CHAPTER 73

"Ugh. . . . !"

The headache came when I was trying to recall the past. It was the most intense pain I had felt in a long time. Killian hurriedly took a headache pill from his desk drawer and ate it. And just then, someone knocked on his door.

"Who is it?"

"Young master. Samuel wants to see you."

"Samuel. . . . ?"

It hasn't been long since Edith asked me to let Samuel go. Why does that person want to see me again?

"Let him in."

The medicine slowly worked, and the headache faded. And Samuel came in hesitantly from outside.

"Set down."

"Oh, no. Your precious furniture will get dirty."

Killian sighed and slumped back into his chair, alone.

"Do you have more to say?"

"Well, that's. . . . ."

"I don't like procrastination. I think you know that too."

"Sorry, I'm sorry! I swear, I didn't do it. I definitely checked everything the day before and went back."

"You didn't come back here to say the same thing what you have been saying for three days, are you?"

"Well, by the way. . . . as I was going back earlier, I suddenly remembered one thing, so I went back here. . . . . "

Only then, killian's eyes shine.

"What is it?"

"The night before the accident. . . . master Cliff, come visit me. He said he had something to take in his yacht, so I followed him out, and in the meantime, he left my cabin without locking my cabin."

Samuel lived alone in a cabin near Lake Abverton, and all the keys to the Ludwig family yacht were kept in it.

"In the middle of that time, someone might stole the key and touched the cockpit of my yacht. . . . But, how that person knows you will leave your cabin like that."

"That, that's right. I Just. . . . I just remembered that I hadn't mentioned it. . . . But still, it's my fault, i felt guilty of not checking the door properly before leaving and didn't check the yacht before we departed. I'm really sorry."

After confessing his mistake, Samuel knelt on the ground, shaking with fear.

"But why are you confessing that? If you had kept your mouth shut, I would have just let it go."

Edith said he should forgive him and let Samuel go, so if he had kept his mouth shut. he wouldn't have gotten in trouble.

"Eh, I can't resist the feeling of guilt toward Miss Edith. She's such a kind and merciful person. . . . I'm. . .I'm sorry i did something stupid. . . Hah. . . I'm really sorry. . . . . "

A man in his 50years old burst into tears and begged for forgiveness. Saying that he feels sorry for Edith. . . . It was Edith's forgiveness brought back 'memories' that could not be retrieved even with whipping and threats. Killian smiled faintly, remembering Edith's insistence that commoners were the same, and saying that those who unlearned should be forgiven more.

"Get up, Samuel."

"Huh. . . . Uhhuuuhh. . .." (crying)

"Edith believed that you would never have done something bad on purpose or accepting bribes from others. So. . . . I believe in you, too."

"Young Master. . . . !"

"I will punish you for your mistake with three days of hard labor."

"Thank, thank you!"

"Oh, by the way. . . . ."

Feeling something strange, Killian belatedly asked one more thing.

"What did Cliff bring out from the yacht?"

"He looked for something for a while, and it wasn't there, and he said he must be mistaken, and then he left."

"Really?. . . . I see. Then go get some rest."

Samuel thanked him over and over again, as if he were going to hit his head on the floor, Looking at it, Killian was sure he wasn't doing it on purpose. However, the newly acquired information was belatedly creating a strange afterimage.

'Cliff happened to stop by the lake the night before. . . . He spent a long time on the yacht and came back without finding anything. . . . .'

He had a strange feeling. I've been in a fight with Cliff because of Lizzy, but our relationship wasn't bad. They were brothers supporting each other. So there's no way he would touch my yacht controls on purpose, hoping between me and Edith would die.

'But. . . . it's definitely weird to just let it slide.'

If i asked Cliff, he wouldn't give me much of an answer. But he kept thinking that the person who could wield the right and rational Cliff Ludwig only Lizzy Sinclair. Even though Killian thinks it's wasn't possible, the feeling of disbelief rose in his chest.

***

My nose, throat, and stomach hurt a little for a few days after I fell into the water, but I got better faster than I thought. But Killian couldn't easily forget the memory of the moment when I stopped breathing. Thanks to this, I was able to enjoy the luxury of tasting the dessert he brought while leaning on the bed.

