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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: An Unwelcome Visitor
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“A gift.”
All of a sudden?
Rose said, blushing to the tips of her ears.
“You caught the bug for me, and you didn't run away after hearing my secret. That's why.”
“……”
“I-If you have this, even if the sealing spell breaks and you start to shed, Kivrin won't kill you right away.”
I accepted the feather, a bit bewildered.
It was so warm it felt like touching a living flame.
“Thanks. But is it so bad that I have to worry about instant death?”
“I told you I'd grab you and run if it came to that, didn't I? If your condition looks better than expected, I'll bring you back.”
“What are the chances of that?”
“……”
Rose was silent.
Right, the Kivrin in the novel became twisted because his sealing spell broke.
I carefully tucked the feather away.
“I'll keep what you said in mind. I have to go now.”
“Where are you going?”
“To wrap the Young Lord's bandages. It's not like the sealing spell is breaking right now, is it?”
Kivrin would often furrow his fine brow whenever he had to grip something tightly.
It still hurt.
This time, Rose let me go without protest.
I knocked on the door to Kivrin's bedroom.
“Young Lord, it's Cheria. May I come in?”
Strange. Usually, the door would open before I even knocked, but it's quiet.
“Young Lord?”
I gently opened the door.
The room was empty.
Where did he go?
We might have just missed each other, so I went inside for the time being.
But even after waiting for over twenty minutes, Kivrin didn't return.
It's almost time for bed…
In the end, I went out to look for him.
“A place the Young Lord might be… Ah, did he go to see Nina?”
I walked confidently toward the breeding room.
However, Kivrin was neither in the breeding room nor in the nearby greenhouse.
Instead, the servants began to worry when they saw me wandering around alone.
“Are you lost, my lady?”
“Shall we escort you to your chambers?”
“We haven't seen the Young Lord. But shouldn't he have returned to his chambers by now?”
Hmph.
I was passing the artifact storage room again after wandering around.
Emil, who was coming out while stretching languidly, spotted me.
“My lady? Did you lose something?”
The servants stepped back.
I mumbled sullenly.
“I can't find the Young Lord.”
Emil let out a chuckle.
“Since you're searching for him so earnestly, my lady, I'm sure he'll appear soon. I'll take you to your room.”
I'd already worried too many servants, so I had no choice.
I walked beside Emil.
Emil maintained a considerably slow pace for my sake.
“…Emil, why didn't you go on the subjugation?”
“My specialty is wide-area magic, so unless the goal is to completely wreck the forest, I'm not much help.”
“The two of them will return safely, right?”
“Of course. They've never once returned injured. It will be the same this time.”
Emil's words restored a bit of my energy.
I was confident I wouldn't bat an eye even if my biological parents were on the brink of death, but it was different for Winter and Menelik.
The two of them had taken better care of me than my own parents, after all.
Hoping Kivrin might hear my voice from afar, I continued to chat with Emil.
And it worked.
I saw Kivrin's silver hair up ahead.
Soon, Kivrin came scrambling toward me.
“Ch-Cheria…!”
Finally!
“Young Lord? Where have you been…?”
“You have to go to sleep!”
Huh?
“Today, Cheria, y-you went to bed early.”
As he said this, Kivrin looked at Emil.
Emil, just as clueless as I was, nodded.
“Yeees, I was just taking a stroll by myself.”
Satisfied, Kivrin took my hand and led me across the hall.
Since my destination was my bedroom anyway, we arrived quickly.
Kivrin suddenly laid me down on the bed in my room.
“S-Someone's coming.”
Probably Mera.
I hid Kivrin under the covers.
We slept together yesterday anyway, right?
For now, I did as Kivrin wanted and pretended to be asleep.
The door opened, and I heard Mera sigh.
“My lady has already fallen asleep. As a servant, I cannot commit the disloyalty of waking the one I serve, so I must ask you to leave.”
