But yesterday I received a reply stating that she was under a curse that caused her to lose her senses. As you know, Viscount Doanne has experience in breaking curses. So I asked for his help, and he said he would see Sapphire himself. So I’m just on my way back from meeting Sapphire together.
“…….”
Aslan looked confused at the sudden news.
“It’s a pretty severe curse, and it’s urgent. He said it would take at least a few days to break the curse. So I’m planning to ask the head of the investigation team for a vacation, both for me and Viscount Doanne. If you say it’s okay, I’ll leave for the investigation site right away.”
It was a hastily pieced together story, but there was no contradiction.
It was a story that I had verified countless times in my head since last night.
Aslan was tapping the table with his index finger for a moment without saying anything. It was a habit that comes out when he is organizing his thoughts.
“Why didn’t you discuss it with me beforehand?”
“I didn’t have a chance. I only received the letter last night. After that, I was too busy thinking about what to do next.”
“Can I see that letter?”
“…Why?”
“Honestly, it all happened so fast, it’s hard to keep up. I thought reading the letter might help me understand.”
Aslan spoke in a casual manner. But his eyes were calmly exploring me.
‘…Is he doubting my words?’
No, there must be a reason for him to seriously doubt me.
If he had caught me sneaking out every night, Aslan had no reason to pretend not to know.
It must be just Aslan’s personality. He had a habit of checking and confirming everything because of his meticulous personality.
I quietly took out the letter from my pocket and handed it to him.
It was a fake letter that I had made before leaving Clyde’s mansion earlier.
To be honest, I hesitated about whether it was necessary to go this far. It was true that my mind was in a hurry to go to the investigation site and get a vacation.
‘Still making it was the right decision.’
I had to have a backup plan in case Aslan got suspicious.
The handwriting was written to look like a typical woman’s handwriting. The letter itself was not enchanted, so there was no chance of it being detected by detection magic.
Fortunately, I was quite thorough in this regard, even if not as much as Aslan. It runs in the family.
Aslan read the letter slowly, then slipped it back into the envelope and handed it back to me.
“Are you satisfied now?”
I looked at Aslan with a slightly annoyed expression as if to say, “How dare you doubt me?”
It seemed to have an effect as Aslan cleared his throat with a slightly embarrassed face.
“I didn’t ask to see it because I doubted you. If I report it to the team leader, I need to know the situation accurately, right?”
“Huh? What do you mean? Why does Brother have to report it…?”
“You said it was urgent. You don’t have to go all the way to Decoswan Canyon yourself. I’ll do the reporting for you.”
My eyes widened at Aslan’s words.
“Really? But why would you go to such lengths to….”
“What are you talking about? Did you forget why I’m here with you?”
“…….”
That’s right. The fact that Aslan had taken time off from the academy to join the investigation, the fact that it had taken him days to convince my father, all because of me.
Of course, I didn’t forget. Still, it was a touching feeling.
But I was still deceiving Aslan.
Of course, I can’t help it for Clyde’s sake. In fact, I couldn’t even tell him that he was a half-demon and that I had helped him escape from the basement where our father had locked up seven years ago.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t feel guilty.
To Clyde, Aslan, my other brothers, and my father…I had told so many lies that I couldn’t even count them.
‘I can’t go to heaven, can I…’
“…Thank you, Brother Aslan.”
I said in a slightly choked voice.
Aslan frowned and let out a bitter smile.
“There you go crying again. What are you going to do with your weak tear ducts, Eila?”
“I’m not crying.”
“Why are your eyes red?”
“…It’s because of dust.”
“Why does that damn dust only get in at times like this?”
Aslan chuckled and stood up from his seat.
“Well, I’ll go to the investigation site. Leave your friend’s address and go.”
“Huh? Why do you need the address?”
“I can’t go if I don’t know the address.”
“Oh? Are you coming too, Brother Aslan? What about the investigation?”
“Of course, I have to take a vacation too. I can’t do anything alone without you and Viscount Doanne, and you said it’s going to take a few days. There’s no way I can leave you alone for that long.”
