IPAMB 4

Chapter: 4

“What? Then the reward—”

“You said you would give a reward.”

Ah, thank goodness.

As I was calming my startled heart, the maid suddenly held out a sheet of paper and a pen.

“What’s this?”

“You were told to write the reward on paper and pass it along.”

I blinked, holding the paper in one hand and the pen in the other.

He’ll give a reward, but he won’t meet me? What kind of—?

‘Why? Is he not that grateful?’

Because of his status as a noble young master, he’ll grant a reward, but only up to that point? Is that it?

I began to doubt Cain’s character.

‘Writing it down is fine, but it’d still be better to say it in person.’

That way, if Cain refuses, I could at least grab onto his pant leg and beg.

After some hesitation, I asked,

“What if I insist that I must meet him?”

“I’m sorry, but there’s nothing more I can say.”

“But I’m his lifesaver.”

“……I have no excuse.”

The maid only repeated that it was impossible until the end.

‘She’s just caught in the middle. Even if I press her, there’s nothing she can do.’

In that case…

After thinking for a moment, I brought up another option.

“Then what about meeting the Duke instead of the young master?”

“The Duke…?”

The maid echoed back in confusion.

It seemed she hadn’t expected me to ask to meet the Duke after being refused by the young master.

‘It’s a bold thing to say.’

But I was that desperate.

‘If Cain won’t do, I have to talk to Duke Argent at least.’

Duke Argent was Cain’s mother.

‘If I say I’m the one who saved her son’s life, she’ll at least hear me out.’

But there was something that worried me.

“…I’m sorry. The Duke is currently away, so that would be difficult.”

The maid answered while avoiding my eyes.

Exactly what I had feared.

‘As expected, Duke Argent is rarely at the estate during this time.’

That was why I had tried to ask Cain in the first place.

I knew why the Duke was frequently absent.

‘Cain’s father.’

Because Cain’s father had fallen ill and gone north to recuperate, Duke Argent also often left the estate.

“When will she return?”

But that was under normal circumstances.

‘Her son nearly died—she should come back now!’

In fact, the news might already have reached her, and she could be on her way.

But the maid lowered her head even further, avoiding my gaze.

“Well… I don’t know the exact date.”

‘Why doesn’t she know?’

I tried to ask why, but the maid simply said to give her the paper once I was done writing, then hurried off to call the attending physician.

I tried asking the physician instead, but he replied that he didn’t know either, without even showing the slightest willingness to answer properly.

In the end, after the examination, I was sent to a guest room, my head full of unanswered questions.

“Wow…”

An exclamation escaped me before I could stop myself.

The room was several times larger than the one I had lived in at the temple.

‘The bed is so soft!’

It was nothing like the temple bed that creaked and felt like it might fall apart every time I lay down.

I sat on the bed and bounced slightly, then suddenly stopped.

‘Now’s not the time to be enjoying this!’

If Duke Argent might not return anytime soon, then I really did have to ask Cain.

I looked at the paper and pen on the desk.

‘Do I really have to write it down?’

I didn’t like it.

The biggest reason was that I felt I’d be rejected.

‘If he doesn’t even want to meet me, there’s no guarantee he’ll actually grant the reward.’

I felt like I’d only have a chance if I met him and showed just how desperate I was.

‘Isn’t there some excuse I can use?’

A reason why I absolutely had to meet Cain—ah!

A good idea suddenly came to me.

‘Cain should be undergoing purification around now, right? He faced a monster!’

Monsters contaminate their surroundings—land, objects, and even people.

That was one of the reasons they were dangerous.

‘Purification usually lasts several days, so even if it happened the night before last, he’d still be receiving it.’

I had divine power, so I was fine, but Cain might still have contamination inside his body.

Even though I killed it almost immediately, it was still true that Cain had confronted the monster.

‘Normally you rest while holding a purification stone… but it’s way better for a person to perform purification directly!’

No matter how expensive the purification stones the ducal family used were, they couldn’t surpass the divine power of a saint candidate.

‘I’ll tell him I’ll purify him myself!’

That would finish the purification faster, so Cain would definitely be tempted.

‘Alright, let’s go right away. With this reason, even the maid will probably agree to ask.’

Having made my decision, I left the room.

‘Hmm, where’s the maid?’

Since she had rushed off, I had no idea where she was.

‘I’ll just grab anyone and talk to them.’

I looked around for servants.

But strangely, I couldn’t see any.

‘Are there fewer servants because of the northern recuperation?’

Many of them probably went there as well.

‘Still, this is a ducal estate. Can’t they just hire more?’

I folded my arms, thought for a moment, then gave up.

