To be honest, I was half in doubt, but I never thought I would actually arrive at Duke Leopold's residence.
It was surprising and fascinating, but at the same time, it was also a relief.
“Go down to the mansion first... Lord Perdes!”
Only then did he discover Perdes sitting on the floor, gasping for breath, and, startled, I helped him up.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes... ugh.”
Perdes grabbed his wrist before he could continue speaking.
I hurriedly checked his palm.
"Oh my God."
The red, ripe palms were a mess of pus and blood.
Even just looking at it, it was a serious burn.
“Since when has this been happening? No, but rather than that, you should go to your doctor right away.”
“Yes. This is a result of magical recoil, so it can’t be fixed by normal means.”
“Magic recoil?”
“Yeah. I’m the one who used powerful magic that didn’t fit the topic.”
So, is that because you used a teleportation magic circle?
Because of me, he got these bad burns...
"It's okay."
Perdes smiled faintly on his sweat-covered face and scanned the area under my eyes with his good hand.
“I’m okay, don’t cry.”
I'm... crying?
Now that I think about it, my eyes are a little wet.
I think I cried without realizing it.
“Then how do you treat this wound?”
“You can only treat it with healing magic or leave it to time.”
“You’re saying you have to show it to the priest?”
Perdes nodded.
“That’s true, but usually a priest isn’t enough. It’s a powerful magical backlash that only dragons know, so you’d probably have to be at least a high priest.”
"Ah..."
There was a temple not far from Leopold's estate, but it had no high priest.
The nearest temple with a great hall was the capital city.
That means, to cure Perdes' hand, we must return to the capital.
However, it was impossible to return to the capital right away.
Even if we could confirm and defeat the powerful invader that Byblos had spoken of, we could not draw a teleportation magic circle back to the capital.
Even if I did, I couldn't ask Perdes to activate the magic circle again.
Then what should I do?
"It's okay."
While I was thinking about it, Perdes said.
“As I said, this is a wound caused by magic recoil, so it won’t get any worse. So don’t worry and go.”
“But it’s still painful.”
“Not at all. This much is tolerable.”
His pale face, drenched in cold sweat, was clear evidence that he was lying.
“So, come back quickly. I’ll be waiting here.”
Still, it was heartbreaking to know that I had no choice but to leave Perdes here.
It felt like someone was constantly stabbing my heart with a sharp needle.
“Don’t worry, and go.”
“...I’ll be back soon.”
But since there was no other way, I had no choice but to leave Perdes behind and head to the Duke's residence.
I promised myself that I would resolve this quickly and return.
It was late at night. The Duke's mansion was quiet as darkness fell.
It was natural for it to be quiet since the employees were sleeping, but it was a little strange that there was no sign of life at all.
Where is the security?
The remaining Leopold knights are supposed to take turns standing guard at night.
Something was off. I felt a chill down my spine, an uneasy feeling.
Before going to the basement, I need to meet someone I can trust, like Haness or Sarah, and have them explain what's been going on.
First, I headed to Sarah's room, which was closest.
“What, it’s empty.”
It looks like it's been a while since the room was vacated, as there's no warmth left.
There's no way she would be out at this late hour, something must have happened.
The moment I was about to hurry to find Sarah, I felt a presence behind me.
Although I had no intention of killing him, I drew my sword and aimed it at my opponent just in case.
Under the dim moonlight streaming in through the window, the other person's figure was visible.
"Sarah?"
It was Sarah.
Besides, there were other maids next to her.
“What are you all doing here at this late hour?”
“...”
“Why aren’t you answering? I should have asked you what you were doing.”
No matter how many times I asked, they came towards me without saying anything.
The way she walked, staggering, was extremely strange and suspicious.
There's something. I took a step back, easing the tension that had been loosened.
However, they had to stop before they could go very far because the servants from behind came walking unsteadily like Sarah and the maids.
Among them were the Knights of Leopold.
“Everyone, wake up!”
"...”
“Can’t you hear me? I said, come to your senses!”
I shouted so loudly that the hallway shook, but no one responded.
