49

“It seems that it’s due to the special student’s weakened state.”

“Weakened? Why?”

“Yes. He’s been having trouble sleeping for the past few days. I don’t know for sure, but it seemed like he was having nightmares.”

I stared at the guard, demanding an explanation.

The guard quickly continued with the explanation.

“He periodically screamed or woke up in a frenzy, seemingly disturbed by nightmares.”

“…That happened?”

“Yes. Eventually, he either stopped having nightmares altogether or refused to fall asleep.”

It was entirely new information to me.

Dante was so insistent about keeping his troubles to himself, and recently, I intentionally tried to distance myself from Lucian.

At least Liam was a reliable person when it came to handling affairs.

Still, as the personal manager in charge of Lucian, I hadn’t received such information until now…

‘Perhaps Dante deliberately blocked the information in the middle of things.’

I narrowed my eyes.

I had been quietly avoiding conflicts with Dante.

But it seemed like I needed to sort out this issue definitively.

Meanwhile, as if interpreting my silence in a different way, the guard hastily added.

“At first, Mr. Liam did recommend sleep-inducing medicine a few times. He said it was specially formulated to prevent nightmares.”

“But?”

“But… the special student kept refusing the sleeping pills, enduring through it.”

“Ah, so that’s it.”

I smirked briefly.

“He had no choice but to resort to calming incense, huh?”

Maybe because I was on edge, my words didn’t come out as smoothly.

“Screaming is noisy, and it would be troublesome if unnecessary commotion arises.”

“Uh, Lady Elzé.”

“Moreover, if he were to hit a wall and break something, it would likely become all of your responsibility.”

My smile deepened a little.

“So, whether it puts a strain on the special student’s body or not, the priority was to keep things quiet for now. Something like that, you get it?”

“….”

The guard closed his mouth, not knowing what to say.

Staring at the guard for a while, I tightly closed my eyes.

‘I got too worked up.’

After all, the guards weren’t guilty of anything.

Their role was merely to monitor and prevent students from escaping.

They didn’t get involved in things like prescribing medication in the first place.

On the contrary.

‘Considering their reaction, it seems like the mansion staff were trying to hide this incident.’

Giving quick notice of the situation was, in a way, praiseworthy.

“….”

After pondering for a moment, I pulled out the gold ring that was on my finger.

Then, I handed the ring to the guard.

“W-What is this?”

The guard’s eyes widened.

“It’s a token of appreciation for letting me know about the special student’s condition.”

I whispered gently.

“If something like this happens again in the future… you understand, right?”

“….”

For a moment, a greedy gleam appeared in the guard’s eyes.

Swallowing his dry saliva, the guard nodded respectfully.

“Of course.”

“Good. Then, you can leave now.”

I casually waved my hand.

The guard nodded and left the room with proper manners.

Now, only Lucian and I remained in the solitary cell.

“….”

I bit my lip and looked down at Lucian.

There aren’t many ways to detoxify from the tranquility fragrance.

First, the air in the room needs to be ventilated, allowing fresh air in.

And since the window is already open…

I slumped down beside Lucian’s bed.

Although the bed shook considerably, Lucian still kept his eyelids tightly closed.

Deep wrinkles formed on his forehead.

‘I guess it would be better to wake Lucian up?’

I pondered in my mind.

The most reliable way to confirm complete detoxification from the tranquility fragrance is to engage the patient in a conversation.

To check if the conversation is proceeding normally, if the thinking is clear, and if the words are pronounced clearly.

Observing these aspects is the most reliable method.

“Get up.”

I tried shaking Lucian’s body for now.

However, Lucian showed no signs of opening his eyes.

“….Ugh.”

Is he still wandering in the nightmare?

A faint groan escaped between his struggling lips.

“Your Grace, Your Grace… Haa.”

After attempting to wake Lucian a few more times, I grabbed his forehead and rubbed his cheek.

Slap!

This time, it seemed to have an effect.

Lucian’s eyelids slowly lifted.

His blurry gaze stared at me for a while.

