Chapter – 22
“My lady, my lady! The eldest son of the Rotger family has come to see you!”
Laura was in an uproar from early morning.
She burst into Eleanor’s small attic room, panting for breath. It seemed she had run all the way up the stairs just to deliver the news of Lezet’s visit.
Lezet Rotger had come to see her. An unexpected guest.
“Lezet Rotger?”
“Yes!”
“I don’t recall receiving any notice of his visit.”
Ordinarily, it was proper etiquette to send word in advance before visiting another house. That was especially true among the Four Great Families.
If Lezet had notified them beforehand, Jennifer would have found a way to politely refuse at her level. That meant today’s visit had been unexpected for Jennifer as well.
“Oh, my lady! The eldest son of House Rotger has come, and that’s what you say?”
Seeing Eleanor’s unenthusiastic expression, Laura launched into an impassioned speech.
“Do you know how many young ladies are desperate just to secure an appointment with Lord Lezet? He’s never shown interest in any other woman before, and now he’s paying attention to you! Aren’t you happy?”
“I’m not.”
“Oh, my lady. Please don’t say that.”
Eleanor had known even before her regression that Lezet was popular. He was the heir of one of the Four Great Families, handsome, and easygoing without any particularly sharp edges to his personality.
But having such a man circling around her was hardly a pleasant signal.
To begin with, she had no intention of forming deep connections with anyone in this life.
Still, ambitious Laura seemed to have her own hopes.
“Please come out, my lady.”
“There’s no need to hurry…”
“Sir Lezet is waiting!”
With her sparkling eyes, Laura didn’t look like she would give up easily.
In the end, Eleanor stopped resisting and quietly dipped her hands into the washbasin.
After a light wash, she selected a dress from her wardrobe. Calling it a wardrobe was generous—she had only two dresses per season, and even those were old and out of fashion.
She chose a relatively modest light pink dress. It revealed her shoulders slightly and flared gently at the hem. The simple design made it less susceptible to trends. She draped a worn shawl over her shoulders and headed to the drawing room.
When she opened the door, she saw him.
His neatly groomed blond hair resembled a wheat field bathed in sunlight. Beneath his dark brows, his sharp nose accentuated his deep-set eyes. His tall frame and broad shoulders made his muscular build immediately apparent.
The bright smile she was accustomed to seeing rested on Lezet’s face like a mask. Sitting upright, he looked up at the sound of the door opening.
“Eleanor.”
“We must be quite close, then. You show up without notice.”
“Will you forgive my sudden rudeness?”
“That depends on your business.”
She got straight to the point as soon as she sat down. Her tone was not gentle. He had been the rude one first, and since she couldn’t discern his intentions, she had naturally taken an aggressive stance.
He had come without so much as a word, and with that playful tone, no less.
Lezet’s distinctive blue eyes fixed on her. His gaze seemed to pierce through her.
His well-shaped lips parted, his voice low and resonant.
“I heard you’ve been assigned a mission.”
“News travels fast.”
“A solo mission, at that.”
“You must have capable informants.”
“Hey, Eleanor. I may not look it, but I’m part of the Celestial Knights.”
Going to the Forest of Virtnah to retrieve the corrupted Holy Grail.
She replayed yesterday’s assignment in her mind and glanced aside. Lezet smirked, the right corner of his lips lifting.
“Aren’t you afraid?”
“Of what?”
“You know what it means for a healer to go alone to the Forest of Virtnah.”
Eleanor shrugged.
“Strange hearing that from you. You’re the only one who’s seen me fight.”
“You were planning to sacrifice one hand in that fight, if I recall.”
“Sacrificing the small for the greater good isn’t unusual.”
“Is your hand something small?”
“It’s something that can be healed, so perhaps.”
The conversation circled.
Lezet was speaking in conventional terms. People should value themselves, avoid harming themselves. In her previous life, Eleanor might have applauded such sentiments.
But she was no longer that Eleanor. She had cast herself aside long ago.
“Are you planning to hurt yourself again?”
“Hurt myself?”
“What you did last time can only be described as self-harm.”
“If that’s why you came, I’ll be heading upstairs. I have preparations to make.”
A faint shadow crossed Lezet’s smile, but Eleanor didn’t connect it to herself. She simply judged the conversation to be pointless.
Meeting him had been a waste of time.
As she abruptly stood, Lezet grabbed her.
“Wait. Let me come with you.”
“…What?”
Their eyes met. His aquamarine eyes, like they had been carved from a dark sea, shimmered transparently. Eleanor found herself stammering.
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s a mistake to send a healer alone into the Forest of Virtnah. I don’t know what happened at the council, but it needs to be corrected.”
“Since when did you care about that?”
“Look, Eleanor. I may live like a scoundrel, but I still have a sense of justice.”
Justice.
Eleanor rolled the word around in her mouth.
A righteous man who lived like a scoundrel—perhaps the most fitting description of Lezet. He likely truly believed this decision was wrong.
If she were an ordinary healer, she might have agreed with him.
But this was different.
“It’s meaningless.”
At her firm declaration, his elegant smile faltered.
“Why?”
“Even if you help this time, can you guarantee it won’t happen again? If it’s possible once, it’s possible twice, three times.”
“But—”
“Are you planning to help me every time? Will you brand me as a half-baked healer who can’t do anything without Lezet Rotger?”
He fell silent.
“Thank you for the offer. But I don’t need your help, Lezet Rotger.”
Her refusal was resolute. His expression wavered. He barely managed to pull the corner of his lips back up.
“Then how about just accompanying you to the Forest of Virtnah? If something happens, it’d be easier to handle with me there.”
“You worry too much. I can go alone.”
She rejected him again.
Having him by her side would certainly make things easier, but it would not erase the suspicious perception attached to her.
No—more than that, she simply didn’t want to go with him.
To Eleanor, all humans were worthless.
Lezet’s humanity appeared to her—someone who had already died once—as hypocrisy and deception.
“You,” he said after a long silence. “What is it that you know?”
“Me?”
“There’s no hesitation in your eyes. No fear. If anything, it looks closer to anger.”
He still smiled, but his voice dropped lower, as if piercing her lungs.
Anger.
He was right. But she had no intention of letting a man she’d known only briefly point that out.
“Don’t talk like you know me.”
He shrugged lightly. She realized she had been drawn in the moment she saw his relaxed expression.
“You refuse help yet think nothing of self-sacrifice. The young lady who until recently struggled to appear at official gatherings suddenly changes like this?”
“Perhaps something significant happened while you weren’t looking.”
Their gazes collided midair. The tension stretched taut.
Lezet was the first to look away.
He smiled as usual.
“Fine. If you want to go alone, go alone.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying—”
“I’ll go where I want to go.”
“…What?”
She was speechless.
Anyone with sense could understand what he meant.
With a mischievous grin, he continued.
“Just as I can’t force your choice, you can’t force my travels.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re smart. Think about it.”
“Lezet Rotger.”
“I’ll keep my destination strictly confidential. There might be some misunderstandings, but I’ll testify that I never interfered in your mission.”
The audacity was unbelievable. He was essentially declaring he would accompany her by any means.
“I might lose a few points, but that can’t be helped.”
At his casual shrug and final remark, her mouth fell open.
Why is he going this far?
At this point, it was clear Lezet would not bend. The stubbornness flickered in his vivid aquamarine eyes.
“Do as you please.”
She shot up from the sofa, her words effectively a declaration of surrender, spoken through clenched teeth.
“I didn’t realize the eldest son of House Rotger was so rude.”
“I’m honored to hear that. Let’s meet again soon.”
His laughter-tinged farewell grated on her as she left the room.
No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand why Lezet was acting this way.
Even in her previous life, they had never been particularly entangled. She had admired him alone, from afar.
Would she truly end up going to the Forest of Virtnah with him?
It wouldn’t cause major problems, but she had no desire to travel with an annoying man.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Eleanor smirked as she thought of her adversary.
“Jennifer. You heard clearly, didn’t you?”
Now that Lezet Rotger had personally come to the estate, Jennifer’s lackeys would surely report it to her.
Jennifer, who longed more than anyone for Eleanor’s failure, would never let this fact pass quietly.
Left alone in the drawing room, Lezet rose immediately.
There wasn’t much time before the butler, having realized Eleanor had returned to her room, would come to escort him out.
He quickly scanned the room.
His urgent movements stopped when he spotted a lavish gold necklace displayed in a cabinet.
“So it’s certain.”
He picked up the gold necklace adorned with purple amethysts and agates and subtly checked the back.
Lezet clenched his teeth.
There it was—the mark of the demon-worshipping cult known as “The Devout.”
They carved their mark everywhere, as though it were the source of their power.
Which meant this was undeniable proof that someone in House Hildette worshipped the Demon King.
“…Eleanor Hildette.”
He recalled the woman who had shown him undisguised displeasure just moments ago.
Was Eleanor a member of the Devout?
If so, her recent astonishing growth would make sense.
Her exceptional combat instincts. The strange aura surrounding her black dagger. Even the way she killed without hesitation.
“Did you sell your soul to the Demon King for power?”
It seemed the most plausible hypothesis.
But even as he formed it, Lezet doubted himself.
For someone who had sold their soul to the Demon King, Eleanor showed no desire for life whatsoever.
It was hard to believe someone like that had traded her soul merely for power.
“I’ll have to keep watching.”
Hearing the butler approach outside, Lezet returned to his seat.
Even as he was escorted out, his mind remained filled with thoughts of Eleanor.
