A few days ago, the payment from the medicine sales through House Ellesia was finally settled. When Ceres saw the amount, she was speechless for a long while.
It was far more than she had expected.
This is all thanks to Uncles and Auntie.
Thanks to them, who had placed orders and even paid a generous advance upfront, she was able to make an incredible profit. Enough to pay off all her debts.
Even without their help, the medicine had recently become famous among mercenaries and knights, and sales had been soaring. Apparently, they could barely keep up with demand.
“......”
Kainel stared at the check in silence before standing up. He walked over to the desk, gathered some documents, and returned to his seat.
“What’s with that look?”
“What look?”
“You really don’t know?”
Why does he look so sulky?
“Are you unhappy that I’m paying back my debt?”
Was he upset because he wouldn’t be able to keep ordering her around now?
Ceres stared at Kainel as he sat back down.
I mean, it’s not like I plan on running off without paying you back.
But still, how could he keep chasing her around and demanding repayment like that?
Rip!
“......?”
Ceres’s eyes widened when she saw Kainel tear apart the documents.
“Why are you tearing those up?”
If anyone should be tearing them up, it should be her!
“Take it.”
“What?”
Ceres stared at him in disbelief as Kainel picked up the check on the table and handed it back to her.
“I never intended to take it from you in the first place.”
“...Hey.”
You expect me to believe that?
“Think about everything you’ve done to me until now.”
“Me? What did I do?”
“...Sigh.”
Wow. The nerve of this guy.
Who was the one dragging her around everywhere while demanding that she pay him back? Was she seriously following a stranger around this whole time?
Smack!
Ceres hit Kainel on the head with all her strength.
“Ouch.”
“Don’t pretend it hurts.”
Even though he could’ve easily avoided it, he deliberately took the hit and was now acting like it hurt. Somehow, that only made Ceres more irritated.
“Don’t complain later. Just take it.”
“I don’t need it. I told you I’m not taking it.”
“......”
“I’ll say it again. Think about everything you’ve done to me.”
“You dragged me into the meeting hall yesterday while telling me to pay you back. You really have no room to say something like that.”
“How am I supposed to take money from you?”
“...You really know how to say things.”
Suppressing the urge to hit him again, Ceres picked up the check and forced it into Kainel’s hand.
“I’ll give those words right back to you.”
Just like he didn’t want to take money from her, she didn’t want to take money from him either.
“Why would I owe you a debt?”
She knew they had shared everything since they were children. Artia’s things were hers, and Kainel’s things were hers too.
“Arti, look. An apple came out of your pocket. Who should eat it?”
“Me!”
Smack!
“Ow!”
“You have to share it.”
“Sniff... it hurts.”
“I’m really hungry. So who should eat this apple?”
“We should share it!”
Smack!
“Ow! Why did you hit me again?”
“I said I’m hungry. Then I should eat it.”
“Why? It’s mine.”
“Between us, there’s no such thing as yours or mine.”
“Oh... but you ate candy by yourself before, Grace.”
“Because there was only one.”
“Huh? Even if there’s only one, shouldn’t you share it...?”
Smack!
“If there’s only one, I’ll just eat it myself.”
“Waaah! Kai, Grace keeps hitting me!”
“...Just nod quietly. Then you won’t get hit much.”
“...Okay.”
That’s why early education is important.
She had taught both of them properly from a young age. Even after they grew up, they still knew how to give in. You could say she drilled the belief of “what’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is mine” into them.
But this is different.
Strictly speaking, this debt wasn’t even hers to begin with.
Kai, you have no reason to take responsibility for it.
“......”
Kainel stared at Ceres before letting out a quiet sigh. Seeing the look in her eyes, he knew there was no point trying to convince her. If she refused the money, he could just give her something else.
A nice building in the capital went up for sale recently.
He could buy that and give it to her instead.
Kainel folded the check in his hand and tossed it into the corner.
Knock. Knock.
Just then, the office door opened. His aide Del hurried inside. His grim expression suggested that something serious had happened.
“We’ve received news from Persia.”
A message just arrived from the Principality of Persia
“It would be best if you saw it yourself.”
Del seemed to decide that showing the documents would be faster than explaining. He quickly handed the stack of papers he had brought to Kainel.
“.......”
As Kainel skimmed through the documents, his expression gradually hardened.
