Chapter 46

After persuading Sara to come to the mansion,

"Let's go home."

Mother said and walked out of the room.

"Oh, Mother, wait."

I turned around and looked out the window at the detached house where Marion was.

I no longer felt bad. It will be fine.

"Luria, what's wrong?"

"Hmm, it's fine."

I followed Mother out of the room.

I held Sara's right hand and carried Carol on my shoulder as we walked.

Sara held a stick doll in her left hand and followed closely.

After leaving the room, Mother walked straight to the front door.

In the entrance hall, a woman who seemed to be a noble lady who had just spoken ill of me was there.

Sara flinched, flattened her ears, and tucked her tail between her legs.

"It's fine, I'm here with you," I whispered to Sara and squeezed her hand.

"Your Highness"

Seeing Mother, the woman spoke with a smile.

"Thank you for coming to our mansion today—"

"It's not your mansion."

Mother said coldly without stopping.

She continued walking towards the outside of the front door.

"Do you not know manners to speak to me?"

When Mother muttered this, the woman flinched with a frightened expression.

Basically, it was a breach of etiquette for someone of lower status to speak first.

Why did she speak to me just now when she didn't speak to me earlier?

Perhaps something very pleasant happened.

Without looking back, Mother said to the attendant standing next to her,

"Is the baron not coming to see us off?"

"…He must be busy."

"Even the butler is not here to see us off?"

"…He must be very busy."

"Well, if that's the case, it can't be helped. He must have something far more important to do than seeing me off."

This was a complete insult.

The woman's face turned pale, and she looked flustered.

"Ky!"

At that moment, Carol made a warning sound.

"What's wrong?"

Carol, who was perched on my shoulder, was staring intently at the direction of the parlor where we had greeted the baron earlier.

I followed her gaze.

"Huh?"

I couldn't help but make a strange sound.

"Luria, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's nothing."

Black mist was seeping out from under the door of the parlor.

The room must be filled with black mist.

(What happened?)

I stopped and stared at the parlor door.

Mother looked puzzled, and Sara seemed anxious, but I couldn't take my eyes off the parlor.

Is the baron using a curse for something?

If so, I must stop him.

But I am just a five-year-old who has learned swordsmanship.

Even if I get help from the attendants… no, they wouldn't understand about curse power.

If Crow were here… no, if I had my guardian animals, Carol and Daru, I might be able to do something.

But Carol is small and sturdy, and Daru is big but outside the house.

I thought about it, but couldn't come up with a good plan.

"…What should we do?"

"Luria, what's the matter?"

At that moment, the parlor door was roughly opened, and the baron's butler rushed out.

At the same time, black mist flowed out into the hallway.

"Ah!"

I couldn't help but scream,

"What's happening? Investigate it."

Mother glanced at the attendant.

"Wait."

One of the attendants of the Grand Duke's family ran to the baron's butler.

He returned quickly.

"…It seems the baron has collapsed."

"Is that so? Perhaps from overwork."

Hearing this, the woman who had spoken ill of me rushed to the parlor in a panic.

"Luria, Sara, let's go home."

I was concerned about the baron's condition.

Why did the curse power overflow from the room?

As I was thinking about it,

'Don't answer.'

Crow emerged from the floor, only his upper body visible, and spoke to me.

"…"

I walked silently while looking at Crow.

Crow moved in sync with my steps and explained.

'It was Marion's curse that returned to the baron.'

"…Do we need to do nothing?"

In response to my question,

"There's nothing we can do for them. They will call a doctor."

'If you, Lady Luria, could remove the curse, but since you cast it, it's your own doing.'

Mother and Crow answered simultaneously.

"I see."

Later, I must ask Crow more about the curse.

I decided this in my heart.

Following Mother, we walked out of the front door, where a maid was waiting.

"The carriage is ready."

"Thank you. But there's a place I need to go before we return."

Saying this, Mother started walking towards the back of the mansion.

The garden was well-maintained, but there was no path suitable for walking in a dress.

Mother ignored the dress getting caught on the bushes and kept moving forward.

Behind her, I, Sara, the maid, and the attendant followed.

"Madam, what are you…"

"We need to go and get Daru."

"I'll go and get him."

"No, it's fine. I want to go myself."

Mother smiled at the confused maid.

"But in a dress… walking in such a place…"

"I'm sorry."

Saying this, Mother smiled mischievously, looking like a young girl.

"Mother is quite a tomboy, isn't she?"

Mother gave birth to her brother at eighteen. Her brother is fifteen this year.

So, Mother is thirty-three, but she sometimes looks like she's in her teens.

"Lady Luria looks just like Madam."

"Is that so? Hehe."

I'm happy when people say I look like Mother. I blush.

As I blush, Sara pats my head.

"Hehe."

Blushing, we walked around to the back of the mansion, where Daru was waiting.

Daru had been waiting there as Mother had told him to "stay put."

"Woof woof."

Daru came up to me and pressed his large head against me.

"…Thank you for today. I really appreciate it."

I whispered in Daru's ear and petted him vigorously.

"Kyoon"

"I'll be with you when you get scolded."

"Pii"

Daru lay on his back and purred.

I petted his belly vigorously.

"Sara, you should pet him too."

"Okay."

Sara also petted Daru's belly.

"So fluffy."

"Indeed. Daru is fluffy. And Daru likes having his belly petted more than his nose."

"Okay."

Earlier, Sara had been petting Daru's nose, so I told her this.

While Sara and I were petting Daru, Mother walked towards the detached house where Marion was.

"Marion! It's me, Amalia! You don't have to answer!"

"I'll take care of Sara. I'll be responsible for her!"

"…Thank you… so much."

Marion's voice came.

Mother was about to say something. She probably wanted to say that Marion didn't have to answer.

Speaking alone would drain her energy.

But before Mother could speak, Sara ran up and called out loudly,

"Mom! It's Sara!"

Sara gripped the stick doll tightly.

It seemed she was worried that Marion had forgotten her.

"Sara… you look well."

"Yep!"

Hearing Marion's voice, Sara smiled.

"Dear Sara. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry I couldn't hold you… I'm sorry."

"Mom, it's not your fault! I love you!"

"Thank you. I love you too, dear Sara. Listen to what the lady says."

"Okay. Sara will listen."

"You're a good girl. Sara is my treasure. Be happy."

It sounded like Marion's last words to Sara.

"Okay. Sara is Mom's treasure."

Tears streamed down Sara's face. She wiped them with her sleeve.

"Marion, can you bring food to Marion… please?"

"I understand. Leave it to me. I won't let this continue."

"Okay."

After that, Sara continued to talk to Marion through the wall for a while.