31.

‘You must have been very tired.’

Ban covered Richt, who was fast asleep, with a blanket. She then knelt down by the bed and looked at his face. The ever-increasing feelings were slowly gaining a name.

The sweet yet bittersweet feeling of having someone in your heart and looking at them. Even if you had lived half a life as a slave, you could understand this. Normally, I shouldn’t have felt this way, but I couldn’t stop it anymore.

‘i love you.’

As soon as I spoke the words to myself, the dam that had been blocked the entire time burst and my emotions overflowed through it. Van, who was looking at Richt, slowly extended his hand towards him. He felt like he could reach it if he pushed just a little further. His heart was beating like crazy as he tried to touch him himself for the first time in his life.

The day Richt wakes up and gets caught, he’ll be scolded, but that’s okay too. Because I healed the wounds caused by the scolding.

Everything is good.

Just as I was about to reach it, someone knocked lightly on the door.

“Hmm.”

Richt frowned at the sudden sound and turned his body. Luckily he didn’t wake up. When I looked towards where the sound came from, I saw that the door was open.

“I never told you to come in.”

“I’ve never allowed you to do anything other than comb your hair.”

“Everything is decided by the master.”

“Master, master. good. Let’s say so. But do you think the master will be willing to do what you just tried to do?”

“Do you know what I was going to do?”

One corner of Abel’s mouth went up at Ban’s words. Look at how foolish they are. Some knights admired Ban, calling him a flower that bloomed from the bottom, but he seemed unable to agree with that opinion.

‘A knight who is serious and follows only his lord.’

Although he is said to be a model knight, the class Abel sees is not like that.

‘Look at those greedy eyes.’

How can those be the eyes that see the lord?

“I think I know.”

“You misunderstand.”

Ban tidied up Richt’s blanket as if he had originally intended to do so. That was all she had, but Abel’s eyes never left Van.

“Come to think of it. “They say your skills are amazing.”

This time I didn’t say anything negative. Even though the man named Van denied it to himself, he did not discount the value of other things Richt had.

“Come join me.”

Because the Knights of Leviathan had to be considered the best. He did not reject Abel’s words, which seemed to indicate his intention to sort out the ranks.

“yes.”

Ban grabbed his sword and followed Abel outside. Next to Richt, who was sleeping soundly, there were three spirits that I could always feel. She didn’t know what it was, but her senses were telling her.

‘That’s not a bad thing.’

So I could leave the place with peace of mind. It won’t be easy, but let’s handle it as quickly as possible and come back. Half thought so.

Theodore tried. But no matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t find Richt. He also sent people to Deva’s mansion, but he did not get any significant results. The occupants still remaining in the mansion knew nothing. Fortunately, the subdeacon had some information, but it wasn’t particularly helpful.

“I heard that the head deacon went down to the main house to manage the estate, and Mr. Richt went on a vacation due to his health deteriorating.”

“So you don’t know where the resort is?”

“I do not know. “Wouldn’t the head deacon know?”

Since there was nothing to find out in the mansion, the nobleman who received Theodore’s mission went down to Devine’s territory. However, the results did not change.

“I don’t think I’m obligated to tell you that.”

Ain, the head of the house, gave a sarcastic answer.

“The person asking this question now is the Crown Prince.”

“So are you persecuting the Duke family now? “What do you plan to do with the residence of someone who is on vacation due to poor health?”

Ain acted like a person with multiple lives. However, the nobleman Theodore sent could not be harsh with him. Not only is there no charge against Lord Devine, but he is the Empress’s maternal ancestor. The power he has is not small, so he cannot be messed with.

‘Unless there is a charge of treason.’

There wasn’t much he could do. He simply relayed to Theodore what he had heard.

“It’s called vacation due to health issues.”

After hearing the story, Theodore muttered softly. Richt certainly didn’t seem to be in good health. Compared to the knights and nobles he had seen so far, his body was thin and his complexion was pale.

‘Is it actually really painful somewhere?’

