A figure draped in a worn cloak stood beyond the open door.
Even as the door opened, Anelli did not enter immediately, but stood for a moment, quietly surveying the scene in the lobby.
"Come in."
When Duke Roam spoke, the figure who had been standing as still as a rock began to move slowly.
From within the cloak, Anelli's mysterious purple eyes swept indifferently over the people.
Following Anelli's footsteps, someone quietly trailed behind. It was a female knight wearing a pressed-down helmet.
'How dare she bring an outside knight to the Roam mansion.'
Frijian watched the knight with wary eyes. Just as she was about to point it out in a sharp voice, Duke Roam spoke first.
"Who is that knight behind you?"
"A guard I privately hired. Since I left the Imperial Palace, I recalled her."
"I will assign Roam's knights to you."
At those words, Anelli's lips twisted subtly.
"As you know, I had a small problem with the Roam knights."
When Arin Thorsen was mentioned, Duke Roam's expression stiffened slightly.
"The knight who committed the transgression has paid the appropriate price."
"The price he paid has no value to me. Because it is a punishment I did not request, nor did I impose."
Duke Roam looked with disapproval at the knight standing behind Anelli.
"Very well, I understand the sentiment of wanting someone trustworthy by your side. But since you have brought an outsider, there may inevitably be restrictions on your range of activities."
Toward Duke Roam, who issued what amounted to a veiled warning, Anelli smiled faintly.
"I will separate her when necessary."
Eventually, Duke Roam closed his mouth, effectively permitting the knight's accompaniment. The Duchess of Roam, who had been watching from the side, interjected with an elegant voice.
"I intended to quietly bring you out, so I unavoidably resorted to this method. You're not upset, I hope?"
At the Duchess's composed question, Anelli shook her head casually as she removed her cloak.
"I prefer coming quietly as well, so it's fine."
As the worn cloak was removed, an ash-gray dress was revealed. At a glance, it was old and rough, a dress that seemed merely perfunctory.
Frijian, who had been glaring at Anelli, suddenly realized that the attire was familiar.
'Those clothes.'
Clothes given to criminals. So that means……
It was the same outfit Anelli had worn when she ascended the execution platform. From the cloak to the dress underneath, everything.
It wasn't just Frijian who realized this.
"That dress isn't something I prepared for you."
The Duchess's voice was strangely subdued. Perhaps reminded of old times, her face looked uncomfortable.
Moreover, with the vivid scar on Anelli's neck, the old memories were bound to resurface whether one wanted them to or not.
"If possible, I wanted to be certain."
"Is that so?"
"Of course."
Anelli, who had responded casually, lightly turned her head.
Perhaps their eyes met, for Seiri trembled and hid behind the hem of the Duchess's dress.
However, unlike Seiri, Lilia instead stepped forward.
"I'm glad you're back, little sister."
Lilia, with her pale face, spoke in a gentle voice.
Yet pitifully, Frijian could easily notice that Lilia's lips were trembling.
Anelli glanced at Lilia, then turned her head without even responding.
Finally, Frijian and Anelli's eyes met.
Upon seeing Frijian, Anelli raised her eyebrows and tilted her head quizzically.
"Sister, what is that appearance? I had no choice, but for you to be in the mansion without even grooming yourself properly."
Her soft voice was filled with leisure.
"Your standards have dropped considerably."
Rather than anger at Anelli's words, Frijian first felt a sense of déjà vu. So the question slipped out abruptly.
"Why did you come back?"
"Frijian!"
Duke Roam called Frijian in a low voice containing a warning, but Frijian paid him no attention and strode toward Anelli.
"What are you scheming?"
"My, oh my."
Frijian frowned as Anelli sighed and looked back at the butler.
"Butler, my room?"
"Butler, please show her the way. Lilia, Frijian, go inside for now. It's late today, so let's catch up tomorrow."
At the Duchess's flustered words, Lilia approached Frijian awkwardly. Anelli simply turned away indifferently.
Seeing her clearly ignoring her, Frijian gritted her teeth and grabbed Anelli's arm.
"Anelli!"
Anelli, who had been walking away, stopped abruptly. Just as the knight behind Anelli was about to react, Anelli raised her hand to restrain her.
Cold cynicism settled in the purple eyes gazing at Frijian.
"My, sister. For the eldest daughter of Roam to show such immature and foolish behavior. Even if there are few servants, really now."
