But the warmth of their touch was comforting, and the girl didn’t seem to be in any pain at all. Was it because of the influence of his magic? Peter somehow felt the boiling magic subsiding. He looked at their clasped hands absentmindedly and asked.

“Aren’t you… afraid of me? I could hurt you even without wanting to.”

“What? You’re going to hurt me? Are you a bad guy?”

In response to Rowell’s unexpected reaction, Peter showed an astonished expression.

“No, I didn’t mean to…”

“That’s how it is with everyone.”

“Uh…?”

When Peter hesitated and asked, Rowell picked up a book that was next to her.

“Look at this. Even this book could hurt me if it fell on me. I could trip over it and fall, or my hand could get cut while flipping through the pages. So, are you scared of books?”

“…No.”

He hadn’t thought about it that way. When Peter blinked absentmindedly, Rowell laughed as if she had expected it.

“And what does it matter if you get hurt? You’ll get better someday!”

Rowell said that and started talking about herself as she sat down on Peter’s bed.

She talked about how she had been really sick a few months ago, but eventually got better. She also talked about how she had been bored because there were no other sick children around here.

“I’m glad you came. I really like having you around.”

Saying that, Rowell’s eyes, filled with joy, sparkled without pause. Peter learned for the first time that happiness had such a brilliant light.

Even now, after some time had passed, Peter looked at Annette as she approached and thought to himself.

“Am I really going crazy, knowing that she’s not Rowell?”

Now he knew for sure that the two were different, so why did he keep seeing Rowell in her?

Annette’s cream-colored dress began to fray slightly as she got closer. There was no reason for it to affect only Annette, so Annette’s situation wasn’t much different.

However, Annette’s expression remained unchanged. She crossed the garden and came up to him casually. Then, she said calmly.

“I’m here for Her Majesty. Isn’t it about time for me to fulfill my duty?”
“……This is absurd. What can you do?”

“At the very least, I can alleviate Her Majesty’s impulses.”

Rowell knew the antidote for Phanuelma. It was to alleviate the impulses as quickly as possible.

If she wanted violence, she would have violence, and…

“If what you desire is ‘Rowell Hessen,’ then I can become her.”

“You’re going off-topic. What did you say? You’re enough as a substitute.”

Peter furrowed his brow fiercely, but Rowell remained composed.

Being closer to him made her realize something more vivid.

“You say it’s enough, but you want me.”

His throat felt dry. Was this what it felt like to have your life threatened? Rowell could feel her body urging her to escape from this place at any moment, but now that she had discovered this fact, she couldn’t do that.

Rowell’s hand touched Peter’s shoulder. Slowly, it slid up to rest on his left chest.

Thump, thump. The heartbeat was faster than usual. The body temperature was higher as well, without a doubt.

“You can use me. I can suppress Her Majesty’s impulses and madness. That’s why I’m here.”

A dry voice whispered. The fact that this voice felt so sweet meant that she was affected by these words. Peter’s jaw clenched briefly. There was a reason for this gritted teeth. At the end of it, he spoke.

“Simoren said the same. That you want to leave this place.”

“He said that?”

“If you want to leave, I can let you go. Is that what you’re hoping for?”

Peter’s expression became thin as he suspected, but Rowell smiled as if it didn’t matter.

“No. I’ll explain the details later…”

Her soft lips curved gently. It was hard to believe that she could be so kind, especially when she was usually dry to the point of being sharp.

“I want to stay by Her Majesty’s side.”

At that moment, Peter was sure that he was going crazy.

Otherwise, there was no reason for him to feel this sense of fulfillment at this moment.