Chapter 65

"......Really, it's you, Sadi......?"

Upon arriving at the Earl Arklight's mansion with Rufus, we were greeted by Mother and Father, whose eyes were red from crying, and Neil.

Given the situation, we couldn't hide it from them, and I heard Neil had already explained everything.

"I'm sorry, I've caused you worry again."

"It's not your fault. We should have noticed it too......"

Mother, who was deeply regretful, continued to shed large tears.

While my heart ached, feeling that I was a disobedient child, I promised to return to my original body and headed to the room where Norman was, accompanied by Rufus and Neil.

As we walked down the corridor, I apologized for not noticing the switch, and Neil shrugged.

"......But, I never thought Gerald would betray us. I always thought he was a bit off and his obsession with Sadi was abnormal. I thought we were comrades, but he's really the worst."

Neil said this playfully, but his expression was heavily tinged with sadness. We all thought our bond as a group of five was strong.

Eventually, we knocked on the door to Norman's room, and Eliza's voice was heard.

"Norman......!"

Even from a distance, I could see that Norman, lying on the bed unconscious, looked terrible, and I rushed to his side.

According to Mabel, he wouldn't die for a week, and if he took the antidote during that time, he would be saved.

However, even to a layman, it was clear that his condition was so severe that he might not last a week, and a sense of urgency welled up inside me.

"......Really, what a terrible thing......"

I held Norman's cold hand, feeling a deep sense of regret and sorrow, and bit my lip.

I couldn't believe what Mabel said, and even after having a doctor examine him, it seemed we could only slow the spread of the poison since we couldn't identify it.

As I gazed at Norman, I met Eliza's gaze, who was staring at me in a daze.

"Was I like this at eighteen?"

"Eliza......"

I realized that Eliza, who had been confined in this mansion after being rescued from that place, hadn't seen her own body in ten years.

Finding no words to say to her, who was smiling through tears, Eliza whispered, "I'm sorry," in a voice that seemed about to disappear.

"I'm really sorry...... It's because of me that Norman......"

"It's not your fault! Given that Gerald betrayed us, this was bound to happen sooner or later."

"No, and I didn't even notice that you were like this......"

I hugged Eliza, who was blaming herself and had tears in her eyes.

She hadn't slept for a long time and couldn't eat, so I asked Neil to let her rest, and I decided to go to Mabel with Rufus.

Mabel seemed to be using my room, so we went up the central staircase of the mansion and headed to her room.

Although I had only been away for about a month, everything felt nostalgic and dear.

"Are you okay?"

"......Yeah."

Standing in front of the door, I called out, "It's me, Sadi," without knocking.

In response, a cheerful voice invited me in. I told the worried Rufus to go back downstairs and entered alone.

"Oh, you look well. What do you want? Have you finished preparing the money?"

Mabel, who had taken over my body, was sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed, elegantly drinking tea.

Despite feeling a strong anger at her overly relaxed attitude, I took a deep breath and spoke.

"Will you really prepare the antidote for Norman if we get the money and an escape route?"

"Even if I said I wouldn't prepare the antidote, you wouldn't be able to do anything, and your friend would die, right? Don't you think it's better to do as I say?"

Her condescending attitude made me feel nauseous. I clenched my fists and looked straight at Mabel.

"Where is the magic tool?"

"You're really stupid, aren't you? There's no way I'd tell you honestly. ...But, I'm kind and will give you a hint for your poor self."

"......"

"It's somewhere in this mansion. Try your best to find it in the remaining two days. Hehe."

I knew I couldn't trust what Mabel said. More importantly, she was probably showing enjoyment because she was confident that I wouldn't find it even if it were true. Still.

"......Fine, I'll do as I please."

With that, I started searching my room.

"Ha ha ha! How ridiculous!"

No matter how much I was mocked, I couldn't do anything else at this point but search for the magic tool.

We couldn't abandon Norman, and we would likely release Mabel in two days.

I pulled out the contents of the desk and closet and searched desperately. In the process, I found a knife that I had received from Grandfather and cherished.

Father had said it was too early for a child and had kept it stored away.

"Ah, then I'll take a little nap."

Suppressing the urge to stab Mabel, who was lying on the bed leisurely, I put the knife back in the desk and continued searching in another place.