If escape is impossible, then the solution is to lure Luciana elsewhere.

The moment that thought crossed my mind; I called for assistance.

"Rubin! Come here for a second!"

Rubin, who had been unsummoned, appeared midair as soon as he heard my voice.

"Nyke! You called?"

"Shh, keep your voice down."

Luciana was striding toward us even as we spoke.

Lowering my voice, I quickly explained the situation to Rubin.

"As you can see, I'm outside right now, despite being told not to leave my quarters."

"Yeah, it’s pretty obvious. You were supposed to be resting, but instead, you’re sneaking around."

"I’ll explain everything later. But for now, I need a favor."

"A favor?"

Rubin's ears perked up in interest. He always seemed oddly enthusiastic whenever I asked for help.

"What is it? Tell me quickly!"

"It's simple. Distract Luciana and lead her down a different path. I can’t let her catch me out here."

"Uh..."

Rubin, who had been impatiently demanding details, suddenly drooped his ears.

"But you’re supposed to be resting. Wouldn’t it be better to let her catch you and lecture you into going back?"

"I have a way to heal myself without resting! It involves one of your hidden abilities—but it’ll take too long to explain. She’s getting closer. Hurry!"

"Ugh…"

Rubin flicked his tail nervously, clearly conflicted.

"Technically, for your health, I should yell right now and let her find you..."

His gaze flickered briefly toward Delsy before turning away.

"But it looks like that would cause trouble for someone else too."

Having seemingly made up his mind, Rubin lowered his voice and nodded resolutely.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Alright, leave it to me! I’ll handle this!"

"Then hurry! She’s almost here!"

Just before Luciana could spot us, Rubin leapt into action.

"Hi, Luciana!"

"Hmm?"

Luciana stopped, startled by Rubin suddenly appearing from behind a tree. Her expression immediately turned suspicious.

I silently prayed that Rubin could use his silver tongue to lead the perceptive Luciana elsewhere.

Luciana wasted no time. "Rubin? What are you doing here? What about Nyke?"

"Nyke is..."

All Rubin had to say was that I was resting peacefully. Simple.

But for some reason, his response lagged, as if his brain had hit a processing error.

A creeping sense of dread began to settle in.

"Nyke is resting well. Indoors."

"…What?"

Luciana’s confusion mirrored mine—and Delsy’s.

Why emphasize ‘indoors’? That just makes it sound more suspicious!

The bad feeling intensified as Rubin continued.

"I was just out for a walk and ran into you. That’s all. Really."

"…"

"Oh, and how about we take a stroll in the garden together? Just...not toward the trees over there."

"…"

"There’s no particular reason not to go that way. I just thought it’d be nicer to enjoy the garden instead."

"…"

I couldn’t watch anymore. I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling the weight of Luciana’s piercing gaze shift toward the tree we were hiding behind.

All thanks to Rubin unnecessarily drawing attention to it.

"Rubin, answer honestly. The Pope is out here, isn’t he? Ignoring orders to rest?"

"W-what?! No!! That’s not it!! Nyke is resting inside!! There’s no one behind the tree!!"

"So, he’s definitely behind that tree."

"No! Really, there’s absolutely no one there! Not even Delsy!!"

"…So, Sir Delsy is with him, too? Hah…"

"…I believed in you, Sir Delsy…" I faintly heard Luciana mutter.

Her footsteps grew louder, heading toward us.

It’s over.

There was no way our flimsy disguise would hold. She’d demand to know why we were out here. Delsy had begged me not to get caught by her, but…

Better to come clean now than make it worse.

Deciding this was the best course, I stepped out from behind the tree.

But just then—

"Luciana!! Look at this!!"

Rubin’s panicked shout broke the tense silence.

He blew out a colorful, soap-like bubble from his mouth.

Luciana stopped dead in her tracks, transfixed by the floating bubble.

Her expression became dazed as she silently followed the bubble, her movements slow and mechanical.

Taking deep breaths, Rubin scurried back to me.

"That...was close…"

"What did you just do?"

Luciana’s face had looked so vacant it made me uneasy.

Rubin answered nonchalantly, "I used a skill. It’s called Bubbles of Nostalgic Warmth."

"Bubbles...what?"

"They make anyone who sees them reminisce. It leaves them dazed and forgetful for a bit. She won’t remember spotting you."

"Is it safe?"

"Of course! It’s designed to calm crying children. As a temple guide, one of my duties was to look after lost kids."

Apparently, this was a skill bestowed on Rubin by his ancient mage creators.

Hearing that, I finally exhaled the breath I’d been holding.

"Why didn’t you use it earlier?"

"I didn’t expect her to see through my lies so quickly!"

"…"

"Don’t glare at me. I’m a polydroid made to help people, not deceive them. Lying isn’t in my programming."

He had a point. Expecting him to be a master liar had been foolish.

Rubin, clearly exhausted, unsummoned himself back into his bracelet.

With the immediate danger over, Delsy finally let out a relieved squawk from behind me.

[Whew! That was close.]

"Yeah. But why are you so afraid of Luciana?"

[Uh…]

Caught off guard, Delsy hesitated before answering in a somber tone.

[She reminds me of my older sister from the slums I grew up in.]