“……So you want to be kicked out right now?”
Ludville let out a disbelieving laugh.
She had been given fifteen days, but he could simply change his mind whenever he wanted.
Still, there was barely a week left now.
With a sigh, Ludville obediently answered every question Odely threw at him after that.
It was as if he were saying, “Here, take this and go away.”
“I don’t know what will change just because you know my condition. Are you planning to become a physician now?”
“If necessary.”
Odely had never formally studied medicine, but she had taught herself quite a bit and had fairly deep medical knowledge from her time working as a healer.
Besides, she also had Ludville’s memories.
She could roughly guess what was wrong with him…….
‘Hmm.’
She had expected it, but it was still extremely serious.
Lethargy, loss of appetite, sleep disturbances, chronic insomnia, emotional numbness, separation between emotion and body, drug addiction, memory damage caused by drugs, and even a complete lack of any instinct for self-preservation…….
‘It seems like his sense of self itself has collapsed…….’
He seemed to lack even the most basic sense of who he was, what he was doing, and what he was living for.
He had no sense that he was alive.
He acted, but didn’t know why.
He had neither an identity nor a purpose.
And yet, he didn’t even realize that he himself wanted to die…….
“By any chance…… do you think you’re already a dead person?”
“Here we go again.”
At Odely’s question, Ludville immediately grimaced.
Without another word, he left the terrace and began walking somewhere without hesitation.
His aide, Edwin, who had been waiting outside, hurriedly followed him in confusion.
Ludville suddenly crossed the hallway, went down the stairs, and then turned straight toward the training grounds.
“……Your Highness, are you running away?”
“Shut up.”
“But Lady Odely is still following you from behind.”
“I know.”
Edwin glanced at Odely, who was quietly following along behind them.
Ludville didn’t speed up enough to completely lose her, but neither did he slow down enough for her to catch him.
He continued forward while maintaining a constant distance.
Neither closer nor farther away.
“……?”
Why was he doing something so pointless?
Edwin watched his master carefully.
It didn’t seem like he was doing it simply to mock Odely.
In other words…….
He didn’t even seem aware that he was doing it himself.
“Is this one of those things? Like a ‘catch me if you can’ game that couples usually play…… If I’m intruding on something, please let me know.”
It was definitely a tactless thing to say.
The price for speaking so carelessly came back with considerable force.
“Ghk…….”
Edwin collapsed onto the floor with a groan, while Ludville coldly walked past him.
At that moment, Odely, who had been following behind, was getting closer and closer to the aide lying face-down on the floor and groaning.
“Lady Odely…….”
Edwin called out to her desperately.
Odely glanced at him as he lay sprawled on the floor, groaning in pain…….
Then she simply walked past him without stopping.
“I’m sorry. My ability isn’t effective for treating physical injuries. My physical strength is rather weak as well, so I can’t even help you up.”
“…….”
“Go see a physician. Then, excuse me.”
And with only those words, she left.
I don’t have the strength to help you. So I won’t waste time on something meaningless.
She seemed to have a strong determination to move as efficiently as possible at every moment.
Edwin, who was staring blankly in the direction Ludville and Odely had disappeared, suddenly thought of a certain expression.
They really were two of a kind…
****
The next morning.
Odely obtained an important piece of information.
After Ludville engaged in intense physical activity, he tended to eat better than usual.
……Well, that was only natural.
‘Moderate exercise is good for your health.’
It would stimulate his appetite, and once he was tired, he would probably sleep more deeply as well.
Although the screams of the knights that had echoed through the training grounds yesterday still lingered in her ears like an afterimage…….
……It must have been good training. Probably.
Anyway, that was why, when Ludville said this,
“Tomorrow, I’ll be going to subjugate monsters, so stay quietly in the castle.”
she didn’t try to stop him.
Even if his reason for setting out was the absurd claim that “I need to get blood on my hands regularly.”
The subjugation party had just finished preparing to depart in front of the castle gates.
The formation was arranged, and the soldiers waited silently.
Among them, Ludville, dressed in armor, adjusted the shoulder strap once so that his cloak wouldn’t slip, then stood in front of his horse.
With the same smooth movement he used when wearing ordinary clothes, he mounted the saddle.
Even though he had spoken so ominously about getting blood on his hands, his face was as indifferent as ever, showing no enthusiasm, sense of duty, or fighting spirit.
But the moment he spotted Odely slowly approaching the subjugation party, his expression changed.
She was riding a horse.
And she was wearing hunting clothes that were easy to move in.
At first, suspicion appeared in his eyes.
Then disbelief.
And finally, some emotion rose to the surface that was expressed mostly as irritation.
Something like…… worry.
“……Did you mistake this for me going out for a walk or an inspection?”
“No. You said you were going to subjugate monsters. And you also told me to stay quietly in the castle today. I heard you perfectly well.”
“…….”
Ludville moved his lips as anger rose inside him, but eventually suppressed the emotion and let out a deep sigh.
The fact that he was being affected so strongly by every little thing she did was extremely unpleasant.
Surely this was all part of some carefully planned scheme.
He had no intention of dancing to her tune.
“But even though you heard me properly, you still followed me…… Don’t tell me you wanted to see me worry and try to stop you?”
But this is crossing the line, Lady.
Ludville spoke firmly, then made a stern face as if declaring that this sort of thing wasn’t fun.
Odely, however, looked up at Ludville with puzzled eyes.
“Are you worried about me?”
“Do you really have to say that……!”
Ludville seemed about to shout, but barely managed to calm himself.
A moment later, he ground his teeth and spoke in a voice so low that it sent a chill down the spine.
“Do you really need me to spell it out?”
“You beat up a thief too.”
“The fact that you put thieves and monsters on the same level shows just how sheltered you are.”
His tone grew harsher and harsher.
“Monsters are on an entirely different level from some vicious human.”
She knew.
Odely had never personally fought a monster, but she had seen those scenes countless times through Ludville’s memories.
A battlefield filled with blood and screams.
And even the look in the eyes of the man silently swinging his sword in the middle of it all.
That was exactly why Odely had to go even more.
“Of course, I’m not saying I’ll fight the monsters myself. I’ll just stay in the very back, or somewhere safe, and watch quietly.”
“Why are you trying to follow me in the first place? Stop acting like a spoiled child. I won’t have the time to protect you during the subjugation.”
A spoiled child…….
Odely suddenly remembered that people believed she was the beloved youngest daughter of House Cardel.
She had never bothered to correct that misunderstanding herself, so it wasn’t surprising that she was treated this way.
“I have the means to protect myself.”
Odely smiled faintly as she reached out and placed her hand on top of his head.
And, just as she did every day, she made his headache disappear.
“And you will definitely need me, Your Highness.”
She made no attempt to hide the fact that whatever he did from now on, she intended to stay by his side, supporting and managing him.
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