Chapter 75
“Fact Check”
‘All I wish… is that I can at least protect the legacy left by the former Tower Lord—that one Lady.’
‘The rest… I’ll speak of after finishing with the regulars.’
“Ugh…”
Allen sat up, annoyed, because even when he closed his eyes, the image of Lafer would not disappear.
The dark circles under his eyes and the red veins in them showed just how exhausted he was.
He rubbed his rough face and tapped his aching knees, groaning.
“Like this, I’ll die soon, I really will.”
He looked half-dead already.
It was because ever since he heard Lafer’s disturbing words, he hadn’t slept properly—suffering insomnia every night.
“If I knew where he was, I could stop him before trouble, or at least clean up after. But this is just…”
He trailed off.
Searching for Lafer was like trying to find a needle in the desert.
At least a needle doesn’t move.
But Lafer never stopped moving, and he always noticed when someone followed him.
And his actions? Like a child near water, you couldn’t take your eyes off him for even a moment.
Allen sighed. Even though the world seemed quiet now, he knew better.
“The moment you relax is when the real danger comes.”
He grabbed his cane, ignoring the stabbing pain from his arthritis, and stood up. He fixed his messy hair with his hands, then went to the window.
Outside, the sky was clear, cloudless.
‘If only it rained… he’d be stuck somewhere. But this weather…’
Allen knelt by the sunny window, placed his cane beside him, and folded his hands in a prayer-like gesture.
He wasn’t religious, but still he prayed.
“Former Tower Lords… please, if Lafer causes trouble, strike him with lightning—or no, just stop him. Please.”
After his short but sincere prayer, he started to rise—when hurried footsteps approached.
“Allen-nim!”
A young wizard burst into his room.
Allen frowned, trying to recall his name.
“…Melburn? What’s this noise?”
“Th-there’s a guest outside!”
“Guest?”
Melburn nodded frantically. Allen rubbed his temple.
‘A guest at the Tower? It’s probably nothing important.’
Important guests usually came to see Lafer, and that was always scheduled in advance. So this couldn’t be serious.
But if that was true, why had the boy come running to him?
“Melburn, this sort of thing isn’t for me. Go to Kevin, he’s the one assigned to receive guests today—”
“Ke-Kevin said to bring you, Allen-nim!”
“…What?”
“He said—His Grace the Grand Duke has arrived!”
“…The Grand Duke?”
“Yes! The Grand Duke of Esperos!”
Allen dropped his cane in shock.
Without even picking it up, he rushed out toward the reception hall.
‘Why would he… come here?!’
For once, the pain in his knees didn’t matter.
Delphian tapped his desk impatiently, staring at the tightly closed door.
‘Still no news today…’
He rubbed his face, exhausted.
It had already been days since he heard from Marquis Piace that his daughter, Rebellia, had gone to the provinces for treatment.
Delphian had sent people to investigate—yet no news came back.
‘So her illness and trip to the provinces were lies?’
It sounded like something the Marquis would do. But still, Delphian couldn’t tell what his true goal was.
‘…Heidi, what are you hiding?’
If the Marquis was scheming to make his daughter Crown Princess, then Heidi’s behavior was the strangest of all.
She allowed rumors of Delphian and Rebellia’s “affair” to spread unchecked.
To outsiders, it looked like she was helping make those rumors seem real.
Even while people mistook her for Rebellia.
But why?
Delphian had asked Heidi about it many times, knowing it wasn’t a pleasant subject. But each time, she avoided answering—pretending she didn’t know the rumors, saying she just dyed her hair on a whim.
He remembered her words from a few days ago:
“That… that can’t be true! Just wait a little longer. I’m getting tired of this too. Soon everything will return to its place.”
“…Return to its place,” Delphian muttered.
That phrase stuck in his throat.
It meant things were twisted right now.
‘The surest way to understand is to meet Rebellia Piace myself.’
But strangely, the supposed main character of the scandal was nowhere to be found.
The more he thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed—especially about Heidi.
‘The Heidi I knew… doesn’t feel like the same woman anymore.’
A knock broke his thoughts.
“Your Highness, it’s Dylan. Sir Yale has returned from his mission.”
“Come in.”
Dylan entered with Yale following. Yale placed his hand to his chest and bowed.
“I greet the Little Sun of Xeros.”
“And may the light of Xeros be with you,” Delphian replied.
Yale quickly spoke.
“Forgive me, Your Highness. I searched not only the Marquis Piace’s estate but also all nearby lands friendly to him. That’s why I’m late.”
“Apologies later. First, what did you confirm?”
“Yes. Contrary to the Marquis’s words, there is no sign of Lady Rebellia staying anywhere in their territories or among allied nobles’ estates.”
“…Are you sure?”
“Yes. That part is certain. However…”
The knight hesitated, then spoke carefully.
“Recently, mercenaries believed to be hired by the Marquis were seen crossing the border into Hestonia.”
Delphian shot up from his seat.
“They went into Hestonia?”
Yale lowered his head and continued.
“Yes. And some of them seem to have headed toward the Grand Duke of Esperos’s castle.”
Delphian’s eyes widened.
“…The Grand Duke’s castle?”
