How much time had passed?

I slowly moved away from his embrace. Realizing my current feelings for him and my impulsive action of hugging him just now, I felt embarrassed and my face flushed hot. I awkwardly spoke while turning my head to avoid his gaze.

“Ah, haha… I’m sorry. I ended up being very rude to you, Duke.”

“No. There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

The Duke shook his head with a dazed expression. His face was faintly red as he slowly raised his upper body. I looked at him with concern.

“How are you feeling? Are you alright?”

“…I think I’m fine. But I collapsed after using aura earlier, how did I regain consciousness?”

The Duke asked in confusion after answering my question. I gave a bitter smile and held out the split Clepiad seed in front of him.

“I used this seed on you. Now you should be able to use aura freely without straining your heart. Probably.”

“…What?”

The Duke’s sharp eyes widened in surprise. With a rare flustered expression, he said to me:

“Why did you do that? If you use up that seed, we won’t be able to recruit that magician Emlyn to our side.”

“…So should I have just let you die in front of me? I had no choice.”

I answered with a shrug. The Duke looked at me with a strange gaze. Feeling embarrassed by his intense and persistent stare, I continued speaking.

“…Well, I’m sure we can find another way to persuade Sorcerer Emlyn. So for now, I’ll be satisfied that you’re safe.”

I smiled at him as I finished speaking.

The Duke lowered his gaze with an expression of not knowing what to say. His eyes trembled faintly as he bit his lower lip and clenched his fist. He spoke in a suppressed voice.

“…I’m sorry. Because of me, your plan has fallen through.”

I met his downcast gaze and said:

“Why are you apologizing to me? I’m the one who should apologize. It’s because I wasn’t careful of my surroundings that you had to use aura to save me. I’m sorry.”

At those words, the Duke raised his head and firmly denied it.

“No, you did nothing wrong. I’m the one who made a mistake. If I had judged more carefully, I could have subdued that monster without using aura…”

I smiled and shook my head. Then I deliberately spoke to him in a cheerful voice.

“It’s fine. Stop blaming yourself now. This dejected look doesn’t suit you, who’s usually so confident and proud to the point of seeming arrogant.”

“…Young Lady Yusten.”

“You saved me, and I saved you. That’s enough. So please don’t blame yourself anymore. I won’t say it was my fault either.”

As I said that, I tapped his fingertips with my hand holding the seed shell. His eyes widened slightly in surprise at my action. A smile slowly spread across his face as he stared at me with a dazed expression.

I inadvertently took in a sharp breath. My heart, which I had just managed to calm, started racing again, and my cheeks flushed hot. Fearing he might notice, I hurriedly averted my gaze.

“…Ahh!”

“Young Lady Yusten!”

At that moment, the Clepiad seed I was holding suddenly became hot and burst into a purple light so strong it could blind me. I cried out in shock and dropped the seed. The Duke pulled me into his arms and turned his back. I clung to him and squeezed my eyes shut.

A moment later, when the intense light faded, I opened my eyes. What was that situation just now? I looked in bewilderment at where I had thrown the seed shell earlier.

At that moment, I witnessed an amazing sight.

The Clepiad seed that had been split in half was now lying on the ground, completely whole. I quickly broke free from his arms and picked up the seed with both hands. The Duke also approached me with a surprised look. I exclaimed to him:

“W-What’s going on? The seed has returned to its original state!”

“Indeed.”

The Duke said in admiration. He seemed to think for a moment, then summoned blue aura and brought his aura-coated fingertips to the seed.

Strong wind and light burst forth from the seed, pushing away the Duke’s aura. The Duke looked at me with surprised eyes and said:

“…It seems the seed has been restored.”

“What? That can’t be! The book clearly said it could only be used once…”

As I was denying this unbelievable situation, suddenly a certain phrase flashed through my mind. I mumbled with a blank expression:

“Come to think of it, the woman who first used the Clepiad seed saved her dying parents. Then…”

“It seems this seed you found is that legendary seed from the tale that can save two lives.”

“Oh my, how is this possible!”

