Suddenly, Yannik seemed to have discreetly disappeared. Amidst the continued silence, Adele, who had been staring at her feet, gathered courage and slightly lifted her gaze. Valentin appeared to be pondering deeply about the meaning of her words.

“……”

In the meantime, Adele carefully observed Valentin. His handsome face had a suitable flush, and his slightly lowered eyelashes cast a pleasant shadow on his cheeks. The bobbing of his Adam’s apple and his steady breathing, the body heat from his close proximity could be clearly felt.

Every ‘sign’ felt from him was that of a living person. There was no trace of ominousness or wicked monsters to be found.

‘I borrowed and wore Grita’s necklace that had been blessed by the High Priest, but he seems unaffected.’

Valentin was still lightly holding her elbow.

‘If it was an evil force that resurrected Your Highness, not a single one of the many priests guarding the coffin at that time could have failed to notice.’

She thought coldly.

‘Just look at how the priest calmly made the sign of the cross with holy water on Your Highness’ forehead and blessed you right after you awoke. If it were a monster, it couldn’t have been so unperturbed.’

The surging suspicions were gradually chipped away in the face of rational memories. If a monster had truly possessed Valentin’s body, it didn’t make sense for him to recover so smoothly in the first place.

Ansgar was a family favored by Morig. A sacred presence that evil things couldn’t even approach was passed down through generations of successors. Magic power and holy power were forces of opposite natures, so if an unlucky and stupid monster had possessed him, it would have been revealed long ago.

‘It was an overly sensitive thought from the start.’

Adele let out a sigh of relief.

‘I’ve never heard of a monster penetrating Morig’s veil. It makes sense to think that the sudden rampage of the beasts is also due to another monster approaching near the outer walls.’

As she regained her senses, an increasingly embarrassing feeling surged. Making a fuss to the point of calling the hunting dogs out of superstitious fear. Her ears turned hot with shame.

‘Could it be that this time, it wasn’t Grita’s mistake? Of course, it’s true that Your Highness has changed enough to startle me, but it could be due to staying on the battlefield. Grita’s neck might not be the work of a monster either. There’s a possibility that the healing artist made a mistake in checking……”

“Adele.”

She was frowning, lost in thought, and only barely came to her senses when her face was held. Valentin’s large hand slightly pressed and lifted her cheeks.

His face looked somewhat anxious.

“Ah.”

Adele looked at him with puzzled eyes, then realized that she had been deeply immersed in her own thoughts right in front of him. It was not only defenseless but also rude behavior. Adele’s cheeks instantly flushed red.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been a bit absent-minded today……”

“……”

“Um, how are you feeling?”

His well-shaped lips moved as if to answer. The barely escaping voice was as small as a monologue. Adele tilted her head without expecting to hear proper words. Since he awoke, the only thing he had properly pronounced was ‘Adelheit’.

As it had been until now, she casually assumed it would be the same this time as well.

“Al, ways…… qui……”

“Your Highness?”

“My, memo. ry……”

Although unclear, they were words with meaning. Adele’s eyes widened in surprise. The person who couldn’t even pronounce a single word properly until this morning was now uttering words that sounded quite like speech. There was only one imaginable reason.

Adele delightedly grabbed his sleeve.

“You definitely spoke just now. Right?”

“Mem, ory… is… re, turning……”

“You need to rest and take care of your body right away. Wait, just a moment please. I’ll call the butler.”

The moment Adele hurriedly took a step, Valentin grabbed her wrist. Her body, which was about to move forward, was abruptly pulled and lost balance. She was about to crash into the stone wall. Just before impact, Adele reflexively shut her eyes tight.

“……”

A dull shock was delivered to her shoulder. However, the expected pain was barely felt. Only after opening her eyes did Adele understand the reason.

Just before colliding with the wall, Valentin had inserted his hand between her shoulder and the wall.

“Oh my.”

Adele, surprised, first grabbed Valentin’s hand to examine it. It seemed to have been crushed between the protruding stone wall and her shoulder. The back of Valentin’s hand was torn badly, with blood oozing out.

The color instantly drained from Adele’s lips. It would have been better for her shoulder to take the impact. Her face contorted with guilt.

“The, the wound is severe. At this rate, your hand will be completely…… It must hurt a lot, right?”

Valentin, on the other hand, seemed indifferent to the injury on the back of his hand. It was as if he couldn’t even feel the pain.

“……Oh, my.”

He, who had been silently looking down at Adele busily examining the back of his hand, finally opened his mouth. Adele quickly raised her head. A stammering, unclear voice continued again.

“The wound, is, se, vere. At, this rate…… com, pletely, must, hurt……”

“……Your Highness?”

“I, I’m…… sor, ry……”

Adele then realized that Valentin was repeating her words. She blinked blankly while facing him.

‘So in this situation…… what’s going on?’

Before she could fully understand the situation, Valentin swiftly moved to grab her arm. As if he had predicted what Adele would do next.

In an instant, a long shadow loomed over her head.

