…What is this?
The crushing weight that had burdened his limbs suddenly became unbelievably light.
His decaying organs recovered.
Fresh flesh grew over the parts that had melted away.
This was unmistakably healing.
Don’t tell me… this ridiculously durable body is regenerating again?
He had deliberately covered himself in deadly poison in hopes of seeing the illusion of the woman with blue eyes again, so irritation flared inside him at once.
But…
That wasn’t what mattered.
What mattered was…
Instinctively, Ludville clutched at his chest.
Something—
Something inside him was trying to disappear.
He couldn’t identify what it was.
But he knew one thing for certain.
It was the unmistakable sensation of losing something.
Something unimaginably precious was slipping from his grasp of its own accord…
It felt as though his spine were being torn out.
As though the very axis of the world were collapsing.
A monster roared before him and unleashed its poisonous breath,
yet he heard none of it.
Instinctively, he reached toward something deep inside himself.
He had to catch it.
He couldn’t let it go.
He understood nothing.
But one thing alone was certain.
That small, fragile thing trying to slip away on its own…
He absolutely could not let it escape.
As Ludville fought the monsters, he was simultaneously fighting another invisible battle.
Without even knowing what he was trying to hold onto.
And then…
When he finally felt something barely brush against his fingertips—
Got you.
He seized the fragile thread in his hand with all his strength and refused to let go.
Like a vice.
Even though he could feel it was on the verge of breaking,
he desperately held it close, as if embracing it.
At the same time,
warmth flowed back into the deepest part of his being.
The connection barely held.
Ludville drew a deep breath.
As though he had finally broken through the surface after nearly drowning.
“Ha…!”
A smile of pure exhilaration spread across his face as he raised his sword.
His eyes gleamed with madness.
Then he utterly obliterated the monster before him.
Overwhelmed by his terrifying power,
the monsters were soon beaten so completely that they were no longer recognizable.
“No.”
He let out a low laugh.
It was a strangely excited laugh, tinged with relief.
“You think I’ll let you run?”
Whether he was speaking to the monsters,
to someone else,
or even to himself—
even Ludville didn’t know.
Then, just as planned,
he continued cutting down the monsters one after another.
A storm of sword strikes unleashed under the noble pretense of purifying the territory.
To anyone watching,
it was nothing more than a massacre.
But…
If killing everything could also be called purification,
then this was perfect purification.
****
I suppose… I should repay them.
Ever since leaving House Kardel three months ago,
Odely had been quietly saving up money little by little.
She had received some help from Ludville.
More precisely,
from his memories.
A royal potter’s jar buried beneath the earth.
Rare old books sold for next to nothing in bookstores.
Gold coins whose owners had long since been lost.
I originally planned to use this as money to start a new life…
She didn’t need it anymore.
Under the pretense of a contract marriage,
she intended to remain by Ludville’s side,
watching over him constantly so he would never choose to end his own life.
She took out the modest savings she had gathered
and prepared gifts for two people.
First, she ordered high-quality thread and silk for Leona.
…This isn’t quite right.
She had spent an entire day carefully embroidering the silk,
but honestly,
the result was disastrous.
If she actually gave this as a gift,
it might look more like an unspoken declaration that she wanted to end their relationship.
After hesitating for a moment,
Odely carefully folded the handkerchief again.
Unfortunately,
that was the exact moment Leona entered the room.
“Oh? What’s this?”
“It’s just… something like a rag…”
“My name is embroidered on it.”
“…”
Leona carefully accepted the handkerchief.
Then, wearing the most serious expression she’d ever shown,
she solemnly declared,
“My family will treasure this as an heirloom for generations.”
Hearing that,
Odely couldn’t help laughing softly as she shook her head.
She really was exactly this kind of girl.
Always.
She also prepared a gift for Theodore before visiting his office.
Odely knocked on the door.
“Do you have a moment?”
“…Lady Grand Duchess?”
A hint of surprise crossed Theodore’s face as he opened the door.
Odely carefully held out a box.
“Thank you for the coat. I don’t know if this is enough to repay you… but I wanted you to have this.”
Without a word,
Theodore accepted the box.
When he opened it,
an exquisitely crafted mana-stone pen nib lay inside.
Tiny magical engravings were carved into the black-gold metal,
while a mana crystal glowed softly within.
“It’s a magical writing tool.
It reduces strain on your wrist,
and if you press this button,
the ink changes color, making it easier to organize documents.”
Perhaps he had never expected her to repay him.
He stared silently at the gift for a long while before finally lowering his head.
“…Thank you, Lady Grand Duchess.
This is more than I deserve.”
His voice was thick with emotion.
He seemed even more moved than she had expected,
which left Odely feeling somewhat embarrassed.
She glanced away awkwardly.
Then,
she noticed a strange scent lingering in the room.
Looking around,
she saw a tray and several tools on the desk.
Dried leaves.
Thin rolling paper.
Thread.
And several finished cigarettes already neatly arranged.
“What were you doing?”
she asked cautiously.
Thanks to her experience as a healer,
she was quite familiar with medicinal herbs.
The leaves were Normallin.
It was known as a powerful treatment for insomnia,
but its side effects were so severe that it was rarely used.
Theodore hesitated for a moment before reluctantly answering honestly.
“It seems His Grace has run out of his medicine.
I was preparing more so it would be ready as soon as he returned.”
“…Calling that medicine is a stretch.
Those are cigarettes.”
Odely stepped closer and looked down at the tray.
No matter how she looked at them,
they were clearly meant to be smoked.
“Well…”
Theodore carefully tied off one cigarette with thread before letting out a weary sigh.
“It seems taking the herb orally has little effect on His Grace’s insomnia.
He can only manage to fall asleep if he inhales it in this form.”
“But as far as I know,
Normallin has extremely serious side effects…”
“It does.”
The head butler nodded readily,
already well aware of that fact.
With a deep sigh,
he continued.
“It dulls the senses, clouds the mind,
and in severe cases, it can even erase memories.
But without this…
His Grace can’t sleep at all.”
Odely couldn’t speak for a long while.
To think it had gotten this bad…
His condition was far worse than she had imagined.
…Even back when he repeated the same stretch of time thousands of times and admitted he was losing his sanity, he wasn’t this broken.
The Ludville in her memories had endured countless sleepless nights.
But never to the point where he had to numb his own mind just to close his eyes.
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