[CHAPTER 76]
Although she had managed to steady her heart, the trace of having been slapped did not fade easily.
When Cora saw the swollen cheek, she panicked and tried to call the head maid, but Dianu stopped her.
At the very least, if His Majesty finds out that I was struck…
The problem was that she could not even guess how Rision would react.
She did not want to further trouble the mind of her lover, who already had too many things to think about.
No matter how hard Cora tried, the burst blood vessel and swelling could not be hidden even with makeup.
In the end, Dianu chose to stay hidden in her room under the excuse that she was unwell.
At least it was fortunate that Rision had already been staying at the Erbinjel Grand Ducal Residence for two days to hold important discussions with Lavellan Arasas.
The problem was that Elpenlira knocked on the bedroom door after hearing that Dianu had taken ill.
“Teacher. It’s me. Are you very sick?”
Cora, who had been staying in the bedroom under the pretense of nursing Dianu and keeping her company, whispered with a terrified face.
“What should we do…?”
Dianu could not ask Cora to lie to the Princess.
In the end, Dianu got up and opened the bedroom door halfway.
She was careful to show Elpenlira only the uninjured side of her face.
Elpenlira was holding a basket in her hands.
Inside were several books, flowers, and fresh fruit.
Seeing the clearly thoughtful get-well gift, guilt washed over Dianu.
“You look fine in the face… Where does it hurt? Did you call a physician?”
“Ah, um, well…”
Gripping the door tightly, Dianu hesitated.
“Lady Elpenlira, it really isn’t as bad as it looks.”
At her uncharacteristic demeanor, Elpenlira narrowed her eyes.
“I really hate causing a commotion, so please keep this a secret— Ack!”
Despite Dianu clinging desperately to the door, Elpenlira shoved her foot into the gap and forced it open with her whole body.
Silence fell.
Dianu awkwardly smiled while covering her swollen cheek with her sleeve.
“It looks awful, right…? But it doesn’t hurt at all…”
Without taking her eyes off Dianu’s face, Elpenlira roughly held out the basket.
Cora hurried over and took it from her hands.
“This doesn’t call for a get-well gift. It calls for a duel.”
“Who was it?”
“Lady Elpenlira…”
“I asked who.”
“…You’ll get angry if I tell you.”
“I’m already angry. Does my brother know?”
Dianu pressed her lips together.
Elpenlira frowned as if she understood.
“Of course he doesn’t. If he did, he wouldn’t be leisurely meeting Lavellan Arasas.”
“It wasn’t a leisurely conversation…”
Elpenlira snapped her head around after glaring at the muttering Dianu.
Cora, who met her eyes, nearly dropped the basket in surprise.
“You.”
“Y-Yes!”
“Who did this to the teacher?”
Cora looked like she was about to cry.
“She didn’t tell me either. Really.”
“You must have some idea who it was.”
Unable to answer, Cora lowered her head deeply.
Dianu quickly stepped in front of Elpenlira.
She could not stand by and watch an innocent maid be harassed.
“I argued with Lady Aldebaron.”
“Bertona?”
The crease in Elpenlira’s smooth forehead deepened.
“I saw her today. She looked perfectly fine.”
“What? Well…”
“So you were beaten one-sidedly?”
“It’s not like I could hit her back!”
It was clear Elpenlira did not agree.
As if no longer worth arguing with Dianu, she turned away immediately.
Dianu desperately clung to her arm.
“Lady Elpenlira, please! If this causes a scene, His Majesty will find out!”
Elpenlira looked as though she could not care less.
Dianu pulled at her arm with all her strength.
Of course, she could not overpower a Princess whose hobby was archery.
“I’ve already fallen out of favor with His Majesty because of that… incident.”
“If he learns about this too, Lady Aldebaron won’t be safe.”
“Is this not because the Aldebaron Baron’s daughter acted as a spy at Oak Palace?”
It was an innocent remark that only someone unfamiliar with Elpenlira could make.
