When I opened the door and went inside, I could see an old man sitting on a large bed. He turned towards us at the grotesque sound of a door that was not properly maintained.
“Jo Malone? Is it you?”
The voice of an old man with no energy echoed through the quiet room. Jo Malone answered the old man’s question by running to his side.
“Yes, Lord Winder. It’s me.”
“I’m sorry for asking as soon as you got back, but what’s going on in town these days?”
“…Yes? Oh, no. As far as I know, there’s nothing special. Is there something wrong?”
“I can’t hear children’s footsteps these days. Normally, the children used to come to the mansion every other day.”
At Lord Winder’s question, Jo Malone’s eyes trembled for a moment though he quickly erased his expression and replied, “Perhaps, the Lord is very ill, so isn’t it because they don’t want to disturb you?”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. Although if the Lord is concerned, I’ll go down to the village and take another look.”
“Thank you, Baron.”
“Oh, more than that, a guest came to visit today.”
“Guest…?”
Cain, who had been watching Winder with a mysterious expression, strode over to his bedside with his long legs. As he approached, Jo Malone spoke quickly.
“His Highness Grand Duke Destro has come a long way to inquire about Lord Winder’s well-being.”
“If it’s Grand Duke Destro…?”
His unfocused eyes widened, presumably surprised by his sudden visit. Cain, who was looking at Lord Winder with his head tilted, greeted him with an indifferent voice.
“Nice to meet you, Lord William Winder.”
“…Grand Duke?”
“I’m Grand Cain Destro.”
“How did you get to this shabby place…”
Lord Winder staggered as he was about to get out of bed. Seeing that, Jo Malone quickly grabbed his body, and Cain spoke in a slightly softened voice, “His Majesty has inquired about Lord Winder’s well-being. He isn’t someone who could move easily to this distant place, so I came instead.”
“His Majesty, me…?”
Tears welled up in his eyes, seemingly moved by Cain’s words.
I glanced sadly at the old man who had grown old, then glanced away. Meanwhile, Jo Malone’s face, who was supporting Lord Winder, hardened at the story of the Emperor that came out of Cain’s mouth.
“The situation doesn’t seem very good because of old age.”
“….”
“Since when did your eyes become like this?”
Lord Winder laughed weakly at Cain’s question with a frown. He raised his eyes as though shrouded in white curtains, trying to make eye contact with him, and answered.
“It hasn’t been long since my eyes were like this. I think it’s been about a year and a half.”
“….”
“It wasn’t this bad at first, but it gradually got worse. Now, it’s difficult to even move on my own.”
“I heard that Baron Jo Malone is helping the Lord a lot.”
“Yes, that’s right. Without him, it would’ve been very difficult.”
“What do you do when the Baron isn’t here?”
A light smile formed around Lord Winder’s lips in the light conversation, presumably to say his greetings. He replied with a smile as benevolent as his grandfather.
“When the Baron leaves, he leaves a few servants behind to take care of this old man.”
“Servants?”
“Yes. I told him he didn’t have to, yet he said it wasn’t a big deal and took good care of me. I appreciate it—!”
As he continued to speak, he suddenly coughed up a rough cough as if he was about to throw up blood right away. Jo Malone spoke, hastily handed the handkerchief to Lord Winder.
“Oh, I think we should stop the conversation here.”
“….”
“I’m sorry, Your Highness.”
Jo Malone’s white handkerchief, which wiped the corners of Lord Winder’s lips, was stained with red blood. Consequently, Cain and I hardened at Lord Winder’s situation, which did not look so good.
ﾟ· : * ✧ * :· ﾟ
Following Jo Malone’s request to wait for a while for the meal to be served, Cain and I were escorted to the waiting room. I glanced at Cain, holding the backpack I had in my arms tightly in nervousness. He stood by the window the whole time ever since we entered the waiting room.
Unable to wait for him to return to the table, I eventually spoke to him first.
“Isn’t it strange?”
He turned to me for my question.
A bird with dark brown fur flew up behind him. Staring at the bird flying unconsciously, I came back to my senses and quickly resumed speaking, “No, to be honest, Your Highness must also find it strange.”
“What?”
“Didn’t you see that he didn’t even grease the door while saying that he was taking good care of him? Every time he opened it, it even made a strange noise and it gave me goosebumps!”
“Oh, if it’s a door, they say they didn’t fix it on purpose.”
“…Yes?”
“Lord Winder’s eyes are blind, so it’s easy to notice when someone enters the room…”
“Do you believe that now?”
Even at my question mixed with absurdity, Cain laughed playfully. The back of my neck tightened as I gazed at him sitting opposite me with a narrow face.
“There’s nothing to not believe.”
…There is nothing to believe!
That person is the culprit, he is 100% the culprit…! Because that is the role that was set in the book. In the end, I buried my face in my backpack at the fact that I could not bear to say. No, I even told him who he was, so why could he not just believe me—!
His face, which I glanced up to see in frustration and checked, was still quite calm.
