Attachment Knight - Chapter 25

“Ah… I slept well.”

It’s been so long since I’ve had such a refreshing sleep. I stretched fully and basked in the pleasant sunlight pouring through the large window. My body felt light and my mind clear, which was rare. I hummed to myself as I moved around, but then I felt an unfamiliar warmth beside me and turned in surprise. There was an absurdly handsome man, and for a moment I wondered if I was still dreaming.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Radem?”

Looking closer, there were faint dark circles under his eyes. It looked like he hadn’t slept at all.

“Why are you here? Didn’t you go back to your room? Did you stay here all night?”

“I was held back by someone who wouldn’t let me leave.”

I held back a laugh. As expected, he really is a gentleman. He could’ve easily shaken off the hand I grabbed in my sleep, yet he stayed up all night. I was grinning when I noticed the way he was looking at me felt oddly strange.

“Why?”

What is that look, like he’s staring at an abandoned puppy?

Did I say something weird in my sleep?

“Did I confess my love to you or something while I was asleep?”

“…No. I’m glad you slept well. Then I’ll take my leave.”

Radem’s attitude felt a bit unsettling, but I decided not to dwell on it. The sympathy strategy isn’t bad for now either.

Having fulfilled his role as my ‘knight,’ Radem quickly left the bedroom. I wanted to stop him and tease him more, but if my escort ended up having problems from lack of sleep, that would be troublesome, so I let him go.

Knock, knock.

As soon as he left, a knock interrupted the room. Yerenika’s voice followed, pulling me back to reality.

“Miss, Don Pisano is looking for you.”

***

Click.

The door closed behind me. The man sitting at the desk in the study, bathed in the pale morning sunlight, turned his body slightly.

“You handled this matter well again.”

The corner of his lips lifted faintly, as if smiling yet not quite. His gaze was dry.

“Well done. I feel relieved not to have to see that irritating marquis’s face anymore. I’ve found a new distribution route to replace him. There’s no issue with the deal. It’s all thanks to you, Millicent.”

Tap. Tap….

My attention was fixed on Don’s fingers tapping the table.

“However, it seems there was a third party involved this time. The cleanup was done differently from how you usually do it. Did you bring Radem Rosenbauer into this?”

“He arrived at the right moment and helped me avoid trouble.”

“Trouble? Was there an issue in dealing with the marquis?”

“After that. There was an assassin’s attack.”

“Did you find out whose pawn it was?”

“….”

I kept my mouth shut and looked at him. Perhaps he understood the unspoken meaning, because Don let out a weary sigh.

“Ah, that child again… I told her firmly not to, yet she’s still playing around with you.”

It’s not playing around.

The words that rose to my throat, I didn’t bother to say.

“I’ll give her a stern warning.”

I already knew that, this time too, Don would only end it with a ‘warning’ to the woman trying to take my life.

Don Pisano cannot punish Grisha. As long as he needs her knowledge and power for the ancient sorcery experiments he has devoted his life to, even if I end up crippled by that woman, or my face is ruined beyond recognition, Don will be powerless. Even if I lose my life, he will still be powerless.

“The experiment just needs to be completed. Once everything is finished, I will take revenge on Grisha for you. If you want her dead, I’ll personally become your reaper. So endure it just until then.”

When will that future Don always talked about like a habit ever come? I wonder if I’ll even live to see it.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No. Radem protected me.”

“….”

Overcome with emotion, I blurted out something I shouldn’t have. Don, who had been leaning casually against the desk, straightened and looked at me. A faint irritation flickered in his slightly narrowed eyes.

“That’s fortunate. It seems you’ve trained him into a very loyal hound. Looks like things are going according to plan.”

“Have I ever failed?”

I answered calmly enough to sound arrogant, but a bad feeling crept in.

“He showed no interest in women to the point of seeming impotent. And yet he reacts to you. I really did raise you well, Millicent.”

“….”

My gaze dropped to the documents on the table. They contained information about Radem. An illegitimate child of the Rosenbauer ducal house. His life, treated not as a son but as a hunting dog, was recorded in detail.

