45. and again (2)

The Royal Medical Center is far from what people usually think of as a medical center. There were no dire patients in and out, no atmosphere of the death of an old man.

“Professor, shouldn’t we finish soon?”

The head nurse secretly looked at Professor Matilda Weaving and insisted. There were still 30 minutes left for business hours, but there were no patients in charge of the medical center, nor any patients to take care of. Professor Weaving was in no hurry. However, I was well aware of their desire to spend time with friends, lovers, and family after getting off work as quickly as possible.

“…yes. Tell them to get ready for work.”

When I was working as a medical officer, I had never felt such boredom.

Professor Weaving sighed secretly. After getting involved with the Bennings, pressure came from the academy. There was nothing Pierre and the medical officer could do. I just have to resign before things get more complicated.

It’s not like they left the academy and everything was tidy.

Professor Weaving, though Instructor Pierre had to suffer much more than he did.

“Damn it.”

Professor Weaving habitually picked up the pipe. The surroundings are busy and noisy with preparations for work. Nervously rubbing the shadows around his dark eyes, Professor Weaving took off his gown and draped it over his arm.

It was then that the fuss about getting off work suddenly stopped.

“what.”

“ah…”

Dismayed and regretful sighs were heard interspersed. Professor Weaving, who was about to pack his things, put on his gown again and sat down on the chair.

“Should I… close the door?”

“No, leave it open.”

The head nurse bowed her head and left the room to respond to the patient. Then, Professor Weaving saw the patient. Her suddenly shortened hair, but that platinum-colored hair that anyone who knew her would recognize. A small face and a beautiful figure like a doll.

Professor Weaving had no choice but to drop the pipe he was holding in his hand.

…That child, why are you here?

“Where did you come from because you were uncomfortable?”

A nurse’s voice could be heard faintly outside the door. Professor Weaving’s eyes were still fixed on Theodora. For some reason, I was limping on my leg.

“Is Professor Weaving there by any chance?”

The nurses were sharing glances with each other. Then, glanced at Professor Weaving’s office. There was no way Theodora would miss that gaze, so her gaze naturally turned to Matilda Weaving.

The eyes of the two crossed in midair.

Professor Weaving stood up from his chair, pretending to be nothing. That standing up would be infinitely awkward if someone saw it.

“…Theodora.”

Professor Weaving opened the door, appeared and called out to Theodora. Looking closer, his expression was not very good. No matter what, Professor Weaving approaches Theodora with a heavy heart.

“Commissioner.”

Theodora answered Professor Weaving in a voice that had not changed from three years ago. It seemed cold, but in reality it was a voice with a lot of emotions buried in it.

Professor Weaving did not know why she had come to visit her, but a series of events flashed through her mind and made her heart flutter.

When Matilda Weaving was silent, Theodora spoke first.

“Can I ask for medical attention?”

Then, he points to his leg. Professor Weaving’s eyes followed Theodora’s hand and saw Theodora’s broken leg.

“First, let’s go into the treatment room.”

Professor Weaving gently took Theodora’s wrist and led her away. Theodora did not resist and entered the treatment room as Professor Weaving led her.

“It’s been a while, Theodora. Are you thinking about the past? My leg got hurt somewhere else.”

Theodora smiled shyly.

“A knight is a job that hurts.”

Professor Weaving slightly furrowed his eyebrows at Theodora’s answer.

“Would you like to sit there? I mean, stretch your legs out.”

Professor Weaving pointed to a cot in the corner of the examination room. After Theodora sat down, Professor Weaving gathered mana in his hand and, as always, began treating him naturally.

“…It must have been broken badly.”

Professor Weaving said with a sigh. The word ‘severely broken’ should have been refined. My bones twisted and almost shattered completely. It’s a relief that it didn’t break into pieces.

“What the hell do I do to break it like this?”

Theodora smiled bitterly.

“I fell from a bit high.”

“I wonder if he jumped off some cliff.”

Professor Weaving groaned and removed his hand from Theodora’s leg.

