Chapter 136
A few days later, Lea had completely recovered. However, she was troubled and agonized over something.
It was because, ever since that day, Calix hadn’t come to see her even once.
“…It’s true I was at fault. If that’s why he isn’t coming, I have nothing to say.”
But even so, she couldn’t just do as he wished. Partly because she wasn’t confident about having a child, but more so, she couldn’t make any decisions easily because of Lucy.
She already considered it a stroke of luck to have been given a new life; was it really right to continue her desire, even now that his original lover had appeared?
“I have to check on Lucy first, after all.”
It seemed like her worries wouldn’t be resolved otherwise, so Lea decided to seek out Lucy again. She also needed to find out why Lucy was in the Cantabria Empire at this time.
For that, she had no choice but to ask Derek for help.
When she called for Derek, he came to her readily.
“Who is it you’re looking for?”
“Yes.”
Derek, hearing Lea ask him to help find someone, looked slightly tense. He worried that the person she wanted to find might be a man, and an Esper at that.
“Is the person you’re looking for a man, by any chance?”
“No. She’s a woman.”
“Oh, I see.”
Hearing that it was a woman, Derek’s tense face relaxed immediately.
“She’s a woman with white hair and pink eyes… I saw her over by the back alley.”
“What brought you to the back alley?”
“…I took a wrong turn and ended up there.”
“That can happen. But it’s a dangerous place, so it’s best to be careful next time, my lady.”
“Yes, I’ll be careful.”
“Then alright, I’ll find her for you right away.”
Having received Derek’s assurance, she added the most important request.
“When you find her, please look into her mind. Find out why she came to the Cantabria Empire, when she crossed over, and also…”
She couldn’t quite bring herself to say the last part. Lucy was certainly a Guide, but how was she supposed to interpret that behavior from before?
As Derek waited for her to continue, Lea shook her head.
“I have nothing more to say. Is it alright if I leave it at this?”
“Yes, of course.”
“I’m really glad you’re here, Derek.”
Otherwise, her worries would have dragged on much longer.
“I’m the lucky one to have you, my lady.”
Derek, concealing his persistent gaze, conveyed his sincerity. Just that much was enough to make him happy.
* * *
While waiting for Derek’s report, Lea again wondered whether she should go see Calix or not.
She thought it was her fault for taking emergency contraception without discussing it with him first. Even if she did take it, she should have consulted him first.
But…
“It’s not like there’s anything between us anyway.”
As he had said, how could a commoner like herself ever end up with someone from the imperial family?
“No, the reason isn’t important.”
No matter what she told herself, Lea still couldn’t figure out what she really wanted. As she agonized, time quickly passed, and she started guiding Espers again.
She couldn’t go out to do volunteer work in the slums because Rose was against it, but she kept herself busy guiding a large number of Espers.
Some time later, Derek came to see her.
“I think I’ve found the person you mentioned… and, coincidentally, it seems she’s looking for you as well.”
“For me?”
“Yes.”
Derek had assumed the special Esper who made magic devices would naturally be a man. But when he investigated, it turned out she was a woman.
And since having white hair was a rare physical trait, it hadn’t taken long to find her, but there was a problem.
“She was asking around for someone matching your description.”
“Are you sure that’s enough to say she was looking for me?”
“…She was asking not only about your appearance, but also for a Guide. So it’s almost certain.”
There were only two Guides in the Cantabria Empire. For someone to be searching like that, did it mean they didn’t understand the current situation in Cantabria?
The more Lea learned about Lucy, the more confused she felt.
“The important thing is, that person has suddenly disappeared.”
“…What?”
“She’s someone you’ve probably at least heard rumors about. A special-type Esper who makes magic tools and only sells them through illegal channels. That’s the very person you were looking for, my lady.”
“That can’t be…”
Lea was utterly confused by the confirmation that Lucy was an Esper, just as she had suspected. She was even starting to question if the past she remembered had really happened at all.
How could someone who was a Guide in the past reappear as an Esper now?
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