I was so surprised that I fastened my collar.
How dare you dress disheveled in front of the Emperor? Of course, there have been times when I've been covered in blood and I feel like I've come too far to think about such things now... But there's a big difference between pretending to care and not pretending to care.
... In the meantime, where did the button go? After trying to close the collar around my neck where the button had disappeared, I gave up and glanced up to see what the Emperor was thinking.
Fortunately, he seemed to understand my embarrassed feelings and pretended not to notice.
"Check your wrists too. A bone had dislocated. I put it back in its place, but there might be a problem."
***
The Demon King's curse weakened the body. It was also because of this that the frequency of hemoptysis had increased. That was the information about the curse that Cruel knew. Nevertheless, the reason why it moved as normal as before was because the information was incorrect, or was it because of a vicious effort to not show weakness?
Cruel, or rather everyone in the room, including Cruel, was convinced of the latter as they watched Deon Hardt trying to quickly cover up the stigma.
'Even though he was bleeding, he didn't mention it and just held out his wrist saying it hurt.'
He even wiped the blood off his hands by rubbing it on the hem of his clothes.
The real weakness, hemoptysis, was covered up as casually as possible and a less important weakness was revealed instead. A weakness that had already been dealt with and was of little use even if known.
He wasn't drunk, and it wasn't a needless killing. The Emperor seemed to have noticed this as well and turned his head away, pretending not to see, and ordered the palace doctor to treat his wrist.
"The bone has already been fixed, so there is no need for any additional treatment. We will apply a bandage, so please refrain from using your wrist for the time being. And..."
There was no further comment. The palace guard, who looked like he was going to say something more, kept his mouth shut and looked at Deon with a tearful face. The way he held his hand tightly with both hands clearly showed that he felt sorry for him.
He understood his feelings, but it was difficult to do this. Weren't they revealing everything that each other had been hiding and pretending not to know?
He had to make it stop. But Cruel couldn't move. The Duke was watching. He had already done too much to raise suspicion, so it was dangerous for him to move any further, even for the sake of future work.
Instead, he looked back at the Emperor. Fortunately, he seemed to have the same thought and quietly called the palace doctor.
"Thank you for your hard work, go away. And you, Honorary Count Hardt, would do well to go back and rest."
"... Thank you for your consideration."
Deon turned his back. As if he wanted to prove that he was fine, he even refused the dedicated servant who cautiously offered to help him, and confidently left this space on his own feet.
His subordinate Senzer, who happened to be coming in, glanced at him and then cast his gaze at Cruel. Cruel paused as he lightly clenched and unclenched his fist while keeping his gaze in this direction.
'...I'm not feeling well.'
Should he do it?
It's a plan he made himself. He had someone keep an eye on him the whole time, and finally the opportunity came. You didn't have to experience it to know that it was an irreplaceable opportunity.
Implement his plan or postpone it... The worry was short-lived. Cruel looked around to see that the situation had been somewhat resolved and approached Senzer. He could feel the Duke looking this way, but he didn't show it.
"Go tell Deon. Just for today, don't just wander around the streets and go home right away."
He did.
He knew this was an irreplaceable opportunity.
***
Deon Hardt was subdued by the Emperor's hand and left the banquet hall.
The cause, Stigma Primero, who was quietly watching all of this, lowered his eyes and fell into thought.
As the situation calmed down and he became more relaxed, he saw something.
His junior Deon Hardt's drunkenness.
'He's used to it.'
It felt somehow familiar.
Such extreme drunkenness must be rare. Why on earth did it feel so familiar?
He could have just passed it over, but because it was strangely annoying, Stigma dug into it with a bit of uncharacteristic persistence. He recalled the situation from a little while ago, went back in time in his head, and looked at each detail one by one.
There was something that caught him off guard during the Emperor's words.
'Now it's time to return to reality.'
'This is not a battlefield.'
...Ah.
A drunk looking for an enemy. A remark made by the Emperor who overpowered him, telling him to come to his senses.
Stigma saw many battles in the South. Among the current official heroes, he was probably the one who had gone through the most battles and was currently going through them. That's how much he knew about this symptom better than anyone else.
'This is not just drunkenness.'
There were symptoms that people who go through war, get injured, kill people, and see people die generally experience.
The range of symptoms was so wide and diverse that it was impossible to describe them all, but to guess at some, symptoms included hallucinations, hallucinations, extreme avoidance of crowded places, extreme aggressiveness, depression, and lethargy.
Among them, there were symptoms of becoming aggressive, where everyone you see appears to be an enemy, or you wander around looking for only the 'enemy'.
Stigma referred to this as 'Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder'. It was abbreviated as PTSD.
'Yes. It's strange that he went to war at such a young age and was still fine.'
Unlike physical shock, mental shock was an area that could not be touched. Even the person himself was unaware of the extent and severity of the condition, so it was difficult to deal with, and depending on the person, there were often cases where the shock remained forever and had a strong impact on daily life.
He heard that Deon Hardt went to war when he was 14 years old. An age where the mind was not fully matured yet.
'After all, you were human too.'
