IEGM 06

Chapter 6

Although it didn’t seem far from the Empress’s Palace, the neatly maintained gardens vanished in an instant, replaced by overgrown weeds that looked untouched by human hands.

A little farther ahead, a shabby two-story building came into view—so decrepit it was embarrassing to even call it a palace.

This is Enrirsian’s residence?

It was far worse than she had imagined.

The outer walls bore the full weight of time.

The inside was even more dreadful.

Perhaps repairs had never been properly done, because cracks and holes riddled the structure everywhere.

At least it looks clean… but it’s so old you can hardly tell.

The environment was so poor that it was hard to believe royalty actually lived there.

Still frowning at the sight, she suddenly noticed Enrirsian stop walking.

“This room.”

Creeeak.

The loosened hinges groaned loudly as the door swung open.

“…Your… Highness?”

A hoarse, broken voice escaped the woman’s lips, as though her vocal cords had been severely damaged.

Carefully approaching, she examined the woman, who couldn’t even open her eyes and spoke blindly into empty air.

Her body burned with fever, her lips were purple, and her skin had darkened as though it were rotting away.

This is serious.

At the very least, it wasn’t any illness she recognized.

Which meant this wasn’t a simple fever or indigestion.

They definitely needed a priest or physician.

The problem is, everyone in the imperial palace is Enrirsian’s enemy… and I can’t exactly take her to the marquis’s estate either.

If someone discovered that she—while pretending to be brainwashed—was helping the nanny of the Second Prince instead of the First Prince supported by House Serentia, it would become a disaster.

The only option left is the master key: Ishtar.

Maybe it would be better to take the sick nanny directly to the duke’s estate and ask for help.

Unlike her, who was under surveillance and couldn’t easily contact House Akellaide, Enrirsian was so thoroughly ignored within the palace that nobody would care if he left.

As long as we safely reach the duke’s estate, they’ll protect us.

After all, in the original story, House Akellaide had supported the Second Prince without demanding anything in return.

There was no way they would abandon him now.

“Um…”

“Kkiing!”

Just as she opened her mouth after organizing her thoughts, Lira—who had been quietly nestled in her arms—suddenly leaped down with a loud cry.

The problem was that Lira landed directly on top of the nanny lying in bed.

“L-Lira, what are you doing?!”

Startled, she hurried to pull Lira away.

But Lira moved faster.

“Kkiu, kkiing, kkir.”

Stretching one paw high into the air, Lira let out strange cries.

Then black smoke began pouring out—

from the nanny’s eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

Soon, the ominous black smoke gathered around Lira’s paw.

“Wait, right here…?”

Shocked by the sudden sight, she trailed off while glancing nervously at Enrirsian.

As expected, he was staring wide-eyed at Lira, who swallowed the cloud of black smoke as casually as if it were cotton candy.

How am I supposed to explain this later? No, think about that afterward. Check on Lira first.

At any moment Enrirsian might demand to know what had been done to his nanny, but honestly, she herself didn’t fully understand Lira’s abilities.

That meant she needed to come up with an excuse later—but the black smoke Lira had just consumed looked deeply dangerous, so Lira’s condition came first.

“Lira! Are you okay?”

Something similar had happened in the recovery room before, but the smoke from the candle back then had only felt vaguely unpleasant.

This time, however, the black smoke resembled pure poison.

The kind that killed instantly.

“Kking!”

Fortunately, unlike her worries, Lira answered cheerfully.

As if saying, “Don’t worry, Raccoon Man took care of it!” while proudly raising one paw.

Relieved to see Lira far healthier than expected, she heard Enrirsian speak after finally regaining his composure.

“I don’t know what that was, but get down from there first.”

He was absolutely right.

“Ah, um… sorry.”

Coming back to her senses, she quickly scooped Lira up.

“Grrr.”

Lira let out a dissatisfied growl, but after she gently stroked its head to soothe it, she placed the creature on the floor.

Apparently not too offended, Lira simply sat obediently at her feet.

Only then did she place a hand on the nanny’s forehead to check her condition.

The fever’s gone down, and her breathing is normal again.

Thank goodness.

Still, since she didn’t know why the nanny had gotten sick in the first place—or what exactly Lira had done—she couldn’t confidently say the woman was fully healed.

“The fever has gone down, but her skin hasn’t returned to normal yet. There may still be aftereffects, so we should observe her condition…”

“Kkiing!”

