The two of them didn’t say a word until they arrived at the mansion.

After getting off the carriage, when Leonard lifted her again, Cordelia struggled, saying she could walk. Of course, Leonard ignored her words and carried her into the mansion.

The eyes of the servants who saw this sight grew very large.

“Master, what’s this? What happened to Lady Cordelia?”

“Call a doctor.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Sensing the completely sunken mood of his master, Alex didn’t ask anything and immediately went to call a doctor.

Leonard carried Cordelia all the way to her room. After laying her down on the bed, he said in a gruff tone.

“Rest. Don’t think about anything.”

He left after saying only that. Cordelia spoke while looking at Leonard’s back.

“Master.”

“What?”

“Thank you. For everything.”

Leonard didn’t turn around or reply. He just clenched his fist tightly and immediately left the room.

He clutched and clawed at his chest area due to an inexplicable tightness.

Imagining her being hit by her father, anger flared up like a wildfire. He was furious to a degree he couldn’t understand himself.

He regretted letting the Marquis Vasquez go so easily.

“Huu.”

After exhaling a long breath, he immediately walked to his office. Among the pile of documents on the desk, he found the materials about Vasquez that he had previously ordered the Baron to gather.

In the thick bundle of papers, almost everything about Vasquez was written, but the pain Cordelia had endured was just a short single line.

He couldn’t take his eyes off that sentence.

‘My own father sold me into this hell for a few pennies! He told me not to come back even if I became a corpse. So what am I supposed to do? Do you even know how a woman born into a declining family lives and dies? No, you don’t!’

Why did he just let it go when she said those words back then?

Leonard crumpled the paper with that sentence written on it in his hand. When he pulled the bell rope placed nearby, Alex entered shortly after.

“You called, Master?”

“Cordelia is.”

“She is receiving treatment from the doctor. The injury to her ankle is not severe, so it should be fine if she rests well for about a month. And as for her cheek…”

Alex spoke carefully while gauging his master’s mood.

“The doctor said it will naturally subside if we apply ice packs.”

“I see. Good work.”

“Is there anything else you need?”

“Vasquez.”

Leonard still found it difficult to swallow his anger when saying that name. After taking a short deep breath, he continued speaking.

“Find out exactly where Marquis Vasquez is staying in Yebo Delim.”

“Marquis Vasquez is in the capital? What… Understood. I’ll find out right away.”

Alex expressed doubt but soon bowed hurriedly after seeing his master’s stern face.

* * *

Two days had passed since the end of Saracen’s banquet.

The reddened cheek had returned to normal, but the sprained ankle was swollen and made it very difficult to walk alone. Fortunately, Leonard had greatly reduced the pain with healing magic.

Cordelia hadn’t stepped foot outside the mansion since that day. It wasn’t simply because her foot hurt.

The physical pain was momentary, and what made her even more anxious was her father’s very existence.

“I wonder why Father came to the capital?”

“Cordelia.”

“Could he be trying to make some demands using the fact that I’m Master’s disciple as leverage? Or maybe spread some strange rumors…”

“Cordelia.”

Leonard called her name in a low voice. Cordelia’s anxiously trembling eyes stopped on Leonard.

“Whatever reason Marquis Vasquez came to the capital for, there’s nothing he can do to us.”

“…”

“You seem to often forget that your master is an Atilei.”

“It’s because you’re an Atilei that I’m more afraid. You have so much more to lose compared to Vasquez.”

Cordelia’s expression contorted. The blood flowing in her veins was shameful and even hateful to her. The most detestable thing was the existence of the father who passed on that blood.

The anger and anxiety that were usually well-suppressed and hardly visible exploded after meeting her father. She dug her nails into her palm with a nervous expression.

“What could I lose because of Vasquez? My life? Or perhaps the position of head of the family?”

“…That wouldn’t happen.”

“Right. You know well too. It won’t happen. So everything you’re doing is just needless worry.”

At his reproachful comfort, Cordelia felt her mind, which had been surging like waves, settle down just a little bit.

“So stop thinking strange thoughts and just study. If your head evolves from stone to rock at this rate, you’ll have to carry a chisel instead of a pen.”

“I-It’s not that bad.”

“Not bad? It seems like you’ve completely forgotten all the shield magic I taught you.”

