Chapter 167

“You’re leaving already?”

“Why, are you going to miss me? Yesterday, you looked like you were dying to kick me out the moment you saw me.”

“That was yesterday!”

Anna Winslet snapped irritably.

“Anyway, since you stayed the night at our house, I have no choice but to consider you a guest now. Right?”

“That’s an awfully arbitrary standard.”

“So what? Are you mad? Don’t tell me you’re sulking just because I didn’t say a proper goodbye yesterday? Over something that petty?”

…Did she really run all the way here like an angry bull just to pick a fight?

“If you have nothing else to say, I’m leaving.”

As I lifted my foot to get back into the carriage, Anna Winslet grabbed my arm and clung to it.

“W-Wait!”

“Let go.”

“What’s the rush? Are you running away again without a word? Like ten years ago?”

“I already told Father. I’m leaving this morning.”

“Still, there’s no need to be in such a hurry.”

“If you have something to say, speak clearly.”

As I pressed her for an answer and looked at her intently, Anna frowned and looked away.

“Just… stay a little longer. At least have breakfast before you go. Aren’t you hungry?”

I showed her the food basket Dahlia had brought.

“Huh? Where did you get that?”

“The kitchen prepared it for us.”

“Those people… doing things no one asked them to…”

Gnash—

The sound of her grinding her teeth rang out.

Anna Winslet jerked her chin with her hands on her hips.

“Throw it away. That’s probably cheap food meant for the servants. If you eat things like that too often, your palate will be ruined. You should eat something proper. I was just about to ask Father if it was okay to invite you to breakfast.”

“What’s gotten into you, suddenly inviting me to the dining room? Just yesterday you were treating me like an unwelcome pest.”

“That was just… because I was a bit offended, okay? You showed up after all this time and acted so casually, like nothing happened. And you ignored me too!”

Ignored, huh…

I’d never looked down on Anna Winslet.

But that didn’t mean she was wrong.

It wasn’t contempt…but indifference. In that sense, yes, I had ignored her.

And that was something I couldn’t help.

I had possessed Winter Winslet’s body, but not his memories.

The only reason I’d been able to act naturally around people like Josephine and Dahlia until now was because I was a veteran of Candle of Judgment, and they were characters from the original game.

They weren’t unfamiliar to me, and I knew how to interact with them.

But Anna Winslet was different.

She never appeared in Candle of Judgment.

She existed, yes….but only offstage, never coming into view.

That’s why I had no answers when it came to her, no idea how I was supposed to treat her.

Maybe that’s why I intentionally kept my distance.

But is keeping someone at arm’s length to avoid hurting them… too cowardly?

“Listen carefully. This will be the last time I come here. So forget about me and just live your life as usual. As the heir of House Winslet.”

At that, Anna Winslet suddenly snapped.

This wasn’t like the sarcastic tone she’d taken when we first met yesterday. This time, she was genuinely angry.

“What do you take me for?! You think I’m trying to get on your good side to protect my spot as heir?!”

“Then what is it? Why are you trying to stop me? What do you want to say to me?”

“I-I just… wanted to say thank you.”

“……?”

“For Francis Duville.”

“Who?”

“Are you serious?”

Anna sighed and explained.

“The third son of the Duville family. The one you… turned into a eunuch.”

Ah, I remembered now.

The guy from the Duville family who used to lead the Lofield cavalry.

He was so insignificant, I almost forgot he existed…

“What does that guy becoming a eunuch have to do with you being grateful?”

“Because since last year, he kept pestering me with persistent marriage proposals. It was getting really annoying.”

Ah.

So I’d unintentionally blocked someone’s marriage prospects.

Not that I felt sorry for the guy. He was the type who preyed on civilians and triggered death flags just by seeing a woman in a carriage with perverted intentions.

“Well, I guess… having an older brother has its perks. Like stepping in when someone’s bothering me.”

“Pfft, ‘older brother’? That gave me chills.”

“Sh-Shut up! I only meant it in the dictionary sense, okay? This’ll be the first and last time I call you that, just so you know!”

I let out a small laugh.

Half of it was a snort; the other half wasn’t.

In the end, Anna Winslet had chased after me first thing in the morning to offer an olive branch.

“And I heard you helped our family’s mages fix the barrier too. Good job.”

“A compliment now? You’re acting like the head of the family already.”

“That’s right. Father’s getting older, and he wants to pass the position on to me as soon as possible. I’m not quite ready yet… but still. Did you know? Father’s not doing well.”

“Not sure. He looked perfectly healthy when I saw him yesterday.”

“He’s trying hard not to show it. But the pain’s gotten worse lately. He’s even started taking poppy extract. The reason he didn’t meet you right away yesterday and made you wait until nightfall… it was because he wasn’t feeling well. And when he’s under the sun, it’s hard to hide the color of his face.”

The expression on Anna’s face as she said this showed more raw emotion than anything I’d seen from her until now.

Anxiety, sadness… and the yearning for someone to lean on.

“I hate to even imagine it, but… once Father passes away, like it or not, you’ll be the only family I have left.”

“……”

“So stop saying stuff like ‘this is the last time’ and all that. At least show your face once in a while. Help out the mages again like this and earn your keep. Next time, I’ll make sure you get a proper meal at the main estate.”

“Alright. If I can.”

“‘If I can’…?”

Anna wrinkled her nose in protest.

It was the kind of expression someone makes when they’re trying to suppress something rising up from deep inside.

“Are you… really going to die? Because of that curse, or whatever it is?”

I didn’t bother asking how she knew.

