Chapter 46

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything drastic. I'm just going to make it easier for the alcohol to be expelled from the body."

"O-Okay, please be gentle..."

"Yes, I'll be as gentle as possible."

Chaos closed his eyes tightly, as if he had resigned himself to something. I thought he didn't need to be so tense, but I placed my hands on his forehead and stomach. Alcohol, unlike magic, is not directly tied to one's life force. Since it is considered a foreign substance in the body, theoretically, it should be possible to expel it without causing any harm.

"Y-Your forehead is hot."

"That won't do, Chaos. Please stay still."

I traced the magic array I had attached to Chaos's forehead with my fingertips. The moment I infused the array with magic, Chaos's body twitched, but he calmed down as I began to chant the spell.

"Rue Littelle Kiancera O Dorte Balmilwe Amurita Ido Derneen O Dorte Balmilwe Amurita..."

I focused my mind on the fingertips pressed against his forehead. Then, to gather the alcohol in his body to a specific location, I gently stroked Chaos's abdomen.

"Melfi, what are you doing?"

The duke asked curiously, so I stopped chanting and answered briefly.

"I'm gathering the alcohol components dissolved in Chaos's blood to this area of his abdomen."

"I see. That does sound like a natural approach."

Of course, it wouldn't be right to expel the alcohol along with the blood. So, I decided to gather the alcohol in his abdomen, around the bladder. Although it's a natural process, I'm using magic to force it, so I need to be cautious and check on Chaos's condition carefully. I visualized the blood vessels in his body and guided the alcohol components to a single spot in his abdomen with the flow of his blood.

"Ido Derneen O Dorte Balmilwe Amurita..."

A few minutes after I started chanting, Chaos suddenly sat up. I thought he might be feeling unwell, but it seemed to be something else. He grabbed my hand and shook his head seriously.

"Lady Melfi, this..."

Chaos, who seemed to be having trouble speaking, was clenching his abdomen. His eyes were red, and his pale complexion had returned to normal.

"Is it coming?"

"It's coming. Quite a bit."

"How do you feel?"

"Feel... uh, I'm about to... excuse me!"

Chaos, who had been listless just a moment ago, got up and rushed out of the room, saying, "I'll be right back!" The paper with the magic array on his forehead fluttered to the floor.

"It's not finished yet, but... will it be okay?"

"Since he's not a child, it should be fine. That amount should be enough."

The duke and I exchanged a smile. By the time he returns to the room, Chaos will probably feel much better. It seems my magic array worked well. The duke picked up the fallen paper with the magic array.

"Does this work on living organisms as well?"

"Yes. According to magic theory, this magic array can be adapted to extract magical toxins from living organisms."

"Is it difficult to extract from corpses, then?"

"Yes, once the blood clots, it becomes difficult."

The duke peered at the magic array set up for Bergenion. Despite a full day having passed, the amount of magical toxins collected was not significant. The duke placed his hand on his chin thoughtfully.

"The magic array itself seems to be fine."

"I don't know the ancient magic language for 'magical toxins,' so I'm using the words 'Magics' and 'Veneeno.' However, they don't seem to fully capture the essence of magical toxins."

"The ancient magic language for magical toxins. Spirits are particularly fond of poetic expressions. Perhaps it's recorded in ancient poetry or stories?"

"Poetry or stories... I hadn't thought of that! I've seen many poetry books in the library here."

While the duke was out on the mission to slay Bergenion, I had visited the library a few times. I knew there were poetry and story books in the back. They were likely collected by a past Duke of Galbraith and had never been read, gathering dust. Perhaps the answer I was looking for was there. My eagerness must have shown, as the duke looked at me and cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Your enthusiasm is refreshing. It was worth getting up early."

I looked at the clock on the wall. The hands pointed to the sixth hour, and I was puzzled by the difference in time from when I had last checked in my room. I was sure I had woken up at the sixth hour and left my room at the half-hour mark.

"Duke, is it the sixth hour now?"