“The recovery is going well. Were the first responders very good, or did a skillful mage or healer look after them?”

Theodora nodded quietly. Light gathered in Professor Weaving’s hands again. This time, it had a subtle greenish tinge.

“As long as I take care of it more, it will be cured within three days. There is no need for outpatient treatment, I will just blow mana so that you can find stability.”

Professor Weaving carefully caressed Theodora’s affected area. Theodora felt that the faint pain that the broken bones had been conveying began to fade little by little.

Of course, it wasn’t just because of this that Theodora visited the medical center.

Theodora decided to open her mouth.

“Commissioner.”

“I’m not even a duty officer anymore, well. You can call me Professor Weaving… Considering my position, I should call you Miss Benning…”

said Professor Weaving with a sneer. Theodora followed Professor Weaving and raised her mouth with difficulty.

“…Well then, Professor.”

“Yes, Theodora.”

“Why did you resign?”

Professor Weaving froze at Theodora’s words. Theodora’s eyes sank even deeper. Professor Weaving looked up and looked at Theodora for a moment. As if reading something from Theodora’s shadowy expression, Professor Weaving’s eyes carefully examine Theodora’s face.

Soon, Professor Weaving opened his mouth.

“You didn’t know.”

Theodora frowned for a moment at that statement. ‘You didn’t know.’ I mean, it was as if I knew. It must have something to do with her family.

“…what happened? Professor and Instructor Pierre… Why are you two like that…”

“It was pressure.”

Short answer, but Theodora could already imagine what had happened without much difficulty.

“My father…no,”

Theodora corrected her words.

“Count Leon Benning, what did he do?”

However, the answer to that question was completely different from what Theodora expected.

“…Three years have passed.”

The one-time medical officer sighed as he said that.

“I don’t know what the Count was hoping for.”

Professor Weaving’s attitude was stubborn. Theodora’s expression blurred. I had no choice but to ask directly.

“Does it have anything to do with the injury that Maxime Appart suffered?”

“What do you want to know?”

Professor Weaving reacted to the question as if his memory had been stimulated. A look of bewilderment spread across Professor Weaving’s face at the nervous reaction that had sprung out involuntarily.

“…I’m sorry, Theodora. I know you met Maxim, but… I can’t tell you anything.”

However, Professor Weaving’s reaction gave Theodora confidence.

“…It must also have something to do with Maxim.”

“I’m not sure.”

The professor was dodging an answer. Theodora, in her stubborn mood, couldn’t help but ask what had happened.

“Do you know where Instructor Pierre is?”

“That person…”

Professor Weaving hesitated to answer Theodora’s question immediately. Biting his lower lip slightly, the professor made a reproachful expression.

“Theodora, are you trying to find out personally what just happened?”

Theodora nodded at Professor Weaving’s question.

“Yeah. Without telling anyone…”

Professor Weaving’s brow furrowed before returning. That means the Bennings have been silent all along, not telling Theodora anything.

I look into Theodora’s cloud-like eyes.

“Instructor Pierre-”

Theodora looked at Professor Weaving with a little anticipation in her eyes.

“I had to suffer from the Benning family’s surveillance for quite some time.”

“what brings you here…”

Theodora stopped to ask a question. As if to speak, Theodora had to struggle to get the thoughts out of her mind at the same time. Professor Weaving rolled his eyes and looked around. It’s as if he’s trying to detect a presence. Theodora silently watched Professor Weaving’s actions. Those two eyes were trembling with some kind of fear.

“professor?”

Professor Weaving got up and closed the door to the clinic. The look on her face as she turned around showed her uneasiness. The professor’s lower lip had been bitten and turned white.

“…as you said. Things got weird after that child, Maxim, was brought to the hospital.”

“Are you talking about the time of the final exam…”

“It is not a final exam. The injuries at that time were not serious enough to threaten his life.”

A look of bewilderment appeared on Theodora’s face, who had been denied her words.

