Chapter 120

He planted a foot on the frame of the fourth-floor window and lightly leaped down toward the ground.

“W-what was that?”

“......?”

As the people walking through the garden looked around in confusion, Kyle concealed himself in the bushes without making a sound, then immediately turned away.

Or rather, he tried to.

“Find Kyle first.”

“Yes.”

His steps stopped at the familiar voice.

Grace was standing by the fourth-floor window.

A moment later, the people who had received her order began running noisily down the corridor, apparently heading for the stairs.

What if Aisha hears them from the room next door where she’s resting?

Aisha was more sensitive to people’s presence than an ordinary person.

And if she realized he was gone, she would probably come looking for him again, just as she had in the past.

Even if it meant crossing the ice wall and going to the end of the world.

And if Aisha starts crying because of it...

Tap—

Kyle acted faster than he could think.

“W-what the hell?!”

He stepped onto the first-floor window frame, sprang upward, and caught the second-floor railing in a single leap.

He heard the people nearby cry out in alarm again.

After climbing his way back up to the fourth floor like that, he happened to come face-to-face with Knox, who was standing in the corridor.

“...Kyle?”

Knox, who had just finished searching the other rooms in case Kyle was hiding somewhere, was breathing hard.

Kyle casually greeted the dumbfounded man.

“Hello. I went to the bathroom.”

“What?”

Knox’s mouth fell open in disbelief before he let out an incredulous laugh.

“So you escaped through a window? Did you relieve yourself in the garden or something?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t just say ‘yeah.’ Everyone was about to start looking for—”

“I have something to say.”

“Are you even listening to me?”

“It’s about me and Aisha.”

“......?”

Knox, who had been polishing his monocle as he prepared to lecture him, stopped.

“What?”

Then he stared seriously at the little demon.

Perhaps it was only his imagination, but the young boy’s eyes held an ominous certainty he could not explain.

***

Meanwhile.

“Ugh, I’m bored to death.”

Crunch, crunch.

I lay there peacefully eating cookies and let out a long yawn.

Sending Kyle out in secret to uncover whatever the members of the monster enthusiasts’ gathering were hiding from me had been a good idea.

“...But he’s taking longer than I expected. I want to go see for myself, but I can’t even move because of this rope that’s supposed to drain my magical energy.”

Meanwhile, perhaps because the rope was working, my mind was becoming clearer and clearer.

My body felt perfectly fine, but being unable to move as I pleased was driving me crazy.

I wonder if Kyle is doing all right?

Slurp.

After thoroughly finishing my orange juice as well, I let out a tiny burp and narrowed my eyes.

Mm. Kyle would do fine.

He might seem a little stupid most of the time, but he became surprisingly proactive whenever there was something he wanted.

That was when—

Knock, knock.

A quiet knock sounded, followed by the creak of the door opening.

It was Kyle.

“Kyle!”

I shrieked before I could stop myself, happy to see him.

The corners of his mouth lifted faintly.

What’s that? He’s smiling. Did he find something out?

I shot upright and wiggled impatiently on the bed.

“What? What is it? What were they talking about? Was there anything suspicious?”

But—

“There wasn’t.”

“Huh?”

“They said you just had too much magical energy and it overflowed. That’s why you fainted.”

Kyle’s answer was unexpectedly plain.

Suspicious.

I tilted my head and stared hard at him.

“That can’t be right. Her Majesty Grace and Knox were acting really suspicious earlier. You noticed too, right?”

“Yeah. I thought it was suspicious too.”

“And?”

“But there was nothing important.”

A flat answer.

A dry expression.

As if that were not enough, he innocently dragged the spare chair beside the bed closer and plopped down next to me.

“......?”

Something was strange.

Normally, Kyle would have come fluttering straight toward me and thrown himself into my arms without a second thought.

Blink, blink.

I blinked stupidly.

The boy who had been squirming in my arms only a little while ago somehow seemed ten years more mature after leaving the room and coming back.

...And somehow, it felt like he was deliberately keeping his distance from me.

“Kyle.”

“Yeah?”

“What’s wrong with you?”

I asked just in case, reaching out to grab his hand.

His hand flinched and darted away with startling speed.

“Ah.”

Whether he had dodged me reflexively or simply panicked, Kyle’s mouth turned into a little triangle as cold sweat burst from the top of his head.

If he had always been like this, it would not have mattered.

But because he had never acted this way before—

“Why are you avoiding me!”

I shouted, hurt.

He quickly hid his hands behind his back and stammered.

“I-I went to the bathroom and didn’t wash my hands.”

“Ew! That’s gross. Why didn’t you wash them?”

“I... had to hurry back to listen to the monster enthusiasts’ gathering.”

“So that’s why you dodged my hand?”

“Yeah.”

No way.

Kyle was the kind of person who would immediately grab my hand if I held it out first, even if he had just been swimming in filthy water.

“Hmmm....”

I crossed my arms and glared sharply at him.

Cold sweat began spraying from the top of Kyle’s expressionless head like a fountain.

That was when—

“You two never seem to have a quiet moment when you’re together.”

