“Did you come to save me as promised?”
Ricardo asked in a teasing voice.
“Wow……”
Penny, who had been staring at him blankly, had her eyes sparkle as if she were enchanted.
See? I knew it!
Sensing her gaze, Ricardo turned his head, and Penny gulped. Then she shook her head quickly and shouted in a hurry.
“I’m Penny. My big sis treasures the most!”
“That’s odd, I’ve never seen you before?”
When I shrugged lightly, Ricardo, though still suspicious, turned his gaze away from her.
“More importantly, were you the one who told them about the magic stones?”
“Yes.”
Perhaps not expecting such a straightforward answer, Ricardo’s eyes widened a bit.
“Well then, I’ll ask something honestly, too. Why did you participate in the auction?”
In response, Ricardo took out the necklace from his pocket.
“Don’t tell me you want to say you came to buy a necklace?”
“I don’t lie.”
“Well, since you did buy it, I guess it’s not a lie……”
He chuckled as he handed me the necklace. Caught off guard, I just blinked, and Ricardo urged me again to take it.
“Why are you giving this to me?”
“I told you. There’s someone I want to impress.”
“……”
“If you don’t like it, just throw it away.”
Unbelievable. I glared at him silently, but Ricardo had a clueless expression. Eventually, when I accepted the necklace, Ricardo finally let out a small laugh.
“If it feels like too much, you can just think of it as payment for the dress.”
His words reminded me of the dress he offered to gift me in Dians.
“Still, this is too much.”
“You said I’m stubborn. Then you should’ve expected something like this.”
Edwin, who had been staring at us, suddenly spoke up.
“Are you two dating?”
“……!”
“What are you saying! No, we’re not!”
I waved my hands frantically to deny it. Unlike me, Ricardo was completely frozen. After a moment, he barely opened his mouth.
“……What did you say?”
“I asked if you two are dating.”
“……Say that again.”
“I mean, are you in a relationship!”
At the repeated questioning, Edwin finally lost his temper. Only then did Ricardo’s lips twitch. When I silently glared at him in disapproval, he quickly cleared his throat.
He patted Edwin’s head.
“I kind of like you.”
……Peril might be kicking his blanket later.
Seeing our interaction, Penny must have thought it was her chance to get close to Ricardo and shouted urgently.
“Oh, so you’re not just a brother, you’re my brother-in-law!”
Ricardo nodded, his face turning red.
“What are you agreeing to! That’s not true.”
“My sister’s just shy.”
“No! That’s not it!”
When I protested in frustration, Ricardo burst into laughter.
As I held my forehead, feeling a headache coming on, Ricardo spoke to me with a face full of laughter.
“Well, I did have a purpose for coming to the auction.”
“……What purpose?”
“I wanted to pick out a gift that would suit you.”
“……”
“I’m sorry.”
Ricardo quickly apologized and changed the topic.
“I’ve been observing a certain priest.”
He rubbed the back of his neck as he continued.
“He was a knight-turned-priest, but he’s physically unwell due to an injury. Lately, though, his behavior has been rather peculiar.”
Physically unwell?
“Are you talking about Brandon by any chance?”
Ricardo hesitated.
“You know him?”
“Yes. He came to the estate last time.”
Even though I was thinking about the sealed Eileens, he said the exact same thing she did.
Told me not to do anything.
Meanwhile, Penny and Edwin stood still, watching us quietly. Thinking it was not a conversation to have in front of them, I took Ricardo a bit further away.
“Is there something wrong with him?”
“Right before departing for Orphen, I received a blessing from him. But when I returned to Carpea, His Grace said something.”
He hesitated for a moment.
“He said he sensed traces of a curse spell on me.”
“……!”
“The spell doesn’t match the ones from the Imperial Tower, and the only mage who’s come close to me is you.”
“Are, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. And I don’t think I was the one he intended to curse.”
My eyes, as they looked at Ricardo, began to tremble.
“It’s just my hunch, but considering the timing, I think he was targeting the Tower Master.”
I let out a short sigh.
“Do you also think this is Orphen’s doing?”
“I’m not ruling out the possibility that they were behind the terror incident.”
Seiren.
“If Brandon is the reason you came to the auction, then he’s likely here too.”
