Delusion (16)
Although I managed to scrape the carriage a bit, we sohow made it back near the academy.
The horses were much more unruly than I had expected.
"My heart was pounding, afraid we'd crash sowhere."
Estelle, who had been sitting next to , let out a sigh of relief as the carriage ca to a stop.
"I should try driving it myself soti.
I think I'd be better at it than you?"
She smiled playfully at .
I shrugged in response.
"By the way, what should we do with this carriage?"
It was good that we took it, but since Levina had prepared it in the first place, I wondered how we should dispose of it.
At least it wasn't a flashy carriage that would draw attention.
"Hmm, if you just give both the carriage and the horses to , I'll take them to a suitable place."
It felt like problems kept piling up, one on top of another.
Co to think of it, we had captured Levina, but it was still dayti.
Moving an unconscious person in broad daylight would be quite conspicuous.
"Let's go to the church first."
Estelle said it as if it were nothing.
She took a mat out from the back of the carriage and rolled up the unconscious Levina in it.
Then, as if it were nothing, she naturally tucked Levina under her arm and began walking toward the church.
She looked like soone who had just bought a large vegetable from the market.
She wasn't wearing white priest's robes but black clothes, and Estelle had taken out a veil from her pocket to cover her face, so she wasn't particularly noticeable.
As we walked, Levina's arm occasionally tried to slip out of the mat, but I put it back in each ti, so no particular problems arose.
After arriving at the church, before throwing Levina into the basent, Estelle spoke.
"I'm going to the grand cathedral for a bit.
There are so things I need to take care of.
If she looks like she's waking up, just strangle her and wait."
After saying that, she left the church with light steps.
Only I and the unconscious Levina remained in the room.
I left the unconscious Levina, who was faintly breathing, on the floor, and sat on a long chair with my arms draped over it.
Sunlight, passing through the stained-glass window, stretched long across the floor.
That light fell upon Levina's face, creating strange patterns.
I got down from the chair I was sitting on and sat beside Levina, who was lying on the floor.
Her face looked serene.
I raised my hand and gently stroked her hair.
It was soft and cold to the touch.
I wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.
Her breath was barely perceptible.
So faint that it was hard to tell if she was alive or dead.
I gazed down at her face for a long ti.
Then suddenly, I rested my head on her stomach, using it as a pillow, and lay down.
I looked up at the church's high ceiling.
Since the very old-looking painting seed to writhe and move, I simply closed my eyes.
And with my eyes closed...
Just as I was starting to feel sleepy, I heard the church door open.
It seed Estelle had returned.
I sat up on the floor.
"Oh, um. Why are you sitting on the floor?"
"Just a bit hot."
"Levina?"
"I laid her on the floor."
Estelle, who returned around evening, put sothing around the neck of Levina, who still hadn't opened her eyes.
It was a cold, tallic collar with a faint trace of blood on it.
Looking closely, a faint pattern was engraved on it.
"What's this?"
"A magic suppression collar. We used to put it on the heretics in the church basent, but we don't need it anymore."
Estelle said that, then casually hoisted Levina onto her shoulder and headed for the basent.
I followed silently behind her.
As the basent door opened, a musty and damp sll assaulted my nose.
Estelle laid Levina down on the basent floor.
At that sound, the Duchess, who had been huddled in the corner, raised her head.
She looked at Levina and made a face as if her world had collapsed.
"Le-Levina......!"
After that, she looked at Levina on the floor, hugged and stroked her for a long ti, then the Duchess stood up.
She began to spew all sorts of venomous, curse-filled words and tried to rush at .
But before she could even get close, Estelle kicked her shin.
The Duchess fell ungracefully and imdiately began to sob.
It didn't seem like a very duchess-like sight.
Looking down at her, Estelle and I left the basent.
We casually had fruit for dinner again today.
"What will you do now?"
Estelle asked, taking a bite out of an apple.
"I'll just live as I have been."
I replied.
"And I have to keep that crazy woman, Levina, all this ti?"
