Chapter 43
“…Well, who’s to say.”
Calix kept bringing up unrelated topics, preventing Lea from bringing up her request that he stop calling her ‘Sister’ and using honorifics.
He found himself enjoying the situation enough to forget that he’d forced himself to come here in the first place. The way her golden eyes kept trying to avoid his drew his interest more and more.
“Lady Haisley.”
At that moment, Rose entered, bringing the palace physician with her. Her ragged breathing made it clear she had rushed over.
“Rose.”
Lea, who had been unable to hide her discomfort all this time, lit up like a soldier spotting an ally on the battlefield. Calix felt a strange emotion at the sight of her relieved expression.
“Yes, Lady Haisley.”
“Please… just for a moment…”
Lea reached out toward Rose. She had been holding on with sheer willpower, on the verge of collapsing since earlier. With Calix behaving especially unpredictably today, she hadn’t known what to do. Thankfully, Rose had shown up at just the right time.
She really didn’t want to collapse in front of him.
“Lady Haisley?”
Zion, still tense and on edge, reacted immediately at the sight of Lea’s faltering.
“My lady!”
The moment Rose took her hand, Lea collapsed. Rose tried to catch her, and Zion moved in at the same time, but no one was faster than Calix, who wielded wind-based powers.
Lea’s body floated lightly into the air. Calix gently laid her, drenched in cold sweat, back onto the bed.
“Please, hurry!”
Rose urged the physician, who immediately sliced through the blood-soaked fabric of her jacket and shirt with a knife.
Though she was not a noble, she was still the biological daughter of Bianca, who had become royalty—so the physician tried to expose as little of her bare skin as possible.
Meanwhile, Rose glanced about nervously before addressing Calix, Zion, and Ilion.
“Your Highness, I beg your pardon, but could I ask you all to leave the room?”
“…Very well.”
“Please also forgive me for skipping formalities. We must first treat Lady Haisley’s wounds.”
“That much I understand. Don’t worry about it.”
“Thank you.”
With Calix’s consent, both Ilion and Zion had no choice but to follow him out.
Even so, Zion discreetly took one of the cloth scraps the physician had cut off as he exited. He had glanced at the jacket and shirt pieces and found them completely intact, which struck him as suspicious.
There were clearly no rips or holes. That wasn’t consistent with a wound caused by a tree branch.
He suspected that Lea had been moving around the hunting grounds not in human form, but as a fox. If so, she could have been mistaken for game and attacked.
Wondering why she would do something so risky, Zion left the room and, after bowing to Calix, headed off—planning to return to the hunting grounds.
“I’ll excuse myself now.”
Just then, Calix—who had said nothing until now—held out his hand toward Zion and gave an order.
“Hand it over.”
“…Pardon? I’m not sure I understand.”
“I’m talking about the item you took from my sister’s room just now.”
Zion couldn’t hide the awkward look on his face.
“You didn’t steal something of hers… did you?”
With Calix now staring coldly, Zion saw no other option but to hand it over.
Rank aside, he had just seen firsthand that no physical-type Esper could match the power of an elemental Esper like Calix.
And it was exactly why he’d felt so uneasy around him.
“I only took it because I wanted to know how Lady Haisley was hurt. Please don’t misunderstand.”
Though Zion couldn’t hide his discomfort, the way he handed it over was polite. That caused Ilion’s previously flushed face to ease slightly.
“There’s blood on the jacket and shirt, but not a single tear. Unless she was injured while undressed, that doesn’t make sense.”
“…Well. I should return now. Please excuse me.”
Before Calix could press further, Zion turned and quickly vanished.
“…My brother’s acting a little strange.”
“What do you mean?”
“The brother I know didn’t like Lady Haisley. He even used to call her an obstacle to the Empress, just in passing.”
“Really? He looked pretty desperate just now.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Don’t you think… he might be being blackmailed or something? He’s not exactly the most upright man.”
“Hah. You’re pretty harsh to your own brother.”
“Frankly, the moment he sided with the Empress, he became no different from an enemy.”
“…Yeah. Thanks.”
“My apologies.”
Ilion felt strangely unsettled by Calix’s response. Since both his father, Duke Grayson, and his brother were on the Empress’s side, he couldn’t be of much help to the Crown Prince.
Currently, Ilion wasn’t receiving any support from his family either, so unlike a typical duke’s second son, even his clothing was often modest.
Calix, aware of such circumstances, didn’t say anything further and instead inspected the bloodstained cloth again.
The blood was dark and thick. This wasn’t the kind of injury one got from a simple scratch.
“She’s… hiding something.”
He didn’t yet know what, but it seemed likely to be connected to her sudden change in demeanor. Calix looked up at Lea’s palace with eyes full of curiosity.
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