Kalos rode a horse when leaving the castle, but returned in a carriage.

He had overexerted himself repairing the barrier on the western castle wall, and now his left hand had become semi-transparent, making it difficult to properly grip the reins.

He could have used his shadow ability like with his left leg, but Dewey strongly urged him to stop using his power, so he had no choice but to take a carriage.

“……”

Kalos took off his glove and looked down at his left hand, which had faded as if about to disappear.

“……It seems I don’t have much time left.”

Otherwise, his left hand wouldn’t have become like this just from using that small amount of power.

His left leg was also a problem.

How long would it take for everything to return to normal?

Would it even return to normal in the first place?

With her help, it would definitely return to normal, but……

“Not now.”

Just wait until she wakes up, just until then.

He had to avoid any potential worst-case scenarios.

“We’ve arrived at the castle, my lord.”

Lost in thought, the carriage had already reached Castle Esper.

As Kalos put his glove back on and stepped out of the carriage, he was startled to see an unexpected figure approaching, his eyes widening in rare surprise.

“My lady?”

Dewey was equally surprised.

Though she had been hiding with the intention of surprising them a little, timing her appearance for when Kalos got out of the carriage.

Since both of them were more surprised than she had expected, Irene scratched her cheek a bit awkwardly.

“Was I… not supposed to come out?”

Dewey, who came to his senses first after being dazed, waved his hands.

“No, no. It’s not that. We just never imagined you would be awake… Ah, of course, we weren’t hoping you wouldn’t wake up. We were desperately wishing for you to wake up more than anyone.”

Though his words came out in a rush and sounded somewhat like excuses, the sincerity was clearly conveyed.

“Thank you.”

Irene gave a faint smile and expressed her gratitude.

Seeming a bit embarrassed, Dewey cleared his throat and turned to look at Kalos.

Irene also looked at Kalos.

“……”

His widely opened eyes had already returned to normal.

Striding over to Irene, Kalos looked her over from head to toe and asked.

“When did you wake up?”

“I woke up a little while ago. I’m not sure of the exact time……”

“She woke up around 9 o’clock.”

Jessie, who was standing behind Irene, answered.

Kalos glanced at Jessie briefly, then asked Irene again.

“Your body probably hasn’t fully recovered yet. Why did you come out?”

“I wanted to show the Grand Duke in person that I’m fine.”

Though it was the same thing she had said to Jessie, for some reason she felt even more nervous now.

Irene took a deep breath to calm her racing heart, then continued.

“I’m sorry for making you worry.”

She wasn’t sure if Kalos had actually worried about her, but she felt she should apologize anyway, so she spoke politely with her hands clasped together.

Her gaze naturally fell to the ground.

“……”

As a large coat was draped over her shoulders, she raised her head again.

Kalos spoke indifferently.

“If that’s the case, you could have waited inside the castle instead of coming out into the cold.”

“Ah, I was inside until just now. I came out when I heard you had arrived.”

“Your face looks pale for someone who was just inside.”

Is that so? Irene touched her cheek with her curled fingers.

She wasn’t sure if her face was pale, but it did feel cold.

Finding herself unexpectedly accused of lying, Irene appealed to Jessie for help.

“We really were inside until just now, weren’t we?”

“Yes. It hasn’t even been 10 minutes since we came out.”

Jessie provided the exact time, lending credibility to Irene’s words.

As Irene looked at him as if to say “See?”, Kalos gave a faint smile.

Then, while adjusting the disheveled coat around her, he said:

“I’m not saying you lied. I’m pointing out that your body condition still isn’t good.”

“My body condition is fine.”

Irene protested softly, but Kalos ignored her and buttoned up the front of the coat.

Jessie inwardly groaned as the pretty outfit she had carefully put together was now hidden by the plain coat.

“Have you eaten breakfast?”

Irene nodded.

“Yes, I ate breakfast.”

She wasn’t sure if eating around 10 o’clock could be called breakfast, but unable to find a better way to express it, Irene didn’t correct herself.

But that was a mistake.

“Then we should have lunch.”

“What?”

She hadn’t even digested half of what she ate earlier, and now he wanted to have lunch?

As things took an unexpected turn, Irene’s eyes widened like a rabbit’s in surprise.

Kalos tilted his head slightly and asked.

“Do you not want to have lunch with me?”

“Ah, no. That’s not it……”

Irene was about to honestly say that she wasn’t hungry yet, but after seeing Kalos’s expression, she swallowed her words.

She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but Kalos seemed to look disappointed.

Moreover, while she hadn’t felt hungry at all until just now, she suddenly felt a little hungry.

This much should be fine for lunch, right…?

Lunch usually meant something simple like sandwiches anyway.

“I’ll eat with you.”

The corners of Kalos’s mouth turned up slightly at Irene’s answer.

“I’ll have them prepare it right away then.”

So he really was disappointed.

Irene was relieved that she had accepted his proposal, having astutely read his mood.

*

Since it would take some time to prepare lunch,

And they couldn’t eat while covered in dust, Kalos arranged to meet Irene at the dining room in 30 minutes before they parted ways briefly.

Returning directly to his room and starting to undress to wash up, Kalos paused when he saw his semi-transparent left leg and left hand.

“……I had forgotten.”

Surprised by the fact that Irene had woken up, he had completely forgotten that his body was in this state.

