But, despite her nervousness, Sergey lightly nodded.
“Sure.”
“really?”
“But there is a condition.”
Elaine was a little nervous that he’d set a condition that would be difficult to fulfill.
However, the conditions that Sergey proposed were unexpected.
“Don’t fall for me.”
“huh…?”
“Don’t fall in love. Girls ask me to be friends, and then when we get to know each other, they ask for weird things, and then they pout and cry and make a scene.”
“Ah….”
Sergey said, remembering what happened to him five hundred years ago.
At the time, the noble ladies who did not know that he was a dragon were anxious to get close to Sergey Lindel, who sometimes accompanied Lancers.
At first, she asked to be friends, but after a while, she started making more demands, such as asking him to escort her to a party, attending an acquaintance’s wedding with her, and not being close to other ladies.
Elaine would also be in even more trouble if she did that.
He was a dragon, not a human, and he was her contractor.
Unsure of his true intentions, Elaine nodded at first, wondering if he was joking, but then realizing how serious he was.
“Well, Sergey is really handsome, so that must have happened a lot.”
“If you’re thinking of doing that too, you’d better stop now. Because there is nothing I can do for you.”
“I would never think that. I’m….not in a position to try and do anything with Sergey in the first place. In fact, I’m….”
Elaine decided to reveal her identity, prepared for Sergey’s cold gaze.
“Have you ever heard of ‘Newt’s stain’?”
“No. What is it?”
“It’s my nickname. My mother was the illegitimate daughter of Count Newt, and I was born to her as her illegitimate child. So I’ve been called that since I was born.”
“so?”
“I happened to be on the Newt family register, but I wasn’t born into a noble family. I’m sorry for not telling you from the beginning. I didn’t mean to fool you. If you’re upset, I’ll treat you with respect right now.”
Then Sergey snorted.
“It’s not your fault. And now you’re a nobleman anyway. Actually, I think it’s funny to divide people into classes.”
Elaine couldn’t help but widen her eyes at those words. It was surprising that a nobleman, especially the heir of a great aristocratic family such as a Count, would think class was ridiculous.
“Uh, anyway, I have no intention of being greedy for Sergey. I just want to….greet you by name whenever I see you, and we can talk like this.”
“Hmm…well then, I have no reason to object.”
Only then did Elaine smile brightly.
“Please take care of me in the future.”
“Me too.”
Elaine lightly held Sergey’s outstretched hand and shook it.
Unlike his seemingly cold aura, his hands were quite warm.
* * *
[Is everything okay?]
When she returned to the room, she found Rabes rolling around on the bed.
“Is Debbie back yet?”
[I thought she was out with her family?]
“Oh, I see.”
Elaine sat down on the bed comfortably, knowing that her roommate would be away for a while.
“Are you feeling better now that you’ve been out, or are you still not feeling well?”
[Don’t be weird, I just left because I was feeling a little bad, but I wasn’t in any major discomfort.]
Rabes scratched the back of his neck with his hind paw.
Elaine lay down next to Rabes and gently scratched the nape of his neck that he had been scratching with his foot.
Rabes paused and then slowly relaxed, as if he was feeling better.
[So, did anything special happen today?]
“Hmm, something…… happened.”
[What happened?]
“L’Arch came here really out of the blue.”
[what?]
After hearing L’Arch’s name, Rabes suddenly raised his upper body.
[You should have called me!]
“It’s not like anything major happened when L’Arch came. He suddenly introduced me to the priest and said he put my pocket money into the temple treasury.…He showed me unnecessary kindness.”
[There must be some kind of plan.]
“I think so. That priest is someone I often encountered in my past life. Maybe he was the one assigned to watch over me.”
[A shallow thinking.]
Elaine nodded and agreed with Rabes’ opinion.
“I’m not as obedient as before, I think he’s trying to win me over by using this trick and that trick.”
[Did you notice that? I thought you were stupid, but you’re not so stupid like you can’t think at all. I’m glad.]
“I’m not stupid. And, well, I’ve already experienced it all in my past life.”
Another long sigh came out. But there were also pleasant memories that came to her mind along with her sighs.
