No More Regrets, Just K*ll Me

 

“Hmmph.”

It was an earlier morning than I expected.

I stretched, feeling strangely sluggish all over. Next to me, Carlothian was lying down, exhausted from enduring my madness.

Hmm, I feel sorry every time I see him like this. But maybe things will get easier once we arrive in Anrize?

I really should make sure to get the holy relic. With that resolution, I carefully slipped out of his embrace.

It seemed like I should let him sleep a bit longer since the dark circles under his eyes were quite pronounced.

As I quietly changed into my outing dress, I heard some rustling sounds beside me.

“Oh, you’re awake?”

When I turned to look, Carlothian was sitting up, propping his head with his hand. I stopped putting on the dress and approached him, holding onto the bed.

“Shouldn’t you sleep more?”

“…I’m fine.”

His expression, which said he was fine, was filled with exhaustion. This person… he looks more worn out than when he was suffering from madness. Is he really okay?

I reached out to his forehead with concern. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to have a fever. Carlothian quietly accepted my touch, but then furrowed his brows as if something had just occurred to him.

“Last night…”

“Ah, yes.”

“Pierne Maicher opened the door amidst the commotion.”

Ah, now that I think about it, someone did come in yesterday. So it was Sir Maicher.

“Did he see my state of madness?”

“Yes.”

I am already referred to as a villainess, and now I will also be referred to as a witch. Oh, my.

Seeing my expression, Carlothian said,

“I’ve kept it under wraps, so he won’t go around blabbing.”

“Well, he didn’t seem like that kind of person anyway.”

“They’re the type to follow orders at the risk of their lives. They wouldn’t easily speak about it.”

“That’s a relief.”

I took my hand off the bed and started struggling to tie the ribbon at the back of my dress.

Then Carlothian sighed and began to tie the straps behind my back.

I moved my hair forward and waited for him to finish tying the string.

“What kind of person is Sir Maicher?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, even though he probably wouldn’t talk, shouldn’t we give him something nice to keep him happy?”

Then, Carlothian replied in a gruff voice from behind,

“My knights aren’t swayed by such things.”

“Really? That’s nice.”

With that, Carlothian finished tying everything. He asked curtly,

“Why are you stubbornly doing it yourself when you could just call a maid?”

“Well, I woke up too early. I didn’t want to wake anyone.”

“You…”

Carlothian started to say something but suddenly stopped. I could guess what he was about to say, so I smiled.

“I’m not the duchess anymore.”

When I turned around, he had a peculiar expression on his face. I found his expression amusing and laughed. I reached out and pressed the spot between his eyebrows.

“Don’t go making such slip-ups anywhere. You still need to remarry.”

As I said this and withdrew my hand, Carlothian frowned and grabbed my wrist. What’s this?

“…There’s a mark.”

“A mark? Oh.”

I looked at the deep handprint on both of my wrists. Seriously, how strong is he? It’s going to leave a bruise!

“Well, it’s not much for me…”

Between the exposed parts of Carlothian’s shirt were several scratches I had left. He looked like a complete zombie. I couldn’t help but let out a small sound of dismay at the sight.

“Wouldn’t it be better to show these to a healer every now and then?”

“It’s fine. It doesn’t even itch.”

“Right. That wound probably doesn’t itch. It just hurts.”

I grinned, pulled my hand back, and pressed down on one of the bite marks. His body flinched visibly.

“See, it hurts.”

“…It doesn’t hurt.”

“Are you seven years old?”

Pouting my lips, I gently pushed his shoulder down to lay him back down. Fortunately, he didn’t resist and lay down nicely on the bed. I brushed his hair aside and said,

“We’re not leaving until the afternoon, right? Sleep well until then.”

“I have documents to review.”

“Then just sleep for one more hour. It’s still early in the morning.”

“…Where are you going?”

“Just feeling a bit sluggish, and for some reason, my neck feels better, so I thought I’d take a walk.”

“Take a knight with you.”

“I will.”

After confirming that Carlothian had closed his eyes again, I quietly opened the door and stepped outside. I nearly screamed in surprise.

“Sir Maicher!”

“Ah… Did you sleep well?”

“I… slept well.”

“…Is that so?”

He looked at me with a suspicious gaze. Ah, as expected, he doesn’t just let such lies slide.