As the servant, who had narrowed the distance between us, reached out his hand as if to grab me, I quickly dodged and struck the back of his neck hard.
A normal person would have fainted immediately, but the servant only staggered and then moved again.
It was the same for other employees.
It was only then that I realized that they were moving unconsciously, like sleepwalkers.
That means you can't subdue them by simply stunning them.
If they were my enemy, I would have killed them without mercy, but since they were like family to me, I couldn't do that and just bit my lips.
Let's dodge for now and go to the basement.
Perhaps the one controlling them is the powerful disruptor that Byblos spoke of.
I thought I could dodge it easily and get to the basement since it was walking slowly, but I was wrong.
“Let go, let go of this!”
There were so many servants that it was difficult to avoid them, and it was also difficult to remove them without getting hurt as they stuck to me like leeches.
As I engaged in a pointless fight with my men, I remembered what Duke Lucien had said about the Emperor trying to buy time.
Could this also be the Emperor's plan to buy time?
“Haha, with so many people stuck together, you look like an octopus. Or maybe a squid?”
“...!”
I looked in that direction, startled, when I heard a voice that shouldn't be heard here.
Then, behind the servants who were clamoring to come towards me, I saw the Duke of Lucien smiling leisurely.
I had no idea, it really was the Duke of Lucien.
“What are you? How are you here?”
“That’s to help the Duke.”
Because I spoke out of turn, Duke Lucien also spoke out of turn.
And then he started talking nonsense, so I glared at him with a sour look on my face.
Then, as if he had realized something, the Duke of Lucien clapped his hands.
“Oh, come to think of it, Duke is a title given to you by the Emperor, so I guess you don’t like that title. Then should I just call you Miss Adele?”
“Stop whining.”
I pushed away the servants who had clung to me more and approached the Duke of Lucien.
But before long, I had to stop because the servants started clinging to me again.
“Wow, it looks like the servants really like you. It must be very hard to be such a beloved head of a household. I envy you.”
“I told you to stop talking nonsense. Tell me exactly how you got here and what your purpose is.”
“I told you. I came to help Miss Adele.”
“You’re helping me? That’s ridiculous. How can you help me?”
“I will help you take revenge on the Emperor.”
As expected, that man knew I was after the Emperor.
At the same time, I could also tell that there was an Emperor in my mansion.
In the basement of my mansion, to be exact.
“Is that okay? You’re on the Emperor’s side.”
“As I said before, I am not on the Emperor’s side.”
“Then whose side are you on?”
“Since I came to help Miss Adele, I’ll tell you that I’m on your side.”
What kind of nonsense is this? I looked at him in bewilderment, and the Duke of Lucien chuckled.
“Of course, I don’t intend to help you just for the sake of it. I will help you if Miss Adele beats me at chess.”
“ ..Should we play chess in this situation?”
“What can’t you do?”
That guy is serious.
I knew the Duke of Lucien was crazy about chess, but I didn't think it was to this extent.
“What do you want to do? Do you want to play a game with me?”
“Well, I’d like to do it too, but as you can see, it’s hard to move. It seems like it would be impossible to even progress in the game.”
“Don’t worry. Once the game starts, they’ll all be immobilized.”
“What are you planning to do? If you were planning to kill or hurt me, you wouldn’t just stay still.”
When I glared at him sharply, the Duke of Lucien shrugged and took an hourglass out of his pocket.
“If you turn this hourglass, time around you will stop. In other words, it will stop their time and prevent them from interfering with you, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
Stopping time? Is that possible?
I was puzzled, but soon changed my mind.
Since I've gone through regression four times, what's the big deal about the existence of an hourglass that stops time?
“What happens if I lose at chess?”
“Then I'm not going to help you, am I?”
If Duke Lucien really helps, that's great, and even if he doesn't, I don't really have anything to lose.
“Yes, let’s do that.”
The only thing that bothered me was that the Duke of Lucien was incredibly good at chess, but I thought it would be a good idea to give it a try, so I accepted the offer.
“You made a good choice.”
The Duke of Lucien smiled, turned the hourglass over, and placed it on the floor.
Then, the surrounding air changed in an instant, and the servants who had been clinging to me like leeches suddenly fell down.
