulu came back in full force.
“Ugh, my whole body…”
I tapped my shoulders like an old lady.
Then I pulled the bell rope, and Luna came running.
She seemed shocked to find me in the bedroom instead of the 3rd Prince’s palace.
“M-My Lady? Since when were you… I’m sorry. I didn’t even know you were back.”
“Call the physician.”
“Are you feeling unwell? Right away!”
Luna left, and the mansion soon turned chaotic.
No wonder—the duchess had returned like a thief in the night.
I closed my eyes, listening to the servants’ footsteps. I really needed rest.
That morning, a stranger visited the Ebrante estate.
Dr. Benjamin Rector, hired after Dr. Albert was dismissed, was the new physician.
He seemed calm and experienced.
I especially liked how he didn’t flinch in front of me.
“Duchess, pardon me, but did you go rock climbing or something?”
…Though his tone was a bit sharp.
“You’ve got severe muscle soreness—practically the flu. When did this start?”
The butler answered for me.
“She was fine until yesterday…”
“See? Look at this arm spasm. There’s no way this could happen unless she’d been riding horses all night or something. This kind of strain doesn’t happen suddenly.”
“But the Duchess was at the briefing yesterday.”
“A briefing? Then this really is strange…”
Dr. Benjamin stared at me.
He clearly thought I lied to the butler about being at the briefing and went rock climbing instead.
But I didn’t avert my gaze—I really was at the briefing.
“Taking the medicine will reduce the pain. But you must rest. No moving around until you recover.”
“I’ll make sure of it, Doctor.”
“Good, then.”
He left, and the butler returned with the medicine.
“My Lady, when did you return?”
“Around midnight.”
“Strange I didn’t notice…”
“I came in quietly to avoid fuss. Make sure no one says I stayed the night at the 3rd Prince’s palace.”
“Of course. But… what happened yesterday to cause such strain…?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Right.”
“…Understood.”
The loyal butler didn’t press further.
As I grimaced and forced down the bitter medicine, he handed me a document.
“It’s the schedule for the central plaza construction. I received it from the 3rd Prince’s aide.”
“Already?”
“Since you’re now an advisor, I felt it was my duty to get the timeline in advance.”
Thanks to my proposal, much of the plaza construction plan had changed.
Another construction guild was added for the greenhouse, and a new schedule was created for testing magic devices.
Most of my schedule involved working with Rusfel.
As an advisor, I would help create the magic device and ensure it functioned properly on site.
“But most of the construction is scheduled for early dawn.”
It made sense—construction in public places usually happened at night for safety and traffic reasons.
So it probably wasn’t Leonhart deliberately trying to mess with me by making the schedule inconvenient.
‘…Probably.’
“Most construction work happens at night anyway.”
“I see. I was about to send them some feedback on the schedule… I’ll refrain then.”
This man was going to complain to Leonhart’s aide? I pushed the schedule aside.
“Don’t. Is Piazze’s enrollment settled?”
“Yes. The academy approved it. But it’s summer break now, so she’ll start with the fall semester.”
“Got it.”
“Please rest, My Lady.”
The butler quietly left.
Overwhelmed by the medicine, I soon fell asleep.
