---

Returning to the room, I tried to organize the events that had just transpired in my mind, but my brain was completely fried.

Things were moving at a pace that was hard to keep up with.

“Is it okay if I go for a little walk?”

I asked the maid who had been assigned to me when they gave me my room. I thought a little walk might clear up my dizzying thoughts.

“You don’t need to ask me. Feel free.”

The maid said that and stood up, following closely behind me as I headed for the door.

So, even though they said I had a dedicated maid, it seemed she planned to follow me wherever I went.

“You don’t have to follow me. I’m just going to walk around a bit and come back. Or is it that I can’t go out alone?”

“No, it’s not that. The soldiers are stationed to guard the restricted areas of the Imperial Palace, so it should be fine… But are you really okay? It’s quite vast here, and first-timers often get lost…”

“I’m fine. I’m not going far, just walking around this area for a bit. While I’m gone, you should take a rest.”

“…Understood.”

I nodded at the maid and stepped out of the room.

It’s nice to be concerned about the guest, but this felt a bit excessive. Even in the Imperial Palace, even if the paths were complicated, surely no one would get lost in a mere building.

*

“…Where am I?”

Yep, that hypothetical is me right now!

No, I’m not kidding; just as the maid said, the structure was complicated to the point of being like a maze.

The corridors seemed to repeat the same layout, making it hard to distinguish which passage I had taken before.

And since it was so vast, I absentmindedly wandered, and before I knew it, I had no idea where I was.

There were sporadic doors, but I hesitated to open any of them, unsure if anyone was inside.

It would be nice to run into someone who could guide me, but for some reason, not a single servant was in sight.

As I stood there pondering what to do, I spotted something moving at the far edge of my vision.

I thought I finally found someone to ask for directions, so I quickly turned my head, but walking leisurely was a small four-legged animal that was far too tiny to be human.

“Kitty?”

It was a good distance away, so I couldn’t see clearly, but I could tell it was a black cat.

Maybe because it was a black cat, it looked a lot like the one I used to play with at the Academy, and without even realizing it, the nickname “Meow” slipped from my lips.

Given the quiet hallway, the cat must have heard me because I could see it perk up its ears from a distance and turn its head towards me.

As I took a step closer to observe the cat, it seemed startled and quickly scampered away.

Seeing the cat flee before my eyes, I instinctively found myself chasing after it.

No, it’s just… sometimes when something runs away in front of you, there’s a sudden urge to chase, right? Not to torment it, of course…

Anyway, I turned the corner as the cat hid its body, and I followed suit, trailing after it.

But when I turned the corner, the cat had already dashed away too quickly for me to spot it.

“Huff, huff…”

Instead of the cat, a girl a few steps ahead was busy catching her breath.

“Eh? Elysia?”

“Meow! Oh, no, that’s not—uh… Frecia?”

I was surprised in multiple ways by the unexpected appearance of someone I never thought I’d run into.

I had never imagined running into Frecia here.

But thinking back, I remembered our conversation just before the break when she said she was visiting the palace at the Emperor’s summons.

I hadn’t asked when, so I had completely forgotten.

“Wow! I didn’t expect to run into you here! It’s been a month since we last met, and maybe that’s why it’s so nice to see you!”

“Huff… huff… I’m… I’m glad too…”

Frecia finally managed to catch her breath enough to answer. Looking at her, I noticed a bead of sweat rolling down her small forehead.

“Hey, Frecia. Is there a black cat that passed by here? Like the one I used to play with at the Academy.”

“W-well, why the sudden interest in a cat?”

“It’s nothing much. I saw a cat that looked like the one I used to play with at the Academy, but it was too far to see clearly.”

“By any chance, are you saying that a cat from the Academy could be here in the Imperial Palace? Just look at how far it is from Ferentz to here. You must be mistaken, Elysia.”

“I guess that makes sense, right?”

Well, it would be quite impossible for a cat I saw at the Academy to suddenly be in the Imperial Palace.

That much was obvious… But why did I keep thinking of the black cat from earlier as if it were “Meow”?

