Duke Edgard sat in the chair placed at the head of my bed.
It was a close enough distance that I could make eye contact just by looking up slightly.
"However, it seems you are still not in a state to have a proper conversation."
He quickly sat up from his seated position. Then he leaned his face close to me.
With his head slightly tilted.
As if it didn't matter if his hot breath touched me. Closer.
A clear emotion was rising in his eyes.
Curiosity and bewilderment.
And even a hint of coolness.
Then he opened his mouth.
"You clearly aren't someone who has mastered martial arts."
His voice mingled with the breaths I exhaled. That is how close we were.
The red eyes examined me deeply.
Then Duke Edgard reached out his hand to the back of my neck.
I could feel the tension in my muscles from the strain of moving too hard, under his fingertips touching my neck. Soon, his hand slid down my shoulder and onto the back of my hand.
If you have trained, this is likely the first place where it shows.
"..."
However, there was no way there could be any trace of training.
He narrowed his eyes once again.
- Tsk.
Then, he suddenly took out a handkerchief and placed it in my hand.
"Ah...!"
It was then that I groaned and realized.
Just by him gently pushing it back with his hand, I could see blood seeping back through the bandage wrapped around my hand.
It looked like gouged wounds from swinging a handleless iron rod around excessively for a short period of time.
My hand, tightly gripping the handkerchief to endure the pain, could not be released.
"...!"
The sharp pain seemed to snap me back to reality.
The Duke's voice cut through the gap.
"The knights of the Marquis Eden were not fools. From the way they formed their ranks to their skill, it was quite something..."
As he said that, he looked completely unharmed.
Even though he must have faced them alone after I collapsed.
"Someone skilled enough to outsmart such people."
His voice, having moved a little closer to me, whispered from within a stone's throw.
It is hot.
Even as I was burning up with fever, I felt as though I could sense his heat.
While I exhaled the breath I had received amidst the strange atmosphere.
"After displaying your skills like a blazing fire for a brief moment and then collapsing... You're unable to move like this."
He returned to his seat and said.
"At least within my knowledge, there is no word to explain this phenomenon. The same was true for my subordinates who treated you while you were down."
His eyes gleamed dangerously.
" I am very interested in interesting things, though."
His mouth twisted as he muttered those words.
"I have never placed such a variable-rich entity in my domain. So."
He stretched out his hand.
" Try to convince me. Make me want to keep you alive."
His even darker red eyes scrutinized me as if peering into me.
Duke Edgard's voice fell clearly.
"And so, following your letter, I would want to hear your story."
"Haa... "
In the meantime, the burning pain subsided a little, and EI barely managed to exhale.
Since waking up, my physical condition was improving little by little.
The Duke persistently followed my gaze.
"I am a twisted person who cannot stand not knowing things."
It meant to answer quickly.
The man who was even urging me on looked relaxed, at least on the outside.
However, the inside must have been different.
The man I actually saw was much sharper and more forged than described in the novel, yet somewhat twisted.
To the point where if you don't answer, you won't know how the unwanted results will turn out.
That is why I had to answer now.
"That's right, me."
Giving assurance that it will not be a burden before his interest cools.
"I have come to become your ally, Duke."
...I had to speak in a clear and distinct voice.
"Allies... that is a word like sweet poison."
Castian let out a low laugh.
But soon the laughter stopped.
"I make those in a hurry taste poison even though they know it is... But for me, it is not such an urgent matter."
Especially with a major variable like you, even more so.
At those words, I turned my gaze. I could now move my head slightly.
Even if stiffness and pain completely consume my body.
“Really?”
Even as I said that, my mouth felt completely dry.
This man is testing me.
That thought actually cleared my mind even amidst the pain.
If I fail to prove my worth here, I will fall into an abyss even deeper than in the original work.
My instinct was telling me so.
That is why I opened my mouth.
" I know that Edgard is in trouble because of his naturally strong energy."
It was said with conviction.
In the original story, Duke Edgard is unable to control the life force trapped within his body and eventually goes berserk. He becomes a disaster that destroys the world.
There was no way I wouldn't know such important information.
The Duke smiled leisurely, even though it was clearly the correct answer.
"Edgard has a long history of vitality. If Edgard is in trouble over something as trivial as that—"
It seemed like he intended to deny it. But I was certain.
So it was time to play another card.
"Dofran, Master of the Eastern Magic Tower."
At my words, his brow furrowed slightly
"Isn't that guy targeting Edgard?"
The Duke and Dofran are cousins.
From the outside, it appeared to be a friendly relationship because they were related by blood, but in reality...
"And of course, I intend to find the Key to the Covenant first to prevent them from controlling their energy."
It is not simply because the magician who uses magical power and Edgard, the swordsman who uses physical power, instinctively reject each other.
At my words, he closed and opened his eyes.
His gaze, which had completely turned cold, stared directly at me.
"It's not just a guess, but a certainty."
He looked into my eyes for a moment, then opened his mouth.
"Since you are so certain, I’d like to ask how you knew first."
A voice that had suddenly turned cold rang out.
However, I hid my trembling.
Because I was tense all over due to pain, it wasn't difficult to hide it.
"I was able to know with my abilities."
"It's ability..."
A power that not only possesses physical strength but also makes one's information capabilities outstanding.
He asked.
"Then are you saying you intend to use that ability to drain my energy?"
“Yes. At least.”
I answered in a straight voice.
"I am confident that I will be able to find the Key to the Covenant as soon as possible with my own strength, so it will be of great help in stabilizing your energy."
Since one of the reasons for the rampage was essentially the key, it was a statement tantamount to providing a solution.
Castian raised his eyebrows.
"If it is an ability powerful enough to make that possible, it is very interesting, but."
Castian sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
"I like interesting things, not bombs that could explode at any moment, Young Lady. More than anything."
His words continued immediately.
"Unless I find the key within the next few days, I won't be able to solve my energy problem."
What was reflected in the twisted smile was, surprisingly, the impatience that had not been visible until just moments ago.
The moment I noticed it, I realized.
I could see it even though it was only a fleeting glance.
The expression of one trying to endure without revealing pain, which I, in my past life, could not help but see whenever I looked in the mirror while ailing and waiting for death.
I opened my eyes wide.
"No way..."
So, are you saying your stamina was already at its limit right from the start of the original story?
So, later on, something triggered it, and it exploded?
Thinking I might have chosen the wrong place, my vision suddenly went blurry.
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