Walter had no choice but to ask as he followed her when she began to recite like a botanist.
“What do you mean by eating this? Will it make outdoor activities difficult?”
“You will find out soon. It’s okay. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Even though you say it’s okay, I’m curious about its effects. Could it be harmful to the body?”
Even with the reassurance, when Walter didn’t dispel his doubts, Edith shrugged and replied.
“You can trust me. I worked as an assistant at a clinic before getting caught here.”
“If you can gain this much-related knowledge just by working as an assistant at a clinic, I don’t think there will be a shortage of doctors in the empire.”
“Well, you see…”
Edith finally confessed to something that had been stuck in her chest like a thorn.
“Actually, I passed the Imperial Academy’s medical entrance exam.”
“…?”
Walter was at a loss for words.
“You might not know, but you should be prouder when you talk about it.”
“I wasn’t sure if I could enroll. My plans got messed up when I got imprisoned in this manor.”
But as long as there was hope of escape, she hadn’t completely given up on her dream of studying in the capital.
Edith said as she looked at the bag containing the ellickberries.
“I have to eat this to deceive them. After eating it, I can’t engage in strenuous exercise or horseback riding.”
Even when he asked about its exact effects, Edith only mentioned that it was used for deception.
It meant not to ask any further.
Even when he asked once more, Edith only mentioned that it didn’t taste very good.
Walter wanted to ease her slightly darkened expression.
“As a stableman, I would like to give you one last horse ride.”
“Horseback riding is nice, but if you bring out a horse, you will get caught.”
“Surely, bringing out a horse can’t be that difficult for a stableman.”
As Walter left for a while, she secretly hoped, even though she knew it was difficult to steal a horse.
As Edith recalled the acceptance letter, she thought there would be nothing like horseback riding to calm her frustrated heart.
It was like that when she was little, when Isaac first gave her a horse ride when she was depressed about her mother’s health.
『 In the end, I couldn’t get off the horse, so Isaac had to use his thighs as a footstool.』
As she recalled her happy memories, Walter brought a wonderful horse.
“I found a horse that suits M’lady very well.”
“Oh my…”
He had so much guts that he stole the Viscount’s favorite horse.
It was an unusual white horse, even to Edith, who did not know much about horses, with its fur flowing from head to toe.
“What if we get caught, Walter?”
“I think it would be better if we left quickly before we get caught.”
“Which horse will you ride?”
“The only thing on my body that isn’t thick is my face, so stealing two horses was a bit challenging.”
Edith laughed in bewilderment, even though she knew he was using a shameless trick to get her to ride the horse with him.
As she carefully mounted the saddle, Walter, who sat behind her, held the reins tightly, almost as if he was hugging her.
Before she could fully enjoy her elevated view, he urged the horse forward.
The pleasant scent that wafted from Edith gradually overwhelmed his sense of smell and reason.
The horse started at full speed from the beginning.
“…!”
Edith had never seen a horse run this fast or anyone handle a horse this skillfully.
She couldn’t see a thing in the pitch darkness, but Walter didn’t slow down one bit, as if he knew the way perfectly.
“Wal-Walter! Slow down a bit…”
When she said it in an anxious voice, she felt him swallow hard, although he seemed adept. His reaction made Edith nervous in a different way.
She wondered what would happen if they bumped into something. While she was frightened, she could feel Walter’s body firmly supporting hers.
His claim that his face was the only thing not thick on his body was definitely not a lie. Edith realized this fact every time he touched her.
Walter slowed down only after hearing Edith’s pleas several times.
“Do you really ride this fast?”
Edith, exhausted, leaned against him. It wasn’t something she did intentionally; she was just tired.
Her soft blonde hair brushed against Walter’s shoulder. Walter slowed down even more and replied.
“I thought that if we ran fast enough, we might be able to jump over the wall.”
“Come to think of it, this place…”
The horse carrying the two people almost passed the border of the manor.
It was a boundary that these two people could not cross.
“Walter, what will you do once you escape from here?”
While the question of how to escape had always been a concern, the question of what would happen afterward felt unfamiliar. After thinking for a moment, Walter replied.
“For now, I’ll spend some time with Helen in the Militia Force first and then maybe go to the capital to find out who I am.”
“There are many capable mages in the capital, so you might be able to uncover something about your lost memories. Will you settle there?”
“I think that might be the case.”
“Then I’d be happy for you.”
Edith inadvertently gave an honest answer and then closed her mouth like a clam. But to her surprise, Walter probed her in a sly voice.