What? What's going on?
Once the door closed, Kivrin peeked his head out from under the covers.
“The Temple s-sent someone.”
It's not like they'd give up after just being turned away at the gates.
But why are they looking for me?
“Th-They said they were worried about the Saintess's younger sister and wanted to see if she was doing well…”
The ducal family has no intention of opening the gates, so they changed their strategy, didn't they?
Their determination not to return to the capital empty-handed was palpable.
I wrinkled my nose.
Judging by the lack of divine power, it seems a different priest came this time. Just how many did they send?
“Cheria… y-you said you weren't on good terms with your family. I-In that case, they can't really be worried about you.”
“……”
“A-And besides, because of your constitution, I thought it would be better if you d-didn't go near a priest.”
Kivrin's voice trailed off.
I was stunned.
“How did you know?”
“I… I'm always watching you.”
Well, it doesn't matter if I tell Kivrin everything.
“The truth is, I feel sick when people or objects with divine power are nearby. My physical condition gets terrible… Ah, but maybe because we're related by blood, I'm fine next to my sister.”
As I shifted my position, my handbag slipped.
Right, the bandages!
I quickly took out the bandages.
“Young Lord, could you wrap this around your hand? Twice a week, no, even once a week is fine! Emil imbued it with mana, and he said it will help you recover, even if not completely.”
“……”
Kivrin stared at me blankly.
I'd heard he had already refused Emil's offer, so I wasn't very confident.
“I asked him because I wanted you to hurt a little less, even when I hold your hand.”
“I-I'll do it.”
I snapped my head up.
“Really?”
“S-So you don't have to worry.”
“Okay! No take-backs!”
I quickly wrapped the bandage.
Kivrin smiled at my clumsy handiwork.
“Now, you r-really have to go to sleep.”
When I quickly nodded, Kivrin said his goodbyes and left.
Come to think of it, I was going to tell Kivrin that Rose appears as a man to him…
Well, I made up with Rose, so it should be fine.
* * *
A few days later, the Temple paid its third visit.
But the timing was very poor.
Because before they could even make any threats, Winter and Menelik returned.
“…What did you just say?”
The priest on the receiving end of Winter's murderous glare let out a sharp gasp.
The priest looked as if he had just come of age.
Did they send the youngest, lowest-ranking person because they expected to be ignored again?
He barely has any divine power, either.
He couldn't even look properly at Winter, who had returned like a queen of the snowfields, covered in the blood of magical beasts.
Furthermore, the six carts pulled by the ducal knights were filled to the brim with red magic stones.
The priest took a step back.
“Th-The Saintess, worrying for the well-being of her only sister, said she must confirm it with her own two eyes…”
Wow, now they're starting to use my sister as a full-blown excuse.
It hasn't even been a year since I came to the duchy; only a month has passed.
So why is the Temple acting so impatiently?
Do they really think a ten-year-old Kivrin will destroy the empire?
Winter let out a slow breath. The priest seemed to shrink.
“It seems today is not a good day, so I shall come again…”
“No.”
At a nod from Winter, the head butler approached.
“Please come in. I will guide you to the drawing room.”
“Y-Yes? But…”
The priest was clearly flustered.
It seemed he had expected to simply deliver his message and be chased away.
Ignoring the priest's frantic state, Winter wiped her hands with a wet towel offered by the head maid and gestured to me.
Huh? That's not right.
I pushed Kivrin forward.
Winter was still unable to touch Kivrin.
At times like this, the dependable Cheria must step up.
“The Young Lord! Every time he heard a noise outside, he would look to see if you two were back!”
At that, Winter stroked my head with a trembling hand.
…Mother, that's my head.
Still, Winter looked directly at Kivrin and spoke.
“Did anything happen? It seems those wretches, worse than dogs, have been quite a nuisance.”
Haha. S-So scary…
The moment Winter's hand left my head, I scurried over to Menelik's side.
