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168 That's All There Is to It
"Miss! Miss...!"
At the desperate voice coming from inside the room, GĂ©rard quickened his pace.
Stepping into the room, he found the lady's maid frantically calling out to the room's occupant, who lay sleeping on the bed.
"What's happened?"
When GĂ©rard called out, the maid turned round, looking as if she were about to burst into tears.
"Miss has been making sounds as if she's in pain, almost as if she's being tormented by something..."
Before the maid could finish speaking, GĂ©rard strode to the bedside and peered down.
The room's occupant, Ortansia, was indeed letting out faint groans, just as the maid had said.
"Ugh, ah..."
Her eyes remained closed, her face twisted in apparent suffering.
Faint groans, as if she were enduring agony.
...He wanted to help her somehow, but there was nothing he could do.
At the very least, to take away even a little of her suffering, GĂ©rard gently stroked her smooth cheek.
"...Wake up, Sia."
---
…Ortansia remained asleep, refusing to wake.
At this news, the Vérité ducal household fell into a state of panic.
Father used every connection at his disposal to summon those called the finest physicians.
Still, Ortansia did not wake.
For days now, she had continued to sleep soundly.
"*Sniff*, Miss... it'll be all right. Pamela is here with you..."
Pamela, who had first raised the alarm crying "Miss won't wake up!", had dark circles under her eyes, as if she'd barely slept since that day.
But she wasn't the only one in distress.
The tutors, the servants... Everyone who had been involved with Ortansia to a greater or lesser degree was equally heartbroken.
...Of course, GĂ©rard and Father were no exception.
Father, quite unlike himself, had set aside his work to search for a way to save Ortansia.
GĂ©rard was the same.
Some might be indignant at GĂ©rard, thinking "How cold he is, when his sister is in crisis," seeing him appear calm and unchanged from usual.
But the reason GĂ©rard could maintain a degree of composure like this was because he knew that panic would only make the situation worse.
If crying and screaming would wake Ortansia, everyone would do so.
But reality wasn't like that.
She continued to sleep on, the cause unknown.
…"If I were to suddenly disappear, would you, Brother…"
…"One day, suddenly, I'll vanish from before you, Brother. If that happened, would you..."
…"Would you remember me...?"
He remembers the conversation he'd had with her just before Ortansia fell into this unending sleep.
...Had that been a message from Ortansia?
Ortansia hadn't disappeared. She simply wouldn't wake from sleep.
No... was her soul, her spirit, truly here?
As he was pondering such things, he was suddenly addressed from behind.
"Master GĂ©rard, might I have a moment?"
The one who had called out was a young man who had entered the ducal household's service just as Lucien had revealed his true identity and vanished—Robert.
"What is it?"
"I have something to report."
At Robert's meaningful look, GĂ©rard nodded.
Leaving Ortansia's in the care of the maids and doctors, he left the room.
"Have you learnt anything?"
"Unfortunately, I was unable to identify the cause of Miss's continued sleep. ...From a medical perspective, that is."
GĂ©rard had ordered Robert to investigate Ortansia's symptoms.
If he had merely come to say "I've learnt nothing," he wouldn't have bothered to stop GĂ©rard like this.
"Get to the conclusion."
"Understood. Whilst this is merely at the stage of possibility, Miss's symptoms may not be an ordinary illness... but rather the result of supernatural forces."
Robert was suggesting that forces such as divine blessings granted by the gods or magic acquired through rigorous training might be at work.
Of course, GĂ©rard hadn't failed to consider that possibility either.
But he had dismissed it as an option.
"Indeed, Miss has been granted numerous blessings by the Goddess and is called a saint. No ordinary person could harm Miss with supernatural forces."
Among the blessings Ortansia had received were those that protected her from malevolent powers.
Even if someone used a blessing meant to harm others, it wouldn't affect Ortansia unless the circumstances were extraordinary.
Revolting as it was to consider, if someone wanted to hurt Ortansia, simple methods like blades or poison would be far more effective.
"...Since you're saying this, you must know what's causing Ortansia to sleep."
Though his words came out threatening, Robert didn't flinch.
"I scoured literature that escaped the book burnings and obtained useful information regarding this matter."
So saying, Robert withdrew from his breast pocket a single ancient-looking book.
"A demon god... Really?"
Even just looking at the cover, it was clear. This was a book written about the ancient demon gods.
Long ago, the demon gods and the gods had waged a great battle, and the victorious gods had sealed away the demon gods.
People came to follow the teachings of the Stellar Faith, but resistance from demon god worshippers continued in various places.
What followed was a large-scale suppression movement.
Books written about the demon gods were burnt, and an era continued when even speaking the names of demon gods was forbidden.
As a result, there were now almost no demon god worshippers left, and scarcely any information remained even about the individual demon gods' names.
Even the book Robert now held carried the danger of being arrested as a heretic if its possession became known.
Yet he had gone to such lengths because he had something he wanted to tell GĂ©rard.
"...A demon god governing sleep and dreams. It appears that a shrine in the borderlands of the western region collapsed in a disaster several years ago."
"So that's it..."
Relief at having found the cause and fierce anger welled up simultaneously.
Most likely the demon god, freed when the seal was broken, had set its sights on Ortansia.
No matter how strong the Goddess's blessings Ortansia had received, if she were directly targeted by a demon god, that would be a different matter.
GĂ©rard himself understood this well, having been subjected to Lucien's mental interference.
"...To lay his hands on Ortansia, what a nerve."
When he muttered this with anger seeping into his voice, Robert's shoulders jumped, perhaps affected by the intensity.
"...I have those with expertise investigating traces of the demon god, but nothing has been found thus far. The opponent appears to be exceptionally skilled at hiding."
"Even that Lucien took years. There must be some reason it was able to erode Ortansia so thoroughly in such a short time."
The matter would be simple if they could drag out the demon god afflicting Ortansia and eliminate it.
But the opponent, perhaps wary of GĂ©rard, refused to show its hand.
In that case…
"I'm going to the temple."
Declaring this, GĂ©rard turned sharply on his heel.
GĂ©rard knew that the Goddess Auriela had been feeding Ortansia various ideas.
...And that she was wary of GĂ©rard as a dangerous element.
Due to such circumstances he had avoided contact, but if a demon god was involved, that was a different matter.
Whether the opponent was a goddess or whatever else, he would make her divulge everything she knew.
And…
…"There's no point in worrying excessively about an uncertain future. Besides, wherever you might disappear to..."
…"I will definitely come for you."
He would fulfil the promise he made that day.
That's all there is to it.
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