I had some free time, so I spoke with Mori.
When we talked, I had intended to release Mori with a generous heart. I felt there was no need to keep a knight who clearly disliked me by my side.
However, for some reason, Mori seemed to have a change of heart after our conversation.
He firmly declared he wouldn't leave, spoke with Jigor, and by the looks of it, things seemed to have been resolved well.
Up to that point, I could accept it, but……
[Boss……. What on earth did you say to Mori?]
Unable to hold back, Jigor asked me as if complaining.
I was curious too. How exactly had Mori interpreted what I said?
Suppressing my frustration, I gazed at the scene before me.
In the Roam mansion, and in my room no less, a puppy suddenly running in was something I'd experienced in the past, so I wasn't surprised.
Whether Lilia or Seiri, someone must have brought it.
That puppy running around on its own, tumbling over and hurting its leg was…… well, something I thought could happen.
However……. Mori's presence was unexpected.
[I, I'm not interested!]
At Mori's spirited cry, Minte beside him looked at him with disdain.
[……Mori, anyone can see that you're concerned right now.]
True, anyone could see that Mori couldn't take his eyes off that injured puppy.
[W-well, it does look painful, but…… no! W-who cares!]
His small, round snake head turned away from the injured puppy with a swish.
Yet the tip of his tail anxiously beat against the floor, showing just how worried he really was.
After pondering this incomprehensible behavior for a while, I asked with a skeptical voice.
"Mori. Don't tell me you're imitating me right now?"
At my question, Mori startled and looked up at me. That reaction alone told me my guess was correct.
"W-well then, I'll continue being the successor."
I wanted to ask if the successor he intended to be wasn't the former boss's successor, but I just gave up. I remembered that once Mori started crying, he couldn't easily stop.
If Palides was the type to wail loudly, Mori was the type to silently shed thick tears.
I had no talent for comforting someone who was already crying, so how could I possibly soothe a snake with tears welling in its eyes?
"Of course, it's true that I have no interest in worldly things, but you don't need to imitate even that. Did you forget what I said about doing whatever you want?"
[Y-you're driving me out……."
"No. If you want to help, go ahead and help."
I almost made him cry again!
Startled, I quickly corrected my words, and Mori hesitated for a moment. Then he slowly slithered toward the puppy.
The puppy, seeing the snake crawling toward it, jumped in fright.
[Waaah!]
At that sight, Mori seemed hurt.
"I'll handle it myself, so come here."
When I called out with a sigh-laden voice, Mori returned with a dejected look. I opened the mouth of the silk pouch and set it on the floor.
Watching Mori slip into the silk pouch with familiarity gave me a strange feeling.
'A silk pouch with a snake inside.'
Actually, I had suggested he stay in the subspace. But Mori firmly refused, saying he wanted to stay by my side.
He had listed his own usefulness so earnestly that his effort was so admirable I couldn't suggest it anymore.
'It's a good thing he's a small snake at least.'
Mori's size was small enough to fit on my palm. Naturally, he could also fit in the silk pouch hanging at my waist.
Other Dullahans looked at this sight with envious eyes, but……. Well, I couldn't exactly carry a snake around openly.
"Palides, go out and call a passing maid. Tell them to take this puppy away."
[Waaah, it hurts! Mom!]
I didn't know why this puppy suddenly appeared. Did Lilia release a puppy wanting to recreate old times?
"It says it hurts. Go call someone quickly."
When I gave the order with a sour expression, Palides acknowledged and opened the door.
However, she was about to leave the room when she quickly stepped aside. Someone had suddenly burst in.
"Jusi!"
The one frantically picking up the injured puppy was Seiri. She must have heard the puppy barking and come in.
Seiri, who had been examining the puppy with startled eyes, belatedly noticed me in the room and was quite surprised.
"S-sister……."
This was the first time Seiri and I had faced each other alone like this since returning to this mansion.
Partly because Seiri was so timid, but also because Mother had cleverly kept Seiri away from me.
If anything, Seiri was the final card Mother held.
"Is that your dog?"
[Waaah! Mom!]
The puppy squirmed in Seiri's arms.
It must be one of two things. Either it was hurt so badly it couldn't recognize its owner's touch, or it wasn't its owner in the first place.
Seiri didn't answer but hesitated, watching my reaction.
I glanced at the puppy held in Seiri's hands, then withdrew my gaze indifferently. Either way, it wasn't a matter for me to get involved in.
"Take it away."
At my words, Seiri slowly backed away, then rushed out of the room.
She should have grown up a bit by now, but she was exactly the same as before.