And then.

“….Lady Lepherian.”

A muted voice flowed out.

‘I’m relieved; he can recognize people properly.’

I felt a bit relieved.

It seems Lucian’s cognitive abilities are somewhat intact.

“Yes, it’s me.”

“It’s been a while. How have you been?”

Lucian blinked and flashed a subtle smile.

It was a transparent smile with no shadows.

“Did you enjoy the debutante ball?”

“….”

I tightly sealed my lips.

‘He knew.’

My stomach twisted uncontrollably.

Perhaps this emotion was anger towards myself for not protecting Lucian.

If I was going to use that man, I should have at least ensured he wouldn’t end up like this.

Due to my incompetence.

Thinking only about my reputation.

So…

“I’m sorry.”

Despite clenching my lips, I impulsively spoke.

“I am your dedicated manager, and I didn’t even know such an incident occurred.”

In response, Lucian opened his eyes a little more forcefully.

“Why blame Lady?”

“What?”

“Lady didn’t prescribe the tranquility fragrance to me. Why?”

“Well, because I didn’t properly manage the people underneath me….”

“That logic is flawed. The recent person you managed wasn’t Lady Lepherian, but someone named Liam, right?”

Even in his blurred state of mind, Lucian calmly pointed out my flaws.

“Don’t unnecessarily feel guilty.”

“Your Grace, I…”

“I don’t want to see Lady whining.”

Lucian cut me off decisively.

I stared at Lucian’s stern face with an indescribable expression.

After a moment, Lucian lightly touched his swollen cheek and chuckled.

“I’ve never been slapped by my parents, you know.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“How does it feel? To be the first person to slap the cheek of the mighty Duke Kalleid, twice.”

“…It feels quite satisfying.”

“Is that so?”

Lucian chuckled when I responded with a playful tone.

“Pfft.”

Even I, who had been watching Lucian silently, couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Seeing that he had enough leisure to joke, it seemed that his condition wasn’t entirely bad.

Playfully, I teased Lucian.

“Your Grace, have you never tried alcohol? You were underage.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Lucian started to form a pouting expression but quickly furrowed his eyebrows, giving me a rebuke.

“Are you bragging about trying alcohol now?”

“It’s not bragging; I’m just stating the facts.”

I shrugged, smiling slyly.

“But considering that you took my words as bragging, you must envy me a bit, right?”

“…”

Lucian closed his mouth discontentedly.

I reached out and tidied Lucian’s hair that clung to his forehead.

“I saw your cousin brother today.”

“…Arthur?”

“Yes. He was shamelessly flirting with another lady without even realizing I was watching.”

I responded somewhat mischievously.

“So, I poured champagne on his head. I couldn’t stand the sight.”

“What?”

Lucian’s eyes widened, and then he burst into laughter, holding his stomach.

“Really? Ahaha!”

“Yes. It seems that your Grace has no judgment when it comes to people. Trusting and following such a guy.”

“Sigh, you’re right.”

Wiping the tears from the corner of his eyes with his finger, Lucian replied.

But that was only for a moment.

His blue eyes turned cold.

“So, when I escape from here… I plan to deal with him personally.”

His voice was filled with determination.

I felt somewhat satisfied.

But then…

“By the way.”

Lucian looked at me sideways with a serious gaze.

“Since you attended the debutante ball, did you dance with many men?”

“Well, yes.”

Technically, it was only with Dante and Benedict, but generally, a debutante was expected to dance with various men during the ball.

Lucian probably knew that.

Why was he asking such an obvious question?

I looked at Lucian in confusion.

“Well, I…”

Lucian was about to say something, but he suddenly averted his gaze.

Silence ensued.

“…”

“…”

Why is he acting like that all of a sudden?

It seems like he’s struggling with something…

I raised my eyebrows after pondering for a moment.

Could it be?

“Maybe I’ll have a chance to dance with you later, Your Grace.”

I teased Lucian in a soft voice, and he responded with a lighthearted remark.

“Why later? You can dance with me now if you want.”