Chapter 17…………………………………………..
The Price of a Promise
“Ugh….”
The next morning, Lowell pushed himself upright with a groan. As if proving the commotion from the day before, his body creaked and protested from every direction.
It hurts….
With effort, Lowell turned her head and looked out the window. The sun hung low in the sky, with scattered clouds drifting by.
After staring at the view for a while, Lowell put strength into her legs and moved closer to the window. Looking at the peaceful scene outside, everything that had happened yesterday felt like a dream.
“……”
But Lowell knew. From this point on, a morning unlike any she had ever experienced before would dawn.
A little later, she picked up the letter on the table that gave reason to that thought.
It had arrived at daybreak—an envoy sent directly from the Imperial Palace. The letter contained thinly veiled threats, warning that yesterday’s incident could cause great chaos within the Empire, and ordering everyone involved to keep silent about it.
So even now, they’re trying to save face, huh.
That was Lowell’s first thought after reading it.
If it became known that a demon had infiltrated near the capital and that the knights had only realized it far too late—and then let the demon escape—the prestige of the knight order and the imperial family that commanded it would be in shambles.
Well, whatever.
The imperial family’s intentions didn’t matter to Lowell anyway. Whether it was the knight order or the emperor who led it, she had long since abandoned any expectation that they would help Aria.
After finishing her morning preparations, Lowell headed straight for Aria’s room to check on her condition.
“Miss, are you feeling any bett—”
But what greeted her when she opened the door was an unexpected sight. Holding the doorknob, Lowell froze completely.
She took in, one by one, Aria sitting on the bed with a pale face, Sion standing beside her, and the servants he had brought along.
“…Young master.”
Lowell recognized him—the man who was Aria’s older brother and her own former employer.
Her appearance didn’t seem welcome. Everyone except Aria and Sion turned sharp gazes on Lowell.
He came to take his sister back, but he filled the place with only his own people.
Receiving their stares head-on, Lowell thought that to herself.
The servants of the Heinstein family were divided into “Sion’s people” and those who were not. “Sion’s people” were all personally chosen by him and were tasked more with outside affairs than with managing the estate.
Their most notable trait was their hostility toward Aria. Open, undisguised animosity toward the ducal lady. It was proof of just how much trust and protection they enjoyed from their master.
“It’s been a while.”
As Lowell stood stiffly in place, Sion greeted her first.
The gentle smile on his beautiful face—so similar to Aria’s—was that of a refined noble warmly welcoming a family member he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“…Yes.”
Lowell briefly glanced at Aria’s profile, then a beat later bowed her head politely.
“Yes, Lowell. We were just talking about you, actually.”
Sion looked her up and down, then slowly stepped toward her.
“I’ll do it.”
At that moment, Aria’s voice cut in.
“I’ll do it. Let’s do it the way you want, brother.”
Sitting on the bed, Aria kept her gaze fixed on the floor as she continued.
“……?”
In that fleeting instant, Lowell noticed a satisfied smile form on Sion’s lips—a greasy smile she was sure she had seen before. A sense of foreboding washed over her.
“Really? You’ve made a good decision.”
Before long, Sion’s gaze, which had been lingering on Lowell, shifted to Aria. Smiling faintly, he turned to his people, who began pulling something out of their bags.
“What are you—”
Sensing something was wrong, Lowell hurriedly opened her mouth.
“Lowell.”
But she was immediately stopped.
“Could you step outside? I have something to discuss with my brother.”
Aria took a deep breath and spoke as if warning Lowell.
“…….”
Despite that warning, Lowell wanted to say she didn’t want to leave. But Aria’s utterly resolute tone left her unable to say anything more.
“…Yes.”
In the end, Lowell lowered her gaze and answered weakly.
“…What are you doing?”
As Leon came up the stairs and spotted Lowell, he raised one eyebrow.
The moment he reached the third floor, he saw Lowell crouched in front of a door with her ear pressed against it.
“Oh! Come here for a second.”
Ignoring his question, Lowell grabbed the hem of Leon’s clothes the instant their eyes met and pulled him down beside her.
“…….”
No longer surprised by much, Leon let himself be dragged over and sat with his back against the door. After a while, watching Lowell fidget on her own, he finally spoke.
“What exactly are you doing?”
“Shh!”
When Leon spoke at his normal volume, Lowell put her index finger to his lips.
Leon frowned slightly and brushed her hand away. Lowell looked at him, then whispered again.
“Don’t you hear anything?”
“What?”
“Oh—never mind. There’s a spell for eavesdropping in a book I read. If you know how to use it—”
“I don’t.”
“What? Why not?”
“Knights don’t learn spells that go against chivalry. A knight should always be upright and—”
“What? What good is chivalry if you can’t use it when you need it?!”
They were probably arguing too intensely.
That’s why they failed to notice the door opening right beside them.
Creak.
“I was thinking of going to thank you first, you know. Sir Rifman.”
Sion spoke leisurely as he looked down at the two sitting in front of the door.
“It’s been a while, Young Duke Heinstein.”
In the few seconds it took Lowell to blink, Leon rose to his feet and offered a composed, proper greeting.
Standing up after him, Lowell briefly wondered whether that composure was a knight’s dignity—or just shamelessness.
After that, at Sion’s sudden suggestion that they have tea together, the four of them sat in the villa’s garden.
“Mmm, the aroma is nice.”
While everyone else remained silent in the awkward atmosphere, Sion alone relaxed, closing his eyes to savor the scent.
“…….”
Following the movement of his teacup, Lowell looked at Sion. Blond hair fluttering in the breeze, relaxed green eyes, lips slightly curved upward.
