“Uh… That, I mean… I was looking for someone…”

She hesitated with a bewildered expression when she saw the serious atmosphere before her.

Something had clearly happened. I left Cedric and rushed over to the maid.

“What’s going on?”

“Big trouble, big trouble.”

Recognizing me, the maid glanced around at Cedric and the other knights and whispered in my ear.

“Celly has disappeared.”

“……!!”

“Everyone suddenly left their posts… She disappeared! What should we do? Master said he’s going to report it, so Lord Duke will find out soon… We’re all secretly looking for her right now!”

It didn’t matter if Laeches found out. Celly had disappeared on her own.

That one sentence shook my heart.

The image of Celly, who had cried and closed her eyes as if giving up, appeared in my mind.

In a world that was only cold, the warm hand she had reached out to me for the first time, the expression she had made when I pushed her from the second floor, I couldn’t forget them.

At that time, she had cried and closed her eyes. Like someone who had given up.

“Hey? L-Lea! Where are you going!”

I left the maid in place and ran. It didn’t feel right. A deep sense of unease wrapped around my ankles and crawled up like a snake, trying to swallow everything.

‘Celly…!’

The night was too dark as if the end was approaching.

I didn’t know where Celly was, but I urged my steps forward. Strangely, I felt like I knew exactly where to go.

Because when I wanted to betray Dettor and Delia and give up everything, when I felt the same way…

‘No, it can’t be. Celly is different from me. She’s different from me, so it can’t be.’

She wanted to disappear to a place where no one could see, unlike me.

Despite my desperate plea, as I approached a vast lake, I saw Celly far away.

“Celly!”

As soon as I saw Celly standing perilously at the end of the lake, I shouted her name loudly. I hoped my cry would reach her, but Celly didn’t even flinch.

“That idiot…!”

I couldn’t think of anything else. Looking at Celly, who stood on the brink of falling, I ran as if I were about to die.

Tak!

“Celly!”

I ran so fast, it was the first time I had run so fast in my life. Even when I wanted to live and ran away, it wasn’t like this.

Thump!

“Ugh, ugh…”

Celly’s wrist slipped through my fingers, and I pulled her forcefully. The body of Celly, who had stood perilously, leaned toward me.

Thud!

We both fell to the ground simultaneously.

My breath filled up to the tip of my chin, and my heart pounded.

“Ugh, ugh…”

My hand holding Celly’s trembled. Beyond my labored breath, her memories appeared.

Betrayal and sorrow when betrayed by Cedric.
“And now, along with anger, I was overwhelmed by a sense of frustration, wanting to give up.

All the emotions that Celly had felt at that time seeped into me.

“……Ha.”

Trembling, I got up and grabbed Celly’s shoulders. She seemed to realize what she had almost done earlier and was trembling with fear.

“Lea…”

“Ha, Celly.”

“I-I didn’t mean to, to die. I was just, just so tired…”

Celly mumbled excuses, her eyes darting around. I pushed all of that aside and pulled her into a tight hug.

“I’m glad I’m not too late. …Ha. I was worried because I ran too slowly, what if I had been late.”

“Lea…”

“I’m really glad, Celly. Really.”

I repeatedly patted Celly’s back with my palm, exhaling a sigh of relief. In response, Celly, who was in my arms, buried her face in my shoulder and hugged me tightly.

“Sorry, sorry, Lea.”

“What do you have to apologize to me for saying that?”

“It’s just, just that I’m so tired…”

Celly stammered her excuses, her pupils shifting around. I held her tightly in my arms, disregarding everything else.

“Celly.”

“S-sob. Ugh.”

“Seek revenge on Cedric.”

Since I had made such a big fuss about it, I had to follow through to the end.

Celly, surprised by my suggestion, raised her tear-streaked face.

“R-revenge? Me, on Cedric?”

It was an idea she hadn’t even thought about.

“Then you do it. Shall I do it?”

“But how can I…?”

“I’ll help you.”

With a resolute answer, Celly looked at me with hopeful eyes, biting her lower lip. But she soon shook her head.

“Cedric is an elite knight and a noble. If I make a mistake, we might both get chased away, and worse, no one will know, and we might die.”

Celly, who had corrected her thinking, wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and then urgently grabbed my arm.

“I can’t let you suffer because of me, Lea. Don’t do it, Lea. I’m, I’m okay.”

“You’re not okay. That’s why your loved ones almost made a wrong choice and forgot about their lives for a moment.”

“That’s, that’s…”

“Cedric was saying it so arrogantly. When rumors of an elite knight and a maid’s affair spread, it’s us who will get chased away. …Celly, do you think the same way?”

“Well… we can easily be replaced, and an elite knight like Cedric is irreplaceable.”

She didn’t directly answer, but Celly’s intention was clear.

“No. Cedric will be the one to leave here. It’s normal for the person who has caused more problems to leave, not someone who can be easily replaced or someone poor.”

“Huh?”

“I promise. Cedric will be the one chased away from here.”