* * *
It seemed like I was the only one who knew that Raizen had come to the duke’s estate.
There were not only visible guards but also magical barriers surrounding the estate.
I had no idea how he managed to bypass them.
I’d heard that magic couldn’t be used to enter from the outside.
Maybe the latest magic barriers allowed exceptions for registered users?
Either way, the duchess didn’t mention anything about it during dinner.
So, I didn’t bring it up either, even though I knew how childish and pointless that was.
That night, the rabbit messenger didn’t come to me.
The next day, either.
And two days later, Duke Pantheon returned to the estate.
“Sei!”
The moment I stepped onto the staircase, someone called out to me warmly and pulled me into an embrace.
It was the Duke.
He quickly pulled back, startled.
“Ah, my apologies. I acted without thinking.”
He’s always been like this.
Instead of replying, I lightly returned the embrace.
I was just as awkward about it as he was.
“Sorry for making you worry.”
“Don’t be. What matters is that you woke up safely.”
“Yeah…”
After greeting the Duke, the next person was Arthur Sothes.
He looked at me in disbelief before his eyes reddened.
I never thought I’d see Arthur Sothes looking like this because of me.
It was surprising, to say the least.
“I’m really glad… that you woke up.”
“Ah… yeah. Thank you, Professor.”
After exchanging warm greetings, we moved to the dining room together.
The atmosphere at the table, with Arthur Sothes included, was lively.
‘Hm…’
Was I the only one feeling that something was off?
The Duke had been away from the estate for quite some time.
It was only natural to ask how things went or if anything had happened, but there was no mention of it at all.
It was as if we had all eaten together just yesterday.
Since that was the mood, I focused on my meal without saying anything either.
Near the end of dinner, I noticed the Duke and Duchess exchanging glances.
Something was definitely up.
This was the first time I’d seen the Duke leave for such a long period.
Even Mila had mentioned in passing that it had been a while since he’d been away for this long.
I suddenly recalled the faint, metallic stench when he hugged me earlier.
It was barely there, but underneath the scent of blood, something even more pungent lingered.
‘I really want to know what took him away for so long…’
But I wasn’t sure how to bring it up.
No matter what I said, it might sound like I was prying.
‘It might not even be anything important.’
Was it because of the nearly four years I’d been gone?
Even though I had already looked into what had happened while I was away, I couldn’t shake this uneasy feeling.
I knew better than to believe that newspaper articles and magazine reports told the full story.
“Sei.”
“Yes?”
I was startled by the sudden call and looked up.
The Duke and Duchess were gazing at me with warmth.
“Would you have some time later tonight?”
A wave of relief washed over me, and I nodded immediately.
We all moved to the Duke’s office together.
The Duke and Duchess stepped away to meet with visitors, leaving just me and Arthur Sothes.
“Are you really alright?” he asked first.
I took a sip of my flower tea and nodded.
“Everyone’s worried, but I’m really fine.”
“I see.”
A moment of awkward silence followed.
This time, I asked a question.
“How have you been, Professor?”
“I’ve been working as His Grace’s aide. I actually considered becoming a temporary professor at the Royal Academy, but… Lord Raizen strongly opposed it.”
“Haha…”
I understood both Arthur Sothes’ perspective and Raizen’s.
But my heart naturally leaned toward Raizen’s side.
Sometimes, concern could feel like surveillance.
“Oh, I have good news. It looks like I’ll be resuming your education.”
I had figured that if I were to start studying again, Arthur Sothes would likely be my tutor.
But that was before I knew he was serving as the Duke’s aide.
“Oh, I appreciate it, but… isn’t that too much for you?”
“Not at all. I actually asked for it.”
That was unexpected.
I knew he had a favorable impression of me.
But I’d thought it was because I was someone important to Raizen.
Not that it was a bad thing.
I wasn’t particularly upset about it either.
There were plenty of relationships that started from practical reasons.
I couldn’t think of anything to say, so I just smiled at him.
Arthur Sothes smiled back and added,
“…It feels awkward, doesn’t it?”
“Huh?”
At first, I didn’t quite understand what he meant.
But as I slowly mulled over his words, I grasped their meaning.
He was asking about the situation—about waking up to find that nearly four years had passed.
“Uh…….”
‘I’m fine with it.’
That was definitely what I thought.
And yet, the words didn’t come out so easily.
I absentmindedly ran a hand over the back of my neck before opening my mouth.
“It was a bit overwhelming at first… but I’m okay.”
“…….”
