Everything Was a Mistake - Chapter 40

“I don’t have a hobby to bother sick people, so I’ll go now.”

Valrose got up out of bed and turned around. A straight step leads to the door of the bedroom.

Looking at the distant appearance of the back, Nocton opened his mouth without realizing it.

But before the boy’s words could be heard, there’s a knock on the door. A strange premonition flowed down his spine. His anxiety rose, and the door opened.

The woman with short black hair who gracefully entered the room with an elegant smile was the Duchess. His heart was pounding, and Nocton quickly raised his upper body.

Valrose broke the magic when she opened the door, that’s why the Duchess could enter his room now.

He wanted to know how did Roa Valrose broke his magic and opened the door, but he couldn’t afford to think deeply about it right now.

“I saw you a little while ago, Valrose’s young lady. Come to think of it, I’ve forgotten something.”

“A little while ago … what is it?”

“Oh, even before I came up to your room, Her Grace asked me to drink tea with her. While we were talking, the butler called and Her Grace went to her office.”

“I’ve taken care of the urgent matter. That reminds me. I haven’t visited this sick child today. I’m not happy about it.”

The serpent-like eyes rolled and fell into the bed.

“You look very sick, my dear.”

She tried to approach Nocton with a sad expression, but Valrose blocked the path in front Patricia Edgar.

“Valrose’s young lady?”

“Uh … I think Nocton is not feeling very well. It would be better to let him sleep, in my opinion. When you’re sick … you become sensitive.”

Duchess Edgar’s eyes glistened like glass beads. Her expressionless face and shining eyes seemed sharp, and yet Valrose only seemed embarrassed, she had no intention of stepping back.

“….right, when the body is sick, the mind becomes sensitive. Still, it’s rude for him to just lie in bed when there’s a guest in front of him.”

“Since I was going to go back now, you don’t have to worry about it.”

“No, it’s regrettable to send you back so soon. As I said earlier, I do not mean to be impolite, but there’s something I want to say to the lady. Valrose’s young lady. It is largely a matter of the family, but I’d like to hear the lady’s opinion. It’s no other than my dear Floyd—”

“Mother.”

No sooner had the name of Floyd come out than Nocton opened his mouth. His voice was heavy and his expression was cool, but the shaking eyes could not be hidden.

He was on edge.

“I have something to tell Valrose. Please leave. “

“You asked me to leave … You’re being cruel, dear. To this mother who has prepared holy water for you.”

What?

Nocton stiffened at the surprising remark, and the knight who stood behind the Duchess came forward. There was a glass of blue liquid in his hand. He can feel the intense white energy that makes him wonder why he didn’t notice it before.

“Alright, I don’t want to bother a sick child either. I can talk about it next time. If I just see you drinking this, I’ll leave right away, so drink it.”

The Duchess smiled, shaking the glass full of blue liquid.

Nocton’s heart began to beat faster.

No, it can’t be safe to drink that in his current condition. He couldn’t guarantee that he would survive.

Perhaps he became complacent just because the Duchess was so relaxed.

He didn’t know she would try to kill him with Valrose, an outsider, right in front of him.

How on earth are you going to handle this….

If I drink holy water and die, then Valrose….

Nocton unknowingly looks at Valrose’s countenance. The girl, with curiousty in her face, was staring at the blue liquid.

The innocent eyes made his heart sank.

What would she think of him if he drank holy water and reacted like that?

“You sure are a devil bastard.”

The words that have passed came back and bloomed in his heart.

Nocton’s hands trembled.

His eyes, his feet, his heart, his whole body trembled.

Valrose was hypnotized, so the uneasy expectation that he would be okay could not calm him down.

There is no way.

Seeing the boy who stared at her without an answer, the Duchess narrowed her mouth.

“You don’t even have the strenght to lift your glass.”

“Next time—”

“No, you should drink it right away when you are sick. It’s not something to put off. Then … Valrose’s young lady? I wish the lady can help.”

“Yes? How can I help?”

“Feed this to him.”

Valrose’s face looked troubled, but he couldn’t be relieved. The Duchess, whose eyes were shining with joy, seemed to have no intention of backing down.

“I don’t need it, Valrose.”

“That’s not something that a sick person judges, dear. Do you want me to be here forever? If not, do you want me to feed you myself? I’ve never done it before.”

“….Mother.”

“You can’t do that. If it’s not me, it’s her, or you yourself. So, with whose hands you want to drink the holy water.”

That’s all you can choose. That’s what Patricia Edgar’s eyes said.

It’s a cliff with no way to retreat. Whether he’s going to push his back or jump on his own, that’s all he can choose from.

While he was speechless due to the vague emotions, Valrose, who was pushed by the situation, received the glass.

Finally, eventually, at last. A cruel smile appeared on the Duchess’s face.

And by that time, Nocton couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Mother.”