Before she could finish—

Lira interrupted with a loud cry, lifting its chin proudly.

Both she and Enrirsian looked down at the creature.

“Kkiing! Kking!”

It looked absurdly confident.

She hurriedly crouched down and whispered quietly to Lira.

“Don’t tell me you mean she’s completely cured?”

“Kking!”

The answer came without hesitation.

Can I really trust that?

She felt bad doubting Lira, but it was unavoidable.

They still couldn’t communicate perfectly.

Even so, she relayed the message to Enrirsian.

“Um… according to this little one, she should be fine now…”

At the same time, another thought crossed her mind.

Wouldn’t it be safer to double-check before crossing the bridge?

So she added her personal opinion.

“But just in case, I think it would be best to bring a physician tomorrow and have her examined properly.”

After hearing her conclusion, Enrirsian nodded easily.

“Understood.”

“Grrr…”

Meanwhile, Lira let out an even more dissatisfied growl.

The sight was so adorable she unconsciously smiled.

At that moment, Enrirsian lightly tugged at her sleeve.

When she turned to look, a faint spark of life had returned to his previously hollow red eyes.

She thought he was about to thank her, so she quietly met his gaze.

But for some reason, he said nothing.

“……”

“……”

An awkward silence descended over the room.

In situations like this, shouldn’t he usually say something emotional like “Thank you for saving her” or “I’ll never forget this kindness” and start becoming fond of me?

Of course, it wasn’t actually her who saved the nanny—it was Lira.

Still.

Well, I guess that’s the difference between the heroine and an extra.

As she was thinking that, Enrirsian—who had remained silent for a long time—finally spoke slowly.

“Thank you… for saving my nanny.”

“It was only natural.”

“……”

Because she had grown up in a country where humility was considered a virtue, the response came naturally.

But Enrirsian’s brow twitched slightly.

Was that the wrong answer? Should I have boldly demanded compensation since he was grateful?

It was too late to take the words back now, but seeing his subtle reaction filled her with regret.

“Something natural…”

He murmured the words to himself.

Then a small knot formed in his throat.

His expression looked as though he was either holding back tears—or suppressing anger.

Did I accidentally touch a sore spot?

But since she had no idea what that sore spot might be, she chose retreat over investigation.

“I’m honored that I could help.”

“……”

After exchanging enough formalities to naturally part ways—

Enrirsian only stared at her without replying.

The silence was becoming suffocating, but she didn’t press him for answers.

Excessive curiosity often led to bad outcomes.

Maintaining her composure, she gave the formal imperial farewell.

“Then I shall take my leave now. May glory shine upon the Empire’s skies.”

“……”

After finishing her farewell to the still-silent Enrirsian, she quickly turned around.

Partly because his intense gaze felt burdensome—

but also because she had just realized she’d been away from the tea party far too long.

If I say I had stomach trouble and couldn’t return quickly… would Kain believe me? Absolutely not.

Truly, one mountain after another.

Even as she hurried her steps, she had to rack her brain figuring out how to fool the snake-like Kain.

Enrirsian felt as though his world was collapsing.

No—

it truly was collapsing.

Because his entire world consisted only of the days he spent with his nanny in that decaying palace.

Please… please… don’t take away the only warmth I have left.

Enrirsian prayed desperately.

If he truly carried even half the blood of the gods of the heavens, then perhaps they would pity him and grant his wish.

But the gods were cruel, and his nanny’s condition only worsened.

By the time her skin began turning black, Enrirsian finally understood the severity of the situation and ran out of the palace.

He had never once left the palace before, nor interacted with anyone besides his nanny.

But the fear of losing her forever was greater than his fear of the unknown world.

Still, the world beyond his tiny enclosure was far larger—and colder—than he had imagined.

The imperial palace his nanny had described was so enormous that wandering through it felt like being trapped in a maze.

Worse, he had no idea whom to ask for help.

Aimlessly wandering without a destination, Enrirsian bit his lower lip hard and forced himself to calm down.

Once he cooled his head, he remembered something his nanny once told him.

Priests heal injuries.

Having finally decided where to go, he tried to gather the courage to ask for directions.

Countless people moved throughout the vast imperial palace.

But whenever their eyes met his, they merely frowned as if they had seen something unpleasant and quickly turned away.