[Whiiine....]

No matter how I looked, it was just a cat.

When she stirred, the little thing curled tighter and let out a small whimper. It was very cute. As she stared, the Guardian sensed her gaze and slowly opened its eyes.

[Meep!]

As if pleased that Camilla had opened her eyes, the Guardian let out a slightly louder sound, stood up from its spot, and came over to lick her face again and again.

Clack!

"My lady!"

Right then the door opened and Dorman came in. In his hands were a basin and washcloth he’d brought to change out.

"You’ve woken! One moment!"

Before Camilla could say anything, he dashed back out.

And a moment later—

"Camilla!"

Duke Sorpel arrived first. He must have ordered to be told the instant she woke.

Striding up to her, the first thing he did was lay a hand to her forehead.

A small sigh of relief slipped from his lips.

"Thankfully, your fever’s gone down."

He tucked Camilla’s hand, which had been outside the covers, back under the quilt, then looked at her in silence for a moment.

He had a great many things to ask. A lot to tell her. Words he very much wanted to say.

But faced with Camilla, who had gone gaunt over just a few days and was lying there, he couldn’t say anything at all.

"Rest."

He patted her shoulder briefly and rose.

"Father."

Camilla hurriedly called to stop him.

"This child...."

It was awkward to call it a child.

Her gaze went to the tiger cub still licking her cheek. Seeing that, Duke Sorpel gave a faint laugh.

"It won’t leave you."

"Sir?"

"We carried it out, and it cried nonstop. In no time at all, it was back here again."

Duke Sorpel lifted the cub into his arms.

[Whiiine....]

"Like this."

The Guardian squirmed and kept whining toward Camilla.

She stared, a little dumbfounded, and Duke Sorpel set the Guardian back down.

The impu—cat... tiger, as if waiting for that, trotted right back and sat by Camilla’s face.

"My lady, first, your medicine...."

In the meantime Dorman came up and offered the dose.

[Rrraah!]

"Ah!"

The instant Dorman stretched a hand toward Camilla, the tiger cub that had been lying so meekly bristled its fur and let out a sharp cry.

"I—I wasn’t trying to touch that part, n-no!"

Startled, Dorman jerked back in a hurry, but even so, the Guardian cub kept its fur up and glared at him. Duke Sorpel chuckled again and picked the Guardian up.

[Whiiine....]

"At least it acknowledges I’m the head of house—it doesn’t refuse me."

No one else could so much as reach a hand toward the Guardian. It acted like a gentle kitten, then showed a very fierce air at others’ approach.

"H-here, take your medicine."

While Duke Sorpel held the Guardian, Dorman, watching the cub’s mood, quickly handed the medicine to Camilla. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Camilla looked at him with mild exasperation. For someone who once managed souls like a god.

"Sleep a little more."

When Dorman stepped back, Duke Sorpel set the Guardian at Camilla’s side again.

Watching the Guardian with Camilla for a moment, he smiled faintly, then left the room.

"Hmm."

Camilla quietly watched the tiger cub, which had already settled in and lain down.

'I can’t stand animals.'

Especially babies or little ones. You have to take care of them from one to ten.

Is it because I’ve never been cared for? When I see the young and weak, I have no idea how to deal with them.

[Meep?]

The Guardian, which had been about to slide its eyes shut, looked up at Camilla again and blinked rapidly. Then it licked her cheek once more.

...I don’t know.

'Let’s just sleep.'

Maybe there was a sedative mixed into the medicine. As drowsiness swept back over her, Camilla finally fell into a deep sleep.

****

"You brat! Where do you think you were jumping into!"

"No, I really saw it in a dream...."

"Camilla!"

I got scolded. It’s been a while.

The moment I said I’d jumped into Spirit Lake to find the Guardian’s egg, Duke Sorpel barked at me.

Even Ludville, who rarely showed emotion, kept furrowing his brow and scolding me with his eyes. Ravi pressed his brow with a look that said he had a lot to say and wouldn’t say it.

"I’m sorry. But no one saw, so don’t worry."

"What?"

"I checked thoroughly that there was no one around, so it won’t bring shame to the house."

"What are you talking about! That’s not the issue here!"

"That isn’t important."

"Hey! Are you stupid? Why would you say that now!"

Hm. Weren’t they chewing me out for behaving without dignity as the duke’s daughter?

Camilla, who couldn’t grasp what was going on at all, drew three short sighs from the men at once.

"Don’t do anything that dangerous again."

"It wasn’t particularly dan—"

"Camilla!"

