Volume 2 Chapter 23 Despicable
The next day.
Finally, it was the day of the final battle in the inheritance war.
That early morning, in the dim light before the sun had fully risen, I woke up.
"Yawn..."
I should've slept in the same place the other day, but I just couldn't get a good night's sleep in this unfamiliar bed.
It's fluffier and smoother than my own, which made me feel even more restless.
Plus, knowing that the servants were supposed to wake me up in the morning made it even harder to sleep deeply.
Maybe it's a side effect of the long journey with the hero party.
I probably would've slept better just lying on the grass in the courtyard.
Anyway, since I woke up early, I wandered around the guest room with nothing to do.
Then I decided to explore the castle a bit, just enough to not get in trouble.
"Man, it's really spacious..."
Seeing the inside of the castle again, I felt a sense of awe.
I've been invited to some big mansions during my time with the hero party, but a royal castle where a king lives is on a whole different level.
Opportunities to enter a royal castle are rare, and since today is the last day of the inheritance war, I wanted to engrave it in my memory.
Lady Clematis told me I could roam freely as long as I stayed away from important rooms, so I made sure to be careful while exploring.
The grand hallways of the castle, the garden with a fountain, and the separate residence where the servants live.
I've heard that servants in noble households live in basements or attics, but it seems that the servants in the royal castle get their own separate residence.
I heard that only personal attendants have their own private rooms, but it looks like the servants here have a pretty good life too.
Thinking it was about time to head back to my room, I made my way through the beautifully maintained courtyard when I spotted a woman.
"Oh, Ms. Nemophila!"
"..."
Standing in the hallway in a white nightgown was a tall, blue-haired woman──Ms. Nemophila.
She was standing by the window at the end of the hallway, gazing outside with a blank expression.
Eventually, she seemed to notice my presence and slowly turned her blue eyes toward me.
"Good morning, Ms. Nemophila. Did you wake up early too?"
"...Yeah, well."
"...?"
Is it just my imagination? Ms. Nemophila had her usual blank expression.
But her face seemed a bit more tense than usual, like she was deep in thought about something.
"...Uh, is something wrong?"
"...Not really."
Saying that, she turned her gaze back out the window.
What's up with this feeling? If someone said she looked the same as always, I'd agree, but something feels off.
It's like she's worried about something, or scared, or just confused.
Did something happen?
"Maybe you had a scary dream or something?"
"Eh?"
"I just thought your expression seemed a bit stiff today."
When I asked out of concern, Ms. Nemophila shook her head slowly.
"...It's nothing. I always look like this."
"O-Oh, I see."
To be honest, I thought it was hard to tell the difference from her usual self.
She's always expressionless, so there's no stiff or soft expression to compare.
Maybe it really was just my imagination?
"Today's the final battle of the succession war, so I'm just a bit nervous. It's nothing really."
"..."
Nervous.
Well, it makes sense since today decides whether she can become the next king.
It's only natural to feel on edge.
Plus, Ms. Nemophila has the goal of saving Ms. Kikrys's homeland and carrying on her sister Lady Clematis's wishes.
But when she said she was nervous, it felt like...
just a "reason" she made up to me.
"Well then, I'm gonna take a little break."
"Y-Yeah. Good night."
Watching Ms. Nemophila leave in a hurry, I found myself standing there, frozen.
She really does seem off.
It was hard to tell because of her usual blank expression, but she clearly seemed restless.
But since she said it's "nothing," maybe I don't need to worry too much.
Accepting that, I suddenly felt a wave of drowsiness hit me and found myself walking back toward my room without realizing it.
The real deal for the inheritance battle starts at 2 PM today.
That's about 9 hours from now, so I think I'll catch another nap.
I mean, I figure the staff will come wake me up soon anyway, but until then, I'll just let sleep take over.
As soon as I got to my room, I spotted the fluffy, smooth bed and was ready to dive right in.
In that moment──.
'Sir Roezé'
"Whoa!?"
A familiar voice suddenly echoed from somewhere.
I was so startled that I fell awkwardly onto the bed.
I quickly lifted my head and instinctively looked around.
But there was no one there.
Of course, the voice was clearly something that had been directly fed into my head.
This was Ms. Kikrys's 'Holy Song Magic' for remote telepathy.
"Is that you, Ms. Kikrys? What's up so early in the morning...?"
'I'm sorry for the sudden contact. I know it's early, but I urgently need to tell you something, so I used Holy Song Magic to connect my voice to you.'
Something she wants to tell me?
What could be so urgent that it requires Holy Song Magic? And it's really rare for her to use it on me instead of Ms. Nemophila.
Plus, I could sense a hint of urgency in Ms. Kikrys's voice, so I shook off my sleepiness and decided to listen closely.
'Is Ms. Nemophila nearby?'
"Ms. Nemophila? We were just together, but I think she went back to her room to rest."
'Oh, I see.'
I could hear a sense of relief in her voice.
I wonder if it's bad news if Ms. Nemophila is nearby?
'Did you notice anything strange about her?'
"Huh? What do you mean by strange? She seemed fine to me..."
Just as I was about to say that, I suddenly remembered the odd feeling I got from Ms. Nemophila.
"By the way, I feel like she has been a bit restless. It's like she couldn't settle down..."
'...'
As I recalled Ms. Nemophila's tense expression, Ms. Kikrys's weak voice struck my ears.
'If that's the case, then this matter...'
"...?"
'Sir Roezé, I humbly have a request. Could you please tell the young lady that "there's no need to worry about Kikrys"?'
"Wait..."
I was at a loss for words at Ms. Kikrys's unexpected request.
No need to worry? Should I just tell Ms. Nemophila, 'There's no need to worry about Ms. Kikrys'? That would be like saying Ms. Kikrys is currently in some kind of trouble.
"W-What happened, Ms. Kikrys?"
'...It's nothing serious. So please just tell the young lady, "no need to worry."'
"N-No, please don't say something so unreasonable."
There's no way I could tell Ms. Nemophila 'no need to worry' without knowing what happened to Ms. Kikrys.
Plus, the way Ms. Kikrys hesitated made it clear that something serious was going on.
'This is something I can only ask of you, Sir Roezé. So please, without asking anything more, just relay the message to Lady Nemophila...!'
"There's no way I can just say, 'Okay, got it.' Something's happened to Ms. Kikrys, right? Can't you at least tell me the situation?"
I sensed Ms. Kikrys hesitating on the other end of the mental link.
Why won't she tell me anything? Asking me to just tell Ms. Nemophila 'no need to worry' only makes me more anxious.
Is she in a situation where she can't say anything? Is someone threatening her from behind? Or is there something worse that would happen if she explained the situation? What on earth is happening to her?.
I found myself getting anxious as I kept waiting for a response from Ms. Kikrys...
Eventually, her apologetic and weak voice echoed in my head.
'...I'm currently being taken outside the castle by someone.'
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