“……”

The corridor was dark with no light except for the torches sparsely placed on the walls. Valentin’s bright yellow eyes were as distinct as if rimmed with gold even in the darkness. The moment she saw them, a cold shiver ran down her spine.

Can human eyes be like that?

Instinct whispered. This is a beast you can’t handle, so run away.

Adele desperately shook off Valentin’s grip on her arm and hurriedly stepped back. However, the more distance she put between them, the more Valentin closed the gap again.

“……D, don’t come…… please…….”

It was a tense confrontation. They repeated it several times. It would have been a ridiculous sight if someone had been watching. But the moment Adele’s back touched the wall, she felt a terrible fear. He had cornered her from the start.

Like a beast hunting its prey……

There was no more room to retreat now. Adele turned her head as if in resignation.

“……Hah.”

Her heart was beating rapidly as if in turmoil. Her breath was ragged as if she had been sprinting at full speed. Suddenly, the sarcasm of her half-sister Charlotte from some time ago clearly came to mind.

‘Since ancient times in Vitzleben, there have been monsters that mimic human speech.’

‘……’

‘Don’t just listen casually, but engrave it deeply. You’re inherently incompetent, so I’m saying this out of concern that you might not even be able to distinguish between monsters and humans, tarnishing your own honor.’

Shadows mimicking human speech. The dragon of Vitzleben. The doubts she had barely suppressed, thinking it was a misunderstanding and an overreaction, overflowed like a flood in an instant. It was a ridiculous sight, but Adele didn’t even have the presence of mind to mock herself.

“……”

As if blocking her last escape route, he slowly reached out his arm, trapping Adele between his body and the stone wall.

Adele was completely buried in his shadow, gripped by extreme fear.

“Ah……”

She panted, leaning against the wall behind her. Her mind rang out a sharp warning that she should push him away and run even now.

But her body wouldn’t listen at all. The fear that the moment she turned her back, sharp teeth would tear into the nape of her neck froze her entire body.

At that moment, Valentin reached out his hand towards her neck. He lightly grasped Adele’s violently rising and falling throat with his right hand. Adele let out a short moan in surprise.

“Hah.”

Contrary to expectations, there was no force at all in Valentin’s hand. It was an extremely careful touch, as if enveloping a fragile bird.

Warmth could be felt from his large hand. The pulsating veins collided with his firm palm and bounced back, felt as a throbbing sensation. Adele gradually calmed down.

Their gazes met.

Ridiculously, Valentin was beautiful even in this moment. He tilted his head as if begging for affection.

“Adele. Sp, speak…… speak.”

“……”

“Just, a… lit, little…… more……”

He looked at her lips with a desperate gaze, almost persistently rummaging through them. Adele only realized what he wanted after he repeatedly pried open her lips and ran his fingers over her teeth.

It seemed he thought that if he opened her lips, the lovely voice he always heard would come out.

“Hmm? Adele.”

When Adele showed no sign of opening her mouth, he now began to plead. Adele swallowed the saliva that had pooled in her mouth with difficulty. She barely managed to utter a few words through her trembling lips.

“I, I don’t know what Your Highness wants from me. Why… you’re repeating my words, I also have no idea as your humble servant……”

The staggering, faltering voice sounded twice as miserable as usual. But Valentin smiled brightly as if he liked it.

“Your, High…… ness… what, you want from me, I, don’t…… know.”

He narrowed his eyes and repeated her words, following along. It was almost akin to appreciating music or a work of art.

Valentin’s hand wrapped around her neck slightly tightened. It seemed he wanted to feel the vibration of Adele’s vocal cords a little more closely. With his fingertips, he traced her lips, savoring her breath between the sentences.

Not knowing the terror it instilled in her.

“Why…… you’re repeating, my words, I also don’t know……”

He paused for a moment and gazed at Adele quietly. His gaze flowed slowly from her face to her neck, her heaving chest, and her trembling hands. It seemed he had only then noticed ‘Adele’s’ state.

His gaze met her tear-filled light green eyes again. The last thing Adele saw before tightly shutting her eyes was Valentin tilting his head as if puzzled.

“……”

He loosened his grip on Adele. As if perplexed, he touched his own lips and took a few steps back from her.

“I, don’t, know. Sp, speech. We, well.”

“……”

“Sor, sorry. For, the, ru, rudeness.”

After uttering words that may have been an apology or something else, he hurriedly crossed the corridor and disappeared. Left alone, all the strength drained from her body. Adele slowly sank to the floor.

‘What in the world just happened?’

It was so confusing that she couldn’t come to her senses. Was it because she had heard strange stories from Grita just before? For a moment, she felt an terrible fear towards his act of simply mimicking words and actions.

Adele suddenly remembered the necklace she was wearing. The symbol of Morig, said to break if something evil approached, was intact without a single crack.

‘The fact that this is intact means one of two things about the situation I’m in right now.’

Either His Highness the Grand Duke of Ansgar was undoubtedly a flawless human being, or a powerful monster that could ignore even the holy power of Morig……

She had never even heard of the latter. But if by any chance, Valentin was a monster hiding his true identity and lurking in the castle, there was only one way now.

It was time to write a letter to Padre.