I clicked my tongue lightly and shook my head. No wonder she becomes a target for someone like Lilia.
"Anyway, I wonder when Jigor will return."
I gazed out the window with a bored expression. Jigor, who had gone to observe Father's movements, still hadn't sent news.
However, I was certain. Soon Father would call for me, telling me to reveal myself as the Resurrected One, pushing me forward.
It was time to visit Father's office.
It was also time to verify what Minte had diligently found.
* * *
"I told His Majesty that I found you."
As expected, Father called for me and said exactly what I had anticipated.
"Is that so? Then will you appoint me as Vice Duke now?"
When I asked in a light tone, Father fell silent for a moment. Then he opened his mouth with uncharacteristically cautious words.
"His Majesty……. lately his distrust of those around him has deepened."
"Oh my, a ruler of ten thousand people is inherently a lonely and solitary position."
"He seems unable to trust even your service to the Imperial Family. We'll need to build more trust."
I gazed at Father, who was choosing his words carefully, then let out a small laugh.
"Ah, are you saying that a Resurrected One who has lost the Emperor's trust and is treated as a fraud cannot become Vice Duke?"
Father frowned as if to deny my words and parted his lips. But before he could, I continued speaking.
"Father, it seems you've got the order wrong."
I sighed demonstratively and turned my head indifferently. Pretending to be unconcerned, but actually carefully scanning Father's bookshelf, I shrugged my shoulders.
"In the first place, it was Roam that wanted to keep me here. I never begged to stay here. I'm a Resurrected One who wanders the world, serving the will of the gods."
Third row, eighth book.
Remembering the book I had glimpsed in that spot, I naturally turned my head in another direction. This time it was an ordinary ink bottle sitting on Father's desk.
And finally, beneath this carpet I was stepping on.
The secret spaces Minte had discovered were more numerous than expected. Would I be able to find something useful?
"Aneli. Roam took a great risk to bring you here."
While mentally calculating when to search the office, I smiled gently on the outside.
"Yes, and in return, I abandoned the Imperial Palace and came here. I think just the Resurrected One's residence changing was sufficient payment."
I pressed down firmly on the carpet with my toes. Feeling my way, moving inconspicuously from spot to spot and pressing with my foot, I confirmed a location that felt slightly more raised than other places.
It was a subtle difference that one would miss without careful examination.
"You must have heard that Lilia's foresight has returned?"
Changing the subject as if casually, I spun around. The family portrait still hanging on the wall came into view.
"I thought you no longer believed in such things."
"She supposedly foresaw something about Her Majesty the Empress. If that's true……."
"So Lilia said that again? That I would destroy House Roam?"
Perhaps because I had gazed at the family portrait for so long? Father's gruff voice softened slightly.
"She didn't say that. I'm……. saying that it won't be easy to send Lilia outside of Roam. Since Frijian caused an incident, the engagement between Lilia and the Crown Prince must be maintained for now."
It was merely regrettable that such a terrifying option—keeping Lilia inside and disposing of her because they couldn't send her outside—wasn't even being considered in the first place.
'It can't be helped.'
Well, if Roam were to abandon Lilia, it would be because Lilia was useless. A useful Lilia was someone to exploit, not discard.
Just like me.
"If that happens, there's a possibility of clashing with Prince Heinri. You two are close, aren't you?"
Father's words were packaged as if he were concerned about my relationships.
But if you looked a little deeper, it wasn't difficult to see that he was telling me to distance myself from Prince Heinri.
"You must have been pleased to finally get an opportunity, so you'll be disappointed to lose Roam's support again."
When I nodded calmly, Father let out a relieved sigh.
"The monster attack occurred at the Lindea River. Seeing that there are additional casualties, the matter is serious. It's such a frequently used route that it can't be controlled indefinitely, so Roam intends to take the lead."
He wants me to lead Roam's knights and raise Roam's name?
Holding back the laughter that kept escaping, I spoke.
"Father, I heard His Majesty considers this incident to be magic."
At my words, Father furrowed his brow. He seemed to want to ask the source of my information, but I pretended not to notice and continued.
"If His Majesty doesn't believe this was the work of monsters, what's the point of me leading the knights and causing a commotion? He might even think Roam is participating in a fraud."
"……Then what do you propose?"
"I heard the Temple has already concluded this incident was the work of monsters. In that case, let's get official certification from the Magic Tower as well."
"The Magic Tower?"
At Father's skeptical question, I nodded without hesitation.
"Yes. Only when everyone officially and clearly recognizes the current problem, won't there be a huge response when Roam's second daughter, chosen by the gods, resolves this matter?"