The Reason for the Headache
By the time I came to my senses, I realized I was lying in the Grand Duke's bed.
The moment he confirmed I was awake, the Grand Duke excused himself to fetch a physician and strode out of the bedchamber.
Dazed, I pushed myself up.
"I'm really fine, though……."
Granted, this headache had been one of the worst in recent memory. My whole body had swayed with it.
'Right……. If I collapsed, it must have been serious.'
Still, thanks to the Grand Duke catching me at just the right moment, I hadn't been hurt.
'He probably grabbed me on instinct when a person dropped right in front of him.'
And just like that, a flash of that moment crossed my mind — his arms wrapped around me.
'Why!'
I shook my head violently, trying to erase the scene from my mind while doing my best to ignore the heat creeping up my ears.
It's not like that's some great achievement worth bragging about! Don't picture it!
'This is absolutely, absolutely NOT because that was the first time I've ever been held in a man's arms!'
Absolutely not. Absolutely.
The instant I moved to climb out of the bed, the door burst open.
'Huh?'
It was the Grand Duke, physician in tow.
'Already?!'
I stared at the two of them in astonishment.
The Grand Duke wore the same expression as when he'd left, but the physician — who looked like he'd been hauled in by the collar — was gasping for breath as if he might throw up at any moment.
"Y-Your Highness. P-please, let g-go of me, kek, hah."
"……Examine her."
"Yes, so if you'd just—"
Pat pat. Even amid all that, the physician was dutifully tapping the back of the Grand Duke's hand, which still clutched his collar.
"……."
Only then did the Grand Duke release him. No — "threw him toward my side of the room" would be the more accurate description.
Good grief. The physician rubbed his neck and let out a long sigh of relief.
'That's a palace robe, isn't it? Is it really okay to treat a palace physician like that?'
The physician, practically kidnapped and dragged here, hesitated, stealing glances at the Grand Duke.
At which point the Grand Duke, arms crossed as he watched, spoke up.
"Start with the pulse."
"Ah — yes, Your Highness the Grand Duke."
The physician took my wrist and pressed his fingers to my pulse, then tilted his head and focused again.
It took quite a while. From where he stood by the door, the Grand Duke silently watched me.
And then another long stretch passed.
Dripping with sweat, the physician spoke to the Grand Duke standing behind him.
"Y-Your H-Highness. However much I examine her, I can find nothing seriously wrong."
Extremely healthy, in fact. More vitality than the average knight.
"Haha. Aside from a touch of indigestion from eating too much."
It's generally best not to consume a large meal right before sleeping. Hahaha.
He even added what he didn't need to add.
"……."
"……."
Feeling awkward for no reason, I turned my head away.
'A single headache, and he causes this much of a scene.'
Anyone watching would think I was carrying the Grand Duke's child.
Exasperated, a hollow laugh escaped me.
Once the physician left, the Grand Duke, who had been standing by the door, walked over. Perching himself on the edge of the bed, he said:
"You should have asked for a remedy for the headache."
"It's not the kind of headache that responds to medicine."
"Then it's been like this every time?"
"Never as bad as today."
"Managing your physical condition is part of a butler's duties."
"You just heard him yourself. I'm in better shape than most knights."
"They don't collapse and lose consciousness over a mere headache."
"……."
"There's some reason the physician couldn't find."
Yes, that reason is you, Grand Duke. That something is *you*.
The headaches had come even when the Grand Duke wasn't around, but only very rarely.
It was only when I was with him, exclusively, that this inexplicable headache arrived.
It had been that way back when I was Sia.
Every time we crossed swords on the battlefield, the headache would strike.
'Back then it was really just a simple headache.'
My head did ache, but I never heard voices or saw things the way I do these days.
It wasn't as if I never went to a physician about it, either.
But even the physicians of the Tenasis Empire failed to find the cause of my headaches.
They simply parroted the word "nerves" like so many birds.
These days, though — hallucinations on top of the voices…….
'Am I actually going insane?'
Just as I was grumbling to myself, the Grand Duke rose to his feet and said:
"Rest."
I lifted my head to follow him as he straightened.
"Where are you going, my lord?"
"Why? Do you want me to tuck you in as well? Sing you a lullaby?"
"Excuse me? I most certainly do not!"