“Yeah…?”

“After the final exams, Maxim collapsed and was carried on Instructor Pierre’s back.”

Maxim, are you down?

Theodora was visibly taken aback when stories she did not know began to emerge.

“Falling down…? Why the hell…?”

“I couldn’t even check it properly. I remember him vomiting so much blood that his sweatshirt was all wet.”

closely.

Theodora’s hands gripped the bedspread and tightened.

“Blood…”

“Are you wearing internal injuries? Usually, such hematemesis can only be explained by internal injuries caused by mana. At the time, I thought maybe I was training too hard… until Count Benning suddenly came to the hospital room.”

Theodora’s eyes twinkled.

“Father… Earl Benning, the academy…?”

“They sent me and Instructor Pierre out and said they would talk to Maxime.”

Watching Theodora’s eyes grow cold, Professor Weaving sighed. The breath he exhaled was not at all heavy.

“What happened, what happened?”

“I-I don’t know. I should have calmed down, but the Count’s attitude was so stubborn.”

Theodora couldn’t help but think of Maxim. Fresh blood flowed down Maxim’s chin in a bright red stream. She could vividly recall the fishy smell when Maxim was cut in the dungeon.

“What else could I do? We are just instructors, and the person who came is the Count. Instructor Pierre protested greatly, but we eventually moved on.”

“What’s going on inside…”

Theodora asked desperately. Standing up, she grabbed Professor Weaving’s hand, but Professor Weaving slightly averted Theodora’s eyes and gave no answer.

“I was out of the hospital room, so I couldn’t tell exactly what had happened. And the sudden recommendation to resign came after you guys graduated.”

Professor Weaving wrapped his arms around him.

“The recommendation fell… After I resigned with Instructor Pierre, the professors at the Magic Tower suddenly asked me if I would like to work with them.”

A little trembling voice was added to the professor’s words.

“I refused. And what happened to Instructor Pierre… only the instructor himself would know.”

Professor Weaving slipped away from Theodora, who was still holding her hand. Theodora had no choice but to let go of her powerlessly and be pushed away as she pushed. Professor Weaving finally gave the answer to Theodora’s question.

“Instructor Pierre is not on the royal road.”

As if he couldn’t win any more, Professor Weaving confided.

“Perhaps there was a change of heart, I quit the article altogether. Because he said he would change his career as an adventurer rather than a wanderer…”

Theodora calmed down and listened to Professor Weaving.

“Go to the Adventurer’s Guild in the Royal Capital. Maybe you should be in the guild by now.”

Professor Weaving picked up the pipe. Theodora didn’t answer, just bowed her head and got up. All the chaos swirled in her head, the reality of all the circumstances surrounding her.

“I’m sorry, Theodora.”

The professor spoke to Theodora’s back as she staggered from her seat. Theodora shook her head slightly.

“no.”

After Theodora turned around, the bloodiness had completely disappeared from her face. Professor Weaving looked at that expression and sighed in pity.

“Theodora, why don’t you pretend you don’t know?”

Professor Weaving made this suggestion one last time, knowing that Theodora would not listen.

“There are still things I need to know.”

“Whatever it is, if Earl Benning didn’t tell you, it probably means you shouldn’t know about it.”

Professor Weaving’s words faded towards the end. As if he was trying to avoid talking about Count Benning.

“…Benning is…”

Theodora muttered quietly. Benning, my father. What the hell have you done? And how involved was I in it?

“…I think it has nothing to do with me right now.”

“Theodora.”

Professor Weaving grabbed Theodora’s wrist. This time, however, Theodora slipped into the hand and pushed her arm away.

“it’s okay.”

Theodora answered and opened the door. The hinges in the old clinic creaked.

“…actually, I might have been blaming you a little bit.”

Theodora’s footsteps came to a halt. Theodora turned around and saw Professor Weaving with a sad smile on her lips.

“It’s not your fault.”

“…Thank you for your words.”

The door is closed. Like a wild animal walking into a trap, Theodora left the medical center limping little by little.

