CJRD CH 16

Chapter 16

“It’s not so chilly at night anymore.”

It was late evening, but still early by night’s standards.
On my way home after leaving the tavern, I muttered quietly to myself.

I had ended my meeting with Peter earlier than expected.
The moment his endless boasting about Estelle was over, I excused myself.

Peter had tried to keep me a little longer, but I turned him down, pretending I had work to do.

“How could I stay, when it was obvious Fiona was waiting for him?”

I couldn’t bring myself to steal away their private time together.

“And besides, Fiona had been staring at Peter the whole time we were talking.”

To exaggerate a little—her gaze was so piercing it felt like it could burn a hole straight through me.

“Well, whatever. At least I’ll be getting home earlier than I thought.”

I murmured softly, then stopped walking and looked up at the sky.

It wasn’t pitch black yet—it wasn’t that late—but since the sun had already set, the world was cast in shadow.

Just like my uncertain, unseen future.

“…Sigh.”

At least I had managed to discover the cause behind Estelle’s plummeting poise score.
If I could just remove that cause, then even if she worked on the farm, her poise wouldn’t collapse so drastically again.

But it wouldn’t mean no decline at all.
She’d still lose points steadily, just at the base reduction rate instead of what was happening now.

‘I need to restore her score before she goes to the Academy…’

But the only methods I remembered were tied to Academy lessons.
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with a single thing I could do right now.

I’d hoped that gazing up at the wide, open sky might help untangle my thoughts.
Instead, all I got was a stiff neck.

I dropped my gaze to the ground and shut my eyes tightly.

“Looks like you’ve got something weighing on your mind.”

A deep, enticing voice sounded right in front of me.

My eyes flew open, and I lifted my head—only to instinctively stumble back a step.

“I think I might be able to solve that problem for you.”

Standing before me was Basago.

His hood was down, his bare face fully revealed.
With the moon—the only light in the night sky—at his back, he looked even more striking.

Why was it?

From the moment I saw him, my whole body began to tremble.

Pale skin, black hair. Crimson eyes and lips.
His appearance was exactly the same as the last time we met.

And yet… perhaps because it was so close to midnight, something about him was different this time.

‘Dangerous.’

The air around him radiated danger—far more than before.

Instinctively, I stepped back.

And as I did, Basago stepped forward.

“Well? Shall I help you?”

He leaned in close, lowering his head toward me as he asked.

“H-how do you even know what it is I’m worried about?”

“What do you mean, ‘what it is’? You know my name already. Don’t be so cold.”

He arched his brows as if genuinely hurt. But only for a moment.

Straightening, Basago smiled faintly.

“Go on. Say it.”

His crimson eyes peered down at me from between his slightly upturned lashes.

The instant our gazes locked, an overwhelming pressure crushed down on me.

My lips went dry.
Swallowing hard, I slowly forced myself to speak.

“B-Basago.”

“Well done.”

The moment I spoke his name, his expression lit with satisfaction—
and the crushing weight that had been pressing down on me instantly lifted.

Relief hit me all at once, and my knees nearly gave out.
I barely managed to steady myself, gasping quietly for air.

Just then, something large brushed against the top of my head.

Blinking, I glanced upward.

A dark piece of cloth and the glint of ornaments in the moonlight caught my eyes—and above them, Basago’s face.

As soon as he met my gaze, he reached out and stroked my hair.

Each time his hand moved, the ornaments in his accessories clinked together with a faint chime.

“There’s no way I wouldn’t know your troubles. You want Estelle to return to her original self, don’t you?”

“H-how did you…”

His words startled me.
He had struck directly at the core of my concerns.

“Heh.”

When I stared at him, wide-eyed, Basago let out a low chuckle.

He withdrew his hand from my head and stepped back, putting some space between us.

“I might not see her as much as you do, but I’ve met Estelle often enough. Anyone could notice her change in attitude.”

Now standing a step away, he looked down at me with a face full of arrogance.

Then he extended his long fingers—adorned with multiple rings—toward me.

“Let me help you. I can make sure Estelle regains her graceful, noble self.”

“…”

Return Estelle to her original state?

I stared silently at the hand he held out.
It was stretched firmly in my direction, waiting for me to take it.

But I neither accepted it nor pushed it away.
My lips pressed tight, I just glared at that open palm.

‘What should I do?’

If I took his hand, restoring Estelle’s poise would become far easier.
The way he spoke so confidently, he clearly had some method.

And it wasn’t just that.

He was a demon.
It was best not to cross him.
If I angered him, either Estelle or I—or both of us—might pay with our lives.

And yet, something in me resisted.
Perhaps it was that ominous aura I felt from him earlier…

My mind knew accepting was safer.
But my gut screamed I mustn’t.

Lifting my head, I looked past his outstretched hand and into his face.

Basago wore the expression of a man absolutely certain I would accept.

But after a brief moment of silent struggle, I made my decision.

Meeting his eyes, I slowly spoke.

“I’ll refuse.”

“Oh?”

I had chosen to reject his offer.

He had already involved himself enough—helping Estelle with her studies despite my attempts to avoid entanglement.
If I became more deeply bound to him now, I doubted I’d be able to escape when the time came.

‘That uneasy feeling… it must be my subconscious warning me not to get involved any further.’

Basago, on the other hand, seemed genuinely shocked.
His face filled with surprise at my answer.

He pulled back his hand, tilting his head slightly as he asked in confusion,

“Why? I thought you’d agree without a second thought.”

“…Because it’s a problem I need to solve myself.”

Of course, I couldn’t admit the real reason—that his presence unsettled me.
So I gave the most ordinary excuse I could.

He might find it dull, but better that than risk offending him with the truth.

“Well then… I’ll be going.”

It was the best answer I could manage.
Even so, I knew it might still have displeased him.

Before he could say anything more, I quickly bowed my head and hurried past him, heading toward home.

For days after that encounter, I lived in constant tension.

Even when I was home alone, I found myself scanning every corner of the house.
Whenever I went out, I gripped the door handle tight, checking my surroundings nervously.

But strangely enough, Basago never came.

‘…Maybe I can finally relax now.’

Deciding it was time to let go of my wariness, I resolved to stop worrying about him and focus on my actual work.

And yet—

“…This is bad. Really bad.”

A new problem had arisen.

People often think taking care of children is the easiest job in the world.

Ha! What nonsense.

Do they have any idea how exhausting it is?

And I wasn’t caring for just one age group—
I had children of all different ages to watch over at the same time.

Which meant I couldn’t treat them all the same.
Each child needed to be handled differently, depending on their age.

It was a nightmare of complexity.

The only thing they all had in common was their love for snacks.

Which brings me to the unexpected obstacle I was now facing…