[BL]The Hero and his Party Won't Let Me Go-Chapter 191: Ch : Goddess’s Will

"It seems like the stress of the situation was too much for Lady Canarie to bear, and she lost her mind for a second. But don’t worry. We will check up on her and make sure she is alright. You don’t have to worry about her."

Duke Inferno told Shuu, but Shuu did not feel reassured. His heart continued to beat painfully in his chest as he recalled those eyes filled with hatred looking back at him.

Suddenly, breathing felt difficult, and Shuu felt his legs giving up beneath him. His panic seemed to be coming back in full force.

"Oh my! Companion Shuu, are you alright? Your complexion does not look good. Should I call for a doctor-"

"T-There is no need. This is just a shock. It will pass soon."

Shuu reassured him as he held a hand over his face to stop himself from hurling his breakfast. The stress of this situation was getting to him.

Unlike him, Duke Inferno looked much less stressed and guilty, and he looked at Shuu with unknown intent in his eyes. Something about it bothered Shuu enough to make him flinch.

Duke Inferno noticed this and decided to extend his hand toward Shuu to help him up. But Shuu just looked at that hand and then at Nero (who was keeping an eye out for danger, but otherwise not stopping Duke Inferno).

Shuu had half a mind to not take that extended hand, but he did not want to give Duke Inferno a reason to complain about him. So he grabbed that extended hand and pulled himself back up.

As soon as Shuu grabbed that outstretched hand, a feeling of ’wrong’ filled him. He looked up to see Duke Inferno looking down at him, but that gaze did not look human.

Before he could recognize what was happening, he felt his balance being tampered with, and he quickly grabbed Duke Inferno’s arm to steady himself.

Duke Inferno leaned over Shuu with a concerned look on his face. But his words did not match his worried tone.

"It’s a good thing that you are alright. It would have been a shame for something to have happened to you after you caused Lady Canarie to collapse like that. Don’t you think so as well?"

Duke Inferno deliberately said those words. Shuu knew that, and yet...he felt like he had been struck with something, and he could neither move nor speak to defend himself.

"I..."

"Anyway, I am glad that our Emperor’s companion is alright, even if it is at the expense of others. But since this could cause unneeded outrage, I will go and see that things are fine with the temple and the general public. After all, someone chosen to be a companion of our Emperor has lost her mind."

Duke Inferno took his leave before anyone could take action.

Shuu noticed Nero holding himself back by clenching his fist tightly, and he was thankful that Nero did not attack the Duke outright.

"Tsk, that pest is such a smooth talker. Don’t you dare fall for his tricks, Shuu. Nothing he said is true. What happened to Canarie is her own fault. It had nothing to do with you."

Nero was quick to assure Shuu, and he even grabbed his shoulder and shook him lightly. Shuu smiled at him in that awkward way, which told Nero that he understood.

"I see. It is good to know that this was not my fault. Still, I wonder what happened to make Lady Canarie lose her mind like this?"

Nero did not answer, and Shuu did not try to make him answer either. All he could do was look outside and take deep breaths.

None of this was his fault, but it sure felt like it was his fault that this all happened.

’Well, in a way it is our fault. If we did not ignore the Goddess’s goodwill, then none of this would have happened. Kaiden would be beside his ’true’ companion, and we would be able to find salvation. But it is not too late. We can still make things right.’

The voice inside Shuu was back, and it was even louder compared to before. Shuu wanted to clutch his head and tell that voice to shut up, but he could not muster enough strength to do so.

In the end, he just closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead to get rid of the pain. As for those words...he was slowly beginning to believe them.

__________

"-Lady Elysia has died, and Princess Danielle is investigating. So far, we have not found much, but we still did-"

The door to Emperor Kaiden’s office was slammed open by Nero, and the guard who was currently reporting almost jumped in the air in fright.

Kaiden turned toward the door and chose to dismiss the guard as soon as he noticed that Nero was here and looked determined to speak with him.

"I got your report. You can leave the rest of the written report on the table. I will read it later. You can leave now."

The guard looked relieved, and he did not waste a single second before placing the report on the table and making a run for it.

Silence filled the office as soon as the guard was gone, and Emperor Kaiden let out a sigh before he turned toward Nero and raised an eyebrow.

"What do you want now? Do you have a disturbing report for me as well?"

Emperor Kaiden was almost jesting when he said that, but Nero did not follow suit, which told the emperor that he did have bad news for him.

"Well, it depends on how ’bad’ you consider it. But it seems like the imperial castle has been infested by the goddess’s foreign energy, and it is making this place unstable. Lady Canarie lost her mind today and almost attacked Shuu. Thankfully, I was able to stop her before things became too complicated."

Nero confessed, and Emperor Kaiden looked like he was on the verge of killing someone.