"What?"
"The journey back was too long, so I'm a bit tired. Let's talk tomorrow."
Hearing the quiet response, Frijian felt a chill run down her spine.
Because a fragment of the past suddenly resurfaced in her mind. Herself, mocking the despairing Anelli.
The contemptuous rebuke she had spat out back then.
It was exactly the same as the words she had just heard.
'This child…….'
The question of why she returned was no longer necessary. Frijian could now understand the reason without needing to hear it from Anelli's lips.
Anelli had come for revenge. She had never forgiven Roam, and never would.
'I have to stop her.'
The realization struck like lightning.
In order not to lose Roam, Frijian had to defend her position no matter what.
* * *
The room I was shown to was a familiar one.
"What about the knight's room……?"
"I haven't adjusted to the changed environment yet, so I can only feel at ease with a guard within arm's reach, so don't worry about it and go."
The servants looked quietly at Palides standing there and at me alternately, pondered for a moment, then cautiously bowed their heads.
After sending the servants out, I slowly looked around my room.
It was nearly identical to 'my room' remaining in my memory. But this room was not the room of the past. Because all the furniture filling this room was new.
'My room' had disappeared. Probably the moment I became a criminal, all traces of me would have been erased from this mansion.
'Did they think I would get sentimental if they decorated it like my past room?'
I suppressed the rising mockery. More likely, they simply judged that reproducing the appearance I used at the time would be far more convenient.
If they had considered even a bit of sentimentality, they wouldn't have made it like this.
They wouldn't have reproduced this utterly loathsome space as it was.
'I should shake off these useless thoughts.'
Feeling somehow stifled, I immediately opened the window.
The air that had been deliberately made warm by lighting the fireplace in advance cooled rapidly.
Beyond the open window, a black warbler and a bumblebee flew in fluttering. Not only that, but a black cat leaped up from below the window and landed lightly on the railing.
[Boss!]
They were the Durahans I had released from the bracelet before leaving the Imperial Palace.
'It would be better to keep only those easy to carry around for now, and summon more Durahans depending on the situation, right?'
With Palides by my side under the pretext of being a guard, and having summoned Zigor, Tristan, and Minte, my heart felt incomparably more secure than when I was at the Imperial Palace.
[Palides, did you serve the boss well?]
Zigor, who had flown into the room in a flash, chirped as he asked Palides. Tristan and Minte also looked back at Palides.
How jealous the other Durahans were of Palides, who became my guard knight on the grounds of being able to transform into a human.
Zigor, who had chirped for a while asking if it made sense that he couldn't be by my side even after meeting me after so long, had barely calmed down after hearing news of Nadav and Ganik still inside the bracelet.
But it seemed he still hadn't completely given up on the position of my guard.
At Zigor's interrogation, Minte shrugged triumphantly.
"Of course!"
[Tch… But Boss, please don't forget. I can protect you well too!]
At Zigor's words, Minte, who had been sitting with her tail curled round, sneered.
[A warbler, of all things.]
[I am the fearsome knight Zigor!]
[So are you saying you'll transform into a Durahan now? If you trouble the Boss, I'll pluck out all your feathers.]
[…Minte is cold.]
At the sullen Zigor's muttering, Tristan said with a laughing voice.
[Minte is the same as in the old days.]
[And you're the same playboy as in the old days?]
[Wouldn't it be fine to be a little less cold? Hahaha!]
How fortunate that there's a Durahan who can properly grasp the situation.
Resolving never to put Minte in the bracelet no matter what, I brought a chair to the window and sat down.
Just being with a few Durahans for the first time in a while made this room feel like a completely different place.
Not the Roam mansion, not the capital, but like some inn room I had stopped at while passing through.
Naturally, the tension loosened and I let out a deflated laugh, when Palides uttered a low exclamation.
"Ah, Boss. The ring is glowing."
"Ah."
'Come to think of it, I said I'd send a signal as soon as I arrived.'
I turned once with the ring on. Then the color gradually faded, and soon the light disappeared.
"What is that? It looks like a ring I haven't seen before."
Come to think of it, wasn't Palides not by my side when I received this ring?
"This is……."
I parted my lips to explain, but I could not continue. A pale mist gathered and formed a human shape.
—Fortunately, it's working properly!
It was the figure of Zenon, composed of translucent smoke.