I exclaimed in delight. It was hard to believe such a miracle had occurred, even seeing it with my own eyes. I looked at the Duke with an excited expression. He was also smiling as he looked at me. Overwhelmed with joy, I hugged the Duke tightly.

“A miracle has happened, Duke! With this, we can persuade Emlyn without any problems!”

“This must be God’s mercy bestowed upon you, who is so kind and beautiful.”

We gazed at each other with flushed cheeks. Our eyes were filled with only each other. His handsome face, which was looking at me intensely, was gradually getting closer. My eyes, which were staring back at him as if entranced, slowly closed.

“Duke! Where are you, Duke!”

“Young Lady Yusten! Are you with the Duke now? Please answer if you can hear us!”

At that moment, Roger and Gwen’s voices calling for us could be heard from afar.

Hearing those voices felt like someone had suddenly dumped cold water on me.

‘I’m crazy!’

I quickly pushed him away with both arms. Turning my head abruptly to hide my face that had turned bright red, I stood up and said:

“T-The two of them are looking for us. Let’s go quickly.”

“…Right.”

The Duke let out a quiet sigh and then stood up after me. He frowned slightly as he dusted off his cloak, which was stained with grass and dirt. Then, looking down at his chest stained with blood, he asked:

“…By the way, Young Lady Yusten, there’s one thing I’m curious about.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“How were you able to feed me the liquid from that Clepiad seed?”

“…!”

“Judging by my state, it seems I continued to cough up blood for a while even after losing consciousness, so it shouldn’t have been possible to just pour the liquid into my mouth.”

I hastily took a breath. Hearing his words, I could now realize what I had done to him earlier.

‘…Come to think of it, I kissed the Duke.’

At the time, I was so focused on saving the Duke that I had forgotten about it, but now I realized how embarrassing my action had been. It was fortunate that the Duke was unconscious, otherwise it would have been very difficult to look him in the face out of embarrassment. Thinking that it was truly fortunate, I tried to act nonchalant and said brazenly:

“I-I just… When you briefly stopped coughing up blood, I managed to pour it in well then.”

“…I see.”

“O-Of course! Roger and Gwen must be looking for us a lot. Let’s go quickly, Duke.”

Avoiding his eyes, I made up an excuse and moved forward, tightly clutching the Clepiad seed, following Roger and Gwen’s voices calling for us.

The Duke stared at me with a meaningful gaze for a moment, then soon muttered in a barely audible voice:

“…Are you planning to pretend it never happened?”

“Huh? What?”

“It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

When I asked back, the Duke let out a quiet sigh and shook his head.

I could only tilt my head in confusion at his incomprehensible behavior.

* * *

At that time. In the annex of the Yusten Ducal Residence, in the center of the Imperial capital.

An uninvited guest in luxurious attire barged into the place while its owner was away. It was Danae. She pushed aside the maid who was opening the door in confusion and spoke in a sharp voice:

“My elder sister and her maid haven’t returned yet, right?”

“…Pardon? Yes, young lady.”

Danae immediately went up the stairs. The maids, surprised by her sudden visit, exchanged glances and then followed quickly behind her. Her destination was Christine’s bedroom. When she found the doorknob she had rashly pulled was locked, she pointed at one of the maids and shouted:

“You there! Bring the bedroom key right now!”

“…B-But for what reason, when the mistress isn’t even here…”

“When I say bring it, just bring it quickly! Why so many words? If you don’t want to be fired, do as you’re told!”

“…Yes, young lady.”

A moment later, when the pale-faced maid brought the key, Danae snatched it from the maid’s hand, unlocked the door, and went inside. After carelessly throwing the key on the floor, she immediately began to rummage through every corner of Christine’s bedroom. The maids cried out in shock as they watched her searching through the wardrobe full of dresses and pulling off the neatly made bed covers:

“D-Danae young lady! You mustn’t do this!”

“What do you mean I mustn’t? Ah, shut up! Anyone who says one more word! I’ll call the knights right now and have that tongue ripped out on the spot!”