I glanced at Sir Maicher. He also had shadows under his eyes from staying up late.

‘I need to let this person get some sleep.’

I looked up at his face and asked,

“I’d like to take a morning walk. Could you possibly call another knight? Carlothian is sleeping right now.”

“The Duke is still asleep?”

“Well, he must have been tired from yesterday.”

At that, I noticed Sir Maicher’s body stiffening. Hmm, I guess yesterday’s scene was shocking. Well, it was a fit of madness. No matter how you look at it, it did seem witch-like.

“I’ll take charge of escorting you for your morning walk.”

“Really? Aren’t you exhausted from staying up late?”

“I think I can manage a morning walk.”

“Aren’t you pushing yourself too hard?”

“I’m fine.”

For some reason, he was quite resolute. I couldn’t find a reason to refuse, so I looked at him with concern and then nodded.

“Alright, then let’s just take a light walk.”

As I hurried down the stairs, I could hear Sir Maicher’s footsteps following behind me.

Once we stepped outside the accommodation, the refreshing morning air rushed in. I took a deep breath and exhaled.

It looks like the weather will be nice today.

I slowly began walking to the right. That side had fewer people, and it seemed to lead to a quiet mountain path.

“Where are you going?”

“Just… to a place where there aren’t many people.”

I began to walk deeper into the woods. Soon, I reached a forest path that was designed for strolling.

Although it was early in the morning, I saw a few people walking around because it was a popular tourist route.

“Sir Maicher, aren’t you too tired?”

I wondered if I was leading us too far in, so I turned to look at him. He shook his head.

And then, at that moment, a leaf fluttered down and landed on top of Sir Maicher’s head.

The small leaf settled right in the center of his head, and I found it so funny that I burst out laughing.

“Haha, there’s a leaf on your head.”

“Excuse me?”

“Come here.”

Sir Maicher awkwardly lowered his head. I reached out and removed the leaf from his head. But at that moment, he suddenly grabbed my wrist.

“Huh?”

I looked at his face in surprise. However, he was only staring intently at my wrist with a serious expression.

“Sir Maicher?”

On my wrist were the deep marks left by Carlothian’s grip.

Oh no, I can’t let him see this. I quickly pulled my wrist away from Sir Maicher and hid it behind my back.

“Um, about yesterday. That happened.”

Since he saw everything yesterday, there was no way to hide this.

“….”

He was looking at me with calm, steady eyes. Hmm, how should I explain this? I cleared my throat and began to speak.

“It might seem strange, but it really isn’t a big deal.”

I tried to sound as casual as possible about the whole madness thing. After all, we’ll soon arrive in Anrize and find the sacred relic!

“It’s something that will be resolved soon.”

“Resolved?”

“Of course. Carlothian has been through a lot, but it will be resolved with time!”

I spread my arms wide. But Sir Maicher’s expression was odd. He looked completely confused.

“So, I know that Carlothian is having a hard time dealing with me. I know I’m the problem too…”

“Miss Ariadeline is the problem?”

His voice had a hint of anger. I flinched and shrank back. Seeing this, Sir Maicher took a moment to calm down.

I rolled my eyes, trying to break the awkwardness of the situation.

“Carlothian is putting up with me…”

Wait, why am I trying to explain myself here? I fidgeted with my fingers, nervously watching his reaction.

“Sigh…”

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. Well, I suppose he’s worried that the Duke he serves is dealing with someone who could be seen as either a villain or a witch!

But! I’m doing my best to resolve this, too!

Of course, I’m using Carlothian’s money… Hmm, not much I can say to excuse that.

“…Um.”

I hesitated, unsure of what to say, and glanced at him subtly.

“I’ll do my best to endure.”

Madness? I’ll just endure it a bit longer! I’ve already endured it somewhat, so I can manage like Carlothian, right?

Ah, but the full moon is approaching, which is a problem…

As I clenched my fists and spoke, Sir Maicher sighed again, looking as if he didn’t know where to start or what to say.

Hey, can you stop sighing in front of me?

“…Is that what Miss Ariadeline wants?”

“Yes! I’ll endure it just fine!”

I smiled brightly. Don’t worry too much, alright? I’ll take care of everything. I’ll endure the madness, find the relic, and solve this cleanly!