“Eric?”

“Alicia.”

Eric removed his hand from Alicia’s face and sighed, looking at the ceiling.

Then he looked at her again and spoke with a complicated expression.

“Alicia. I really want to express myself properly, but the situation doesn’t allow it.”

“?”

Seeing Alicia’s puzzled look, Eric awkwardly smiled with a dying expression.

‘If only it weren’t for the High Priest’s words.’

Recalling yesterday’s events, Eric sighed, wondering if this was some unwanted forced ascetic practice.

[This is the timeline separator]

The High Priest finished purifying the demonic energy and examined Eric’s wounds.

“Hmm. It’s much better. You’ll be able to return to daily life soon.”

“I’m ashamed. I heard there were more bodies of mages found, but I couldn’t even investigate properly.”

“It can’t be helped. Don’t worry. There will be separate instructions about that matter soon.”

“Ah.”

Is the mission being transferred to someone else?

Feeling hurt in his pride, Eric kept his mouth shut.

Noticing Eric’s feelings, the High Priest smiled as if it couldn’t be helped.

Sighing, Eric messed up his hair to shake off his thoughts and spoke.

“High Priest. I can move without much trouble now, so can I go home?”

“Of course, you’ve improved a lot, but if you stay here, I can check on you frequently.”

“Still, I want to go.”

Being isolated from the outside and staying only in the High Priest’s quarters made him crazy with curiosity about the outside situation.

He was curious about the incident and also wanted to know how Alicia was doing.

“Hmm. There shouldn’t be any problems, but…”

The High Priest stroked his long beard as if pondering.

Eric, still looking pale, kept his mouth shut waiting for the High Priest’s permission.

“Well, alright. Resting in a comfortable place might be better.”

“Thank you. Then, even today…”

“Why so urgent? Do you have a honey pot hidden at home?”

It’s not a honey pot, but there’s something that feels even sweeter.

Eric smiled awkwardly.

“If I stay here, visits are impossible, so there are many people who would worry.”

“Is that so?”

“My parents, for example.”

The High Priest stared at Eric for a while, then grinned.

“So in the end, you want to see your fiancée, is that it?”

“It’s not exactly like that.”

“What do you mean it’s not? That’s exactly what it is.”

“Ahem.”

Eric’s face reddened as he avoided eye contact.

But the High Priest chuckled as if looking at a cute grandchild.

“In that case, it would be useless even if I refused.”

“Thank you.”

Eric’s face immediately brightened.

But the High Priest’s face was serious.

“But let me tell you. I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

“?”

“The demonic energy hasn’t completely left you yet. It wouldn’t hurt to be careful, just in case. So…”

“Yes.”

Eric’s expression also turned serious, thinking there might be something important as the High Priest’s face became grave.

“Physical contact is forbidden.”

“Cough.”

Eric choked at the High Priest’s unexpected words.

“Wh-what?”

The High Priest frowned at Eric’s surprised expression, as if wondering why he was reacting that way.

“It’s just a few more days of patience, is that so difficult?”

“No, that’s not it. I just didn’t expect to hear such words from you, High Priest.”

“This person. I said it for treatment purposes.”

“Yes. I’m sure that’s the case.”

Eric turned his head with a troubled expression, then suddenly became curious.

‘But if physical contact is forbidden, to what extent? How far is it forbidden?’

Seeing Eric suddenly become serious, the High Priest grinned as if he knew what he was thinking.

“I understand young people who haven’t seen each other for quite a while.”

“No, there’s no need to be so considerate-”

“I suppose light surface contact should be fine.”

“Surface?”

“For example, if it’s a kiss, lightly touching lips is okay, but mixing tongues-”

“Aaagh, High Priest. Please.”

“Why? Aren’t you curious?”

“No, I’m not curious. I’ll just endure it.”

Having this kind of conversation with the High Priest was absolutely unwelcome.

As Eric firmly refused, the High Priest patted his shoulder comfortingly and laughed.

“By the way, about you.”

“?”

“No, it’s nothing. It just seems like things will get interesting thanks to you.”

The High Priest smiled mysteriously and then stood up.

“Well, rest well today. I’ll send you home tomorrow, so don’t worry.”

“Thank you.”

“Even at home, absolute rest. You need to recover quickly before that guy returns so you can endure well in the future.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Someone.”

Without answering Eric’s question, the High Priest left the room with somewhat excited steps.

[This is the timeline separator]

“…Alicia?”

Eric quietly called out to Alicia, who was now motionless.

Perhaps feeling relieved, Alicia had fallen asleep in Eric’s arms.

“Well. This is better anyway.”

Eric smiled softly and then lifted Alicia to lay her beside him.

“Mmm.”

She seemed to stir for a moment, so Eric waited quietly before carefully lying down on the bed facing Alicia.

Although her eyes were still swollen from crying so much and her face was red, seeing Alicia sleeping peacefully made him smile involuntarily.

[This is the timeline separator]

Knock knock knock.

