79

"Milady, this can't go on. I'm going to call a physician."

"...No, Laila... No physician. It's fine..."

Shamanaz whispered with great effort, her lips dry and cracked. She was burning with fever.

In Sibareth, the healing magic of the royal family and nobility worked only on external injuries—it couldn't cure internal illnesses.

"You think I don't know you? Every time your heart is troubled or weighed down, you always fall ill like this!"

Laila soaked a towel in cold water and kept wiping Shamanaz's body.

"There's a new doctor nearby who's said to be quite skilled. I'll go get some medicine from him."

She stood to leave, but Shamanaz's fragile fingers clutched the hem of her dress.

"...I want to see Leca. Jules is on the battlefield right now, so... at least Leca..."

Laila gasped and nearly jumped.

"That's insane! You want to go to that horrible prison in your condition?!"

"Rodolphe... We can ask Rodolphe for teleportation. Call him instead of a doctor... please?"

"But Lord Rodolphe is in the middle of class today…He has a full schedule."

"Ah... I see... then..."

Shamanaz closed her eyes and murmured faintly.

Laila looked down at her and softened. In the end, she made up her mind.

"I'll go to Lord Rodolphe. We'll find a way. Please wait just a little longer."

Like the wind, Laila ran to the classroom where Rodolphe was teaching.

She waited outside until class was over. After about thirty minutes, Rodolphe emerged with his students.

"Aren't you… Shaminy's maid?"

he asked in surprise. Laila nodded.

"My lady is burning with a high fever. But she says she has a request for you..."

"A request? What kind?"

Laila explained the situation—leaving out the part about Shamanaz's past involvement with Jakiel.

Rodolphe looked truly shocked.

"If it's that serious, then I'll go. I can do it during my lunch break."

"Really? But if you use teleportation, won't it be too taxing on your body?

What about your afternoon classes..."

"I'll handle it. Let's just go."

Rodolphe quickly headed to Shamanaz's residence. Her condition was worse than he had imagined.

She looked thinner than before, her face pale and drawn from days of illness.

Her skin was burning hot to the touch.

"Dear gods, Shaminy! How long have you been like this?"

"About two days. But… she hasn't eaten properly since Lord Jakiel died..."

Laila choked up.

Rodolphe gently held Shamanaz's frail shoulders.

"Why refuse a doctor when you're like this?"

"It's not that I'm refusing...I just... I wanted to see Leca first."

"So what you're saying is—once you see him, you'll eat and see a doctor too?"

Shamanaz nodded firmly.

"Then first we need to find out exactly where Leca is being held."

Rodolphe closed his eyes and concentrated. He used a mind-transfer message to contact someone who would know.

About ten minutes passed. Then Rodolphe nodded.

"Let's go. I found out the location."

With Laila's help, Shamanaz changed into fresh clothes and fixed her hair.

Then she stood beside Rodolphe in the parlor.

"All right. I'm ready."

Rodolphe drew a circle at their feet and began to chant.

A brief wave of dizziness—and the two of them appeared directly inside Leca's cell.

Leca had been sitting in meditation, cross-legged in solitude. He was startled by their sudden appearance.

"...Shaminy...? Lord Rodolphe?"

But Shamanaz, as if the illness had never touched her, spoke calmly and firmly to Rodolphe.

"I'll return on my own. Thank you for bringing me this far."

"What? You're not well—how will you get back alone?"

"I'll be fine. You, on the other hand, have afternoon classes. It'd be too much for you to teleport again."

"Are you sure? You're sick—"

"I'm sure. Thank you."

Seeing her resolute expression, Rodolphe simply shrugged. He glanced around the prison cell and at Leca.

"Doesn't look quite as terrible as I thought."

"How… how did you both get here…?"

"It's a long story. Anyway, I have class now.Take care of yourself, Shaminy."

With that, Rodolphe vanished. Only Shamanaz and Leca remained in the cell.

"Are you all right?"

Shamanaz asked.

