Chapter 13
It had been the same at the lord’s castle.
Even when the work assigned to her was exhausting, she couldn’t endure it unless she threw herself obsessively into something.
She understood all too well that terrible sense of isolation—the feeling of being left behind alone, cut off from the world, as though everyone else’s lives continued moving forward while she alone remained frozen in place.
“But if you keep doing this, you’ll only hurt yourself.”
That didn’t mean she could allow Bael to keep pushing himself out of control.
His eyes widened in surprise.
“So…”
Trailing off, Luciella pulled a small bottle from her pocket.
“From now on, whenever you start feeling that way again, eat one of these.”
She took out a small round chocolate and gently pushed it into Bael’s mouth.
“If you need more, just tell me. I’ll keep showing you flavors so good that you won’t be able to focus on anything else.”
Without even waiting for a response, she turned and left the room.
“…”
Bael’s eyes unconsciously followed her retreating figure.
Her hair, the color of sunlight itself, lingered in his vision long after she disappeared.
Left alone, Bael slowly moved his lips.
The moment his teeth touched it, the thin chocolate shell shattered with a pleasant crack.
Soft caramel syrup immediately flooded out from inside.
Then came the crunch of perfectly roasted nuts.
Layer after layer of flavor washed over him like waves.
It was exactly the combination of taste and texture he loved.
Yet at the same time, it was completely new.
A food he had never experienced before.
She had probably put a great deal of effort into making it.
For the person who would eat it.
For him.
Bael bit his lip tightly and squeezed his eyes shut.
I see.
New food.
New flavors.
Being trapped here alone, feeling as though he had solidified into a motionless existence, had been unbearable.
He hated the feeling that only his world had stopped moving while everyone else continued forward.
Crunch.
Bael bit down on another piece of chocolate.
The sensation now coating his tongue was something entirely new that had seeped into his stagnant world.
He thought he understood.
Why mornings had stopped feeling so dreadful these past few days.
Why his heart had dropped the instant Luciella said she would stop coming.
Luciella was the only person in years who had brought something new into his closed-off world.
Because of her, the world that had been frozen solid was slowly beginning to move again.
It was change.
And it was a small, fragile hope.
“…I think you’ve gained weight.”
“Cough!”
At Luciella’s words, Bael immediately sprayed out the water he had been drinking.
Never in his life had he heard something so humiliating.
Not even Theo, the cousin he despised, nor Theo’s father, Uncle Osborne, had ever insulted him to his face like this.
“W-What… what did you just say to me…?”
“You seem like you’ve gained weight lately.”
“…What nonsense are you talking about?”
Bael looked down at himself with a reddened face.
Luciella quickly shook her head.
“No, I don’t mean you’ve gotten chubby. I mean you look healthier than before.”
“Healthier?”
“You’re still way too skinny and need to gain more weight, but your collarbones aren’t sticking out as much anymore, and your arms look stronger too.”
Oh.
So she didn’t mean he looked unattractively plump.
She meant he was finally putting on healthy weight.
Bael slowly relaxed his frown.
“See? Since you reduced your training to a reasonable amount, your body’s gotten better.”
Luciella was right.
After limiting his sword training to twice a day, his stamina had actually begun improving.
“Though we still haven’t found the root cause…”
Her expression darkened.
Noticing the look on her face, Bael instinctively lowered his gaze toward his legs.
Seeing that, Luciella pressed a hand against her temple.
It was good that his strength was returning.
But the fundamental problem remained completely unsolved.
The Status Window continued displaying the same indifferent warning.
[Condition: Toxins flowing throughout the entire body.]
If the source of the poison is not removed, death is guaranteed.
Luciella scanned the room once more.
She had probably done this hundreds of times by now.
There was nothing wrong with the room.
In fact, it was practically filled with objects that had already been confirmed to be harmless.
“Cough!”
Without thinking, Luciella let out a cough.
Her eyes naturally drifted toward the window.
Is the air… stale?
Come to think of it, it was always like this whenever she visited.
The small window was positioned so high that she couldn’t even reach it.
And it was almost always closed.
It probably had nothing to do with the poison.
Still, shouldn’t the room be ventilated?
“Do you always… cough… keep the window closed?”
Instead of answering, Bael turned his head away.
Tilting her head in confusion, Luciella poured herself a glass of water from a nearby pitcher and drank it to stop coughing.
“…Huh?”
The cough disappeared.
But the water was lukewarm.
The other rooms in the mansion always kept their drinking water chilled.
Only then did she realize something strange.
She had never once seen servants inside this room.
She knew it was located in a remote corner of the estate, and the hallway was gloomy enough that people rarely passed through.
But even so, this was the room of a direct member of the Duke’s family.
She should have encountered his attendants at least once.
Yet she never had.
“Bael, this room…”
“The servants hardly come here. I prefer it that way.”
As if he knew exactly what she was thinking, Bael answered first.
“They come around once every two days, so there’s no need to worry.”
“Once every two days?”
This was the room of a direct descendant of the family head.
Normally servants should be coming and going twenty times a day.
Bael couldn’t even use his legs.
If anything, someone should be checking on him even more frequently.
Luciella turned her head and looked at the small bedside table.
The glass he had used yesterday was still sitting there untouched.
“…Are you being neglected?”
“I said I don’t need them. It’s better if they stay away.”
Bael answered shortly before adding,
“There was a bit of an incident last time. I’m trying to avoid running into Uncle Osborne whenever possible. The household staff are managed by his side of the family.”
“Even so…”
Footsteps echoed through the hallway.
Step.
Step.
Just as Luciella was about to say something, someone approached.
Bael’s expression immediately darkened.
Click—
Without even knocking, the door swung open.
A servant boy around seventeen or eighteen entered.
He had red hair, freckles, and narrow eyes resembling a snake’s.
“Lord Bael? I came to grab something.”
Not only did he skip proper greetings, but he ignored basic etiquette altogether.
The boy casually opened a wardrobe and pulled out a cloak.
“This is one of the cloaks the Duke gave each of his grandsons, right? Lord Theo’s has gotten old, so he told me to borrow this one. Since, well…”
The boy’s eyes swept over Bael from head to toe.
The look practically screamed:
You don’t need it anyway.
Bael’s expression hardened, but he said nothing.
The one most shocked by the situation was actually Luciella.
Wow. What terrible manners.
“Huh? Aren’t you that chef?”
The boy casually slung the cloak over his shoulder.
Then he suddenly turned toward Luciella and grabbed her hand without permission.
