Chapter 4

ㅤA few days later, following the sound of hurried footsteps, came a slightly more forceful knock than usual. When I said,”Come in,”Chelsea tumbled into the room.
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ㅤ”I-I’m sorry, I’m late……! Your meal is……Ah.”
ㅤ”Yeah. Sorry.”
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ㅤSeeing me eating dinner by myself, Chelsea slumped her shoulders. Urging her on as she was clearly dejected, she slowly approached and sat down on the chair next to the bed, which had become her regular spot.
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ㅤThe maid brought dinner because Chelsea didn’t come out of her room when I called her, and it’s almost empty now. I ate it beforehand because it would be a waste to let the food, which had gradually become more varied thanks to Chelsea, get cold, but seeing her so depressed, I think I should have waited after all.
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ㅤThe lethargy continues. For the past few days, Chelsea has been reading to me in the morning, and we’ve been discussing our thoughts and impressions, and then I doze off in the afternoon. There’s no sign of my magical power recovering, nor any sign of the miasma clearing, but I’ve started to feel a little hungry.
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ㅤ”Were you asleep?”
ㅤ”H-How did you know?”
ㅤ”You have sheet marks on your cheek.”
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ㅤReaching out and touching it with my fingertip, Chelsea blushed shyly. As always, she doesn’t show any sign of disgust when I touch her.
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ㅤ”And you looked sleepy this morning too.”
ㅤ”……I stayed up late last night.”
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ㅤI wonder if she was reading a book. She really loves reading, and she reads anything regardless of genre. I told her she could read any book in this house as she pleases, so while I’m taking a nap, she’s apparently reading various books in her room. It’s becoming a daily routine for her to tell me about the books she read that day, as I have many books that I bought but haven’t read.
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ㅤ”Well, it’s okay once in a while. I take naps every day too.”
ㅤ”Lord Oswald is recuperating, so that is your job.”
ㅤ”Your job is to stay healthy.”
ㅤ”……I’m different.”
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ㅤChelsea replied after a slight pause and looked down a little. Her hands were tightly gripping her skirt.
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ㅤShe often reacts like this. For example, like now, when I’m concerned about her health. To be precise, when I wish for her to live freely. She would look down and shake her head, looking apologetic and bewildered.
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ㅤI haven’t asked her much about her life up until now. I feel sorry for making her face turn blue again, and I’ve come to hope that she can live happily enough to not need to dwell on the past. My feelings for the honest and expressive Chelsea, at least for now, feel closer to those for a younger sister than for a fiancée. I want to keep the lid on her unpleasant memories, but she sometimes opens it herself and makes a sad face.
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ㅤ”……As I said before, taking care of me is not an obligation. I’m not going to kick you out just because you don’t do it.”
ㅤ”……Yes. Thank you. But I can barely use magic, and there’s not much I can do to be helpful.”
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ㅤIt’s not something to be thanked for, though. And I’m not trying to compare her to anyone. Judging from the way she said it, Chelsea seems to think that even taking care of my meals is something she’s”allowed”to do.
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ㅤWhile thinking about how I could make her feel more at ease, I finished the last bite.
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ㅤ”Chelsea, sorry, but could you take the dishes……? Oh.”
ㅤ”Is something wrong?”
ㅤ”No, it’s my hair.”
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ㅤMy hair reaches the middle of my back. My platinum blonde hair is a testament to my strong magical power, and since it also contains some magical power, I’ve been letting it grow. Since I’ve been spending a lot of time in bed, it’s been getting caught on things, getting in the way when I turn over, and honestly, it’s just a nuisance. The magical power residing in my hair is negligible, and since I don’t know when it will return anyway, I’m thinking of just cutting it off.
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ㅤ”Then, um, please wait a moment.”
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ㅤAfter placing the plate I handed her on the table, Chelsea left the room. She returned in less than five minutes, holding a white ribbon in her hand.
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ㅤ”I bought the tools the other day……I just finished it last night.”
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ㅤLooking closely, the ribbon is embroidered with emerald green thread. So she stayed up late not for reading, but for this.
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ㅤ”Hey, you really do like embroidery, huh?”
ㅤ”D-Did you think I was lying?”
ㅤ”Oh, no, that’s not what I meant.”
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ㅤChuckling a little at Chelsea, who pouted and pursed her lips, I took the ribbon and asked her to show it to me properly. If embroidery isn’t a bad memory for her, I’m glad I bought her the tools.
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ㅤ”It’s well done.”
ㅤ”Thank you.”
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ㅤSeveral plants are carefully embroidered on the ribbon. As I was stroking it with my fingertip, I suddenly felt something strange.
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ㅤ”Chelsea.”
ㅤ”Yes?”
ㅤ”You said you could barely use magic, right?”
ㅤ”Yes. Even if I try really hard, I can only produce a few drops of water from my fingertips.”
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ㅤThat’s about the level of a three-year-old commoner with little magical power. She makes a pathetic face. However.
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ㅤ”……This ribbon, it has a tiny bit of magical power residing in it.”
ㅤ”Huh?”
ㅤ”It’s barely noticeable even for me, but it’s healing magic and……holy magic.”
ㅤ”Holy magic……?”
ㅤ”Yes, I’m surprised.”
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ㅤHoly magic is extremely difficult to imbue into objects. Very few Saints throughout history have been able to do it, which is why they had no choice but to purify the land themselves. If it could be imbued into objects, they could imbue it into statues or anything and place them in each village.
ㅤImbuing healing magic is also difficult compared to fire or water. Generally, only skilled magicians specializing in healing magic can do it, and bracelets or pendants imbued with healing magic are incredibly expensive.
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ㅤIt’s truly a minuscule amount, but it’s incredible that both are imbued in this.
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ㅤ”Amazing……”
ㅤ”Maybe it’s because I sewed it while wishing for Lord Oswald to get better.”
ㅤ”Heh, that’s sweet of you.”
ㅤ”N-No.”
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ㅤI returned the ribbon to Chelsea, who was blushing. When I asked if she would tie it for me, she happily combed my hair.
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ㅤ”……Will this, um, be of any help to Lord Oswald?”
ㅤ”I wonder.”
ㅤ”……Please be honest with me.”
ㅤ”As a spell, it’s amazing, but the magical power itself is too weak.”
ㅤ”I see……That’s right……”
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ㅤChelsea, who finished tying the ribbon with sad eyes, tried to move away. I grabbed her waist with my languid arm and pulled her closer.
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ㅤ”W-Wah……! L-Lord Oswald?”
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ㅤI hugged her as she fell towards me and buried my cheek in her soft hair.
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ㅤ”It works well on my heart. It’s amazing magic.”
ㅤ”……Y-Yes……!”
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ㅤI cherish the girl who stayed up late thinking of me. I pretended not to notice the tears in her voice.