Vera’s room was spacious enough, so Sephy let her two Doppelgangers go to other places to move another bed in.
“Ah…… it is Sage No. 2435 and Sage No. 2436. Where are you two going with that bed?”
“We are organizing surplus furniture according to custom.”
The several guards on duty in the Mansion at night noticed their movements, but they did not ask too many questions—— because the two of them were originally Doppelgangers working in the Duke’s Mansion, and could be considered their colleagues.
The citizens of Cyrus were well aware that over the years, the Sage’s ubiquitous Doppelganger had been driving the city’s operations like mechanical gears.
And for such unchanging and commonplace things, people rarely cast too much attention or suspicion.
The reason Sephy sent them instead of ordering Vera’s loyal Human Servant in this place…… was because she had to cut off all possibilities of leaking the news at this moment.
According to custom, tomorrow—— which is the third day’s Flower Crown Parade—— the Royal Princess, who is the nominal supreme commander, the Duchess and her heir, and the distinguished guests she invited will board a specially made float and parade through the entire city in celebration.
This activity has always been considered the climax of the four-day celebration of the Crown Festival, and almost all guests and citizens will pour onto the street in a swarm.
If the current situation of these two idiots who are the protagonists was known by those people before the parade even started……
Just imagining the possible commotion and chaos, Sephy felt her head aching as if it were about to explode.
She let Meliya sleep on the bed brought by the Doppelganger, and then reached out to perform Healing Magic on her.
“Sephy…… how is Vera?”
After staying in that pool for just a little while, the skin all over Meliya’s body was slightly frostbitten.
Fortunately, Sephy’s action of dragging her out was fast enough, so she could still endure the pain and ask the question.
“Don’t worry, her condition is better than yours. As long as she lies in this magic circle, her body temperature will not drop.”
Vera lay on the bed in the center of the magic circle; having lost consciousness, her exhaled breath was cold and calm, exactly the same as it was a day ago.
“That’s good.”
Hearing Sephy’s promise, Meliya closed her eyes with difficulty——even her eyelids were frozen red, and she felt pain and trembling with every blink.
“Meliya…… do you think I’m too idle, so you always find things for me to do all day long?”
“I didn’t have that thought. I wanted to find out the reason for the recurrence of her illness…… and now I know…… it was because of Lian…… because she met that Lian Miss you introduced…… that she became like this. And she also said I was just a substitute for 『that child』…… Sephy…… you knew about this, didn’t you?”
“……Don’t listen to her nonsense. Those were angry words spoken in a state of mental instability.”
She knew, of course.
When she entered the Bathhouse, the argument between the two happened to reach that point.
If she had intervened earlier, she could have actually prevented Vera from saying those words——
But she didn’t.
Because Vera’s expression and voice at that time were so desperate that it made her hesitate.
She knew that Vera had always harbored complex feelings for Lian En, and those feelings had nowhere to be vented because Meliya and Lian En eventually became a couple, and because of Lian En’s disappearance.
Sephy originally thought that sixteen years had diluted that feeling——but she was obviously wrong.
That feeling had not only not disappeared, but instead continued to ferment and stagnate…… finally turning into something that made her so sad and so painful.
“Was it really just angry words? She never told me…… about 『that child』. I don’t even know what her name is.”
“Don’t worry about that…… you are not a substitute for anyone. Vera is definitely not the kind of person who cannot control her emotions——she has controlled them for sixteen years.”
She did not comfort Meliya through deception.
On that journey, she didn’t know how many times she had watched those two fall down covered in wounds and exhausted.
But every time, they could stand up again and defeat powerful enemies——
If you were just a substitute…… how could they do such things?
If you were just a substitute, why would Vera rather fall to this state than continuously suppress her own emotions for as long as sixteen years?
Why would Lian En, even after becoming that ridiculous appearance, stubbornly insist on returning to your side?
“It’s all that damn Frostblade. It not only affected her body, but I’m afraid it also affected her soul…… I should have thought of it sooner.”
“So what I did was valuable, right……? A useless person like me can finally be like him…… and help you all a little——”
“What do you mean help……! Are you stupid?! Since you know you’re a mortal…… you should also know that there’s no way you can resist her Magic Power that can freeze hot water in an instant! If I had been one step later——”
“I would have turned into an ice sculpture forever. I understand.”
“……Do you really understand? You would die!”
Sephy felt she couldn’t understand her, just like always.
Even when it involved her own life and death, her tone was so flat.
In this regard, she was not like the mortals in her cognition at all.
“You would lose everything you’ve worked so hard to build so far, your daughter would lose her Mother, and the person you’ve been waiting for would lose you——the word death is just a word…… but how heavy the things it represents are…… do you really understand?!”
“……”
“I’m begging you, Meliya— don’t stay silent, don’t act like an idiot. Stop doing things like this for other people… even if that person is Vera! Don’t forget—you made a promise to me!”
Facing the silent Meliya, a kind of year-long pain gradually crawled into Sephy’s voice.
She slowly knelt on the ground as if she couldn’t support the erosion of that pain, but her hands still didn’t stop casting the spell.
“……So, you’ve actually been watching me all the time, right? Because you appeared in time every single time, saving me, saving Vera.”
Meliya suddenly sat up.
Sephy wanted to stop her…… but she was one step ahead and stood up to hug her.
“You don’t have to keep your Eyes on me like this all day…… Sephy. What are you worried about? Are you worried that I will break my promise, that I will leave you and go first? I won’t. I will always be by your side.”
Meliya whispered thus in her ear.
That voice was so gentle…… as if it wanted to wrap everything in this world inside.
If that fellow Lian En were held by her like this, he would probably be crying uncontrollably, right?
Sephy felt so.
Because even though she felt like crying a little now…… she just couldn’t.
After all, these Eyes of hers had long since lost the function of shedding tears.
…
……
………
“Lian Sister your tea brewing has improved slightly compared to last time.”
“Thank you for the Lady’s praise…… if the full score is ten points, how many points are there this time?”
“Hmm…… zero point seven points?”
“Lady, this score is too much——I think zero point five points is more in line with the level of this cup of tea.”
“……I, I’d better go brew it again forget it.……”
The comments from the master and servant caused Lian, who was originally full of confidence, to wilt at once.
She blocked her face with a tray and wobbled out of the room.
“Ugh…… only zero point five points? Is my tea brewing technique really that bad?”
After coming back from the Bathhouse hand in hand, Milin had asked her to brew tea again just like last time.
But unlike last time, Feiyin also happened to come over at this time to convey the third day’s work content to her.
So this master and servant naturally became the guests of her room, and ruthlessly criticized the results of her labor.
She intended to go get water again and brew another round of tea to wash away the shame…… but before she could walk out of the room, the Communication Pearl she was carrying on her person let out a “Ding ding ding!” sound.