Chapter 19

There is a scene of violence, so please be cautious if you are not comfortable with it.

"......Gerald...?"

At my murmured words, the man stiffened his body. The arm around my neck tightened even more, making it hard to breathe.

"Don't come any closer! If you get any closer, I'll—"

"What will you do to this woman? What do you plan to do to Sadi?"

Despite the situation, Gerald, who was unusually calm, raised his hand towards me.

At the same moment, an unfamiliar dull sound came from the man's arm around my neck. A beast-like scream rose, and my body was suddenly released as if thrown.

When I turned around to see what had happened, the man's right hand, which was supposed to be impossible to bend, was twisted in an unnatural direction. Could it be that Gerald used magic?

In the midst of this, Gerald, who had somehow moved right in front of me, was looking down at the man with eyes that were extremely cold.

"Sadi is not someone you should touch."

Without any hesitation, he kicked the struggling man's body repeatedly, over and over again.

The expression on his face was blank, and I couldn't tell what he was thinking. My spine shuddered. The kind, bright Gerald I loved was nowhere to be found.

I was so stunned that I couldn't process what was happening, but as soon as I came to my senses, I clung to Gerald's back in a panic.

"Gerald, please, stop it!"

"Why?"

"It's Norman's body, so don't hurt him...!"

Desperately pleading, he said, "Oh, right," and lowered his raised foot, and I felt relieved.

Gerald turned to me, his usual smile on his face, and touched my cheek. Seeing me flinch slightly, he lowered his eyebrows in a troubled manner.

"Sorry, I lost control in my anger."

"Y-Yeah..."

"Are you okay? You must have been scared, but it's okay now."

He hugged me, but my body continued to tremble uncontrollably.

◇◇◇

Now, I am in a carriage arranged by Gerald, heading to the Earl of Arkwright's house.

The unconscious man was not handed over to the military police but was taken away by the people Gerald called, to be questioned. I was just amazed at how efficiently they handled it.

He is now sitting next to me, holding my hand gently. He occasionally asks if I'm feeling well, and he seems so calm and kind that I can hardly believe he was the one who was just so violent.

"Um, Gerald, thank you so much for saving me."

"No, it was just the right thing to do."

"…How did you know I was there?"

"I was in town today, and when I heard about the commotion, I went to the scene and was told I couldn't see you. I searched desperately and found you by chance."

Even if it was by chance, I know it's a miracle that he found me so quickly. If he hadn't come, I would have been killed for sure. I can't thank him enough.

"Sadi, I'll protect you."

He squeezed my hand, which he was holding.

"By the way, Gerald, you can use magic too?"

"Didn't I tell you? I didn't mean to hide it from you, sorry."

I was a bit upset that he didn't tell me when I mentioned that I could use magic. Did he really forget?

"Still, I was surprised at how well you could use it. That's amazing."

"I originally studied a bit of magic."

The magic he used was definitely wind magic. In this country, wind mages are the most common, followed by water mages.

He asked me to keep it a secret from the Magic Department to avoid trouble, and I nodded. I thought that if I told them Gerald could use magic, it would make our story of switching bodies more credible, but if he says to keep it quiet, I will.

"What are you going to do now...?"

"I plan to question that man. We need to know who took our bodies and how they did it."

"Okay. Since it's Norman's body, don't hurt him."

"I understand. I'm really sorry."

Feeling relieved by the usual kind Gerald, I sighed inwardly.

"…Is Eliza still there?"

As long as Norman hasn't returned to his body, there's a chance Eliza is still there. The thought that they might still be living like that made my chest tighten.

I feel guilty, thinking that we alone are living such a comfortable life.

Even though I know it's inevitable, a sense of guilt washes over me. As if reading my thoughts, Gerald looked at me straight and smiled.

"Sadi, it's okay. This is normal. Don't worry too much. Make sure to eat properly and get enough rest from now on. We can reschedule the meeting with Neil for a later date."

"…Thank you."

Gerald is always the kindest. I know that anyone would be confused in such a situation and might overreact.

That's what I thought, until...

"Ah, you saw that side of Gerald. That guy was trying to kill someone there, too."

The next day, Neil, who came to visit me, said this casually.