Chapter 22
They carefully rode their horses toward the Pettigrew family estate.
—Several hours later.
Thanks to the knights led by Marc, not a single enemy soldier appeared. Because of that, they arrived safely at the mansion—and hurriedly carried Julius to a bed.
◆◇◆
When Natalie returned with her father, her mother’s eyes went wide. The servants, led by Mina, were in an uproar, unable to hide their shock.
But more than anything, the relief that they had safely returned from such a dangerous place was overwhelming. Normally her mother never let her emotions spill out, but now—
“You… Natalie… and the soldiers too… you’re all safe…!”
“Mother…”
“Do you know how worried I was…!”
“I’m sorry…”
Large tears filled her mother’s eyes. Regret surged in Natalie’s chest for having caused her mother so much pain. Her father was flustered, glancing back and forth between the two of them.
“…But you came back without injury, and that’s what matters…”
“M-Mother…”
Her mother slowly approached Natalie, then pulled her tightly into an embrace. Whispering into her ear, she said:
“From now on, make sure you talk things through with us, alright?”
“…!”
“On the way to your father, weren’t you scared? It’s alright—you can cry loudly at times like these.”
“…Hic… ugh…”
She was terrified. Of losing her father. Of Julius being stabbed. Of people dying.
As her mother gently stroked her head, Natalie cried out like a child again. The happiness of having her loved ones safe—it was more overwhelming than she had ever imagined.
“You don’t always need to hold everything in… Look at your father, for instance. He’s shameless all the time.”
“Eh?”
“Fufu… Natalie, you can show that same boldness—that inner strength—too.”
“Wait, did you just call me shameless—?”
Her father looked confused, muttering “Huh? What?,” but their lighthearted voices gave Natalie comfort. She continued crying until she was worn out.
After everything calmed down and she returned to her room, Natalie was told about the current state of affairs: the Pettigrew family—her homeland—was in a superior position. The reinforcements her father had requested had joined forces with the Black Knight Order.
The war wasn’t over yet, but the heavy weight in her chest lightened just a little. On the other hand, a different weight replaced it. Both Mina and her mother stared intently at Julius after glancing at Natalie, their gazes practically whispering—
“Is there something between them besides the war?”
“Does this have to do with Natalie?”
But out of concern for Natalie’s fatigue, they kept silent and said nothing aloud.
Her father told everyone that Julius had “just happened to save me.” Natalie prayed they would accept that explanation, and that no one would notice his cloak and attire resembled that man’s.
◆◇◆
Days passed, and the situation changed dramatically.
In just three days, the war had ended.
That was thanks to the Black Knight Order’s efforts against the enemy nation, and Edward’s leadership at the royal castle after the war began. Rumor had it that he even performed a large-scale teleportation spell.
With these factors combined, Natalie’s homeland achieved overwhelming dominance, and the war closed in their victory.
However, even though the war had ended, Julius remained asleep without waking—this was the real problem.
“My, why won’t the Duke wake up?”
“Hmm… he doesn’t seem to have any injuries, though.”
Both her father and mother tilted their heads in puzzlement over Julius’s condition. Natalie frowned in worry. More than anything, she feared her own magic might have harmed him somehow.
“If we don’t know, then there’s nothing to be done… Fortunately, he seems fine physically. Let’s wait until Doctor Franz arrives.”
“…Yes.”
Though uneasy about Julius not waking, Natalie left the guest room at her father’s urging. But when she went to see him alone, she often found him restless in his sleep, tormented by nightmares—just like in her past memories.
But the healing magic should have cured him—so why…?
Perhaps out of concern for her troubled expression, neither Mina nor her mother pressed her with questions about her relationship with him.
◆◇◆
Several more days passed with Julius still asleep.
A letter arrived from Marc. It said he would visit the Pettigrew estate once the aftermath of the war was settled. The long letter insisted he only wanted to check on Julius’s safety, and that there was no ulterior motive.
Sighing over the letter in her room, Natalie couldn’t shake her worry about Julius not waking. As she brooded, a slow knock came at the door.
“Hm?”
“Natalie, may I come in?”
“Oh, Father! Of course.”
Her father opened the door at her reply. Since the war ended before he had to march to the front lines, he was unscathed.
“…You look down. I, too, feel saddened that our benefactor has not awakened.”
“…Yes.”
“But… well… to see my cute Natalie wearing such a gloomy expression, all because of him! If I said I felt nothing about that, it would be a lie!”
“……”
Natalie stared at him silently as he inhaled deeply, apparently trying to calm himself. He muttered an apology for his unruly words and sat across from her.
“…Setting him aside, I came today to talk about you, Natalie.”
“About… me?”
“Yes. That day—I thought I saw light shining from your hand—”
He was referring to the day of the enemy’s attack. Was her health affected afterwards? Did she know anything about that light?
“That light… I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before, but…”
“So you can’t recall?”
“…Yes.”
“I see… well, then we shouldn’t push too hard. Overthinking won’t help.”
Her father smiled kindly, easing her strained nerves.
“I’ve been thinking too—about that light, about your magic.”
“Oh! Truly?”
“Yes, but…”
Natalie leaned in, grateful for how much he cared. Despite his usual scatterbrained nature, he was dependable. She listened closely to his words—
“I have absolutely no idea!”
The words were nothing like what she expected—though really, she had raised her hopes too high.
“…Huh?”
“I even asked your mother and thought hard about it, but I couldn’t figure out a thing!”
“I-I see…”
Her father added that her mother had suggested he might’ve just imagined it, and he looked somewhat dejected.
“Sometimes I wonder if my own eyes are going bad…”
“Is… is that so?”
“Yes. But since your health hasn’t worsened…”
“But I saw it too…”
When Natalie said that, his brows furrowed sadly, like a lost child.
“…So it really wasn’t my imagination…”
He seemed to feel guilty for being of no use. But Natalie herself didn’t understand the truth of that light either, so she had no intention of blaming him. She only felt worn out from being dragged around by his antics.
Now then… how do I break this awkward silence…?
“Milaaaady—!”
With that familiar loud voice, clumsy Mina barged in, knocking as she entered.
“Ah! Master, you’re here too!”
“Mina… you are… well, very energetic today as always.”
“People tell me that a lot! Thank you!”
“No, I wasn’t exactly praising you—wait, was I?”
While her father looked confused, Mina hurried over. Natalie asked, “What is it?”
“L-Lord Franz has arrived…! I rushed here to tell you right away!”
