DeChapter 52
“Stop it! She just woke up…!”
“If we ask later, her memory might get distorted. We have to hear her testimony while it’s still clear.”
A sharp confrontation between Mom and Herald began.
Actually, I had only acted a little spoiled because I wanted to receive a bit more of Mom’s concern… but at this rate, the two of them might start fighting again.
I quickly raised my hand.
“I’ll tell! I remember everything.”
There was nothing that could get distorted anyway. I didn’t even know who the people that kidnapped me were, or why they kidnapped me.
The only things I could tell Herald were the situation when I was kidnapped and that those people actually needed boys.
“Well… I saw a kid running who suddenly fell down, so I went to help him up. But then suddenly Riche and I got caught. Ah, Riche! Dad, what happened to Riche?”
“Riche?”
“She’s the girl who got caught with me. Ah, at that time Silvestan took Riche…”
My voice trailed off as I searched for Silvestan among the adults around me.
Then from behind Jayden, Silvestan—who looked quite tired—raised his hand and stepped forward.
“Ah, that child is fine. One of our knights safely escorted her home this morning. Apparently she kept asking whether the young lady was safe as well.”
“That’s a relief…”
I placed my hand on my chest and let out a sigh of relief.
“Anyway, after we were caught, our hands and feet were tied and we were locked somewhere…”
“What? They tied your hands and feet? Let me see!”
Mom was shocked and quickly checked my wrists and ankles.
“Oh my… there are red marks here!”
“Ah, but it doesn’t really hurt that much.”
“Haah… this is so upsetting.”
Mom held my right hand against her face and let out a deep sigh.
Watching her, Herald’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
Is he upset because I made Mom sad?
When I stared at him, his shining golden eyes trembled slightly and then softened, as if the tension drained away.
What? So that wasn’t it?
“Chloe, how’s your back? When we treated you earlier it looked so red… sniff…!”
Mom finally burst into tears.
“Mom, I’m okay…”
No matter how much I said I was fine, Mom just bit her lip and gently rubbed my wrist where the rope marks were still clearly visible.
Crack.
Huh? I think I just heard a pretty scary sound from Herald’s direction…
I looked around in confusion, but everyone just awkwardly turned their eyes somewhere else in the air.
“So, after those bastards tied you up, what did they do?”
Herald’s voice, which sounded like he was grinding his teeth, reached my ears.
“Um… a woman came in and complained about why they brought us when they needed boys. Then she said we should get some money because of my clothes. Anyway… there was a window, so we escaped through it.”
I told them everything I could remember.
As soon as I finished speaking, Herald’s expression turned terrifying. Well… his face was already scary to begin with, but still.
“Ah!”
While I was staring at Herald and thinking, a throbbing pain suddenly ran up my back.
“Does your back hurt?”
“Y-Yeah… h-here… somewhere my hand can’t reach…”
At Mom’s worried question, I whimpered and pointed toward my back.
I didn’t notice it when I first woke up, but after moving a little the pain quickly spread through my back.
“It’s fortunate that your hands can’t reach it. Wounds heal faster if they aren’t touched.”
While I was groaning and didn’t know what to do, Jayden’s calm voice spoke up.
“Ah, Doctor.”
“Yes, it’s been a while, young lady. I’d rather not see you again this soon if possible…”
Jayden greeted me, then quickly added something as if making an excuse to Herald, who was glaring at him from the side.
“I only meant that I hope the young lady doesn’t get hurt.”
“Did I say anything?”
“You said it with your eyes.”
“That’s your imagination.”
“Haah…”
Looking tired of arguing further, Jayden simply turned his head toward me.
It wasn’t behavior you’d expect someone to show toward their employer, but no one said anything.
“Do you feel pain anywhere else? Other than your back?”
“Um…”
I rolled my eyes upward while checking the condition of my body.
Of course my back hurt a lot, and as for the rest…
“My… my butt.”
“Excuse me?”
“My butt… hurts…”
That was the only other place.
At that moment, a cold silence filled the room.
Even though so many people were gathered in this small space, it became so quiet that not even breathing could be heard properly.
“Just a moment… I’ll call my assistant. That part should be examined when she arrives.”
Jayden was the one who finally broke the strange silence.
He adjusted his glasses, stood up, and quickly left the room.
Right after that, Silvestan—who had been standing behind him—bowed slightly to Herald.
“Then Duke, we’ll take our leave as well.”
“No, I’ll come with you.”
“Pardon?”
Silvestan widened his eyes in surprise, then glanced at me before stepping closer to Herald and whispering something.
His voice was so quiet that I couldn’t hear it.
Only after Herald nodded with a stiff expression did Silvestan step back.
Then he put on his usual friendly smile and bent slightly toward me.
“My lady, I’m truly glad you’re safe. I’ll leave now so you can rest comfortably. Next time I’ll bring something delicious when I come to visit you. What would you like?”
“Just something tasty…”
“Yes, I’ll bring the tastiest one in the world.”
Hmm? That sounded a little strange… but whatever.
When I nodded in agreement, Silvestan bowed politely to me and left the room.
“Then I’ll be going as well. Take good care of your body.”
“Wait a moment, Herald.”
Just as Herald was about to leave after speaking to me bluntly, Mom—who had still been holding my hand—suddenly stood up and grabbed him.
Herald looked slightly surprised and widened his eyes at her.
“I have something to say.”
“What…?”
“Not here… let’s go outside and talk.”
Mom grabbed Herald’s arm and pulled him out of the room.
And just like that, I was left alone in the room.
As I quietly stared at the ceiling, I thought about how lucky yesterday had been.
If there hadn’t been a window there, I would have had no choice but to use my ability indoors.
And if that had happened, both Riche and I probably wouldn’t have survived.
When I used my ability the second time, even I got caught in the explosion and was blown away.
Still… I never imagined I had that much power.
During training, even breaking small pieces of wood had been difficult.
Back then, the natural energy entering my body also felt different somehow.
Maybe it felt hotter and heavier than usual?
Since the energy I absorbed was different, the power and size of the ability must have been different too.
“Hehe…”
A small laugh escaped my lips.
When I first came to Ereiton and they heard that I couldn’t use my ability, Herald had been so disappointed.
“I’ll tell him everything later. Hehe!”
I shrugged my shoulders in excitement, imagining how Herald would react when he heard about my heroic story.
At this moment, I didn’t even feel the throbbing pain in my back.
While I was happily smiling to myself, suddenly the door burst open.
The person who came in was Mom.
“Mom! You’re back? Huh…? Why is your face so red?”
I was about to greet her happily, but when I saw her flushed face, I frowned.
“Hm? Oh… maybe it’s a little hot? Haha! Chloe, I’ll open the window. The air feels stuffy, right?”
“No, I’m not really hot—”
Before I could even finish saying that, Mom opened the window wide.
Then she stood there for a long time, staring outside without moving.
Watching her back like that only made me more confused.
Why does she look so flustered?
