Erica - When a Friend is Obsessed With Me

Chapter 47

***

Marquis Knobel never recovered from the shock.

Alone in the empty room, he slumped onto the couch.

'Pechenik...'

Now he understood why the saint had avoided answering.

It was Pechenik who was going to use Magretta's chalice.

'What the hell is going on...'

The Swordmaster was strong, with a body that should never succumb to illness.

Such intense pain could not be a normal curse.

He coughed up a mouthful of black blood, clutching at his heart.

The excruciating pain was clear in the blood he expelled.

His ragged, choked breathing filled the silence.

As if this weren't the first time, Hyelia rushed in and poured out her divine power.

The servants silently carried him away.

Marquis Knobel could only watch in stunned silence at the sad and familiar scene.

He stared at the blood splatter on the floor of the empty room.

He was utterly devastated.

Even though they hadn't seen each other in ten years, their bond was as strong as if they had just met yesterday.

Marquis Knobel had always admired Pechenik.

Free and innocent, Pechenik had lived with a dream of drifting through life like the wind.

Knobel felt a deep sympathy for him and had arranged several remarriages, all of which Pechenik had rejected.

'Is there anything I can do to help...'

Bam!

The door burst open, and Erica rushed in.

"Master! Master!"

"...?"

She quickly scanned the room and saw that Pechenik was not there.

"Excuse me."

She bowed to Marquis Knobel and turned to leave, shutting the door behind her. But—

"Stop."

The urgent voice halted Erica in her tracks.

"I need to speak with you for a moment."

"Pardon?"

"...about what happened to Pechenik... Do you mind if I ask?"

"No."

The answer was blunt.

Marquis Knobel was a man of great power, one who could make even the most influential nobility step back in deference.

It had been a long time since he had heard such a curt response.

"I only asked if there was anything I could do to help."

"The Saint will handle it. You don't need to worry."

Knobel met Erica's steady gaze. Her look reminded him of someone.

'...she looks like him.'

Her eyes were hard, strong, and unflinching.

Though they didn't resemble his exactly, they shared a similar intensity.

An air of freedom, honesty, and even a hint of innocence was evident.

'She's his student, after all.'