As if her timing could not have been better, Her Majesty Grace and Knox opened the door and came inside.

“Your Majesty. You’re back?”

Oh my God. Did she hear us?

I gave an awkward smile out of embarrassment, and Grace let out a low laugh before sitting down.

“Yes. Judging by how loudly you can shout, I’m glad to see you seem to be feeling better.”

I had assumed they were having some grave discussion, but judging by her expression, maybe there really was nothing serious, just as Kyle had said.

“Princess Aisha. Did you eat all these cookies?”

“Y-yes!”

“You’ll have to visit the dentist soon.”

Knox was even joking with me as he looked at the completely empty cookie container.

Grace was calm.

Knox was calm too.

If there really were a problem, even if they did not explain it to me in detail, they would have treated me immediately or taken some kind of action.

Instead, they looked as relaxed as people who had merely stepped out for a short stroll.

“Um... I...”

I fidgeted with my fingers and glanced at Grace.

“Is there something you want to say?”

I had missed my chance because I fainted, but the whole reason I had brought Kyle here today in the first place was to ask about this.

Why I had fainted the moment I touched Kyle.

And why I was able to talk to monsters.

I guess... I should ask why I fainted first.

From the atmosphere, it seemed like they had already finished dealing with that issue, which made asking a little embarrassing.

Still, since I had come all the way here for it, I decided to ask anyway.

“Your Majesty Grace. Um... now that I think about it, for the last few days, every time Kyle and I touched, I would suddenly get dizzy and feel strange. Could I have caught some kind of illness?”

A strange silence passed after I spoke.

Grace watched me with a calm gaze for a moment, then—

“After checking your chart, it seems you collapsed because you have been unable to use the magical energy that has accumulated in your body since childhood. The dizziness when you touched Kyle was probably just a coincidence.”

She shrugged as though telling me there was absolutely nothing to worry about.

“...Really?”

“Of course. Do I look like the sort of person who would lie?”

Gasp.

Her tone was joking, but the question had an edge to it, and my mouth scrunched into a triangle.

“No! I would never dare say something like that to Your Majesty. I’m sorry—”

I frantically waved my hands.

Aaagh. I was seriously suspicious of them, but I guess there really was nothing going on!

Wait.

...Then Kyle really went to the bathroom and came back without washing his hands?

I shot Kyle a sidelong glare and whispered so only he could hear.

“Kyle. Next time, make sure you wash your hands before you come back.”

Kyle flinched briefly at my whisper, then nodded with a flustered expression.

Honestly.

There was still so much I had to teach this child.

***

A short while later.

“Dandelion! What happened? Are you sick? Isn’t that a bottle of magical energy you’re carrying?!”

The news that something was wrong with my body spread almost instantly the moment we returned to the Kreutz ducal castle through the portal.

That was because Lucas, who had been waiting for me in front of the portal, shrieked the moment he saw me.

“What’s wrong with a glass bottle? It looks like an accessory. I think it’s nice.”

Grace had instructed me to keep wearing the rope called a “magical energy absorber” around my wrist for the time being.

A small portable glass bottle dangled from the end of the rope wrapped around my wrist like a bracelet.

Calypse, who was standing beside Lucas, examined my wrist with a grave expression.

“I heard the general situation through an urgent message. You aren’t hurt anywhere, are you? Are you all right?”

“Yup. It’s really not serious enough for everyone to make such a fuss!”

I nodded bravely, trying to reassure him—

“Call the servants and put her in bed. Tell them she’ll be taking a break from magic lessons for the time being. We can’t use her right wrist because of the rope, so put an IV in her left wrist instead.”

“Understood.”

The whole world treated me like a patient.

“Princess Aisha, don’t worry. We gave you an extremely rare IV treatment that is difficult even for the royal family to obtain, so you’ll recover soon.”

Mai clasped my hand with tears in her eyes.

“P-Princess Aisha. A-are you all right?! I-I heard you w-were ill, s-so I came to v-visit you.”

“Squeee, squeak?!”

(Good grief, you little brat! When I told you something was strange, you should have run straight to that physician instead of going to class! Why did you go to class, why?!)

I was not sure whether Grandma Bibi had come to visit me or give me an illness herself.

The moment she saw me, she began squeaking loudly enough to make my ears hurt, thrashing wildly in Guide’s arms until he hurriedly carried her back out.

“Princess Aisha, are you truly all right? Forget magic. We will protect you, so please just eat well and stay healthy.”

The knights came rushing over as soon as they heard the news too.

“Yeees... Thank you....”

At this point, maybe it would actually be polite for me to pretend I’m sick.

And so, a few days later.

“I-I’m exhausted....”

After nodding along with everyone’s fussing and humoring them for days, I finally became a genuine patient.

I had no idea dealing with people could be this exhausting.

Knock, knock.

Gasp. Another knock? They’re even coming in the evening now?!

“...J-just don’t come in...”

I groaned beneath the blanket like a piece of cotton soaked through with water.

Then—

“Aisha.”

“Hm?”

The person speaking from beyond the door was Kyle.