Chapter 3

The slight fever on my forehead and the cold flowing through his hand.

Instinctively, I thought that something was weird.

But anyway, there was only one option.

Entering the Duke Castle as it is.

The opportunity like today will not come again.

It is a lie if I say that I’m not scared.

Duke of Anais, who is notorious. Even if I enter as the duke’s benefactor, it was my responsibility to survive from the human-hating creatures.

However, if I let go of your hand like this, everything will go the same as the original, and I will have a miserable end.

For a happy future with my brother, I have to follow him at this moment.

When I finished organizing my mind, I happily replied .

“I like it!”

He escorted me with a polite manner.

When I came out holding his hand, I could see the carriage waiting in advance.

At this point, the Duke seems to have prepared something as soon as he woke up.

Since when did this person have been awake… …

“Get on, Astel.”

An elegant and noble attitude that is angled to each of the cold expressions and movements.

I nodded and climbed into the carriage.

Yet with a side glance, I looked at him closely.

Duke Anais, even in the original, living in hiding without a presence, A man who is unlikely to have a lifelong relationship with a commoner like me.

Duke Anais, alone looked like a man made of ice.

I turned my head to glanced at the window over the chariot.

I felt like I was going out of my mind, but I was fortunate that I didn’t forget to lock the door of my house before getting on the carriage.

*     *     *

Duke of Anais.

Dozens of spiked spires were visible as they poked through the sky.

The top of the tower is covered with ice caps, so it is called Winter Castle.

Winter Castle was a natural fortress boasting a fantastic shape in its own right.

At the same time, it was also the center of the Northern Autonomous Territory where prisoners lived.

However, the biggest reason why the Duke of Anais is famous was because of the current Duke.

What kind of person is Duke Anais living in this Duke Castle?

A demon slayer and beast of the demon war, a Hegemony who shakes the entire continent beyond the empire, and an arrogant noble that even the emperor can’t touch. However, no one knows the origin from where he was born. One day he suddenly appeared and joined the predecessor of Duke Anais’ family.

There is another one.

Although he is a beast of the beasts, his race or real name is not known, so he is simply called Mr. Duke or “Duke Anais.”

To wipe out the monsters at once and kill anything you don’t like right away… …

…… I think he’s a person with all sorts of horror.

‘The manners are better than I thought, but I don’t know. Because he is a dangerous beast, I have to be extra-careful.’

There must be a reason why those who destroyed the Vietry family were driven into the dangerous Duchy of Anais.

The possibility that Duke Anais was the final villain could not be ruled out.

But right now, it was an urgent need to fully adapt to this duke and see him as much as possible.

As I looked out the window, I turned my head into the carriage and glanced at his sculptural face.

It was an unusually handsome face, but it looked so cold that there was no emotion.

Even though I stare at him like this, it seems like he was not interested in anyone…

“Astel.”

……I thought it was, but it wasn’t.

It seemed that I was staring too deeply. I hurriedly swept my forehead, ” haha!”, and laughed out loud.

“Because you’re exceptionally handsome. So I keep looking  at your face.”

“I guess you like my face.”

I thought it was a joke and looked at the Duke distantly.

However, his face was still emotionless as the cold wind blew.

I just took it for granted, and I was like,

” Why do you stare at me?”

‘A person who cannot even be controlled, No, it’s a beast… … ’

Still, when I think of an answer, it seemed that he was treating me as a benefactor.

He even took out a piece of candy from his coat and handed it out.

As if prepared in advance… …

“Relax.”

“…….ah!”

Like a timid hamster, I, with a sharp ear, pretended to eat candy carefully and put it in my pocket.

Still be alert!, It’s time to be vigilant.

As he stared at me, he uttered.

“It would be better to eat it.”

” . . . . . . ”

Have you noticed that I’m wary?

However, the Duke’s expression was still subtle enough to make it difficult to understand.

“You’ll hear amazing words soon.”

“… … Yes?”

Even to my question, he didn’t answer any more and looked away.

Even that was a very elegant attitude that brought admiration.

Anyway, what will I be surprised at? My head was filled with question marks.

Is it because the Duke Castle is so beautiful?

Or is it because of discrimination by prisoners?

However, it was a fact that I had already felt and prepared firmly after working in the treatment center for over three years.

I carefully calculated the contents of the original, learned healing techniques, and entered the North.

For three years, I worked at a treatment center with an effort to cut bones, and I collected information about the Shapeshifters in my spare time.

So, it won’t be surprising when I enter Duke Castle.

“Don’t worry． It’s the first time I’ve ever had a mountain war, and I’ve been through it all!”

I was confident.

I assured him that I would unveil at some point what would happen.

After going through everything, as much as my heart could take, almost like a grandmother’s, Is it the level of an Old Man?

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, it is!”

He stared at me again. There was a strange heat in his eyes.

“I’m curious if you’re in good shape right now.”

“..…Yeah?”

“My heart must be full and feverish.”

His hand touched mine.

Even though it was only that, the corner of the chest where the dull pain was throbbing became comfortable and my body became cool after the warmth from the touch came up.

As a healer, my gut tells me that this is obviously a bad sign.

“It will be comfortable now.”

I was surprised and opened my mouth slightly.

Unlike me, who tilts my head, he noticed something and put a sweet candy in my open mouth.

“So I told you to relax,”

……I thought it would be bitter if it was the candy The Duke carries.

It tastes like strawberries… … ?

Before I even rolled it in my mouth a few times, he looked satisfied with me, who had swallowed the candy.

As soon as his hand fell, I closed my eyes tightly.

The moment the eyelids were closed,it came as if fainting.

*    *    *

“Well, does that make sense?”

Unsurprisingly, I was very surprised by the serious commitment I had earlier, my mouth was wide open.

As soon as I arrived at Duke Castle, I expected to discuss the reward.

However, the Duke Anais woke me up from sleep, feeling tired he put me straight to the Head doctor of the Duchy.

This is the result after that.

“There, there is an imprint!”

Engraving was a kind of “ancient magic” that existed among the Shapeshifters long ago.

The exact name is ‘An Imprint of Companion’.

Imprinting symptoms varied from mild fever to heart attack, so it was difficult to diagnose in random cases.

But one thing was certain.

Usually there is power only between the ‘hand and hand’ contact,and it is extremely rare that it is engraved between a human and a Shapeshifter.

In order to hold a ritual of swearing eternal love between men and women, most of them used magic with the consent of the two.

This is a ritual that has almost disappeared in recent years.

Of course, if you look back on the contents of the book I read in the past to study healing, There are rare cases where the imprint is suddenly engraved for no reason like us now.

‘What’s important is the effect of my companion’s imprint on me.’

Regardless of how it was engraved, once it was engraved……

The two become a ‘companion of destiny’ during the imprinting period.

Beyond sharing each other’s pain, when one dies, the other dies.

In other words, in the imprinted relationship, each other becomes each other’s fatal weakness.

“I was also surprised.”

The Duke said with an expression that did not look surprised at all.

‘How can you say that you are surprised at this situation? with a face that is not surprised at all’

As soon as his words were over, the Old Library of the Duke of Anais was frozen.

The Duke’s personal physician, who was sitting across from me and the Duke of Anais, replied with a look of death.

“The specific diagnosis is ‘temporary imprint of unknown cause’.”

Temporary engraving.

Besides, it doesn’t make sense to do the ritual together?

“Oh, this is really nonsense… ..”

What the hell is going on?

The doctor’s eyes wide open, staring at me in confusion.