There is no disappointment. Rather, he was amazed.
If you interpret the fact that these symptoms appeared only when his mental power was weakened due to alcohol, doesn't that mean that when he was sober, he was suppressing them with surprising mental power?
The more he got to know him, the more interesting he was.
Feeling that his liking for Deon Hardt was growing, Stigma smiled visibly.
***
I left the banquet hall as if running away. Lien offered to help me, but I refused. Rather, I gave a different command.
'No, thanks. Rather, I want you to stop others from chasing me. For example, our knights or the corps that are coming over there... Huh? Dan? Why are you here... Ah, I brought you here.'
'Count...?'
'Follow orders.'
'Sir Lien? No, wait a minute. Count! You left your robe behind!'
'...Please send Sir Lien.'
'Yes.'
This was roughly what happened with the appearance of Dan, who had been forgotten.
Lien, who had obediently sent Dan in front of me, smells the scent and retreats, saying she will catch our knights who were sneaking in. I heard someone a little distance away insisting on following me and getting hit, but I couldn't turn around.
I made eye contact with Dan. Ugh, can you get rid of those sad eyes?
"... It's because of the alcohol. I didn't do it on purpose, I just forgot for a moment because of the alcohol."
"I see."
"... Sorry."
"You don't need to apologize. Hurry up and put on your robe."
He looked comfortable holding onto my robe, as if he was going to help me with my clothes.
I was speechless for a moment as I saw someone familiar in that sight. ...Maybe it's my mood?
"Well... it's okay, I'll put it on myself."
"No. I will help you."
"... Ed?"
"Who is that?"
A strange... or rather, unfamiliar man seemed like a familiar man.
I was making a shocked expression as I remembered Ed, the lieutenant in the demon realm, and Dan seemed to be shocked by my expression, but then his expression hardened as if he could not give in.
I hope that such a firm will will be shown elsewhere.
"This is an apology, so you don't have to feel burdened."
"Apology...?"
"I dared to test Master."
"...?"
I don't know. I don't know. What bullshit is that about a test?
When did that happen?
Anyway, looking at the atmosphere, it seems like he will never give in. Then I can just not wear it.
"Now that I think about it, I think I don't need to wear a robe. It's night anyway..."
"It's not that problem. Are you going to go around exposing your chest like that?"
Ah, I reflexively loosened my tangled collar and smoothed it out. There was the Demon King's stigma around this time.
As I was sweeping it with my fingertips, the voice continued as if it wasn't over yet.
"And what about the striking appearance? White hair and red eyes are almost like a symbol, aren't they?"
"... Give it to me. I'll wear it."
"I'll put it on for you."
"..."
Did they put honey on my clothes?
Anyway, I couldn't refuse any longer, so I obediently accepted the outerwear service. It felt strange to be served by someone who reminded me of Ed as he wasn't an employee and I wasn't that close to him, but I was satisfied because I was able to chase that persistent guy away with this.
Now I'm barely alone.
'At first, I was embarrassed and wanted to be alone...'
Looking at my messed up clothes and the state of the banquet hall, it was clear that I had done something when I was drunk.
There is a reality in the world that cannot be denied.
I don't remember what happened and I don't have the courage to lift the veil, but whether I knew it or not, the circumstances I could see were mentally beating me up. It was definitely like that...
'I'm mentally tired right now so I want to be alone...?'
If the plan was to distract me and offset my embarrassment, I'd say it was a huge success.
When I thought of Dan, my head started pounding. So let's think differently. When I was drunk at the banquet hall...
'Not like this!'
Embarrassment that I had forgotten about came flooding back. Quickly think of something else...!
... Yes, the palace. Let me recall the doctor who examined me. Not only did the person examine me, but he also acted somewhat unusually.
'At first, he did something when he held my hand.'
He wrote on my palm with his fingers. How absurd it was to interpret it.
'I told you to please stay healthy!'
He even wrote the exclamation point very clearly.
Uh... okay... and he also gave me some tonics...
When I looked at him in bewilderment, he looked at me with depressed eyes and I got goosebumps. Why is a man who is old enough to be like this?
'Oh, shit.'
Instead of calming down, my mind became more dizzy. I chose the wrong thought to think about.
I wiped my goosebump-covered arms and accelerated my steps. I should hurry back home and rest.
"Honorary Count Hardt?"
"...?"
Who are you?
"Hello, my name is Senzer and I serve Cruel Hardt. I came to convey the words of Cruel."
"..."
What did Lien do instead of stopping this guy?
... Oh, I told her to stop the crazy dogs. It's not like she had multiple bodies, and it's normal to miss just one guy like this.
It's Cruel's message... I wonder what bullshit he was talking about. I nodded my head with the intention of giving it a try.
"He told you not to wander around the streets just for today and to go home right away."
"... What?"
For a moment, I couldn't believe my ears. What, are you my guardian? What on earth are you planning?
I looked at him hoping he would explain something more, but he disappeared without even answering my question.
Because he resembled his superior, his unluckiness is sky-high. Tsk.
'... Let's get back to the main topic first.'
Just calm down and think about it.