Lowering his sword, Freed breathed out.

"Y, yup. I"m okay… That"s right, I… No, it"s nothing."
"?"

For an instant I thought about taking burden off Freed with neutralization magic, but I immediately reconsidered. Because, while Andre"s unconscious attacks are certainly made of magical power, it"s not only magical power that the shockwaves carry. On top of it, the rubble that must"ve fallen together with me is flying. Even if I erase magical power, I can"t do anything with stones.
But Freed"s barrier properly repels substances such as stones and sand. After all Freed is amazing. I secretly fell in love with him all over again.
However, my neutralization magic, although convenient, is surprisingly difficult to use.
It seems truly useless at times like these. A shame.

"Hey, will Lord Andre be alright like this?"

Another attack came from Andre. This time Freed didn"t move and just gave Andre a fleeting glimpse. He must"ve judged the barrier"s strength to be sufficient. Really, I"m never anxious when I"m with Freed.
Despite intense shockwaves coming continuously, Freed"s barrier is unperturbed. It makes it look like Andre"s attack is no big deal, but I"m sure it"s quite dangerous. The surrounding rubble has been completely smashed by the shockwaves, and normally I"d be scared by how the castle breaks with every attack.
But Freed said lightly.

"There"s no problem. Lidi, you know well how that person"s medicine is effective quickly, right? I think it"s about time it takes effect."
"Effective quickly… Ah, perhaps it"s Ms. Delris"s!"

It clicked with me what Freed had made Andre swallow.
The medicine to control Libido given to Freed. I"m sure he used it.
But, huh? I thought.

"Freed, listen. You made Andre swallow the medicine you"d received from Ms. Delris, right? But isn"t its effect different?"

If I remember correctly, it should be medicine to suppress libido. But Freed shook his head to deny.

"No. If my thinking is correct… See, the attacks stopped. Lidi, take a look."
"Ah…"

Before I knew, the continuous a.s.sault of shockwaves stopped.
When I followed Freed"s gaze, Andre"s body, that had been glowing white, returned to its usual condition.

"As expected. It"s as I thought. Yup, his magical power settled down. There"s no problem."
"Eh? What?"

When I tilted my head not understanding why the medicine to suppress libido worked on Andre, Freed said.

"Remember the story about libido and magical power being proportional? Those two are inseparable. That"s why if either is forcibly suppressed, the other will naturally settle down. It"s a reasonable theory."
"… Oh."

It didn"t click with me at all, but I gave a nod.
Perhaps understanding that, Freed wryly smiled.

"Since I received the medicine from the witch, I"ve been thinking whether it would have some effect on royals who couldn"t obtain the Royal Flower and could no longer control their magical power. That"s why, since the day Andre escaped, I"ve always been carrying some with me. I didn"t know when I might use it. I didn"t think it would be useful here though. It"s a deserted castle, even if magical power spontaneously went off, it wouldn"t be a problem. If I were alone, I decided to leave him alone when the symptoms began to appear."
"I, I see…"

Come to think of it, he said something like that before too. That he was saving Andre because I wished for it.
Thinking that he made various efforts for me, I felt complicated, both sorry and happy that he was concerned about me.
However, Ms. Delris medicine. I thought it was only for suppressing libido, and yet it has such an unexpected usage.
And so, it led me to recalling what Ms. Delris had said. I told Freed.

"Ah, listen. Ms. Delris told me the medicine is only a temporary measure. And that it has different side effects on each person."
"I see…  Side effects, huh. As expected of the witch. Perhaps she"d predicted this development too."
"?"

When I looked up not understanding what Freed was saying, I saw him fixedly observing Andre.

"Actually, from a while ago I suddenly stopped sensing magical power from Andre. It"s not being suppressed, it"s gone. That"s why I was wondering what happened… But it"s the side effect of the medicine the witch had mentioned on him."
"The side effect of magical power disappearing?"
"Probably. Normally it"s impossible. Aah, but I"m saved, since like this I can take Andre with me. I don"t know how long the effect will hold, but since there"s no magical power at all, it"s possible to imprison him somewhere. At worst I thought of having Esteemed Father watch over him, but like this he can be left to the Royal Guard."
"Hmph. Ms. Delris told me in Freed"s case it"d probably return as libido, but it"s really different for each person. I"m surprised."

While I was astonished, Freed asked back.

"The witch said so? That it would return as libido for me?"
"Yup. I was thinking the libido suppressing medicine was pointless since the libido would return. Ms. Delris said it was only a temporary measure, but that wasn"t the problem."
"… Hmph. I see."

Freed looked like he pondered for a moment, then he nodded.

"Freed?"
"It"s nothing. I just thought it"s just like the witch. Anyway, even if it"s a temporary measure, I"m grateful. Originally several magicians had the duty of sealing him. Alex and others are waiting, but I can"t bring Lidi or unconscious Andre to the battlefield, so I"ll return to the castle for a moment. Okay?"
"Yup."

Although I didn"t quite understand what Freed said, I nodded.
I want to return if I can. Honestly, I don"t want to part from Freed, but even if I followed him to the battlefield, I"d only drag Freed down, not wanting to see people die. That"s not what I want.

"Lidi, I asked Esteemed Father about you. Wait with Esteemed Mother. It"s probably the safest place."
"Got it. I"ll wait with Mother-in-law."

Not wanting to worry Freed any more, I obediently nodded. If staying with Mother-in-law means he can fight at peace, I have no reason to refuse.
I kind of don"t want to be alone now, so I"ll be relieved to stay with Moth-in-law.
Freed stroked my head as if to praise me.

"Lidi, you deserve a reward, so I"ll finish immediately and come back."
"… Jeez."

I felt embarra.s.sed as Freed brought up what he"d said before.
However, wanting to quickly feel Freed"s body temperature, I answered positively.

"I"ll be waiting, so hurry up…. Okay?"

When I pleaded, Freed smiled happily.

"I promise. ―― I love you, Lidi. Only you can rouse me in the true meaning. Lidi, you"re my driving force."
"I love you too, Freed. I too want to be with you only, Freed."
"―― I know."

We exchanged a light kiss and smiled together.
The gentle feeling of lips made me so happy I teared up.
Freed removed the barrier, grabbed Andre with one hand and embraced me with the other.
As he skillfully activated the magic formation despite the circ.u.mstances, he told me.

"Then, let"s go back. To our Fafnir Castle."
"Yup, Freed."

The magic formation that appeared shone. I snuggled up to Freed and closed my eyes.
My feelings calm down when I"m close to Freed. Having once again became aware of that, I thought.
After all, I"m hopelessly in love with Freed.