“Aaaaargh!”
The silence that had settled between Lariette and Asrahan ended with Count Segreve’s ear-splitting scream. The count, his wrist severed, rolled across the floor, howling in agony.
“How dare you! Do you know who I am?!”
He clutched his bleeding wrist and glared at Asrahan as though he wished to kill him.
Asrahan met his gaze with cold eyes.
The count, who had been roaring at the top of his lungs, unknowingly clamped his mouth shut the moment he recognized Asrahan. A dark aura, thick enough to be called sinister, overwhelmed him.
“‘How dare.’”
Asrahan curled one corner of his lips as if amused and muttered. It had been far too long since he had heard such a word.
As he slowly approached Count Segreve, the count let out a strangled gasp and scrambled backward. Before the terror of death, he had even forgotten the pain of his severed wrist.
“Stop!”
Asrahan, who had been about to cleave the count in half, halted his movement at the hand grabbing his collar.
“He’s still a count. It’ll be troublesome if you kill him.”
Contrary to expectations, it wasn’t some idealistic talk about all life being precious or that one shouldn’t take lives indiscriminately. Rather, Lariette was judging the situation with stark realism.
However, Asrahan lightly reminded her of what she had forgotten.
“I am a Kandel. Whether he is a count or a duke, killing him would be no great trouble.”
“Does that even make sense? Even if they are the great Kandels!”
Lariette tugged his hand as if telling him not to bluff. She couldn’t afford to attract any more attention.
Asrahan briefly considered mentioning the summary execution authority bestowed by the Emperor, but the warmth seeping through his glove soon made him close his mouth. The sight of her flustered, fleeing like a rabbit was rather cute.
Of course, he had no intention of letting the matter slide.
He could show enough mercy to spare the count’s life, but the count’s life alone. Soon, the name Segreve would vanish from the registry of nobility.
Pulling Asrahan along, Lariette ran frantically until they finally stopped in a secluded alley.
She leaned against the wall, breathing roughly, while Asrahan’s breathing remained perfectly calm.
“Are you alright?”
“Hah… hah… I’m… wheeze… fine. Oh my… I’m out of breath.”
To think she would struggle this much from merely running—her stamina was truly something. Asrahan, not recalling that he himself was a monster, waited for her to catch her breath.
Only after about two minutes did Lariette finally regulate her breathing. Then she raised her head firmly and looked at him.
“Asrahan!”
“Yes.”
Asrahan answered obediently, expecting her to offer some advice. Or perhaps to say she was disappointed by his cruelty.
He quietly clenched his fist at the subtle emotion pricking at his skin. The name of the emotion was anxiety. The anxiety that he might have disappointed her.
Then Lariette shattered that expectation completely.
“You were so cool!”
“…Pardon?”
“Way, way cooler than the male lead in the play earlier! Thank you for saving me, hehe.”
She curved her eyes softly and broke into a bright smile. She had considered scolding him for his recklessness, but her gratitude far outweighed it.
“What am I going to do? I think I’ve fallen for you even more. How will you take responsibility?”
“…Let us return.”
At her throwing another advance, Asrahan turned on his heel with a huff.
Lariette grumbled that he was as impregnable as a fortress and followed behind him.
However, neither Asrahan nor Lariette noticed that his ear, as he hurried away as if fleeing, had subtly turned red.
***
Knock, knock. Someone politely rapped on Lariette’s door.
She answered with a bright voice for them to come in, and soon a man with striking silver hair opened the door and entered.
“It’s been a while, miss.”
“It’s only been two days. Sit here, Doha.”
Lariette tapped the chair beside her bed. Because he had spoken casually the very moment they decided to become friends, they had already dropped honorifics with each other.
“Hmm, you look worse than before.”
Doha reached out to her forehead and muttered. As expected, she was running a fever.
“I went out a bit yesterday, haha.”
Lariette smiled awkwardly, making excuses.
After yesterday’s performance, Lariette and Asrahan had walked around the city for a while. However, as he had warned, too many eyes converged on them, forcing them to return before long.
She finally understood why Asrahan was so reluctant to go out. At the same time, she felt sorry for him.
“You truly are a patient who doesn’t listen.”
He had clearly told her to rest. Doha pointed this out with a slight smile. Lariette merely averted her eyes, feigning ignorance.
Soon, golden energy surged and overflowed from his hand on her forehead.
The fever subsided instantly, and her head cleared. It was divine power with a dazzling effect.
“Um, Doha.”
“What is it, miss?”
“Well, you see…”
Lariette moved her lips, hesitating for a long while. But soon, as if having made up her mind, she continued.
“Is an incurable disease impossible to treat even with divine power?”