“Count, young lady. The meal preparation is almost complete.”

The butler knocked on the door from outside and waited for a few minutes before carefully opening the door.

“Oh my.”

Eric and Alicia were already sleeping peacefully, holding each other tightly.

The butler smiled warmly.

Then he quietly closed the door and left.

“What should we do about the Count’s meal? Should we bring it up to the room?”

“No, that’s fine. Leave them be until they come looking for it.”

“But he needs to eat now to take his medicine, doesn’t he?”

“It’s alright. Taking medicine a bit late won’t cause any major issues.”

The butler reassured the worried chef that it was fine and quickly pushed him back into the kitchen.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Come with me to visit my elder brother.”

Chase, who suddenly barged in that morning, hesitantly spoke to Alicia.

“You want me to go with you?”

“Yes.”

“Why? You two are close.”

“Still, not close enough to visit a sick man alone.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“Anyway, there’s something like that. Come with me. You’re going to Russell County anyway, right?”

“That’s true.”

But she hesitated, thinking Eric might not be too pleased if they went together.

Even though Eric said it was fine, he didn’t seem to like being with Chase very much.

But Chase was also worried about Eric and had been running around trying to figure out Eric’s situation for her sake.

So she thought a hospital visit should be okay.

Besides, she felt sorry to tell him to go alone when he had come all this way.

After thinking for a moment, Alicia nodded.

“Alright. Let’s go together then.”

“Great. Thanks.”

Chase grinned and got into the carriage with Alicia.

[This is the timeline separator]

“……”

“I know I’m not welcome, but could you smile a little? It’s a hospital visit after all.”

Chase grinned and sat down in the chair next to the bed without being invited.

“You look better than I expected. I heard you were on the brink of death.”

“Did you come to mock me?”

“Ah. I hadn’t thought of that, but maybe I should. Come to think of it, it’s quite a sight. The supposedly strongest knight commander of the empire in such a pathetic state.”

Eric frowned and stared at Chase.

“I’m joking. It’s a real hospital visit.”

“……”

“Really. I even bought fruit. I thought about buying flowers too, but that seemed a bit much.”

“I’d prefer you didn’t on my end.”

“Right?”

Chase smiled and stared at Eric.

Although his complexion was still not good, he looked much better than the state he had heard about.

“Oh my, your complexion is terrible. I heard you almost died, so I guess it’s true. I thought you were just faking it.”

“Why would I do such a thing?”

“Because of Alicia?”

“What?”

“I thought that might be the case. I misunderstood. I’m sorry.”

“…Anyway, thanks for coming all this way for a hospital visit.”

Although he couldn’t get angrier at today’s quick apology, Eric reluctantly uttered words of gratitude, still not pleased.

“Wow. Such warm words. I’m touched. Next time you get hurt, I’ll come visit again.”

“You lack the basics of hospital visits. What kind of curse is that?”

“Well, you know. It’s just a figure of speech. Can’t we overlook such things between us?”

“What kind of relationship do we have?”

“A relationship where we’re annoyed and don’t want to run into each other, but have to appear friendly on the outside?”

Eric turned his head with a really annoyed expression, but didn’t deny it.

“You must really be sick. Your face is full of emotion. All negative emotions, though.”

“……”

Chase laughed.

“Anyway, how about we get along moderately? Honestly, if it weren’t for Alicia, we might have gotten along well.”

“Your expression doesn’t look like you think that.”

“Ah, indeed. It shows when I lie.”

In the end, Eric’s face lost all expression.

He didn’t like how Chase had been sitting there making pointless jokes since earlier.

He clearly seemed to have something he wanted to say, but kept beating around the bush.

“I’m tired, so speak quickly. What is it?”

“Hahaha. You’re so perceptive.”

Chase laughed evasively, but quickly became serious.

“I heard it’s related to mages?”

“……”

“I used my own connections to find out various things.”

“What things?”

“The reason Alicia was kidnapped. Since the culprit wasn’t caught, I don’t know the exact reason, but I made some guesses.”

Chase’s expression and voice were serious.

“They probably weren’t targeting Alicia herself. No matter how I think about it, there’s no reason to target an ordinary civilian. But if it’s the fiancée that the knight commander cherishes more than his life, that’s a different story.”

“……”

“You have more experience fighting monsters than Commander Edinburgh, so you’re more likely to have caught the attention of mages. Plus, I heard your meetings with the High Priest have increased recently. I wonder if there’s any connection.”

Chase looked straight into Eric’s eyes.

“So I think the mages’ target was probably you, elder brother.”

“You’ve been beating around the bush, why don’t you get to the point?”

“……Break up with Alicia.”

“……”

Seeing Eric’s expression remain completely unchanged, Chase emphasized his words.

“If it weren’t for you, she wouldn’t have gone through this. In fact, don’t you think so too? That’s why you’re not saying anything, right?”

Eric stared into Chase’s unwavering eyes.

“So if you really care for Alicia, please break up with her.”