“No.”

It can’t be like that.

I won’t allow it.

I was willing to stake everything to protect them to the end, and I wanted to do that.

And it seemed the same for Kaern.

Despite being threatened with his life, he was more concerned about Adelia and me than himself.

“So, was that it?”

Since I didn’t hear it directly from Kaern, it’s still just my conjecture…

Perhaps he thought that if I became entangled with the Raverion Duchy, I would become a target along with him.

Now that I seemed to understand the reason for his changed behavior and attitude, I felt a sense of relief.

At the same time, I felt embarrassed and disappointed in myself for momentarily misunderstanding Kaern, who had been worried about me.

“I don’t know how much I can help, but I hope he won’t be hurt anymore.”

I firmly clasped my hands together and made up my mind.

Then, I began to calmly organize the thoughts that came to mind.

First, I needed to recall the original work more precisely.

After Adelia and Calix got married, I judged that the original work was no longer necessary for my future life.

Of course, some memories had faded with time, and there was intentional forgetting involved.

But not anymore.

Now, for the sake of protecting Adelia and Kaern, I needed information.
Upon arriving home, I immediately headed straight to the study. Seating myself at the desk, I focused intensely, dredging up old memories.

Novels often unfolded from the perspective of the protagonists. Moreover, they typically involved trials created by villains, with the protagonists overcoming these challenges through collaboration to complete their love stories.

The original work I knew followed a similar framework. However, unlike most novels, in this original work, it was Blake Warren, not the male lead Calix, who sought retribution against the villainess Adelia and her family.

“Could Blake Warren be behind this incident as well?”

With that thought, a single uneasy assumption briefly crossed my mind. Perhaps Kaern might still be in danger of death.

So, Adelia was merely exploited to dismantle Kaern, and in the end, the ultimate goal wasn’t Kaern? The idea lingered in my mind.

Despite the altered course of the story, certain aspects remained unchangeable. Things I could never influence. It was someone else’s scheme directed at Kaern.

In truth, upon closer examination, even in the original work, Adelia’s deeds driven by jealousy weren’t severe enough to warrant risking her life.

“In the end, there needed to be a reason to eliminate Kaern.”
Unlike the original work, there wasn’t such a motive this time. Therefore, the attempt to naturally kill Kaern by utilizing the war.

However, Kaern wasn’t one to passively endure such a situation. He would have continuously found a way out, even in perilous circumstances.

If he couldn’t succeed in killing him this time, he would have likely judged that there would be no more opportunities. Therefore, on the way back, he might have forced the use of a horse to attempt to kill him.

“It was mentioned that poison was applied to the horse. What kind of poison could it be? I’d like to check.”

Most poisons here were made from plants. Given my interest in plants, I had occasionally read books about poisons. However, to express the desire to confirm the poison, I needed to confess how I came to know about it.

But Kaern seemed reluctant for me to reveal what I knew. Moreover, considering he was already preoccupied searching for the culprit with an uneasy body, I didn’t want to burden him further.

No other choice.

“For now, let’s investigate without Kaern’s knowledge.”

With that decision, I promptly called for Amy.

“Amy!”

“Yes, Miss.”

Amy, who had been waiting outside, entered the study at my call.

“Unpack the luggage that was meant for the study trip.”

“Huh? The luggage?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry for the trouble of packing it.”

“Miss, are you giving up on the study trip?”

With a surprised expression due to the sudden announcement, Amy asked me.
“I’m going to leave. However, there’s something I need to resolve before leaving. So, it seems like I’ll have to change my plans.”

“Something to resolve?”

“Yeah. I can’t go into details right now. I’ll tell you everything once it’s all done.”

“Ah… Yes, I understand. I’ll unpack and organize the luggage again.”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

After instructing Amy to organize the luggage, I sent a letter to the Academy’s Study Abroad Support Department, stating that I wouldn’t be going on the study trip.

Even if I went abroad for studying now, it was clear that I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on my studies each day, being constantly anxious about Kaern.

Therefore, it was much better to resolve everything before leaving.

Of course, opportunities like this might not come again.

But even so, there was no other choice.

No matter how I thought about it, finding the culprit targeting Kaern was the priority now.

“Now, where should I start?”

I wrote down the things I needed to do on paper, firmly resolving to save Kaern.