It was a question that had been circling her mind ever since she saw him cure her severe cold in an instant. A desperate hope that maybe, just maybe, something was possible kept welling up.
Wondering what reason she had for such a question, Doha narrowed his eyes and looked at her. Then he subtly released more divine power into her body as he answered.
“Usually, ‘incurable’ refers to diseases that cannot be treated by healing magic or divine power. If there is any possibility of curing it by any method, it would be called a difficult illness.”
“Ah, I see…”
“Well, if you were treated by someone with divine power on the level of His Holiness the Pope, the story might be different.”
Doha added with a sly curve of his eyes. At his answer, Lariette could only manage a bitter smile.
The position of Pope was attained by possessing the greatest divine power. He was also someone harder to meet than the king of most nations.
Meeting him was impossible for her, so in the end, his words meant exactly what they meant.
*I shouldn’t have held out hope for nothing.*
Lariette found herself pathetic for having expected and despaired needlessly.
And then, Doha detected something strange through the divine power he had spread throughout her body.
*Her mana circuits are twisted.*
Doha maintained his shrewd outward smile and muttered inwardly.
It was a rare condition among those born with large amounts of mana. If left unattended, her body could burst and she could die.
*So that’s why she was talking about an incurable disease? How cute.*
From what he had scanned, Lariette’s mana circuits were indeed twisted, but not to the extent that her body would explode.
Strictly speaking, it was a condition that would leave her chronically ill for life. She could die if things went very wrong, but that was only in the worst case.
It seemed she had heard somewhere that it might develop into a fatal disease and was worried. Twisted mana circuits were a problem that even a fairly high-ranking priest couldn’t touch.
Doha was no saint who healed others out of the goodness of his heart without compensation. However, since she was quite useful to him, he decided to show kindness for the first time in a while.
“Your body seems damaged here and there. Shall I help you recover, if only a little? Periodically.”
“Huh, really?”
*I’d be grateful!* Lariette expressed her thanks and nodded.
She thought that if she received periodic treatment, she might be able to live a little longer.
“Then, excuse me.”
Doha smiled fox-like and reached out to pull her body toward him.
In an instant, their bodies brushed as if overlapping, and their foreheads touched.
“Wha—?!”
“Hush… I need to concentrate.”
Quiet. Doha secured the back of Lariette’s head with his right hand and whispered.
Then he closed his eyes and slowly began reciting a prayer. Their posture was such that they looked as though they might kiss at any moment.
At the embarrassing situation, Lariette’s face flushed red. She somehow felt as if she had committed a sin against Asrahan.
However, as holy energy soon spread throughout her body, she immediately realized that this was effective. Her aching body began to feel refreshed at once.
*Though I’m not sure if the posture has to be exactly like this.*
Lariette thought with a slight groan.
Of course, there was no need to transfer divine power in such a posture. It was simply Doha’s mischief.
She was quite attractive, after all. Doha outwardly maintained the appearance of a proper priest while harboring impure thoughts within.
Not long after he finished reciting the prayer, he slowly pulled away. Lariette’s face remained red as a beet.
“That’s it for today. We’ll need to do this a few more times for you to fully recover.”
Untwisting her mana circuits back to normal was not a very easy task even for him.
However, it wasn’t something that would take days either. He was merely dragging it out to create a reason to see her often.
“Hm, ahem. Thanks.”
“If you’re grateful, will you help me too, Miss Rie?”
Puzzled by his cryptic words, Lariette looked at him. But when he rolled up the sleeve of his priestly robes, she soon understood.
A large gash remained vividly on his pale arm. The wound, seemingly fresh, still had blood pooled within it and looked terribly painful just to look at.
“How did you get something like this!”
“It just… happened.”
Doha smiled nonchalantly, as if it were no big deal.
Lariette thought that to heal her first while injured like this, he was either incredibly devoted or simply crazy.
She frowned and placed her hand over his wound.
She worried whether she might lack the mana to purify Asrahan tomorrow, but from what she had grasped so far, that did not seem to be the case.
White light enveloped his arm, and soon the knife cut gradually healed.
Doha watched the scene and smiled meaningfully.
*As expected, it wasn’t my imagination.*
He had worried that the wound on his forehead healing hadn’t been Lariette’s power after all. Thus, he had wanted to confirm it clearly once more.
In other words, he had inflicted this wound himself yesterday purely as a test.
The priest working directly under him had shaken his head while watching him personally drive a knife into his own arm.
“Whew… I’m sorry, but I think I have to stop here.”
*Strangely, Doha takes too much mana.* Lariette muttered with drooping shoulders. She seemed bothered that she couldn’t even remove the scar completely.