He could hide his left leg by wearing pants, but the problem was his left hand.

If there was any silver lining, it was that it wasn’t his frequently used right hand.

“Should I wear gloves?”

Wearing gloves while eating wasn’t proper dining etiquette, but he had no choice.

He could make up some excuse about being slightly injured.

“……”

Kalos stared blankly at his semi-transparent left hand before stuffing it back into the glove.

After quickly washing up, Kalos emerged from the bathroom, and Dewey, who had been waiting, helped him dress.

However, Dewey’s expression was unusually bright.

With the territory’s problems and Kalos’s issues on top of that,

Dewey had been looking like death warmed over for the past few days, but now he suddenly brightened up, making Kalos ask quizzically:

“Did something good happen?”

“Of course!”

When Dewey answered as if it was so obvious, Kalos looked at him with somewhat disgruntled eyes.

“What is it?”

“The young lady has woken up!”

The corners of Dewey’s mouth rose sky-high.

“Which means, now you can receive help from the young lady. How could I not be happy!”

Come to think of it, he had said something like that before.

The purple eyes gazing into the distance wavered slightly.

“I was so worried because your condition worsened from overexerting yourself repairing the barrier, but thank goodness. Really, thank goodness.”

His eyes traced the elaborate patterns on the wall.

Stared at the plush carpet.

Then fixed on his left hand again, looking somewhat troubled.

“……That’s right.”

His voice also carried a hint of unease.

“It really is fortunate.”

But Dewey, drunk on joy and relief, failed to notice this fact.

*

When Irene arrived at the dining room, Kalos was already there.

Lunch was also laid out.

“Am I late?”

“No, you’re right on time.”

Well, that’s good, but……

Irene looked across the table as she sat down in the chair pulled out by a servant.

The seat where Jerdin always sat was not only empty, but there was no place setting either.

“Is His Highness the Crown Prince not joining us for lunch?”

Jerdin always tried to attend gatherings like this without fail.

Finding his absence strange, she asked, and Kalos answered while picking up his water glass.

“He left.”

“What do you… Oh, did he return to the Imperial Palace?”

“Yes.”

I see. So Jerdin went back to the Imperial Palace.

Well, it had been quite a while since Jerdin came to Esper territory, so it was about time for him to return.

Irene fiddled with her fork, regretting that she couldn’t say a proper goodbye since his departure happened to be while she was unconscious.

“You seem to miss the Crown Prince.”

When Kalos accurately saw through her feelings, Irene nodded with a slightly embarrassed smile.

“Yes. Maybe it’s because we became somewhat close while he was giving me magic lessons. I feel a bit sad.”

“There’s no need to be sad. You’ll see him again soon.”

“Oh, is His Highness coming back to Esper territory?”

At the innocent question, Kalos smirked and set down his water glass.

“You haven’t considered the possibility of you going to the capital or imperial city?”

“What? Me?”

Thinking she would never leave Esper territory unless she ran away, Irene was startled by the unexpected suggestion and asked back in surprise.

Kalos looked at her with curious eyes.

“Is that so surprising?”

“No, it’s just……”

As Irene hesitated, her gaze fell on Kalos’s left hand.

It was strange that he was wearing a glove only on his left hand while his right hand was bare.

Moreover, wasn’t it proper manners to remove gloves at the dining table?

Feeling Irene’s gaze, Kalos subtly lowered his left hand and said:

“I injured my hand.”

The eyes that had been full of curiosity instantly filled with worry.

“Are you alright? How badly are you hurt? If you need to cover it with a glove, isn’t it serious? What about treatment……”

“Enough.”

Kalos waved his right hand, cutting off the flood of questions.

“It’s not a severe injury, and I’ve received proper treatment, so there’s no need to worry.”

To be precise, he was planning to start treatment now.

“So, could I borrow your hand for a moment?”

“Here.”

Though it was a somewhat abrupt request, Irene held out her hand without hesitation.

It was an action born from her trust that Kalos wouldn’t do anything bad or strange to her.

“……”

Kalos stared blankly at the hand with clear scratch marks before gently grasping it.

“Ah…!”

In that moment, all strength left her body and her vision went pure white.

As her upper body lost balance and began to collapse forward lifelessly, Kalos hurriedly supported her.

“Are you alright?”

Her long eyelashes trembled. Unfocused eyes stared blankly into space.

“Hey.”

“……”

“Irene.”

Irene, who finally came to her senses, blinked her eyes slowly.

“What just……”

“Haah.”

As Irene managed to speak properly, Kalos let out a long sigh as if finally relieved, then furrowed his brow as if something displeased him.

“I just remembered an urgent matter, so it seems I won’t be able to have lunch with you. I’ll see you later.”

Then he left the dining room abruptly after saying only what he needed to say.

Left alone, Irene stared after Kalos’s retreating figure in bewilderment.

*

“……”

After leaving the dining room, Kalos took off his glove and checked his left hand.

The shape of his hand, which had been blurry until just now, was now clearly visible.

His left leg was still not back to normal, but his left hand had definitely returned to its original state.

“It’s back to normal.”

Dewey, who had been following behind Kalos, rejoiced at seeing the hand.

In contrast, Kalos stared intently at his restored left hand as if displeased, then said to Dewey:

“We need to… send a messenger to Whidor.”