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Paula’s Resolve – Part 06

The next day, at dusk.

A room in Duke Nightblaze’s mansion had been cleared of people. The reason was the arrival of two visitors. Many knew them to be renowned adventurers who had come to the estate a few days ago.

These two women met with the Duke, and after a while, the head butler cleared the room in a hurry.

“Everything is ready. Please begin. His body temperature has been dropping significantly since this morning, and he’s not waking up.”

“Understood.”

Nodding grimly, Sophie opened the wooden box she had brought. Inside were fairly large vials and parchment inscribed with magic formula.

“Oh,” the Duke breathed.

The eyes of the head butler, the only other person allowed in the room, widened. Rainbow-colored light emanated from the text and symbols depicted on the parchment.

“Sara, please open Galeicrada’s chest.”

“On it.”

“Wh-What about me? Is there anything I can do?!” the Duke asked.

“If it’s not too much trouble, could you hold Lord Galeicrada’s jaw so that his mouth stays open?”

“Understood.”

Sara swiftly unfastened Galeicrada’s nightwear, revealing his chest. He was emaciated, his skin pale, and his upper body looked too frail for his age.

“Let’s begin.”

Sophie removed the lid of the vial and poured half of its contents onto Galeicrada’s chest.

“What is this?!”

It was a bright red liquid, so pungent that the Duke thought it was the blood of some creature.

“Please remain quiet.”

Sophie placed the parchment on Galeicrada’s chest and pressed it down. Her right hand held the vial still.

“Gwaaah!”

“Galeicrada?!”

As the magic symbols on the parchment grew brighter, Galeicrada let out a loud, bestial roar. The Duke’s hand slipped off his son’s jaw.

“Please stay still!”

Anyone observing would have noticed that mana was being drained from Sophie’s body. Spellcasting using a formula didn’t require an incantation. However, it consumed a tremendous amount of magical power, and the light emitted by the formula was evidence of Sophie’s mana being converted.

“Open his mouth!”

“But…!”

“Quickly!”

“He’s in so much pain! Is this really a treatment?!”

In order to restrain the raging Galeicrada, Sara climbed onto the bed and pressed down on both of his legs, while his arms were held by the butler.

“Don’t you want him cured?!”

The Duke gritted his teeth. “Hang in there, Galeicrada!”

He grabbed his son’s face and forced his mouth open.

“Hngh!”

“Here it goes!”

Sophie thrust the vial into Galeicrada’s mouth. Red liquid spurted out from Galeicrada’s mouth, along with a muffled scream.

“Please hold him down properly!”

“Galeicrada, listen! This is medicine! It’s our last chance of curing you!”

The Duke stuck his finger into his son’s mouth. Galeicrada’s teeth dug at the Duke’s hand, tearing it, but the man tenaciously pried open the boy’s mouth anyway.

Sophie made Galeicrada drink the liquid again. It seemed to work this time, as Galeicrada’s throat moved.

“It’s hot!”

Sophie’s left hand, pressing on the parchment, grew scorching hot. The light grew brighter, casting a blinding glow in the dark room. Sophie’s mana supply was nearly drained; she had to stay focused to stop herself from collapsing. She couldn’t afford to faint at this moment.

Sophie endured it. She endured the heat in her left hand, the decrease in body temperature from the mana depletion, the intense nausea.

And then, within the blinding brightness, she thought she heard a small, cracking sound.

“The light is fading…”

The parchment on Galeicrada’s chest had been nearly reduced to ashes, the magic symbols transferring onto his pale skin.

“It… It worked.” Sophie fell backward and lost consciousness.

Sara jumped off the bed and picked up Sophie. The Duke and the servant turned their attention towards them.

“Guh…!”

The Duke’s bloody hand touched something slimy, and he quickly pulled his hand out of his son’s mouth. Galeicrada coughed.

“Galeicrada! Galeicrada!”

“Father… Wh-What happened?”

“Oh, Galeicrada…”

Galeicrada, who couldn’t utter a single word even when awake, finally spoke.

The curse had been lifted.

“Oh, Galeicrada, Galeicrada!”

“Father? Ugh, yuck… Is this… blood?”

“Young master!”

Even the head butler wept uncontrollably, tears streaming down his face.

“Stop crying and call my wife! No, call everyone! Gather everyone in this mansion!”

“R-R-Right away!” The butler ran off in tears.

“Sophie, hey, Sophie! Phew… Thank goodness, she just fainted.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Sara lifted Sophie in her arms. Nearby, the Duke was sobbing, embracing his son tight.

Life returned to the once deathly-silent mansion.

Deciding that disturbing them would be tactless, Sara left the room, carrying Sophie.

---

Meanwhile, Hikaru and his group were still at Brinkra’s house. They allowed Paula to recuperate to regain the blood that she had lost and get her body ready for a trip that would span several days.

On the night before their departure, after finishing their meal, Hikaru was called by Brinkra.

“Thanks for helping me clean up my senior’s mess,” she said.

Once Hikaru got used to the herbal tea she brewed, he couldn’t stop drinking it. This meant frequent trips to the restroom, which could be the tea’s medicinal properties aiding in the elimination of toxins from the body.

“We should be the one thanking you,” Hikaru replied. “This will be my last cup of tea.”

