Chapter 25

"Has the Pope passed away...?"

"Just now, we received the news. It seems the whole country is in an uproar."

The morning after Eliza's birthday party, I came to the dining room after getting ready and was informed of the Pope's death by my parents.

Even with my limited knowledge, I could imagine to some extent how serious this was and what kind of impact it would have. My parents also seemed quite bewildered.

"Because the Pope has been around since the founding of the country..."

"Yes, that's why the country's power structure will change drastically."

"Will the Arklight family be okay...?"

"Since we are a neutral faction, there shouldn't be much of an impact. Besides, our family's reputation has already fallen to the lowest point. It's not like it matters now."

With that, Father gave a wry smile. Everything is my fault. Still, I was relieved that this news wouldn't have a negative impact on our family.

"But the Langridge Marquess family will be in trouble."

"Huh?"

"The Marquess family has always been part of the Church faction. A Church without a Pope has no power. Without a backing, the Marquess family's position will become much worse."

"That's terrible..."

I became worried about Rufus.

I had felt hungry just a moment ago, but now, even with the delicious breakfast in front of me, I had no appetite.

"Besides, they might have broken off the engagement at that timing because they heard something about the Pope's health."

The Langridge Marquess family, the leading faction of the Church, couldn't have known nothing about the Pope's health.

That's why, Father said, they must have feared a worse position if something happened to the Pope and broke off the engagement with me to remove any uncertainty.

Thinking about Rufus, who had been concerned about me in such a difficult situation, made my chest tighten even more. I felt embarrassed about saying something foolish like wanting to talk to him yesterday, not knowing anything.

I wanted to help somehow, but there was nothing I could do for him now. In fact, if I got involved, it would only make the situation worse.

Feeling helpless, I ate breakfast, but even my favorite dishes tasted bland.

◇◇◇

A few days later, Gerald suddenly visited our house. He was immediately led to my room, and we sat facing each other.

"What's the sudden visit? Did something happen...?"

"Sorry for the sudden visit. Actually, I heard some new information from the man who had taken over Norman's body."

From his expression, it didn't seem to be good news. I braced myself and waited for him to continue.

"From the beginning, he was shouting that he wanted to get out of here and that he would be killed. But since he didn't say anything more, I thought it was a lie to escape."

"Killed...?"

"Yes. But yesterday, he finally realized the situation was really bad and started to talk. We finally understood why we were kept alive in that place."

Gerald sighed and continued.

"It seems that if one of the swapped bodies dies, the other will die too."

"Huh?"

I couldn't help but let out a confused sound. But it made sense that we weren't killed after our bodies were taken over and were instead kept in that place.

That place was perfect for keeping us out of sight and under surveillance. They might have made us work to earn our keep.

At the same time, I realized something. If that man was in danger of being killed, it meant...

"Norman is in danger...?"

"If what the man says is true. He said there's a day every six months when they must meet, and it's next week. If he doesn't show up, it will be considered a betrayal, and he will be punished."

"That's terrible..."

"Even with the constraint magic, they wouldn't want any leaks. If they just kill the Norman in that place, they can easily kill the man even if they don't know where he is."

My heart pounded uncomfortably at this terrifying news.

Still, it seemed there was no trust or emotion between them. It was more of a hierarchical relationship.

The man had cried, saying, "He only sees us as pawns," and "I will really be killed." He had taken over Norman's body and tried to kill me, but now that Norman's life was at stake, it was a different matter.

"Still, we can't just let the man who tried to kill you go. We need to focus on finding that place and rescuing Norman. If it looks like we won't make it in time, we'll come up with a plan to free him."

"Okay, I understand."

"Please don't overexert yourself, Sadey. I don't want anything to happen like last time. I'll take care of it."

"...Okay."

"Thank you. You're a good girl."

Gerald reached out and gently patted my head. Incidentally, his family has always been part of the royal faction, so they won't be affected by the Pope's death. I felt a little relieved.

Since there was no time to waste, he left immediately. I felt bad for putting all the burden on Gerald.

"May Norman be safe..."

I tried to remember if my memory was wrong, but I couldn't find a place where all the plants and animals I remembered matched.

Desperately thinking about what I could do, I suddenly remembered someone. Perhaps Lord Lloyd knew something. I wanted any information, no matter how trivial.

So, I wrote a letter expressing that I wanted to talk and sent it to him.

Thank you as always.

The manga adaptation of this work has been decided! I'm very excited. To be able to see all those scenes...

I will announce the details as soon as I get approval, through my activity reports and Twitter.