I’d already suspected she was the one who eavesdropped on my conversation with Count Winslet last night.

The only hard part was pretending not to notice how red and swollen her eyes were when she came running over.

“If you’re going to cry, don’t do it in front of me. Cry at my grave or something.”

“You wanna die? Who said I was crying!”

Anna turned her head away and wiped at the corners of her eyes.

Then she asked,

“So how much longer do you have?”

“I don’t know. Depends on how hard I try.”

“Then try. Try like hell. …Just don’t actually die trying, got it?”

“You say the weirdest things.”

With that, I climbed into the carriage.

Neither of us were the sentimental type, so instead of a proper farewell, we simply exchanged glances and I shut the door.

The quiet morning…

The wheels of the carriage began to turn, and the scenery slowly started to pass by outside the window.

But until I left the inner courtyard of the estate, I didn’t hear the sound of her footsteps walking away.

I didn’t look back.

There was no need. Our feelings had already been clearly conveyed.

From the moment I first arrived here to now as I was leaving, a lot had changed in how I felt.

Contrary to what I feared… they were good people.

Both the father and the sister.

More than the Winter Winslet of the original story ever deserved.

Now, I had one more reason to survive.

“Master.”

“What is it?”

“It’s so warm and comforting here. Your hometown, I mean.”

“That’s because this is the southern part of the Kingdom of Laurencia.”

“If we come again next time… I’d like to stay a little longer. Is that okay?”

“…Yeah. Let’s come again someday.”

I made that promise without much thought.

But words, at times, can carry immense power.

That’s why I had a feeling… the time to keep that promise might come sooner than expected.

***

The inner courtyard of Winslet Castle, after the carriage had departed.

Now that it was empty except for her, Anna Winslet couldn’t bring herself to move for a while, shifting her feet anxiously.

“Seriously. Cold-hearted bastard. He didn’t even look back once in the end.”

Even though he had left quite a while ago, it felt strange that she still couldn’t tear herself away, like she was rooted to the spot.

She had forgotten.

Forgotten just how long she had been waiting for him.

Two brief encounters were far too short a time to clear away emotions that had built up over ten years.

She even considered following after him. But then, who would take care of the estate?

Even today, there was a mountain of paperwork to handle in her father’s place.

She had to review whether the tenant farmers’ rents were fair, ensure that collections were being made properly, and renew contracts with merchants. On top of that, she had to pass judgments on various large and small incidents occurring within the territory.

Quickly gathering up the emotions she had let spill out, she shoved them back into their drawer and began organizing the day’s schedule one task at a time.

Just then, footsteps sounded behind her.

Soft and quiet.

So quiet they were barely audible muted footsteps.

Anna didn’t like people who walked like that.

Part of it was a fear of assassination, but it also made them seem like someone with shady intentions.

That’s why she even warned the servants living in the Castle: it’s fine to be noisy, just don’t creep around silently.

Annoyed, Anna turned around and snapped.

“Who are you? Didn’t the butler teach you anything? Don’t walk around creeping people out like that.”

“……”

There was no response. Anna raised her eyebrows.

She was someone who couldn’t afford to show weakness. Especially when she was managing the estate in her father’s stead.

But this person… had crossed a line. Far too much.

A normal servant would stop at a proper distance, bow, and wait for orders. But this man kept approaching without hesitation.

When he came five steps closer, Anna finally realized that he wasn’t a servant of the household.

What’s more, his face was hidden beneath a pitch-black hood.

Why didn’t I notice this sooner? Not until he came this close.

Anna drew in a sharp breath.

“What are you?”

“I am a dog.”

“……?”

Was he mentally unstable?

Or was he drunk?

Or could it be that he meant he was a son of a bitch?

As she kept all three possibilities open, the man continued speaking.

“I was once a watchdog that guarded the tower, then a runaway hound that broke its leash. And now, I am a hunting dog who chases enemies without a leash.”

Fear suddenly washed over Anna.

The man’s voice sounded strangely ominous and sinister.

She stepped backward, searching for others.

“Isn’t anyone there? Chester! Helen! Guards! Anyone, please…get this man—!”

She stopped mid-sentence, struck by a deep sense of unease.

The quiet ruins of the castle in the morning.

If she shouted this loudly, her voice should have echoed back.

But now, there was no reverberation at all.

As if her voice had hit an invisible curtain and been swallowed up.

“Father! Joseph!”

Anna’s cries scattered uselessly into the air.

And at last, the hooded man appeared right before her eyes.

“W‑Wait… s‑since when…?”

Something was wrong.

Why is my mouth moving so slowly?

The sensation of her body failing to keep up with her thoughts.

It felt as though time itself had slowed to half its usual speed, everything beginning to move sluggishly.

Her vision darkened, the world spinning before her eyes.

A beat later, she felt the fine soil of the courtyard against her cheek.

Anna realized that she had fallen.

It felt like she had struck her head hard, yet there was no pain at all.

As if all sensation throughout her body had vanished.

Only then did she understand.

I’ve been hit by magic.

As her consciousness gradually drifted away, the words of the unidentified mage trickled into her ears, like water dripping steadily through a narrow hole.

“I heard rumors that Winter Winslet would come here, so I made the long trip all the way from Karaf for the first time in a while. But to think he’d leave after just one day. This is truly like a hound chasing a chicken only to end up staring at the roof.”

“A hound, huh. It is a word that suits me well enough… but I’ve already used up a considerable amount of the Caraphine I brought to disrupt the barrier and claim it as my own. I have nowhere left to retreat now.”

“So you’ll have to help me a little. As bait to draw in Winter Winslet.”