Chapter 56
Edward’s eyes fixed upon the mark as if spellbound.
He reached out before he knew it, and just as his fingers were about to brush Lucy’s throat—
“Mmn.”
“…”
Perhaps because she had kicked off all the blankets and grown cold.
As if seeking warmth, Lucy abruptly buried her face against Edward’s hand.
Then, like a puppy, she rubbed her face against his hand a few times before sinking back into sleep.
In that moment, Edward thought,
‘Perhaps.’
Perhaps, like in the dream, this woman was also waiting for him to cherish her.
Though, in truth, the dream had been closer to the woman cherishing Edward.
But since she was a woman who liked him that much, the assumption didn’t strike him as strange.
Of course, if the woman wished it, Edward was ready to cherish her at any time.
‘I need to receive purification anyway.’
It was, indeed, a splendid pretext.
* * *
But the fact that the woman was weak remained unchanged.
‘If she’s so weak that she faints from a mere kiss, like this time.’
Then there was no way he could cherish her, no way he could give her rewards.
Wouldn’t that be a problem?
‘So first, she must become healthy.’
Whether the woman wanted it or not, Edward’s heart was full to bursting with intentions of granting her this or that reward.
She was a woman who liked him this much. Would she truly be satisfied with just a kiss?
It seemed he would have to increase the intensity of her training.
“Y-Your Grace! I’m dying!”
Whether Edward was thinking seriously or not, Lucy was too busy gasping for breath.
Edward smiled sweetly and answered.
“Shall I show you what it truly means to die?”
He had merely meant to kindly demonstrate that this much wouldn’t kill her, to show her exactly what it took for a person to actually die—
“Nooo!”
At his single remark, Lucy darted off, but swayed as if about to collapse.
“Tch.”
Edward clicked his tongue and eyed her thin, white legs.
Seeing that she seemed to lack even basic muscle, he made a mental note to start giving her massages soon.
And then, catching up to Lucy in just a few long strides, he remarked,
“So how exactly do you plan to continue the purifications?”
Lucy flinched at those words.
‘…Could that be why he still hasn’t signed the contract?’
…It was true.
Truly, astonishingly, shockingly, the two of them were still under a verbal agreement.
Of course, Lucy hadn’t simply stayed quiet over the past few days either.
“Master! When are you going to stamp the contract? Hm?”
Afraid he might forget, she brought up the contract at every opportunity, but every time she asked, the answer that came back was lukewarm.
“I must go out on an inspection today, so I’m afraid not.”
“I have sparring with the knights. Come again next time.”
“I have to go slay a demonic beast today.”
He’d just rattle off that he was busy and slip away.
‘…Liar.’
Of course, she had thought that having returned to his territory after so long, he would indeed be busy as its lord.
And she had also thought that the excuses he gave were not all fabrications or pretexts.
Still, honestly, she didn’t think he was so busy that he couldn’t review a contract of a few pages.
‘If that weren’t the case.’
Would a man so supposedly swamped that he had no time to blink be coming to drill her in stamina training every single morning and evening?
And that wasn’t all.
‘…He even comes without fail to feed me.’
After putting Lucy through her exercises, Edward would invariably tuck her under his arm and go to eat.
Because you had to eat after running to build muscle, he said.
When Lucy trembled and couldn’t even lift her fork, he didn’t hesitate to cut the meat himself and feed it to her.
And that wasn’t all, either.
He had even declared he would personally verify she was eating, sleeping, and exercising properly—and instead of sending her to the servants’ quarters, he had put her up in a storage room attached to Edward’s own chambers.
It was called a storage room, but it was far more spacious than the servants’ quarters, a private room she could use alone, so she had no particular complaints.
She could also use Edward’s bathroom, with its excellent facilities and ample hot water, rather than the communal bath shared by everyone else.
“Now you won’t be able to bump shoulders with anyone.”
“What?”
The image of Edward murmuring those incomprehensible words flashed swiftly through her mind.
‘In any case.’
To spend time looking after her as if it were a hobby, yet claim he had no time to look over the contract.
Even now, he could just flip through it and sign while watching her run.
It felt as though there was some other reason he wasn’t stamping it.
‘Yes. There’s something he’s not satisfied with.’
Perhaps he was reconsidering the contract because she had fainted that day.
‘…Thinking that if my body is weak, I can’t perform purifications.’
This grueling physical training was probably for that reason too.
‘What do I do?’
There was no way her weak body would improve overnight just from exercising.
Lucy’s mind, for the first time in a while, began spinning furiously.
‘Then I’ll have to appeal with a different strength.’
Come to think of it, she hadn’t come here solely as a purifier.
Even with her gasping face, Lucy forced the corners of her lips up into a smile.
“Your Grace, haah… huff…”
“What. Do you have last words to leave? Wake up.”
“No, haah, i-it’s not that.”
“Then what?”
“I, cough, the, the library. May I use the library?”
“The library?”
“Yeee…!”
Edward seemed to have forgotten, but Lucy had another card to play.
She hadn’t come here solely to help with his purification…
“I was thinking of looking for materials, maybe, perhaps, to turn you into a complete incarnation!”
She was here for that, too.
‘If it’s the ducal library, it must be there.’
Some record of dragon-related rituals, whatever they might be.
This bastard, I’ll definitely turn you into a complete incarnation!
Provided, of course, he signs the contract.
‘There! Hurry up and stamp it!’
Lucy was burning with enthusiasm and looking at Edward, and Edward was wearing a peculiar smile, when—
“…Your Grace!”
Unlike her usual dignified demeanor, the head butler Rosendal came running, panting, her face pale, calling for Edward.
Anyone could see it was an urgent matter.
Edward, too, seemed to read the current, tilting his head.
“What is it?”
“Just moments ago, word came from the capital…”
Rosendal stopped mid-sentence and closed her mouth, looking at Lucy.
“…One moment.”
Soon, Edward went off to a corner with Rosendal, and the two spoke privately.
Lucy stood at a distance and watched them.
She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she could still tell it was a serious matter.
And beyond that, she could deduce that it likely involved the temple.
It was the result of her diligently widening her eyes and reading the shapes of their lips.
‘What’s going on?’
Come to think of it, there was no way the temple would have stayed quiet all this time. They had clearly sent some kind of message.
The moment she realized this, a restless feeling began to creep over her.
“Your Grace. What…”
“Gorgo.”
Edward, having finished his conversation with Rosendal, calmly called for Gorgo.
At once, Gorgo burst out of the thicket as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
There was no telling how long he’d been there.
“What is it, Your Grace.”
“Take Lucy to the library… No, before that, have her wash first.”
“Pardon?”
“You’re going to the library right after exercising like that, to smear the books of House Thesseron with your sweat?”
“…”
“Every time I go in, it’ll smell of you.”
“…”
“Do as you like.”
Though he said that, his eyes seemed to be saying, “Go ahead. Try it.”
Lucy found herself closing her mouth and gauging his mood.
‘No, I should be asking about something else…’
Belatedly, she tried to ask whether it was news about the temple, but Edward had already walked off with Rosendal.
His attitude seemed to say she didn’t need to know.
‘He could just tell me.’
If it was something related to her, shouldn’t she be informed as well?
Lucy sighed, but there was no way the already-departed Edward would turn back to explain what was going on.
“Let’s go.”
Lucy trudged along behind Gorgo, who was walking ahead.
And then—
“…Is that the wench?”
Not far away, there were gazes watching Lucy with close attention.
E
They’re so cuuuute