“Nigella.”

The next day. I looked for Nigella as soon as I woke up in the morning.

“Boss! Good morning.”

“Yes, Good morning. Can you come here for a moment?”

“Yes, Boss!”

As she approached with her usual smile, I lifted my head while sitting, and Nigella looked me straight into the eye.

“Nigella.”

“Yes, Boss.”

Her pupils dilated greatly and then narrowed for a moment. Enchantment. This is hypnosis.

“What do you report to your master, Kairos?”

Nigella’s lips moved slowly, and then she nodded and spoke obediently.

“Nothing other than some of Boss’ schedules and accidents that have occurred.”

“Nothing?”

“Yes.”

“Then, from now on, only report what I tell you.”

“Yes, Boss.”

I then cast the same enchantment on the maids, and as soon as I arrived at Ferrarium three days later, I made sure that all memories of me would disappear, and then they wouldn’t be able to report anything.

Now, I could move freely. I could even bring Annie here and talk to her.

From today on, I decided to use my abilities only for my people and to care only for my safety.

…Two days. Now, there was only one day left.

The remaining day was spent reorganizing. I arranged for information about the guild and a short letter to arrive at the Edith mansion a week later, and I sent him the money he had initially stolen and the interest through the bank.

Unless a natural disaster occurred, all of this would arrive after I left. With that and the guild, I thought I’d done everything I could.

I double-checked the aliases and transferred funds that Ginger, Edmond, and I would use, and I reconfirmed the carriages and people who would be moving to various places. On the last day, I stayed in the hotel with Annie and reviewed the plan, even bringing the wooden carvings and maps to run simulations.

And I finally killed my lingering feelings for Noah.

“There are only a few hours left.”

The maids and Nigella were now moving around me like dolls. It was quite a challenge to see their empty expressions, their eyes glazed over, but I had no choice. It was for their sake. Without their memories, Kairos wouldn’t be able to kill them unconditionally.

Nigella had done her best for me, except for the fact that she was Kairos’ subordinate. I hoped she would live.

And another night passed.

* * *

The day had come.

I had to calm my pounding heart from morning until it felt like it was going to burst. After calming my mind for a long time, I reached for the communicator. Soon, the light flickered as it connected to the other side.

—Hazel.

“Noah!”

—Are you awake? Did you have a good dream?

“Yes, I slept well and woke up. I’m going back today. I’m calling to tell my husband in advance.”

My voice was as bright as it could be, but my body was trembling with tension.

—I’m already waiting. I miss my wife.

“I’m… I’m on my way. My husband… you know.”

—Yes, Hazel.

“Will you meet me at the gate today?”

—Of course. I think you said a little after four o’clock.

“Yes, that’s right. Ah… I’ll be hungry by the time I get there.”

—That’s right. Come and have dinner with me.

“Yes, I understand. I’ll be there soon. See you later, husband!”

—Yes, my wife. Then I’ll see you later.

I said goodbye to Noah a few more times and hung up the communicator.

“Phew, that’s done.”

I had given Nigella some instructions, so she must be busy preparing. She must have been quite busy since last night. I wiped the portable communicator with my clothes, put it in Nigella’s pocket, and started packing the rest.

‘I’ll do it in one go!’

I packed only the essentials and asked the hotel to burn the rest.

At 1:00 PM, the carriage that was supposed to take Edmond and Ginger had already left for its destination. I even finished cleaning up without leaving a single hair behind. I was feeling unnecessarily anxious, so I cleaned even though I didn’t have to.

Then, I checked the hotel’s main entrance through the window. I had asked them not to send a carriage for me, and thankfully, I didn’t see one.

“…Let’s go now.”

I opened my mouth to Annie, who was carrying my luggage. Annie nodded with a face that was much more tense than usual.

As soon as I left the hotel, I sent the carriage carrying Nigella and the maids to the transfer gate leading to Ferrarium. I didn’t forget to put the coachman under a spell before sending him off.

Now, we would kill some time at the gate and then head straight to Ferrarium.

When the carriage’s rear became smaller than a fingernail, we started to move quickly. And we got on the first carriage. I was already out of breath even though I hadn’t run.

“We’ll switch carriages ten times before entering Pyronthe, using transfer scrolls in between. Just in case, I brought some anti-nausea potions. Do you want to drink some?”

Annie looked out the window once and closed the curtains without hesitation. Then, she handed me a potion bottle with purple liquid sloshing around inside.

“…I’m okay. You should drink it, Annie.”

“I didn’t bring a portable communicator on purpose. If either Ginger or Edmond gets caught, we need to be able to escape. So, please bear with the curiosity until we arrive at Pyronthe.”

“I understand.”

Annie said that she didn’t often take on requests like this, but she followed the procedure step by step without missing anything. Thanks to her, all I had to do was follow along diligently.

As soon as we passed the outer gate of the Capital, we changed carriages. It took less than a minute to transfer to a carriage of a completely different color. The carriage started moving before I could even sit down, and of course, the curtains were drawn dark again.

“….”

I clasped my hands together to hide my nervousness. I even pressed the thumb of one hand against the other hard enough to feel pain. After doing this with all ten fingers, I felt my tension ease a little.

And after about an hour of travel, another carriage was waiting.

In this way, we changed carriages several times, tearing up teleportation scrolls and switching again, getting further and further away from the Capital.

* * *

“We should arrive in Ferrarium around 4:00 PM tomorrow. We plan to leave the hotel at 3:00 PM, which is the check-out time.”

4:00 PM.

Kairos had been waiting for the day Hazel would return. Once he realized his feelings for her, his heart had grown rapidly as if it were about to burst. How beautiful her smile would be if he treated her even better in the future.

He glanced at his watch.

“Since yesterday, the boss has been singing about how much she wants to eat the cream puffs and canelé that master made. I brought her something similar, but she kept saying she wanted to eat yours. I think the boss would be happy if you kept this in mind.”

He heard that Hazel’s food intake had decreased significantly because the food in the Capital didn’t suit her palate.

It worried her. Nigella seemed to have been feeding her diligently as instructed, but it had been a long time since Hazel had been the one to mention what she wanted to eat first, so he really wanted to grant her wish.

That was why he had been preparing the canelé and cream puffs that he would feed to Hazel since last night.

As he looked at the satisfying results, thinking of Hazel’s smile, it was already 3:00 PM.

‘I should start getting ready to go.’

That way, he would be able to see Hazel’s surprised expression.

Kairos chuckled at the thought—that he would go to such lengths for someone else. He was surprised at himself as he moved.

But even so, he wanted to do it, so in a way, he felt like a fool. Was this what it meant to truly love someone? It was unfamiliar to him since he had always been the one in control, making others move according to his whims.

What was this? What was this little woman?

And yet, his hands, which were filling the container with Hazel’s favorite desserts, were more careful than ever.

It was when he was filling the last cream puff.

Crash!

His red eyes moved to the side. A cup half-full of water suddenly fell to the floor, splashing water on his pants. His eyes flashed with displeasure, not because the floor was a mess of glass shards but because his train of thought had been interrupted.

Tch.

Kairos roughly kicked away the wretchedly broken glass shards. Then, he picked up the container and went out to meet Hazel, leaving the glass shards where they were.

—