Erebos acolytes had summoned a demon from another world, intending on attacking the town Claus governed.
Having sensed the presence of the beast before they launched their attack, I’d put an end to their barbaric plans. Unfortunately, the ringleader had been killed in the process. Given that I’d been the one responsible, I awoke the next morning with a sense of dissatisfaction.
“Oh, Lord Hisui... Your face is so darling even while you’re asleep.”
In the midst of darkness, I heard a familiar voice.
My consciousness gradually roused itself, and I slowly opened my eyes...to see Rose right in front of me. She was lying in my bed next to me.
“Lady Rose?!”
My foggy thoughts cleared up instantly. Mind catching up with reality, I pulled away from her in a flash and got out of bed so fast I practically jumped.
“Good morning, Lord Hisui,” Rose said sweetly. “Did you sleep well?”
“G-Good morning,” I stuttered. “I’m not tired anymore, thank you... But may I ask why you’re in my room?”
“Since this was the second night in a row that you’ve stayed here, I couldn’t help but want to see you sleeping.”
Rose smiled radiantly without a shred of shame.
Still, this was odd. I had taken Claus up on his offer to stay at his manor and I’d intended on staying a few more days to make sure my sisters didn’t worry. I was pretty sure I’d locked the door before going to sleep. House Lycoris typically valued privacy.
But now Rose was in my bed, right in front of me. She’d probably unlocked the door with a master key. That aside, for a boy and a girl of the same age to be sleeping in the same bed together... It was just a little bit indecent!
I had no idea what I was stammering at her at this point, but I was ready to dash out of the room in embarrassment.
“L-Lady Rose, this is improper! You shouldn’t be getting this close to a member of the opposite sex.”
“As long as it’s you, I think it’s fine. You’re our hero, after all.”
“You sound a lot like your father...”
“Yes, well... That is something father would say, after all.”
“I see.”
Wait, wait, wait. Girls couldn’t go around behaving so vulnerably around men, heroes or not! Men were all animals. They were liable to lose control of their desires way too easily. They fell to temptation, lost all reason, and tried to do unthinkable things—justifying it to themselves with thoughts like “it’s fine as long as nobody finds out.”
I prided myself on my willpower, but despite that, I still didn’t know where my instincts would take me. There were no absolutes in the world, after all.
I fanned my flushed face with my right hand, and my heart throbbed so hard that it hurt. But Rose seemed completely unaffected, as if she had never even entertained the idea that I could be dangerous. Looking at her face, I felt a strange sense of calm settle over me.
“So, why did you come to my room?”
“As I said, I simply wanted to see you as you slept.”
“Is that really all?”
“Yes!”
Thank you for replying so enthusiastically. How did Claus raise you, anyway?! I thought.
“Now that you have, please return to your room. If your father saw this, my life would be—”
Just as I was about to say “over,” there was a knock on the door.
“Hisui? Are you awake?”
Oh. It really was over.
Speak of the devil. The voice from the other side of the door belonged to none other than Claus.
Rose was still on my bed. If he saw this, I’d be executed—or at least, if I were a father, that’s what I’d do.
But when I tried to tell Rose to stay quiet while I responded to Claus through the door, she beat me to the punch.
“Hisui’s already awake, father.”
Nooo! Rooose?!
Rose had answered so matter-of-factly, I thought my veins would burst from how loud I was screaming internally. My eyes opened wide, and I began to sweat profusely.
“Rose? You came to see Hisui too, did you? Well, excuse me.”
Opening the door with a clack, Claus entered the room.
It was his home, after all—I couldn’t exactly tell him not to come in. Instead, I simply stood trembling in the corner of the room.
Contrary to my consternation, however, Claus didn’t bat an eye seeing Rose sitting on my bed.
“Good morning, Hisui. What are you doing in the corner over there?”
“Huh? Oh, um... Nothing.”
His reaction was almost a letdown. I thought he’d be so angry he would fly into a demonic rage, but he behaved the same way as always.
“By the way, father, what brings you here? You don’t often come asking after Hisui,” remarked Rose.
“Ah, it’s just... I have some troubling news to share,” replied Claus.
“Whatever could that be?” I wondered.
Claus turned his attention to me. “You have visitors, Hisui.”
“Huh? Visitors?”
Who would be here to see me? I’d only been living here for a short while, and I didn’t really know anyone in town yet. At least, I couldn’t recall meeting anyone who might come all the way to the Lycoris residence.
“Yes. They claim to be your father and brothers.”
For a moment, my breath caught in my throat. Time seemed to stand still as I fell silent, lost for words.
My father and brothers...were in town...and they came to this manor?
There was no way. This was impossible. Canna was a ways out from the Clematis estate, so had they hitched a ride on a traveling merchant’s carriage or something? That was the only explanation I could think of.
“Lord Hisui’s family?” asked Rose. She turned to me. “If I recall correctly, you said you weren’t very close to them.”
“Th-That’s right. Neither my father nor my brother cared for me, so why would they come here?”
“I imagine they heard rumors about you somewhere,” remarked Claus.
“Rumors?”
“Are you not aware? Your name’s on everyone’s lips these days.”
“What?!”
I looked at Claus in shock, my expression telling him exactly what I wanted to ask.
“You’re the curse-breaking hero. Do you realize just how many people you saved at that church? Ever since that day, the people who witnessed your healing have been spreading stories of your miracles. They say Fouré’s apostle walks among us now, with strikingly green hair.”
“Oh no...”
When had this happened?! I’d been branded Fouré’s apostle before I knew it. Now that I thought about it, though, I had caused quite a scene at the church, so I guess it was no surprise that people would start talking.
“Yay! Huey’s my apostle!”
In the corner of the room opposite my own, Fouré had thrown her arms into the air joyfully. Her dazzling smile was the last thing I wanted to see at the moment.
“What do you mean, your apostle? He’s mine, obviously,” complained Aruna.
“It’s rather unfair that Fouré is the only one who gets recognition. I won’t take this lying down,” Cult chimed in.
“Too bad! Huey’s only used godcraft in public, after all! So of course people would think he’s my apostle. Anyone would. Because he is!”
“No!”
“You’re mistaken.”
The three of them were arguing over whose apostle I was. But wasn’t one, and even if I were, I’d be an apostle of all three of them.
“What would you like to do, Hisui? Now that you’re famous and known to possess power, your family may very well have come to take you home. Would you like for us to send them away?”
I ruminated on the idea for a moment. “No, I don’t want to cause any more trouble for you. I’ll figure something out.”
My guess was that my father and brothers had come to take Armeria and Cosmos back, and had tracked me down after hearing all those rumors. Perhaps, as Claus suggested, they might even have come to take me home as well, but I would never let that happen. I wouldn’t let them take my sisters either.
Claus chuckled. “Come now, you needn’t refuse my help like that. You’re certain to have need of it.”
“Huh?”
Claus was brimming with confidence. I had no idea where it came from. But instead of waiting for him to explain, I simply got changed and headed to the drawing room.