Antagonist Protection Service-Chapter 72: Cold (7)

Exactly 90 days have passed since I accepted the Red Contract.

Ever since the "duel" with Kran Vyckard, things proceeded with minimal incident.

By that, I'm talking both good and bad.

Surprisingly enough, he kept up his end of the agreement throughout the subsequent weeks. I thought he might throw a temper tantrum saying I cheated or whatever, but since there was no rule stating magic couldn't be used, he seemingly took the defeat in stride.

Rather, he ended up finding me the day after, telling me how impressed he was at how quick I was able to cast such powerful magic to blow him off course, saying he's never been bested by a mage before.

In the eyes of the people from this world, the Black Wisp really was no more than a peculiar-shaped magic wand, so I guess, like what Lucretia first thought, it counted as magic to them.

I suppose, in the original work, there might have been a duel between him and one of the other 「targets of interest」, and though nothing like this current reality, it made me curious about who would win there.

Anyway, what's good is that I didn't have to worry about him continuing to pursue the Protagonist, and thankfully, the same goes with the other two love interests I talked to, Mikhael Avalon and Joádin Lomaziere, the saint and the mage.

Well, I've only seen the former on occasions where Lucretia prayed in the Temple, but as for the latter, I haven't seen or heard from him once since the first time we talked.

It was without a doubt a little disconcerting, but I was sure things would be fine.

Incidentally, whenever we did visit the Temple, although my connection with the Librarian was cut off each and every time, there was no further dialogue with the Winter Mother, for better or for worse.

All in all, things were "OK".

I continued my role as Lucretia's attendant and bodyguard without much thought.

I had almost-daily 「scenes」 with the Protagonist, able to keep up my affection-building interactions with her with no disruptions or disturbances from the other 「targets of interest」.

There was only one of them left as competition, and that guy was dumb as all hell, so of course there would be no disturbances.

We even had the occasional 'friend date' on Sunday mornings and noons―so long as I made it back to the residence in time for Lucretia's dance practice, I could do pretty much whatever I wanted.

If I had one major gripe with the situation, it was that there seemed to be a 'wall'.

A wall between me and the Protagonist that couldn't be overcome now matter how close our relationship became.

No matter what, she just wouldn't let go the secret of her hidden power.

Over time, I gradually came to realise that it must be due to lacking some sort of 'key event'.

The Librarian was the one who helped me figure that part out, and that's when I realised I likely had no choice but to wait until such a special event arose.

There was only one such event I could imagine being the key, and so all I could do was wait.

Ultimately, the days flew by as I got swept up in the monotonous routine, and here we are.

Six days before the engagement ball.

"―Are you nervous? You're making mistakes."

Lucretia and I were in the middle of our Sunday dance practice as usual.

"How insulting. You think that I, the empire's one and only archduchess and its future empress, would be nervous about a mere coming-of-age ceremony? My body is simply exhausted from extensive preparations."

"I think you are nervous. See, what made you think I was talking about that? I never said anything about the ceremony, did I?"

A moment rolled by when she clicked her tongue, averting her gaze.

"Tsk... Put less effort into over-analysing the words and actions of the one you serve, and more into your footwork. It is yet lacking."

"You're the one who wanted me to dance poorly on purpose. If I put effort into dancing well, then it wouldn't be very good practice for the prince, now would it?"

"..."

"Come on, put some oomph into it. It's your birthday in less than a week, are you gonna be this grumpy during the dance then too?"

Since I started serving her, I've become increasingly comfortable with teasing Lucretia. She's only a year older than Gil, my little brother, so I think I might have begun to see her more as a sister than someone I'm just here to help.

Well, to be honest, her stringent personality and that dignified appearance she likes to put on makes her fun to tease when she tries to save face in front of me.

She probably looks scary to others her age, but as someone who's been glued to her side every day for the last three months, I can state with full confidence that she's also a teenage girl just like any other.

That's why, watching her strut around as a high noble, calling herself the distinguished "Young Lady Archduchess" and acting as if she's above everyone, was funny. I do think she takes herself a little bit too seriously a lot of the time, but it's not like I can't understand why.

At the end of the day, she acts in a manner befitting that of the future empress whenever she makes an appearance in public, and even in private around the residence she doesn't tend to relax.

Honestly, I think the times she feels she can truly let go are few and far between, so I do try to ease her tension whenever I see she's pushing herself too hard.

This, too, is one of those times.

Because of that, I feel as if I've gotten a bit sentimental recently.

I'm only going to be here for six more days before I'm gone forever.

If you were to ask me a couple of months ago, I would say that whatever happened after I left didn't concern me. In fact, I'm sure I held those sorts of thoughts rather frequently.

Logically, even, it still makes sense.

But, emotionally speaking, I suppose it would be a lie to say my answer hasn't changed.

If possible, I didn't want to leave this world in a bad state for Lucretia.

Even if she was the Antagonist, she's not an evil being. Rather, she's just a person.

That's why, I've actually been contemplating something recently. There was still one thing I needed to figure out to make sure it would work, but I didn't think it would be too difficult.

"...Enki."

"Mm? Is something wrong?"

Interrupting my thoughts, Lucretia abruptly stopped in the middle of our dance. Looking up to meet my eyes, she asked bluntly.

"You'll be departing after the ceremony, won't you?"

I nodded.

"As I've said before, yes."

There was a transient pause, during which her eyes flickered down for a moment, before she replied.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

"...I see. You should ensure you are well-prepared for the journey, then."

Sensing something in her cold, crimson eyes that seemed to ponder something before she turned her face away, I smirked.

"What's this...? Are you worried?"

Immediately, she turned back to me with a frown.

"Are you perhaps delusional? Unless one is a merchant, a businessperson, or another kind of rat, it is inappropriate for a noble to overly concern themself with the personal affairs of others. Simply, I wish for you to not leave any personal articles behind in my residence; as you are well aware, I am a person whose schedule never wanes, and dealing separately with the consequences of your negligence would be an unnecessary sink of my own valuable time."

Absorbing her blunt chastisement like a sponge, my smile remained unfazed.

"That's an awfully complicated way to say I should take care on my journey. Well, don't worry. We still have a few days, right?"

"..."

Watching her mute self only frown lightly in response, I lightly ruffled her hair before quickly stopping, seeing her evident displeasure skyrocket.

"Anyway, should we continue with the practice or do you want to take a break?"

Appearing to hesitate for a moment, she let out a small sigh.

"...Let us rest. Even when you don't try, your body has become too accustomed to the dance to be proper practice for His Highness any longer. I feel all purpose in it has been lost."

"I've been feeling it a bit in the last couple of weeks too. Alright then."

Concluding our practice there, she walked over to change her heels and dress to something more comfortable. In the meantime, I turned to face and look out the window that overlooked the vast nightscape of the Imperial Capital, taking in that picturesque sight I had grown accustomed to over the past months.

The ball was on Saturday, so this was the last practice session anyway. Ending it a little early wouldn't make a difference if she didn't feel like there was any benefit.

At some point, I heard a small voice echo from a distance behind me.

"Incidentally, that parasite... You still haven't told me how you plan on dealing with Lady Tichá."

Hearing such curiosity flow into my ears, I paused.