Ever since it turned into the third dungeon,
the level of difficulty had increased considerably ―― like traps, poisonous
mushrooms, and strange-looking monsters. To this, Sara pondered.
「Hmm...」
Sara spread a piece of paper on the table in
the corner of the small library in the fort, sat down on a wooden chair, and
was drawing some schematic.
She is wearing a lab coat over her regular
clothes, which seems to fit in somewhat, but her legs are dangling because of
her lack of height, and the height of the desk is up to her chest, which makes
it really difficult for her to write.
At that moment, the door to the library
opened.
「Oh, Sara, there you are!」
As Alexis enters the library, Sara stops her
writing and smiles at him.
**a
「Oh, Alex. What's up?」
「Well, I just wanted to ask you...」
「Oh, right. I forgot to give you this. Here
you go」
Before Sara could ask Alexis, she handed him
a powder wrapped in a thin sheet of paper.
「What's this?」
Alexis asks and Sara replies.
「Birth control, I prepared it for you. I
won't ask what exactly happened, but you need it, don't you? Make sure you give
it to Her Highness properly」
「Ugh...」
"How old is this girl really?"
Alexis wondered, but he was grateful for the gift.
「Why don't you just give it to Fransisca
directly?」
Sara smiled bitterly when she heard this.
But then she whispered to Alexis.
「That... well, shouldn't you be careful? I
think Her Highness is sensitive about such things. I mean, she used to be
Princess-maiden, right? Even what you did to her is not quite clear to me...」
Sara stares into Alexis' eyes as she says
this.
「...I know I'm supposed to. But why is the
princess...?」
Sara immediately looked down at the paper
spread out in her hand.
「...well, it doesn't matter. Anyway, don't
forget to make her drink it, okay?」
Sara pointed at the medicine in Alexis'
hand.
「Oh, yeah」
Alexis nodded and decided to leave the
library. But before he left, he saw that she had a look in her eyes as if she
wanted to tell him something. However, he knew she was not going to let him pry
any further into her life.
「...ah」
As he stepped out of the library, Alexis
remembered.
He wanted to ask Sara about Fatima.
（Did Fatima consult with her?）
It bothered him, but whatever. Alexis leaves
with this thought.
* *
*
Right now, Fransisca was crouched on the bed
with a pillow in her arms.
「......」
She had been silent for a long time.
She just sat there, not moving a muscle.
A few minutes ago, she also soaked in the
bathtub. She had washed her body thoroughly and had rinsed off enough Alexis'
liquid.
But now, Fransisca is thinking about the
events of this afternoon over and over again.
（――I was right, my memory is completely lost. Sara told me she worked hard
to make an antidote. And Alexis-sama...）
Fransisca sighs.
「...Does he hate me so much that he's doing
this to get revenge...?」
It was then.
A knocking sound is heard, followed by a
voice saying, "Hey, Fransisca".
「Hyauwa?!」
Fransisca let out a strange sound and jumped
up from the bed.
「A, A-Alexis-sama?!」
「What is it? What's wrong with you?」
Alexis was muffled on the other side of the
door.
Fransisca rushes to get off the bed and
opens the door.
「I-it's not that...」
As soon as she sees Alexis' face,
Fransisca's expression turns complicated.
Alexis furrows his brow.
「...what? Let's go in」
「Uh, yes」
Fransisca lets Alexis in and closes the
door.
「...oh, um... Are you still coming in
tonight?」
Fransisca's cheeks flushed. Frankly, she
wanted him to spare her. It was because she was tired from the daytime
activities.
「Well, I'm not so eager that I could do it a
third time」
「T-third time...」
Fransisca counted in her mind with a blush.
So, he had to come inside me today, and
then...? What about the other one?
Alexis hands Fransisca a powder as she tilts
her head.
「Here, take it」
「Eh?」
Alexis gave a simple explanation to
Fransisca, who received the powder with a puzzled look on her face.
「Birth control pills, Sara gave them to me」
「Oh...」
Fransisca's cheeks were again tinted.
It was because she was made to realize that
she was doing such a thing again.
**b
「T-thank you very much...」
Fransisca blurts out in embarrassment.
「Don't forget to drink it. See you tomorrow」
With that, he turns to leave, and Fransisca
immediately says, "Umm”.
「...What is it?」
Alexis looks back at her with a doubtful
expression.
Fransisca realizes that she has held him
back and hurriedly puts her hand over her mouth.
「What do you want...?」
Alexis' expression became even more dubious,
and Fransisca was left with no choice but to say something. Eventually, she
finally opened her mouth.
「...If you hadn't gone to get the antidote, I
might have died there. And that would have been a great opportunity for you」
Fransisca speaks in a whisper.
Alexis rolled her eyes and asked, "What
do you mean?".
「You have a grudge against me, don't you? You
put me in this position... because you think what I did before is unforgivable.
Am I wrong?」
Alexis was puzzled to hear Fransisca speak
with a gloomy expression on her face.
Why did Fransisca take such an attitude from
him?
「It's okay, you don't have to worry about me.
I am well aware of how rude I have been to you」
「Umm... what do you mean?」
Alexis folded his arms and turned his body
toward Fransisca, ready to listen.
（I've told him this much, so it's doesn't
matter...）
Fransisca nods her head in agreement.
「I'm at least willing to take responsibility
for myself. If you ask me to die, I will accept the responsibility anytime
without you having to go through all this trouble」
Her clear amethyst eyes look straight at
Alexis.
Alexis is taken aback by the look of
determination in those eyes.
（This girl...I see. So this is the kind of
girl she is）
He's strangely impressed.
The fact that Fransisca had first tried to
capture Avalon with him at the head, the fact that she had been so angry at the
rudeness of the Krangal soldiers, and the fact that she was now following
Alexis all made sense to him.
「...Really, you're a serious girl, huh?」
Fransisca is annoyed by Alexis' attitude,
who blurts out an exclamation.
「What... are you talking about all of a
sudden? I'm serious, right now」
「Yes, I know. That's what I'm telling you,
isn't it? You're serious」
「A-Alexis-sama, please don't make fun of
me...」
Alexis raises his hand lightly to Fransisca,
who looks puzzled.
「Well, let's not be so formal, and we'll do
it again tomorrow. Okay?」
Alexis turns away from Fransisca as if he
does not want to hear what she has to say.
「Besides, it's not like I hate you or resent
you or dislike you」
After saying this incidentally, Alexis
leaves the room.
「Uh... Eh...?」
All that was left was a confused Fransisca.
