Senior, I've Come to Visit - Chapter 59

I assumed he’d be safe since the subjugation had been completed successfully and they’d already departed.

“I only heard the details just now. It seems the subjugation squad arrived in the capital last night. Nardi did well the whole time, but on the very last day, he got hurt by a demonic beast. Since he said he’d be treated at his family home, the Healing Department probably wasn’t informed separately.”

Ah….

I was so shocked my mind went blank.

“Was he hurt badly?”

“I don’t know exactly, but it sounds like it. It’s not life-threatening, but the Safety Department said he won’t be able to come to the Magic Tower for a few days. I can’t believe it. Of all people, I never imagined Nardi would get injured… he’s always been so strong.”

Just how badly, and where, was he hurt?

My heart pounded violently and my breath hitched. I couldn’t think at all.

“Eloise, do you want to take leave today and go visit him?”

“…Visit him?”

“Yes, to see how he’s doing. I think someone should go. It’d be nice if we could all visit, but we can’t leave the lab empty. And going in a large group might make Nardi uncomfortable. How about you go as our representative?”

“I’ll go.”

He was injured. Nardi was injured. I had to go right away.

If it were only a minor wound, he would’ve been treated immediately and, knowing his personality, he would’ve come straight to work. The fact that he didn’t meant his injury was quite serious.

“Good decision! I’ll give you the address of Nardi’s mansion.”

Lupina hurried to the shelf and pulled out a file. She must’ve taken out the record containing his personal information and copied down the address. From the side, I recognized it. Since I’d visited his home, the Gracian ducal mansion, before, I roughly knew where it was, but I didn’t show it. I pretended not to know and quietly accepted the memo Lupina handed me.

“You can go there. Take care, Eloise. Give him our regards!”

“Yes.”

I left the lab and the research department right away. Greeting the people who were just arriving for work, I walked in the opposite direction and boarded a carriage.

On the way to Nardi’s house.

My heart was still pounding in shock, and anxiety wrapped tightly around me. Out of habit, I took out the signaler from my pocket, checked it, and turned it in my hand. It hadn’t reacted even once, which thankfully meant Iella and her family were safe for now.

But something completely unexpected and shocking had happened to Nardi.

Of course subjugations were always dangerous and injuries were always possible, but without realizing it, I’d started to believe that Nardi would always be fine. As Lupina said, he was incredibly strong, and despite going on many large and small subjugations, he had never once been injured.

It was obvious someone could get hurt during a subjugation.

“….”

I remembered Iella being attacked by a demonic beast, and when I imagined the same happening to Nardi, my heart twisted painfully. Even without knowing the exact injury, picturing him bleeding made me feel like I was losing my mind. First, my parents, then Iella… and now even Nardi had been attacked by a demonic beast. A wave of extreme fear and anxiety rushed through me, making it hard to breathe as my vision blurred.

“Haa, haa….”

I took deep breaths until my chest rose and fell sharply.

As if threatening Iella’s safety and triggering my trauma wasn’t enough, something even worse happened: Nardi had actually been injured. Seeing someone close to me get hurt was the scariest thing in the world.

I forced myself to calm down. Since he said he’d receive treatment at his family home, he was already getting the best care possible. Both of his parents were outstanding wizards, and especially his mother, the Duchess of Gracian, had once been a wizard in the Healing Department. I didn’t know the details well, but he had many wizard relatives, and I’d heard their family also sponsored several wizards.

It’ll be fine, it has to be….

As someone visiting a patient, I didn’t want to show pointless panic or instability. While looking out the carriage window at the scenery, I pushed away the negative images that kept rising in my mind.

Since I’d been here once before, the road didn’t feel unfamiliar. Time passed, and the carriage entered the vast fields near the ducal mansion. Regardless of my situation, the weather was impossibly clear and the flower-filled meadows were beautiful. As the mansion drew near, a small worry surfaced.

“….”

Can I… actually go in?

Unlike last time, I wasn’t coming as an invited guest accompanying Nardi. I was showing up unannounced. This wasn’t just any house but the enormous mansion of a ducal family, so it felt like I’d have to pass several gates just to reach him.

First, the carriage stopped before the large black iron gate with lattice patterns.

“Please wait!”

A guard stopped us.

Caught off guard, I hesitated, unsure whether I should get out or stay seated. In that moment, someone approached the carriage window. When our eyes met, the young man flinched in surprise. Before he could say anything, I spoke first.

“I’m Eloise from the Magic Tower. I came to visit the Young Duke.”

I almost said his name fully, but I didn’t know which title I should use, so I kept it vague. “Young Duke” was probably correct, but it felt unfamiliar.

“Please wait a moment.”

The young man, around my age, ran off somewhere.

So he is reporting it.

I waited in silence, slightly tense.

Before long, the black iron gate opened slowly.

“Please come in!”

“….”

The carriage lurched forward.

Even after entering the estate grounds, we traveled a long way through wide gardens. Last time, Nardi had cleared the area beforehand so I hadn’t seen a single servant, but now there were staff members here and there. I sat deep in my seat, keeping my body hidden inside the carriage.

Soon, the carriage stopped before the building.

But when the door opened and I stepped down, someone was already waiting.

“Welcome, Wizard.”

“…Hello.”

“I’m Hegel, the butler of this estate. I heard you came to visit the Young Duke.”

A middle-aged man with a pleasant expression spoke politely.

“Yes.”

“You’ve come well. I’ll guide you right away.”

I followed the courteous man leading the way.

Maybe I’d overthought everything.

Maybe all my worrying was pointless; reaching Nardi was far simpler than I imagined.

Visiting the Young Duke.

Suddenly, I remembered Nardi visiting me when I had a fever, or rather, breast engorgement. Back when we weren’t anything special, he’d visited me just for that, and I’d been surprised. He’d taken care of me, sucked my breasts, and so many things had begun from there.

“….”

And now, in an ironic reversal, I was the one coming to visit him.

“The Young Duke is in the room up ahead. You may go in.”

So I was going alone.

I bowed to the departing butler, and he bowed even deeper.

One of the two enormous doors was slightly open. It was the same bedroom I’d visited last time. The room where Nardi and I had had deep, intense sex.

I wanted to check whether Nardi was okay as quickly as possible, every minute and every second, but for some reason, hesitation made me stop and inch forward slowly. Still, compared to when I first heard the news, I’d calmed down, so I pretended to be composed and knocked lightly on the open door.

“Come in.”

“….”

Hearing his voice for the first time in so long startled me inside. I pushed the door open quietly and stepped in. Nardi was leaning against the headboard of the bed. Our eyes met.

Ah….

I wasn’t deliberately avoiding his eyes; my gaze simply went to his body before his face. Nardi was shirtless, yet it didn’t feel like he was undressed. Thick white bandages were wrapped tightly around most of his upper body.

“Did you come to visit me?”

“…Yeah.”

Feeling the heavy, lingering gaze on my face, I kept my eyes fixed on his upper body as I slowly walked closer. There was a chair beside the bed, and I sat down without making a sound.

Now that I was near him, instead of his familiar scent, I smelled disinfectant.