Maybe it’s just that I missed the kitty since I hadn’t seen its face in a month.

“Well… no matter how I think about it, it did look a lot like ‘Meow’…”

“Eep!”

“Are you okay?”

Frecia suddenly hiccuped loudly.

Her earlier out-of-breath demeanor and the sweat made me worry a bit about her health.

“I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

But I could see another bead of sweat trickle down her neck even as she insisted she was fine.

Even though Frecia said it was nothing, I couldn’t help but worry about her.

“I don’t know what’s making you push yourself, but you should really go back to your room and rest.”

So, I took her hand and gently but firmly started to lead her back to her room.

“E-eh, Elysia?”

“You said you’re fine, but it’s a no-go. If the Emperor didn’t summon you, just go rest in your room.”

“Wait…!”

Frecia pulled on my hand, trying to resist as I pulled her toward her room, but I wasn’t about to stop.

I couldn’t let this one slide.

Frecia was already low on energy, and it was better to ensure her health now while I could.

Better to be a bit hated than to regret letting her collapse and not take care of herself.

“No. Seeing how you were struggling earlier, walking might be a bit too much, so hop on.”

I simply picked up the resisting Frecia and hoisted her onto my back.

Fortunately, once Frecia got on my back, she stopped squirming and wrapped her little arms around my neck, settling down there.

But it seemed she still had something to say, as she leaned her head close to my ear and spoke up.

“Umm… Elysia?”

“Eh… y-yes?”

Frecia’s voice and the breeze tickling my ear made me let out an odd sound without realizing it.

Fortunately, it seemed she didn’t mind my strange sound.

“My room is the other way around.”

Oh no, I was lost!

*

“Yes, here it is.”

Following Frecia’s direction as she pointed behind her shoulder, I finally arrived at her room.

Crouching down to lower my body, Frecia instead reached out to the doorknob and opened it.

The door opened silently without a squeak, and inside stood a maid.

She seemed to be another maid dedicated to Frecia like I was.

“Oh my!”

“Hello.”

Since I was carrying Frecia, I just nodded my head in greeting.

Now that I was a Count, some might say I didn’t need to greet a maid, but it wasn’t easy to shake off over ten years of commoner habits overnight.

Sure, other nobles might scorn me, but since there were no other nobles around besides Frecia, I really didn’t care about such looks.

“Lady Frecia, what brings you here? Are you feeling unwell?”

“I ran into Frecia in the hallway and thought she seemed a bit unwell. Could you bring her a warm glass of water to her room?”

“Oh dear, you seemed just fine when you left the room earlier. What happened…? Please wait a moment. I’ll be right back with it.”

With a somewhat flustered tone, she hurried off to fetch the water.

In the meantime, I took Frecia and headed towards the bedroom.

“Here we go…!”

Carefully laying Frecia down on the bed, she also gently lowered her hands from my neck and shoulders.

I placed my hand on her forehead, unsure if she had a fever or not.

It was better to be sure.

If I couldn’t tell by touch, I could compare it to my own forehead.

I gently brushed aside her bangs with one hand and slowly brought my face closer.

“Wait a minute…! I’m not ready…!”

As I brought my forehead close, for some reason, Frecia flailed her hands and looked flustered.

While she didn’t push me away, I was still able to make brief contact between our foreheads.

After a quick moment of contact, I realized this method still didn’t help me determine if she had a fever.

I had seen a scene like this in the novels I read, but was it all just fiction?

Reluctantly, I lifted my head and reached out again to place my hand on her forehead.

“Ouch.”

This time, I could definitely feel warmth on her forehead.

In fact, now I noticed her face was red—clearly indicating she was unwell.

“Yep, definitely a fever. You shouldn’t go out today; just rest well.”

“……”

Normally, Frecia was a bit quiet but would at least respond, yet this time, she said nothing.

Instead, it seemed she was pouting, dissatisfied about being forced to return when she had just stepped out.

Next time, I should bring a snack that she likes to cheer her up.

But I hope she doesn’t hate me too much for this; all of this was for her own good.