“An epidemic?”
“Yes. An epidemic has broken out in the Principality of Persia.”
A few days ago, the first patient appeared in Eto Village, a village within the Persia Principality. At first, everyone assumed it was nothing more than a common cold. However, when the symptoms progressed into difficulty breathing and coughing up blood, they realized it was far more serious.
But before they could take any action, the number of people falling ill rose rapidly. It was no longer limited to Eto Village, as patients were appearing in other regions as well. Deaths already began occurring, and the situation was becoming impossible to control.
“The Imperial Family has been informed by now.”
Since an epidemic outbreak wasn’t a problem limited to the Persia Principality alone, the news was urgently delivered to the Imperial Family.
“An epidemic...”
Ceres moved to Kainel’s side and looked over the documents with him, her expression growing serious.
Unlike an ordinary epidemic, this one was spreading far too quickly. The symptoms were also troubling. People were coughing up blood before dying. This wasn’t something they could judge carelessly without seeing the patients themselves.
“Prepare.”
“Pardon?”
“We’re leaving.”
“Ah, yes! I’ll prepare right away.”
Del quickly nodded. He knew what Kainel meant. They were returning to the Principality of Persia.
“You’re coming with me, right?”
“......”
Ceres, who had yet to take her eyes off the documents, finally set them down at Kainel’s question.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Why me? I already paid off my debt, so why do I have to follow you...
That was what she wanted to say.
“Come with me.”
In the end, Ceres couldn’t say it. Not when he asked with that puppy-like expression and tone that always made her lose her resolve.
“Please.”
“......”
....That sly man.
A long sigh escaped from Ceres.
***
“No.”
“I’m against it.”
“I absolutely refuse!”
...Geez, why do the three of them only ever get along well when it comes to things like this? Usually, they can’t agree on anything.
Ceres shook her head as she watched the three dukes raise their hands and passionately protest.
“Why are you going there?”
“Exactly. Do you even know what place the Persia Principality is?”
“It’s a place overflowing with monsters. Even without a Black Forest appearing, monsters are already everywhere. And now there’s even an epidemic spreading there.”
When Ceres told them she would be visiting the Principality of Persia, the three of them immediately tried to stop her. She only brought it up because she wanted to ask them to look after Antonian and Julia while she was away. If she had known they would react like this, she should’ve just gone secretly.
“I’m curious.”
“About what?”
“......”
...If I tell them I’m curious about the epidemic, they’ll only panic even more.
Ceres had asked Kainel if she could bring the report he received so she could examine it more closely. The more she read, the more she realized this was no ordinary epidemic. The speed at which it spread, the symptoms it caused, everything about it was unusual.
The problem was that these symptoms weren’t unfamiliar to her.
This is like...
...It’s similar to that time. When she lived as Grace three hundred years ago.
“Ceres.”
Ceres, who had become lost in thought, suddenly lifted her head when Duke Schweiss called her name.
“What’s wrong?”
At the concern in his voice, Ceres shook her head. Until she saw the patients herself, it was too early to jump to conclusions.
“I’ll tell you everything after I return.”
Hearing Ceres’s firm words, spoken as if she already made her decision, the three of them let out silent groans.
So it really is that man’s fault.
I knew I didn’t like him from the start.
Sniff... Our Ceres is really going all the way there with that man.
The three dukes felt their hostility toward Kainel flare up once again. To think he had lured their innocent Ceres away and was taking her to a distant and dangerous place!
“By the way...”
Completely unaware of what the three of them were thinking, Ceres looked toward their hands with a curious expression.
“You’re all wearing the same ring.”
She had never noticed them before, but the three dukes were all wearing identical rings on their fingers. The rings were beautifully designed, with what appeared to be amethyst gemstones set in them.
“Oh, this? This is CAS—”
Thump!
Smack!
“Urgh!”
Duke Nora, who answered without thinking, quickly closed his mouth when fists came flying at him from both sides.
Duchess Elkein and Duke Schweiss glared at him fiercely, their eyes practically scolding him.
Didn’t we agree to keep this a secret for a while?
That mouth of yours! You won’t learn unless you get hit!
...I forgot.
Duke Nora chuckled awkwardly and looked away. Ceres’s curious gaze was already making him uncomfortable, and the fierce looks from Schweiss and Elkein weren’t helping either.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter