Chapter 52
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Chapter 52
"Dale doesn't know, but... Dale is a little dangerous. No, very dangerous."
Thunk! Thunk!
I muttered to myself as I dug at the soil with my hoe.
"Is that how beautiful people are?"
My head tilted in confusion.
"I want to have a special relationship with Enya."
Dale's parting words echoed in my mind. But this wasn't my fault, was it?
There was room for misunderstanding in what Dale said about wanting a special relationship.
Right? I mean, right?
I was repotting soil for a new planter I'd just bought to bring into the House.
Digging away at the cold earth outside had cleared my head somewhat. My hands were numb with cold, but given how dizzy Dale's words had made me, it was actually a relief.
'Dale probably didn't mean it that way at all.'
Dale was likely just expressing gratitude, but his face and voice created a misunderstanding.
I'd nearly fallen head over heels for him myself.
'That was dangerous.'
Dale was so pure and forthright that he could say such things without a second thought.
I was grateful I hadn't encountered anyone truly sinister in my life so far.
What would have happened if someone like me—or even more twisted than me—had heard such words from Dale?
"For example, someone like Marquis Schultz. What if he'd been the one looking after Dale?"
"What do you think would have happened?"
"What do you mean what? It's obvious. Marquis Schultz looks at Dale with suspicious eyes. He would have swallowed Dale whole without hesitation."
"Hmm. Really?"
What a sinister world this is.
Someone as precious and innocent as Dale deserves the whole world's protection.
So that Dale's purity could be preserved forever.
"If I'd been just a little closer, I might have kissed him. Even I'm like this."
My heart suddenly raced.
Dale's face, whispering softly, glowed so brilliantly—like a prince sleeping in an enchanted forest.
His appearance stirred my protective instincts.
"Really, he's so dog-like I almost kissed him right then—"
Wait, who am I even talking to?
Whoosh!
I reflexively spun around.
"Ugh...."
"!"
"Krkh, pfft, krkh-huhuh."
There stood a man with his mouth clamped shut, laughing so hard he could barely breathe.
"Pfft!"
"Oh, how long have you been there?"
"Krkh, I see. I had no idea the princess harbored such sinister designs on Dale, ah, but you told me not to speak informally. Pfft, the kiss was so powerful I couldn't quite hear, ugh...."
...Oh no.
I'm done for.
* * *
"Why did you come here?"
"Krkh...."
"Stop laughing, would you?"
Casion, still trembling with suppressed laughter, lifted his teacup with quivering hands.
His lips were stretched wide in a grin that made no attempt to conceal his amusement. Though he pressed his lips firmly together, he kept breaking into quiet snickers.
Of all people, it had to be Casion. Of all people.
"Are you going to tell him?"
"Krkh, tell whom? About something like this?"
"You know who."
"I'm not sure I do."
My jaw clenched.
I gripped my fists tightly and glared at him. I swallowed my rising fury and fixed him with a withering stare.
"Will you tell Dale?"
"Dale would probably be delighted, but I'm not entirely certain. Besides, the princess wouldn't appreciate it, and I'm not a pervert who enjoys others' misfortune."
My entire body trembled.
If he weren't Dale's friend, I would have knocked him unconscious with a hoe.
As I glowered at him, Casion pressed his hand to his chest and tried to suppress his laughter.
He continued sipping his tea while smirking quietly.
"I trust you haven't poisoned this, princess."
"I should have."
"Since I've given you the idea, feel free to use it next time an unwelcome visitor arrives."
Was he asking me to kill him?
"It was a mistake. I really wasn't harboring sinister thoughts about Dale—I was just muttering to myself."
"Yes, yes."
"And it was just thinking aloud. I truly had no intention of doing anything to Dale."
"Yes, yes."
"It was a genuine misunderstanding."
"Yes, yes."
Casion drank his tea with a broad smile. We weren't communicating. I squeezed my eyes shut.
This is really....
Isn't this strange?
That bright smile, just like Dale's this morning. Casion wears the same one.
Both are similarly handsome men, yet one makes me want to kiss him and the other makes me want to bury him alive.
That's strange, isn't it...?
Casion, noticing my expression, raised an eyebrow slightly.
"You seem quite worried, my lady. I do hope you won't suspect me. Dale would be delighted, but I have no intention of troubling you."
Casion spoke as though to reassure me, but trust didn't follow.
"That expression of distrust is quite telling."
"Are you accustomed to being distrusted?"
"It's something like the fate of being a Magic Tower Master."
Casion crossed his legs and smiled, his hand pulling at his knee.
Despite being a guest, he looked like the master of this house.
"Why did you come today?"
I never invited you.
And how did you even find this address?
"As for the address, I have a talent for stalking and traced it. As for why I came today."
His eyes narrowed to slits. That suspicious smile again.
"You said we'd meet soon. I've come to keep that promise."
"?"
"I keep my word. Believe it or not."
Casion smiled faintly and simply sat there, watching me.
He said we'd meet soon? When was that?
...Ah. Could it be that day when I met Casion while I was with Dale?
"Did you mean you came to meet only me?"
The absurdity gave me a headache.
"You knew Dale wouldn't be here?"
"Who knows."
"But you're Dale's friend, Marquis. Why did you come when he wasn't here?"
This is strange, so strange.
Casion simply smiled without speaking.
Could it be that Casion, who supposedly loves women so much, is trying to seduce his friend's wife....
'No. I've been reading too many sensational novels.'
This hypothesis is rejected.
That's the kind of story that only appears in "Mrs. Merilda's Outing."
It didn't seem like Casion had accidentally visited our house at a time when Dale wasn't here.
He has business with me.
Did he come to tell me something Dale shouldn't hear?
"Break things off with our Dale, would you? My lady. I've provided ample funds."
This sort of talk?
...No, that's not it either.
Casion Schultz, Casion Schultz, Casion....
When a man of Marquis rank goes out of his way to seek me out, it means he needs something I possess—but I should have something worth his while.
Of everything I own, he already has most of it except for Dale.
"Are you planning to cultivate this?"
"There would be more in the Countryside, wouldn't there?"
Then I recalled what the Marquis had said before. He'd examined the medicinal herbs with particular interest.
"Are you perhaps unwell?"
Casion's smile faded for a moment.
It was a subtle shift, but an unmistakable reaction.
Casion Schultz had originally planned to inherit the Marquis title at a leisurely pace.
Though the previous Marquis had declared his intention to pass it down long ago, the actual succession happened recently.
It was due to unforeseen circumstances.
The death of his father, Marquis Schultz.
It was an unexpected early death, and there were no signs of foul play.
The Schultz Family did not disclose the reason for the Marquis's death; instead, they diverted public attention with an exceptional and grand succession, simultaneously transferring the position of Magic Tower Master and the Marquis title—both owned by the Schultz Family—to his son Casion.
That was a sign they wished no scandal to attach itself to Marquis Schultz's death.
'But Casion doesn't seem to be afflicted with illness.'
There was no such scent about him whatsoever.
Clink.
Then Casion set down his teacup. He appeared more composed than ever.
"It's more a matter of approaching illness."
I was startled by his words about a sad future spoken with such detachment, yet I felt pity.
And the phrase "approaching illness" was strange. People don't usually speak that way.
And there was one more oddity.
"I told you not to speak informally to me."
"...It approaches, then."
Approaching means there is something—something that could become a fatal problem for his health.
Then it came to me.
"A mana antidote?"
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