A lullaby, of all things!
At my horrified reaction, the Grand Duke gave a faint smirk.
"I'll be back before the sun rises. You can rest here, or return to the butler's quarters. Whichever."
Ha. Naturally I'm going back! Why on earth would I rest in the Grand Duke's bed?
'What does he take his bed for, anyway — a warming tool?'
I hopped down from the Grand Duke's bed in one swift motion.
"I'm perfectly fine now. And."
I gave the Grand Duke a polite bow.
"Thank you for catching me earlier."
"……."
After gazing at me for a moment, the Grand Duke let out a quiet sigh.
"Rest."
"Yes, my lord."
The Grand Duke left the room before I had even made it out the door.
'But where on earth is he going?'
"He collapsed?"
"He did."
The place Kadrian sought out was the temple at the far eastern end of the imperial palace.
High Priest Raphid maintained temples across every corner of the empire and drifted between them like a wanderer, lingering briefly at each — but of late, he had been staying continuously at the palace temple.
In the temple's great hall, Kadrian and Raphid sat facing one another.
"The day I came here with my butler. Do you remember what you said to me then?"
At Kadrian's question, Raphid nodded.
"That black magic had left its trace on the soul within her body. Very weak and faint — like the brush of a passing sleeve."
And that since the energy was so faint to begin with, it would gradually fade away with time.
Kadrian looked at Raphid through lowered, shadowed eyes.
"Could that be the cause of her headaches?"
Painful enough to collapse from?
"Hmm."
Raphid stroked the tip of his chin, gathering his thoughts for a moment before speaking.
"The black magic is not the cause of her headaches. The trace I sensed that day will be long gone by now."
At that, Kadrian pressed back, his voice hard.
"Can you be certain of that?"
At Kadrian's question, Raphid laughed softly. Haha.
"What exactly is it that troubles you, Grand Duke?"
"……."
With the same benevolent, warm smile he always wore, Raphid continued.
"Are you worried because something might be wrong with her body? Or because something might be wrong with the unknown soul within it?"
"……."
"Or perhaps……."
Raphid's eyes curved into a sly smile.
"Both?"
"……."
To Raphid's relentless questions, Kadrian could not answer even a single word.
His mouth remained impassive; his gaze remained cold.
Raphid, receiving that sharp look head-on, leaned back in his chair and let out a small laugh. Haha.
"The headaches will likely continue."
Only then did Kadrian open his mouth.
"Why?"
Raphid met Kadrian's eyes as he answered.
"I suspect it is part of the process of her memories returning."
"……."
At Raphid's words, Kadrian's eyes wavered.
"Her memories, you say?"
"Yes."
Raphid nodded and went on.
"The problem is……. there is no guarantee that those memories are the ones you've been waiting so long for, Grand Duke. That is the problem."
"……."
"And what will you do then? If, by some chance, her memories return — and she is not the one you've been waiting for?"
"I'll think about that when it happens."
"……."
Raphid let out a small hum of a laugh. Hm.
'So he means to keep her alive no matter what until then.'
Even if the soul inside her truly was one steeped in black magic.
"Very well."
Raphid rose from his chair.
"To help her recover her memories quickly, expose her to many different things. The places she loved. The foods she loved. And the people."
"I'm making the effort."
"Yes — tedious as it may be, that will be the fastest way."
"I have never once considered it tedious."
"Yes, I rather thought you'd say that."
After deliberating over something for a moment, Kadrian spoke.
"Then, in the process of recovering her memories — could she collapse from the headaches again?"
"There is that possibility."
"……."
Kadrian furrowed his brow.
That expression must have been entertaining yet again, because Raphid went on with his next words.
"If it worries you that much, you could simply stay by her side at all times."
Kadrian's lowered gaze lifted to Raphid's face.
"……Even after all these decades, you remain as mischievous as ever, High Priest."
Haha. Raphid laughed aloud before speaking.
"You echo the very words the previous Grand Duke used to say."
"……."
Kadrian rose to his feet.
"I'll come again. Thank you for your time."
"Not at all. I shall pray, as always. That soon, she may return to our side."
"……Thank you."
Kadrian bowed his head lightly, then turned to leave.
But then he paused. As if something had just occurred to him, he turned back to Raphid and said:
"Might I ask one favor of you?"