‘I don’t know. I’m not a noble anyway.’

I knew a lot about the life of a beggar, but as for nobles, all I knew was what I’d seen in books or from visitors to the temple.

I shrugged and walked down the corridor.

‘By the way, my body feels really light.’

It had felt good right after I woke up, but now I truly felt fine.

I vaguely recalled the physician saying he used some expensive IV solution—maybe that was why.

Because of that, his words about me regaining consciousness in just two days felt almost unbelievable.

‘It feels like I just slept well and woke up.’

Since I had collapsed at night and woken during the day, that feeling was even stronger.

‘…Ah, I need to hurry!’

I had been staring blankly at the blue sky outside the window and hastily picked up my pace.

“Huh? That’s…”

But I had to stop again.

Through the window, I saw someone familiar.

A person repeatedly swinging a sword, as if practicing swordsmanship.

‘…Why is Cain there?’

He should have been resting.

What is he doing right now?

‘Why is he training instead of undergoing purification?!’

Even after rubbing my eyes and looking again, Cain was still swinging his sword.

Sweat was dripping down his forehead—it wasn’t just light stretching.

‘Is sword training really that great?!’

The Argent family was known as a prestigious swordsmanship house, but as someone completely unrelated to swords, I couldn’t understand it.

I was covering my gaping mouth in shock when—

Cain stopped what he was doing and turned toward me.

“!”

Our eyes met.

‘How did he know I was watching?’

Maybe people who wield swords really are different.

Hiding my flustered state, I calmly bowed to greet him.

“Hello, Young Mas—huh?”

At that moment, I saw dirt ground next to my feet.

‘Why is there dirt in the corridor… w-wait, why am I here?!’

Startled, I looked around.

The surroundings, which had definitely been a corridor just moments ago, had somehow turned into a training ground.

‘Judging by the dirt on my shoes, it looks like I came here on my own…’

Seeing Cain swinging his sword instead of undergoing purification must have shocked me so much that I ran here without realizing it.

‘So this is what they mean by indoctrination… terrifying.’

After hearing endlessly at the temple how important purification was, this was probably the result.

I swallowed a sigh and steeled myself.

Unintentionally or not, I had met Cain.

‘If an opportunity comes, you seize it!’

I quickly spoke.

“It looks like you were training. I thought you’d be in your room because of the purification.”

“……”

Cain said nothing.

He just stared at me expressionlessly.

‘Is he annoyed that I interrupted?’

I fidgeted with the hem of my skirt, watching his mood.

“Uh, um…”

A suffocating silence fell. Just as I was about to force some words out—

“…Are you feeling alright?”

Cain murmured softly.

I bowed.

“Yes, thanks to you. Thank you for your concern.”

‘Thank goodness. He started the conversation!’

I needed to keep it going.

When I straightened up, he sheathed his sword, as if he was willing to listen.

“So, about the reward—Young Master?”

But instead of coming toward me, Cain simply walked out of the training ground.

‘Did he not hear me?’

I trotted after him.

His pace quickened.

‘Huh? Is he avoiding me?’

I sniffed myself to see if I smelled.

‘Nope.’

When I collapsed, they must have washed me and changed my clothes—I only smelled of soap.

Then why…?

While I was thinking, Cain had already gone far ahead.

“Where are you going?! I have something to say!”

I hurried after him.

But the faster I went, the faster he moved.

‘Why is he running like that?!’

Before long, it turned into a chase.

And, naturally, I was the one who lost.

‘N-no, I can’t catch him!’

How was I supposed to chase a swordsmanship genius protagonist?!

At this rate, I’d collapse again before I even got to talk to him.

I grabbed onto a wall, gasping for breath.

“……”

Then Cain, who had been running, stopped and turned back to look at me.

‘Huh? Why did he stop all of a sudden?’

I took a step forward while catching my breath. It was a perfect chance to close the distance.

Swish.

But the moment I moved, Cain turned away again.

It seemed he still had no intention of talking to me.

In the end, all I could do was helplessly watch him walk away.

That was when—

Thud!

“…!”

“Ah!”

A knight rounding the corner collided with Cain.

They must have hit hard—both of them fell.

“Are you alright?!”

Forgetting how out of breath I was, I rushed over to Cain in a panic.

“Ow, what the—huh? Y-Young Master?!”

The knight, rubbing his waist, saw Cain and went pale.

“Aaaah! I—I touched him!”

He screamed, then ran off in a frenzy without even looking back.

‘What is wrong with him? How rude! Why would he—’

I glared after the knight, then froze.

Wait. Don’t tell me…

In that moment, Cain sprang to his feet and disappeared down the corridor at incredible speed.