“Right. I didn’t think you’d do something this reckless.”
Ricardo gave a cynical smile.
Before I realized it, my gaze was directed at Edwin.
Someone said they intended to kill Peril. Just like how the Empire had granted him eternal slumber, they were planning to trap Peril here.
He longed for death, but paradoxically, he had gained immortality because he didn’t truly desire it.
For the current Peril, who had no memories of the future, death was the greatest despair.
‘……The death Arkan showed me was Peril’s.’
Then, Ricardo spoke.
“Ask me for help, like before.”
“……”
“I’m willing to grant your request.”
His face, once calm, now had a gentle smile. Maybe that’s why, unlike before when I would’ve said I’d handle it alone, a different answer came out this time.
“I’m going to try changing Eileens’ ending.”
“If it’s what you want, then anything.”
Ricardo held out his pinky finger to me.
“In return, just promise me one thing.”
“What is it?”
“That you’ll never get hurt.”
At that moment, the leaves began to fall one by one. As I turned my gaze without thinking, I spotted a figure at the end of the path.
“……”
It was Eileens, pale as a ghost. When our eyes met, Ricardo clenched his fist.
Eileens, who had approached me, seemed unable to speak and simply stared.
“Good to see you.”
After hesitating, I finally spoke. But her dry lips remained tightly shut.
Clatter.
“You took a while, huh!”
Right on cue, Charlie’s voice rang out. Then, the others who had gone to the mine waved happily behind her.
As they approached, Eileens quickly covered her face.
“Just as you said, we brought the magic stones.”
When she lifted the cloth, it was filled with magic stones.
“It would’ve been nice to gather more, but it was too dangerous to go any deeper.”
“Now all that’s left is rescuing Lady Eileens, right? I hope she’ll be happy.”
Voices mentioning Eileens began to emerge from all directions.
“This time, we need to be the ones to help! Who do we have to thank for being alive until now?”
“Exactly!”
Finn, standing beside Charlie, blinked as he looked at Eileens.
Thankfully, he had recovered.
But only for a moment—he ran up to her and grabbed her hem.
Eileens noticeably flinched. Finn smiled and held out a flower ring he had on his finger.
“I, I don’t deserve to receive this……”
“Lady Eileens was the one who saved us! This flower, and even my mom!”
“……”
“All of us!”
With his tiny hands, he gently slipped the ring onto her pinky finger.
At his words, people slowly began to realize Eileens was there. She tried desperately to hide herself, but it was already too late.
“Oh my gosh, Lady Eileens!”
I took a step back to avoid the crowd swarming toward her.
……Now, even Eileens can’t run away.
Then I noticed Edwin, looking pale. Before I could stop him, he started running away from something.
“Ri-Ricardo, please take care of Eileens.”
Ricardo’s voice echoed behind me, but I rushed after Edwin.
“Edwin, wait!”
But he was too overwhelmed by fear and just kept running.
Time passed once more. Day and night became a blur, but I kept my eyes wide open not to lose sight of Edwin.
Eileens’ fate had changed because of her own will, so there was plenty of room for change.
‘But Peril……’
His case was different. It wasn’t something that could be changed by his will. I fumbled for Arkan.
“I’ll ask one last question.”
[Been waiting for it!]
“If I carry Peril’s fate instead, do I deserve to walk a new path?”
[That’s a needless worry. You’re more than worthy~!]
That’s enough then.
Chasing without a moment’s rest, I soon saw the hillside path Arkan had shown.
Barely grabbing hold of Edwin, we tumbled into a side path together.
“What the hell are you doing……!”
“Remember what I said? That you owed me something.”
I caught my breath and continued.
“And I couldn’t say it before, but I owe you something too.”
Edwin panted heavily.
“If you die here, you’ll forget all our memories. I can’t accept that.”
“What are you even saying……”
“I made a promise. That when you truly wished for death and it came to pass, I’d cry more sorrowfully than anyone else.”
“……”
“So come back. Come back to the reality where I exist.”
Edwin’s eyes flickered with a complex emotion.
“Let’s meet there.”
I heard rustling sounds from afar.
Clenching my teeth, I hid Edwin in the bushes.