Viscount Doanne finished all the preparations and began to cast the spell.
As the faint chanting continued, the magic circle emitted a white light and enveloped Clyde, who was sitting in the center.
Clyde’s face frowned slightly.
“… Sapphire. Does it hurt?”
I asked in a small voice so as not to disturb Viscount Doanne.
Clyde shook his head slightly.
But it was clear from the sweat on his forehead that he was in pain.
‘It will take a few more days for the spell to be completed, but if he is already in pain…’
Although it was painful to see him struggling, there was nothing else I could do. That’s why it hurt even more.
All I could do was watch him with a heavy heart.
* * * * *
After several hours had passed since sunset, Aslan arrived.
I went to the front door to greet him.
“Brother Aslan. Did things go well?”
“Yes, I got a week off, but I promised to return as soon as Viscount Doanne finishes the job.”
“Thank you so much.”
Aslan glanced towards the bedroom where a faint light was coming out.
“They’re in the middle of casting the spell. We shouldn’t disturb Viscount Doanne so let’s stay outside.”
Aslan nodded at my words.
“But where are the servants? And the butler?”
“Uh…she doesn’t have any servants in this house.”
“What do you mean? No servants?”
Aslan frowned and asked.
As a person who was born and raised in a noble family and had been pampered all his life, Aslan’s reaction was as if it was unthinkable to live without servants.
Actually, even I had become completely accustomed to living as Eila Rojasis alone.
I hardly remember how it felt to wash and groom myself in my past life.
But since Clyde was born and raised as a commoner, he was used to doing everything by himself. In that sense, he was similar to modern people from my past life who were used to doing things on their own.
That’s why he didn’t have any household servants when he was in the Trachen, and he didn’t hire anyone when he came to Bellum either.
“Sapphire is a commoner. She was raised in an orphanage without knowing her parents. So she went through a lot of difficult things when she was young that were too hard to talk about. Thanks to her innate magical talent, she’s a noble now, but she’s not used to having servants because of her past habits.”
“…….”
Aslan looked puzzled, lost in thought.
For him, it was undoubtedly an unimaginable life. He had probably never talked to a commoner except for household servants his entire life. It would have been even harder for him to understand becoming friends with a commoner.
‘In fact, if I didn’t have memories of my past life, I wouldn’t have been able to treat Clyde without prejudice like this…’
Perhaps, even before the perception of commoners, I might have treated Clyde as less than a human simply because he had demon blood, like my father Julion.
I couldn’t be more grateful to have been reincarnated with memories of my past life.
Aslan spoke quietly.
“I thought you said she was cursed and lost her senses, so it must not be easy to live on her own.”
“He’s lost her sense of sight and touch, but she said she had both until she wrote me a letter and sent it to me. Before that, he only lost her sense of smell and taste, and she said it was easier for her to eat anything.”
“…she has a pretty unique personality.”
“Oh, come on…. I guess she’s a little bit of that….”
Although the story was entirely made up according to the situation, it was true that Clyde’s personality was far from ordinary.
Aslan sighed softly.
“If I had known earlier, I would have brought some household servants with me from home. It’ll be hard to prepare meals like this.”
“That’s okay. I made something myself.”
“…You made it? Cooking? Don’t tell me it’s that pie again?”
Aslan doesn’t have a sweet tooth, so he refused to eat my pumpkin pie after I forced him to take a few bites at first. He would purposely run to his room if he smelled pie baking in the kitchen.
“No. It’s just a sandwich. Do you want some? I’m sure you’re hungry.”
“…….”
“Why are you looking at me like that? Do you think I made something you can’t eat?”
“…Did you put jam or something on it?”
“No. It’s just a normal sandwich with vegetables and meat. It’s not sweet at all, so don’t worry.”
“Then let’s taste it.”
Brother Aslan shrugged as if he couldn’t resist anymore. I smiled.
Just as we were about to move to the kitchen, we heard the creaking sound of the bedroom door opening.
I turned to look and saw Viscount Doanne coming out with a tired expression.
“Is it all done?”
“No. My mana is gradually running out, so I think I need to rest. I’ll go back home for now and come back tomorrow morning.”
“I see. Thank you so much for your hard work.”
Viscount Doanne bowed his head when he noticed Brother Aslan. Aslan returned the bow.
“I’ve also told Lady Sapphire to rest well tonight. It’s better to have someone to take care of her since she must have consumed a lot of energy.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Viscount Doanne left the mansion right away. I hurried to the bedroom.
Clyde was leaning against the back of a chair, his head slightly bowed.
“Sapphire, are you okay?”
Clyde nodded faintly.
“Phiasus La Perza Atomonia.”
I whispered the spell and cast levitation magic on Clyde, then picked him up in my arms.
Perhaps because of her female form, he was much lighter than I had anticipated.
I lay Clyde down on the bed that I had tidied up earlier.
“You’ve been sweating a lot. I need to clean you up.”
As I turned around to get a towel, I met Brother Aslan’s eyes, who had been standing and watching this way.
“Brother Aslan, you should go home now. I think I need to sleep with Lady Sapphire tonight.”
“Leaving two women alone in a house without any servants or guards? That’s not appropriate for a man or a brother.”
“But there’s only one bedroom in this house….”
“I can sleep anywhere, so don’t worry.”
I hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Brother Aslan’s eyes widened as he saw me filling the basin with water.
“…What are you doing?”
“I think I need to wipe off Lady Sapphire’s sweat.”
“Why are you doing it yourself?”
“I told you. There are no servants here….”
“If you need a maid, I can bring one from home. Why would Lady Rojasis, a noblewoman, take care of a commoner woman?”
Without realizing it, I frowned at Aslan’s words.
“Sapphire is my friend, Brother Aslan. What’s wrong with taking care of a sick friend?”
“Elia, think about your status.”
Aslan said coldly.
“Then should I turn away from my friend just to save face when no one is watching? Is that behavior befitting my status?”
“You know what I mean, Eila.”
“…….”
I glared at Aslan with my lips slightly parted.
In fact, it was not strange for Aslan to react like that. Rather, it had to be taken for granted.
According to the norms of this world, my behavior was beyond common sense. Aslan was not particularly narrow-minded or supremacist.
In fact, even the fact that he did not show any resistance when I said Sapphire was “a commoner but a friend” could be seen as a decent attitude.
But I was angry even though I knew it.
Because Clyde was so precious to me.
It hurt my heart to see Clyde suffering from this terrible curse, and it was unbearable to see him collapse after enduring the difficult healing process for a long time.
But when Aslan said these things, I was momentarily upset.
It was even worse because he was my family, someone I loved and trusted.
“I’ll ask the coachman to bring our maid. Leave the nursing to them.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
“Elia.”
“If you want to call her, call her. But I won’t wait. I can’t leave Sapphire suffering right now.”
With those words, I passed by Aslan.
Aslan called my name again, but I didn’t stop or look back.
period eila