—

The carriage came to a stop with a rattling, as if representing Theodora’s anxious mind. Contrary to its grandiose signboard, the Royal Road Adventurer’s Guild was located at the entrance of an alley ominously shadowed by flickering lanterns.

“…do you really intend to enter here?”

The coachman looked around incessantly. The back alleys of the royal road covered in darkness in the evening gave off a gloomy feeling that instantly chilled the spine of the viewer.

“Please go back first. You never know how long it will take.”

Theodora got out of the carriage without blinking an eye. The coachman couldn’t help but watch Theodora’s back as she walked into the darkness, her mouth twitching and her hands stiffly waving in the air.

“…Your liver is big too, young lady.”

The coachman stuck out his tongue and quickly turned the carriage around. Certainly, the carriage was overly conspicuous in this alley. I didn’t know what would happen to the scoundrels in the back alley if I stayed longer.

Theodora narrowed her eyes while looking at the signboard of the adventurer’s guild. Adventurers passing by saw Theodora’s outfit and secretly kept their distance from her. Their murmur reached Theodora’s ears.

“It’s a knight.”

“It seems pretty strong.”

“What happened to the guild…”

A dim light was seeping through the entrance of the building, through the window of the door. Theodora stood by the door and watched the adventurers passing by. Each of them had an injury. The one with a bandage on his head, the one with a huge scar on his cheek, the one with a broken arm. Theodora kept her mouth shut and stepped through the door that opened and closed.

The disturbance in the guild died down in an instant when Theodora appeared inside the building.

“…Article?”

“Looking at your outfit, you look like a tall person.”

“Isn’t anyone from the Knights Templar?”

Theodora carefully measured the gaze directed at her. vigilance, distrust. The adventurers, who had been hit hard enough by everything in the world, were reacting more suspiciously than sending favorable glances to Theodora.

Theodora walked to the guild reception desk. The receptionist, who was working on paperwork, raised his eyes slightly and glanced sideways at Theodora, then put down the pen and met eyes as Theodora got closer.

“How can I help you?”

The receptionist smiled. Theodora sat down at the reception desk.

“Looking at the outfit, it looks like you’re from the Knights, but maybe it’s a separate mission…”

The receptionist tilted his head slightly and asked.

“No, I am looking for an adventurer.”

The receptionist, seeing Theodora’s troubled expression, asked again in a secret voice.

“Are you among the adventurers, even if you’re a criminal… a wanted person?”

“It used to be, but not now.”

Looking at Theodora, the receptionist narrowed his brows as if he couldn’t contain his curiosity.

“…Perhaps, the palace… has someone to deal with…”

“…no.”

Well, if that were the case, there would be no way he would come to me dressed as a knight, muttered the receptionist.

“Who are you looking for?”

“Pierre Fabien.”

As soon as Theodora spit out the name of the bald instructor, the receptionist’s face went blank.

“…why did he…”

“You are active in this guild, right?”

The receptionist stayed still, watching Theodora for a while. Theodora let out a small sigh at her reaction.

“Can I know where you are now?”

“that’s…”

The receptionist’s question was cut off midway. It was because adventurers started approaching around the reception desk. A one-eyed adventurer in the lead spat out harsh words.

“I don’t know what kind of dog-bones Knights from where, but why are you looking for that person now?”

Theodora captured the momentum. Her nerves, sharpened as they were about to become sharp, were reacting sharp to the hostility she felt.

“What are you doing now?”

The one-eyed adventurer snorted.

“Ha, what is this?”

The adventurer’s hand went to the hilt of the short sword at his waist. Theodora’s eyes narrowed coldly. The adventurer drew out his sword, indignant at Theodora’s unchanging attitude.

“Don’t be silly. How many people do you think have been looking for you in this guild, calling you a member of the Knights Order and a member of the royal palace?”

“Listen to the end…”

bang!

The adventurer’s knife was stuck in the receptionist’s desk. Inevitably, the sound of the blade gnawing at the rotting wood was heard.

