48

[The carriage?]

[I’ll have it ready. Please wait a moment.]

Without a second urging, the maid hurried away.

Afterwards, the carriage was quickly prepared.

I was on my way to the damn boarding school.

“…Ah, I’m tired.”

I let out a short sigh and leaned back in the chair.

The dress draped over my body felt as heavy as wet cotton.

The high-heeled shoes I had been wearing all day tightened around my feet like a snake.

Although I felt like throwing off these shoes immediately and escaping to a place without the male protagonists of this world,

I gritted my teeth and ignored the throbbing pain in my aching feet,

‘It can’t be helped.’

I consoled myself with great difficulty.

How far had we traveled?

In the distance, Rose Cross Boarding School came into view.

Looking at that magnificent sight, my heart felt as heavy as a lump swallowed.

Squeak—clang!

The iron lattice door, delicately carved with rose vines, opened.

The carriage smoothly glided inside.

Running as if on ice, it came to a stop in front of the main building.

However,

‘Something seems strange.’

I squinted my eyes.

It was now well past 1 a.m.

However,

‘There are lights on in the main building.’

Usually, at this time, most people would be asleep.

Leaving only the gas lamps near the entrance on, most of the lights were turned off.

In addition, there was a strange commotion in the air.

Then, at that moment.

“Lady Elze!”

A security guard urgently ran towards me.

As the caretaker of Rose Cross Boarding School, I knew the faces of all the staff, but even considering that, this face seemed unusually familiar.

It was inevitable.

There were only a few security guards assigned to the annex.

“What’s going on?”

“Th-the special student…!”

At that moment, I felt my heart sink.

It was only natural since there was only one person currently held as a special student in Rose Cross Boarding School.

Lucian von Kalleid.

…The male protagonist essential for my escape.

“Why is the special student here?”

“W-well, his condition is not good. We…”

“Alright, let’s go see.”

I cut off the security guard and quickly moved forward.

In the distance, I could see maids and servants from the annex gathering clumsily.

As soon as they saw me, they fell into contemplation and lowered their heads.

As if even making eye contact with me was frightening.

“Um, Lady Elze?”

I furrowed my brows and pointed to the door with a nod.

“Open the door.”

Clang!

The door to the solitary confinement where Lucian was imprisoned opened.

The most prominent sensation was the sense of smell.

‘What is this smell…?’

I narrowed my eyes.

A pungent, herbal scent that seemed like someone was burning herbs brushed against my nose.

It was the scent of incense.

A fragrance with the power to calm an excited person.

Unlike Nix, this scent posed little harm to the human body as long as there wasn’t prolonged exposure. Doctors were known to prescribe this calming scent for medical purposes.

However.

‘There’s no trace of the calming scent around.’

If the calming scent had been burned, there should have been an incense burner in place, but it was missing.

Yet, the fragrance of the calming scent still lingered inside the cell.

In other words.

Although the calming scent had been cleared away in advance, the smell hadn’t completely dissipated.

So, why was the calming scent removed?

‘Well…’

My mind was dyed white with raging anger.

‘Probably to conceal the fact that the calming scent was burned.’

The recommended daily usage of the calming scent was no more than three hours. Yet, if the scent remained so strong, it must have been burned throughout the day.

And the most significant evidence was…

‘The frightened expressions of the staff.’

Glancing at each other, lowering their heads to avoid eye contact with me, their trembling figures were typical of those who had committed a transgression.

Tick, tock.

Approaching the bed, I looked down at Lucian.

“Lucian.”

Lucian lay sprawled on the bed.

Cold sweat clung to his pale forehead, and his breathing was shallow, as if he were having a severe nightmare.

“When I last saw him… he wasn’t in such bad condition.”

I sharply turned to the maid who was standing nearby.

“Who prescribed the calming scent to the special student?”

“W-well…!”

The maid’s face turned pale in an instant.

Looking at her, I was convinced.

“It seems like the staff acted independently.”

For now, Liam couldn’t be the culprit.

Liam was an exceptional talent to the extent that the meticulous Dante had him as a personal secretary. Given that, Liam couldn’t be unaware of Lucian’s value as a special student.

Moreover, the maid’s expression, as if she were about to faint, revealed something valuable. If even after seeing that expression, they couldn’t identify the culprit…

‘That would truly be a disgrace.’

A chilling voice flowed like ice from my lips.

“You acted on your own accord.”

“Uh, Lady Elze!”

The maid hurriedly tried to stammer out an excuse, but my hand was quicker.

Crack!

“Ack!”

A new scream burst from the maid’s mouth.

It was because I had tightly gripped her throat.

I leaned my face against the maid’s, growling softly.

“I’ve told you this before, haven’t I?”

“What? W-What are you…?”

“If anyone harms my exclusive student, they’ll never see the sunlight from tomorrow onwards.”

The maid’s eyes widened in an instant.

That’s right.

I was talking about Victor now.

Officially, it was announced that Victor resigned due to urgent matters.

However, everyone at the boarding school instinctively knew the fate that awaited Victor.

That was only natural, as those who disappeared in such a manner…

never once revealed themselves to the outside world afterward.

“Lady Elze!”

The maid desperately called my name.

“P-Please forgive me, I…”

Eyes filled with terror begged for mercy.

And I mercilessly trampled on that plea.

“It seems like the staff at the annex needs a replacement.”

“No, please, no!”

Tears began to fill the maid’s eyes.

At the same time, the guards who had been trailing behind me like shadows politely asked me a question.

“What would you like us to do, Lady Elze?”

“Do whatever you want.”

I twisted the corner of my lips.

“Lock all the staff from the annex in the underground prison.”

Instantly, despair spread over the maid’s face.

“Let me go! Lady Elze! Please, please…!”

The maid thrashed about, but she couldn’t overcome the strength of the robust guards.

Simultaneously, sporadic screams began to echo from elsewhere.

“What the hell is going on!”

“Let go! I said let go!”

The guards, obeying my orders, had presumably taken other staff members with them.

Well, after being thrown into the underground prison, Dante would take care of the rest.

Whether to kill or spare them, it was up to him.

‘And typically, Dante prefers the option of eliminating them.’

But I no longer cared about them.

To me, there was only one important person.

‘Are you sure you only smoked calming incense?’

Examining Lucian’s condition closely, I threw the question with a sharp tone.

‘I know that a person wouldn’t convulse to this extent with just calming incense.’

Originally, calming incense was developed for the treatment of patients with oversensitive nerves. When used in the right quantity and time, it didn’t put much strain on the body.

Well, it might have been available for ordinary staff to use freely, but…

‘Yes. Nothing else has been used besides calming incense.’

The guard nodded obediently.

I felt genuinely relieved.

However, it was short-lived.

I sensed tension creeping in.

“But why is the special student in this state?”

Why was Lucian lying on the bed like this?

I had to hold back the urge to scream right now.

I couldn’t comprehend the current situation at all.

Lucian was the male protagonist of this world.

Even if he had used calming incense for a long time and put a strain on his body, he shouldn’t have collapsed so easily.

Above all, he seemed relatively fine when I managed him.

It had only been a few weeks, and he had deteriorated so much…

“…That’s because…”

A guard, who had been rolling his eyes for a moment, cautiously opened his mouth.