Chapter 68
The next day, an unexpected guest arrived at the temporary residence. It was Valdir Richmond. Pierre, who was spending time in the office with Cecilia, furrowed his brow as soon as he heard the news of his arrival.
Honik spoke with a troubled expression.
“He says he has urgent business regarding weapon supplies before the war and insisted on seeing Your Excellency, so I brought him to the drawing room.”
It was clear that Honik was sweating bullets, as Valdir had forced his way in. Knowing that there weren’t many of the Grand Duke’s knights at this temporary residence, he had smugly brought dozens of his own private soldiers along.
A vein bulged on Pierre’s forehead, though he had half expected this. His conversation with Zilgerk the previous night flashed through his mind.
“You’re asking me to protect you, yet you can’t even say who the assassin is? Isn’t that contradictory?”
Zilgerk bit his lip at the mocking words. Even if he needed Leo’s intel, Pierre wasn’t going to keep playing into Zilgerk’s hand if he kept being evasive.
After much hesitation, Zilgerk finally opened his mouth.
“They might act as early as tomorrow. Someone unexpected may show up here.”
“This place sees new faces every day before the war.”
“Most of them are likely here to see you, Your Excellency.”
“Yes.”
“Among them, there will certainly be someone who wants to see me.”
Ending the flashback, Pierre took a deep breath and rose from his seat.
“You said he’s in the drawing room? I’ll go see him now.”
Pierre was about to tell Cecilia to wait, but Honik again looked uncomfortable.
“That is… Lord Richmond also requested that the young lady accompany him.”
“…What? Didn’t you say he was here to discuss business?”
“He said it’s been a while and he’d like to see his niece.”
Even as he relayed the message, Honik looked like he knew Pierre would be furious. Cecilia quietly observed the scene.
After returning to the mansion the previous night, she had quickly fallen asleep once Pierre tucked her in, likely exhausted from the long hike.
But apparently, many things had happened while she slept. Because of the assassin who broke into the mansion, Pierre was now keeping Cecilia right beside him in the office.
It wasn’t just Pierre. Leo had also looked grim since morning. Cecilia spoke with a determined look.
“Pierre, it’s okay. I’ll go with you.”
“Cecilia. Just this once, could you listen to me—”
“But you’re the one who said it, Pierre. That you didn’t feel comfortable leaving me alone.”
Cecilia smiled, as if to reassure him.
“Richmond said he wanted to see me, so I’ll go see him gladly.”
“……”
“If anything happens, you’ll protect me. Right?”
Pierre let out a low sigh, as if helpless against Cecilia’s characteristic logic.
“Then absolutely no wandering off alone. You must stay by my side.”
“Of course.”
Thanks to Cecilia, the tense atmosphere lightened just a bit.
Pierre and Cecilia soon headed to the drawing room. Richmond, already seated and sipping tea, greeted them with a genial smile.
“Thank you for receiving me on such short notice.”
Despite the cold atmosphere, Richmond shamelessly smiled as if it were a warm welcome.
He seemed utterly unaffected by the suffocating tension in the room.
“I hope you’ll understand—it was urgent.”
“If it was so urgent that you had to ignore protocol, then just get to the point.”
Pierre spoke firmly, unwilling to let Richmond lead the conversation.
Richmond smiled knowingly and narrowed his eyes.
“Then I shall speak plainly, to avoid taking more of your precious time. I understand that former Border Duke Zilgerk is being held here.”
Pierre’s eyes narrowed at the mention of Zilgerk. He had doubted it when Zilgerk warned him—but to think someone would actually come looking for him in less than a day, and that it would be Valdir, the root of everything.
Pierre knew just how cautious Valdir Richmond was.
Though Richmond had been involved in countless shady dealings, there was never decisive evidence. That was how carefully he operated.
Apparently, there was some critical information that Zilgerk hadn’t revealed, but Pierre had overlooked—something Zilgerk knew, and Richmond desperately needed.
Pierre erased his thoughts and replied in a flat tone.
“Yes, he came with us as a prisoner due to border-related matters.”
Richmond’s expression shifted subtly. He smiled even more brightly, as if trying to hide his true thoughts.
“I’ve come to borrow him.”
“To borrow a prisoner?”
“Oh, of course, this isn’t personal. In order to procure weapons for the border, we need his insights. After all, he held that post for a long time.”
He smiled, as if to say it wouldn’t take long.
“Once that matter is settled, I’ll return him.”
Pierre was dumbfounded. He’d expected some kind of sharp surprise, but this was nonsense. Shaking his head, he replied sternly.
“Rejected. That man has been stripped of his title and is a criminal. If you need his opinion, leave it in writing. I’ll return a reply after reviewing it.”
Cecilia swallowed dryly at Pierre’s resolute answer. She stared at Richmond, wondering how he would try to persuade Pierre under this heavy pressure. But suddenly, Richmond’s gaze landed on her.
Cecilia stiffened as their eyes met unexpectedly. But as if nothing had happened, Richmond shrugged and looked back at Pierre.
“Well, I suppose that’s only natural.”
“…Yes.”
“Just as you said, I’ll put it in writing. I’d appreciate a reply.”
He pulled out a pen and a small notebook from his inner pocket, jotted down a few questions, then tore off the paper and handed it to Pierre. Pierre scanned the note.
Contrary to his suspicion that there might be hidden codes, the questions were straightforward and purely professional.
As Pierre’s doubts deepened, Richmond’s gaze once again turned to Cecilia.
“You look more worn than before.”
“…You seem to be in good health, Lord Richmond.”
“Haha, well, I’ve been eating well. Since today isn’t a suitable setting, I’ll be content just seeing your face. Come visit me when you have time.”
“…Yes.”
Cecilia replied cautiously, clearly on guard. As Richmond stood up to leave, he suddenly let out a soft exclamation, as if remembering something, and pulled out a palm-sized box from inside his jacket.
“Ah, this was the reason I wanted to see you. I nearly forgot again.”
He opened the box. Cecilia’s eyes widened as she saw what was inside.
“This is…”
“You were going to buy this last time, right? I bought it for you instead, but I forgot to give it to you.”
It was the silver bracelet she had picked out for Leo during their visit to the capital. She clearly remembered Richmond buying it in her place.
“You didn’t have to…”
“How could I not? You looked so pleased. You were probably going to give it to someone special, weren’t you?”
“…Yes.”
“Well then, let’s see each other again soon, Cecilia.”
With that, Richmond politely bowed to Pierre and left the residence.
After Richmond’s departure, Cecilia looked down at the box containing the silver bracelet.
Though it was indeed something she had picked out for Leo, Richmond’s sly remark about giving it to someone “special” made it awkward to say outright that it was a gift for Leo in front of Pierre.
As she hesitated, feeling undeservedly guilty, Pierre noticed and spoke first.
“You were going to give it to Leo, weren’t you?”
“…How did you know?”
“If it were for me, your face wouldn’t look like that.”
Seeing Cecilia look as if she’d received a live grenade, Pierre gently brushed her cheek with his fingertips.
“Then give it to the person it was meant for.”
“…Is that okay?”
“Yes. But if it bothers you… then give me a chance next time too.”
Pierre carefully took her hand and softly kissed her ring finger.
“To wear a matching one with you here.”
