“Excuse me, but does this really have to be used as medicine?”
“Ah, this is... a duke.”
Unfortunately, out of everything he could hear, he heard this particular one. I felt very embarrassed, and I felt my face burning red.
“How long have you been there?”
I hope he didn't hear me talking about 'swearing'.
“Since you said ‘cow dung’.”
Oh, I see. It's just my image that's getting a little weird. At least this is better.
As Prisippi sighed in relief, Fenric stepped into the room.
“…”
Prisippi sat on the bed, staring at him as he took off his coat.
Kevin said that he was listening to a report on the Forbidden Forest situation today, and that they would start the actual investigation tomorrow. Maybe that's why he wasn't wearing his armor.
But why was his hair wet?
“I took a shower.”
As if he read her thoughts, Fenric looked at her and said so.
“So fast?”
“If there was a smell of sweat, it would be uncomfortable for you.”
“There's no smell of you, Duke.”
When they were at the country house, she didn't notice it, but she realized the truth during the trip to the Forbidden Forest.
Even though they had traveled for several days without a chance to shower, there was no bad smell from it. On the contrary...
“All I smell is just good.”
It smelled like a forest, or fresh air. Maybe a mysterious combination of the two.
Fenric smiled instead of responding.
“And you, Prisippi?”
“Ah, I had a good rest, and I took a shower a while ago. Malia prepared warm water for me. Although the bathroom is old, it was okay...”
She suddenly stopped mid-speech.
Does this dialogue seem...a little weird?
“…”
No one said anything, but her cheeks flushed of their own accord. She turned her head slightly, avoiding his gaze.
“Excuse me, but I'm staying here tonight. Due to the circumstances, there are no suitable places.”
Fenric said as he spread a mattress on the floor next to the bed.
“If you're uncomfortable, I can sleep outside.”
"No, no! I'm the one who should apologize for taking over the bed."
“Whether I'm on the bed or the floor, I won't be able to sleep well anyway. So it's better that you at least sleep well.”
He smiled briefly, then lay down on the ground.
This was also kind of interesting to her. As if he was trying to calm her down because of her shyness, he quickly lay down.
“But, Duke… you haven't had any problems, have you?”
Prisippi asked cautiously as she stared at him.
"Honestly, I don't know. The number of times monsters have appeared has decreased dramatically, so what exactly are they trying to investigate?"
“It seems that Siegfried is planning to explore areas that he has not been able to explore before.”
That madman, he could have stayed back and bided his time, but he chose the exact opposite. Why does he like getting into trouble?
Prisippi automatically frowned.
“He seems to think there is something special worth searching for, something like a legend.”
A thought crossed her mind. She remembered the legend she had read in books, and what the archbishop had said.
[A long time ago, an ominous being lived in western Atloria. Even before we lived and breathed on this earth.]
Could it be… Siegfried is looking for that Demon King?
But such a being couldn't be real, could it? Even if the world is crazy, it's overrated.
Honestly, it was Siegfried's motives that worried her more than anything else.
If Dietrich had sent Fenrik into the Forbidden Forest just to keep him out of it, that would be the best case scenario. But what if he had ordered Siegfried to create a certain danger?
Dietrich was capable of doing anything.
“It may be strange for me to say this to you, but please always move with the soldiers.”
Presibe hesitated a little, then spoke in a very cautious voice.
“Even if the monster attacks decrease, the Forbidden Forest is still full of them. Siegfried is the person the Emperor trusts most, so there's no harm in being careful...”
After talking so much, she received no response.
Was I being too intrusive?
Feeling a little embarrassed, I shut up and looked at Fenric.
But he smiled sarcastically and asked her:
“Are you worried about me?”
“Of course I'm worried!”
Precipe looked at him as if he had asked a silly question.
“If I could help you in any way, I would. But unfortunately, I don’t have the ability to do that.”
If her character in the game had been good at fighting or using a sword, she would have insisted on going with him.
But Prisippi was the model of a passive heroine who gets dragged into the action and has no useful skills.
The only thing she was good at...
Perhaps complicating her life to the point of woven into an intricate tapestry?
Therefore, it was better for her to stay away than cause a disaster.
But even with the sincerity of her feelings, Fenric suddenly laughed out loud.
Yes, she realized she was incompetent, but was he supposed to laugh like that?
"This is so cruel! I know I'm weak, but not like this!"
“No, not for that reason.”
“So what's going on?” Prisippi glanced at Fenric.
“I just like that you worry about me.”
“…….”
“If you want to be precise, no one has ever worried about me before, and because you are the first to do so, it makes it even more special for me.”
His very frank words were enough to make Priscipe's cheeks redden slightly.
Anyway, Fenric was a strange person, saying things like that without any hesitation, making a person feel embarrassed for no reason.
“Anyway, it's better that you stay in the village, Presibe.”
“Okay, I get it.”
Come morning, when Fenric goes to the Forbidden Forest, Prisippi intends to search further for Vanessa.
According to Malia, the house where Vanessa lived is now used as a village warehouse, but the items she didn't take are still there.
So, maybe she could find something useful.
In addition, Ivan's words were not lying when he said that she had been found in the Forbidden Forest shortly before she went to the imperial palace to become a concubine.
She was planning to ask Malia for help in listening to people who remembered the details of that day.
[Go to the Forbidden Forest.]
Vanessa's command kept echoing in her mind, making her feel anxious.
You must go to the Forbidden Forest at least once...
But in the current situation, she had no compelling reason to go there. She couldn't think of any plausible excuse, so she decided to focus on what she could do for the time being.
“Kevin told me you met Vanessa's old friend.”
Fenric began speaking slowly.
“Even if it wasn't for this case, I probably would have brought it one day anyway.”
"...What?"
“Because you want to know who your father is, right?”
Prisippi paused for a moment at his sudden words.
She couldn't remember ever talking to him about her father before.
So, how...?
“I placed photo recording stones in different places in the country house. They would turn on automatically when they saw a stranger.”
“…….”
“But don’t worry, I didn’t put one in your room.”
So, he heard it all. Every conversation she had with Evan that day.
“But why didn't you tell me you knew?”
But he asked her what Evan told her, right? Precipe's expression was a little hesitant.
“Because I'm a bit of a nosy person.”
"What do you mean?"
“I wanted to know how much you trust me.”
In the end, he just wanted to hear her answer.
“It's okay if you scolded me, it was really annoying.”
But his excuse was good. In the end, he brought her here under the pretext of protecting her, and the killer who killed Atari and Noah is still unknown.
Moreover, if he was only thinking about her safety, his action was not entirely wrong, and Preseppe was well aware of that.
“I only didn't tell you because I thought it wouldn't be good for you to know that my father might be a monster.”
“I understand.”
“In the future, just ask me directly. I will be honest with you, because I trust you more than you think, Fenric.”
Although she felt a little embarrassed, she didn't intend to seem upset with him.
Especially since he was forced to go to the Forbidden Forest because of her.
Besides, she trusted him a lot, and if he asked her something, she would probably answer him.
So, she looked at him and said as naturally as possible:
But instead of responding to her words, Fenric asked her something else.
“So, can you promise me something?”
"With what?"
“You won't hide anything from me anymore.”
Prisippi felt that his words carried a mysterious meaning, and she hesitated to answer.
But at that moment, Fenric said in a deeper voice than usual, as if seeking confirmation from her:
“Precipie.”
“…….”
“Don't keep any secrets from me.”