Black fog flowed from the wriggling fingertips. The fog went invisible, and permeated into the smilling Duchess’ nose.

Patricia Edgar, who was pushing Valrose’s back, stopped. Soon, her eyes were strangely blurred.

“You can’t use holy water for this.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Please take it back. You have some work to do.”

“Alright. Valrose’s young lady, please return the holy water to me.”

“Uh … yes? Yes.”

After an abnormal change of behavior, the Duchess immediately left the bedroom. Valrose looked at the door with a strange look at the incomprehensible change.

And Nocton Edgar was shaking even harder than before.

There is no turning back now.

Unlike Bello Leopard, which ended in a one-time perfomance, the Duchess couldn’t be finished on a single hypnotism.

She’ll try to kill him as soon as she gets out of the hypnosis.

The prey that is a threat and the prey that is not a threat are different. The Duchess will do her best to hunt him when she finds out that he can touch her mind.

Even if there is a rumor, even if the question arises that Nocton’s death wasn’t an accident, but an assassination, she will do her best with all her power.

Therefore, if he doesn’t want to die, he has to destroy the Duchess’ spirit.

He can’t find another way anymore. Morality, which had been built up by others, collapsed in an instant.

Valrose’s words, the promise, and the moral shackles seemed to be greater than he thought. He felt like there’s a storm in his mind.

Whether it’s shame, guilt, resentment or hatred. Even for Nocton, who feels other people’s feelings as if they were his own, his unfamiliar feelings were tangled up in a mess.

However, it is clear that the color of the emotion is not bright, he couldn’t get the word worst out of his head.

Nocton squeezed his upper body and went back into the blanket.

“….go back.”

Please go back.

His voice was so hoarse that he couldn’t say any more, but Nocton thought so inside. Shivering under the covers, he closed his eyes tightly. It was dark all over his eyes, but it wasn’t as dark as his heart.

He shuddered and shivered, not even able to gather even the crumbs of his mind.

Then suddenly, Nocton felt that his bedroom was too quiet.

He didn’t feel any sign of her presence, perhaps because his body has become sluggish, or that he didn’t hear it because his mind was in a weird state.

Did she go, like he said? Is she gone along with what he said?

He wondered if she will come back after this.

He was the one who told Valrose to go, but the dark silence aroused his anxiety.

Even when his heart is overwhelmed by other emotions, it’s hard to tell exactly what he’s feeling because he was confused.

And in the meantime, he thought it would be the last time he told her to go back. He couldn’t stand the nervousness that Valrose would never come back.

In the end, it was the moment when Nocton tried to pull the blanket and chase after Valrose.

The side of the bed flapped in.

He didn’t touch her skin, but he felt the warmth.

He breathed in unconsciously.

Still, the warm words fell down over Nocton, covered with blankets.

“I’ll stay here.”

“What….”

“I’ll be right here, Nocton. I’ll stay until you fall asleep.”

He could feel her body leaning against the headboard. With a blanket between them, Nocton opened his eyes. A shadow of a person can be seen moving over the blanket.

Leaning on the headboard, the small girl, Roa Valrose, opened the book she had brought.

She said that she didn’t like old books and claimed that she could sleep just by looking at the alphabet.

“Even if you try to drive me out, it will be useless. It’s okay if you come back in.”

“Valrose.”

“If you want to chase me away, you should be healthy and completely cured, and then tell me to get out. Then … umh … I’ll think about it then.”

He felt strange.

Really, it’s too weird, too unpredictable, too good, too bad, he doesn’t know if he’s glad or dislike it. He can’t say for sure either.

The tremor has gone off. His painfully pounding heart became quiet and his throat was locked.

“Don’t think. It’s annoying when you think and talk.”

“….you’re really. Hey! You’re sick, aren’t you?”

Without an answer, Nocton buried his face in the pillow.

“Well done, Nocton. In the future … please never kill a life. Let’s make a promise.”

“Never kill anything. Understand? It’s a promise!”

He wasn’t stupid, and he knows that doesn’t really mean killing.

However, if he takes it that way, if he takes Valrose’s words in such a broad sense, the promise has already been shattered.

It’s not a big deal, it’s a one-sided promise, but it was unclear whether Valrose would remember it, though.

‘Yes, I won’t kill anyone.’

If he doesn’t kill them, he might be able to find a room for excuses.

If he’d rather be a moron, if he’d just take the words as it is, he would be a douchebag.

Even in that way, Nocton did not wish to forsake Valrose’s words.

Perhaps because of the pain in his body or the heat, his eyes became hot.

He didn’t want to be seen by anyone.

Nevertheless, he didn’t want to tell Valrose, who is only behind the blanket, to go back.

After he told her to come again, he didn’t even want to send her back, and hoping for the next one.

Rather, Nocton …

Valrose.

Valrose.

Valrose.

He repeated the name for no reason.

Like a person who wants something to come.

T/N: Yes, this is still #ProtectNocton ARC