Lus Kritcher was embarrassed by what I had said in the heat of the moment.

‘I must be… I must be crazy.’

Not a child, why would such words come out of me, asking why I was not given the same treatment as the knight?

If Lus could, he would go back in time a few minutes and gag himself. No, he wouldn’t have chased after Elizabeth in the corridor like a rabbit that had found its prey.

But the damage was already done.

“……Yes?”

Duchess Elizabeth Keaton looked at Lus as if he were a pathetic human being. He hoped it was just his imagination, but it seemed unlikely. Because it seemed like she would swear that he was crazy if she suddenly questioned why she was being treated differently when they weren’t even on good terms.

‘Since it’s come to this, I’ll shamelessly push through.’

Lus decided to become shameless. His tongue, armed with blunt remarks, was welloiled.

“If you’re going to take care of Mihail, shouldn’t you do the same for me? My back is bent from casting buff magic and analyzing zombies as soon as we arrived.”

Not even like a harem competing for the favor of the empress who birthed a prince. Though Lus himself felt embarrassed by his selfpromotion, he held it in.

Of course, Elizabeth, who was wronged, was still dumbfounded. He understood.

“No… I’m sure I told you then that I thought it would be good for Mr. Lus to go to bed early and relieve the fatigue, didn’t I?”

That was true.

Lus had stubbornly cast analysis magic until dawn, frustrated that no useful information came out of the zombie corpses.

So, he had fallen ill for the whole next day, but it was all his choice, so he had nothing to say even if he had ten mouths.

‘…As I talk about it, I somehow feel sad.’

Lus’s expression became sullen.

He felt neglected by Elizabeth, who, while he was sick, only took care of him through the servants by providing medicine and porridge.

His feigned evasion turned sincere as he was overwhelmed with emotion.

Lus patted his arm and leg joints, wearing a tearful face.

“Oh, my back. My neck. My shoulders.”

“What… are you doing?”

Thud thud thud. A sound like bones breaking emanated from Lus’s joints as he stretched vigorously.

“When a comrade who came to fight with me is suffering like this… sob sob, yes, I am not an ’employee’ but just a ‘person who came to help for free,’ so you don’t need to take care of me…”

“What… Did you eat something wrong, Mr. Lus?”

Even as he looked at Elizabeth Keaton, whose expression was souring with absurdity, Lus did not stop.

Her sharp and upright violet eyes were focused entirely on me, and that felt good.

‘Isn’t this… something perverse?’

Scolding his strange behavior, Lus cleared his throat with a cough.

“Just a little, a little more consideration is what I’m asking for. Since the other wizards of the tower did not come, I am taking on the work of several, so I think I have the right to ask for this much.”

He had no room to argue, but Elizabeth, instead of swearing, supported her chin with her hand and thought deeply.

“That’s true.”

‘…She’s accepting this?’

Lus was surprised. He would have understood if she had spewed curses and told him to get lost for such nonsensical talk, but the changed Elizabeth Keaton was truly generous.

Her eyes, like amethyst, looked straight into Lus’s silvergray eyes.

“So, as a sign of goodwill, you mean to give Mr. Lus a water gun and sprayer too, right?”

‘A water gun and sprayer?’

He didn’t know what it was, but having no place to back down, Lus nodded.

“Yes.”

“Understood. Benjamin is diligently progressing with mass production, but the second completed water gun and sprayer will be specially! Delivered directly to you, Mr. Lus.”

With such a promise, Elizabeth sent him a warm look as if looking at a younger cousin clamoring to play.

As if her gaze was saying… Ah yes, you have been working hard lately, haven’t you? You must have been very troubled to pick a fight with me. You’ve had a hard time, it seemed to say, and his cheeks felt hot.

“Excuse me, Duchess. I am not craving the water gun and sprayer…”
“Ah, yes, I understand Lady Ruth’s intentions well. You’re working hard to resolve the zombie situation in the capital, right? You must rescue the Crown Princess and wish to return to the tower as soon as possible.”

Elizabeth turned her back, looking as though she had nothing more to hear, and went her way. Ruth reached out to stop her, then suddenly realized.

‘…I completely forgot about Siena.’

No matter how frantic she was, she hadn’t thought about Siena in days.

Despite the fact that the real reason she came to Duke Keaton’s was Siena, because of her.

The person now dominating Ruth’s mind entirely was…

“Excuse me, Lady Ruth?”

Elizabeth, who was walking briskly down the corridor without looking back, called out to Ruth.

“Ah, yes, yes.”

Hoping that the heat blazing inside her collar would not show, Ruth stammered a reply.