She had already been pursuing Alois more aggressively for a few days now.
However, despite him continuing to try and escape her, when they finally met, it was in a way Camilla couldnât have predicted.
âLord Alois! A-are you alright!?â
Even though it was still late at night, Camilla had rushed into his room with a loudly raised voice.
There was one large bed in the room and only a single shelf for books, as well as a fireplace, and two chairs. Other than that, Aloisâ room seemed devoid of possessions. Even though she had visited his room many times in the past, she could never get over just how plain and empty it really was.
And on that bed, Alois was lying down. A court physician was assessing him on one side, whilst the rest of the bed was surrounded by servants. There was Vilmer, the long-serving chamberlain and Gerda, the head of all the maids. Besides them, there was also the head butler and the senior most maid directly under Gerda. Those four made up the most veteran servants in the household, whilst a large number of their subordinates stood silently behind them.
As Camilla burst into the room in a flurry, they turned to glance at her. Then, without any more reaction to her entrance, they turned back to look at Alois. She felt a little uncomfortable with their uniform movement, as if they were all tied together with string, but that wasnât important right now.
Camilla pushed her way through the ranks of servants to reach the bed. A few moments later, Nicole finally caught up to Camilla and entered the room, out of breath. Realizing the heavy atmosphere, she felt a shudder run up her spine and she tried to make herself scarce at the fringes of the room, but no one paid her any mind.
âPoison⌠is it true that you were poisoned!? Are you truly alright!?â
âIâm fine. Camilla, Iâm sorry, for making you worry like this.â
Alois was awake, lying slightly propped up in his bed. He was wearing white clothes as if he had been brought to a hospital back in the royal capital. His voice didnât tremble, but the colour had been drained from his face and his eyes looked haggard. It was a hard sight to bear.
âIt really isnât anything worth worrying about, though. I barely swallowed any of it. The doctor told me to rest just in case.â
âHow is this not something to worry about!?â
âItâs nothing to get into an uproar about. As you can see, Iâm alright.â
âLord Alois!?â
She wanted to say more, but Alois shook his head. Camilla could scarcely believe what she was hearing. Alois was the lord of this land. Whatâs more, a Duke with royal blood. And such a man, someone had tried to poison him. How could a matter like that be dropped simply because he was still alive?
Somebody had undoubtedly tried to murder Alois. They had aimed for his life. This was absolutely something to get into an uproar about.
And it didnât seem as if Camilla was alone in that way of thinking.
âThat will not do, Lord Alois.â
It was Gerda who spoke next. She stood a little away from the bed, but she emerged from the shadows of the other servants to step forward and speak.
âWe must find the culprit who poisoned you. An investigation should be conducted, and the poisoner identified as soon as possible.â
âThatâs not needed. I donât consider this to be a serious matter. I am telling you now, I am ending it with this. Also, no one shall speak of this outside of the mansion. Make sure everyone else is aware of that.â
As Alois stubbornly retorted, Gerdaâs eyes subtly narrowed by a hair. As the two of them obstinately looked at one another, no one in the room said a word. Despite the room being full of so many people, you could barely hear anyone breathe.
âWe only want to look for the person who endangered your life, Lord Alois. Why are you so insistent on stopping us?â
The first one to speak was Gerda.
But, despite Gerdaâs question making sense, Alois didnât respond. That impassive face of his simply continued to stare at her.
ââŚAre you thinking of shielding someone? Do you have an idea of who the culprit may be?â
Alois still remained silent. All he did was breathe and blink. If it werenât for that, one might think he truly had died.
âSo there truly is someone to protect? So be it⌠Look for the source of the poison. First, speak to the maids who prepared and served the meal.
âYes.â
At Gerdaâs command, her second-in-command maid nodded with a stern expression. Then, she left the room, with several other servants trailing behind her. Although Alois had expressly forbidden it, she had instead chosen to obey Gerdaâs words.
âGerda.â
Alois glared as she called her name. But despite that steely tone of voice, Gerda wasnât intimidated.
âIf we simply leave the culprit be, then your life will still be in danger, Lord Alois. To find the poisoner, we shall use any and all means. Lord Alois, you may rest in the meantime.â
Cupping both her hands in front of her, Gerda stretched out her back as she spoke.
âYou neednât concern yourself with this matter anymore. All that you need to do is follow Masterâs orders. Nothing need change.â
Then, she bowed. Despite clearly disobeying, she kept the etiquette of a good servant.
