Chapter 31: RMLIP

Chapter 31

'I'd better get moving before the Young Lady returns.'

After confirming that Airel's carriage had left through the window,

Lishid picked up the bedding and headed for the ventilation duct.

Although Airel had repeatedly warned him not to crawl through the vents before leaving, Lishid had no intention of listening.

He hid the bedding deep inside the duct where no one could reach it, then headed down the now-familiar route.

His destination...

...was Duke Blandiche's bedroom.

“I keep telling you, something is wrong!”

The Duke had summoned the family's physician and was whining like a child.

“For the past few nights, every time I fall asleep, it feels like someone keeps punching me in the face! No—it doesn't just feel that way! It actually hurts! It hurts like hell! Max, does that sound possible to you?”

“Hm... It certainly is strange. Especially if you're actually feeling physical pain rather than simply imagining it.”

Max stroked his long beard beneath his round spectacles before cautiously asking,

“Your Grace... Is it possible someone is actually assaulting you physically? Perhaps Her Grace has been—”

“Don't be ridiculous!”

The Duke snorted.

“My wife suffers from chronic migraines and practically lives on sleeping pills. Once she's asleep, she doesn't move an inch. You're our family doctor, and you don't even know that?”

“No, that's not what I meant. I was wondering if perhaps she's only pretending to take the medication and then... well... considering what happened with Lady Airel, perhaps she's still harboring a grudge...”

“Max!”

“...Ahem. My apologies. I misspoke.”

“Are you trying to get yourself fired? Even if I did wrong my wife, that was ages ago!”

The Duke sprang to his feet and anxiously paced the room, running a hand through his hair.

Yet despite his loud denial, the unease in his eyes clearly said,

'Wait... could it really be my wife...?'

Watching everything from inside the ventilation duct with his arms folded,

Lishid smiled in satisfaction.

'This is entertaining.'

Eating cookies he'd secretly stolen from the kitchen while watching the Duke make a fool of himself had recently become one of Lishid's favorite hobbies.

After sneaking in every night for several days and punching the Duke in his sleep,

the man had become a complete nervous wreck.

Lishid wasn't worried about being caught.

He knew Duke Blandiche far too well.

The Duke was an idiot.

He had inherited the Empire's only ducal title simply because he'd been born to the right parents.

By nature, he was lazy and had never been one for studying.

Even the affairs of House Blandiche were entirely handled by his wife.

What more explanation was needed?

Taking another bite of his cookie, Lishid remembered the first time he'd met the Duke.

"Your Highness! My, my! You become more radiant every single day! I've never seen such a handsome man in my entire life! Your noble face positively shines! Your future is surely as brilliant as your appearance!"

Back when Lishid had been a prince,

the Duke had shamelessly flattered him in every possible way.

But after it was revealed that Lishid had been a fake prince,

the Duke's eyes had become as cold as if he were looking at an insect.

"How dare some lowborn bastard of unknown origin look me straight in the eye..."

That was the kind of man Duke Blandiche was.

“Get out! Just get out!”

While Lishid had been lost in thought, Max ultimately failed to diagnose the Duke's mysterious illness and instead only succeeded in irritating him.

The physician was promptly thrown out.

The Duke collapsed heavily onto his bed.

“Ahh... This won't do. I need to get at least a little sleep...”

After confirming that the Duke was now alone,

Lishid quietly climbed out of the ventilation duct.

Truthfully...

Regardless of everything the Duke had done to him,

the biggest reason Lishid tormented him wasn't personal revenge.

'...He made the Young Lady suffer.'

Not just once.

Probably for her entire life.

Since he owed the Young Lady so much,

the least he could do was repay that debt.

By now the Duke had already started snoring.

Without hesitation,

Lishid kicked him squarely in the face.

“Gah! Wh-What was that?!”

Before the Duke could properly wake,

Lishid slashed the pillow open with his sword.

The stuffing exploded everywhere, completely covering the Duke's malicious face.