Leonard comforted her in his own way. He gave her so much homework that her thoughts would be completely diverted to that instead.

It was surprisingly effective, and Cordelia was able to forget her anxiety about her father as she struggled under the weight of homework for several days.

Both Leonard and Cordelia, as if by agreement, made no mention of that incident.

A letter full of concern and worry arrived from Rosenblue, but Cordelia only sent back a brief reply saying ‘I’m not feeling well’.

“Do the calculations again. How many times are you going to get the same thing wrong?”

“This is strange. I’m sure I did it correctly.”

“Here, this formula is wrong.”

“Ah! I see.”

At the Baron’s pointing out, Cordelia sheepishly derived the answer with a new formula.

The Baron, who had said he was going to investigate something with Beluce, had returned. He offered éclairs baked in the kitchen and whispered that she was doing very well at this level.

Rotti was sprawled out carelessly, basking in the warm spring sunshine.

This ordinary scene gave Cordelia a sense of stability.

“By the way, when is Beluce coming back?”

“He should be here soon. Since I left five days earlier, he’ll be coming with Lord Mervan.”

“Finally, I’ll get to see the famous Lord Mervan.”

When the topic of Leonard’s loyal knight, whom she had only heard about, came up, Cordelia chimed in with a smile. Leonard showed a displeased expression at this.

“Why are you waiting for Gasil?”

“When did I say I was waiting?”

“You just said it with your own mouth.”

“I’m not waiting, I’m just curious because I’ve only heard stories about Master’s knight.”

“There’s nothing to be curious about. Gasil is just one of many knights.”

“Come on. You’re nitpicking over nothing.”

Cordelia thought her master was getting irritated by finding fault with trivial things, but the Baron’s thoughts were different.

The Baron had been by Leonard’s side since he was five years old. Because of this, he could read his master’s mind with just the slightest change in his eyes.

At first, when he was overly protective of Cordelia, he thought it was just because she was his first disciple.

But as time passed, the Baron had to admit that Cordelia was quite a special person to Leonard.

‘No, even deeper than that…’

The Baron shook his head. It’s too early to make a judgment. The first disciple was always an object of attachment for magicians. He deliberately ignored his master’s obsession.

At that moment, Alex entered, making his presence known. He quietly went to Leonard’s side and whispered in his ear.

“…sir.”

“Finally?”

“Yes. It seems the gold hung on the doorway was effective.”

The two exchanged words that Cordelia couldn’t understand, but she didn’t mind. Most of the conversations they had since she came here were things she didn’t know well.

Leonard smiled coldly and then stood up. The Baron followed suit. Cordelia put down her pen and asked.

“Where are you going?”

“I have some business.”

“…I see. Will you be back late?”

She picked up her pen again, dropping her shoulders. She tried to act nonchalant, but couldn’t completely hide the loneliness contained within.

Leonard changed direction from heading to the door and went back to Cordelia. Then he wrote something on the paper for quite a while.

“Here.”

“What’s this?”

“Homework. I’ll be back in three hours, so finish it all by then.”

“No!”

Cordelia received the paper he handed over and gasped. It was an amount that would be insufficient even if she worked for thirteen hours, let alone three. She strongly protested, waving the paper.

“How can I do this in just three hours?”

“Why can’t you? If you concentrate, it’s an amount you can finish.”

“It would take three hours just to write it all!”

“So?”

Seeming to realize that further rebellion was useless, Cordelia turned her head abruptly and began frantically writing something in her book. She didn’t care whether he left or not. Only then did Leonard leave the room.

The Baron looked back and forth between Leonard and Cordelia, wearing a subtle expression.

* * *

“May I ask where you’re going?”

“To meet a greedy old man.”

“Pardon?”

Leonard substituted all explanations with that, so the Baron waited until the carriage stopped.

With a very slight bump, the carriage came to a halt. The Baron got out first to assist his master’s descent.

The place they arrived at was an inn slightly removed from the bustling area, at a level where wealthy merchants might come but nobles would be reluctant to visit, saying it lowered their status.

When the Atilei carriage stopped in front, people immediately lowered their heads and hushed their voices. The person who appeared to be the owner came running.

“What brings the Archduke to such a humble place?”

“I heard Marquis Vasquez is staying here.”