“You can take some tea leaves if you want.” Brinkra happily wrapped some tea leaves for Hikaru. “Somewhere in my mind, I always believed that someday Brunkvan and I would be able to see eye to eye. We studied under the same master and spent a long time together. We ended up parting ways after a fight, and I never tried to find him. I thought he would suddenly return and say something like, ‘I can’t feel like I’m really doing research unless it’s in this house.’ But it didn’t happen. He’s dead, and he wasn’t the person I had imagined him to be.”

Brinkra took a sip of tea from her cup.

“After learning about Brunkvan from you guys, I’ve been thinking about it. Somehow, I think I finally get it.”

“Get what?”

“That I didn’t understand Brunkvan. And the reason was that research was the most important thing to me, and I never seriously tried to understand who Brunkvan was as a person. I didn’t even know what he had been doing until he came to this house. Laughable, isn’t it?” There was self-deprecation in her voice. “So you must not fail, Silver Face.”

“…”

“You should talk to her face-to-face. Before it’s too late.”

“…I will.”

Hikaru stood up, thanked her for the tea, and left the room.

“Ah…”

He bumped into Paula as she was coming to the living room.

“Can I talk to you for a moment?” Hikaru asked.

“…Sure.”

He invited her outside. It was still summer, yet the twilit outdoors was already chilly. Hikaru sat down on a bench and removed his mask. Paula, keeping her distance from him, also took a seat and gently placed her mask on her lap.

Ever since she tried to commit suicide, a rift had formed between them. Paula avoided making eye contact with Hikaru, acted modestly, and appeared burdened by guilt.

Before it’s too late…

They might go their separate ways over something sudden and trivial. Hikaru had been turning a blind eye to that possibility.

Perhaps deep down, I thought that even if that happened, then so be it. That’s why I haven’t told her about my secret.

He consistently acted in a way that would help him maintain a psychological advantage over Paula. He never showed weakness, never let her find one, and tried to provide her with money whenever possible.

Perhaps all of that was just cowardice disguised as goodwill. One could even call it dirty.

“Paula, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

Seeing Hikaru clenching his hands tightly together, Paula swallowed.

She must have prepared herself when she left the party she formed with her childhood friends. She made up her mind to dedicate her entire life to me.

In contrast, he was a pathetic coward.

“Would you listen to what I have to say?” Hikaru said.

“Y-Yes.”

Hikaru stared into her eyes. What he was about to tell her was something only Lavia knew. He had thought that he would take this secret to the grave. Compared to what he was about to reveal, his abilities and his past life were minor issues in his mind.

“I… I killed Lavia’s father.”

Paula’s eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t show any further reaction. Rather than a lack of reaction, it seemed like it would take her some time to fully understand the meaning of his words.

But Hikaru couldn’t afford to wait. “When I was about to get caught, Lavia helped me escape. After that, she was wrongfully arrested, so I rescued her to repay my debt.”

“Um… I, uhh…”

“I had my reasons, but the truth remains the same. That’s why… I want to make Lavia happy, and I believe she wants that, too.”

“L-Lord Hikaru! I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything you just said.” Paula stood up and tried to leave, but Hikaru grabbed her hand.

“Please wait.”

His mask fell and rolled onto the ground.

“This is my biggest secret.”

“Why… Why are you telling me something so important?”

“To honor your resolve.”

They held each other’s gaze.

“You know now what I did. If you’re okay with that, would you stay in our party?”

Paula’s eyes snapped wide. “L-Lord Hikaru… That’s not fair…”

Tears started flowing down her cheeks.

Huh? Hikaru froze. Why is she crying? Was she so disgusted with what I did? Oh no, this is the worst possible situation.

“I… I wanted to offer my everything to you. I wanted to repay your kindness. If there was anything I could do for you, I would gladly give it my all. But if you say something like that… what else can I do?”

“No, I don’t want you to offer or sacrifice anything, or repay debts. I just want you to stay as a companion.”

“You’re too nice…”

Paula wrapped her hands around Hikaru’s. She then knelt down on the spot and lowered her face as if in prayer.

“My life belongs to you, now and forever, Lord Hikaru. If, by any chance, you see me not as an object but as a person, then I’ll become a loyal member of your party.”

Hikaru felt relieved. She was crying not from disgust, but from the overwhelming emotions.

“I think I unwittingly placed a burden on you,” Hikaru said.

“Please don’t worry about any of that. And you don’t have to be so polite when talking to me.”

“Huh? But you’re older than me…”

“You said you wanted me as a companion.”

“Um, yes. I did, I suppose.”

“Yes.”

Paula smiled through her tears. It felt like the rift between them was gone.

“It may take some time for me to get used to it, but I’ll do my best to adjust my tone.”

“And drop the formalities.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Let’s practice. Try it.”

“Okay, now you’re just pushing it.”

“Because we’re now companions.”

Paula wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. Her tone was playful, but her red cheeks said she was embarrassed.

With this, I’ve formed an inseparable bond with Lavia and Paula. I would have never thought I’d create such a complicated relationship when I was in Japan.

Hikaru looked up at the night sky while chatting with Paula.

Countless stars twinkled above the dense trees. Constellations and stars unfamiliar to him.

Since coming to this world, he had experienced many things he had never experienced before, but strangely enough, it didn’t feel bad at all.