ââEat. You shall not be allowed to leave even a crumb.â We shall have your late night meal brought to your room, so make sure to heed the words of the Master without fail.â
Camilla blinked in surprise at Gerdaâs words. Alois, meanwhile, seemed to grow even paler. That expression of steel from just a moment ago collapsed in an instant, as his lips trembled.
ââŚWith that, I shall take my leave.â
But, Gerda turned on her heels and left, not paying any notice to Aloisâ state. The rest of the servants followed in her footsteps.
The only people left were Alois and the doctor, as well as the stunned looking Nicole. Of course, Camilla stayed as well.
In that room that suddenly seemed much more cavernous than before, Camilla spoke first.
ââŚLate night meal?â
Even though Alois laid there, still recovering from poison, that was the first thing she could say. Camilla wasnât a bad person, but she often had a habit of being insensitive.
Whatâs more, she was still surprised by what had just been said to Alois.
Despite looking like the prim and proper servant, Gerda had never truly acted like she took Aloisâ words as gospel, but this went far further than ever before.
â Well, I too think itâs important to find whoever the culprit isâŚ
Despite how she went about saying it, Camilla found herself agreeing in principle with Gerda. In fact, the person she had doubts about now was Alois, who really was acting as if he was trying to protect someone, despite being the one who was poisoned. If they didnât catch the culprit now, the same thing might happen again.
â But, why didnât he say anythingâŚ!?
Camilla thought to herself bitterly. Even if they were the senior most servants in the mansion, even if they were the ones who organized all the other employees, even if they really did have an intimidating air about them⌠it was unthinkable that he be cowed like that merely by words.
âLord Alois! Donât eat before going to sleep!â
âI have to eat.â
ââŚExcuse me!?â
As Alois muttered weakly, Camilla wondered if she was hearing things. Staring at Alois in utter disbelief, she noticed that he was trembling.
âIâm not allowed to leave any food, so why did I spit it back outâŚ? Why did I vomitâŚ?â
âLord AloisâŚ?â
Alois hugged himself with his arms, his eyes turning down to the ground. It was as if he couldnât hear Camillaâs voice anymore.
âWhy couldnât I swallow itâŚ?â
And as he tightly wrapped his arms around himself, power began to flow from Alois. Camilla instinctively flinched backwards. She could feel something faint, shimmering against her skin. Behind her, she could hear Nicole let out a frightened gasp.
She remembered this feeling.
â Itâs like in EinstâŚ
That strong magical power continued to grow, turning Camillaâs skin numb from the energy. As Aloisâ thinking became more and more unstable, the magical energy in his body began to grow unchecked, running dangerously throughout the room.
âI have to eat⌠I have to eat more, to make up for everything I vomitedâŚâ
Not seeing Camilla shudder at the awful sensation of the magical energy crawling over her skin, Alois stood up out of bed. The doctor was trembling so much that he didnât even think to stop him. Neither Camilla nor Nicole could say a word, either.
As Alois staggered on unsteady legs, he began to make his way towards the door. As he opened the door and left, it was only after it closed behind him that Camilla could breathe again. She could feel that the rampant magical energy in the room was slowly beginning to fade.
ââŚah⌠Lord Alois! Heâs gone!â
As Camilla regained her senses and tried to run after him, someone tugged back on her arm. When she turned around, she saw Nicoleâs petrified face. As she held onto Camillaâs arm for dear life, she looked up at her with tears in her eyes.
âYou canât! It would be bad if Lord Alois got even more upset! There might be an explosion!â
Other than him, Nicole was the person with the strongest magical power in the mansion. She would have a much better idea about the true danger of Aloisâ magic raging out of control than Camilla.
âThereâs nothing we can do now! He has to calm down by himself!!â
âNicoleâŚâ
Camilla stood still, as Nicole looked at her more determined than she had ever seen her.
The desperation in her voice wasnât just a warning about some vague danger. She was truly worried about Camillaâs safety.
âIâm sorry. But, I cannot just leave Lord Alois like that.â
The Alois that Camilla knew was always calm. It was rare to see him moved by passion, whether that by joy, anger or sorrow. But now, that man was whipping himself so harshly that he had begun to tremble violently, causing his magical energy to lash out of control.
There was probably no one who could approach Alois now. Perhaps, by tomorrow, he would have calmed down. He might even be able to wear his mask, like usual.
But, what about todayâs Alois? He would suffer alone and in torment, with no one by his side until the sun rose. Such a thing like that was too painful to think about.
âI am just going to check on him. Iâll be back soon.â
And with a proud laugh and a bold smile, Camilla ran a gentle hand through Nicoleâs hair, trying to reassure her.
Then, despite how uneasy Nicole still looked, Camilla opened the door and left that room.