In the end, the explanation fell to Rision.
“Lira doesn’t know how to bottle up her anger.”
“Hm?”
“If she intended to strike Lady Aldebaron over that, she would have done so long ago.”
Lavellan burst into loud laughter.
But Rision could not bring himself to share his amusement.
A Princess striking a maid was no small matter.
If this leaked outside Oak Palace, Elpenlira’s reputation would not remain intact either.
With so many headaches already, he could not understand why Elpenlira had to act this way as well.
You said you would help me…
No, he should not jump to conclusions.
Elpenlira might be impulsive, but she was not someone who broke her promises lightly.
There had to be a reason she acted despite knowing it could put Rision in a difficult position.
“We’ll look into that matter properly once we return to the palace.”
“Right. For now, this takes priority.”
The two men turned their attention to the papers spread across the round table.
The drawing was too crude to be called a proper floor plan.
It had been drawn from memory by someone with little artistic sense.
Lavellan grumbled as he looked down at the paper.
“Of all people, the fool we caught had to be this bad at drawing.”
“Be grateful we have this much.”
It was a layout of the Arasas Embassy Residence drawn by Petor Gaiha, aide to Ambassador Nixandor.
With this clumsy sketch spread out in the study of the Erbinjel Grand Ducal Residence, the Emperor of Catalos and the Crown Prince of Arasas discussed tactics.
“He said anything that can’t be shown to others would be stored here, here, and here.”
Lavellan pinned three markers onto the drawing.
They marked rooms labeled “Study,” “Ambassador’s Bedroom,” and “Records Archive.”
Because of the residence’s size, the pins were far apart.
Rision mapped out the fastest route between the three locations in his mind.
None of the results were satisfying.
“We’d have to go up and down stairs, pass clerks’ offices in between… It’d be hard to search all three without being noticed.”
“Impossible unless I turn invisible.”
Lavellan could walk boldly into the Arasas Embassy Residence.
The problem came afterward.
If the Crown Prince visited, Ambassador Nixandor would naturally have to attend to him personally.
That meant Lavellan would have no chance to search the study, bedroom, and archive alone to find the ledger.
“What if you just say you’ll stay at the embassy?”
“Sleep under the same roof as Nixandor? That snake would think the sun rose twice the next morning.”
In other words, it would invite suspicion that the Crown Prince had ulterior motives.
Even if Nixandor did not suspect Lavellan of cooperating with Rision, they had to avoid pushing him into hastily destroying evidence.
Lavellan kicked the table leg irritably.
“Should we just make Petor Gaiha responsible for retrieving the ledger?”
“Then we’d have to tell him exactly what ledger we’re looking for.”
“What if he changes his mind and informs Nixandor?”
That would only make the ledger’s location unclear, or worse, cause it to disappear entirely.
Pointless debate dragged on for some time.
Lavellan pretended to be drunk and slip away, but that was dismissed because Nixandor knew he was a bottomless drinker.
Sneaking search personnel in from outside while Lavellan caused a distraction was also dismissed due to the embassy’s tight security.
Rision seducing the ambassador’s wife with his looks was proposed, and Rision shot him a look of pure contempt before Lavellan hastily claimed he was just throwing ideas out there.
After exhausting every idea from sensible to absurd, the two men lay side by side on the long chairs facing each other.
After staring at the ceiling for a long time, Lavellan suddenly called out to Marek.
It was the same Marek who had silently observed their heated discussion the entire time.
“Do you have any ideas?”
Rision also looked at him, though he did not expect much.
Marek Loisen was an outstanding knight, but the tactics he knew were meant for the battlefield.
Surprisingly, Marek answered without hesitation.
“I do.”
“Oh. Let’s hear it. It has to be better than anything we came up with.”
For some reason, Marek looked toward Rision.
He seemed conflicted for a moment.
Rision urged him on with his gaze.
When Marek finally spoke his idea, Rision understood why he had hesitated.
“I believe we need to ask Lady Ortensa.”