“Mmph...! Mmmph!!”

Feathers filled the room.

The Duke struggled desperately to get up.

But even though Lishid had become much smaller,

avoiding the clumsy grasp of a man like the Duke was effortless for someone who had spent his life defeating monsters.

Lishid merely watched him with icy eyes.

'I'll give you memories that will torment you for the rest of your life.'

As long as Lishid remained here,

the Duke would never know another peaceful night's sleep.

'How did things end up like this...?'

I shuffled out of the Grand Temple's main building.

I'd only had a brief, businesslike conversation with Erkael,

yet somehow it felt as though my very soul had been wrung dry.

"Then, for my first request..."

"How about you call me by my name?"

First,

the High Priest had asked me to call him by his name.

"Naturally, I'll call you by yours as well, Lady Airel."

Apparently he'd remembered what I'd said during Lishid's welcoming banquet.

I still had no idea what that had to do with today's matter,

but I accepted the request without objection.

“All right.”

Erkael nodded in satisfaction before stating his second demand.

“For the next three months, three days a week, I'd like you to come at whatever time is convenient for you and clean the confession chamber.”

“...Clean it?”

“There won't be anything difficult about it. It's simply volunteer work.”

I'd expected community service.

Cleaning, however, had never crossed my mind.

How much help could I possibly be?

“Considering you once set fire to the temple, I believe it would be better for both your public image and the temple's reputation if people saw you serving here rather than performing community service elsewhere.”

When Erkael brought up one of the original Airel's outrageous deeds,

I could only nod again.

The smiling faces of the people who'd supported me on my way to the temple came back to mind.

“And lastly...”

He deliberately paused at the third request.

I couldn't help growing nervous.

But then he simply smiled.

“Ordinarily, this is where I'd discuss financial compensation.”

“However...”

“We'll postpone that discussion until after you've completed your three months of service.”

“Will it at least be something within my ability to fulfill?”

“I can swear that, despite your family's concerns, I won't demand either a public explanation or monetary compensation.”

“In that case... I agree.”

Right then and there,

Erkael and I each drew up two copies of the contract and exchanged them.

Leaving the final condition undecided for another three months felt rather unfair.

Still...

I was the one at fault.

I wasn't really in a position to complain.

'This turned out better than I'd expected.'

If anything,

Erkael had been surprisingly considerate.

He hadn't made unreasonable demands,

and he'd respected my wishes throughout.

'Maybe it's because I saved him earlier?'

I already knew he was a genuinely kind person,

but the fact that he'd resolved everything so quietly made me a little suspicious.

Then again...

I was probably overthinking it.

'The contract is perfectly transparent.'

Just to be safe,

I'd made sure every verbal agreement was written into the contract.

I'd even inspected it with a magnifying glass in case he'd hidden any tiny print to scam me.

There wasn't a single problem.

Now that we'd reached an agreement,

the Grand Temple would issue its official statement tomorrow.

The incident would simply be announced as a misunderstanding caused by poor communication between Erkael and me.

Rather amusingly,

the temple had even accepted that the flower I'd given him had been an artificial flower rather than a real one,

allowing the matter to conclude peacefully.

'The Duchess should be satisfied with this.'

The Grand Temple wouldn't be demanding either a public explanation or financial compensation.

'I need to hurry back and tell Lishid, too!'

Organizing my thoughts, I briskly walked away.

But the moment I rounded the corner of the main building—

Someone suddenly rushed straight into me.

“Kyaa!”

Apparently the other person had also been hurrying.

The two of us tumbled backward onto the ground.

Landing hard on my backside,

I looked up.

My eyes widened in surprise.

'...Seria?'

Seria, whom I hadn't seen since Lishid's welcoming ceremony, hurriedly gathered the books she'd dropped.

“Ah! I'm so sorry! I was in such a rush... Ah!”

Then she recognized me and immediately bowed her head.

“So it was Lady Airel of House Blandiche.”

“My deepest apologies. I didn't recognize you...”