Despite the rather serious confession, there was no response from Cordelia.

“Why aren’t you answering? Wait, why does your face look like that?”

He quickly grabbed her hand. It was colder than he expected. Moreover, her complexion was so pale that there wasn’t a hint of color.

Cordelia muttered while tightly holding Leonard’s hand. Her eyes were unfocused.

“Don’t do this. Don’t do this.”

“Cordelia, Cordelia!”

Realizing the severity of her condition, Leonard firmly grasped both of Cordelia’s shoulders. She swayed easily in his grip, like a scarecrow. Leonard urgently turned his head and shouted.

“Baron!”

“I’ll call for the physician again.”

The Baron hurriedly ran outside. Cordelia blinked very slowly. As her consciousness faded, only Leonard’s eyes remained clearly fixed in her mind.

* * *

It felt as if she had been asleep for a very long time.

Cordelia wished she could stay asleep forever, relishing this rare comfort. However, at the same time, she felt a strong pressure to wake up.

‘Master.’

Leonard’s face came to mind. Even the smell of hot blood and the glint of Nazabut’s long claws in the light. Cordelia’s eyes flew open like a fish pulled from the depths of the sea.

“Huh, hah.”

It was dark all around, perhaps the middle of the night.

Cordelia looked around, catching her breath. The ceiling was unfamiliar, and the room’s landscape was one she had never seen before. Her mind wasn’t fully awake yet, and it was filled only with thoughts of Leonard.

“Master. Master.”

It seemed to be the only word she knew how to say.

When she sat up, her whole body ached as if she had been beaten, but she didn’t care.

She left the room barefoot and went looking for Leonard. Like a sleepwalking patient, she wandered the corridor. Where this place was didn’t matter to Cordelia. She was only obsessed with finding Leonard quickly.

There were no lights, so it was very dark. She walked, feeling her way along the wall.

Fortunately, when she opened the third door, she found the person she was looking for.

“Who’s there?”

“Master.”

Startled by the unexpected presence, Leonard jumped up tensely, but when he realized the intruder was Cordelia, he got out of bed.

“Cordelia? When did you wake up?”

“Master. Are you alright?”

“Who are you to ask? Do you know how many days it’s been since you opened your eyes?”

Leonard grumbled as he lit a candle. The room became dimly lit.

Cordelia boldly approached Leonard and felt his back. Leonard flinched in surprise at her touch. Thinking it was due to pain, Cordelia’s expression darkened.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“No, it’s fine, but…”

“I’m sorry, Master. It’s because of me. I shouldn’t have…”

“Why are you apologizing? What did you do?”

He couldn’t understand the guilt in her eyes. He thought the sword wound on his back had nothing to do with Cordelia.

“You got hurt protecting me, didn’t you?”

“As I’ve said many times, you’re my disciple. And… nevermind. Anyway, it’s my responsibility to protect you, so there’s no need to act like you’ve committed a crime.”

Despite his kind consolation, Cordelia’s eyes were still moist. Leonard laughed softly at the sight.

“You’re crying again right after waking up. Our crybaby.”

“I’m not, sniff, I’m not crying.”

Cordelia hurriedly wiped away the tears that had formed with her sleeve. Even though she had confirmed that he was better than expected, worry still lingered in a corner of her mind.

“But since the wound was so big, it will leave a severe scar, won’t it?”

“Well…”

He was about to say that it didn’t matter since it wouldn’t be visible when clothed, but suddenly an interesting thought occurred to him. He deliberately lowered the corners of his mouth and said,

“That’s right. Now I won’t be able to marry. Who would accept a man with such a big scar on his back?”

“What? But Master, you’re the head of the Atilei family and the Seirius of Acheron, and also…”

“Is that all I have going for me? Just those titles? Nothing else? Think hard.”

He immediately glared at Cordelia, pressing her.

“Ah, right! Your face too! Although your insides are rott… ahem.”

“Rotten?”

Cordelia clamped her mouth shut and quickly racked her brain. She needed to choose her words carefully here. She spoke nonchalantly, without even wetting her lips.

“And your heart is as beautiful as a ssukryu.”

“What’s a ssukryu? Don’t you mean seokryu?”

“Ah. You didn’t know. In the North, they call seokryu ssukryu.”

“Ha, come on. If you can’t speak properly…”

He knew what she was trying to say, but Leonard let it slide.

“Fine. But what good is it if my insides are as beautiful as a seokryu? I have such an ugly scar on my back. Shouldn’t you take some responsibility? For example, marr…”

“I’ll do it.”