“It seems he can’t ignore someone like you. With such an unusual past, he’d willingly protect you as a knight. From your perspective, how far do you think he’s fallen for you?”

“…Almost.”

“Any new information about him?”

The holy power that flowed through Radem’s palm and into my body flashed through my mind. Those pitch-black eyes waited for my mouth to open. His gaze was so dark it felt like it would pierce straight through my thoughts.

I licked my dry lips.

Radem lost part of his childhood memories and uses the power of the Goddess Libra. He said the amusement park of Omelas felt familiar.

If Don Pisano learns all of this, he’ll surely be pleased, and he’ll refine his schemes even further to corner Radem. As a reward, he’ll cherish and favor me even more.

“Have you never doubted him?”

“Is that why you cling to him? Because you don’t want to be abandoned?”

“….”

At that moment, it felt like something was blocking my throat. I couldn’t meet Don Pisano’s eyes. In the end, I stayed silent about what the man who was practically my entire life desperately needed. It was the first time.

“There wasn’t anything new I found out.”

I had never deceived Don Pisano on anything important, nor had I ever even thought of doing so.

So why did I do that?

Maybe it was defiance. A petty form of revenge against Don Pisano, who never properly punished Grisha.

“Well, fine. There’s still time.”

“….”

After staring at me intently, he slowly looked away. I swallowed the sigh of relief that threatened to escape and clasped my hands behind my back. My clenched fists were damp with sweat. Thankfully, my well-practiced acting kept him from noticing my agitation.

“Do well. Make sure he can’t escape you.”

He didn’t seem to suspect that I would deceive him. A trace of guilt stirred inside me, but I ignored it. I’m a little spiteful right now too.

“And….”

He bent down and pressed his lips close to my ear.

“Offer him as a sacrifice with your own hands.”

“….”

“Kill him yourself.”

“….”

Under his shadow, I smiled.

“Of course. Don’t worry, Don.”

I clasped my hands behind my back and spun lightly in place.

“Have I ever failed a task you entrusted to me?”

I staggered a little, but it was still a perfect turn. A gentle smile appeared on Don’s face. The one I love, the rare, human smile he shows.

“It feels like we haven’t spent time together lately. Tomorrow, shall we go out near Circus Town….”

Just as Don softly stroked my hair, the sound of knocking intruded. Without even being told to enter, the door creaked open.

A moment later, the person who appeared stared quietly at Don and me as we stood in affectionate, familiar contact. The expression vanished from my face as soon as I recognized the intruder.

“Don.”

A woman’s voice, calm and clear like a single drop of water falling in ruins, cut between us. Don, still holding me, lifted his head. I reflexively studied his expression.

Anger at someone barging into his study without permission?

Annoyance at having his time with me interrupted? Irritation? Reproach? Or perhaps welcome?

I searched for even a trace of emotion, but Don’s demeanor was as composed and impassive as the woman’s.

“Grisha. What is it?”

“Do I need a reason… to come see you?”

“Stop playing with words. As you can see, I’m busy. What do you need?”

The coolness in his voice pleased me. Clinging to Don’s collar, I put on a deliberately provoking expression, and Grisha turned her gaze toward me. A painted smile appeared on her face, one that wouldn’t waver even if a bomb went off beside her.

“The materials you mentioned before. I’ve obtained them.”

“It must have been difficult to procure them. You’ve done well.”

“They’re materials where freshness is important. You’ll need to come to the basement right now to take a look. Would that be difficult?”

“….”

She continued to smile leisurely at me. Judging by her meek demeanor and calm tone, no one would believe that she was a murderer who had tried to assassinate me multiple times. That wretched woman had endured at Don’s side for a long time by hiding her dark, vile nature beneath a docile and powerless exterior, skillfully using and evading situations.

Ah. If Don Pisano’s lifelong wish is to complete that damned magic circle, then my lifelong wish is to flay that bitch’s face, tear off her limbs, and throw her to a pack of dogs on the plains. If she didn’t wear that annoying sorcery like armor, I would have stabbed her to death hundreds of times already.

“By the way, Millicent.”