“I mean, I was just lying there the whole time. It’s not like I went through anything difficult. The ones who really struggled… were the others.”
Honestly, watching over someone for four years when they’re asleep for no apparent reason—without any clear cause—couldn’t have been easy.
If my divine power was all they wanted, they could’ve just kept me alive and breathing.
But they didn’t do that.
“For us, those four years passed as part of our everyday lives. But for you, it wasn’t the same.”
“Yeah… It was hard getting used to my body suddenly growing. I kept tripping over myself, like… like a newborn fawn or something.”
“A newborn fawn?”
Arthur Sothes chuckled softly.
Seeing that made me realize just how much time had really passed.
He seemed far more composed than he did in my memories.
Was that what he had meant by his earlier words?
I broke a cookie in half and popped a piece into my mouth.
As I slowly chewed, the words that had been lingering inside me slipped out without much thought.
“I guess… I do feel a little impatient.”
Arthur Sothes replied in a tone that was neither too heavy nor too light.
“I think that’s only natural. Even after just one year, it would be overwhelming. But four years… that’s not a short time at all.”
“Actually, I did go to the library and skim through newspapers and magazines from the past four years. But that only gives me the surface-level events. It doesn’t tell me what things are truly like now…”
Was I rambling too much?
When I glanced at Arthur Sothes, I found him looking at me with a serious expression.
“I must seem foolish. It’s not like I need to know everything, or even have a reason to…”
“No.”
Arthur Sothes’s response was firm.
“You, my lord—”
Just then, I sensed someone approaching.
A moment later, the door to the office opened, and the Duke and Duchess stepped inside.
After apologizing for being late, they took their seats.
A brief silence settled over the room before Duke Pantheon spoke.
“The reason we’ve gathered like this… is to share with you everything that’s happened until now, Sei.”
I had somewhat expected this.
But hearing it directly still made me feel strangely relieved.
“I, um… I actually went through newspapers and magazines over the past few days to get a rough idea of what’s happened.”
“Oh?”
The Duchess looked at me approvingly.
The praise felt a little undeserved, making me feel slightly awkward.
“Then, you must also know about the incidents caused by the black magic users.”
“Yes.”
“We suspect they are remnants of the Roite Kingdom. We couldn’t officially investigate before, so it remains speculation, but…”
The remnants of the Roite Kingdom. That name sounded familiar.
‘Ah.’
A faction that might have been involved in the deaths of the Marquis and Marchioness Kreveta.
“Even in the Roite Kingdom, black magic was considered forbidden. But ever since that fateful oracle was given four years ago, they’ve been openly using black magic to expand their influence. From our investigations, every captured individual involved in these incidents turned out to be completely unaware… They were brainwashed.”
“……And yet, the Emperor publicly declared them to be black magic users?”
“Yes. Likely to provoke the temple. The Emperor has been steadily targeting them. And we… are secretly assisting when necessary.”
Duke Pantheon took a sip of his tea before continuing.
“The reason I’ve been away so often was because I was leading monster subjugations. And in the remains of the defeated monsters, traces of black magic were found. It was a spell that forcibly amplified the monsters’ power, driving them into a frenzy.”
“Then… may I ask what proof exists that these black magic users are truly remnants of the Roite Kingdom?”
At my question, the Duke hesitated. He looked slightly surprised but quickly masked his expression.
“We… happen to know the magical signature of one of the key figures among the Roite remnants. A brainwashed mage wouldn’t be able to use black magic so perfectly. Which means someone orchestrated the events first, then disposed of the evidence.”
“…….”
“And that magical signature matched.”
A pattern was finally starting to emerge from what had previously felt like a series of disconnected events.
“…….”
Should I say it now?
But this wasn’t something I could keep ignoring forever.
“Was that group behind… the carriage accident I was in?”
Even if this body originally belonged to me, I had no memories of the Marquis Kreveta and Marchioness.
My only memories were of my life in Korea—of my cold and distant family there.
Like Noah once said, even if I became fully convinced that this was my rightful place, my past, my essence wouldn’t change.
‘I don’t even know what they looked like.’
That was why I deliberately phrased it as “the carriage accident I was in.”
Calling them “my parents” when I had no memories of them felt like an insult to the dead.
Still, I asked—not out of some blind affection for parents I had never known.
‘I just… want to confirm if my guess is right.’
Duke Pantheon regarded me with a somewhat conflicted expression before exhaling a quiet sigh.
“Yes, your suspicions are correct.”
* * *