“And I met Sergey again.”
[Sergey?]
“Yes. He is the one who saved me from the morgue.”
Rabes tilted his head, pretending not to know anything.
[How did you meet again?]
“Well, it was so strange, I went to the service and Sergey was there!”
Elaine’s eyes sparkled as she chatted about how she met Sergey, how she felt at the time, and the conversation she had with him.
“I felt it when I first met him, there’s something about talking to him that makes me feel at ease. The tone of speech is not very soft, but somehow it feels familiar.”
At those words, Rabes made a coughing sound.
“Are you okay?”
[Hmm, hmm! I’m fine. Well, since you have come back again, your past memories may be interfering with your current life.]
“Maybe so. Anyway, I decided to be friends with him and I’m allowed to talk to him.”
[That’s a good thing.]
“This is all thanks to Rabes. If you hadn’t given me the courage, I wouldn’t have been the first to ask to be friends.”
Rabes felt happy for some reason and stretched out his body again.
Despite Elaine’s belief that she’d gained another friend, she still only had one, but Rabes believed it would be enough.
‘Because even when you were a Lancer, you said I was enough for you.’
He had no intention of sharing his contractor with anyone else.
Five hundred years ago, he’d been betrayed.
That’s why he was very concerned about L’Arch. It seemed like he too was waiting for every opportunity to have Elaine all to himself.
‘I knew Elaine had a crush on L’Arch, but I didn’t want her to fall for it, so I had to do something about it.’
[By the way, it really bothers me that L’Arch introduced you to a priest. I need to find out what that guy said to the priest.]
“yes? how?”
As Elaine tilted her head, Rabes swung his tail with his blue eyes shining.
Then, an illusion of L’Arch and Priest Raoul appeared in front of Rabes and Elaine.
The two were sitting across from each other and drinking tea in what looked like Priest Raoul’s room.
Seeing that L’Arch’s clothes were the same, it seemed like something that had happened this morning.
“I have come to ask you a favor, priest.”
“What would you ask me to do?”
“There is a saint from Newt’s Family this time. That is my cousin Elaine.”
“Ah, I only heard that a subordinate joined the temple due to circumstances.”
“I’m talking about that kid…”
L’Arch put down the teacup, took out a square velvet pouch from his pocket, and pushed it toward Priest Raoul.
“I hope the priest will keep an eye on her and report back to me periodically. Any information about her would be fine.”
Raoul looked at L’Arch and the pocket alternately, then secretly grabbed the pocket and opened it.
It contained a thick, square piece of gold.
Even for Elaine, who didn’t know much about the price of gold, it seemed like it would be worth a lot of money.
Raoul tied back the pocket opening and smiled brightly as he put it in his arms.
“I understand what you mean, L’Arch. Since she is a saint who came as the representative of the family, I think it is necessary for the successor, Sir L’Arch, to manage her.”
“After today’s service, I will personally introduce Elaine to you. Elaine is a bit sensitive these days, perhaps because she’s reached puberty late, so please be lenient even if she’s rude.”
“Of course. Don’t worry.”
Then suddenly the illusion disappeared.
[Uhuk!]
“Rabes!”
Elaine looked at Rabes, who was coughing painfully behind her, in surprise.
“What’s going on, Rabes!”
[haha…It’s no big deal.]
“What do you mean it’s no big deal? This is the first time I’ve seen Rabes suffer like this!”
[I was trying to break through the divine power and use my magic power.…]
“Ah…!”
Now that she thinks about it, it was the first time that Rabes used magic since entering the temple.
“Is this what you mean when you collide with divine power, you feel really bad?”
[Yes…damn bastards, what the hell are they so scared of that they’d put up so many barriers?]
Rabes felt pain as if his stomach was being twisted due to the influence of the divine power barrier, which was stronger than expected.
‘If only my magic core was intact, it wouldn’t be this bad….’
The aftereffects of the magic that turned back time were beyond imagination.
At first, he thought it was nothing, but as time passed, he felt that his magical power was not the same as before.
It was slow to recharge, and every time he used his magic power, the area around his heart where the magic core was located was painful.
* * *
