TOYLCG 29 🍒

Chapter — 29

The wind that had been slipping between her fingers suddenly went quiet. Then, little by little, the sounds around her began to disappear.

Rosebell showed her confusion, but the gnome sat on her shoulder as if trying to calm her.

—It’s okay. Just wait a little.

“W-Wait for what…?”

—From now on, you have to handle this yourself. I can’t interfere anymore.

After leaving those strange words, the gnome vanished.

This was when Rosebell realized how terrifying it was for the sounds of the world to disappear.

All she could hear were the pounding of her heart and the rushing sound of blood flowing through her body.

It was the perfect situation for someone to lose their mind.

To keep herself conscious, Rosebell bit down hard on her lower lip.

This too would pass. If she endured it, it would be over. She held on to that thought—until her lip split open.

Only then did the sounds of the world slowly begin to return.

—Ah… I didn’t intend to go this far……

“Sylphid?”

—You recognized me well.

“You’re quite elegant compared to the others. Haha.”

Rosebell felt like she might collapse at any moment. Not only had she been tensing her whole body, but she had never experienced anything like this before, so the fear was overwhelming.

—Hehe.

From far away, she began to hear people talking.

After thinning the flowers, the orchard work had decreased a little, but soon the fruit would start to grow. They were discussing what needed to be done then.

Rosebell listened without sensing anything strange—until she heard Aren’s voice, and then the Duke’s. She flinched.

It made no sense that she could hear their conversation.

The moment she realized something was wrong, her body began to tremble violently. It felt like she might start hearing every sound in the world.

What if she heard things she didn’t want to know?

She wanted to ask what Sylphid wanted from her. But she was afraid to ask—afraid she would be forced to do something she didn’t want to do.

The gnome had spoken as if Ifrit was the problem, but from Rosebell’s point of view, that wasn’t true.

The scariest people in the world weren’t the loud ones. They were the ones who smiled quietly and said nothing.

That was the feeling Sylphid gave her.

“I’m scared……”

—Don’t be afraid. This is probably what it means for you to make a contract with me.

“Then what do you want me to do?”

In the end, she said the words she had been trying not to say.

—You resemble Ariel very much.

“I don’t like it when you keep mentioning someone I don’t even remember.”

Her body trembled uncontrollably from fear, but she held on by relying on the occasional sound of Aren’s voice. She found it annoying that he sounded so cheerful while she was like this.

Still, his voice was the reason she could endure the situation.

—That response is just like Ariel too. Interesting. I look forward to working with you.

“What are you—ugh!”

This felt completely different from her previous contracts with spirits. A pain like her internal organs were being torn apart surged through her.

She didn’t even have time to demand an explanation before curling up.

Groaning, she gasped for breath, trying desperately to hold onto her fading consciousness.

Through her blurred vision, she saw Aren running toward her.

“You came pretty fast…… jerk.”

Aren turned pale when he saw Rosebell collapsed on the ground. In the short time he had been away, something terrible had clearly happened. Seeing her white face made it feel as if all the blood drained from his body.

“What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?!”

“It’s because… you left me alone.”

Even answering felt exhausting.

“I’m sorry…….”

Seeing Aren’s face, which looked like he might burst into tears at any moment, Rosebell swallowed the sharp words she wanted to throw at him.

Aren had asked the Duke to teach him swordsmanship to protect Rosebell.

Yet when she truly needed him, he hadn’t been there.

In the meantime, something had happened—Rosebell’s mana had grown larger and more unstable than before.

And yet, unlike before, she was still conscious. Usually, whenever her mana suddenly increased like this, she would faint.

“I made a contract with Sylphid.”

“With Sylphid? Are you sure that’s okay?”

“I don’t know… I’m surprised I’m fine too, but the contract process was really terrifying……”

Losing all the sounds of the world was scary enough, but having every sound dig into her ears was something she had never even imagined.

She never wanted to experience that again.

“Can you stand up?”

“My legs won’t support me.”

“Then I’ll take you back for now.”

Seeing Rosebell trembling like a leaf, Aren bit down hard on his lower lip. Just watching her, swallowed by fear, made his insides burn.

How scared must she have been?

He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up.

“Just carry me on your back!”

“What’s the difference between carrying you and holding you? Just stay still.”