When I thought of that, my heart sank. It pained her to think that Richt was hurting in a place she didn’t know about. Alione, who was next to Theodore, said.

“Your Highness, do you believe what those clever people are saying now?”

“It looked painful even to me.”

“Lord Devine has always been like that. There is no way he would have come back and become mortally ill again. And even if it were, who cares? Remember, Your Majesty.”

Even though Maia received help from her reliable maternal family, Deva, she was wary of them. Because she knew that her younger brother was as greedy as she was. Alione knew all that.

“Debainga is now the enemy. It’s unnecessary. “Your Majesty will soon ascend to the throne of emperor, and then they will only be a hindrance.”

“Don’t talk like that.”

“Haven’t you heard many stories from your mother?”

heard. However, the Richt I met in person was sweet and kind, and he was not like the person I had heard about.

“Besides, it’s meal time now. “After you finish eating, you should go back to government affairs.”

The meal was back to how it was before Richt came. It’s cold and tasteless. That wasn’t the only thing that changed. Alione tried to erase everything Richt had done.

As a result, the weight I had barely gained started to fall back, but I thought it was the right thing to do. Theodore could not stop Alione. It was because I didn’t have the will to do so.

Theodore ate just enough food to stop his stomach from making noises and sat down at his desk. Then he looked at the book neatly placed on one side and stroked it with his hand. This was the book Richt was looking into while he was staying here.

『History of the Empire』

It was a pocket-sized book designed to be easy to carry around, and it was intended for noble daughters. However, Richt looked at it casually, and no one pointed it out.

‘It’s like Richt.’

I couldn’t imagine Richt caring about what others thought. Theodore pulled the book and held it in his arms. It made him feel depressed, but there was nothing he could do.

‘I want more, more things.’

When Richt left here, he erased all traces of himself. The only thing left was this book, which happened to be left in Theodore’s room.

‘I should have saved on dessert.’

I don’t know why I ate it all like a pig. Theodore looked at the documents on the desk while holding the book. After he finished work, he had free time. Normally he would have been busy learning various things, but his mother’s funeral gave him a break for the time being.

Theodore went straight to the bed and lay down. The book was still held tightly in her arms. Soon his exhausted body began to sag. Blinking his eyes a few times, he quietly fell asleep.

It was an afternoon without Licht.

“Ugh.”

Theodore opened his eyes with a groan. It looks like he fell asleep just by lying down for a moment. When I raised my upper body, it felt strange.

‘what?’

I looked around and couldn’t see the book I was holding in my arms while I was sleeping. I looked to see if it had fallen under the bed, but I couldn’t see anything. Theodore urgently pulled his sling rope.

“yes.”

I asked the maid who appeared not long after.

“Has anyone entered my room while I was away?”

Then the maid hesitated for a moment and then answered.

“Madame Aglione stopped by for a moment.”

There is a sitting room next to the bedroom. As usual, we would have to wait for Theodore to come out, but the opponent is Alione. After Maia died and Richt disappeared, she often crossed the line. She was just thinking that she needed to warn him.

“Call me now!”

“yes.”

The maid quickly retreated. It wasn’t long before Alione came to the room. But there was a strange smell coming from her clothes. She smelled like she had burned something, not perfume.

“Alione.”

“Yes, Your Highness the Crown Prince. Did you take a good nap? Normally, he wasn’t supposed to sleep like that, but he looked so tired, so I left him alone. You must not do that in the future. “Time is limited, and Your Majesty the Crown Prince has a lot of work to do.”

“Alione!”

“Why are you doing this?”

Alione blinked as if she knew nothing.

“Have you come into my bedroom?”

“Yes, just a moment to see if you are okay.”

“Did you happen to see a book at that time?”

“Are you talking about a book with a purple cover and a title in gold foil?”

“that’s right! “Where is it?”

As Theodore urgently asked, Alione frowned.

“Why on earth were you holding that book? From what I remember, Lord Devine often carried such a book with him. “It’s not the same book, is it?”

“I’m asking now.”

As her tone became harsher, Alione sighed softly.