Landon knew Cain would definitely go tattling to Helena, but he’d already made up his mind. No matter what Helena said, he was going to fire Cain.

If a duke didn’t even have the power to dismiss one attendant, then how the hell was he supposed to fight fate?

He might as well quit being a duke, run off to the ends of the earth, and only worry about anything else after the game’s protagonist got married.

Right now the academy couldn’t control Landon’s comings and goings. Cain, on the other hand, couldn’t follow him out, which nicely avoided the chance of Cain and Helena putting on some synchronized act to piss him off right in front of him.

But when Landon got home, he realized he still hadn’t prepared himself enough. Someone he thought he wouldn’t see for a while was actually sitting in his house.

“...Lilica?”

The girl having tea across from Helena was Lilica—the one whose letter to Helena Landon had accidentally seen before.

She was also the capture target who would bring the game’s protagonist to the Imperial Capital. After hearing Flora’s fortune-telling today, Landon had guessed Lilica had probably already brought the protagonist back to the capital. He just hadn’t expected to run into her here.

“Mm... Landon... good evening.”

Lilica was sunk into the sofa, speaking slowly.

He used “sunk” because she was really that small. Sitting on the couch, her toes didn’t even reach the floor. If she wanted to sit comfortably, she had to lean her whole body back, ending up half-lying there.

She looked like a twelve- or thirteen-year-old loli with black hair and black eyes. A uniform-style white shirt under suspender shorts, black knee socks wrapped around a pair of thin legs that looked like they barely had any strength. Leather garters clipped to the stockings to keep them from slipping, short boots on her feet.

Probably because, as a knight, she was always fighting in close combat, she didn’t keep her hair long. Instead she’d cut it into a neat style, longer in front and shorter in back.

But no matter how practical her outfit was, one look at that soft, adorable face and it was hard to imagine her swinging a weapon on the battlefield.

Especially when the way she talked and moved always had this sluggish, childish feel. That only made her look even more like a delicate doll than a female knight.

Landon, however, knew Lilica wasn’t nearly as childish as she looked.

Lilica was a half-blood between vampire and human. Her growth wasn’t the same as a pure human’s.

When he’d been little, Lilica had already looked like this. Nearly ten years had passed, and neither her appearance nor her personality had changed at all…

Considering Lilica had been in a state of amnesia when Landon’s mom bought her from the slave market, it was really hard to guess her actual age.

Logically, that kind of obvious foreshadowing meant if you cleared Lilica’s route, you’d get all the answers.

But back in high school, Landon had only played games in what little spare time he could steal. He’d never finished it, so he had no idea what would happen later on that route...

If he’d known he was going to transmigrate, he would’ve cleared the game even if his exam ranking dropped a hundred places.

Landon’s heart twisted in regret.

Helena gently set her teacup onto the saucer and waved Landon over. “Lilica came back to the Imperial Capital today. You two haven’t seen each other in a while, have you? It’s a good chance to catch up.”

“...Yeah.”

Landon answered after a slight hesitation.

After regaining his memories from his previous life, he’d gone through his memories from this life too, trying to figure out his death progress bar. Naturally, that included Lilica, one of the game’s heroines.

Everything related to Lilica was actually pretty straightforward.

The duchess had bought her from the slave market. After discovering she was good in a fight, she’d planned to train Lilica as Landon’s bodyguard.

Since they looked about the same age, she’d told Lilica about the difference in status and put her through training, but at the same time she’d let Landon play with Lilica to build a bond.

That way, with emotional groundwork laid, when Landon faced danger in the future, Lilica would be willing to stake her life to protect him. That kind of bodyguard training wasn’t uncommon.

But one day, Lilica suddenly told Landon she wanted to leave the Stuart family. Landon had still been a kid, but he knew enough to try to win good terms for his own people, so he’d gone to the duke and begged him to free Lilica.

That was why a girl who’d once been a slave could now become a proper knight.

Landon believed he’d never wronged Lilica. He figured they’d parted on good terms, with no grudges between them. After Lilica left the Stuart family, they’d still stayed in touch for several years like normal.

...But Lilica apparently didn’t see it that way.

Thinking of that, Landon’s mood suddenly dropped.

And of course, Helena just had to hit the one topic he didn’t want to hear. As soon as he sat down, she brought up the name that now annoyed him as soon as he heard it. “By the way, I received a letter from Cain. He says you’re going to fire him?”

