The longer Mari’s silence lasted, the more the atmosphere sank.

Matching that, Duchess Maximilian’s face also gradually stiffened.

Duchess Maximilian asked Mari again, raising her voice louder than before.

“Mari, Lutis is.”

“……”

“……Mari!”

At this point, even the voice that was trying to pretend to be calm seemed to tremble, unable to hide it anymore.

Perhaps it was because I was held in Duchess Maximilian’s arms.

Although a considerable amount of time had passed since then, I still vividly remembered the scream-like shout that rang right next to my ear.

It seemed like they had already given up on whispering to each other in case someone might hear.

What if I had noticed something at this moment? I often imagine it, but of course, at that moment, I knew nothing.

I could only guess.

‘Is she shouting because she thinks Mari can’t hear?’

But it’s so quiet here that you can almost hear a single leaf rustling.

The child raised his head. Due to the posture, Duchess Maximilian’s expression could not be seen.

Her breathing was unstable, her mouth opened and closed repeatedly, and her throat moved too frequently.

Even my eyes could see that much.

So I knew.

‘…… No. This isn’t because the sound is small,’

Duchess Maximilian is anxious.

However, the young mind could make the given information reach an appropriate conclusion by combining it this way and that − but it did not consider the time it took to reach that thought.

So, it goes without saying that the air between Mari and Duchess Maximilian, who had a considerable amount of silence while I went through this process, became extremely cold.

In response to the continued interrogation, Mari bowed her head deeply and muttered in a small voice.

“Duke Maximilian is not coming.”

“……”

“……”

“……What?”

Duchess Maximilian, who had momentarily stopped breathing for a short time at Mari’s words, soon asked back with a blank expression.

Although it was night, the moonlight was shining, so it wasn’t dark enough to not see a step ahead like when we were in the secret passage.

Duchess Maximilian’s arm tightened as if her foot had caught on something, staggering in place.

Startled, I reflexively wrapped my arms around Duchess Maximilian’s neck. I rolled my eyes.

“He ordered me to have the knight prepare a horse and escape the capital with him. Although Count Stacy is in the capital, judging by the fact that he has tied up Mason’s feet and invaded Ratliffe, his main target will be himself……”

“……”

Perhaps because they were too busy to pay attention to me, the two continued the conversation without noticing this fact.

Mari continued.

“Even though I can’t guarantee that there will be no pursuit, they won’t be so enthusiastic once the goal is achieved,”

“……”

“While he buys time, we will leave this place, and he will entrust our side to the knight, so please take good care of us. The knights of Ratliffe will escort us while we escape the capital.”

“……”

“…… So Duke Maximilian is not coming.”

It was the eyes of someone who was prepared for the scolding that would be poured on her.

As Mari spoke, she made an expression that looked like she was about to cry more than me, and eventually bowed her head deeply.

Perhaps it was because she lacked the confidence to face Duchess Maximilian’s resentful gaze.

Now, guesses are of no use, but the child sometimes thought.

“You asked me earlier how I know the way, right?”

“……”

The reason Mari knew the way was that just before they left the mansion, Father had secretly given Mari a map of the secret passages inside the mansion.

Although Mari was a commoner, she was the only two direct children’s playmate in Mason − and the closest person to them in their childhood.

“Duke Maximilian gave me the map and told me to memorize it, saying that Duchess Maximilian would have roughly memorized only the main roads, so I shouldn’t take strange paths. There’s no time, so memorize the paths within 5 minutes, and when you’re done looking at it, throw it into the fireplace and burn it.”

Perhaps that’s why she was very good at studying.

Sometimes, even I, who was young, wondered why she kept being a maid even though she had the ability to become very rich even as a commoner.

Someone who can memorize all the secret passages inside the mansion within the time limit and safely take me and Duchess Maximilian out of the mansion.

At the same time, someone who can be trusted, so to speak, who has no worries about information leaking out by betraying to beg for her life.

Father must have also grown up in Mason since childhood, so it must have been a decision he could make knowing Mari.

“……”

When Mari finished speaking, Duchess Maximilian fell silent.

I thought she would shout or get angry like before, but it was neither.

She just frowned with bloodshot eyes.

Only after some time had passed, Duchess Maximilian opened her mouth and asked in a thin voice that seemed to go out at any moment.

“Why…… didn’t you stop him?”

“……”

“You know what it means to say that he will stay alone in the mansion. He has brought all the trained knights who can use aura to the Imperial Palace. The military power, that is……”

“……”

“……You should have at least told me. If you did,”

“−Then you would have said that you would stay too.”

