Book 2: Chapter 46 (1/2)

When I woke up, it was pitch black. The private room given to me was small, but in this world where there is very little indoor entertainment, it was more than big enough. The light shining through the window was faint.

…Ah, it’s been about one month since the “Sprout and New Moon Banquet”, so the moon in the sky should be a new moon… No wonder it’s so dark.

「I’m hungry…」

「…Then I’ll prepare something for you to eat.」

「Oh, thank yo–… M-M-M-My Lady!?」

I became flustered when I saw the young lady in the darkness.

「What are you so surprised at? I am your lord and you are my escort. Isn’t it natural to be by your side?」

「Ah…」

I noticed dark eyes bags under the young lady’s eyes. It was quite obvious that the young lady had been watching over me without even having to use【World Ruler】.

I was in nightwear. Someone must have changed them. My body felt refreshing, so someone must have also wiped and cleaned the dirt. Bandages were also wrapped around parts of the body that could not be fully healed with【Healing Magic】.

「My lady, it was you who wrapped this bandage around my left wrist, wasn’t it?」

「How did you know!? Ah, you’re thinking that’s why it’s wrapped clumsily right?!!」

「What about the chief butler and the maids?」

「I told them to step back. You are my one and only escort, after all.」

An escort’s job is to work the body – at least that’s what I think, and my mission is to “do anything” to protect the young lady’s life. This is work. And I’m getting paid.

However, on the other hand, I can also understand the young lady’s feelings. If the person guarding me gets hurt for my sake, even I would do my best to take care of them–however, that sentiment is mostly only seen among commoners.

Thus, I think it’s quite unusual for a daughter of an Earl family to care this much about an escort.

No… maybe it just means that the young lady is more kind than I thought, and has delicate feelings.

「My lady… you seem to be able to control your mana now.」

「Yeah… my father gave me a【Mana Control】skill orb. In this situation, the award ceremony will be postponed again. He said he would punish any noble who complains about this.」

「Haha…」

I wonder since when the Earl had been acting independently of the award ceremony. His actions at that time seemed to be two or three steps ahead.

「What happened to… Louis-sama?」the young lady asked, fearfully.

…I see, the young lady was brought back to the mansion without knowing everything.

「He died.」

「!」

The young lady started trembling, but then she closed her eyes quietly.

「Is that so…」

「Yes.」

「Louis-sama became weird after looking at my “Magic Eye of Inspire”.」

Is that what happened? Does the young lady blame herself for Louis’ death?

I could have said that you don’t have to worry about it, or that it’s not your fault, but I didn’t say it. I didn’t think that such superficial words would be helpful to the young lady, and more importantly, I didn’t know what exactly transpired.

By the time I arrived… Louis was already dead.

「Reiji …?」

「………」