“Why? Is it a good thing for M’lady if I stay in the capital?”
“I… I thought it’d be nice to meet occasionally and have a meal together. If I leave here, I’ll also attend the academy in the capital.”
Walter imagined himself eating together with Edith not in Fortrion but somewhere else as she enjoyed her studies.
It seemed like it wouldn’t be a bad idea to find a place near her academy so she could stop by easily.
“Then, what about you, M’lady?”
“I want to become a bureaucrat involved in public health. Ultimately, I want to be able to treat more people than working in a clinic, don’t you think?”
Edith seemed interested in caring for more people than just treating one or two individuals.
Her future aspirations were in line with the kindness and compassion he had seen in her all along.
Even now, as they were talking, he could feel her warmth still radiating with a vibrant light.
“You’ll do well. Even though you’re trapped here, you haven’t given up.”
It wasn’t his usual playful tone. Edith also smiled brightly and answered.
“Walter, let’s both make sure to escape from this place. I’ll do my best to help you get out.”
“…”
“Once we’re out, we can slowly figure out who you are together. We can meet occasionally and have meals.”
She turned her upper body slightly to meet his clear eyes. Walter didn’t avoid her gaze.
The moonlight and her long eyelashes cast intricate shadows on her blue eyes. His reflection in her eyes seemed as if he were trapped behind dense bars as if he couldn’t escape.
“I’d be glad if you’d come with me.”
Walter imagined a scene where they crossed the barrier side by side.
He had never kneeled in his life, but for Edith, who couldn’t cross the wall, he didn’t mind lowering himself and having her step on his own thigh to help her climb up.
──────────✿◦•
After returning from her outing, Edith immediately took out the pouch of ellickberries as soon as she entered her room.
『 It felt so good to gallop on a horse after such a long time.』
Edith felt like she could survive for a few more days thanks to the brief freedom that Walter had given her tonight.
She walked over to the tea table and began squeezing the ellickberries into a cup.
『 It’s safe to have twelve drops. Not more than that.』
Then, she used a teaspoon to transfer twelve drops of ellickberry juice into another cup.
She was exhausted from making accurate measurements.
Edith added some water to the measured juice and brought it closer to her lips.
She hesitated to drink it, knowing what would happen to her body after consuming this liquid.
But…
⋙“Even though you say it’s okay, I’m curious about its effects. Could it be harmful to the body?”⋘
When Walter asked that question, his lightly disheveled black hair was deeply imprinted in her mind as a vivid image.
He was worried about her.
Feeling someone’s concern for her was something she hadn’t experienced in a long time.
The clinic director and his wife were kind, but Edith didn’t want to burden them with her worries. She always pretended to be fine and strong.
After losing her only friend, Isaac, and then Benjamin, she focused only on her studies and earning a living, not on socializing.
Perhaps that was why she appreciated Walter even more because he was someone who seemed genuinely concerned about her, not the Edith Lowell who was just pretending to be fine. So, she wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.
⋙“I’d be glad if you’d come with me.”⋘
As he had said, if possible, they would go together.
『 I don’t want to hear from Walter that I lied to him, so I must settle this matter within a month.』
Twelve drops of ellickberry juice.
The side effects of the ellickberry last for about a month. Edith smiled as she swallowed all the liquid in the cup.
The taste of the ellickberry was as shocking as its infamous reputation in the clinic.
Edith felt like she was swallowing the juice of a rotten, stinging fruit.
“Ugh…”
Her mood quickly soured, but she held back and emptied the cup.
And the next late afternoon…
After confirming once again that the ellickberry was doing its job well in her body, Edith knocked on Sophia’s bedroom door.
“Sophia, it’s Edith. I think I should let you know…”
Sophia welcomed Edith with a somewhat surprised expression. With Whitman gone, she had no choice but to use this blonde woman to her advantage.
Since she had lost her love, she needed to at least secure Fortrion’s fortune, so the time she had spent in this manor like a doll wouldn’t feel unjust.
“Welcome, Edith. I haven’t been able to take care of you properly for the past few days because I was shocked by the butler’s embezzlement.”
Sophia forced a smile and invited her prey inside.
Edith knew that this was the moment Sophia had been most waiting for.
“My body feels a bit strange. Strangely, it seems like I have a slight fever… I was wondering if maybe I’m pregnant, as you suggested.”
“…!”
Sophia’s eyes, which had lost their judgment and been clouded, began to glint with desire once again.
❀.°• ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ •°.❀
