“Huh…”
She let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
“More importantly, he has a slight fever…”
Edith added, still unable to believe it herself.
“His Grace originally suffers from insomnia, so his condition has not been good.”
The reply was that because he couldn’t sleep, he always had at least a mild fever.
“No, how does someone who has insomnia suddenly falls asleep with his head on the table like that?!”
“That, I am not entirely sure either…”
No matter how she thought about it, it was so absurd that harsh words slipped out naturally, but even the physician couldn’t give an exact answer.
Edith also felt her strength drain away for some reason.
Still, it was a relief that it wasn’t anything serious.
After the incident of Luzbel suddenly collapsing and falling asleep passed, Jeron returned after finishing his lesson.
He was startled when he saw Luzbel asleep in his room, but even without hearing any explanation, he didn’t seem particularly concerned.
It seemed he simply wanted to play quickly, as he came over and tugged at her arm impatiently, asking what they would do now.
“Ah? Young master!”
“What?”
At that moment, Flora, who had been looking out the window, suddenly cried out.
Everyone followed her gaze and looked outside the window, and the dark clouds that had always gloomily covered the sky were slowly clearing away.
“What?”
Jeron was also startled.
The weather was clearing.
“The rain stopped?”
“Oh my goodness!”
Everyone moved closer to the window, wondering if it was a dream or reality, but the rain had truly stopped.
The dark clouds had already scattered far away, and the sun was slowly emerging.
Edith felt no particular emotion, since the weather she saw in the Capital had been like this, but the people of House Valencia were different.
“It’s the sun!”
“The sun came out!”
Because of the servants working outside, the exterior quickly became noisy as well.
“…Wow, what is this?”
Jeron, also amazed, urged Edith to go outside with him. He looked quite excited.
Leaving the sleeping Luzbel behind, everyone went outside in excitement.
The ground was still wet, but that was only natural.
“Wow. It has been so long since I have seen the weather clear.”
The atmosphere was very good, as if the sunlight itself made everyone happy.
Even Monet was smiling brightly.
While feeling happy, Edith wondered inwardly if it was because of her.
Since the body of a Saint had come to this land, perhaps even without the mark, incomplete as she was, she had influenced it.
“Can we play outside today?”
While she was thinking that inwardly, Jeron asked.
“Huh?”
“This isn’t something that happens often. Maybe it’s thanks to you, Edith.”
That hit too close to home.
Edith flinched and raised her voice loudly.
“That can’t be!”
Like a thief startled by their own conscience, Edith reacted intensely without realizing it, then gave an awkward smile when she saw Jeron looking confused.
“I was joking…”
But even though Edith smiled, it wasn’t truly a smile.
At this rate, it felt like she would really have to receive the Saint’s mark.
Everyone was this happy.
Her heart felt complicated.
***
The rain that had seemed like it would pour down again at any moment didn’t return, and everyone enjoyed the sunshine.
Although the heavy rain had caused the flower trees in the garden to rot, leaving nothing to see, and the ground was dirty with splashed mud, they still looked happy.
“So sunlight could feel this warm.”
Jeron, too, wore a gentle smile under the sunlight for the first time in a long while.
She hadn’t done anything wrong, yet she felt guilty for some reason.
And seeing Jeron this happy made her think, ‘Should I just go ahead and receive the Saint’s mark?’
“Edith, you probably don’t feel anything special, right? Sorry.”
After enjoying the sunlight for a while, Jeron suddenly turned his head and looked at her.
“No, there’s nothing to be sorry about. I like it too.”
Edith gave a small smile and shook her head.
“In the Capital, the sun always shines, but in our territory, it’s not common, so it’s nice. It’s been two years.”
“Yes. I heard. You must have a lot to worry about.”
Even when she had stayed here before, it had rained most of the time.
So honestly, Edith also found this bright Valencia territory a little unfamiliar.
However, the land that had turned into mud after the long rain couldn’t exactly be called beautiful.
Even so, seeing everyone enjoy this brightness was beautiful.
It felt good.
Edith smiled faintly as she looked at everyone’s expressions one by one, then turned to Jeron.
Jeron also seemed happy that the rain had stopped, but more than that, the happy expressions of the people seemed to leave a deeper impression on him.
At that moment, he murmured with a bitter smile.
“Everyone says House Valencia is going to collapse.”
“Ah.”
Even young Jeron knew the situation of the duchy well.
Well, it seemed he had already finished the basic subjects in two years and had started studying imperial law, so he was probably quite aware of the state of the Empire.
It didn’t feel good to see someone so young already making such an expression.