“I’m not alone. There’s Sapphire and Viscount Doanne…”
“You’re alone if I’m not there, and I only got our father’s permission because I promised him I’d keep an eye on you to make sure nothing happened to you. Just write it down, and I’ll go as soon as I come back.”
“…….”
‘Things just got more complicated…’
I expected Aslan to ask to see Clyde at least once, but I didn’t expect him to take a vacation and come with me.
Although we managed to deceive Viscount Doanne’s eyes, there was no guarantee we could do the same for Aslan.
He had such a good eye for detail and was naturally suspicious.
“Or is there something else, something that’s bugging you?”
Aslan asked playfully.
“No, no. Of course not.”
I quickly waved my hands.
He shrugged and called for a servant to prepare the carriage.
* * * * *
Despite telling me to write down the address, Aslan didn’t seem reassured and personally took me to Clyde’s mansion before leaving for Decoswan Canyon.
“You said you wouldn’t be here until evening, but you’re already here?”
“Yeah. Actually…”
I explained to Clyde what had happened to Aslan.
“…So I think my youngest big brother will be staying with us for the next few days while we’re working on the mark. So we’ll have to set the record straight in case he asks questions about our relationship. He’s a very suspicious person.”
“Okay. I understand.”
Clyde nodded without much response to my words.
“Still, let’s think positively since it turned out this way. If we get through this, maybe I can come to see you confidently even during the day in the future.”
“…Then do I still have to transform into a woman at that time?”
“Ah…for safety reasons, it might be better to do that for a while.”
At my words, Clyde made a hesitant expression.
His face was so cute that I couldn’t help but smile.
“Instead, if you transform into a woman, we can go out together. Doesn’t that make your heart flutter? Until now, we’d only met hiding indoors.”
I had experienced many things that Clyde had not experienced in his life, such as the ordinary daily life that people take for granted.
“We can walk on the streets together, buy food from outside…just like ordinary friends. I want to do that with you. How about that? Aren’t you excited?”
“…Yeah. I’m looking forward to it.”
Clyde said in a low voice.
“I don’t think your expression matches your words.”
“No, I’m happy with anything as long as I’m with you.”
“I don’t like that. You have to like it too, Clyde.”
“I like it too, really. If I can just be with you, Ruby, that’s enough for me.”
“…….”
Somehow, I felt like crying again at his words.
‘Oh, really? Is it true that my tear ducts have become weak, as Brother Aslan said…?’
I took a deep breath while looking at the ceiling for a moment..
“…Oh, and it’s better to practice calling each other by different names from now on. We can’t call each other Ruby and Clyde in front of Brother Aslan. Come on, try calling me Eila.”
Clyde hesitated for a moment before cautiously opening his mouth.
“…Eila.”
Although I had told him to call me that, hearing Clyde call me by that name made my heart beat strangely fast.
Even though he was currently transformed into a woman….
‘Do I have a hidden preference that I didn’t even know about…?’
I glanced at Clyde’s face. He was not only beautiful but also had the beauty that could rival Sylphia.
“Why? Was my pronunciation weird?”
“Uh, yeah? No, it was okay. Let’s practice calling each other as much as possible so we don’t make any mistakes.”
“Okay, Eila.”
“…….”
“What’s wrong, Eila?”
“…No…it’s nothing.”
I said, cooling my flushed cheeks with the back of my hand.
* * * * *
Viscount Doanne returned to the mansion hours later.
I explained to him that Aslan had gone to get me a vacation leave and that he would come here by evening.
Viscount Doanne nodded and immediately started working.
I cleared the bed with Viscount Doanne and drew a large magic circle with Clyde sitting in the center.
“Breaking a curse is a battle of patience. Like casting great magic, you have to memorize the spell over a long period of time and repeat the same magic.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“If you can just let me concentrate as much as possible, that’s enough.”
I nodded resolutely at Viscount Doanne’s words.
u go viscount!!
please let nothing go wrong