It was surprising and fascinating, but at the same time, it was also a relief.
“Go down to the mansion first... Lord Perdes!”
Only then did he discover Perdes sitting on the floor, gasping for breath, and, startled, I helped him up.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes... ugh.”
Perdes grabbed his wrist before he could continue speaking.
I hurriedly checked his palm.
"Oh my God."
The red, ripe palms were a mess of pus and blood.
Even just looking at it, it was a serious burn.
“Since when has this been happening? No, but rather than that, you should go to your doctor right away.”
“Yes. This is a result of magical recoil, so it can’t be fixed by normal means.”
“Magic recoil?”
“Yeah. I’m the one who used powerful magic that didn’t fit the topic.”
So, is that because you used a teleportation magic circle?
Because of me, he got these bad burns...
"It's okay."
Perdes smiled faintly on his sweat-covered face and scanned the area under my eyes with his good hand.
“I’m okay, don’t cry.”
I'm... crying?
Now that I think about it, my eyes are a little wet.
I think I cried without realizing it.
“Then how do you treat this wound?”
“You can only treat it with healing magic or leave it to time.”
“You’re saying you have to show it to the priest?”
Perdes nodded.
“That’s true, but usually a priest isn’t enough. It’s a powerful magical backlash that only dragons know, so you’d probably have to be at least a high priest.”
"Ah..."
There was a temple not far from Leopold's estate, but it had no high priest.
The nearest temple with a great hall was the capital city.
That means, to cure Perdes' hand, we must return to the capital.
However, it was impossible to return to the capital right away.
Even if we could confirm and defeat the powerful invader that Byblos had spoken of, we could not draw a teleportation magic circle back to the capital.
Even if I did, I couldn't ask Perdes to activate the magic circle again.
Then what should I do?
"It's okay."
While I was thinking about it, Perdes said.
“As I said, this is a wound caused by magic recoil, so it won’t get any worse. So don’t worry and go.”
“But it’s still painful.”
“Not at all. This much is tolerable.”
His pale face, drenched in cold sweat, was clear evidence that he was lying.
“So, come back quickly. I’ll be waiting here.”
Still, it was heartbreaking to know that I had no choice but to leave Perdes here.
It felt like someone was constantly stabbing my heart with a sharp needle.
“Don’t worry, and go.”
“...I’ll be back soon.”
But since there was no other way, I had no choice but to leave Perdes behind and head to the Duke's residence.
I promised myself that I would resolve this quickly and return.
It was late at night. The Duke's mansion was quiet as darkness fell.
It was natural for it to be quiet since the employees were sleeping, but it was a little strange that there was no sign of life at all.
Where is the security?
The remaining Leopold knights are supposed to take turns standing guard at night.
Something was off. I felt a chill down my spine, an uneasy feeling.
Before going to the basement, I need to meet someone I can trust, like Haness or Sarah, and have them explain what's been going on.
First, I headed to Sarah's room, which was closest.
“What, it’s empty.”
It looks like it's been a while since the room was vacated, as there's no warmth left.
There's no way she would be out at this late hour, something must have happened.
The moment I was about to hurry to find Sarah, I felt a presence behind me.
Although I had no intention of killing him, I drew my sword and aimed it at my opponent just in case.
Under the dim moonlight streaming in through the window, the other person's figure was visible.
"Sarah?"
It was Sarah.
Besides, there were other maids next to her.
“What are you all doing here at this late hour?”
“...”
“Why aren’t you answering? I should have asked you what you were doing.”
No matter how many times I asked, they came towards me without saying anything.
The way she walked, staggering, was extremely strange and suspicious.
There's something. I took a step back, easing the tension that had been loosened.
However, they had to stop before they could go very far because the servants from behind came walking unsteadily like Sarah and the maids.
Among them were the Knights of Leopold.
“Everyone, wake up!”
"...”
“Can’t you hear me? I said, come to your senses!”
I shouted so loudly that the hallway shook, but no one responded.
As the servant, who had narrowed the distance between us, reached out his hand as if to grab me, I quickly dodged and struck the back of his neck hard.
