Chapter 47
Chapter 47
He looked at me with wavering eyes.
"Ah... Brisa of Sears? Ah... Gilav, right. He said he would invite you."
Then he smiled awkwardly and spoke quickly.
"I'm sorry, Miss Brisa. Dinner has been canceled because of a family matter. Would you please return for now? I will invite you properly another time. I am truly sorry for the discourtesy."
Held in Alpheus's arms, I answered calmly.
"Yes, I understand."
No matter how crazy I was about money, I wasn't crazy enough to bring up mana stones here.
"I will see you next time."
After that, we parted without even exchanging farewells.
Alpheus moved quickly while still carrying me.
He muttered.
"It's similar to the singing I heard at sea."
"......Singing?"
"Yeah. It's not exactly the same, but it's similar. When I hear that song, I get sleepy."
My eyes flew open.
In the original novel, it had only been described as "Alpheus nearly fell asleep and was gravely injured."
As we hurried down the stairs, we found the first floor flooded. Foul-smelling water lapped around Alpheus's calves.
Leopold happened to be at the top of the stairs, sighing. He had apparently run into the situation while heading to the reception room after us.
Held in Alpheus's arms, I spoke.
"It seems disaster has suddenly struck the duke's residence. Where is Baron Forman?"
"He's outside. The atmosphere seemed strange, so I said I would come in alone."
"We've been asked to leave, so let's go."
At those words, Leopold frowned.
"A dismissal? From Gilav?"
"We ran into the duke. He said to meet later, not now."
I continued calmly.
"But Leopold, Gilav lied."
At that, Alpheus asked in surprise.
"What? About what? What lie? Was the whole story about preparing dinner a lie?"
I sighed and continued.
"Earlier, he said the duke was absent. But we just ran into him."
"Hmm...... but he could have just returned, couldn't he? After hearing something, I mean."
"He said, 'Gilav said he would invite you.' That means he already knew about our invitation. If he had only just arrived, he couldn't have known, and even if someone told him on the way, he would naturally have said, 'Gilav said he invited you.'"
The duke had shown a flustered expression after encountering us.
If he truly hadn't expected us, he should have been very surprised. Because we were not people from this region.
He was even meeting Alpheus for the first time. He might have guessed that Alpheus was the new Marquess Sears because he resembled me, but if so, he should have shown a reaction like, "Ah, is this him?"
"The duke was here at the very moment Gilav invited us. But he had Gilav lie and say he was away."
Leopold, who had been listening silently, darkened.
"He's hiding something from us."
He sighed slowly.
Then Alpheus opened his eyes wide and said energetically.
"Then shouldn't we help? There could be some circumstances! I've fought monsters like that before! Not exactly that kind of monster, but it seems similar! It could be a difficult situation, so let's go back and somehow help......!"
One of the serious symptoms of protagonist syndrome was meddling.
But the moment Leopold and I heard the word "monster," we spoke at the same time.
"No. We're going to run away with all our might."
"No. We will flee immediately."
* * *
Alpheus had no choice but to follow the children's decision.
In truth, if he had been alone, he would certainly have used his strength to help someone. But he had Brisa and Leopold with him.
Both were children.
Moreover, he was holding Brisa in his arms. He couldn't abandon Brisa and run. Someone had to be the adult responsible for them.
Baron Forman was even an old man. Children and an old man needed a guardian.
"...So this is what it feels like to have something to protect. It's a very strange feeling to finally put selfishness before my convictions, but not a bad one."
Then Brisa shuddered and muttered.
"'Not bad,' 'this feeling,' that kind of talk is banned."
Leopold calmly sent Air Severing through the air.
At the same time, household goods began to be flung about in the flood.
"I will use them as stepping stones."
He said in an elegant tone.
Of course, the water was shallow enough to walk through, but he was absolutely determined not to let that filthy water touch him.
Brisa demanded calmly.
"Use Air Severing once more."
She meant to make the stepping stones a little denser.
She threatened Leopold seriously.
"Do it well, Leopold. If that stuff gets on my body, I'll die."
"That is entirely your choice... but if you do die, I hope you somehow manage to possess someone somewhere. Personally, I recommend Gilav's body. It doesn't need a soul anyway."
He replied as he moved quickly ahead over the stepping stones he had made.
"If the trouble in the tomato field happened to be an omen of disaster, your soul would have a great deal of advice to give us."
"You're saying 'don't die' at great length. I'd rather survive than wear Gilav's shell."
Alpheus tried to suppress his laughter.
To think Brisa had someone who could trade nonsense with her on equal footing for this long.
In truth, he had thought Brisa might not have any friends.
She was about as far as one could get from what people called a "sociable personality."
But she had a peer with a similar personality!
'The young lord of Nozen... He's handsome.'
Alpheus had not yet learned all of the Founding Five Houses. Brisa had taught him, but the family trees of people whose faces he had never seen simply did not stick in his head.
He had always been better suited to physical work. In combat-related skills, he was superhuman across the board.
These days he was even praised at farm work for being quick with his hands and strong.
"Let's go straight to the Nozen Grand Duke's Residence. The Warp should work normally now."
Leopold stepped forward elegantly.
Alpheus realized that this was consideration toward him. He did not know where the nearest Warp was.
'I like this kid.'
He realized that the child named Leopold Nozen was the type Brisa had described as "indifferent to him."
So far, Leopold had not attempted any private conversation with Alpheus. But he addressed him as "Marquess" and observed proper courtesy.
He had even introduced himself first, and unlike Gilav, he did not openly ignore him.
'He passes as our Bribri's friend.'
At a glance, he was far better than that Gilav fellow.
And so, after leaving the duke's residence.
Brisa spoke to Leopold.
"I'm glad Baron Forman wasn't there. He almost had to see something awful. But how did you know the Duke's Residence was strange?"
"A feeling."
Leopold answered indifferently.
"When you deal with a lot of monsters, you get a rough sense."
At the word "monster," Brisa narrowed her eyes. Then she sighed and muttered.
"Gilav won't meet us now, will he?"
Leopold frowned and looked at her.
"Why, do you suddenly miss his theatrics?"
"No. There's something that keeps bothering me."
Brisa looked back with a complicated expression.
The duke's residence seen from outside was astonishingly peaceful.