“Thank goodness, we’re finally free from the fear of death.”

Overcome with emotion, the young butler said that, earning him a smack on the head by the older maid.

“What exactly happened?”

With the help of the Prime Minister, I alighted from the horse and asked.

“That’s right. I’ll explain as we walk.”

The Prime Minister nodded, brushing aside the hem of his cloak as he started walking.

“L-Lady Juliane, this way please!”

“Please, you need to hurry!”

I had no choice but to walk down the corridor. At that moment, I saw the back of a lady in the distance, bowing respectfully to the other servants. The young lady with curly, platinum blonde hair exuded an air of nobility. Soon, she disappeared in the direction of the public entrance.

—Eh? Amalia?

The older maid looked at me in surprise.

“Come, come, Lady Juliane, make haste!”

The servants’ words and gazes nudged me forward. They all looked at each other with dismay.

When a certain voice asked, “Who is it this time?” I could only muster a vague answer.

The reason was because I was terrified. If I were to pick a color to represent my current state of mind, it’d be a pale white color.

“I told you not to let anyone enter this room. Disobey my orders, and I’ll punish you accordingly.”

Alfred was leaning against his desk with his back to me. He didn’t even try to hide his irritation.

“U-uhm, it’s me, Juliane.”

“Huh?”

Alfred turned around. His expression was the perfect example of the word “hollow.”

With unfocused eyes, Alfred sized me up and down. The wrinkles between his eyebrows were so deep that it was scary.

I was so terrified that my armpits started sweating. I felt the urge to toss aside the tray I was holding and run away.

“Oh, a hallucination. Damn, I’m starting to have auditory hallucinations. This is pretty dangerous.”

Alfred spoke in a thick, murky voice that sounded like a mixture of derision and self-deprecation.

Thank you, God! Thank you, God of Hallucinations and Auditory Hallucinations!

I swallowed my build-up saliva.

I was now in Alfred’s bedroom. At first, I had refused, but the Prime Minister begged me, so I went in anyway, but…

I thought I was going to pee my pants.

Other than when arguing with me about money, Alfred was someone who could suppress his emotions to the max. Hence why he didn’t shout or throw anything at the intruder who went against his words.

In the next moment, an incredible murderous intent came flying at me, like a sharpened blade.

I seriously thought I was going to die. A black, ominous miasma pierced my heart.

The ominousness emanating from Alfred’s body was simply extraordinary.

“Even so, I refuse to believe you’re the real Juliane. Still, for a hallucination, you sure pay attention to the details…”

Alfred, who had been staring at me, smiled weakly.

“It’s so well-made, like an exact replica of the real thing. Is this what they call escapism? Well, it does fit my current state of mind…” Alfred muttered to himself while grinning.

“This isn’t a good sign… but even I… want to escape sometimes.”

I timidly approached Alfred, the tray I was holding serving as an offering. It was quite heavy, with soup simmered until the meat was soft, a jiggly omelet, soft bread, honey-glazed fruits, and cutlery.

The large and impressive desk looked brand new. It must’ve been placed there so that he could keep working.

I gently set the tray on the edge of his desk. Alfred watched the whole sequence of movements with bleak, wandering gaze.

“Even the smell feels so real…”

Alfred turned back to the desk and rested his chin on his hand, only for his elbow to slip, causing him to fall face down.

Okay, you should just go to sleep! Then my mission would be over, in a sense…

Anyway, why did they send me inside? Someone like me would be more of a poison than a medicine.

I wish the Prime Minister would have done something other than laugh at me and saying that I’m still young.

Of course, I had complained to him. However, the Prime Minister continued to laugh and didn’t take me seriously.

Apparently, Alfred had been swamped with work these past two weeks. He had been working like crazy for the past few days, cutting down on baths, sleep, and meals. On top of that, not only was he not in good shape, he refused to listen to others.

Still! Why would they rely on me?! They’re crazy!

As much as I wanted to stomp my foot on the ground, I didn’t want to wake Alfred. That would be embarrassing, on top of being extremely troubling.

Praying that he’d just slip into a dream world, I slowly withdrew.

“Ah, please don’t leave! You’re the first person to have gotten that close to His Highness!”

“Feed him, Lady Juliane! If you say ‘ahh,’ I bet he’ll eat it!”

Oh, shut up.

I was overcome with the urge to scream at the top of my lungs.

I scrunched my nose as hard as I could and glanced at the servants by the wall. They had snuck in after I had entered the room.

What a bunch of morons! You’ll wake him up!

“Hm…” Alfred raised his head. His unsteady gaze roamed through space.

“Juliane.”

He called out to me. I answered half a second later.

“Y-yes?”

“Fake Juliane, you’re still here?”

He didn’t even acknowledge my presence.

The woman crouching in front of you, as if trying to cover herself in a hot spring, was the real Juliane.

If you’d have just slept a few minutes long, I could’ve left as a hallucination.

Alfred laid one cheek against his desk and rolled his eyes.

He was staring at me with a gaze that was too intense to be called a sidelong glance.

“No, my brain is no longer working. I might as well enjoy this hallucination to the fullest.”

“No, go to sleep! Just go to sleep already!”

I shouted without thinking, and Alfred’s expression changed drastically.

He smiled broadly as if he was having the time of his life. And yet, his gaze was still not all there, perhaps having gone to heaven.

He was so sleep-deprived that he fell into a sort of trance-like state.

“Okay, I’ll go to sleep, so lend me your shoulder.”

At the same time, Alfred extended his hand.

He grabbed my arm with a surprisingly hot, hard hand, and drew my upper body toward him.

My forehead was pressing against something. It took me a few seconds to realize that it was Alfred’s chest.

“Are you shaking? This hallucination is too vivid.”

As we settled into the large chair, I was tightly held against Alfred’s chest.

I didn’t understand what was going on.

Before I knew it, he was gently caressing my back. I was so surprised that all I could do was freeze like a statue.

All sorts of words passed through my confused mind. They appeared and disappeared. Finally, I blurted something out of sheer panic.

“Y-you smell like a stray dog.”

“Ah, as expected of Fake Juliane. Such a rude thing to say. Are you looking down on me?”

Alfred laughed loudly. No, really.

I wasn’t looking down on him. He really stunk.

He hadn’t bathed for a few days, so there was a mixture of sweat, dust, and a sort of grassy smell.

Also, he was hugging me so tightly that I couldn’t breathe!

I twisted my body to avoid Alfred’s warm breath and casted a glance at the servants by the wall.

I sent them a look for help, but they only averted their gazes as they spoke amongst themselves.

“Is this alright?”

“They aren’t lying down, so it should be fine.”

---

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***T/N: T-the servants are surprisingly chill, arent they?

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