“Is Young Master Lucas here?”

The head servant of the house, Gerald, didn’t exactly know why the knight came to find the youngest master of the house as he halted the knight, asking for the reason for his visit. It was not like everyone could just casually come and meet his little master.

“I am Gerald, the head servant of this household. May I know why you want to meet Young master, Lucas?”

“Ah, I apologize for being in a hurry. I am Dan, the knight of Squad 4, serving under Lady Maria. I was sent here to check whether Young master Lucas is in the mansion or not.” Dan fully introduced himself as the head servant nodded at his answer.

“I see. Well, he is here but now he is training on his healing magic. He ordered everyone not to enter his room before he comes out so I suppose it will be difficult to see him.”

Gerald answered as he didn’t want to disturb the young master. He had known little master Lucas since he was a newborn and it was not the first time that young master acted like that as he usually cooped up in his room while training. And he didn’t like it when someone disturb him.

“So, he is in the mansion, right? Then it’s fine.” Dan thought that it was ok as the head servant said that the young master was home.

From the start, he didn’t know why his lady had given him a command like that. ‘Why would a young child like young master Lucas be able to leave the mansion on his own?’ Or so he thought.

“How is the situation in Sansa?”

Dan was preparing to excuse himself but stopped as he heard the question from Gerald. He took a few seconds before answering. It was as if he didn’t want to think about that.

“Ha…the healers think it is definitely the demon’s curse…” Dan sighed while whispering to Gerald making him sigh together with him.

“Is there really no cure? Have you asked for advanced healers from the capital? Maybe royal healers may have a solution.”

“Of course. But they also are lost with this…. I think we can only pray to Lucian.” Dan had his head low as he wanted to scream out why these bad cases were happening to them.

For a few seconds, the atmosphere was quiet and Dan believed that Gerald had nothing more to ask him.

“Excuse me, then. I have to leave now.”

Gerald nodded, looking at Dan who left quickly as fast as he had come, as he also silently prayed that everything would go fine. Even though the information was kept confidential to a certain extent to control the panic of the crowd, Gerald was one of the people who knew that Sansa was suffering from some kind of disease.

He was hoping that it was not the curse but This old man had a heavy heart as he thought it was not that long after such a gruesome Dark Wave and there came another unknown disease, now confirmed as the curse from stories as he gazed at the sunset before he went back to his daily duties.

***

“Dan, what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be with Lady Maria?”

Dan looked back as he found another knight approaching him before he left the main gate of the mansion, and halted his steps as he realized it was no other than Carl.

“And how is Alisa? Have you met with her?” Carl continued while he was surprised to see someone who should be at Sansa was back at the mansion. He knew how much his childhood friend had wanted to meet Alisa and how much he had worried about her.

He was worried for a bit if Dan was dismissed from his duty as he was not originally from the squad under Lady Maria but he was allowed to participate in the squad by requesting the lady so much as he wanted to go to Sansa, when he heard that Alisa was one of the suspected people to get the disease and help as much as he could and for Alisa, too.

Dan felt a load of frustration as soon as he heard that name. A frustration that came from his lack of ability in helping the girl, named Alisa.

“As we had expected, the curse always goes to family members. She has some coughing but it is not life threatening……. Yet….” He continued as he clenched his hands. “She is now in the local church, together with other similar people….”

Carl looked at the poor knight who looked like he was feeling lost. Who would know that grandmother of Alisa would be one of the people who had the curse first. It might be hard for Dan to accept that, right now.

“She will be ok.” He couldn’t think of anything else to tell this young knight.

“Yes. She will.”

Dan would do anything to help her cure this damn curse. Even if he had to ask for help from devils, he would have done that.

“I have to go back to Sansa, now. Lady Maria might be waiting.” Dan gazed at the sun which had already shown the sign of setting. He considered using the teleportation service although it might cost him some but he didn’t want to leave too long from Sansa, where his lover was currently at.

Carl sighed at the thought that Dan wasn’t dismissed from duty. But he wondered why Dan had come to this mansion, though.

“Oh, what are you doing here, then?”

“Well, Lady Maria asked me to check on Young master Lucas. I don’t know why though. Chief Oscar just said that the lady wanted me to go and check on him.”

“So, did you meet with the young master?”

“No. But Gerald said he is training so I chose not to disturb him.”

‘Young master did say that he is going to stay in his room all day, though…’

But Carl felt somehow strange as he thought. His young master should be in the mansion and he was guarding the gates in case he slipped out but he wondered why he got such a feeling that Young master Lucas had succeeded in slipping out somehow.

“Anyway, I need to leave quickly. Will meet you later, pal.”

“Alright. Let’s hang out for a while after this has all finished. This time let’s take Alisa with us, too.” Carl held the shoulder of his childhood friend, Dan as he said goodbye, making a small laugh, wanting to cheer up his friend for a bit.

“Ok, Carl. haha, I wonder if she is going to hit me for drinking a lot. She doesn’t like it.”

“Then, don’t drink.”

Dan laughed a bit as he left saying goodbye, making Carl stand still with a sigh. And then he remembered why Dan had come back to the mansion in the first place.

‘Why would Lady Maria want to check on the young master?’ Knowing that Lady Maria was not someone to do something without a reason and it made Carl feel strange. ‘Young master is not going outside, right?’

Carl’s feet headed to where Lucas’s room was located. He felt a bit heavy because he had already made Young master Lucas displeased this morning and now he had to disturb him, again. But he was willing to accept the consequences, though.

Knock Knock

Knocking the door of Lucas’s room softly, Carl waited for the answer quietly in front of the room.

“Young master, it’s me. Carl. May I enter?”

Knock Knock

He didn’t hear any reply from the room as he got more anxious. And with all preparation that he would accept any punishment that the young master would give him, he opened the door slowly.

“I apologize, Young master. I just want to know how you a-”

Carl got speechless as he looked at the room and he felt like his head was shot with a thunder from above. He saw no one in the room and wishing that his thoughts might be wrong he entered the room more, exploring the bathroom and changing room but only to see that there was literally no one.

If Carl was someone who was easy to die from anxiety, he would have already lay dead on the floor.

‘I was damn careless!’

Carl blamed himself that he should have realized it when Young master Lucas didn’t let anyone in the room. Lucas always made it succeed if he wanted something, with one way or another and he blamed himself for not having enough caution.

‘I would have gone with him, if it was going to be like this!’ He became worried as he imagined his Young master wandering around in the city alone. And it was starting to get dark outside. ‘Did he get to Sansa?’ Since Lady Maria was already having some suspicion. And he thought it was the reason why Dan had come here to check on Young Master Lucas.

As Carl clenched his hands, he rushed out from the room, debating in his mind whether he should inform this to other knights for a search party or look for him on his own in order that Young master Lucas would not have more trouble.

His rushing steps to outside of the room halted as he saw a familiar small figure standing outside of the room and a pair of blue eyes staring at him deeply.

“What are you doing in my room, Carl?”

Carl really did feel happy and delighted to see Young master Lucas but then he realized that crystal blue eyes were so cold that he shivered a bit for a second.

And literally, he thought he was doomed.

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A/N: Thank you so much for reading dear readers! I love you all >< It is finally passed through chapter-40. yay hayyyy!