Seeing the three of them speak her name at the same time, Camilla flinched. Wow. Since when did you three get along so well.

"All right, I understand."

At the three pairs of eyes gazing steadily at her, Camilla finally bowed her head.

[Meep!]

At some point, the little Guardian had crawled up and taken her shoulder, and licked her face as if to console her.

"Why are you always licking me?"

The baby Guardian licked her hands and face whenever it found a chance. It wasn’t candy—what was so tasty about this that it licked so much?

"It’s because it grows by feeding on vitality."

"Vitality?"

Duke Sorpel answered Camilla’s question.

"A Guardian grows by feeding on a person’s clear vitality."

Camilla looked anew at the Guardian still licking her face. So that behavior was it stealing my vitality?

"Though the licking itself may just be this one’s quirk."

As if guessing what Camilla was thinking, Duke Sorpel gave a small laugh and went on.

"Normally, a Guardian grows simply by staying near the being that emits the vitality it wants. There’s no need to lick like that."

Camilla tapped the Guardian’s nose lightly with a finger. Stop that.

[Whiiine....]

She watched the Guardian curl up, covering its face with its forepaws, then turned her eyes back to Duke Sorpel.

"Is it all right for this one to stay by me?"

Camilla let out a small sigh.

A Guardian is the symbol of the head of house. Having such a being follow her, not Duke Sorpel, would look bad to others. It could stir up needless trouble.

"It isn’t that you can have a Guardian because you are the head of house."

"Sir?"

He reached his hand toward the Guardian perched on Camilla’s shoulder.

[Meep....]

The Guardian flinched and then, with some reluctance, toddled onto Duke Sorpel’s hand.

"It’s just that the one the Guardian chose happened to be the head of house every time."

He gently stroked the Guardian’s head. His eyes toward it were full of affection.

"It’s simply that each house’s leader happened to possess, especially strongly, the kind of vitality the Guardians prefer."

"Ah...."

"And you—"

He paused, then looked, amused, at the Guardian wriggling, trying to get back to Camilla.

"—seem to have been born with a vitality all Guardians welcome."

"Me?"

"Didn’t that bastard’s Guardian show interest in you ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) as well?"

He meant Jeti, the Red Eagle Guardian.

"It seems the reason that man wanted to see you last time was that red eagle of his."

"Jeti?"

Now that she thought about it, she remembered hearing it from Butler Rube before she collapsed. The Duke of Jevillan wanted to see her.

"Why me?"

"Who knows. He said he didn’t want to tell me."

As if something had occurred to him, Duke Sorpel kept chuckling.

"......"

Camilla scooped the Guardian back into her arms as it had already come sidling toward her again. Her feelings were considerably tangled.

'Is it really fine to keep this Guardian by me?'

Perhaps sensing the complexity in her heart, Duke Sorpel called to her quietly.

"Camilla."

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

It was thanks whose meaning she couldn’t grasp. Camilla snapped her head up, a strange look crossing her face.

He—Duke Sorpel—was wearing a very gentle smile. A comfortable smile like she had never once seen on him before.

"Thanks to you, I’ve finally resolved a very old wish."

Do you really think so? You truly don’t find it a loss?

"That a Guardian has returned to our house."

A long sigh slipped from him, as if the past trials came back to him. Then he looked at the Guardian again with pleased eyes.

"It’s something to be plenty glad about."

"Father."

"Well done."

Looking at Duke Sorpel’s face, light as if a great burden had been lifted, Camilla couldn’t say anything more.

'So it worked out?'

Honestly, this was the ending I wanted. Why did I scatter bait? It was the plan to make them believe what I said.

After scattering bait so diligently, I could have casually told them the location of the Guardian’s egg, saying I saw it in a dream.

'Why did you go in there yourself? So dangerously.'

Dorman asked once I recovered and he learned everything.

He was right. There was no reason for me to leap into the lake myself.

If I had only brought Duke Sorpel, pendant in hand, to the shore, the matter would have been solved easily.

But I didn’t.

'Why, you ask?'

'Sir?'

'To live.'

'What...'

'To get a little farther from the ending where I die every time.'

Because I wanted to find the Guardian with my own hands and deliver it myself.

Camilla didn’t care about people’s praise or reputation. The one thing she still cared about hadn’t changed.

'I was scrambling not to die, you bastard! And you know whose fault all this is, right?'

'...I’m sorry.'

One thing was certain: after this, even if I caused a big incident, I probably wouldn’t have my head lopped off on the spot.