I Tried To Escape Through Death - Chapter 9

After that, the rest of the carriage ride continued without any incident.

 

We passed through green fields and forest roads filled with many trees, and soon the great walls that surrounded the estate came into view. I wondered how big the village and mansion enclosed by those walls were.

 

“It’s huge.”

 

It was much larger than the Troxia estate, which had existed until only several years ago.

 

Calix sighed and let out a small chuckle at my exclamation.

 

“That’s right. It’s huge, unnecessarily so.”

 

“…It’s not so big to the point of it being useless.”

 

As the carriage approached the walls, the guards, having recognized it as the duke’s carriage, saluted from the ramparts and opened the gates.

 

“The duke has returned!”

 

In the midst of the commotion, Calix smiled at me.

 

“Welcome to Hertrio, Regina.”

 

I smiled faintly at him in return.

 

Perhaps it was a lie, her being confined to the countryside, but in the aftermath of the long trip, Rena fell asleep as soon as she arrived at Hertrio’s estate. After gently caressing her sleeping face a few times, Calix rose from where he sat and headed to his office.

 

There was a large amount of work to be done.

 

“…There was a door leading to the basement.”

 

Calix’s low voice rang throughout the office.

 

“Yes. However, as you said, it was blocked and only those who met the conditions were able to enter.”

 

“What are the conditions to enter?”

 

“Judging by the traces left by the entrance, it seems that only those with the family crest are able to enter.”

 

Hm.

 

Calix tapped his fingers on the desk, deep in thought.

 

“The family crest.”

 

What to do now.

 

Calix expected that there would be obstacles. However, this was a tricky condition.

 

“What did Regina do with the ring bearing the crest of Troxia on it…”

 

Calix muttered faintly and rose from his seat.

 

“I think Rena would have thrown it away, given her personality.”

 

Maybe it got caught in the fire, being burnt along with the mansion.

 

The situation became increasingly difficult. He had to get into that basement.

 

When Calix met Regina again, she wasn’t wearing a ring on her hands. Similarly, she didn’t have anything around her neck either.

 

‘I was relieved that there was no sign of another person, but I didn’t realize that sense of relief would backfire on me like this.’

 

A faint smile appeared on Calix’s face at the thought of Regina. He couldn’t help it. He had finally found the person he’d been looking for for so long.

 

Since getting Regina back, he’d been smiling a lot more.

 

Calix muttered, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

 

“If I want to keep laughing with Rena like this, we need to change the emperor…”

 

And find out the truth about the basement of the Troxia family.

 

Of course, this had to be done secretly, without Rena’s knowledge. She’s a good girl, so she’d be worried if she found out about his plan.

 

All his Rena had to do was stay safe in Hertrio without knowing anything.

 

Not the secret of the hidden basement. Not the Troxia family. Not the emperor.

 

Without knowing anything.

 

As he envisioned the future he desired, a satisfied smile crossed Calix’s face.

 

***

 

Much like its master, days at the Duchy of Hertrio were very structured and organized.

 

After arriving in the dukedom, according to what I have observed, this is how the days go by.

 

At sunrise, the servants and maids of the mansion get up and begin their work. From preparing ingredients for the dishes that will be served for breakfast, to cleaning and inspecting the mansion, dealing with merchants who came to trade, and so on. During the occasion that I woke up early in the morning, I could hear the servants busily walking around and talking amongst one another through my bedroom window.

 

When it is time for them to finish preparations for the day, which was 6:30 in the morning, Calix wakes up. At 7 o’clock, the sounds of the duke’s knights beginning their morning training could be heard.

 

I know this because the first thing Calix does when he gets up in the morning is to check on me, whose room is beside his.

 

During my first few days at the duchy, I was too busy being submerged in a deep sleep that I didn’t even notice he had been coming to see me every morning. One day, I had woken up early and made eye contact with Calix, who calmly entered my room, and I immediately realized what had been going on.

 

After that incident, I became so nervous that I would wake up when it was time for him to visit. Calix didn’t seem disturbed at all when he saw me already awake. In fact, he seemed happy, speaking in a comfortable tone saying things like “If you’re awake, would you like to join me for breakfast?”.

 

It was shameless, to say the least.

 

Sarcastically, I said back to him, “Why don’t you combine our rooms if you’re going to do this?”. I couldn’t even say anything in response afterwards; his face was visibly radiating beams of joy as he replied, “Is that really okay?”.

 

But humans are animals capable of adaptation.

 

Unlike in the beginning, when I would open my eyes when it was time for him to come, now I would just keep them closed and mumble something as I waved to him. There were times when I didn’t wake up at all and continued to sleep soundly.

 

It had only been a few days since I arrived here, and I’m already like this.

 

‘I shouldn’t be getting used to this place already.’ 

 

Several maids passed by me as I walked down the corridors, lamenting my situation.

