The visit to the clinic went by faster than I expected. The doctor did his job efficiently, leaving no time wasted as he performed a thorough inspection of me. Considering the knife never even grazed me, I found this to be a bit excessive, but oh well.

Before long, the doctor gave the okay to Father, and we were back at the carriage, ready to go home.

The carriage moved at a slow and steady pace, matching the knights who marched around us. Some rode ahead on horseback to clear the way while the others encircled the carriage to form a protective wall on foot.

I was fascinated by how smooth and coordinated their moves were. My eyes were completely glued to the window. Watching them was oddly satisfying.

If I attend the Royal Knights’ Academy, would I learn about stuff like this?

With the carriage moving so slowly, it would be a while before we reached the manor. Resting my head against my hand, I watched the knights in idle observation. Before long, my thoughts began to wander to my other self.

—

I was sitting by my writing desk with a blank piece of paper in front of me. Usually, I would begin writing my letter by lighting up the tiny lantern on the corner of the desk. But since the sun was still out, this was an exception.

I debated whether or not I wanted to write another letter, considering I haven’t gotten a response yet from Mom and Dad, but with all that happened today, I just wanted to have someone I could talk things through with.

After thinking it through, however, I decided I should just wait until later. I wouldn’t want to worry Mom and Dad any more than I did with the letter about the castle attack. I carefully placed the unused piece of paper back in the desk drawer.

With the surface of the table free of anything, I slumped forward, crossing my arms and letting my head sink in. 

“Hah…” I let out a heavy sigh.

I knew that this world was more dangerous than I was used to… But ain’t things moving just a little bit too fast?

An assassination attempt right after a terrorist attack? I need some time to rest, man.

I was still not clear on why Raymond would attack me out of the blue like that. He didn’t look like the type to do that sort of thing at all. And then there was the fact that he came unnaturally prepared.

How… How would he have known that I could see through bags? If he hadn’t known, then surely he wouldn’t have packed that many black clothes inside. It was obvious that he knew about Carine’s super vision somehow…

Of course, it could all just be one massive coincidence. Maybe he thought he could hide the knife better with tons of cloth or something, and it just so happened to work against me. But the more I thought about it, the less likely it sounded.

I began to wonder if jealousy or anger was the only thing behind why Raymond did what he did. Whenever I try and remember how his eyes looked as he glared at me with that knife, there was this weird sense of unease building up in my chest.

That sense of blankness in his eyes… could it be from that?

A faint noise reached my ears. Footsteps and chatter began to fill the distant halls. Loud enough to catch my ear, but far enough for me to unable to hear what they were talking about clearly. Why were the servants so busy all of a sudden?

Then I heard the clatterings of armor… the knights seemed to be busy as well.

I figured this was to be expected. After all, an attempt was just made on the life of the duke’s future heir, AKA me.

Hearing the clattering of armor reaching the entrance lobby, I grew curious. I rose from my chair and took a peek from the window. A few dozen knights walked in two file lines down the garden, heading towards the front gate. A few of them split off from the rest to take the branching paths of the garden, possibly to patrol the garden.

That’s a bit much, isn’t it?

I knew the garden was big and all, but wasn’t the perpetrator already caught?

Since Father was still out with me in the carriage at the moment, that meant Mother must be the one who ordered this. I get it, though, and I couldn’t blame her for being thorough. I believe having a “Better safe than sorry” mindset is a good thing.

The commotion outside my room began to grow louder, to the point that it was starting to sound clear to me. My ears caught rhythmically paced footsteps moving their way towards my room. This confident, almost upbeat rhythm… No… Not him.

The footsteps grew louder and louder until they eventually stopped. It stopped right before my room’s door. Not a second later, three firm knocks came.

“Hey, kid! You there?”

I was hoping my ears deceived me. But no, I was right. Anton was right in front of my room, and I had nothing more than a bad feeling about this. Reluctantly, I answered his knocks. 

“Yes, I’m here.”

“Ah, good, good.” Anton cleared his throat before continuing, “Would you be so kind as to open the door for me? I have something to discuss with you!” he said cheerfully.

I suppressed an annoyed sigh as I trudged my way to the door and opened it. I was greeted by Anton, standing there looking down at me with an annoyance-inducing smile.

“Good afternoon, Sir Anton,” I said with the best forced polite smile I could bring out. “What do you want to discuss with me?”

Anton clasped his hands together like a shady merchant about to make a sale. “Well, you see, things have been a bit hectic here as of late, don’t you agree?”

I blinked, trying to figure out what his goal was. “Sure, I guess.”

“Mmhmm, I agree as well.” Anton nodded. “That’s why the duchess figured that things would be better if we keep a closer eye on things and prioritize safety above all else.”

“I see…”

Oh no, they’re not going to start assigning knights to every door in this manor, won’t they?

Thinking about it, though, it wouldn’t be that annoying. Having an extra layer of safety, no matter how big or small, would be greatly appreciated. If it meant that I would need to get used to being escorted by knights everywhere, it was probably worth it.

“So, what you’re saying is that I’m—”

“Yes, you’re absolutely right!” Anton interrupted me. “We’re kicking you out!” he said with a big, wide smile.

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