Chapter 88
“Why… did you come closer?”
At the question that reached him, Rihardt slightly lifted his head. Eyes filled with reproach of a different sort were fixed on him—no longer clouded, but clear, violet eyes.
He let out a soft chuckle and replied as if it were nothing.
“Because I trust Aileen.”
“Even so, it was far too dangerous.”
“That’s partly why I came closer. With something this dangerous in Aileen’s hands, how could I just walk away?”
“Honestly……”
Aileen’s body swayed. When Rihardt hurriedly caught her, Aileen, reassured, murmured the rest of her words from within his arms.
“I told you you’re impossible……”
“As if you’re one to talk.”
Rihardt watched the black mana seeping out of her body drift away. At some point, Heinel had appeared at the end of it and was placing the mana into a bottle.
“Have you extracted all of the mana?”
“Yes. With this, my lady will no longer be at risk of being consumed by black magic.”
Heinel replied while looking at the black mana wavering inside the bottle. He stared at it with cold eyes, then tucked it into his arms and spoke.
“Then I’ll return to the Mage Tower and report this situation to those old men at the top. That should allow us to find out who the owner of this mana is.”
“Please do.”
After watching Heinel leave for a moment, Rihardt moved the collapsed Aileen onto the bed.
Seeing her fever spike again, Rihardt fell into thought.
—
“It’s all because of you. If it weren’t for you, my brother and I wouldn’t have gone through something like this…!”
The words Aileen had spoken resurfaced—words she might have been thinking unconsciously.
And they were thoughts Rihardt himself had had as well.
If I weren’t a prince, maybe none of this would have happened.
Rihardt, who had unconsciously taken Aileen’s hand, froze. Then he withdrew his hand.
At that moment, Aileen grabbed his hand again.
“Rihardt……”
Along with the cute murmur of her sleep-talking, Aileen tightly squeezed his hand. Rihardt let out a small chuckle.
But the gentle look in his eyes soon sharpened into seriousness.
“If I were to…… then……”
Murmuring so quietly that no one could hear, Rihardt glanced at Aileen again. Seeing her peaceful expression, his heart seemed to ease.
Yet that dawn, he steeled his resolve more firmly than ever before.
❧ ❧ ❧
Aileen remained unconscious for a full three days. It was a side effect of having accepted black magic into her body.
She hadn’t merely accepted it—she had been on the verge of being consumed—so it was only natural that her condition worsened.
Still, thanks to the devoted care of everyone in the mansion, including Rihardt and Adrian, after three days she was able to manage herself to some extent.
Leaning back against the head of the bed, Aileen was eating in her room together with Adrian.
Watching Adrian carefully pick out the green peppers from his plate, she spoke sternly.
“Adrian, you need to eat everything evenly.”
“But……”
Adrian stuck out his lips in a pout. She almost laughed, but Aileen held it in.
“You said you’d grow up quickly and let me live in comfort. If you want to grow fast, shouldn’t you eat everything without being picky?”
It was a fair point, so Adrian couldn’t argue.
After glaring at the green peppers he had set aside, Adrian squeezed his eyes shut and shoved them into his mouth.
“Good. Chew well so you don’t upset your stomach.”
“Ugh…… but why aren’t you finishing yours, Sis?”
Adrian asked, looking at Aileen’s plate, which was still about a third full. Aileen gave an awkward smile and replied.
“Just because. I don’t really have an appetite.”
“No! You have to finish it quickly.”
Using his fork, Adrian stabbed a tomato from Aileen’s plate and held it out to her. In truth, it was his small act of revenge against Aileen for making him eat the green peppers.
After hesitating, Aileen accepted the tomato he offered and ate it. Finding it quite fun to feed her, Adrian kept poking food and bringing it to her lips.
Just as she was starting to feel full and about to say that it was enough, a welcome voice cut in.
“The young count is taking excellent care of you.”
“Rihardt.”
At some point, Rihardt had entered the room and approached them with a smile.
Glancing at Aileen’s plate, which still had food on it, he asked,
“Have you finished?”
“Yes. I’ve finished now—”
“What are you saying! There’s still a long way to go. You need to eat well to recover quickly!”
Adrian cut her off and this time brought a green pepper to her mouth.
Seeing Aileen’s troubled smile, Rihardt joined in.
“The young count is right. You should finish it, if only to recover quickly.”
They only ever agree like this at times like these.
With a sigh, Aileen accepted the green pepper Adrian offered.
The same thing continued after that, with Rihardt and Adrian watching Aileen eat the entire time.
The uncomfortable meal finally ended when Aileen emptied her plate.
“I finally finished……”
“Well done.”
