No Rest for the Guilty
The rustling paper bag had a small pink ribbon tied to it.
The man’s eyes, which had been rolling back as if he had caught a whiff of something familiar, suddenly filled with tears that began to fall. His rough fingers kept stroking the ribbon.
“Huuu… uu…”
“…Lady Pay, this way. Please do not stay too close to him.”
Cassel thought the vagrant was beyond help, yet he could not stop worrying that the man might harm Pay.
Just as she was about to move toward Cassel, the man spoke again through his sobs.
“Huu… huu… uu… If I could… give this to our Dotricia… she would like it too… huuu…”
“Kuh…!”
‘Good heavens!’
Cassel let out a groan, and the name that made Pay’s heart freeze in shock. Crimson eyes burning with fury and green eyes wide with alarm met and tangled. Was he speaking of the person they were thinking of?
Instead of pressing the ailing man with hasty guesses, the siblings searched for another way.
In the end, the unidentified man was moved from the treatment center to a nearby care facility. Cassel explained that it was a place he knew well, so no one would be able to approach the man carelessly.
Quite some time had already passed. They needed to hurry back to the Magic Tower or the Imperial Palace, yet neither of them could bring themselves to speak first.
Evening was approaching.
They walked between the trees behind the care facility, trying to calm their hearts.
The fresh scent of new leaves helped, if only a little.
Pay watched Cassel clench his fist tightly and offered comfort.
“Please don’t. Open your hand, all right? It hurts when your nails dig into your palm.”
Her small hand reached for the man’s large fist and gently pried his fingers open one by one.
“…Why are you not angry even in a situation like this?”
“I can endure it. So please do not hurt yourself on my behalf.”
Pay patted the back of his strong hand and looked up at the sky.
The warm spring sky was already taking on a deeper blue, preparing for evening. No matter how beautiful or terrible the things that happened on the ground, time simply flowed on.
Lucius had once said that was how the world of men worked.
“I can guess. Since they are holding the rest of the family hostage, they must have used the most difficult person to protect as an example and left him in front of the ducal residence.”
The man who had trembled in terror at the mere mention of the Saintess.
The pitiful man who had burst into tears at the sight of delicious, pretty things, reminded of his younger sister.
Then… was he Lument, the second son of the Caris viscount family she had only read about in records?
Unlike the composed Pay, Cassel looked deeply distressed.
“Just cry if you want. Shout that you cannot stand this, that you hate everything and never want to see it again. If that is your wish—to never have to look at this horrible situation again…!”
“I am not a good child.”
Pay’s voice was firm.
She had long since abandoned the role of the good, pitiful child. There was no longer any docile, gentle Morgana who endured everything without complaint and turned her own pain into someone else’s.
Though she appeared quiet, she had done many things. She had driven Dot into a corner, and together with the Drakan she had tormented the Saintess.
She did not feel that devising such schemes had corrupted her. She had merely returned their evil deeds with revenge.
“Pay…”
“I am not simply enduring in silence. Just… leave that man’s identity alone for now and let him rest. I do not want to use a sick person to corner Dot. My last shred of conscience, or any probing, ended long ago.”
Cassel nodded after a long silence and finally set off to escort her back to the Magic Tower. The carriage had already been sent back to the ducal residence.
Pay rode behind him the entire way, quietly watching the night spring scenery.
The flower petals and leaves that had looked so beautiful by day now seemed dark and gloomy in the night. The damp grass, wet with moisture, looked especially desolate.
All it took was the change of a single light, and everything visible turned bleak.
“……”
“You worked hard. As always… thank you.”
“Lady Pay.”
Only on the top floor of the Mizuang Hotel did the two of them treat each other as true siblings bound by blood.
Cassel was growing weary of this heavy, unyielding shackle. The words he had spoken at the care facility had, in truth, been his own feelings.
He wanted to let everything explode. He, who had become a true knight after long years on the frontier, could not tolerate the injustice done to his sister.
If only he could drag the fake lady and the wicked Saintess to the edge of the empire—or beyond, into the deepest ocean—and drown them both!
Would that finally free him from this deep resentment and thirst for revenge?
‘I…’
“Sir Cassel, the commander of the Blue Rose Knights, is the most splendid knight I know. I have said that before, haven’t I?”
“Ah…”
A sigh escaped his lips.
The foolish day when he had revealed his identity to her without knowing anything, declaring, “I am the heir of the Klein ducal house.”
Only later had he understood why her eyes had been so shocked. Truly… only later.
“You are doing better than anyone else in the world, Sir Cassel. Please do not lose your courage or your merciful heart, all right?”
True to his nature as an overprotective brother when it came to Pay, Cassel suddenly felt another question arise.
If Pay thought he was the most splendid knight in the world, then who, logically, would be the best man for her?
Surely… it could not be that arrogant silver-haired mage. No matter how outstanding his skills were as the next Tower Master candidate, a man with a rough personality would never do.
Our Pay would only suffer!