A normal person would have fainted immediately, but the servant only staggered and then moved again.
It was the same for other employees.
It was only then that I realized that they were moving unconsciously, like sleepwalkers.
That means you can't subdue them by simply stunning them.
If they were my enemy, I would have killed them without mercy, but since they were like family to me, I couldn't do that and just bit my lips.
Let's dodge for now and go to the basement.
Perhaps the one controlling them is the powerful disruptor that Byblos spoke of.
I thought I could dodge it easily and get to the basement since it was walking slowly, but I was wrong.
“Let go, let go of this!”
There were so many servants that it was difficult to avoid them, and it was also difficult to remove them without getting hurt as they stuck to me like leeches.
As I engaged in a pointless fight with my men, I remembered what Duke Lucien had said about the Emperor trying to buy time.
Could this also be the Emperor's plan to buy time?
“Haha, with so many people stuck together, you look like an octopus. Or maybe a squid?”
“...!”
I looked in that direction, startled, when I heard a voice that shouldn't be heard here.
Then, behind the servants who were clamoring to come towards me, I saw the Duke of Lucien smiling leisurely.
I had no idea, it really was the Duke of Lucien.
“What are you? How are you here?”
“That’s to help the Duke.”
Because I spoke out of turn, Duke Lucien also spoke out of turn.
And then he started talking nonsense, so I glared at him with a sour look on my face.
Then, as if he had realized something, the Duke of Lucien clapped his hands.
“Oh, come to think of it, Duke is a title given to you by the Emperor, so I guess you don’t like that title. Then should I just call you Miss Adele?”
“Stop whining.”
I pushed away the servants who had clung to me more and approached the Duke of Lucien.
But before long, I had to stop because the servants started clinging to me again.
“Wow, it looks like the servants really like you. It must be very hard to be such a beloved head of a household. I envy you.”
“I told you to stop talking nonsense. Tell me exactly how you got here and what your purpose is.”
“I told you. I came to help Miss Adele.”
“You’re helping me? That’s ridiculous. How can you help me?”
“I will help you take revenge on the Emperor.”
As expected, that man knew I was after the Emperor.
At the same time, I could also tell that there was an Emperor in my mansion.
In the basement of my mansion, to be exact.
“Is that okay? You’re on the Emperor’s side.”
“As I said before, I am not on the Emperor’s side.”
“Then whose side are you on?”
“Since I came to help Miss Adele, I’ll tell you that I’m on your side.”
What kind of nonsense is this? I looked at him in bewilderment, and the Duke of Lucien chuckled.
“Of course, I don’t intend to help you just for the sake of it. I will help you if Miss Adele beats me at chess.”
“ ..Should we play chess in this situation?”
“What can’t you do?”
That guy is serious.
I knew the Duke of Lucien was crazy about chess, but I didn't think it was to this extent.
“What do you want to do? Do you want to play a game with me?”
“Well, I’d like to do it too, but as you can see, it’s hard to move. It seems like it would be impossible to even progress in the game.”
“Don’t worry. Once the game starts, they’ll all be immobilized.”
“What are you planning to do? If you were planning to kill or hurt me, you wouldn’t just stay still.”
When I glared at him sharply, the Duke of Lucien shrugged and took an hourglass out of his pocket.
“If you turn this hourglass, time around you will stop. In other words, it will stop their time and prevent them from interfering with you, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
Stopping time? Is that possible?
I was puzzled, but soon changed my mind.
Since I've gone through regression four times, what's the big deal about the existence of an hourglass that stops time?
“What happens if I lose at chess?”
“Then I'm not going to help you, am I?”
If Duke Lucien really helps, that's great, and even if he doesn't, I don't really have anything to lose.
“Yes, let’s do that.”
The only thing that bothered me was that the Duke of Lucien was incredibly good at chess, but I thought it would be a good idea to give it a try, so I accepted the offer.
“You made a good choice.”
The Duke of Lucien smiled, turned the hourglass over, and placed it on the floor.
Then, the surrounding air changed in an instant, and the servants who had been clinging to me like leeches suddenly fell down.
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