Yet why was he saying this to me?

I closed my eyes and spoke.

“People have their circumstances, Duke Caidel.”

“Circumstances?”

“Do you know what it’s like to be ignored by everyone in the world?”

I considered myself a fool as I turned my head to look at him.

He seemed puzzled, furrowing his brow slightly.

“Some emotions break people. They wound, and wound, and when you look at the surface, all you see are scars. Ugly scars.”

“Are you… taking the Princess’s side now?”

“…”

Was I siding with Princess Miliora?

I wasn’t sure.

Right now, I was in so much pain it felt like my head would spin. I hated the princess. I could bear being called poisonous or filthy, but being labeled a thief was unbearable.

But that’s what came out.

Duke Caidel suppressed his fury as he spoke.

“Are you saying this because you don’t know how the Princess sees you? Nothing will change. Now is the time to stop.”

“That’s not it… Just because.”

I looked intently at Duke Caidel, then suddenly found it odd.

Why are we having this conversation?

“Is that why you’re here? To tell me to leave the palace?”

“I’m saying you don’t deserve to be treated like this.”

“I’ll decide how I want to be treated, thank you, Your Grace.”

“You…!”

Duke Caidel’s brow furrowed deeply in irritation. Seeing his frustrated face somehow pleased me.

Both he and I were out of our minds.

I smiled as I spoke.

“I appreciate your concern, but this is my share of parasites, Your Grace. The Queen herself has intervened; there’s no avoiding it now.”

“…You really can’t be helped.”

He leaned back in his chair with a corner of his mouth lifted in a smile that was darker than any of his other expressions.

Perhaps he was tired of my stubbornness.

Even the Count would look at me for a long time with a similar expression when I was being stubborn.

“Since you’re here, could you do me one favor? Master Roiman should have prepared some medicine. Could you please deliver it to Knight Lond?”

At that request, the smile vanished from Duke Caidel’s face.

He was friends with Master Roiman, and the third royal palace was nearby. But it puzzled me that my request would remove his smile so completely. It made people uncomfortable.
“When the time comes to replenish Duke Rond’s medicine, it seems I won’t be able to go out for a while……. It’s a favor not for me, but for Duke Rond.”

“I understand. What you’re saying. But you’d better ask someone else.”

The last time he encountered Duke Rond during the sponsorship, it didn’t seem like the Duke was particularly fond of him.

But it was unexpected that Duke Kaidel also felt uncomfortable around him. He had appeared to be the type who didn’t usually discriminate between people.

This is it, I thought.

Let’s grasp at least one weakness of Duke Kaidel.

“Why?”

“……”

“Please tell me the reason. Instead of a get-well gift.”

Only then did he seem to realize he had come empty-handed and seemed flustered. Climbing up the wall meant he couldn’t bring anything, but he was the one who had first mentioned visiting the sick.

I stared at him with wide eyes at that moment, and he frowned and looked away for a brief second.

“Duke Rond was in my unit during the Amata battle. He was injured while guarding my rear.”

“Oh my……”

It was an unexpectedly surprising story. Duke Kaidel spoke with a heavy face.

“He strongly refused to leave Tunbar, insisting that only his ashes would return, but I sent him to the rear anyway.”

“That’s only natural.”

“He is the son of a southern warlord, Amoega. Returning home before the war is over is unthinkable for them. Even his family regards his conduct as disgraceful.”

“What nonsense……!”

Duke Rond wasn’t refusing to return to his hometown; he couldn’t.

Would it have been better for a healthy son to be injured and simply die? Damn those nobles!