“……”

“You have always respected Duke Maximilian’s decision at important moments. Even if you change your mind that you can’t run away alone and should go together, you would have said that you would stay with him instead.”

Am I wrong? Mari answered.

To that question, Duchess Maximilian’s mouth had no choice but to close.

I think it would have been the same if I thought about it myself, so I can’t even argue that it’s not.

Mari closed her eyes tightly and muttered.

“To me, so……”

“……”

“…… You were first. Even if you tell me to go away right now, or curse me that I should have died instead, even if I go back to that time, my decision will be the same.”

“……”

“I’m really− really sorry……”

It was a resolute decision that felt cruel.

If it were normal, Duchess Maximilian, who noticed the kind concern hidden under that resolute decision, would have joked to Mari that she liked me so much.

But not now.

Duchess Maximilian, who was trembling all over like someone who had been stabbed countless times with a sharp and short blade, frowned with a small groan as if her head was throbbing.

Her eyes were teary as if she was about to burst into tears at any moment, but she didn’t seem to have any intention of wiping them away.

Duchess Maximilian blinked slowly with a vacant face.

A drop of water that had been dangerously hanging from the corner of her eye fell down, unable to bear the weight that was pressing down on me painfully.

“−The possibility of escaping alive is,”

“……”

“……Yeah.”

“……”

“That would be the case……”

It was also then that my legs, which had been in the air, touched the ground.

The child’s knees had grown taller than the lush grass, and he rolled his feet a couple of times in the softness of the grass for no reason.

Since I had grabbed whatever I could and came out, the skin under the pants, which seemed to be about 7 parts long, was naturally bare.

The sensation of the grass touching my skin was ticklish, so I bent my upper body and rubbed my bare legs.

As I was doing that, I heard the voices of Mari and Duchess Maximilian above my head.

“Where are you trying to go all of a sudden……?!”

“……I’ll go and cast some more magic on him. I only cast one protective magic that could block one or two surprise attacks, knowing that we would meet here. No matter what, that’s too dangerous.”

“What is that……!”

“Attack magic…… The magic tower won’t move, so you only need to be wary of the court mages. The kids there are all less skilled than me, so the magic I cast won’t break.”

“……”

“Then, just in case, I’ll cast a stronger protective magic and additionally add canceling and mirror functions− Ah. There are also attack magic artifacts that I made for fun before in the bedroom accessory box, so I should give them too,”

“−My lady!”

“What!”

Flinch.

The child, startled by the sudden loud voices, stopped fiddling with his legs and raised his head.

Duchess Maximilian, with a terrifying face I had never seen before, was glaring at Mari.

Mari, who stopped Duchess Maximilian from rushing into the cave with her upper body half-leaning towards it, shouted.

“You can’t go, it’s dangerous!”

“I’m not saying I won’t come back! I said I’ll come back again?!”

“If you go to the mansion now, you’ll be caught before you come back! Besides, you haven’t even memorized the whole path, so how are you going to go there alone, really……!”

As if pleading or trying to stop Duchess Maximilian from entering the cave by putting her weight on it.

Mari even knelt on the ground and pulled Duchess Maximilian’s arm.

Shaking her head constantly made the person watching feel sorry for her, but it seemed insufficient to break Duchess Maximilian’s will.

Duke Maximilian− that is, my father is a Sword Master, so if he’s lucky, he’ll somehow manage. When Mari said that, Duchess Maximilian widened her eyes.

“He’s my husband before he’s a duke!”

“……”

“Then who will take care of him if not me?! What’s a Sword Master! So what! Lutis is human too, not immortal!”

“……”

Tears were constantly flowing from the two eyes that were full of blood.

“Why, why does everyone just rely on that kid, until the end……”

When they needed him, they praised him as their hero, but as if a hero whose string is cut is no longer a hero.

Duchess Maximilian, who muttered like that, trembled with a stiff expression as if she was about to lose consciousness at any moment.

The moment Duchess Maximilian’s mouth, which had been screaming like a scream with veins popping up in her neck, was firmly closed.

“……”

The child recalled.

[Adrian.] [Yes.] [If I’m not here, you’re the head of the family. You know?] [……Is that so?] [If something happens, you have to protect your mother. You’re still young, so you won’t be able to use force, but if Mom tries to do something dangerous, stop her. Aeli will listen to you.] [When Dad is here, I……?] [……]

At that time, I was only curious about why he said such a thing.

The bitter smile on Father’s face as he looked at my puzzled face flashed vaguely in my mind.

Perhaps you had anticipated something from that time.

Only after the situation had come to this point did the child finally realize.

‘Dad is not coming……’

……He won’t come.

Probably forever.