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“…Hnnn.”
“Anastasia! Are you awake?”
When I slowly opened my eyes, there was my brother with his beautiful face twisted in worry. I raised my body and looked around. Apparently, I was in a house of some sort. I had no idea where I was at the moment, as the furniture was arranged in a way that I didn’t recognize.
“…Here, where?”
“This is a villa owned by the royal family. It’s on the edge of the royal domain, if you will.”
My brother handed me a glass of water. I took the cup and quenched my thirst with the water. The fact that I was in the royal domain meant that I had made it to the domain alive. But why was I unconscious? I wondered, but then I quickly remembered. We were attacked by enemy soldiers, who had lost their minds, and we were all in a pinch. That’s when I used my saint powers. Then, I must have run out of energy and lost consciousness.
“D*mn it, don’t be so reckless. You shouldn’t do anything you are not used to, no matter how much your life is at stake. It’s outrageous to use the power you’re still learning to use at the last minute.”
“…I’m sorry.”
This was the only thing I could say. After all, what my brother said was reasonable. Using the power of the saint while still not being used to it, the power could go out of control, but I wanted to gamble since I didn’t want to be a liability. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
“Well, you’ve survived, so I won’t blame you anymore. It’s just that Lloyd and Nina were so worried. Just make sure you show them that you’re fine.”
“…Yes.”
When he said that, he placed his hand gently on my head. I narrowed my eyes at the pleasant feeling, but then, I suddenly remembered something. I remembered that I had to ask my brother about the coachman’s treason.
“Brother, the coachman betrayed us, and our lives were in danger. The coachman…”
“…I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware of the man’s treason either. In other words, I was caught off guard. I should have been more rational the other day…”
Brother said this and then chanted something while wrinkling his brows together. I got too caught up by a part of my brother’s words. What did he mean by ‘have been more rational the other day’? With this in mind, I asked my brother that question.
“Ah, that guy used to work for the crown prince, that’s why I was sure of his identity. There were no signs of his betrayal. It seems that some extraordinary force is at work, and something terrible is about to happen.”
“…”
“Anastasia, be careful.”
Brother loosened up his expression and held my hand. Even if he misunderstood that I was afraid due to my silence, I felt a little calm from the warmth of his hand… Sure, it was scary, but more than that, a powerful emotion dominated all others, and that was… anxiety.
(You mean you were brainwashed by her? Could the heroine also do brainwashing? But… she’s supposed to be imprisoned.)
There was no way she could brainwash someone while being locked in prison. But, what if there was someone by the heroine’s side who could do brainwashing? As I imagined this, my body began to tremble. It wasn’t because I was afraid, but it was because I was extremely anxious. This story is hosted at g.com.
“I’ll explore various routes, but if you notice anything, Anastasia, please don’t hesitate to tell me. It doesn’t matter if it’s a misunderstanding or just a hunch. So, please don’t keep your mouth shut.”
“…Ah.”
When I looked up, brother was staring at me with sad eyes. Maybe brother was scared. Anastasia had certainly almost died once. For brother, the most important thing was Anastasia without a doubt, so this may have spurred the overprotection because he had almost lost me once.
“I’m going to ask the sorcerer and the librarian for more information later. I’m sure Lloyd and Nina will come in to take my place, but when they do, show them you’re fine. Those two haven’t slept worrying about you.”
“…Wait, brother. How long have I been asleep?”
“Oh? Didn’t I tell you? Anastasia has been asleep for two and a half days.”
He said it like it was nothing… I merely gave him a dumbfounded look. Two and a half days?! Wasn’t sleeping too much a loss of productivity?
“And, there’s one more thing I need to say. Don’t try to move around now because you’re saying that you’re losing time. We’ll start tomorrow, understood?”
I tried to stand up in a hurry, but brother held me in place and said that with an intimidating smile. So, I could only utter a “…Yes,” with a tense expression on my face. Was my brother a demon? No, he’s the demon king. As I thought about this, I stared at my brother’s back with a grudge-filled look.