Chapter 24

Events moved quickly.

Dozens of knights subdued the staff remaining inside the circus.

The ferocious monsters were swiftly eliminated according to duty, and the animals trapped inside the iron cages were returned to nature on humanitarian grounds.

Early the next morning.

“His Grace has arrived at the castle entrance. Everyone, straighten your backs. Stay alert.”

The sharp sound of shoes echoed through the entrance of the ducal estate.

The head maid, Mai, stood at the very front of the lined-up maids and servants with the butler, Brad, preparing to welcome the duke.

The dedicated physician, Delta, was there as well.

[Have the physician stand by.]

A day earlier. Whatever had happened, an urgent message had arrived by telegram ordering them to have the physician stand by.

“Could he have been injured during subjugation? That has never happened before....”

Brad asked anxiously, but Mai was lost in thought.

She knew instinctively that Calypse had not been injured. Her master was not someone that weak.

What she was more curious about was the young child who had not been seen since yesterday.

Knox had put Aisha into a carriage with an angry expression and gone somewhere.

Watching him leave, Mai had recalled the conversation she had once had with him.

“You openly dislike Lady Aisha, Sir Knox.”

“Well, there is no reason for me to like her, is there?”

There was no reason to like her. That was the same for Mai.

An orphan brat who entered the ducal estate claiming to know the whereabouts of the young lady, received delicious food, wore fine clothes, and lived in luxury. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Then, when her lie was exposed, she ran away.

Calypse was not the only one who had searched for the lost direct line.

Mai, too—the woman who had cared for the children since they were born—had desperately hoped for their return.

And what had Aisha done?

Not only had she lied, she had shamelessly been adopted and even taken the place of the young lady.

Sir Knox must have taken Aisha away because she did something wrong.

Her politely folded hands clenched into fists.

The fact that Calypse had urgently returned during subjugation and summoned the physician seemed related to that.

Just as she was wondering what on earth had happened, and what Aisha had done—

“The gate is opening.”

At the gatekeeper’s words, the enormous doors slowly opened to both sides.

And between them appeared three men.

...Three men?

There was a boy between Knox and Calypse.

A boy who looked about eight, wearing a robe over his head.

The servants, who had been puzzled for a moment, all bowed at once. Calypse accepted it with a nod and declared,

“We have found Lucas Kreutz of the direct line.”

“......!”

At those words, Mai nearly screamed.

Brad, standing beside her, also let out a short gasp as if his breath had stopped.

“Young Lord Lucas?”

“My goodness. The last time I saw him was when he was a newborn.”

“The young lord... The young lord has truly returned....”

The servants standing like shadows could not hide their voices and began whispering.

“Young... young lord!”

In the end, unable to hold back, Mai approached the young boy and knelt on both knees.

How could this be? He was far too thin.

His black hair, which resembled Duke Calypse’s, was greasy and a mess, and his robe was covered in dust.

“...Young lord, I am Mai. Do you remember—”

“Where is the physician!”

But Mai’s sorrow shattered at the boy’s shout.

Beside her as she stood awkwardly, Delta ran over.

“H-Here I am.”

“Save this child. Hurry! She’s not breathing!”

At those words, Mai’s gaze lowered a little.

Now that she looked, a small child was held in the boy’s arms.

...Aisha?

Mai’s pupils widened as she took in the face with its eyes closed as if asleep.

But Lucas, who was holding Aisha firmly though it seemed a little difficult for him, brushed past and disappeared from sight.

Calypse hurriedly followed behind him.

“Delta. Go straight to the infirmary and check Aisha’s condition. Her breathing is shallow, so confirm it accurately.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

The two men disappeared quickly down the corridor with the physician before anyone could say anything.

“......?”

Mai’s face filled with bewilderment.

She had not imagined her reunion with the young lord after five years would happen like this.

And he even asked them to save Aisha.

Why did that child keep bringing back people from the ducal family?

Haa.

For now, the young lord had returned.

She needed to understand the situation before she could prepare anything.

“Sir Knox. May I ask what is going on?”

Mai straightened her wrinkled apron and approached Knox, who stood alone. But then—

“Lady Aisha found Young Lord Lucas.”

“...Pardon?”

Who found whom?

“Yes. It is true. And...”

For some reason, Knox did not seem to be in a good mood.

“Lady Aisha collapsed while fighting the kidnappers to save Young Lord Lucas.”

“...Who fought in place of whom...?”

Mai’s eyes went round.

Knox, who had pressed his lips tightly together, nodded as if he understood.

“Yes—well, it is a difficult situation. I am so sorry for misunderstanding Lady Aisha that I have nothing to say.”

“...I am in a difficult situation too.”

Mai quietly agreed, dazed.

Because she remembered how curtly she had treated Aisha all this time.

What on earth had happened?

A mere five-year-old child had fought kidnappers. Why would she do something so reckless—

He may have pitied you and adopted you, but he likely does not trust you. You were the one who lied first, young lady.

...No way. Because of what I said?

It seemed like an excessive thought, but if Aisha had deliberately done something reckless, there had to be a reason.

If she had taken Mai’s words to mean she had to prove herself, it was entirely possible.

She spoke well and walked well, but she was still a very young child.

A child who had to stand on tiptoe and struggle to open a drawer just to take out a tea bag.

A child far smaller than little Young Lord Lucas, small enough to fit right into one’s arms.

“......”

Her eyes closed with guilt. She realized it far too late.

Aisha was far too young to hate.

***

And at that time.

“I am truly sorry. I have no words to offer....”

“......”

“...I-In truth, she seemed to have already been in that state when Young Lord Lucas brought Lady Aisha in his arms.”

In front of Calypse and Lucas, who both wore blank expressions, Delta explained helplessly.

“She has passed away.”

From the moment they heard those words, the two had remained like that, unable even to blink.

“...Aisha, please! Open your eyes!”

“......”

“The cat you asked me to save survived too! Open your eyes already!”

Lucas called Aisha’s name as if vomiting out sobs.

But the girl remained silent without any answer.

In that space frozen like thin ice, Delta found it difficult even to breathe.

He could only lower his head and gauge the duke’s condition.

The duke did not cry like Lucas.

He did not get angry, nor did he sigh.

Among the clocks flowing at their own pace, only his clock seemed to have stopped alone.

***

That night. When everyone was asleep, Aisha lay alone on her bed.

At Calypse’s insistence, the room had been frozen cold like a freezer with the power of ice.

He had asked them to wait until he could accept the child’s death.

And beside the child who lay with her eyes quietly closed, someone approached.

“You died.”

He had been alone since birth, and no one had ever stepped into him.

That was why the boy’s world was spotless, clear, and transparent.

When small feet touched such a space, the surrounding world rippled as if waves had spread across a calm lake.

The one who had given him such a ripple for the first time in his life now lay before him, drained of life.

“You died.”

Purple eyes that did not seem human.

Feather-like white hair covering a smooth forehead.

The boy with a mysterious appearance muttered the same words once more.

Soon, an unreadable expression appeared on his face.

If something died, it died.

While he had been inside the iron cage, the boy had always thought that way.

When frightened, trembling animals met death inside the iron cage.

When rampaging monsters were killed by people.

Perhaps because he had watched so many living creatures cross between life and death, at some point, he had become detached before death.

But—

“I wanted to ask why you saved me.”

The boy, who had been staring blankly out the window, closed his eyes.

It was the first time since he had been born.

A human had looked at him with those eyes.

When humans saw him, they always either found him ominous or appraised him with greedy eyes.

But this girl—

“...Hm. Why did she have those eyes?”

She had looked shocked, or perhaps entranced.

And then she had even asked him to save her.

Did she know what I am?

So thanks to that, he lived.

“But you died.”

This makes me feel unsettled. I didn’t even get my questions answered.

Idiot.

Feeling needlessly sulky, the boy crossed his arms and plopped down on the spot.

He was too curious to endure it.

He wanted to bring the already-dead child back to life just to ask her.

If he could resolve his curiosity, he could give her a little of what was his.

“...So.”

After finishing his thoughts, he stood and stamped his foot powerfully.

“Try living a little longer.”

Ziiing—

With the wind, an immense wave and tremor began rising beneath his feet.

Suddenly, the transparent world shook, and cracks spread through the world.

And between those cracks, a dark purple curtain, similar to the boy’s eyes, surrounded the world.

“See you later.”

The corners of his tightly closed mouth curved faintly.

After the boy disappeared like that, the long night passed, and morning came to Aisha’s world.