“Get out of the guild right now. If you don’t want to see something worse.”

Theodora glanced at the shortsword that was stuck just a hand’s span away from her. It was like an adventurer’s weapon. The uncleaned blood was all dried up, and the blade was dead, and teeth were missing in places.

“If you say you’re an old student of Instructor Pierre, you’ll know.”

The adventurer gave more strength to the hand holding the hilt. The wooden board split and the shortsword dug deep into the desk.

“So what.”

“Put this away. I don’t want to make things more complicated. If you say that to Adventurer Pierre once, it will be resolved.”

Theodora warned quietly. The one-eyed adventurer let out a laugh.

“Are you my master?”

“If you came out of the Knights, you should also know how to behave wisely.”

At Theodora’s sarcasm, sinews were etched into the one-eyed temple.

“Then at least reveal your identity. Did you think we would listen to someone we don’t know anywhere and say yes, I understand?”

Theodora let out a long sigh. It was not rewarding to deliberately show off as a knight.

“I am from the Knights of the Ravens.”

“The Raven Knights?”

The one-eyed adventurer frowned.

“If it’s the raven knights…”

At that time, another adventurer interrupted the one-eyed adventurer and entered. He was an experienced adventurer with the dreaded wrinkles engraved on his forehead. Prayer was stable. He was a person with a completely different atmosphere from the seething adventurers.

“Isn’t that the Knights’ Order headed by the Bening family’s daughter?”

“What? The Bening family’s daughter?”

The older adventurer shrugged.

“I knew it because I had a chance to meet the articles recently…”

bang!

The adventurer with one eye on the table slammed it with his palm. Theodora looked at the adventurer with cold eyes.

“Then I can’t just let you go…”

“for a moment…”

An old adventurer interrupted the one eye that suddenly distorted his face. However, the one-eyed hand was faster than the old adventurer’s horse.

“Let’s start with one hit, bitch.”

The one-eyed hand cuts through the air. Theodora glanced sideways at the slowly flying hand and let out a boiling sigh.

snap.

“…!”

The atmosphere in the guild subsided further. As soon as they saw the one-eyed wrist caught, the adventurers’ hands turned to their respective weapons.

“This…f*ck…!”

One eye struggles. Theodora did not even flinch. Theodora was in a very comfortable posture, as if she was holding on to an old dry tree.

“F*ck this…! Don’t let go!”

The one-eyed one-eyed is ugly.

“This… you bastard…!”

Theodora didn’t listen any further and tugged at her arm.

“Keep!”

simplicity and honesty. With the sound of something breaking, One-Eye falls over the counter. At the same time, the adventurers drew their weapons. Sharp metal piercing noises simultaneously threatened Theodora from all sides.

Threat.

Theodora glanced at the shortsword on the table. The old adventurer who followed Theodora’s gaze swallowed a dry saliva.

“Sir Benning… no matter how incompetent you may be, you cannot turn Pierre over to someone from the Benning family right away.”

Theodora let out a deep sigh.

“You only have to ask to hear the story once. Let me meet Pierre Fabien,”

Maxim’s face, even at this moment, shimmered before Theodora’s eyes. A thick fog seemed to block his way. Theodora pressed her fingers through her throbbing hair.

“If it had been that easy, Pierre would not be with us now. Even if you bring all the family members, the answer of our adventurers will not change.”

dismissal.

The wood on the counter that Theodora was leaning on crumbles.

“Back off. We don’t want things to get any bigger than this…”

“under.”

The wood on the floor splits and springs up. The wild speculation of mana began to press down the guild with a sense of intimidation in an instant.

“What?!”

“What is this…!”

The adventurers each spat out astonishment. Theodora’s body, the chilling pressure emanating from that space. The adventurers were fixed in place as if nails had been driven into them. He could neither wield nor retrieve the weapon he had picked up.

The woman who shed tears is not here. Because I know that if I can’t get an answer right now, I won’t be able to shed those tears.

