Carrying her carefully in both arms, Cain stepped straight out into the corridor.
He wondered whether she even ate properly; her weight was absurdly light.
What did she think she could do with such a fragile body? The arms and legs he held were soft, without a trace of muscle.
Cain held her securely so she wouldn’t be jostled and went straight to her room.
There, he laid her down on the soft bed.
“Mmm…”
The moment she touched the bed, Viola stirred faintly, then began breathing steadily, evenly.
Her chest rose and fell regularly, and her breath came soft and even.
The antidote seemed to have finally taken effect; her unsteady breathing seemed to have settled somewhat.
With no idea what had just happened, she was sleeping soundly, deep in the world.
Sleeping so carefree, is she.
While the one watching over her was left in such a bind.
Cain couldn’t easily bring himself to leave. There was nothing to do but wait endlessly for the medicine to take hold. Since the very person who’d taken it insisted she was fine, it hardly seemed right to call another physician either.
The fact that there was nothing at all he could do felt bitterly unfamiliar. An unfamiliar helplessness washed over him.
Haa. This woman, really…
He couldn’t understand why she was so reckless. The moment he looked away even a little, she’d immediately…
He was watching over Viola when there came a knock at the door.
Judging by the sounds outside the door, it seemed to be the maids, along with Viola’s daughter.
“Miss Viola? Are you there? We’re coming in!”
The commotion from earlier didn’t seem to have reached the maids of the annex yet; they announced themselves as usual and came straight in.
“Miss Viola, are you sleep— Gasp!”
The maids, having opened the door and come in, spotted Cain and clapped their hands over their mouths in shock.
“We greet His Grace the Duke!”
“W-we greet H-His Grace the D-Duke!”
Their greetings were full of obvious bewilderment, as if they’d never dreamed of encountering Cain in Viola’s bedroom.
Between the two of them, a small pink-haired child came walking out. Spotting Viola lying on the bed, she came pattering over.
“Mommy?”
A puzzled voice. The maids hurriedly grabbed for the child in alarm.
“M-Miss Melody. You must greet His Grace…! Quickly!”
“Uu?”
The child tilted her head, not understanding, but Cain wasn’t the sort to concern himself with such things to begin with.
“No, never mind.”
“Pardon?”
“Leave her and go.”
“Oh, y-yes! We’ll be going now, then.”
The two maids bowed and hurried out.
Once Marie and Becky had scrambled out, Melody, left standing there alone, blinked in confusion.
What’s this? Why is everyone running away like that?
She didn’t quite understand, but honestly, that wasn’t what mattered right now.
There’s a man next to Mommy…!
Melody looked up at the man, who seemed as huge as the old tree back in Heiron village.
She knew who he was.
Duke Snacky, Mister!
She remembered Mommy calling him that.
Mommy had said he was someone she was grateful to, but…
But why “snacky”? Did he give Mommy a snack?
The question was still unsolved, but that wasn’t important right now either.
Melody narrowed her eyes and looked at Cain with suspicion.
Mommy was pretty, so men had always kept trying to sniff around her.
Every single time, Melody had bravely driven them all off.
From James the herb-gatherer to the fruit-shop mister in the next village over.
She’d been so busy chasing off the wolves circling her mommy! Whew!
She’d let her guard down since coming here, because there’d been less of that lately, but…
Don’t tell me Duke Snacky, Mister, too?
If that were the case, she’d have to protect Mommy! Because Mommy was hers.
Having made her grim resolve, Melody came pattering toward the bed.
She had to plant herself right beside Mommy!
But for all her spirit, her short legs came to a stop in front of a bed as tall as the sky. There was no way to reach Mommy’s side like this.
Melody thought it over for a moment, then whipped her head around to look at Cain.
Suspicious or not, she had to get to Mommy first.
“Uu!”
Melody declared it firmly, thumping her own chest.
At that, the red eyes that had been looking down at her indifferently narrowed.
“…You want me to lift you up?”
Huh?
Melody’s eyes went round with surprise, then she nodded vigorously.
Hm. Duke Snacky, Mister, actually gets it more than I thought.
No one but Mommy had ever understood her the first time before—how strange.
Cain lightly scooped the child up and set her on the bed. Landing on the soft blanket, Melody immediately crawled toward Viola.
She was grateful he’d lifted her up, but she still wasn’t giving up Mommy.
“Uu? Uu-uu? Mommy?”
Melody shook Viola’s shoulder with her tiny hand.
Ordinarily, Viola would have woken right away, but she lay there without stirring, eyes shut. Something felt off.
Don’t tell me she’s sick somewhere again? That absolutely cannot happen!
Melody hurriedly pressed her ear to Viola’s chest.
But instead of Mommy’s warm embrace, something hard met the child’s ear.
Ow, that’s hard.
The culprit was Mommy’s necklace.
Melody nudged the offending thing aside where it hid beneath Viola’s clothes. Then she pressed her ear against her again.
Thump. Thump. A steady heartbeat sounded. Hm, could this sound mean—
…I have no idea!
She’d tried imitating what Mommy sometimes did, but honestly, there was nothing she could actually tell from it.
Melody turned to Cain with a tearful face.
“Uu. Uu?”
Is my mommy sick?
The child asked without really expecting an answer.
But Cain answered plainly.
“No, she’s not sick.”
“Uu?”
Melody’s eyes went wide. Just now, and again this time—had he really understood her? If so, there was no reason to hold back. The child asked again.
“Uu-uu. Uu-eu…!”
Then why isn’t she getting up? She must be sick after all!
When Melody protested with eyes full of suspicion, Cain shook his head slightly.
“I told you, that’s not it.”
It was at that moment.
Stirring in her sleep, Viola reached out an arm and pulled Melody into a tight embrace.
“Mmm…”
Huh? Not yet! We weren’t done talking!
Nngh. Nnngh.
She wriggled her arms, trying to escape the embrace, when a low voice fell from above.
“Your mommy’s sleeping.”
“Uu?”
“She’s sleeping because she’s tired.”
Melody tilted her head and looked up at Cain.
His expression looked as though he’d said all he meant to say. And yet, for some reason, something seemed to hold him back, and he didn’t leave.
Instead, he simply stood there, looking down at the sleeping Viola.
Duke Snacky, Mister?
Cain’s gaze lingered on Viola’s face for a long while.
His face was expressionless, so she couldn’t tell exactly what he was thinking, but—
…He looks kind of sad, somehow.
Just like Mommy’s face when I fall down, Melody thought.
After a long silence, Cain slowly reached out and switched off the lamp at the bedside.
“You sleep too, little one.”
With only those few words left behind, he turned without a trace of reluctance and left the room.
Click. The door closed.
…What a strange mister.
In the darkness, Melody only blinked.
Only after being dragged off by the servants and thrown outside did Celia finally understand the gravity of the situation.
Dragon.
People called the ducal house of Asheln Dragonbloods.
Beings who carried a dragon’s blood.
Transcendent beings who might perhaps be closer to dragons than to humans.
Only after facing Cain’s overwhelming presence just now—so crushing she could barely breathe—did Celia realize.
That she might have touched the dragon’s own inverse scale.
Cain’s reaction wasn’t something that would come from a mere pharmacist collapsing.
Nor was it, as Conrad had said, simply that of a valued guest.
It was, rather… a look in his eyes that carried some deep feeling.
Skilled in matters of the heart as she was, she knew it very well. No man ever looked at a pharmacist, or a guest, with eyes like that.
What could that woman possibly have that I don’t!
