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“A snake entwined with a rose, huh.”

Elias spoke, seemingly lost in thought as he carried Seletina.

The crest was indeed embedded into Seletina’s beautiful neck.

Given how smart Elias was, it wasn’t hard for him to figure out that it most likely had something to do with The Witch of Black and White, however, he had no clue as to what the crest meant.

The rose aside, snakes were rarely bringers of good omens.

Although the crest had a positive impact on Seletina, it didn’t sit right with Elias, considering the one who’d given Seletina the crest was the witch who had tried to ruin this kingdom.

“So that is why you were sparring with Loggins. Still, even though your body has gotten better you were still too reckless. You should pay more attention to yourself, Seletina.”
“I apologize.”

Seletina said in a slightly angered tone and turned her face away, puffing up her cheeks. She was obviously unhappy about having Elias carry her to her room. Elias sighed in frustration at the brattish behavior of this lady.

“Brother Elias, please do not ogre Lady Seletina just because you’re carrying her!”

Eleanor exclaimed, still unhappy with how things had unfolded.

“Ogre? Don’t you mean ogle, Eleanor?”
“That’s right! Ogling is bad! Hey! HEY! I-I just saw you touch Lady Seletina’s bottom!”
“I did not! What’s the matter with you? You’re even more restless than usual!”
“You’re holding Lady Seletina and it’s making me envi¹… Ah, forget it! Sexual harassment is wrong, Brother Elias!”

Eleanor exclaimed, while biting down on her handkerchief in anger.

This has been going on for a while now.

Eleanor would run circles around Elias with Seletina in his arms, and complain about this and that.

At a point it had gotten so bad that Elias had offered to give Seletina over to Eleanor, however Eleanor had not been able to bear Seletina’s weight and had been reluctantly forced to give Seletina over to her brother with tears in her eyes.

Eleanor was still bitter about it even now.

Elias couldn’t bear it and quickly tried to shift the topic.

“Still, this crest on Seletina’s neck is quite interesting. While it may have shown good signs for her, that is only a speculation by Seletina.”
“Then what should be done about it? There’s no way we can know for sure what it is.”

Eleanor said while shrugging her shoulders.

Elias, on the other hand, seemed like he had an idea. Seletina silently looked up at him and waited for him to speak.

“A rose and a snake. From a normal person’s perspective this might seem like just a strange combination, but depending on who’s looking at it, it might have some deeper meaning.”
“In other words, you’re suggesting that a Mage look at it?” Seletina asked, to which Elias nodded.
“The so-called Court Mages might be worth a shot. I suppose that I do not need to sing their praises. How about it, Seletina? Would you be willing to have them look at it?”

Elias asked, to which Seletina hesitated briefly and fell silent.

The crest was definitely Dicentra’s handy work. Seletina was completely sure about that. However, she did not know whether it would benefit her, or bring about ruin.

But the thing she knew was that she couldn’t let it be seen by just anyone.

Considering this is something Dicentra set up then I’d definitely want a Mage to look at it.

Those were Seletina’s honest feelings.

Having made up her mind, Seletina looked at Elias and shook her head sideways. She was refusing his offer. Elias, in turn, was somewhat shocked by this development.

“Why?”
“That’s right, Lady Seletina! That thing just appeared after you woke up! There’s no way it’s normal!”
“A friend of mine is a capable Mage, whom I can trust. I want that person to look at it.”

Seletina said with a troubled expression, while the remaining two let out a sigh of relief. It was clear that they were worried about Seletina. However…

“Is that Mage really more capable than the Court Mages?”
“Well… you could say.”
“If there really is such a person then I’d love to meet them. It would be great if I could scout them for the Court Mages.”
“That might be somewhat difficult. She’s a difficult character.”

Seletina said, as the image of Imitia Belbed, her old friend, manifested in her mind.

I hope she’s doing well.

Seletina’s eyes narrowed slightly as she grew worried about her Wolfen friend, a species which was rare even amongst the Beast Tribes.

“In that case we will leave the matter with the crest to you Seletina. However, before then, you really should rest. There are way too many people who are worried about you. One of them is even coming here right now.”

Elias said, and pointed with his chin to the end of the seemingly endless corridor stretching before them.

From the end of the corridor Seletina caught a glimpse of a golden chestnut. As it got closer she realized that it was actually Yennis who was running towards them.

A warm feeling of nostalgia began rising up inside of Seletina. Although she’d slept through the last few days, she terribly missed her family’s faces.

Perhaps it was because she was on the brink of crossing over to the other side, but Seletina felt an overwhelming love for her family right now.

It’s times like this that really make me feel alive.

Seletina was happy.

I am Orthus, yet I am not him. I am Seletina. A single person, and a daughter of the Aldelight family.

That alone made Seletina overwhelmingly happy.

“Seletina!”
“Big Brother!”

Yennis ran to his sister, his face covered in sweat.
　
As he reached he placed his hands on his knees as he gasped for breath.

“Y-You… gasp … weren’t in your room, so… gasp … gasp … I got worried!”
“I-I’m sorry…”
“Father has gone back home, but… gasp mother is still here in another building… You should’ve let me know that you were awake!”

Yennis said with a smile while wiping the sweat off his brow as he watched the prince hold Seletina in his arms.
　
After taking some time to catch his breath, Yennis recovered his posture.

“I’m glad to see that you’re okay. … Your Highness, Prince Elias, Princess Eleanor, I apologize for the trouble that my sister has caused you.”

Yennis said, while bowing deeply.

At the end of the day, he was still a duke’s son.

“There’s no such thing. Rather, it is I that have ruined Seletina’s mood.”
“Seletina did what? I apologize for her behavior!”
“No, no. I didn’t say it like that. There’s no need for you to apologize.”
“Brother Elias is right. After all, he’s the one that was groping Lady Seletina’s bottom!”
“Eleanor, do not speak of needless things. You’ll give people the wrong impression.”

After saying this, Elias handed Seletina to the bewildered Yennis and put her on his back.

“She apparently doesn’t like being held by me. So I’ll leave it to you, her brother, to carry her back from here on.”
“I see…”
“I leave her care in your hands. Seletina, let’s meet once your condition has improved.”

Elias said with a smile. Seletina, in turn, replied with a cold nod.

It would appear that the carrying incident had given birth to a seed of bitterness in her.

Somehow, Seletina’s attitude towards Elias seemed just like that of an irritated cat.

“Lady Seletina, let’s walk around the garden when you get well. Just the two of us. Kyaa!”

Eleanor exclaimed as she covered her face with both hands. Seletina, in turn, smiled at her broadly.

After all, the princess had been one of the people who’d taken care of Seletina while she was sleeping.

The desire to repay that debt lingered in Seletina’s heart.

“In that case, Prince, Princess, we’ll be taking our leave. I have to take my sister to see our mother…”
“Princess Eleanor, Prince Elias, thank you for taking care of me. I’ll come and meet you again once my condition improves.”
“Great. Go and rest.” Elias said.
“Take care! And Sir Yennis, please take care of Lady Seletina!”
“I certainly will. If you will now excuse us.” Yennis said while bowing slightly.

He then turned around and went back the way he’d just come, making sure to walk carefully so as to not impact Seletina.

1. Robinxen: I love her.