"Hmm? Yes, the sun rises around the half-hour mark this time of year. The sky is starting to lighten, so it should be about that time... Oh."

The duke looked at the clock and his face showed regret.

"The clock in my room..."

"I-I'm sorry, Melfi. I wanted you to get a good rest. Knowing how serious you are, I thought you'd wake up on time even if you were tired. I set it an hour later."

"Um, I appreciate your concern... but, it was an hour earlier."

"Huh?"

"I woke up at the sixth hour."

The duke froze.

"I'm sorry, really sorry! I meant to set it an hour later!"

"But, you didn't force me to wake up."

"But, it was the fifth hour?!"

"It's fine, the fifth hour is normal. In Marshall Raid, the sun sets early, so we naturally wake up early."

"Early, huh, in Marshall Raid."

The duke apologized profusely, and I decided to reconsider the customs of Galbraith and Marshall Raid. Even if he told me not to, he couldn't just leave his fiancée alone. I shouldn't inconvenience the servants, so I needed to understand the customs here.

"Thank you, Lady Melfi. I was surprised by the smell of alcohol from yesterday, but I feel much better now."

Just then, Chaos returned with a remarkably refreshed look. He seemed to have fully recovered from his earlier listlessness.

"Are there any other pains or discomforts?"

"No headache, and I don't feel any other symptoms."

Chaos moved his limbs and turned his head to check for any abnormalities. Seeing that he seemed fine, I secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Chaos, that, um, you know..."

At that moment, something white flashed past the corner of my eye. The window was closed, so nothing could have entered the room. However, the white object that kept moving back and forth outside the window caught my attention, and I decided to take a look outside.

"What is it, Melfi?"

"There seems to be something outside the window. It looks like a small, white creature..."

"A small, white creature?"

"Sir, be careful."

Chaos raised his hand and lit a magical light at his fingertips. The duke stood protectively in front of me and signaled to Chaos.

"I'll open it."

Chaos slowly opened the window, and a small, white object flew in from the sky at incredible speed. It seemed to aim for Chaos's face but dodged his outstretched hand.

"Whoa! Hey!"

"Oh, is that Tenro?"

The small, white creature turned out to be the baby Tenro we had rescued just three days ago. It was playing around the room, flying in all directions with rainbow-colored magical wings. This must be Tenro's magic, "Heavenly Flight." It was an incredibly agile little one.

"What are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be in the breeding shed?"

I helped Chaos reach for the floating Tenro. Tenro sniffed my hand and then jumped into my arms. Its fur was fluffy, and it didn't seem to be in any distress. The little Tenro seemed to have taken a liking to my arms. It wriggled around and licked my cheek.

"Duke, is this little one out for a walk?"

"It's unlikely. It probably escaped on its own. Hey, you shouldn't wander off like that."

The duke spoke gently to Tenro and tickled its throat. Tenro made a soft sound and closed its red eyes. Clearly, it was used to handling animals, as Tenro seemed very comfortable with the duke's touch, rubbing its cheek against his fingers.

"Hehe, it looks so content."

"Hey, get away from Lady Melfi."

Chaos, looking displeased, reached out, and Tenro growled softly.

"Don't scare it. It's still a baby."

"Sir, it's a wild magical creature before it's a baby."

"But... I understand it's cute, but we need to return it to its mother if we find her."

Chaos pointed out to the duke, who was protecting Tenro. That's right. We needed to return this little one to the Elsenie Great Forest once we found its mother. I had forgotten that I had left it in the breeding shed to prevent it from getting too attached to humans and picking up their scent.

I decided to pause my research and return the baby Tenro to the breeding shed. It seemed the sky was just beginning to turn a faint orange.

"Can't be helped. There's time before the dining hall opens. Melfi, shall we go for a short walk outside?"

"That sounds wonderful! I've been in the room the whole time while the duke was on the mission. I'd be happy to go outside."

"Then, let's go back to change first."

The duke's words made Tenro chirp happily. I realized that both the duke and Chaos had rushed over in their sleepwear. I handed Tenro to the duke and quickly tidied up my research materials.