Fortunately, I was able to return to my room in the duke’s mansion before Lewin woke up.
Of course, this time I wasn’t alone.
As soon as I stepped into the mansion, I was startled. All the servants had woken up and gathered in the central hall.
Dorian strode toward them, and the crowd of servants parted like the Red Sea.
He stopped in front of a girl.
She looked young, maybe around fifteen.
Dorian turned to me and said,
“This will be the girl attending to you from now on.”
“Hello, I’m Eva from Arthur.”
At Dorian’s words, the girl, with brown hair falling around her shoulders and wearing a light turquoise maid uniform, lifted her skirt slightly in greeting.
Arthur? The name sounded familiar, but my thoughts were quickly swept away by the duke’s next words.
“She is from the household of Viscount Arthur, a family allied with our duke. Therefore, she can be trusted.”
A child from a noble household!
A viscount’s daughter serving me, a commoner!
I covered my mouth in surprise. Dorian added,
“She was sent from the viscount’s household to our mansion for comprehensive administrative training.”
“Pleased to meet you, Madam.”
The word madam made my face flush. Beneath my coffee-colored hair, my yellow eyes sparkled.
“I heard you’re from Rembrandt Academy!”
“Yes… that’s right.”
“If I hadn’t come to the duke’s mansion, I definitely would have wanted to attend the academy. Rembrandt has the highest admission standards, after all…”
“…Eva, my mother must be very tired right now…”
“Ah! The duke also calls you ‘mother’? Well, it makes sense—any slip of the tongue in front of young master Lewin could be disastrous. Oh, I got carried away talking to someone tired. Alright, since we’ll be together from today on, I’ll guide you to your room for now.”
She seemed quiet at first impression… but that first impression was misleading.
Eva started talking rapidly like a machine gun, and I felt fatigue rushing over me instantly.
It must still be early morning, so she probably just woke up too.
I nodded faintly and followed Eva as she walked cheerfully ahead, not forgetting to give Dorian a brief bow.
Dorian gave a small nod in return.
Even while washing me or helping me change, Eva chattered nonstop. In contrast, the other maids trailing behind us worked quietly.
Most of the conversation revolved around the academy, which was a welcome topic for me, except for my fatigue.
Eva’s main interest was the crown prince. She asked me with bright eyes,
“Have you ever seen the crown prince up close, Madam?”
“Well… he did the freshman oath, but I didn’t see him closely. After that, we were in different buildings, so I didn’t meet him again.”
“Oh, please feel free to speak openly with me! But different buildings… Was it because you were in different faculties? Which faculty is the crown prince in? Humanities, I suppose? Although… for the crown prince, maybe the Swordsmanship Faculty?”
I wondered seriously if Eva liked the crown prince. But before I could ask, she rolled her eyes and added,
“Well, the crown prince would do well wherever he goes. Royal family members just don’t seem like normal people…”
She grinned at that.
“And you, Madam—what faculty were you in? Humanities? Or unexpectedly, Magic?”
It was only after I lay down in bed that I could escape Eva’s chatter hell. Of course, it was truly kind of her to treat a commoner so casually…
I spread my hair above my head and stared at the bed canopy.
Lying down made me realize it was finally over. I was still concerned about Scarlet disappearing, but at least I was out of that room.
I turned over, uneasy about the small cube I had swallowed.
What exactly was it? Why did it cause a loss of self?
Was it related to my constitution? Had I been able to handle Dorian’s magic because I swallowed that cube?
I kept drifting off mid-thought, as if the connections in my mind were intermittently cut.
Well, I could talk to Dorian about it later.
Even though I’d just arrived at the mansion, I already felt like I had endless things to discuss with him.
I closed my eyes. The pillow felt soft against my cheek. The silk texture made me rub my face against it unconsciously.
“Lewin…”
Lewin didn’t know anything. I hoped he knew nothing.
He didn’t need to be afraid or worried. That could be handled between Dorian and me.
I had a premonition that if I woke up again, Dorian would call me. Slowly, I sank into helpless sleep.
“What was that?”
