Chapter 73
“Pinky. She’s a cat I’ve raised since I was little. My brother gave her her name, and if he were truly my brother, he wouldn’t have harmed Pinky. That’s not the kind of person my brother is.”
Just then, sensing someone approaching the balcony, Lavian raised a finger.
Sara quickly closed her mouth.
As Lavian straightened his posture, the balcony curtains parted.
“…There you are. The nanny’s been looking all over for you.”
Sara’s brother, Lucius Daut, spoke to his younger sister.
Sara didn’t respond.
Her small hands clutched the hem of her dress tightly, trembling slightly.
Lucius casually turned his head and looked up at Lavian.
“I apologize, sir. It seems my sister may have been a disturbance to you.”
Lavian was momentarily thrown into unexpected contemplation.
‘Why is this brat smirking like that?’
Of course, no matter how much of a scoundrel Lavian might be, he wasn’t the kind to pick on a child’s expression.
“You seem close with your sister.”
“Is that so?”
Lucius kept grinning.
It wasn’t a polite smile—it was the kind of sly, mischievous grin only a boy his age could pull off when facing an adult.
Yet, to Lavian’s eyes, Lucius’s expression didn’t feel like childish mischief—it resembled that of a lecherous old man.
A face one might expect to see on a hardened street urchin.
If the boy weren’t only nine years old, Lavian would have felt the urge to slap him for that irritating smile.
“Let’s go, Sara. Before Mother notices.”
“Mm…”
Following her brother, Sara glanced back at Lavian one last time, her lips moving silently.
It seemed she was saying, It’s a secret.
After the Daut siblings disappeared, Lavian didn’t return to the banquet hall. Instead, he made his way to the balcony’s exterior stairs.
He never imagined there would be a day he’d feel reluctant to return to the banquet hall.
“Phew…”
Lighting his cigarette and taking a long drag, he finally felt a bit relieved.
“…A secret, huh.”
Even so, there was a huge difference between hearing something from a third party and hearing it directly from the person involved.
‘It’s true that my brother broke the plate.’
That part was factual—he had witnessed it himself.
Assuming all of Sara’s other statements were true, it was clear that the young Lord Daut’s behavior was not due to post-traumatic stress or personality changes following a traumatic event.
Comparing war to a child kidnapping incident was a bit of a stretch.
Still, Lavian recalled his old comrades, who had endured all sorts of stress after the war.
Some had suffered so much that their personalities completely changed.
A gentle man would turn into a brawler, a bold man into a timid child unable to even meet another’s gaze.
Some would seem fine but suddenly fail to recognize family members right in front of them and start rampaging.
Yet all of that stemmed from a single catalyst: fear.
From the way Karin and Sara described Lucius, and from what Lavian just witnessed, there was no trace of fear in him.
There was a complete absence of terror.
If anything, that unpleasant grin alone could keep someone awake at night.
Even recalling the ridiculous image of Duke Cherny attending without underwear didn’t make the unease go away.
“…Ugh, this is creepy.”
Lavian shivered, rubbing one forearm briskly.
To think this little brat could give the Prince Regent goosebumps—kids these days were no joke.
At this point, it wasn’t about Hameln anymore. Lavian seriously considered tracking down whoever had cursed him with this street urchin.
‘Did I misjudge?’
Initially, Lavian’s interest in the Hameln incident was because of Nina.
Specifically, he hoped to find a connection related to the strange daydreams he’d been having since meeting her.
But seeing Lord Daut in person only made things more confusing.
The sense of alienness he felt from the young lord differed completely from what he had felt from Nina in his dreams.
Yet there was no hint of sorcery either.
Had there been even a trace, every royal in the banquet hall, including Lavian, would have noticed.
“…Tch, so much to do.”
Still, there was a more important matter at hand.
Taking another puff from his cigarette, he glanced at his wristwatch—time was nearly up.
By now, the commander of the Imperial Guard, who had been pre-informed, would be waiting.
‘Still as dumb as ever, brother.’
When accepting Leopold’s request to find the First Princess, Lavian had set two conditions:
First, he could investigate palace personnel directly. Second, no one would hold him accountable for his actions during the investigation.
Leopold agreed, on the condition that the Imperial Guard’s commander would be present during the investigation.
‘What do you think I’m capable of?’
Suppressing a chuckle, Lavian rifled through the inner pocket of his military jacket.
The conditions were merely for show.
At this point, he didn’t need the Emperor’s permission for anything he planned to do. Because…
“Anyway, she’s just too cute.”
In his jacket pocket were two small jewelry cases, each holding a tiny item.
One might think they were engagement rings.
Both were gifts from Nina.
If Leopold knew that his daughter’s childish innocence and the emblematic signet ring of the royal envoy were in Lavian’s pocket, he’d probably have an interesting reaction.
Lavian found it amusing beyond endurance.
The current situation, how things came to this point, and even what he intended to do next…
What exactly was he trying to discover by going this far?
‘I’ll find out as I go.’
Without hesitation, Lavian began walking briskly.
Towards the place Nina had lived for the past six years before meeting him.
The carnival-themed Lohas Park featured not only its iconic Ferris wheel but also a variety of attractions painstakingly prepared for citizens.
If clearly dubious individuals wandered in, it would cause all sorts of misunderstandings.
Thus, the group quietly dispersed, blending into the park individually.
Of course, only relatively so.
While Mira forcefully led the boys into the haunted house repeatedly, Kiss sat alone on a bench outside the skating rink.
Kiss, clutching the prince doll Nina had entrusted to him and wearing a cat-ear headband like the others nearby, looked as though he were cheering for someone inside the rink.
The boy in the rink, resembling the prince doll, looked displeased.
“Something about this bothers me.”
“Right?”
Katya also murmured in agreement, though not about Kiss.
She was referring to Nina and Den.
“Don’t let go of my hand…?”
Den hesitantly fiddled with the hand he held with Nina.
Nina smiled reassuringly.
“I won’t let go. Don’t worry and move.”
At the skating rink, skill levels were immediately apparent.
Messi and Katya were practically flying across the ice, and Nina herself adapted surprisingly quickly.
