"If you eat this, your wounds will heal quickly, you know?"
"Sure, whatever you say."
"No, I'm serious."
"Yeah. I'm sure you are."
I was so frustrated I could scream and jump.
I could not just let myself be falsely accused like this, so I was about to protest again when Felix, who had been unconscious, woke up.
"Ugh... Where am I...?"
Felix groaned and sat up, holding his head as if the place Isael hit him still hurt.
Then he looked around, and his eyes met mine.
"...Rosette?"
He looked like he had just seen a ghost.
"Y-you're alive...?"
At that stupid remark, anger surged up inside me.
Honestly, I wanted to kill him right then.
But with Isael watching, I could not afford to ruin my public image.
After all, I needed to gain Isael's trust to get out of the tower.
"Why? Are you surprised to see me down here safe and sound when you thought I would be dead?"
But I could not stop the sarcastic words from slipping out of my mouth.
"...No. There's no way you'd be alive."
What did you just say, you bastard?
"Then... am I dead? Is that it...?"
He looked at me with those overly wistful eyes and said nonsense like that.
Felix seemed to think he had died and was meeting me again in the afterlife.
"If you want to die so badly, should I grant that wish for you...?"
I muttered without meaning to.
Maybe it was the aftereffect of leaving the hallucination, or something else, but he clearly wasn't in his right mind yet.
"No, my wish is to see my mother just once more..."
With those words, Felix fainted again.
Honestly, I doubted anyone would blame me if I left him here.
I was hesitating when Isael made a suggestion.
"I'll go throw him off somewhere appropriate."
"That's a good ide—"
I responded eagerly, but then I stopped.
"...No, wait."
"Why not?"
Because if you get too far away from this flower, you'll start suffering from hallucinations or auditory hallucinations, too.
We must not move from where the flower is planted.
I was about to say that when Isael spoke first.
"Did you not say he abandoned you? You owe him no mercy. Are you planning to save him?"
What kind of misunderstanding...
Hey, you're seriously getting the wrong idea about me right now.
That's not it at all.
"It's not that I want to save him."
"Then what?"
"I told you. We can't leave this spot."
Do you think I want to save the man who abandoned me without hesitation?
I do not want to do that!
I would sooner kill him than save him.
Do you even know how painful it is for me, bleeding tears inside because I cannot do what I want…?
When I made a miserable face and glanced at the flower I had carefully planted at my feet, Isael finally seemed to understand.
But only for a moment.
"If that's the reason, then it doesn't matter. Thanks to you, I ate that herb or stimulant or whatever it was, so I should be fine for a while. I'll go toss him far away."
"No, you can't."
I shook my head firmly.
"Even the slightest risk, no matter how small, I'm against taking it."
"…..."
"He's not worth you putting yourself in danger for no reason. Let's just leave him."
Either way, if we didn't take him all the way to the door, he would die on his own.
I looked down at Felix with cold eyes.
His clothes had been stripped off, and he lay there in a pathetic state in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts.
"If he tries anything stupid, we can just knock him out again."
"…All right, if that's what you insist on."
After deciding Felix's fate with Isael like that, Felix, despite being unconscious, started mumbling all sorts of nonsense like he was talking in his sleep.
Isael and I ignored him completely, treating him as if he weren't even there.
* * *
Isael and I decided to take turns standing guard.
Honestly, Isael had told me that since I was the injured one, I should just sleep, but I insisted until he gave in.
"Now I'll stay awake, so you can go sleep for a bit."
"I'm fine. I'm not tired."
"Sleep even if you're not tired."
"No."
"…..."
I guess when someone is one of the key figures of the world, even their stubbornness is extraordinary.
Even though I said I would stand guard now, Isael insisted on keeping his eyes open and refused to rest.
Honestly, who can stop that stubbornness...
"I'm fine, so why don't you get more sleep?"
"I don't want to either."
I shook my head.
I didn't want to leave all the burden to Isael.
When Felix wasn't around as a variable, I could nap from time to time, but now that he was here, there was no helping it.
It was because Felix still did not leave even when I told him to go find Leonard.
Felix was really tactless in many ways.
"Uh, for some reason this place feels kind of cozy… Like I feel safe when I am here."
What, cozy?
Safe?
"Is that something you should be saying in front of me right now?"
"…That time, the situation was like that. I really do feel sorry about it."
"Ha, how shameless."
Talking to Felix only made me infuriated, so I just kept my mouth shut.
Whether he was bored or anxious, Felix kept trying to talk to me, but I ignored him completely.
So he changed his target and started talking to Isael instead.
"Um, if you know Rosette, you must also be from the Empire of Lyonesse, right?"
"…..."
"It feels like fate that we ran into each other like this, so how about we at least exchange names? I'm Felix Buiheim."
Even here, there was a fool worrying about things like social status.
I looked at Felix with utter disdain.
He didn't even seem to notice my stare, and despite being ignored, he kept trying to talk to Isael.
"In case you did not know, the Buiheim family is a count's house that has produced many renowned knights."
"…..."
"Um, may I ask your name?"
"…..."
How pitiful. Truly pitiful.
I clicked my tongue and shook my head, then suddenly remembered something and widened my eyes at Felix.
"Then have you ever seen a knight who can wield aura?"
"Of course. I don't even have to look far. My older brother was a knight who could use aura."
"Really?"
So there was something else I could milk out of Felix besides items!
I perked up and tried to step toward him, but Isael grabbed me.
"If it's theory, I already know more than enough."
Saying that, Isael placed himself between Felix and me as if guarding against him.
"Did you forget? I'm a prince of the Empire. I was taught by excellent teachers from a young age."
"Ah... Right. That makes sense."
"What? P-prince? You are a prince?"
While I nodded along, Felix began babbling in shock after learning Isael was a prince.
But no one paid him any attention.
Either way, that meant Felix was useless.
Well, Isael was right.
Isael might be the second prince, but he was the legitimate heir, so of course, he learned swordsmanship from people far more impressive than someone like Felix.
I immediately accepted this and changed my mind about questioning Felix any further.
"No, still, maybe I could be of some help..."
"You can't."
I scowled deeply and glared at him with disgust.
"You are useless, so please just shut your mouth."
"No, but..."
"Before I change my mind and drag you off somewhere to dump you."
"…..."
At that, Felix finally shut his mouth tightly.
A little while later, darkness returned.
"R-Rosette. You're there, right? You didn't leave me, did you? Rosette! Your Highness!"
Felix screamed. His voice was really something.
Honestly, there was no greater nuisance than this.
Ah, my eardrums are going to burst...
Where was Felix earlier? I really want to take this chance to kill him.
While I was desperately holding back the murderous urge, something suddenly grabbed my wrist.
"Agh!"
I yelped before I could stop myself.
It hurt my pride. It felt like I had sunk to Felix's level...
Anyway, I tried to pull my wrist free, but then a familiar voice whispered in my ear.
"It's me."
It was Isael.
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