Chapter 4
“What? Then the reward is…….”
“You said you would accept a reward.”
Ah, what a relief.
Just as I was calming my startled heart, the maid suddenly held out a sheet of paper and a pen.
“What is this?”
“He said to write the reward on the paper and have it delivered.”
Holding the paper in one hand and the pen in the other, I blinked.
He’ll give a reward, but he won’t meet me? What kind of logic is that…….
‘Why? Is he not that grateful?’
Is it because of his pride as a young duke? He’ll grant a reward, but only up to that point?
I began to doubt Kain’s character.
‘Of course, writing it down would work, but it’s better to say it in person.’
That way, if Kain says no, I can at least grab onto his pant leg and beg.
After some hesitation, I asked,
“What if I insist on meeting him?”
“I can only offer my apologies.”
“I saved his life.”
“……I have no excuse.”
The maid left it at that, clearly indicating it was impossible.
‘She’s just caught in the middle. There’s nothing she can do even if I argue.’
In that case…….
After thinking for a moment, I tried another approach.
“Then what about meeting the Duchess instead of the young master?”
“The Duchess?”
The maid echoed in surprise.
She clearly hadn’t expected me to ask to meet the Duchess after being refused a meeting with the young master.
‘It is rather bold.’
But I was that desperate.
‘If Kain won’t work, I have to speak to the Duchess of Argent.’
The Duchess of Argent was Kain’s mother.
‘If I say I have something to discuss as the person who saved her son’s life, she’ll at least hear me out.’
But there was something that worried me.
“…I’m sorry. The Duchess is currently away, so that will be difficult.”
The maid answered while avoiding my gaze.
That was exactly what I’d been worried about.
‘Of course. Around this time, the Duchess is rarely at the estate.’
That was precisely why I’d tried to ask Kain in the first place.
I knew the reason the Duchess was often away.
‘Kain’s father.’
Because Kain’s father, who was ill, had gone to the north for recuperation, the Duchess of Argent also frequently left the estate.
“When will she return?”
But that was under normal circumstances.
‘Her son almost died—shouldn’t she come back now?!’
In fact, the news might have already reached her, and she could be on her way.
Yet the maid lowered her head even more and avoided my eyes.
“Well…… I don’t know the exact date.”
‘Why doesn’t she know?’
I wanted to press her for answers, but the maid only told me to hand over the paper once I’d finished writing, then hurried off to call the attending physician.
I tried asking the physician instead, but he replied that he didn’t know either, showing no inclination to answer seriously.
In the end, after the examination, I was sent to a guest room, my head full of questions.
“Wow…….”
The room was so impressive that an exclamation escaped me despite myself.
It was several times larger than the room I’d lived in at the temple.
‘The bed is so soft!’
Completely different from the creaky bed at the temple that always felt like it might collapse.
I bounced lightly on the bed for a moment, then suddenly stopped.
‘This isn’t the time to be enjoying this!’
If the Duchess might not return anytime soon, I really had no choice but to ask Kain.
I looked at the paper and pen on the desk.
‘Do I really have to write it down and give it to him?’
I didn’t like it.
The biggest reason was that I felt I’d be rejected.
‘If he doesn’t even want to meet me, there’s no guarantee he’ll grant the reward either.’
I needed to meet him and show just how desperate I was for there to be any chance.
‘Isn’t there some excuse I can use?’
A reason I absolutely had to meet Kain…… Ah!
A good idea suddenly came to mind.
‘By now, Kain must be undergoing purification, right? He faced a monster!’
Monsters contaminate their surroundings—land, objects, and even people.
That was one of the reasons monsters were so dangerous.
‘Purification usually takes several days, so even if it happened the night before last, he should still be receiving it.’
I was fine because I had holy power, but Kain’s body could have been contaminated.
Even if I defeated it almost immediately, the fact remained that Kain had confronted a monster.
‘Usually, you rest with a purification stone, but having a person perform purification directly is far better!’
No matter how expensive the purification stones the ducal house used were, they couldn’t surpass the holy power of a Saintess candidate.
‘I’ll say that I’ll purify him myself!’
That would end the purification much faster, so Kain would surely be tempted.
‘Alright, let’s go right away. With this reason, the maid will at least ask him.’
Having made my decision, I left the room.
‘Hmm, where’s the maid?’
She had hurried off, so I had no idea where she was.
‘I’ll just grab anyone and explain.’
I looked around for a servant.
Strangely, though, I couldn’t see any.
‘Are there fewer servants because of the northern recuperation?’
Some of them must have gone along.
‘Still, this is a ducal estate. Can’t they just hire more servants?’
I crossed my arms, thought for a moment, then gave up.
‘I don’t know. I’m not a noble.’