She was right—being carried on his back would probably feel more stable. But Aren felt like he needed to see her face to feel at ease.

If he carried her on his back, he wouldn’t be able to see her face. That alone made him anxious.

Besides, the idea that being held was less stable was only Rosebell’s opinion.

“Put your arms around my neck.”

“If you drop me, I swear I won’t forgive you.”

“That won’t happen, so relax! You’re heavier when you tense up!”

“Hey!”

Aren felt relieved when Rosebell shouted back at him. Not only had her trembling eased a bit, but the fact that she was complaining meant she had some strength left.

He wanted to believe it was because she felt safe in his arms.

After the young lady returned, Cain went back to his original position. And during that time, something interesting happened.

She seemed to have grown close to the young master of Count Demetra. Cain had assumed her absence was just for social exchange, but he hadn’t expected them to be close enough for him to visit the ducal residence.

When Cain reported that the young master of Count Demetra had come to the ducal estate, the prince’s expression didn’t change. That, however, made Cain uneasy.

It felt like the calm before a storm. Before, the prince had asked many questions about the Duke, but at some point, Cain had been excluded.

And there was one more person.

The prince showed a lot of interest in the mage who stayed close to the young lady. Cain didn’t think the man was a major threat.

After all, weren’t mages specialized in long-range attacks?

In the worst case, if Cain rushed in, the mage would fall without being able to do anything.

“Ha… interesting?”

Watching the three of them chatting happily, Cain immediately started writing notes.

At some point, the prince began demanding very detailed reports about the young lady. But Cain couldn’t find anything particularly special about her.

She meditated at a fixed time every day, and aside from occasionally staring blankly into the air and muttering to herself, there was nothing unusual.

For a moment, Cain wondered if the prince was worried that she had lost her mind—but that didn’t suit him.

Rather, he seemed like the type who would find such things amusing. No matter how much Cain served him, the prince remained an unreadable person.

“Daniel! I’ll make the thing I told you about last time!”

“Tomatoes? Are they ripe already?”

“Yes! You’ll taste the fresh tang of tomatoes and the sweetness of honey!”

It was an extremely peaceful conversation. Cain began to wonder if there was any reason for him to keep doing this job.

Other than working in the fields, meditating, and tending the greenhouse, her days were those of a typical noble young lady.

Of course, her clothes were strange, but her life itself wasn’t.

“Rosebell, just a moment—”

What Cain had overlooked was that Daniel and Aren learned very quickly.

In Daniel’s case especially, he already had basic sword training. While Cain let his guard down, Daniel sensed a presence and quietly spoke to her.

“I think there’s a rat.”

“Ah~ I know.”

“You… you know?”

Daniel stared blankly at Rosebell’s unexpected reply. Anyone would find it hard to understand. Someone was spying, and she answered with a smile, saying she knew.

Normally, wouldn’t you deal with it?

“Is it okay to leave it alone?”

“I want to keep this place clean. Dirty things can be dealt with from far away later. Rats usually run around everywhere anyway, right?”

Daniel found it surprising how carefree Rosebell sounded.

“Anyway, there’s more to show you than just the greenhouse! After we eat tomatoes, I’ll show you around our orchard!”

“Oh! Right, the green barley has formed grains. Come visit sometime soon!”

“Wow! Really? I’ll definitely go! I want to roast and eat barley grains!”

Daniel smiled at Rosebell’s innocent excitement. Still, he remained alert toward the presence that continued to linger.

“Don’t worry. It’s been a long time. Since he hasn’t done anything else, both the Duke and I have left him alone.”

When Aren spoke seriously, Daniel nodded. Since it concerned Rosebell’s safety, he couldn’t help but take it seriously.

“Aren!”

“I’m coming, coming! And stop making eating noises! You’ll turn into a pig!”

“Do you want to die? And aren’t you supposed to speak politely?”

“Ah~ I forgot~”

Daniel was flustered by Aren suddenly using casual speech. He had been startled the first time too, but he thought he had gotten used to it by now.

Even though Rosebell had allowed it, adapting still seemed difficult. And the clear difference between how Aren treated him and how he treated Rosebell made it even harder.

It couldn’t be helped that Daniel felt as if Aren were his romantic rival.