Nigel jolted awake, nearly fainting in shock when he saw Kay standing right in front of him. He clearly remembered falling asleep in the carriage and being moved to his room—he could accept that. But what he couldn’t grasp was why Kay was here. Right in front of him.
The room was dim, the curtains drawn to let him rest undisturbed, but in the shadows, Kay’s eyes gleamed oddly in the stray light filtering in from outside.
Nothing about Kay in this moment felt like the bright, good-natured boy Nigel had come to know. Instead, there was something unsettling about him—something that reminded Nigel of the madness he once sensed in Inas.
Suddenly, Inas’s words flashed through his mind:
“Is it just Kay? The king, your retainers, even your relatives—Georg and Hayes—they’ve all killed you before.”
Why now, of all times, did that come to mind?
“Ka… Kay?”
Nigel’s voice came out strangled, like someone was squeezing his throat. Kay didn’t respond. He just stood there, silently staring down at him like he was studying him. Nigel’s heart pounded violently in his chest from the heavy tension in the air.
Where’s Inas?
Where had he gone? He’d been afraid of Inas, but now that danger was looming, he couldn’t help but wish he were here. In times like this, he usually showed up. But there was no sign of him now, which meant he really wasn’t around.
“Kay.”
When Nigel cautiously called his name, Kay finally reacted. He tilted his head to the side and leaned in close.
“Lord Nigel.”
“…What?”
“Have we met before?”
“I… don’t think so? I’ve never seen you before.”
“No, I’m sure I’ve seen you.”
Kay mumbled in a flat voice and reached out toward him. Nigel instinctively recoiled, then blinked in surprise.
He’d seen something strange—where Kay’s hand had nearly touched him, several small translucent windows had flickered into view. Like character info windows… or something similar.
What the hell was that?
Just as he reached out to double-check, Kay suddenly swayed.
“Ah…”
For a brief moment, Kay’s gaze clouded over. The eerie pressure he’d been exuding vanished in an instant. Now looking pale and disoriented, Kay stumbled slightly before straightening up, and upon seeing Nigel before him, looked startled.
“Duke.”
“Kay.”
“I—I’m sorry. I came in without permission…”
His demeanor had completely changed. What the hell just happened inside him?
Nigel decided to try talking and struggled to sit up from the bed.
“How did you even get in here?”
The Duke’s bedchamber was under heavy protection. Even servants couldn’t enter unless explicitly authorized. Kay, an external guest, had no way of accessing this room.
Kay scratched his head sheepishly.
“I just came in.”
“You just came in?”
“Yeah. I wanted to see you, so I wandered around a bit, and then… I ended up here by accident. Still, coming into someone’s bedroom is definitely out of line. I’m really sorry. I must’ve blacked out for a second or something.”
“….”
A chill ran down Nigel’s spine. A boy who hadn’t even hit Level 30 broke into the Duke’s private quarters? That was absurd.
“Are you telling the truth?”
“Yes. I really am.”
He probably wasn’t lying. The timeline hadn’t forked into a different route or anything, so Kay had no reason to deceive him at this point. His kind and straightforward personality fit the Protagonist type, and his level was nothing special. He had neither the skill nor the motive to plot something in secret.
If that were the case, then the estate’s security was the real problem. Letting a mere child waltz into the Duke’s bedchamber? Unacceptable.
…Or was it that typical protagonist’s luck again? Main characters always had the world bending in their favor.
If that was true, then maybe Nigel’s misfortune stemmed from being a measly NPC. Even though he was a Duke in the kingdom, in the game’s story he was just a throwaway side character meant to guide players toward the final boss.
He’d seen it happen in the previous Loop. Things that should’ve been resolved easily had spiraled into disaster, forcing Kay to clean up the messes in his estate.
“….”
This wasn’t fair. Not that he had much of a choice.
“Duke, should I leave now?”
Kay asked cautiously. Instead of sending him away immediately, Nigel asked a question.
“Why did you come here, anyway?”
“Uh…”
Kay blinked.
“No reason? You said you wanted to see me.”
“I was just worried about you.”
His flushed cheeks turned rosy, and Kay gave him a bashful smile. Seeing that blend of concern and affection, Nigel didn’t have the heart to snap at him. If Kay were an adult, maybe he’d have said something harsher—but Kay was still just a boy, even younger than Nigel. Besides, depending solely on Schumacher wasn’t ideal. It’d be more beneficial to earn favor with the Protagonist as well.
“I’m fine now. Thanks. But you should be more careful next time. If it had been another noble instead of me, this could’ve ended badly.”
Nigel softened his tone as he spoke, and Kay’s eyes sparkled.
“Yes. Understood. You’re very kind, Duke.”
“Showing kindness isn’t that hard.”
“You’re amazing.”
“It’s nothing.”
Being polite to someone’s face wasn’t difficult. Especially for someone like Nigel, who hated using his status to trample others. He was generally generous to most people. Of course, some mistook that and ran their mouths about him being two-faced after getting burned by his unexpected firmness.
