Chapter 15

“I want you to leave here.”

“Like I said, that conversation is already over.”

“I’m not finished. I’ll keep talking until you’re persuaded.”

Felix wore an expression of being tired of it all. I tried to open my mouth again, but he immediately raised a hand to signal that someone was coming. Before long, a maid carrying a tray appeared, and our conversation ended halfway.

Still, I didn’t give up, and I tried to persuade Felix every chance I got after that. I thought that if I couldn’t leave, I should at least send Felix away on his own, but he had no intention of listening to me.

For a while, he showed at least a cynical reaction, but later, perhaps he had adapted, as he didn’t even pretend to listen anymore.

At the very least, I tried to get Felix to do some errands that required a long time away. But there were many servants in this mansion to run errands. I had no justification to make him do them when his duties as a security detail were set aside.

In the midst of all this, for some reason, the Master’s mood hit rock bottom with each passing day. I didn’t know the reason, which made me anxious, but there was still nothing I could do.

Then, finally, it blew up.

That day, the Master, whose anger had reached its peak, threw a temper tantrum for a long time. Then, perhaps thinking of something, he suddenly grabbed my neck. And he forcibly poured his power into me. There had been no prior preparation like there was when he remodeled the Count. Just as I was feeling the pain of my whole body about to burst from the sudden influx of divine power, the office door burst open, and Felix rushed in. The Count’s eyes opened wide and turned toward Felix.

No!

Without even me being able to find a clear reason why, at that moment, I just opened my mouth wide while unable to articulate what was “no.”

I didn’t even see the sword at his waist being drawn. I only heard the friction between the scabbard and the sword. Perhaps I perceived a total of two sounds: once when he drew it, and once when he sheathed it. By the time I recognized that, the Count’s head, which had been right in front of my eyes, was already falling to the floor.

The Count’s body did not recover. This was not Felix killing the Count. The Master had discarded the Count’s body himself. However, it seemed this situation itself wasn’t what the Count (the Master) had intended, as I could intuitively feel his sense of defeat the moment his head fell.

Thud. I slipped out of the Count’s hand, sat on the floor, and gasped for air. Even in the midst of the chaos, I instinctively thought that we were screwed. I still didn’t know what was screwed, but something had definitely gone terribly wrong.

“Cough! Cough! What the hell are you doing…?!”

Felix looked down at the Count’s body for a moment and tilted his head. Then, he turned his eyes to me and said.

“It’s an act of terrorism.”

“What…?”

“You said you were already targeted once at the hunting grounds last time, didn’t you? The terrorists finally finished off their target this time.”

“What are you talking about?!”

“Shh.”

Felix put a finger to his lips and pointed toward the open door. I saw the personal maid, who had probably fainted, lying on the floor.

“I’m trying to solve this peacefully, but do you want to call people over? If you do, I’ll have no choice but to kill all the witnesses.”

“You…?”

“Well, if you wished for it, I’d do anything for you, but please let it slide this time. This is my livelihood, you see. The client conditioned me not to cause unnecessary sacrifices.”

“The client…?”

He took a magic orb out of his pocket and flicked it toward the office window. Immediately, with a loud “Boom!”, the wall crumbled away.

“The terrorists have fled in this direction.”

Dusty wind whipped into the office, scattering papers high into the air. Felix, crouching in front of me, took off his coat and draped it over my shoulders.

“The security detail who realized the situation too late could only barely manage to save the Countess.”

He lightly smoothed the collar of the coat and glanced at me. Then he brought his face close, pressed a brief kiss to mine, and pulled away. I still didn’t understand a single thing that was happening.

Felix’s hand stroked my cheek.

“There’s no need to think about anything right now. Once the cleanup is done, you’ll understand the situation on your own.”

Saying we would talk about our relationship calmly later, Felix supported me and helped me stand.

News of the incident at the mansion brought my parents over. While the on-site investigation was underway, I sat blankly in the bedroom, held in Anne’s arms. She continuously stroked the back of her stepdaughter, who had become a widow in an instant, and lamented.

