Episode 89
"Frey, please wake up."
"Hmm...?"
Feeling somewhat stifled, I opened my eyes to find Serena shaking me.
"It's time for you to leave now."
"...Already?"
Startled by Serena's bolt-from-the-blue words, I threw off the covers to check the clock, which showed 5:30.
"You need to leave this place quickly before the sun rises."
"Ah, right."
I was about to protest that she was kicking me out too quickly, but then I remembered that Serena's memories change when the sun is up, and I hurriedly got up from the bed.
"Coo, cooo."
While hurriedly putting on the coat that had fallen to the floor, I noticed an owl pecking at something on the desk with its foot.
"...Oh dear."
Wondering what it was, I approached carefully and picked up the limp cat doll, murmuring to myself.
"She'll probably be sulking for a while, won't she?"
How should I soothe the feelings of a cat doll that's not even a real cat? I really don't know.
"Serena, I had fun today. Well then, I'll be going."
"Just a moment. There's something I want to give you."
I was trying to hurry out of the room with such thoughts, but Serena urgently got up from the bed while putting on her clothes.
"Here, take this."
I tilted my head watching her, and Serena held something out to me.
"This is..."
"I made it while you were sleeping."
In Serena's hand as she spoke, a moon-shaped crystal was glowing.
"Hmm... is it not very good?"
"...No, it's a hundred times better than the gifts I'll receive at the pretentious birthday party tomorrow."
Saying that, I quickly took the crystal from her hand, and Serena said with a bright smile.
"I'll see you out to the outside. I still have time for that."
"Alright, thank you."
I replied to her in a gentle voice, and together we held hands and left the room, starting to make our way to the entrance.
'For some reason, I feel at ease...'
I'm not entirely sure, but touching the moon crystal Serena gave me makes my mind feel calm.
Perhaps it's because I'm holding hands with Serena.
"Oh...?"
I opened the front door while fiddling with the moon crystal and coming down the stairs, and a familiar carriage came into view.
"This is... our family's carriage...?"
I had taken a carriage from the street rather than the family carriage since I was coming secretly and in a hurry.
But why is our family's carriage standing prominently on the road?
"...Cania?"
The answer was revealed immediately as soon as I carefully opened the carriage door.
"Good morning, young master."
For some unknown reason, Cania was sitting demurely inside the carriage.
"It is time to return to the mansion."
I was spacing out for a moment when Cania, who had been sitting quietly, spoke in a soft voice.
"Ah, right... I see."
Since it wasn't wrong, I nodded and boarded the carriage, but suddenly Serena blocked my way and said with a smile.
"You wait here for a moment."
"Huh?"
"The ladies have some things to discuss."
Saying that, Serena entered the carriage where Cania sat with a hardened expression and closed the door.
"...What on earth."
Curious about what they were discussing, I gathered star mana to my ears, but a dual barrier of dark magic and moon mana blocked my eavesdropping.
What on earth are they talking about to be doing this?
.
"Cania, you truly seem to have great loyalty. Coming all this way at such an early hour to see someone off."
"Thank you for the compliment."
While Frey was standing outside with question marks floating around him, Cania and Serena were facing each other exchanging pleasantries.
Of course, even though they were exchanging pleasantries, the carriage was filled with coldness.
"By the way, I heard Frey recently acquired a pet?"
At that moment when an inexplicable pressure was pressing down on the carriage, Serena suddenly raised the corner of her mouth and asked Cania a question.
"You are speaking of Lulu, I presume."
"Yes, that pitiful lady. Is she doing well?"
"Yes, I checked before coming here and she was sleeping soundly. Though there were some marks from scratching with her nails."
"That's a relief. I'll also research that 'mark of misfortune' from time to time, so please hang in there."
Serena, who smiled and answered upon hearing those words, suddenly changed her expression to a cold one and whispered.
"By the way, it seems you'll soon lose even your position as a pet."
Then, Cania, who had been biting her lip for a moment, replied in a low voice.
"The sun will rise in a few minutes, Lady Serena."
"It's fine. I've calculated everything."
Serena snorted and smiled, then glared at Cania and said.
"I have absolutely no intention of watching a farce with not a shred of love mixed in."
"......."
Cania, who fell silent at those words, eventually asked in a low voice.