He brought up another matter indirectly.
“A lady must not fall for a knight so easily, Lady Pay. There are men whose words are smooth but whose private lives are a complete mess.”
“Hehe, is that so?”
“There may be mages in the Tower who court you as well, so you must be especially careful. Never think of dating someone simply because they like you.”
‘Ah.’
Pay’s lips, which had accepted the warning about knights with a smile, stiffened awkwardly.
She… had never told him. Yes. She had never confessed her feelings for Lucius to her brother. She could wait longer—perhaps much longer—but if she were honest, she had a feeling he would be angry.
Having struck her brother’s thoughts exactly by accident, Pay did not reply right away.
Silence is golden!
Cassel began to tell her, one by one, stories of wicked wolves throughout history.
“…And so, it became a huge problem. Lady Pay? Are you listening?”
“Yes? Yes… yes.”
Before long, the Magic Tower came into view.
Pay tried to jump down alone, but Cassel, who had dismounted first, quietly offered his hand, and she accepted it.
She saw him. Lucius stood in front of the Tower doors, arms crossed, as if he had been waiting for some time.
Cassel glanced at him, then deliberately shielded Pay with his own body as he gave his final warning.
“Any mage who values magic more than his woman is absolutely unacceptable.”
“…Whoever it is, I will get permission before meeting them.”
The modifier “your” had been omitted, but Cassel could not have missed the implication. He smiled at once and asked,
“Truly?”
“Of course.”
Well, he would probably give his permission. She could not tell him everything about the relationship between herself and Lucius, but…
Pay recalled the saying “no parent can win against their child” and slightly rephrased it in her mind as she nodded.
If she simply told him the story about the unicorn later, Cassel would change his mind and give at least half his approval. Lucius was devoted to her, even if he was not to anyone else.
“Understood.”
Having finished his warnings about men, Cassel looked extremely pleased with himself.
“Did you have a good trip…?”
Lucius, who thought the siblings’ farewell was taking too long, approached quietly. Cassel’s brow furrowed at the sight of him walking over so confidently, without the slightest hesitation.
This fellow seemed to think Pay would naturally return to him. No, that was not the case.
One day, when both the Saintess and the fake lady were dealt with, he would build a new mansion and keep Pay safely inside it.
Did this arrogant man think it was easy to see our Pay’s face? To request a single visit, he would make him submit documents, undergo an interview to check his manners, and wait more than ten days!
Unlike Cassel’s delayed judgment, Pay was all smiles.
“Yes! Were you well too, Lucius?”
She turned away from her brother’s shielding body and walked straight to Lucius.
Cassel, suddenly left with nothing, deliberately raised his voice to say goodbye.
“Lady Pay, I shall take my leave now. Please rest well tonight and take it easy with your magic research as well.”
“I will!”
“……”
Following Pay into the Tower, Lucius gave a slight nod of greeting, lowering only his eyelids rather than bowing his head.
‘If one were to sculpt arrogance into human form, would it not be him?’
He was not angry.
However, if anyone in this world dared to take his precious Pay lightly, he intended to sever their head.
Cassel decided he would seriously look into books on how to duel a mage.
* * *
After sending Lument to the Klein ducal residence, Capia quietly visited the Orleans ducal residence, where the family was under collective house arrest.
Just as it had been at the Klein residence, a violent wave of anger—not welcome—crashed toward the Saintess.
“If you have anything to say, then speak!”
“…Your Grace.”
The Duchess of Orleans was trembling so hard that even the pins holding her hair in place shook.
Capia thought she looked like a canary that would die easily from too much anger.
Being the target of someone else’s rage was still unpleasant. No matter how many times it happened, she never grew used to it.
“Our family has devoted itself to fulfilling your demands for many years! And what do we have left? Has the blessing of the gods even come?”
“Please calm yourself.”
“Calm? You said it yourself last time—that you would soon wield enormous influence in the capital, so just wait a little longer! And what did we gain? Everything collapsed because of the disgrace you uncovered while riding around on a Drakan!”
‘As expected…’
Just as she had feared, the Duchess of Orleans seized upon that incident.
Capia herself had been the one who designated the direction the Drakan flew—north, south, east, or west—so there was no way to shift the blame onto anyone else. Why had she really done that back then?
Capia found it unbearable to endure the humiliation of her own mistake.
The duchess trembled, took a sip from a glass of water, and continued.
“Our family must remain the right hand of the empire, even if we die and are reborn. Do you even understand what position we are in now? Not only have we received severe punishment, but all the territories near the Dria Mountains have been confiscated by the imperial family. And that is not the end—there will be separate punishment from the capital as well!”
“What?”
The duchess’s furious gaze shot toward the Saintess.
“From now on, to come to the capital from the provinces, one must obtain a travel permit for every single journey or borrow roads through other territories! Do you, who sit comfortably inside the temple doing nothing, have any idea how serious this is?! Our family will have no choice but to bow and scrape before the imperial family from now on—what do you expect me to do?”