The only person Nigel was endlessly forgiving with was Inas. Normally, Inas would’ve stayed by his side until he woke up—where on earth had he gone?
“Kay.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know where Inas went?”
The smile vanished from Kay’s face in an instant. His expression turned cold, like he utterly despised Inas.
Come to think of it, when they’d first met, Kay had shown a strangely hostile attitude toward Inas.
But the Kay from the previous Loop had admired Inas. Kids his age who used swords all idolized Inas Idenbach. Even if he’d embarrassed himself a bit back then, Inas had helped Kay. There was no reason for him to hate him.
“Kay?”
Even as Nigel told himself it was just his imagination, his voice sharpened. Kay flinched and obediently replied.
“If you mean Lord Idenbach, I heard he was summoned by His Majesty.”
“What?!”
“I don’t know the details though…”
Kay’s muttered reply sounded gloomy. Nigel stared at him for a moment, then sighed. If Kay was right, this wasn’t the time to be sitting around.
“Alright, you can go now.”
“Is something wrong? If I can help—”
“It’s fine. This is a matter for the Duke’s household. Don’t worry about it.”
Nigel cut him off firmly. He didn’t have the luxury to keep dealing with Kay right now. He got out of bed and gestured toward the door.
“Let’s go. I need to step out too.”
“…Yes.”
Brushing off the strangely clingy Kay, Nigel headed straight for the adjacent room.
Hayes, who had been busy with work, looked up.
“You’re already awake?”
He rushed over in surprise, eyes wide, checking Nigel’s condition.
“You seem alright.”
The moment he saw Hayes’s face, a swell of emotion surged inside Nigel. For a second, he forgot what he’d come for and just stared.
Thirty-five this year, Hayes was the deputy Nigel had handpicked for his side. That was because, aside from a few relatives, most of the Magnus Duchy’s vassals were installed by outside influence.
Previous Dukes had fought on the frontlines of Intusnica, choosing knights and mages they could trust from the battlefield. But Nigel, unable to go to war, had no way to build that kind of trust. He had to rely on recommendations, which meant he couldn’t fully trust them.
Without Inas, his position would’ve been far more precarious. He trusted Inas, of course—but as the Duke of Magnus, he couldn’t afford to rely on just one person. That’s why he’d scouted Hayes, a civil servant, and placed him at his side for balance.
Until now, even in life-threatening situations, he believed he could count on Inas and Hayes. But according to Inas… Hayes, too, was one of the people who had killed Nigel.
But looking at the concern and loyalty on Hayes’s face now, it was impossible to imagine such a future.
…Don’t think about it.
He didn’t know what had happened in the past that Inas hadn’t told him. Nigel forced the invasive thoughts out of his mind.
“Inas was summoned by the king, right?”
Hayes immediately frowned.
“He said not to tell you until you’d recovered. Who—”
“I’m fine now. And by the way, I had a visitor in my room.”
“A visitor?”
“Well, not a visitor. More like an intruder. I woke up to him watching me sleep.”
“…What?”
Hayes’s face twisted in horror. For someone to enter Nigel’s room while he was sleeping unguarded—that was a crisis.
If it had been an assassin, the man standing here could’ve been a corpse.
“Who the hell entered your room without permission?”
“One of the guests I brought today. Said he was worried about me.”
“Unbelievable…”
An external guest?
Hayes muttered gravely, his eyes flashing ominously.
“Shall I send him to the underground?”
“No.”
Behind the hidden door of the basement wine cellar lay the torture chamber.
There’d be no point in having stopped Inas if he just handed Kay over to that.
“Nothing happened, so it’s fine. But tighten the security again.”
“Understood. I’ll make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”
Hayes vowed with the grim resolve of a man ready to offer up his own life.
“And… don’t tell Inas. You handle this personally.”
Hayes nodded, puzzled but compliant.
In any case, Inas mainly oversaw the estate knights. The capital mansion was under someone else’s care, so there was no need to bother Inas unnecessarily.
Though… he probably already knew.
With the break-in matter wrapped up, Nigel turned back to his original purpose.
“So, why did His Majesty summon Inas?”
“You heard about the massive mana surge detected outside the castle, right? His Majesty wanted to ask you about it, but you collapsed… so Inas went in your place.”
“Ah…”
Nigel had been planning to file a formal protest with the king if necessary—but now it felt pointless.
It was Inas’s outburst that caused all this, so it made sense he was summoned. He had no grounds to complain.
When it happened, all Nigel could think was how terrifying it was, but having been directly exposed to that immense mana… he felt like he’d gone through a fever. His whole body ached.
If it really was Inas’s fault, then he deserved the trouble he was in.
Normally, Nigel would’ve been furious, so Hayes looked a bit confused at his calm demeanor.
“You’re not angry?”
“Well… I guess I can let it slide this once.”
After all, he brought it on himself.
Nigel swallowed the rest of what he couldn’t say out loud.
