“What do you mean, ‘what about it?’ If that’s true, it means there is currently no one in this castle who can stop Lucas.”
“Why would there be no one? You said you put magic cuffs on him. You’ve set up emergency countermeasures well, too.”
“No, but it’s still anxiety-inducing. What if the knights get hurt? What if Tayros gets hurt?”
“As for me, if he dies fighting for you, I would consider it an honorable death and a relief.”
Well, I wouldn’t. I wanted to protect even one more person.
If someone died for me, I wouldn’t be grateful; I would resent them.
“I just wish no one would die. I want Lucas to live quietly in this castle, but I don’t know the method to make that happen.”
“That’s simple. Break his ankles.”
“No.”
Then my ankles would get broken too.
I couldn’t even imagine how much a knight would resent me later for snapping his ankles.
When I firmly refused, Scarlet toyed with her chin, lost in thought.
Her violet eyes, which looked just like Tayros’s, sparkled as she looked at me.
“It’s very strange.”
“W-what is?”
“You’re the one holding the leash, but you act as though you’re the one who has been caught.”
I flinched, feeling as though my inner thoughts had been laid bare.
Scarlet tilted her head.
“Could it be that you’ve fallen in love?”
“No. Don’t say such dangerous things. Right now, managing my own duties is overwhelming enough. What do you mean, love?”
“It’s a relief you know that.”
Scarlet spoke icily.
It was the voice of a loyal subject who would lay down her life to stop me if I had fallen in love and were about to give away my liver and gallbladder.
A belated chill ran down my spine.
“Sister, that was a leading question just now, wasn’t it?”
“That slave screamed so desperately, after all. It would be a disaster if your heart wavered.”
“This is exactly why I trust and employ you, sister, but you are truly terrifying.”
The siblings were alike, but their methods of proving their loyalty were different.
The person who protected me was Tayros, and the person who stopped me was Scarlet.
Because Scarlet was loyal to me, she would bring me to a halt if my intentions and actions diverged.
I had chosen her as my aide for this exact reason, but it was terrifying nonetheless.
“I understand your dilemma now. You want to prevent his escape without inflicting any harm on the slave, correct? Then there is a good method.”
“What is it?”
I asked without expecting much.
Scarlet said something that made my eyes widen.
“Give him false hope.”
“False… hope?”
“Tell him something like, ‘If you behave yourself here for just three years, I will grant you your freedom.’ Tell a lie by staking something desperate that he has no choice but to believe.”
It was just like calming a rampant death row inmate by handing them a note that read, ‘I will help you escape soon.’
Lucas was a slave gifted by His Majesty, so I couldn’t just turn him into a freeman at my own whim.
Scarlet surely knew this as well.
“What if the lie gets caught?”
“What is he going to do once he finds out? Is he going to take revenge on you? If he’s that unmanageable, then it’s only right to kill him.”
“And what excuse do I give His Majesty?”
“Negligence in management, or a sudden death. There are plenty of excuses.”
I understood Scarlet’s words.
In that case, the lie I needed to tell was already decided.
I just had to tell him that if he listened to me well for one year, I would help reinstate him as a duke.
One year would be enough time to find out how the story of this world progresses.
He would either be reinstated without my help, or he would have to live as a slave for the rest of his life.
Since I had no intention of actually helping him.
“Why so serious? Was it not helpful?”
“No. It was helpful. Thanks.”
“Your face says otherwise.” Scarlet remarked skeptically, but she returned to her seat now that the conversation was over.
I sat before my cold teacup and thought.
‘Would it really be okay for me to act that cruelly?’
I tried to weigh the burden I carried against the burden he must be carrying on a scale, but then I gave up.
Since it was a scale inside my own heart, mine would obviously feel heavier.
And on the scale inside his heart, his own burden would naturally be heavier.
I returned to my desk and started working. I am Count Hyacinth Pation.
What I need to do is already set.
Once again, I worked late into the night before returning to my room.
A knight was guarding the bedroom door, his face twisted into an expression that practically screamed he was feeling guilty over something.
“Is there a problem?”
“The thing is… I believe you should see for yourself, Count. I did try to stop him, but he refused to listen.”
I had a bad feeling about this.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I threw open the bedroom door.
Lucas was kneeling inside, his head bowed low toward me.
I turned to the knight and asked, “How long has he been like this?”
“He has been in that posture since noon, sir.”
That meant he had been doing this for half a day.
Rage flared within me at the thought of a man who was already severely injured and unwell putting himself through this.
“Why wasn’t I informed?”
“I—I did send word, sir. I asked a servant to deliver the message, but it seems it was omitted.”
That made me even more furious.
The servants had been doing their jobs perfectly well up until now, so I couldn’t understand why they were suddenly acting up like this.
Could they have done it on purpose?
I was about to yell out into the corridor with the door still wide open, but remembering the knight was listening, I stepped inside and shut the door.
At the sound of the door closing, Lucas raised his head.
“What do you think you are doing? If you have something to say, you should have come to my office.”
“I am… deeply sorry. I…”
Lucas couldn’t properly form his words.
Sensing something was wrong, I stepped closer.
His face was drenched in sweat, and his eyes couldn’t focus on me properly.
Startled, I rushed over and grabbed his arm.
His body was burning up like a furnace again.
“What in the world… Why are you being so foolishly stubborn?”
Supporting Lucas’s weight, I immediately moved him over to lay him down on my bed.
Lucas went along submissively, letting himself be guided and lying down exactly as he was told.
He was completely helpless against my touch.
“Do you even think before you act?”
“Count… pl-please… forgive me…”
Lucas begged for forgiveness, looking so agonized that it wouldn’t have been surprising if he lost consciousness right then and there.
“I’ll forgive you, so stay awake. I’m going to call a doctor.”
Lucas caught my hand as I turned to call for medical help.
His hand was so hot it felt like it had just been pulled from a brazier.
“Mercy…”
“…….”
“Please, have mercy…”
I needed to break free—I needed to pull my hand away—but his gaze caught mine once again and refused to let go.
His burning eyes stared at me with such desperation, as if I were his absolute last hope.
Hope?
How absurd, when I was the very person who wouldn’t care if he were dragged straight into hell.