Rihardt let out a soft chuckle. As Aileen shot him a glare, she suddenly noticed his attire.
“Rihardt, where are you going today?”
Rihardt, who usually wore plain, subdued colors, was dressed quite elaborately today—like someone going to meet an important person.
At the siblings’ curious gazes, Rihardt smiled gently.
“Yes. I plan to step out for a bit.”
“It must be something important.”
“Very important.”
For some reason, his words made Aileen tense. If Rihardt said it was important, then it truly must be.
Is he going to meet the Emperor or something?
Swallowing at the plausible thought, she watched as Rihardt glanced at his watch.
“By the way, young count, isn’t it almost time for your morning lessons?”
“Well, yes, but……”
Trailing off, Adrian looked toward Aileen. Smiling gently, she said kindly,
“You can go now. Do your best today too, all right?”
“Okaaay……”
With a face full of reluctance, Adrian walked toward the door. When he turned back halfway, Aileen waved her hand.
In the end, Adrian left the room to attend his morning lessons.
Once she was alone with Rihardt, he sat down in the chair Adrian had been using and asked,
“How are you feeling?”
“Much better. I think I can start going for walks soon.”
Aileen answered with a bright smile. Perhaps because she had focused on resting, her face looked healthier.
Rihardt smiled back. Seeing Aileen’s smile for the first time in a while lifted his spirits as well.
“I hope we can go for a walk together soon.”
Though he spoke lightly, his eyes were filled not with excitement but with seriousness. Unaware of this, Aileen simply smiled and agreed.
“Let’s do that.”
Rihardt let out a small laugh. Then Aileen exclaimed softly, as if remembering something.
“But Rihardt, wouldn’t it be better to avoid going out for a while? With what happened and all……”
Seeing the anxiety on her face, Rihardt shook his head.
“There won’t be anything like that anymore.”
“What?”
“A body was found yesterday.”
At the sudden statement, Aileen flinched. Gently holding her hand, Rihardt continued.
“In fact, Heinel tracked down the black mage who did this to you. According to him, the owner of the mana was that mage who once caused trouble at your shop.”
Aileen immediately recalled the incident from long ago.
The mage who had blown up Heinel’s magical tool and framed her shop.
At the same time, Heinel’s words came back to her.
That mage had connections to Marquis Hibis.
As Aileen’s expression hardened, Rihardt’s eyes turned cold as well.
“And the body was that mage.”
“Did he take his own life?”
“Based on the circumstances, it seems so.”
Aileen bit her lip tightly. She couldn’t shake a sense of emptiness.
At the same time, she felt a hint of pity. If he had taken his own life, it meant he must have felt some degree of guilt over this.
With conflicted feelings, she clenched the blanket in her hand. Rihardt’s hand still rested over hers.
“Anyway, since that’s how things turned out, nothing like this will happen again.”
“You don’t know that. There’s no telling what Marquis Hibis might do next.”
Anger laced Aileen’s voice. Rihardt, who had heard from Heinel who had been backing that mage, felt the same.
He studied the furious Aileen for a moment, then murmured,
“I won’t let it happen.”
“Huh?”
Aileen looked at him in confusion, having heard his murmur, but Rihardt didn’t answer. He only wore a calm smile.
“Please get some rest. I should be going now.”
“When will you…… come back?”
Aileen hesitated before asking. His words about leaving carried an inexplicable sense of unease.
As if he were going somewhere far away.
Rising to his feet, Rihardt smiled reassuringly and replied,
“I’ll be a bit late. But I’ll return within the day, so don’t worry.”
“……All right. I’ll be waiting.”
Rihardt smiled softly and placed a light kiss on Aileen’s forehead. Only then did relief pass over her face.
Leaving the room, Rihardt instructed a passing maid to clear the dishes and walked on. Claude, who had been waiting outside the door, followed behind him.
Neatly dressed like Rihardt, Claude asked,
“Are you leaving now?”
“Yes. You seem quite tense.”
“I can’t help it. It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”
Fidgeting with the tie that pressed against his neck, as if weighed down by the same atmosphere surrounding Rihardt, Claude gave an awkward smile.
“Going to the Imperial Palace for something like this, I mean.”
Rihardt let out a small laugh. But noticing that it was merely a formal one, Claude asked seriously,
“Will you be all right?”
“Of course.”
“But His Majesty……”
“To protect someone precious.”
Rihardt cut him off.
Claude closed his mouth and listened intently to his next words.
“For that, I will do anything.”
“……I will follow you.”
Claude said this with his hand placed over his heart, a sign of loyalty to his lord.
Rihardt laughed once more and looked toward the carriage bound for the Imperial Palace. His eyes shone with grim resolve.