“What mana…!”

Theodora took a step forward in that state. Trembling, hands and feet trembled, and the sergeants made a fuss. As Theodora’s gaze turned towards the commotion, the adventurer had no choice but to drop his weapon.

“It was like that! Never leave your seat, everyone!”

As if they had nothing to lose, they did not change their attitude. It was the attitude that it would not matter if he was arrested and dragged right here. Only one old adventurer was looking at them restlessly.

“Pierre must have already spoken. What you want doesn’t happen.”

An adventurer said, facing Theodora.

“Pierre will not come here.”

However, Theodora’s expression was far from dismayed. All he could do was let out a sigh of relief.

“Good for you.”

“Dogs…!”

At that time, the front door of the guild burst open. The heads of the adventurers who were guarding their seats swung at the same time.

“…Pierre?”

A bewildered sound came out of the old adventurer’s mouth. Pierre Fabien took a quick look around and sighed as he scratched the back of his head.

“Damn it.”

—

At Pierre’s reaction, the adventurers around him glared at Theodora fiercely. Looking at these adventurers, Pierre’s face twisted in horror.

“Let me do one favor.”

“Please speak.”

The bald instructor bowed his head.

“These guys don’t know anything and are just fooling around to protect me.”

“I know that much.”

“…Please, look at my face and pass this once.”

Theodora nodded slowly.

“That… take away some of that bloody speculation.”

When the hostile mana in the air dispelled, Pierre Fabien clicked his tongue.

“Yes… thank you, Theodora.”

At Pierre’s words, the adventurers reacted in bewilderment.

“Pierre, what is it?”

“It’s nothing.”

“No, sh*t! Can’t you see the counters are all broken over there?”

“Shut up.”

Pierre waved his hand as he said that. I heard the adventurers groaning for a moment. There was tension on Pierre’s face that he couldn’t hide. Theodora observed Pierre’s appearance.

The rugged appearance has greatly diminished. His hairless, mantle-like face had disappeared, and a shaggy gray beard had grown on his chin. I don’t know if it’s a change that came about as an adventurer, or a change caused by other factors.

“Is it really Theodora?”

Pierre was still wary. Pierre, who had spat out the words, shook his head, touching his forehead, not even thinking about listening to the answer.

“No, sorry.”

“Instructor,”

Pierre raised a chair that had been spread out in Theodora’s demonstration of skill and sat down. The adventurers secretly began to notice Pierre. Pierre was looking sideways at the gazes of the adventurers heading towards him.

“What are you doing, don’t look at things.”

“But… Mr. Anton…”

“What are you saying when you see that one-eyed bastard go out alone and look like that? If you haven’t died in moderation, move it to the corner of the guild. Clean up the mess later.”

Pierre took a seat in the corner and gestured to the chair across from him.

“Sit down, Theodora.”

Theodora followed Pierre’s words and went over to the chair across from her and sat down. Pierre’s face, cast in deep shadows, made him look many times older than his original age. The adventurers seemed to be hanging around, waiting to see what happened. Rather than being vigilant, it was an act close to simple curiosity.

“They aren’t the ones who will go just because they say go. don’t mind I won’t apologize.”

“…Are they close friends?”

“What are you friends with?”

Pierre slightly bowed his head to Theodora, looked back at the adventurers, and tightened his brows as if he was annoyed. Pierre shook his head excitedly at the adventurers who slipped away.

“Am I not the type of person who is far-fetched? After helping adventurers in trouble once or twice, I ended up getting entangled like this. Thanks to that, I don’t have anything to be bored after I retire.”

Pierre had a look of longing as if recalling memories.

“…You have good colleagues.”

Pierre smiled at Theodora’s words.

“Let’s call it useless meddling. Maybe it’s karma for messing around with them first.”

The sound of footsteps slowly recedes. After tying up the one-eyed adventurer who had fallen over the counter, adventurers began passing by.

“You look a little emaciated.”

