Episode 27
The next day, Lorey called Lucion.
“An intruder? In Rosent Castle? And that bastard was near the lady’s room?”
Lucion’s expression grew colder with each question he asked. Lorey nodded in response to all of them.
“It’s impossible to enter the castle through ordinary means. They must have been highly skilled. Probably one of the servants my power didn’t work on.”
“Ha… I really didn’t want to draw my sword after coming all this way…”
“The lady is probably better at swordsmanship than you.”
“She’s learned swordsmanship?”
“Nope.”
“…Excuse me?”
So basically, that meant his skill was worse than that of a 12-year-old who had never even taken a single sword lesson?
“I’ve completely lost the desire to cooperate. Can I just go to the lady now?”
Lucion stood up, brushing off his hands without hesitation and grabbing the doorknob. It was a gesture meant to express that his feelings were hurt, but Lorey just looked at him with a face that said, “So what?”
“Aren’t you going to stop me?”
“It’s for the lady. There’s no way you won’t do it.”
“Wow… I can’t even argue with that because you’re right.”
“Exactly. So just stay by the lady’s side as usual and find a servant with a wound somewhere on their body.”
Saying that, Lorey turned the doorknob before Lucion and opened the door slightly.
“To be honest, I want to interrogate the ones sent by the Aros family right now. But I’m holding myself back.”
The one who had sent the letter telling her to protect Sophia as if they had foreseen all this, the one who knew her power and weaknesses better than anyone—that’s who sent those people.
It was impossible not to be suspicious. But just this once, she was letting it slide.
“Because I want to believe that person isn’t someone who’d endanger the lady just for a plan only he understands.”
Lucion followed Lorey’s departing figure with his eyes as she left the room, then quietly shut the door and closed his eyes.
“…Indeed.”
He could only hope that person wouldn’t betray his trust either.
Finding a wounded servant wasn’t easy. The dresses were long, the trousers too, and the shirts were buttoned all the way up to the neck.
It wasn’t hot enough to roll up long sleeves, and they could have been injured in a place where it wouldn’t show—like the side or abdomen.
‘I think it was the arm…’
Though Lorey had good night vision, her aim wasn’t great. The fact that she even hit her target deserved applause, given how little talent she had for knife-throwing.
That’s why she didn’t know where she had hit. The intruder had worn a long robe to hide their appearance, and even after being hit, they had managed to suppress any reaction aside from a groan to keep their wound hidden.
She had aimed for the leg…
Lorey kept a discreet watch over the servants as she carried out her duties, but in the end, she couldn’t identify the injured person.
She started to fear they might never find the culprit—until something directly endangered the lady. That very next day, Lucion came with news.
For some reason, he was holding an empty sugar jar.
“The sugar cubes are in the kitchen.”
“No, that’s not important right now! I found them! The person with the wound!”
“What? Who is it?!”
Lorey asked with eyes blazing, ready to run out that very instant. Lucion hesitated for a moment before speaking, recalling Sophia’s expression.
“Demis Luther. He’s… a servant sent from the Aros family. The lady saw a bandage on his arm.”
Her faith crumbled into sand. Though Lorey had somewhat expected it and didn’t show much reaction, Lucion was different.
He had trusted that person deeply. He’d followed their instructions without question and didn’t even ask for reasons.
And now, that blind trust had led him to bring a potential assassin into Sophia’s presence.
“I… I…”
“We’ll talk about that later.”
Lorey placed a hand on his trembling shoulder and looked past him, gently cracking the door open. She thought she heard someone outside.
“Go to the lady. Stay by her side and protect her.”
“….”
“I’ll find Demis Luther.”
“Okay…!”
That was the top priority now. Lucion swallowed back all the words of regret he had been about to say and left the room wearing as neutral an expression as he could manage.
Lorey immediately headed to the Forne Castle to look for Demis, but she was told he wasn’t there.
“He should be at Rosent Castle. He went to run an errand for Young Master Joshua…”
“Yes. Ah, but weren’t you supposed to go instead?”
“That was the plan, but he suddenly said he’d go. I had a lot on my plate, so I let him.”
Demis Luther was at Rosent Castle.
It was daytime, so she wanted to believe nothing bad would happen—but the letter had already assumed Sophia might be in danger. It wasn’t strange if something happened even during the day.
Because the one who sent him was someone who would send a person capable of anything.
As Lorey was hurrying to Rosent Castle, she ran into an unexpected group—Joshua’s and Benjamin’s guards.
“Are you heading to Rosent Castle?”
“Yes. I just heard something happened there related to Young Master Benjamin…”
“You can’t. Surely you haven’t forgotten the Lord’s orders.”
Their firm words made the guards falter. The lord had given them a strict command:
No one is to enter Rosent Castle under any circumstances.
In the end, they stopped moving forward, and Lorey gave a slight nod of gratitude. After all, they had just prevented someone from putting Sophia in danger.
“Then we’ll wait here.”
“Yes. I’ll let you know once I’ve assessed the situation. Until then, please don’t enter Rosent Castle.”
Lorey said this and then rushed ahead.
Something had happened. Something significant enough to cause a commotion.
“Please, please…”
Please let the lady be safe.
After telling Sophia everything, Lorey pressed her lips together tightly. There had been so much she’d hidden. So many lies.
That she was a mage, that someone was targeting Sophia, that the reason she was once injured was because of that…
“I hate lies. They’re just sweet words meant to keep me trapped in a fantasy.”
Lies build up, wall after wall, until you’re trapped in a castle like something out of a fairy tale—cut off from reality.
She hated that kind of thing. But she could forgive it. Because it was Lorey who said it. Because the lies were meant to protect her.
So she couldn’t hate Lorey. It was impossible.
“I’ve never hated you. And now that you’re being honest like this… how could I hate you?”
“…My lady.”
“So you can relax now.”
Each comforting word made Lorey exhale like air was finally being let out. She slowly relaxed her body, which had been tense with the fear that Sophia might resent her.
“You’re not hiding anything else, are you?”
“…No.”
This was the first time in her life Sophia had learned that Lorey was a mage. That the reason there were no guards or openly spoken secrets among the staff was all because of that.
But what surprised her even more was that Lucion had known.
“Then Lucion knew you were a mage?”
“…Yes.”
He replied quietly, turning his gaze away. He probably felt guilty for keeping it a secret to protect Lorey.
As Sophia and Lorey shared an honest conversation, Joshua pressed more firmly on Lucy’s nape. She kept trying to say something, which irritated him, and he might’ve been using more force than he meant to.
“Read the room. Be quiet.”
Sophia, facing the truth and having this honest exchange, looked genuinely happy. He couldn’t let anyone interrupt that precious moment.
But even Joshua’s efforts couldn’t stop what came next.
“Young master! You must come to the garden right away! Master Benjamin is asking for you!”
A servant came running from afar, shouting loudly.
Even before Joshua could respond, one word lodged itself in Sophia’s ear—garden.
“He chased him to the garden? Now?”
“Y-Yes!”
Grabbing the servant’s arm, who was panting from the run, Sophia’s expression darkened instantly, and she started running toward the garden.
Voices called out to her from behind, but in her mind, only one person filled her thoughts now.
‘Rune…!’