“That’s right.” Landon admitted without a second thought. “Did he say why?”

Helena gave a slight nod. “He says the Saintess did a divination for you. You think he’s the one the divination said would bring you danger.”

“That’s it. I actually gave him a chance. All he had to do was let me investigate him, confirm he wouldn’t put me in danger. But he clearly wasn’t willing… For all I know, he’s already done something to stab me in the back.”

Helena frowned, her words proper and righteous, sounding very reasonable. “You shouldn’t malign the people at your side like that. You’ll never gain your subordinates’ trust that way. You need to treat the people around you better.”

Landon leaned back against the sofa. “Say whatever you want. The dismissal letter’s already written. Whether you agree or not won’t change a thing. I’m not keeping around anyone who might put me in danger... Besides, even if you treat someone really well, they won’t necessarily appreciate it. Right, Lilica?”

Suddenly called out, Lilica blinked, her mind clearly off in space. She froze for a few seconds like she was rebooting, then finally answered.

“Mm-hmm... I think, generally speaking, people would be grateful.”

That answer, like the matter had nothing to do with her, made Landon rub at his temples. “That’s what you think? If someone treats you well, you’ll remember it?”

He really couldn’t understand Lilica. After doing those things, how could she still look like she’d never done anything at all, acting so naturally like nothing had happened?

The reason he’d suddenly called her out was because the moment he started saying that, he couldn’t help thinking of what Lilica had done—completely opposite to her words.

He’d mentioned it before. No matter how he looked back, he felt he’d never wronged Lilica. And how had Lilica repaid him?

One time, some girl he’d never even seen before suddenly showed up and complained to Helena, claiming he’d harassed her the day before.

The girl and her parents had no evidence. They just made things up with their mouths. Yet Helena believed them immediately and came to question him.

Of course Landon denied it. “Impossible. I don’t even know her. She’s just here to scam money... Wait! At that time yesterday, I saw Lilica! Lilica’s my witness!”

He’d thought he could finally clear things up in front of Helena, use this as a chance to wash off some of the filth stuck to his name. Heart pounding with hope, he’d called Lilica over, hoping she would testify for him.

When Lilica arrived, Helena asked her, “Landon says he wasn’t there at the time, that he was at a shop near your house, and he even saw you. Do you remember that?”

Landon looked at Lilica full of trust. With the bond between them, he was sure her answer would be exactly what he expected.

But the unexpected still happened.

Lilica answered without a moment’s hesitation. “I don’t remember.”

Landon was stunned and rushed to add details. “It’s that candy shop on the street across from your place! I even asked you what flavor you liked… You forgot?”

Lilica replied in a calm, flat tone, “No. You’re misremembering.”

Landon was dumbfounded by her attitude.

Lilica had no reason to lie. Could he really be misremembering? But no, he remembered it so clearly...

The first time it happened, because Lilica showed not a hint of guilt, Landon had been willing to believe she’d just forgotten and forgave her.

But then it happened a second time. A third time. A fourth...

Every time, Landon thought, this time Lilica will definitely say what I need her to say. And every time, Lilica disappointed him, dropping him from heaven straight into hell.

In the end, Landon couldn’t hold back and confronted her, asking if she was doing it on purpose.

Lilica answered with complete composure. “I know you were there... I also know you didn’t do those things... But I don’t want to say it. Is that not allowed?”

Landon was stunned. “Why? Did I do something to offend you?”

“...Mm, you didn’t offend me... and there’s no reason... I wanted to do it, so I did.”

Lilica’s face was blank. Her pitch-black eyes didn’t dodge, just stared straight at him.

If there had been hate or disgust in them, at least that would’ve been a reason.

But there was nothing. Her gaze was calm, empty. As if she really did do it just because she felt like it.

Yes, Lilica had never actively done anything bad to Landon.

She just happened to stand by and watch when he fell into a well. Maybe toss in a stone or two while she was at it. But she would never try to pull him out.

She couldn’t even give any halfway reasonable explanation.

This baseless, yet very real malice aimed right at Landon was something he couldn’t understand.

Realizing that hurt him badly.

Being stabbed in the back by someone he’d always trusted cut deeper than Helena doubting him.

And Lilica’s most terrifying trait was that no matter how far she went, her attitude never changed. She never felt guilty.

Just like now. Lilica was sunk into the sofa as if nothing had ever happened, answering with a calm face, as if her words weren’t a lie.

“...Of course, I’d be grateful.”