Leca looked noticeably thinner and pale, though he nodded, he scanned her up and down with concern.

"You're the one who doesn't look all right."

"I'm not. That's why I came."

"...Huh?"

Shamanaz let out a deep sigh.

"I don't even know where to begin untangling this mess..."

"What are you talking about… all of a sudden?"

"Even in bed, I can still hear what's happening. There's a war. Jules might not come back alive, you're locked up, and that girl—"

Leca already had a rough idea of what was happening in Sibareth. The guards and servants who brought his food kept him informed.

"…You mean Lady Mia?"

"Yes. That irritating girl who makes my skin crawl."

"What… happened to her?"

Leca's voice suddenly turned sharp.

Shamanaz looked away.

"I came here because of that."

"...Don't tell me—something actually happened to her…!"

"She's been sent to Beelzebub. To retrieve the ancient treasure."

"...!"

Leca bit his lip. He had feared something like this.

He had even tried using the incantation his father taught him—hoping to release the mana suppression collar to help her.

But the incantation had failed.

He didn't know why—it simply hadn't worked. How many days had he spent like that, on the verge of madness?

In his heart, he had cursed his father more times than he could count.

"I came… to set you free."

"What? Me? Why?"

"To repay my debt to you. You risked your life for me more than once. I think it's time I returned the favor."

Leca tilted his head in confusion.

"But… you hated Lady Mia. You said she was the reason you couldn't become Julius's queen."

Shamanaz gave a bitter smile. The amethyst on her forehead had lost much of its color.

"I did. And honestly, I still do. If I'm being completely honest…I wish she'd just die out there, with the demon god."

"Then why…?"

"Get this straight, Leca. I came here for you, not for her. I know full well where you'll run once I release you—but that part's no longer mine to stop."

"But why now, all of a sudden?"

At Leca's question, Shamanaz let out another bitter smile.

"My whole life, I lived for Jules. If he dies… I'll die with him."

"Don't say that. Julius isn't going to die…"

Leca offered the words awkwardly, trying to comfort his old friend.

"I believe that too. Once I recover, I'll run to the battlefield and find him. And now that my godfather's gone—"

Shamanaz trailed off, gazing at the face of her old friend. Was there still friendship left between them? Had there ever been?

Perhaps it had always been one-sided—She had used Leca, and he had only gone along because he had no choice.

"I want to erase all the shadows of the past. So take her and leave. Make sure you do it properly."

Leca narrowed his eyes.

"You're being too pessimistic. What if the war ends safely, Julius returns,

and then Lady Mia becomes queen?"

"Isn't that the one outcome you don't want?"

"…But… if that's what Lady Mia wishes, then I must follow…"

Leca turned his head away. Of course he didn't want to see Mia marry Julius.

But—

SMACK!

Shamanaz's hand cracked across his face.

"Enough of that pact-with-the-spirits nonsense! You're going to let her be taken from you with that kind of talk?!"

"Taken…? She's mine?"

Leca was too stunned to respond. Her voice thundered in his ears.

"Yes! Yours! Look into your heart, for once! Are you following her as a loyal servant, or as a man chasing the woman he loves? You're the only one who doesn't know your own feelings!"

Leca suddenly remembered that moment—when, without realizing it, he had kissed Mia.

His face burned. Whether from the slap or the memory, he couldn't tell.

"When you find her, don't come back to Sibareth.

The old men on the council will never be kind to the two of you."

"…"

Shamanaz summoned an earth spirit, and it removed the shackles from Leca's hands and feet.

Once the spirit vanished, she stepped forward and drew a magic circle at their feet.

Muttering softly, she began chanting a teleportation spell.

In the blink of an eye, Leca found himself standing in the garden of Shamanaz's estate.

From behind him, she shouted,

"Go! Before the servants find you!"

As expected, footsteps echoed nearby. Leca leapt into the trees, disappearing into the forest.

Only after seeing him vanish did Shamanaz turn and slowly make her way back inside.

She barely reached her bedroom door—and then collapsed with a dull thud.