Enjoying tea in a garden full of greenery, he looked like a noble straight out of a painting.
By contrast, Aria, sitting beside him, gave off a completely different air. Lowell could tell that the faint vitality she’d sensed even yesterday had now completely vanished. Aria looked like someone who had lost all color.
“I should have gone out to greet you. My apologies.”
Leon suddenly said so, setting his teacup down with an audible sound.
Because of that, Lowell realized she had almost been glaring at Sion and blinked.
“No, no. You’re a guest—no need for greetings. I heard you went to the knight order headquarters this morning.”
“Yes. There were a few things I needed to report about yesterday.”
“I’m truly grateful to you. Aria being able to sit here beside me like this—it’s all thanks to you, Sir Rifman.”
Sion turned to Aria with a gaze filled with unmistakable affection.
“No, all I did was call the knight order.”
Leon followed that gaze briefly to Aria, then replied slowly.
“Haha, no. That demon must have fled after witnessing the might of a magic knight.”
In truth, Leon hadn’t even seen the demon, so Sion was wrong. But he didn’t bother correcting him and simply laughed along quietly.
“I’ll invite you to the estate next time, as thanks.”
“Brother.”
At that, the conversation, which had been flowing on, abruptly stopped as Aria—silent until now—opened her mouth. Everyone’s attention shifted to her at the force in her tone.
“My sister has always been frail, and she’s worried the family since she was young. Now that something like this has happened, I can’t help but worry as her older brother.”
Of course, Sion continued speaking as if unconcerned.
Screech!
A moment later, a chair scraped unpleasantly as Aria suddenly stood up.
“Brother. I’m not feeling well, so I’ll excuse myself.”
Looking down at Sion, Aria enunciated each word as if biting them off.
“Lowell. I’ll contact you later.”
After saying that, she gave Leon a slight bow and quickly left the garden.
“…My sister was rude.”
Sion set his teacup down, looking at the empty seat beside him. The cup struck the marble table with a hollow clink.
“Not at all.”
Leon narrowed his eyes at the strange atmosphere, then quickly composed himself as he replied.
She looked like she was about to cry.
Standing in front of the villa’s main gate, Leon recalled the scene from earlier.
After the uncomfortable conversation in the garden ended and they returned inside, Lowell had widened her eyes upon hearing that Aria had already packed her things and boarded a carriage.
“I didn’t even get to say goodbye properly…”
Saying that, Lowell hurried toward the gate.
But before long, she was stopped by the villa’s servants, who said they urgently needed to ask her something. They had once been servants of the Heinstein family and wanted Lowell’s help.
Hearing that, Lowell looked dazed for a moment, then her black eyebrows drooped as she was led toward the kitchen, almost as if being dragged. Even the twitch of her violet eyes looked pitiful.
“Lowell was a child our family cherished greatly.”
At that moment, Sion, who had appeared beside Leon without notice, spoke, interrupting Leon’s thoughts.
“But the moment you take her away, something like this happens. I feel like I’ve caused you trouble.”
Turning to look at Leon, Sion slowly lifted the corners of his mouth as he continued.
“After all, taking a servant child—”
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
Leon replied immediately.
“I didn’t take her away. We met because we both wanted to, so there’s no need for you to concern yourself, Young Duke.”
Leon said this while facing straight ahead, without changing his tone.
“…If that’s the case, then that’s a relief.”
At that response, Sion’s eyes hardened coldly. Of course, when Leon looked back at him, only the familiar relaxed smile remained on Sion’s face.
“Then, I’ll contact you separately next time.”
With one foot on the carriage step, Sion said that as his final words.
“You knew Young Master Sion?”
On the way back after the confusing vacation, Lowell asked Leon directly inside the moving carriage.
“We just know each other’s faces. We’re not close.”
Leon answered indifferently, though he felt as if Lowell were glaring at him.
“The heir to the Empire’s foremost ducal house and a promising magic knight—it’s natural we’d at least recognize each other.”
“Ah, yes.”
At Leon’s confidence, which resurfaced at odd times, Lowell briefly frowned, then asked another question that had been bothering her.
“More importantly, what did you mean about me not needing to go be questioned?”
“I took care of the urgent matters, so you don’t need to go to headquarters yourself. At least for now.”
“Is that really something I can just… not do because I don’t feel like it?”
“Why not? You were attacked by a demon—it’s natural to be considered mentally unstable for questioning.”
“What? I’m completely stable.”
Lowell blinked, twisting her upper body this way and that while seated.
“…Whether you’re stable or not, there’s no need for you to be questioned right now.”
“What? Why?”
“If you think about it, yesterday happened because the current knight order failed to properly protect the Empire. Who benefits from you personally going in and handing over information?”
Leon said irritably, furrowing his brow.
As Lowell listened, her expression grew increasingly awkward.
Tightwad.
That word, at least, she only thought to herself.
“What?”
“I get it. I need some time to整理 my thoughts anyway, so going right now would be a bit much. I’ll go on my own later.”
Lowell didn’t even realize that thought had slipped out of her mouth.
“…And you. You faced a demon and were even attacked—being ‘completely’ stable like you is what’s strange.”
Leon stared at Lowell’s face with his mouth slightly agape in disbelief and said that.
“When would I have time to be unstable? I need to return to a stable state quickly so I can grow stronger and find my proper place.”
Lowell met Leon’s eyes directly as she spoke. Her violet eyes blinked rapidly.
My proper place?
And in the silence that lasted all the way back to the estate, Leon pondered, for a while, what Lowell meant by that “proper place.”