"Is there really not a single shred of love mixed in?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Lady Serena knows better, doesn't she?"
Cania said with a slight smile.
"The reason the daytime Lady Serena erased her 'worry' for the young master was because she was shocked by the affectionate behavior the young master shows toward me."
"That is just a 'farce' that Frey is performing 'for me'. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Is that really so?"
Cania, now with the corners of her mouth raised, looked straight at Serena, who was covering her face slightly with a fan, and said.
"Until now, Lady Serena has seen the young master cheat many times. Nevertheless, she was able to maintain her composure because she saw through that it was the young master's acting."
When Serena said nothing, Cania continued with sharp eyes.
"However, the fact that Master Frey decided to act affectionately toward me to erase Lady Serena's 'worry', and the fact that Lady Serena was 'shocked' upon seeing that..."
"I understand what you're trying to say, but..."
"...means that the young master has affection for me, doesn't it?"
Ignoring Serena's words and finishing her statement, Cania opened her mouth while holding her fan.
"Affection as a pet, you mean?"
"I think even the continent's greatest genius, Lady Serena, wouldn't have failed to distinguish that."
"Well, I don't really know?"
Serena, who tilted her head with an ambiguous expression, eventually whispered in a low voice to Cania, who had a hardened expression before her eyes.
"After sharing 'true love' with Frey this dawn, I can't really distinguish such trivial affection."
Upon hearing those words, Cania unconsciously clenched her fist, and Serena said with smiling eyes.
"Frey is not a sexual deviant, Cania. No matter how much you change your appearance and wriggle around, there are walls that cannot be crossed."
"I transform solely for the young master's sake. Without any selfish motives... hic!"
Cania, who was speaking with a flushed face at those words, stopped speaking and grabbed her stomach when Serena touched her stomach with the end of her fan.
"Well, I won't say anything about you sticking by his side. It's true that you're helpful to Frey."
"...I am the young master's confidant, so I receive orders and permission only from the young master. Therefore, I don't think I need to receive permission from Lady Serena."
Serena, who had been speaking with a relaxed expression while watching such Cania, concluded with a dismissive expression when Cania spoke through gritted teeth.
"However, if you cross the line... you should be prepared for that."
When Serena, who had finished speaking, tried to go outside the carriage, Cania asked in a low voice.
"What if the young master crosses the line first?"
When Serena turned her head as if in disbelief, Cania continued with a calm face.
"I am the young master's loyal butler and servant, so in such a situation, I would have no choice but to surrender. So please understand that point."
"There's no need to ask for understanding about something that won't happen."
Serena, who answered with a smile to her, released moon mana and tore through the soundproof barrier Cania had set up, then went outside the carriage.
"Goodbye, Frey."
Soon after, Serena, who said that and kissed Frey, headed toward the entrance with relaxed steps.
And the moment she opened the front door and entered the mansion, the sun rose.
.
"...Uh, Cania? What on earth did you two talk about?"
The young master, who boarded the carriage, asks me cautiously.
I couldn't bring myself to answer the young master and kept my head deeply bowed, muttering to myself inside.
'What... did I even say?'
Unlike myself, I had made so many slip-ups, and shown shameful behavior.
Thanks to that, I was blaming myself for a while, and when I felt the gaze continuing, I slowly raised my head and looked at the young master.
"...Are you okay? Cania?"
As has always been the case since receiving the penalty and revealing that we know the truth, the master I serve is looking at me with a worried expression.
"Come to think of it, it's been over a week since you received life force, hasn't it? Is that why your condition is bad?"
"Young master... I don't need..."
"No, there was a time when you didn't receive life force for three months, so for the next half year, I have to give you life force every week without fail. Otherwise, something terrible will happen."
He is a young master who has given me his life force generously since he was taken in by the Starlight family at a very young age.
Even though he lost half his lifespan because of me, even though only 2 years and 6 months of life remain, he seems to worry about me, who is merely sucking away his life like a mosquito.
'For the young master to cross the line first... what on earth was I saying.'
Why on earth does the young master worry about me?
Even though in the previous iteration I obstructed him in every way, placed various curses and interference, and committed suicide right in front of him, driving a massive stake into his heart.
Even though I cut his lifespan in half, and I'm essentially a mosquito-like existence that periodically takes away his remaining life force.