After hesitating for a moment, Edith changed the subject.
“His Grace said you’re already studying imperial law?”
“…Huh?”
“Isn’t that too early when you’re only seven?”
Earlier she had asked in surprise, almost questioning it, but thinking about it carefully, Luzbel wouldn’t go against something Aisha had done.
She thought that Jeron must have already finished the basic subjects, which was why he had started imperial law so early.
Back then, the tutors had all praised Jeron as a genius.
Sure enough—
“I just happened to finish everything else quickly.”
“You’re studying it because you want to, right? It’s not like your schedule is too busy again, is it?”
Jeron, who had been about to reply with a faint smile, suddenly paused and asked back.
“…Again?”
“Huh?”
Edith retraced her words, wondering what she had just said.
Because Luzbel had made some unreasonable schedules before without considering Jeron’s young body, the words must have slipped out without her realizing.
She had seen and experienced it firsthand, after all.
“No~ I just thought His Grace might be like that! Like, not thinking about you and making your schedule too harsh… Maybe I was overthinking…?”
Trying not to show how flustered she was, Edith spoke, and Jeron nodded as if he understood.
“…He used to be like that.”
“Really? Is he still like that?”
“He isn’t anymore.”
Watching Jeron suddenly let out a small laugh, as if he had thought of something, Edith felt relieved.
That was a relief.
Now she couldn’t scold him herself even if she wanted to.
“Jeron, the sun is getting brighter.”
In the meantime, the sun, which had been half hidden behind the clouds, rose brilliantly.
“It is.”
It was a sight he had seen countless times in the Capital, but seeing the sun in the Valencia territory was so unusual that Jeron stared at it almost absentmindedly as he spoke.
“Is His Grace still sleeping? I feel like he should see this.”
“Do you want to wake him?”
“Yes.”
She was glad to see that he still thought of him as family.
Edith smiled and held out her hand, and Jeron stared blankly at her standing under the radiant sunlight.
“What’s wrong?”
After waiting for a while for him to take her hand, she asked in confusion.
“…Huh? No…”
Shaking his head as if it was nothing, Jeron finally slowly reached out and took her hand.
For some reason, his grip felt unusually tight.
***
Despite supposedly having insomnia, Luzbel was still sleeping soundly even with all this commotion.
Although they had come, Edith wondered just how exhausted he must have been to fall asleep like that, and hesitated about whether to wake him, but Jeron showed no hesitation.
“Your Grace.”
As soon as he entered the room, he called out to Luzbel and approached him.
“Young Master.”
The knights guarding him stepped forward and blocked the way.
However, except for a few, most had gone out to see the sun, so there were only a small number left.
Even those knights were glancing out the window, which said everything.
They must have wanted to go out just as much.
But an order was an order.
“Why?”
“…There was an order from Sir Monet not to wake His Grace.”
“Is Monet above me?”
“N-No! That is not what I meant…!”
“Then move. What if the sun sets while this is happening?”
When Jeron spoke firmly, the knights hesitated and stepped back.
Even they felt it wasn’t right to let this moment pass in sleep.
“Please wake up.”
As they moved aside, Jeron quickly shook Luzbel to wake him.
“…Mm…”
Perhaps he had been deeply asleep, because even though Luzbel was normally sensitive, he struggled to open his eyes as he was shaken awake.
Edith felt sorry for him, wondering just how sleep-deprived he must have been.
“Your Grace!”
“…Jeron?”
Luzbel blinked his eyelids slowly, then suddenly sat up.
He looked around, as if he didn’t understand why he was lying on a bed, and soon began to fumble in confusion.
Not knowing why Luzbel was acting that way, Jeron simply urged him to get up quickly.
Meanwhile, Luzbel, the moment he opened his eyes, kept glancing at Edith and cleared his throat awkwardly.
He seemed embarrassed.
“Ahem.”
Finding his reaction cuter than expected, Edith lowered her head with a small smile.
Well, it made sense.
He had suddenly fallen asleep with his head on the table in the middle of a conversation.
“Your Grace, please look outside.”
When Luzbel didn’t seem inclined to get up, Jeron even gestured with his hand to direct his gaze.
Turning his head toward the window with a puzzled expression, Luzbel blinked blankly.
“…A dream?”
It seemed he thought he still hadn’t fully woken up.
Seeing such a human side of him, something that had never been seen since Aisha left, the knights standing nearby let out quiet chuckles.
“It’s not a dream. The rain really stopped.”
As if he had expected this reaction, Jeron said quickly, his voice filled with excitement.