“Well, even emaciated.”

Pierre’s eyes changed.

“How did you get here?”

“Professor Weaving, so…”

“I guess you heard the story from the medic.”

Theodora nodded. Pierre looked at Theodora’s face with frowning eyes.

“Looks like you’re emaciated.”

Pierre leaned back in his chair.

“Isn’t the job of a knight easy even for a genius like you?”

“People who say things are easy aren’t geniuses, they’re just people who don’t do things right.”

Pierre let out a laugh.

“Yeah, that’s right. You’re doing it right.”

Theodora couldn’t help but laugh.

“…Okay, what happened? If you came here on purpose, it wouldn’t be normal.”

“I want you to tell me a story.”

“…”

While Pierre hesitated to answer, Theodora pulled out a small pouch from her bosom and set it on the table. A golden coin peeked out through the slightly untied pocket. Pierre looked surprised at the unexpected amount.

“hey.”

“For the price of hearing the story, I think it’s enough.”

Pierre sighed and pushed out his pockets.

“Not required. how do i get this With just one story to tell.”

“I have no intention of taking it back.”

Perplexed, Pierre looked at the pocket and gently pulled it toward him. Pierre’s eyebrows twitched once more at the weight of the bag, which was considerably heavier than it looked. Pierre’s thick hand ran through his rough beard as if wrapping it around. He seemed to be contemplating what to start with. Pierre took a deep breath and straightened his expression.

“How far have you heard, Professor Matilda Weaving.”

“For some reason, the two of them were asked to retire together, and the pressure from the Benning family was very deeply involved in a series of events related to that retirement.”

Pierre nodded at Theodora’s brief explanation.

“The story of encountering Count Benning while nursing a seriously injured Maxim…”

“Yeah. I know because I heard it.”

“Why didn’t the professor say more?”

“What else happened there?”

Pierre sighed.

“First, let me ask you some questions. What did you want to know?”

“Maxim.”

Theodora immediately opened her mouth.

“What happened to Maxim then, and what happened to Instructor and Professor Weaving?”

rattle.

There was the sound of an overturned chair at the counter being turned.

“her…”

Pierre looked up at the ceiling and exhaled a long sigh.

“It was only when Count Benning visited Maxim that he realized that Maxim was cursed.”

Theodora’s expression hardened. The clenched fists dug into the palms and made a popping sound.

“I guess you knew that Maxim was cursed.”

“…”

Then, while the Count was in the infirmary, Surgeon Matilda Weaving dragged Pierre Fabien out of sight of the escort driver.

‘What happened all of a sudden?’

‘It’s a curse.’

‘What?’

Matilda Weaving’s eyes, I remember, were trembling with fear at the time.

‘That’s also a very bad curse.’

‘What does that mean…’

Matilda Weaving brought her index finger to her mouth.

‘You mean that Maxim fell like that because of a curse?’

‘I’m not sure what the curse is, but the condition of the scars I saw at first glance…’

condition of the scar.

Theodora did not dare to guess what else could be said here.

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No, I hate to guess.

But the worst assumptions constantly burrowed into Theodora’s head.

scar.

The final exam, cut by the sword of the living armor, the scar that should have remained after Theodora healed it.

What have you done to that Guardian? Or not.

“I’m a novice when it comes to magic, but I can understand what you’re saying.”

Then, he remembered the story Matilda Weaving had told him.

“They say the curse of lack of emotion is the most dangerous curse.”

“…feelings…”

Theodora was confused. Pierre, who had carefully watched Theodora’s expression, continued.

“I only looked at it for a short time, but they say it seems to be a curse for no reason or reason. I didn’t feel any malicious malice in the curse.”

Theodora looked at Pierre as if urging an explanation.

“…That word was kind of harsh.”

Outside, it started to rain lightly. Until the morning, the weather had been clear, but today the sky seemed to be very fickle.

“I personally started my investigation.”

“…an investigation?”

