Published: January 15, 2026
As soon as I woke up, Til’s face came into view.
“Ah, Lord Van. Good morning.”
Til noticed I had awakened and approached with a happy smile.
“Good morning, Til. What’s the situation? Has not much time passed yet?”
Feeling weak, I turned onto my side, asking Til the questions that had been bothering me. Til nodded in response.
“Well, Lord Van, you rested before dusk, and now it’s about noon the next day. The situation is…”
As Til spoke and looked up, a voice came from the opposite side of the bed.
“The situation is at a standstill. Neither side has the capacity to attack, and the enemy seems cautious, so they haven’t advanced. Scouts have reported seeing enemy troops, so it doesn’t seem like they’ve given up.”
It was Kamushin’s voice. Hearing this, I rolled over on the bed and turned away. Kamushin stood straight with his back perfectly erect.
“I see. Then it’s possible they’re resupplying from the Yelinetta Kingdom. Or maybe hiring mercenaries... Either way, it seems unlikely they’ll attack immediately.”
I exhaled, and Kamushin looked at me with concern.
“...Are you alright?”
Kamushin asked worriedly, and I gave a wry smile and nodded.
“Maybe I’m catching a cold? I feel pretty bad. But I can’t just lie around either. The walls need to be restored fully.”
Just as I tried to sit up, a hand was placed on my shoulder from behind. Was Til trying to help me back onto the bed? I turned around and saw Lady Arte sitting on my bed, looking at me. It seemed she had been sitting near my feet.
Lady Arte frowned worriedly, pressing on my shoulder.
“Please, rest even a little... Lord Van, your complexion is worse than you think. I can’t believe you’re okay this way...”
Before I could protest, Lady Arte gently pushed me back onto the bed. With a tearful expression like that, I couldn’t refuse.
“...Am I really okay? It does feel bad. If I can rest, that would be great...”
Muttering my concerns, I then heard a mature male voice from the doorway.
“Please rest assured. Since last night, I have been constantly by your side to protect you. I will guard your life at all costs.”
“Huh? Row?”
I looked up towards the door and saw Row, appearing unusually tense and serious. He had the aura of a soldier—or rather, a knight—which was normal, but his intense demeanor gave me a strong sense of unease. Row usually had a gentle, brotherly vibe, unlike Arb.
Curious about this, Kamushin leaned closer and whispered softly.
“Yesterday, Stradale-sama gave him a lecture for over an hour.”
“...That explains it.”
Satisfied, I lay back down. Indeed, other than assassination attempts, neither the Yelinetta Kingdom nor the Shelvia Confederation could do much. I half expected them to plant bombs in the walls, but if they approached by any means other than digging underground, they would be attacked by ballistae immediately.
Well, I’ll take them up on their offer and rest.
Deciding that, I let my guard down and leaned on Til.
“Til, I want some warm tea and sweets.”
“Yes, I’ll prepare them right away!”
Til smiled and nodded, then left the room with light footsteps. After seeing him off, I looked at Lady Arte.
“Lady Arte, thank you for your puppet magic. Thanks to you, we managed to defend ourselves.”
“N-no... I didn’t do much...”
Lady Arte smiled shyly when I thanked her. I returned her smile and glanced over at Kamushin. Perhaps recognized by Stradale, Kamushin now bore a confident and proud expression.
“Kamushin, that technique you used yesterday to steal the enemy’s sword—is that stealing magic?”
I asked. Kamushin trembled a little and stiffened. Lady Arte also looked at him with surprise. When I bought Kamushin as a slave, I’d been told he had a magical aptitude for stealing magic, so I had a hunch.
I waited silently for his reply. After one or two seconds, Kamushin spoke.
“...Yes. Actually, ever since the day I first saw Lady Arte’s magic, I’ve been practicing magic on my own. I thought maybe I could help Lord Van with magic... But with stealing magic, I could only take things from about one to two meters away. Also, it seems the magic can’t be used if the target is looking at me...”