However, if she tried any further, she might lack the mana needed to purify Asrahan. Therefore, she withdrew her hand with a regretful expression.
“No, it’s enough.”
Doha smiled brightly and pulled his rolled-up sleeve back down.
It was only natural that it took a lot of mana. After all, it was the price for healing the body of the next Pope.
He rummaged through his pocket as if looking for something, then soon pulled out something sparkling and held it out to Lariette.
“Here, miss. This is payment for the healing.”
“Hiccup!”
“Do people usually hiccup when they’re surprised?”
Doha asked slyly, unaware of her inner turmoil.
As he said, she was very surprised. It was because what he had pulled out was a large gemstone.
“Hiccup! No, a gemstone, hiccup!”
“Ah. We found a mine at home, you see.”
He lied nonchalantly. At that shocking answer, Lariette could only continue hiccupping.
To think such a gemstone for merely healing this! She wanted to devote her very soul to him right then.
“I will serve you as a lifelong customer for as long as I live.”
Lariette bowed sharply like a gangster. Doha burst out laughing at her amusing display.
“Don’t you dare go looking for any other healing mage besides me!”
Afraid someone would snatch away the goose that laid the golden eggs, she hurriedly proposed an exclusive contract. It was quite a different sight from before, when she had claimed to be too busy to heal him.
“…Of course, Rie.”
*You mustn’t think of running away either, miss.* Doha responded leisurely.
***
Asrahan only returned home late at night, long after Doha had left.
Because of that, Lariette, having already fallen asleep, could not come to greet him. Though it wasn’t a greeting he had received many times, her absence left his heart feeling strangely empty.
Asrahan desperately denied the state he was in and tried to sleep.
And morning dawned. Having only fallen asleep near daybreak, unlike usual, he did not wake even when the sun rose and the birds began to chirp.
Lariette, who had still risen at the crack of dawn, was startled to find Asrahan absent from his office and went around searching here and there through the ducal residence. Before long, she ran into Halstein in the corridor.
“Good morning, Halstein.”
“Good morning, my lady. Are you looking for the master?”
Halstein asked with a pleased smile, as though looking at a beloved granddaughter born late in life. She nodded again and answered.
“Yes. Do you happen to know where Asrahan is?”
“The master returned late last night and is still asleep.”
“Ah, I see……”
Lariette’s face visibly fell; she had wanted to see that handsome face as soon as possible.
Halstein gazed at even that with satisfaction and continued.
“Would you like to wake him yourself? It is about time he got up.”
“Me? Would that be all right……?”
“Of course. Why would it not be?”
And not merely waking him. He would not mind if she went about smashing up the Candel ducal residence.
If he were honest, he wished she would incur some debt that way and end up living with Asrahan for the rest of her life. If she even married him, bore sons and daughters, and lived happily with him, Halstein would have no regrets even if he died on the spot.
Drawing a happy future in his mind, Halstein guided her to Asrahan’s room.
From the door onward, Asrahan’s room was decorated in dark tones, much like his attire. Yet rather than gloomy, it was luxurious and old-fashioned.
Lariette swallowed for no reason and gently opened the large door, stepping inside.
Within the classically decorated room stood an enormous bed covered in black sheets.
And in that bed, a sculpted beauty of a man was asleep. With not even the sound of his breathing, he almost seemed dead.
‘He wears bandages even when he sleeps.’
Lariette thought blankly as she approached the bed. Worries over how she ought to wake him flitted through her mind without pause.
But she soon realized there had been no need. Before she could fully draw near and say anything, Asrahan’s eyes slowly opened.
“Good morning, Asrahan.”
“……Mage?”
“When on earth are you going to call me by my name?”
Seeing him maintain that same form of address even right after waking, Lariette grumbled briefly.
Meanwhile, unable to hide his bewilderment, Asrahan raised his upper body.
“Why are you here……”
He stopped speaking and closed his mouth.
No matter how bold she was, she would not have barged into his room without permission. It was perfectly obvious who was behind this.
“Haah, Halstein.”
Asrahan let out a sigh and pressed his fingers to his forehead. His head felt like it was throbbing.
“Don’t scold Halstein. As it happens, this place is more suitable for today’s purification than your office.”
“Suitable? ……What do you mean?”
“Starting today, I’m going to begin purifying the curse on your upper body.”
What did the curse on his upper body have to do with the location? Asrahan looked at her in bewilderment as she edged closer.
“As you know, curses respond better when I touch bare skin.”
Thump. Lariette sat on his bed without a trace of fear and continued.
At the anxiety welling up inside him, Asrahan unconsciously drew back, leaning his upper body against the headboard.
“So take it off.”
Lariette commanded with a bright smile.