Moreover...
'Judging by his reaction back then, the young master must be roughly guessing as well.'
When he obtained the hidden opportunity in the forest near the mansion, the young master certainly spoke with a nuance that he already guessed the truth.
The terrible truth involving my parents and the young master's mother.
Yet the young master only worries about and cares for me.
"See, judging by your expression right now, you look extremely tired... that's all because you lack life force. So..."
"...Please excuse me for a moment, young master."
With such thoughts, I rose from my seat and approached the young master, who was still speaking with a worried expression.
"...Cania?"
"I apologize, young master."
Eventually, sitting in the seat right next to the young master, I gently leaned against him and lost myself in thought.
'I thought that even harboring such feelings was a sin...'
My heart is still filled with guilt.
That's why I decided to confess everything just before everything ends and be with the young master.
Someone like me should just quietly assist from the side, I thought I had no right to stand as an equal.
'...I guess the human heart can't be helped after all.'
But no matter how hard I try, it continues to be in vain.
It's an incredibly sinful and irreverent thing, but now that heart is trying to transcend even the guilt.
"Why are you being like this? It's embarrassing."
While I was thinking such thoughts and staring at the young master, he scratched his head with an awkward expression and smiled bashfully.
A simple and pure smile... without a speck of dust, something I never saw even once in the previous iteration.
"May I lean on you for a moment? Young master."
"Of course."
The young master readily accepted the words I unknowingly let slip while taking in that smile.
After hesitating for a moment, I gently leaned on the young master's shoulder, expressed my gratitude in a low voice, and reached a conclusion within myself.
"Thank you, young master."
You, who doesn't hate me even though you have every right to hate, who loves me even though there are plenty of reasons for me to be hated...
'...I think I've come to love you after all.'
.
"We have arrived!"
"Hmm..."
When the coachman announced in a hearty voice that the carriage had arrived at the Starlight mansion, Cania, who had been leaning on Frey's shoulder and sleeping, slowly opened her eyes.
"I, I apologize! Young master!"
"No, no. It can happen when you're tired."
Eventually, Cania, who had been blank for a moment, saw the drool mark on Frey's shoulder and turned bright red, bowing her head repeatedly.
"Wouldn't it be better to receive life force as soon as possible?"
"N, no!"
When Frey asked while looking at Cania with worry, Cania answered urgently while waving her hands.
"I don't know why, but suddenly my mind has become clear. So, I think it would be good to skip the treatment this week."
"Hmm... really?"
"Really, young master."
Frey, who had been looking at Cania with a skeptical expression, saw her quickly exit the carriage and smiled with satisfaction, muttering to himself.
'I figured as much, so I already infused life force while she was sleeping.'
Frey was well-practiced in infusing life force while Cania slept, so he was able to stably inject the necessary life force with just a few coughs of blood.
"...Ugh."
But whether he couldn't be free from the influence of 2 penalties and 1 special penalty or not, Frey, who was trying to get off the carriage, soon felt dizzy and began to sway.
"This is... I guess it can't be helped, if only to prepare for tomorrow."
Eventually, Frey, who stood holding the carriage while glancing at Cania, opened the system shop for the first time in quite a while.
Life Force Recovery Speed Increase LV2 50000pt
Description) Permanently increases life force recovery speed. (Total amount does not increase)
[Accumulated pt: 85000pt]
"...I didn't intend to buy it if possible, but it can't be helped."
Soon after, Frey, who had been muttering while looking at the window floating before him, purchased the skill, and suddenly vitality began to flow through his heart.
"...Ugh."
"Young master!?"
As a result, when Frey grabbed his heart and collapsed to the ground, Cania, who was standing beside him, looked flustered and supported him.
"Ah, this is just a reaction from applying the life force recovery speed increase skill. So there's no need to worry."
"Is that really true?"
"It's really true, see? I didn't even cough up blood or anything."
Eventually, Frey, who reassured Cania as she began to look at him with skeptical eyes, started walking toward the mansion with a much more relaxed expression.
"Could it be... that it's really because of me..."
Meanwhile, Lulu, who had been sitting quietly and looking out the window.
"...Did he end up like that because of me?"
Seeing Frey in such a state, she began to mutter with a trembling voice.