He shrugs, adding that Pierre has done nothing wrong. It must have been said as a joke, but Theodora, who had heard the joke, instead of laughing, looked down at the table with even more gloomy eyes.

“It must have something to do with the wound I got in the final exam at that time, so I wondered what kind of scheming was done in the Mage Tower.”

“…I wonder if the Mage Tower had a reason for that?”

At Theodora’s words, Pierre clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“I thought there was no way the Magic Tower would take the lead and do such a troublesome thing… After entering the dungeon again, I changed my mind.”

A strangely tidy dungeon. As if nothing had happened, all traces were gone. And what the elimination said was so shameless and even terrifying.

“Whether you guys think this is suspicious or suspicious of us, it doesn’t give a damn. That there’s no need to worry And, it was also a warning not to think of a background investigation.”

Of course, Pierre had no intention of taking the warning straight away and giving up the investigation.

“I inquired through acquaintances who worked at the Magic Tower, and ran around with my body. I didn’t have anything to say about income… but then, the pressure to retire came in before I knew it.”

Pierre rolled up the sleeve of his forearm and showed it. There were countless scars on the forearm of the adventurer who was once a knight. The cuts and stab wounds became scars and remained like stigmas.

“So if you thought I would quit the investigation, you were mistaken.”

Pierre shrugged.

“It was dangerous. How many times did you try to attack me? I don’t know if it’s the magic tower or the Benning side, but I think it’s probably the Benning side.”

“Were you still in the royal capital?”

“Even if you leave the capital, it doesn’t mean that their witchcraft won’t go crazy. On the contrary, it only increases the probability of death by death with the family.”

Pierre’s fingers tapped the bag of gold rather nervously.

“…sorry.”

Seeing Theodora bowing her head to him, Pierre felt a little guilty.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t even have to be angry with you.”

When Theodora’s sunken mood showed no signs of improving, Pierre decided to continue his explanation.

“The Magic Tower maintains a very close relationship with the Benning family. It’s a story that most people interested in the situation in the capital would know, but the relationship between the two was closer than I thought. don’t you know?”

Pierre spoke to Theodora as if talking to a stranger. It was as if he was trying to say something, but Theodora just nodded slowly and showed no reaction.

“I knew we had frequent exchanges. However, my father… Earl Benning always taught me the core issues of the family.”

“…Right.”

Pierre’s eyes narrowed. As if he was trying to think of something. Then he looked up at Theodora. What dwelled in those eyes was none other than sympathy and pity.

“…I don’t know if you can really handle the story behind this.”

“Even if you can’t handle it, you have to listen.”

Theodora gritted her teeth inevitably. If he goes back to the uninhabited land without gaining anything from here again, his sins will remain in the hearts of Maxim and Theodora forever in the form of a misunderstanding.

“It was Benning who gave the blueprints for the dungeon to your final exams, the Mage Tower.”

Pierre continued with his eyes closed and his head tilted back, as if he did not want to see Theodora’s expression at all.

“It was the Bening family who put you and Maxim in the order of entering the dungeon last, and it was the Bening family who made the structure of the dungeon change at the same time as you guys.”

Fog.

The fog of confusion shook Theodora’s mind.

A guardian of the dungeon that was so powerful that it was difficult to handle at the level of a knight candidate.

Theodora’s head was telling her to accept it as true, but her mouth was instinctively trying to deny it.

“…Unbelievable…”

But Pierre’s words did not stop.

“And, it wasn’t just dungeon design that the Mage Tower was asked to do.”

no.

If Theodora listened to Pierre, then. It seemed that something irreversible would happen to him.

Do not say.

need to know

An argument broke out in Theodora’s head. The hustle and bustle of the adventurer’s guild penetrated the bickering and made my head dizzy.

It was strange. The noise must have filled his head so that no sound could reach his ears, but strangely enough, Pierre’s words were clearly transmitted to Theodora through the noise.

“A potion with a curse.”

Blood trickled down from Theodora’s fist.

“…you don’t have to tell me where to use it, you know.”