I knew quite a bit about the life of a beggar, but as for nobles, all I knew was what I’d read or seen among visitors to the temple.
I shrugged and walked down the corridor.
‘By the way, my body feels light.’
It already felt good when I first woke up, but now I felt completely fine.
I vaguely remembered the physician saying he’d used an expensive infusion—this must be its effect.
Because of that, his words about me regaining consciousness in just two days felt almost unbelievable.
‘It feels like I just slept well and woke up.’
Maybe because I collapsed at night and woke during the day.
‘…Ah, I need to hurry!’
I had been absentmindedly gazing at the blue sky outside the window when I quickened my pace.
“Huh? That is…….”
But I had no choice but to stop again.
Through the window, I spotted a familiar figure.
Someone repeatedly swinging a sword, as if practicing swordsmanship.
‘……Why is Kain there?’
He was supposed to be resting.
What is he doing?!
‘Why is he training instead of undergoing purification?!’
Even after rubbing my eyes and looking again, Kain was still swinging his sword.
Judging by the sweat running down his forehead, he wasn’t just lightly warming up.
‘Is sword training really that good!?’
The House of Argent was known as a family of swordmasters, but to someone like me, who had nothing to do with swords, it was hard to understand.
Just as I stood there, covering my gaping mouth in shock—
Kain stopped what he was doing and turned toward me.
“!”
Our eyes met.
‘How did he know I was watching?’
Maybe people who wield swords really are different.
Hiding my flustered feelings, I bowed calmly to greet him.
“Hello, Young Mas— Huh?”
At that moment, I saw dirt at my feet.
‘Why is there dirt in the corridor…… w-wait, why am I here?!’
Startled, I looked around.
The surroundings, which had been a corridor just moments ago, had somehow turned into a training ground.
‘Judging by the dirt on my shoes, it looks like I came here on my own…….’
Apparently, seeing Kain swinging his sword instead of undergoing purification had shocked me so much that I ran over without realizing it.
‘Indoctrination…… really is terrifying.’
After hearing endlessly at the temple how important purification was, something like this was bound to happen.
I swallowed an inward sigh and steadied myself.
Unintended or not, I had ended up meeting Kain.
‘If the opportunity comes, you grab it!’
I quickly opened my mouth.
“It looks like you were training. I thought you’d be resting because of the purification.”
“…….”
Kain said nothing.
He simply stared at me with an expressionless face.
‘Is he annoyed that I interrupted?’
Watching his reaction, I fidgeted with the hem of my skirt.
“Uh, um…….”
An oppressive silence followed. Just as I was about to force out some words—
“…Are you feeling alright?”
Kain murmured quietly.
I bowed at the waist.
“Yes, thanks to you. Thank you for your concern.”
‘Thank goodness. He broke the ice first!’
I needed to keep the conversation going.
As I straightened up, he sheathed his sword, as if he was willing to talk.
“So about the reward— Young master?”
But instead of approaching me, Kain turned and walked out of the training ground.
‘Did he not hear me?’
I hurried after him.
Kain’s pace quickened.
‘Huh? Is he avoiding me?’
I sniffed myself just in case.
‘No smell.’
When I collapsed, they must have changed my clothes and washed me, because all I smelled was soap.
Then why…….
While I was thinking, Kain had already gotten far ahead.
“Where are you going?! I have something to say!”
I rushed after him.
But the faster I went, the faster Kain moved.
‘Why is he running like that?!’
Before long, it turned into a chase.
And, naturally, I was the one who lost.
‘N-no… I can’t catch him!’
How could I possibly keep up with a swordsmanship prodigy protagonist?!
At this rate, I might collapse again before I even get to talk to him.
I grabbed onto a wall, gasping for breath.
“…….”
At that moment, Kain, who had been running ahead, suddenly stopped and turned back.
‘Huh? Why did he stop?’
I took a step forward while catching my breath. Either way, it was a perfect chance to close the distance.
Whoosh.
But the instant I moved, Kain turned away again.
It seemed he still had no intention of talking to me.
In the end, all I could do was helplessly watch Kain grow farther away.
Then—
Thud!
“……!”
“Argh!”
A knight rounding a corner collided with Kain.
They hit each other hard enough that both fell.
“Are you alright?!”
Forgetting how out of breath I was, I rushed over to Kain in a panic.
“Ow, what was that— h-huh? Y-Young master?!”
The knight, rubbing his waist, turned pale the moment he recognized Kain.
“Aaaah! I t-touched him!”
He screamed, then bolted away without even looking back.
‘What was that about?! How rude! Why is he acting like that…….’
I glared after the knight, then suddenly froze.
Wait—don’t tell me this is…….
In that brief moment, Kain sprang to his feet and disappeared down the far end of the corridor at top speed.