 

“Hello, Miss Rena!”

 

“Hello.”

 

I smiled back at the maids who smiled at me.

 

Funnily enough, Calix didn’t like the name people used to address me.

 

He didn’t like it when others would call me “Rena”. But it would be impossible to have others address me as “Regina”, no matter how much he chose to ignore that.

 

Of course, Calix knew it wouldn’t be possible. Perhaps he just wanted to throw a tantrum and test the waters.

 

Thanks to this, I had no choice but to accept his foolishness for a while.

 

A very silly, childish foolishness that started with “I don’t like it when people other than me call you by your nickname”.

 

‘At times like this, he looks just like a child…’

 

Calix was nervous and cautious for a few days when I first came to Hertrio, constantly assessing my condition carefully. I don’t know what conclusion he came to by the end of his observation period, but after a few days, he must have decided that I was fine. I could tell at a glance that Calix’s tension had eased.

 

I walked down the corridor, thinking about Calix, but as soon as I turned the corner, a hand sticking out from the side pulled me in. I was startled and trembled for a moment, then relaxed and leaned back on the familiar hand that held me.

 

There was only one person in this mansion who would stop me like this.

 

‘You’re a bad boy.’ 

 

“Calix.”

 

When I called out that name, I saw a face that was as familiar to me as that name.

 

His blue eyes were full of affection as he looked at me. The sculpted face, the blue eyes, and the slightly cool body temperature were the same as usual.

 

Calix’s mouth opened, and as if I was mesmerized, I stared at the red tongue inside.

 

“Rena, are you going somewhere?”

 

“Mhm. I heard someone got wounded.”

 

I came to my senses and answered his question casually.

 

Immediately after hearing my answer, Calix’s brows furrowed weakly, and he held my hand as he replied to me.

 

“Rena, it’s okay if you don’t go all out when the knights call. They were getting along just fine without a wizard before you came.”

 

His soft, soothing tone really seemed to be trying to persuade me. Of course, these were not the words of the knights’ lord, Duke Hertrio.

 

I frowned lightly and pointed out the flaws in his words.

 

“I came to Hertrio to act as a wizard, what good am I if I don’t do anything?”

 

“No one can say anything just because you’re not doing anything…”

 

“…What should I say, I am”

 

I cut off my words and turned around.

 

As soon as I lifted my foot off the ground, I heard the sound of footsteps behind me.

 

“Rena.”

 

“…”

 

I ignored him and kept walking forward until I felt my fingertips being grasped from the side. The series of processes felt natural like it had been done many times before — lightly holding onto the fingertips, before digging in the gaps between the fingers, and finally, intertwining the fingers together.

 

Reflexively, I looked around to make sure there was no one passing by.

 

“Have you gotten your memory back?”

 

After I was convinced that we were the only people in the hallway, I sighed as I faced Calix.

 

“It’s not back yet.”

 

“Really?”

 

For some reason, Calix didn’t seem very disappointed when I told him that my memories had yet to return.

 

‘What are you thinking?’

 

I looked at him, squinting.

 

After arriving at Hertrio, Calix no longer became visibly anxious and helpless whenever he couldn’t see me. He even told me that it was okay now since I was in his territory and that I could move around and act as I pleased inside his mansion.

 

Of course, I still get the occasional look of confusion.

 

Thanks to my status as a wizard belonging to the duke, I was able to move around freely at will.

 

Occasionally, when someone was injured or needed help from a wizard, I would run to help them.

 

Even so, there was nobody in the mansion who treated me as an ordinary wizard. Everyone knew that the duke had personally brought me to his estate and given me the room right next to his, so my current status within the mansion was indeed ambiguous.

 

There were quite a few people who had difficulty interacting with me as not only was a wizard’s status not a low ranking one, but in addition, I was rumoured to be the duke’s lover. However, most people have gotten used to me and are now comfortable with asking me for small favours.

 

I hesitated before opening my mouth.

 

“…Calix, don’t you want my memory to come back?”

 

“Of course, it’d be nice if it were to come back.”

 

‘He just hesitated.’ 

 

“But there’s no need to force it. I want you to be comfortable.”

 

“…”

 

Instead of asking any further questions, I decided to keep my mouth shut.

 

While pretending to be calm on the outside, internally, my head was spinning.

 

I know that Calix is hiding something from me, I just don’t know what it is.

 

I don’t know why he acts like he doesn’t care whether I lose or find my memories, and he keeps saying that he’ll take care of everything, but what the hell is he taking care of?

 

I looked at Calix’s side profile, which had a calm expression.

 

‘Let’s throw the bait in.’ 

 

I had a few things to say floating around my head and I picked to say the one that made the most sense, the most appropriate one.

 

I opened my mouth and spoke quietly, gauging Calix’s reaction.

***