"You're the only one I can ask."
Estelle tried to make an angry face, but the corners of her mouth trembled slightly, and she soon burst into laughter.
"Well then, can't be helped, I suppose."
She said that, shrugging her shoulders.
After that, I spent my days quite normally.
I woke up in the morning and went to class, and since there was no longer any money from Levina, I managed my als appropriately.
In the evenings, I sotis visited Estelle, but not often.
I refused to go wandering outside with her every day, just in case I might get burned to death again like before.
Estelle looked disappointed, but she didn't press the matter further.
And during that ti, I never once visited Levina or the Duchess, who must have woken up.
The academy was in complete uproar, nothing short of chaos itself.
It wasn't so much because the student council president had disappeared, but rather because the junior head of the Edelgard family was missing, so it was understandable.
Rumors were widespread that soone holding a grudge against Edelgard had committed the act.
If the ailing head of the family were to die like this, with Levina gone, the position of head would surely pass to the Duke's only alive sibling.
However, since that person also disappeared simultaneously with the Duchess, their whereabouts unknown, I was the only one left who could be considered to have inherited the bloodline.
Yet, no letters or contact ca from the Edelgard family itself.
There were a few people who ca to question about Levina's disappearance.
But whatever she did on the day she disappeared, no one knew that I had been with Levina.
I simply replied that I didn't know.
A considerable amount of ti passed like that.
And the day I was supposed to go out with Seraphina arrived.
In the morning, after opening the door for Seraphina when she ca, I was just preparing to go out for a picnic, gathering various items in my room, when I heard a knock.
It wasn't , but Seraphina who stepped forward.
Outside the door stood a stranger.
He glanced at , frowned slightly, then asked Seraphina.
"Are you the lady of House Beluze?"
When Seraphina replied that she was, his expression softened.
And Seraphina looked at with a troubled expression, so I got up from my seat and approached the man.
"The Head of the House has called for you."
He pulled out a piece of paper with a seal on it from his pocket.
I took it, then handed it back to the man.
Seraphina seed very flustered by the sudden turn of events, but she couldn't intervene.
She probably knew enough about what had been happening lately.
"I don't think I can go today."
I approached Seraphina, gave her a light hug, and whispered in her ear.
"I hope we can definitely go next ti. I'm sorry."
The man spoke, his tone sohow softened, after I finished hugging Seraphina.
"Please follow ."
I followed him and asked.
"Are you a knight?"
"Yes, I am."
"For a bastard child, they could just send a suitable errand boy, so why did a distinguished knight like yourself bother to co?"
He didn't answer, then changed the subject.
"Contrary to rumors, you seem quite close with the young lady of House Beluze."
I didn't like his voice, which sohow sounded like he was giving a complint.
It felt like so important person was evaluating .
"Damn rumors."
"......."
A much more lavish and larger carriage than the one Levina usually rode was prepared.
The Edelgard crest was clearly engraved on it.
I climbed into the carriage and looked out at the scenery.
The familiar academy landscape quickly passed behind us.
I couldn't even indulge in any sentint.
After the carriage stopped, the large iron main gate of the main building opened.
The carriage entered again, then stopped in front of the main entrance.
The knight who had co to pick up was now wearing a sword at his waist.
He opened the carriage door for .
The gazes around weren't particularly favorable.
The servants whispered amongst themselves as they looked at .
But sohow, I found myself smiling.
The air in the mansion was strangely light.
Perhaps even refreshing.
It was clear that the mansion itself wasn't hard to breathe in; it was the place where the Duchess had been that was terrible.
I followed the head butler, who bowed his head in greeting towards , and walked into the mansion.
Then I went up to the second floor, walked down a long corridor, and entered a room with an open door.
Father was leaning back in a rather comfortable-looking chair, his legs crossed, pouring himself a strong-looking drink and sipping it.
He looked at , then smiled faintly with a slightly sad expression.
"Lavin, my son. Was it you?"
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