Water dripped from hair Dorian hadn’t managed to dry. He roughly towel-dried it with the towel around his neck.
But he couldn’t wipe away the scenes in his mind.
The deep, undulating blue mana. And the power controlling it.
Rochelle cutting into walls, wearing them down, and shattering them with impact—those images lingered in his mind.
“No magical tool could do that.”
Magical tools could only perform a single function each. Using mana simultaneously for multiple functions was something he had neither heard of nor seen.
If he hadn’t witnessed it himself, he wouldn’t have believed it.
How could a person manipulate someone else’s mana so freely?
Without even using a Command Spell.
The image sent shivers through Dorian’s body. Rochelle moved mana freely yet didn’t speak.
Power surpassing that of anyone on the continent.
If it were possible, all mages would be pursuing that method, forsaking tool development and holed up in the magic tower.
But since research on Command Spells itself wasn’t fully developed, knowledge of such methods wasn’t available.
“Seems like Rochelle just discovered it herself too.”
He remembered her wide-eyed expression, staring at her hands, the wall, and him in turn. A smile appeared on his lips.
Maybe he should even thank the kidnapper, for revealing a power she herself didn’t know she possessed.
“But…”
The sharp-toothed grin of that woman flashed in his mind, and his neck muscles tensed.
She could be torn apart and it still wouldn’t feel satisfying.
If he hadn’t dispatched a search party immediately after discovering the kidnapping, Rochelle would never have returned to the duke’s mansion.
Dorian took out a stone from his pocket. Similar in function to Algoy stone but with a red vein-like cross-section.
“I need to find out what this is.”
There must be a clue here. Dorian raised one hand.
Someone emerged from the shadows.
“Yes, sir.”
“Investigate this.”
If they could find someone capable of using this unknown stone, especially in quantity, that person must be linked to the kidnapper.
The man in black robes received the stone from Dorian.
“…Interesting.”
“Yes. Find out where it came from, if it’s an artificial mineral who developed it, and what its purpose is. Everything.”
“Understood.”
The man in black knelt on his left knee, placed his right arm over his chest, then stood and disappeared back into the darkness.
The shadows returned to being empty, as if nothing had been there.
“Then, let’s get moving.”
The duke straightened and stretched. Though he had traveled far at night to rescue Rochelle, there was no time to rest.
Now that he had a lead, he had to extract all the information before it went cold.
He picked up a quill.
The morning had begun again.
“Mom!”
A familiar voice sounded.
“Ugh…”
I shifted, feeling the floor wobble beneath me, as if a heavy ball had been placed at the edge where I lay.
What was that?
It was familiar, yet there shouldn’t be anyone calling me “Mom.”
Just a moment ago, I had been at the kids’ cafe, diligently stirring tomato juice…
“Mom!”
The voice came closer. Soft fingers touched my hand.
A sweet, gentle scent wafted over.
“Ugh…”
“Young Master. Madam is still sleeping. Perhaps you should come back later?”
Then, the same familiar voice came in a completely unfamiliar, gentle tone.
Young master…?
What was this fantastical title?
“Master Lewin, you should go now.”
But then, a completely unfamiliar voice arrived, and I opened my eyes wide.
Lewin! The sun is up, Lewin came!
When I opened my eyes, Lewin’s clear eyes were gazing at me from beside the bed. He was leaning on the edge of the bed, smiling brightly.
My heart ached at his cheerful smile.
My heart…
As I held my heart and got up, Eva, now neatly dressed in her maid uniform, approached me.
“The previous duchess was especially weak for young Master Lewin, so even while sleeping, she did not block his approach. Therefore, I guided him in this time as well. Are you alright?”
Eva whispered the situation as Lewin stared blankly at us.
I stretched out my arms and hugged Lewin.
“Did you sleep well, my baby?”
While Lewin nestled in my arms, I nodded toward Eva.
I had come for this, so it didn’t matter. I wasn’t really the duchess. I tousled Lewin’s hair vigorously.
Eva smiled and said,
“That’s a relief! Also, the duke suggested having a meal together in the greenhouse. Would that be alright?”