“How could such a thing happen? How…?”

“…”

“Still, you must not collapse. You have to endure, Meriel.”

“…”

After the investigation was finished, my father stepped forward to handle the aftermath of the mansion. My stepbrother also followed my father around and lent a hand.

With a fatigued complexion, my father said in a calm tone.

“Even if it’s difficult, I can manage to intervene in matters of the capital. But the territory is different. You must protect it yourself. If you don’t want to be bitten to pieces by collateral relatives and retainers and lose everything in vain, you must keep your wits about you.”

“Dear, Meriel just lost her husband today.”

“There is nothing solved by us grieving together. Time won’t stop for it, either. If you turn your eyes away from reality, only a deeper abyss awaits.”

“But still…”

“Anne, consolation can be done anytime. Anyone can do it, too. We must fulfill our duty as parents, not as bystanders. Standing her up, even if forced, so that Meriel can protect her territory and property herself is what we must do now.”

My father said that this was as far as my parents could help and urged me to hurry to prepare for my return to the territory immediately.

I didn’t resist and rose from Anne’s arms. My mind was so complex that I didn’t even feel like being cynical.

The next day, a conclusion as blind as a bat was reached: that there were no internal suspects. I don’t know if someone pulled strings behind the scenes or if the investigative agency was just incompetent, but thanks to that, I could depart for the territory without delay. The Count’s body was treated with magic, loaded onto a carriage, and moved with us.

Inside the carriage, I thought continuously.

This cannot be. It absolutely cannot end this easily.

The Master is immortal. I don’t know if gods can kill each other, but at least that was the case against humans. The clone created by the Master remodeling the Count’s body is the same. If it breaks, he just has to restore it. But to die just because a head fell off?

That’s nonsense. Humans are designed to be unable to kill gods. Because the difference in the gap that cannot be crossed is clear, I cannot deny the fact that the Master is a god, no matter how much of a bastard he is.

I recalled the Master who had grabbed my neck and pushed his power into me.

That bastard, what did he do to me? What on earth did he do that he would throw away the vessel he had made with such care in an instant? Am I still unable to do anything?

I was only afraid of the situation where I had no choice but to helplessly watch the giant wave about to crash upon me.

“Huu…”

“Iel. Iel.”

“Ugh…”

“Wake up.”

While suffering from an unclear nightmare, I opened my eyes at the touch of hands tapping my cheeks.

Where am I?

I rolled my eyes frantically to check my surroundings.

It’s an inn room. Right, we decided to rest here for the night. This should definitely be a room where I stay alone, but a dark shadow was sitting by the bedside.

“Are you okay?”

“…Felix?”

“You seemed to be having a nightmare, so I woke you up. Do you want some water?”

“How are you here…?”

“I followed you.”

“Why?”

“Because I was worried. Your condition looked bad when you left.”

Felix poured water into a cup and held it out. I sat up, took the water, drank it, and regained my senses a little. Then, the presence of Felix, which had felt somewhat unreal, hit me very vividly.

“To think you’d sneak into a woman’s bedroom while she’s sleeping—what happened to your conscience? Are you crazy?”

“What? We’re a couple who’s done everything there is to do, aren’t we? Why act so formal all of a sudden?”

“We’re a couple that ended. You shouldn’t do this now.”

Didn’t you acknowledge it with your own lips? That since it’s over, I shouldn’t even call you Fel.

“What, you still had that on your mind? That was obviously acting.”

Don’t make me laugh. To me, that felt sincere. Above all, why would acting be necessary in an intimate conversation that didn’t even involve a third party? I didn’t believe his words, but I didn’t even have the energy to argue now.

I placed the cup on the bedside table and lay down with my back to Felix.

“I don’t care if it was acting or whatever, so get out. No matter what you say, I’ve already finished everything.”

“Are you blaming me because the Count ended up like that?”