The Abandoned Heiress Gets Rich with Alchemy and Buys an Enemy General
Vol. 1 - Ch. 37 - Capture, Detainment, and Temporary Farewell 3

How long has it been, I wondered. I stopped gazing out the window and patiently endured the passage of time while sitting on the hard bed.

Normally, by now, I would be alchemizing new concoctions using the materials dropped by the gatekeeper of the Underworld.

I let out a small sigh. It was at that moment when the sound of the door unlocking echoed.

"...Cyril-sama."

"Chloe...!"

Entering the room was King Cyril Astoria.

He seemed a bit more mature than he did three years ago when he was still the Crown Prince. His unruly blonde hair reached down to his back, tied into a single knot. His gray eyes stared straight at me.

He wore the attire befitting a king, clad in white with the kingdom's crest emblazoned on his mantle.

For some reason, King Cyril rushed toward me as he entered the room, causing me to tense up.

"Chloe. Are you bound? Does it hurt? I'll remove it now."

King Cyril took out a small knife from his belt and untied the rope binding my hands behind my back.

After waving my sore hands, I blew gently on the red marks left on my wrists. The distinct marks of the rope remained, and blood trickled.

I had thought he would berate me the moment he saw my face, but Cyril's demeanor perplexed me. He was oddly gentle, as if we were back to when we were engaged. Despite imprisoning me and abandoning me in the capital.

Cyril knelt before me on the bed and met my gaze.

"Are you okay? Any injuries?"

He gazed at me earnestly. Feeling perplexed, I furrowed my brow. I had prepared myself to retort endlessly if he berated me, but Cyril's attitude was the opposite of what I had expected until now.

I didn't know what to say to someone who offered kind words. It felt like I had lost sight of who to direct my anger towards. But if he was that worried about me, I should ask why he ordered my capture.

"Cyril-sama, I was brought here under your orders, right? What's the meaning of binding an innocent person like me? It hurts, you know!"

I finally voiced my complaint to Cyril. Yeah. I let out a loud voice at the perfect moment.

Good for me. Keep it up.

"My apologies, Chloe. It wasn't me who ordered your capture and Julius's imprisonment. It was... Aliza."

Cyril spoke with a somewhat more composed and dignified tone than three years ago. He used to speak less formally, didn't he? He seems to have grown up suddenly.

"Was it Aliza-chan? Does Aliza-chan have the authority to mobilize the knights?"

"She seems to have used my name to do so. It's absurd to capture you based solely on testimony from the Coldman Company. Three years ago, we blindly believed Aliza's words... believed in the guilt of Duke Seigrit and carried out his execution as told."

Cyril spoke with anguish.

I dropped my gaze to my hands resting on my knees. Words stuck in my throat, refusing to come out.

I couldn't help but wish Julius were here at a time like this. The momentum from earlier seemed to have vanished.

I'm useless, aren't I?

"I was in the dungeon, so I don't know well... but, my father was doing bad things, right?"

"Yes, I believed so. The decision for punishment was made by my late father, the king. The decision for your exile was made by Aliza... I simply went along with what was said, obeyed, and failed to protect you."

"I don't understand. Cyril-sama, I don't understand. Then, was my father innocent? And executed despite being innocent?"

"Yeah... There's no way to prove it now, but Duke Seigrit was reserved and difficult, yet he was an honest man... But for a long time, I only believed Aliza's side of the story... Chloe, I'm sorry."

Cyril held my hand and gently stroked the wrist marked by the rope.

A shiver ran down my spine.

I recoiled from Cyril as if trying to escape.

"...Pointing fingers won't alter the outcome. Even Julius is furious now because of what you and Aliza-chan did. Don't expect him to forgive you just because you apologize. That's for sure."

"Chloe, Julius is a terrifying man... He's not suitable for you."

"Enough, Cyril-sama. We're strangers now, so you don't need to worry about me. Oh, and I'm sorry for saying that to the king." As I retorted, Cyril seemed surprised, then chuckled slightly.

Then, he furrowed his brow, adopting a slightly more serious expression.

"Chloe... What's the deal with Aliza? Is she not human?"

"You probably know more about her than I do, Cyril-sama... Why do you ask? Is there a problem?"

If Julius were here, he would probably get angry and tell me it was none of my business or to stay out of it.

But I couldn't say it was none of my business, and since I had come this far, I wanted to know everything. I had decided not to run away.

"...I received a message from the Coldman Company, and Aliza ordered your capture early this morning. I intended to confront her about it and headed to her room... but I heard voices coming from her supposedly empty room."

"Voices?"

"...It was a man's voice. I suspected something was amiss and listened closely... The voice said, 'Kill that bothersome Chloe.'"

"Me?"

"...Yeah... I peeked through the crack in the door and saw... a shadowy, grotesque figure with a human-like form emerging from beneath Aliza... Is that... really her? Did I place my trust in something non-human, allowing it to manipulate me and harm you...?"

"Cyril-sama..."

Cyril clasped his chest tightly.

The white attire and mantle covering his chest wrinkled and crumpled.

"Perhaps seeing that grotesque form finally opened my eyes... I was... out of my senses. That's why I locked Aliza in her room and came to you... Whatever that thing is, for now, we should safely get you out of here, Chloe."

Cyril stood up and reached for my hand.

I stood up on my own, without taking Cyril's hand. Understanding everything was difficult, but since he said he'd let me go, I should leave from here.

Even if what Cyril said is true, I didn't have my cane nor my usual bag with alchemical items now.

As I approached the door, I felt a suffocating, nauseating sensation.

It was like something slimy crawling up from my feet, an unpleasant feeling.

Scary.

Terrifying.

Something slimy creeping closer, something terrifying.

I had always been scared of Aliza. I was timid, and Aliza was the complete opposite.

But there was something more than that, something that wasn't right.

My mother always told me to run away from scary things. ButI didn't want to run away anymore.

Cyril stepped forward as if to shield me.

The darkness crept closer, drawing nearer and nearer.