"Samuel, come to see me, saying something that he forgot to tell me, and he told me that he had gone out the night before without locking the cabin door. Apparently, in the meantime, someone stole the keys and broke into my yacht control panel. . . . . One more thing, Samuel asked me to make sure you know he's sorry."

"You didn't punish him, did you?"

"This time, I've decided to follow your will."

"Thank you."

I ate the cannula that he dipped in the fork. At first, I was going to eat it myself, but after slicing the cannula in half and losing my knife, Killian cut it into small pieces and put it directly into my mouth. The sweet cannula crispy outside and moist inside, so I feel better every bite. Just like Killian. But Killian's expression wasn't good the whole time. This was because he couldn't find any evidence even though it was an accident caused by someone's malice.

"Killian. We can't help it."

"I don't like that word 'can't help it'."

Who are you going to blame? In an era where fingerprint matching is unimaginable, only the witness testimony and evidence left at the scene can support the investigation, but this time, there were no witnesses or evidence. From Samuel's testimony that he briefly mismanaged the key for a while, he could only guess that someone had stolen the key and hid it.

'Well, that's a little strange, too. How did that person know that Samuel will vacate the cabin at that time?'

It was an unhelpful story for Samuel. However, because he chose to confess without shutting his mouth, he was excluded as a suspect. However, Killian added an unpleasant story.

"But what more strangely. . . . it was Cliff who visited Samuel the night before."

"Yes? Cliff?"

"Samuel said, Cliff visited him there to take something on his yacht. Samuel also helped Cliff look for it on his yacht for a while, and then he said he must have been mistaken and just went back."

A dry spit went over my throat.

"If that's the case, it's definitely. . . . . Is not long enough for someone to commit a crime."

"But there's no way cliff wants me or you dead. . . ."

As I stood beside Killian, lost in thought, i remembered the voice I'd heard when I'd lost consciousness.

[Some of the flow of the original has collapsed due to the excessive intervention of the original. The original has been further damaged. The original author's dominance is weakening.]

The original author made an 'excessive' intervention, but what kind of format was it? By any chance, didn't you move the character while ignoring the original setting? I guess she is moving the characters around since there's no direct attempt to kill me. . . . .

'If that were the case, there would have been a big problem with the probability, so it's understandable that some of the flow of the original has collapsed. The good news for me is that the original author dominance has weakened.'

It's clearly, the original author took a gamble. and he failed.

'It's also worth that the character the author moved is Cliff, not Killian, who is right next to me. Maybe Killian is. . . . think it's quite out of the original author dominance.'

I thought with a sidelong glance at Killian. Killian has been showing behavior quite far from the original since some time ago. Killian feeding Edith half cut cannulas. Kaboong, kaboong.

'At this rate. . . . I can live. . . . !'

Even as an original author, I couldn't afford to have multiple cases that would have been burdensome. I shouted to myself that I could live once again. then she grabbed Killian's hand as he was about to cut the cannula in half.

"Killian. Thank you for protecting me."

Killian paused at the sudden greeting and gradually blushed his earlobes.

"What do you mean, I should have stayed with you longer. . . . I've been feeling sorry to you all this time because I think you have fallen into the water because I was careless."

"That was an accident. No one could have done anything about it, but Killian."

"Yes, Edith."

"If this something like this happens again next time, you shouldn't jump into the water recklessly to save me. If you do that, both you and me will die.'

I was worried about him, but Killian frowned at once.

"Then, should I just watch you drown?"

"Then will you die with me?"

". . . . . I will not let you die. In the future."

Ah! this is the declaration I was hoping for. Please don't change your mind. . . . !

As I was about to shed a little tears with emotion, Anna said that we had a visitor.

"It's Master Cliff."

Killian and i made eye contact, and then I nodded to Anna. I straightened myself up. And Killian was looking at me, pulled the blanket over my chest.

"Oh, my. did i interrupt your good time with Killian?"

Cliff approached, throwing a playful greeting in a thicker and warmer voice than Killian. There was a big bouquet in his hand. I was just smiling, but Killian was openly groaning.