Cordelia nodded quickly before Leonard could finish his sentence. She was prepared to accept whatever responsibility he demanded. Instead, it was Leonard who stopped speaking in surprise.

“What? You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

“Master, you’ve already saved my life once. What wouldn’t I do for you?”

She was sincere. In fact, she had received so much from him that she was at a loss for how to repay it. Not only had he given her a chance at a new life, but he had also saved her actual life. If Leonard asked for her life, she would gladly give it.

“Really? No matter what I ask?”

Leonard’s violet eyes were the only thing that shone in the darkness.

He lifted Cordelia’s chin. Though she thought their faces were too close, Cordelia didn’t avoid Leonard’s gaze. Leonard tilted his face slightly.

“Then close your eyes.”

At his words, Cordelia closed her eyes without hesitation. His breath touched the tip of her nose.

However, no matter how much time passed, there was no change. She could only hear Leonard’s sigh.

“Enough. What am I doing with a child?”

“Why?”

Cordelia opened her eyes. Faced with her innocent gaze, Leonard felt completely deflated.

He was about to say it was late and she should return to her room. But Cordelia’s next words made him freeze.

“Weren’t you going to kiss me?”

“…You.”

This moment would probably go down as one of the most embarrassing in his life. Leonard was so flustered that his lips just quivered. He even broke out in a cold sweat.

Not knowing what to say, he clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly before finally uttering a word. Even that came out stuttered.

“Y-you knew?”

“Of course. Do you think I’m a fool?”

Cordelia shrugged lightly.

“I’ve experienced marriage and widowhood. I’m not a child, you know.”

“Right. You knew. So. I was, going to say. But the timing wasn’t right. I was waiting for the right moment to…”

Sweat was dripping from his hands. He stumbled badly over his words.

He had imagined this moment dozens of times in his head, planning to confess his love to her, but he never expected such a ridiculous situation. Let alone being caught out by Cordelia like this.

It was a disaster. He had wanted to propose properly in a nicer, more stylish place, maybe even presenting her with a proper flower.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have anything prepared right now…”

“You want a good relationship, right?”

“What?”

“That man I met at the restaurant before, ah, what was his name? Anyway, he made a similar proposal to me. He said it’s trendy among magicians?”

Cordelia said with a casual smile.

“A good… relationship? Do you know what that means when you say it?”

“I told you I know. I’m an adult. Master.”

Leonard’s face turned cold in an instant as he realized she was serious.

“Knowing all that, you still closed your eyes?”

“You’re the one who told me to close my eyes, Master.”

“When I said that to you! You, then would you close your eyes if Rosenblur told you to? Since this is just a trendy game to you. Isn’t that right?”

“…Why are you angry?”

Not only his face but also his voice had turned cold, making his emotions unmistakable. Cordelia was quite perplexed. She had only closed her eyes as he requested, yet Leonard was getting angry and bringing up Rosenblur, which she couldn’t understand.

“Well, it’s because it’s you, Master. How can you compare yourself to Lord Rosenblur?”

Thinking he might be jealous of Rosenblur, she hurriedly tried to flatter Leonard, but his hardened expression showed no signs of softening.

“You’d do it because it’s me? If I asked you to spend the night with me, would you do that too?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“…Because you’re asking, Master?”

Cordelia carefully spoke while watching his reaction. It wasn’t the answer he was expecting, as Leonard’s expression remained unchanged.

“Is it nothing to you? Is it as easy as fetching water?”

She meant to say that Leonard was so precious to her that she would gladly comply if he requested a ‘good relationship,’ even to the point of giving her life.

However, before Cordelia could continue, Leonard spoke first. He looked somewhat hurt.

“Is that all I am to you?”

“What do you mean ‘all’? You’re such an important figure to me, Master.”

“What exactly do you see me as? That I would ask such a thing of you, ha. Enough.”

He spoke as if chewing each word, then swallowed the rest of what he was going to say. His piercing gaze was so intimidating that Cordelia felt a little scared.

Leonard pressed one hand to his forehead and pointed to the door with the other.

“Get out.”

“Master.”

“I said get out. I’m tired and need to sleep.”

“Uh… Ah. Yes.”

As Cordelia hesitated, unable to adapt to his sudden change in attitude, Leonard took her hand and led her to the door himself. He pushed Cordelia out of the room and closed the door. It felt like it closed a bit harder than usual, though it might have been her imagination.

Cordelia lingered in front of the door for a while, troubled by unresolved questions, but the door didn’t open. Eventually, she returned to her own room.