| Episode 8
“Thank you very much for saying that.”
Connor bowed politely.
Even as he did, my gaze lingered on his subtly trembling hands.
At the same time, the image of Lucas—murmuring in a voice filled with despair—rose in my mind.
“I feel like nothing I do will make a difference.”
I quickly shook my head, repeating to myself not to get involved in unnecessary matters.
For now, taking care of my own business had to come first.
“Then… I’ll be on my way.”
Lucas rose fully from the bed and walked toward the door as he looked at me.
“Thank you for accompanying me this far. I’ll have one of my family’s carriages prepared.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll just take a hired carriage. I have somewhere else to go anyway.”
It wasn’t a lie.
I had planned to visit another guild nearby to ask about work.
Still, Lucas looked dissatisfied, as if he didn’t quite believe me.
“I can’t treat a guest who’s come this far like that.”
“All right. Then I’ll take the carriage.”
In the end, I returned in a carriage bearing the crest of the Boventin family.
Partly because there was no other place nearby to hail one—and partly because Lucas had been so insistent.
“Miss, what on earth happened?”
“That’s what I want to ask, Elisha. Why have you been running into that man so often lately?!”
Bell and Baron Adrian both pressed me with questions, but I kept insisting that I didn’t know and fled to my room.
Thankfully, I was faster.
They only whispered outside and didn’t come in.
“I’m exhausted.”
I collapsed onto the bed.
So much had happened—it was no wonder my body felt drained.
Exactly one week after I began visiting guild after guild, anxiety crept in.
I’d been naïve to think finding work would be easy.
Once I realized that no one would trust a sheltered noblewoman with no recommendations or experience, all I could do was sigh.
“Miss, wouldn’t it be better to give up on finding work? If the baron found out, he’d be very upset.”
As I changed clothes to visit the guilds yet again, Bell cautiously approached and spoke.
But I couldn’t simply agree.
If I wanted to survive, I had to earn money—no matter what.
“Let’s go, Bell.”
After trying so hard to persuade me, Bell sighed and pulled on her cloak.
She seemed to realize by now that I wouldn’t give up easily.
But as soon as we exited the last guild, I could no longer hold back my frustration.
“How can there be this few jobs available?!”
With how often I visited, surely they could leave at least one position open.
Glowering at the guild door didn’t magically create work, though.
As I rubbed my cold hands together, Bell asked with concern,
“Are you all right? Should we head back for today?”
“No. Let’s just check the first place again before we go.”
Before she could argue further, I turned into a familiar alley.
If I didn’t act fast, Bell would surely try to persuade me again.
“M-Miss!”
Just as expected, Bell called out to me.
I forced myself to ignore her and kept walking.
“Miss!”
She called again.
I finally stopped and turned around, intending to convince her that we’d check just one more place.
“Bell?”
Something was wrong.
Her eyes shook violently, and her body fidgeted as though she didn’t know what to do.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ugh!”
Just as I stepped toward her, a rough groan echoed from somewhere nearby.
Only then did I realize Bell’s gaze kept darting toward the alley beside us.
“What is it, Bell?”
Worried that something had happened, I hurried to her side and gently grabbed her narrow shoulders.
She snapped her head around to face me.
“What is it?”
“Miss… there’s someone collapsed in that alley.”
“What?”
Judging by Bell’s pale face, she wasn’t lying.
I immediately strode into the alley.
I could hear Bell’s footsteps following behind me.
A little farther in, I saw a man slumped against the wall.
It was too dark to see clearly, but his ragged breathing told me his condition wasn’t good.
“Are you all right?”
I knelt in front of him.
When he lifted his head, I recognized the familiar face I’d seen a week earlier.
“Your Grace?”
“…I seem to always show you myself like this. I’ll be fine soon, so you should go.”
Lucas bowed his head heavily and began gasping for air again.
I quickly checked for injuries, but there were none.
That left only one explanation.
“That symptom again… Where is Connor?”
“I sent him on an errand. I didn’t expect this to happen in the meantime.”
He spoke weakly, resting his head against the wall.
Watching him anxiously, Bell asked me,
“Miss, what should we do? Should we call a doctor?”
“No. Instead, if you see the man who usually accompanies the Duke nearby, bring him here. Where did he send him?”
“To the weapon shop. He should be back soon, so please—”
“You heard him, Bell. The weapon shop. Please.”
“Y-Yes!”
Bell glanced at Lucas, then ran off quickly.
Watching her go, Lucas let out a deep sigh.
“It feels like I’m always being helped by you.”
As he spoke, he gently rubbed the locket in his hand.
Recognizing the necklace I’d picked up for him before, I carefully sat down beside him.
“Are the people in the picture… your family?”
“You looked inside. Yes. They’re my family.”
But when I’d visited his estate before, I’d seen no one besides Lucas and the servants.
Sensing my confusion, he slowly continued.
“Everyone except me is dead. Killed by monsters. It’s a fairly well-known story—haven’t you heard? That I went mad with revenge and became a warmonger.”
“That’s…”
“I suppose you hadn’t heard. Yes. My family all died in a monster attack.”
“I’m so sorry for making you bring up such painful memories.”
“It’s fine. You didn’t ask knowing that—and I was the one who brought it up.”
Lucas spoke while breathing unevenly, as if trying to spare me from feeling guilty.
Unlike his reputation as a cold-blooded war fiend, he was gentle and polite.
After a moment of hesitation, I steeled myself.
“Could you tell me more about what happened?”
Perhaps it was lingering professional habit from my previous life.
Perhaps simple meddling.
But I couldn’t ignore someone suffering so deeply that they couldn’t live normally.
“I know it’s difficult. I know it’s hard to talk about pain you experienced long ago—especially to someone you’ve only met twice.”
Lucas looked at me with a confused expression.
I took his still-trembling hand and continued,
“I might be able to help ease your symptoms.”
At my words, his body stiffened.
After a moment of hesitation and labored breathing, his lips slowly parted.
“Can I really escape this pain?”
“What?”
His face twisted uncontrollably.
It was enough to show how long he had suffered.
“Yes. If I understand the situation in detail, I can help.”
“…”
“Your Grace?”
“Do I even deserve that?”
His voice trembled faintly.
Understanding what that question meant, I stayed silent.
This wasn’t the moment to answer—it was time to listen.
“When I was young, it was just sleepless nights and occasional hallucinations. It got worse after the last monster subjugation.”
“The final subjugation before returning to the Empire?”
nod
“There was a subordinate I couldn’t save. The words he said while looking at me—I still can’t forget them.”
