CHAPTER~55
“Ugh.
I couldn’t sleep even a wink.
My whole body feels sore, am I coming down with something…?”
Since it was my first time attending a family banquet, I had been so tense for days that sleep simply would not come.
Of course, there were countless things to worry about, but the tension from the banquet itself was the bigger reason.
Maybe because of that, my body felt heavy, yet my mind was excessively clear.
I didn’t even know how many sheep I had counted just this morning.
“Hoo…”
I kept taking deep breaths, trying to release the mountain of tension piled inside me.
But because of the corset, my waist and abdomen felt tightly constricted, making it hard to breathe properly.
“Madam, you’re already beautiful, but today you’re especially radiant.
The dress suits you so well.”
“That’s right, it really does!”
“…Really?
I thought it might be a bit much with the ribbon.
I’m relieved it suits me.”
As soon as my preparations were finished, compliments poured in from the maids, and I couldn’t hide my embarrassment.
When I only smiled, the maids insisted it was true in unison.
The sight of them felt like little birds chirping together, and it was simply adorable.
“Come to think of it, where’s Mela?”
“Miss Mela went to see Miss Reia as soon as she finished preparing.”
“Already?”
She really is fast.
Honestly, when it comes to drive, she’s the best among us.
Still, hearing that Mela had already gone ahead to Artemene’s estate left me feeling oddly disappointed.
I was happy that the two had grown closer than I expected, but a part of me thought that in the past, she would have come to see me first.
It was a shame, but I needed to finish preparing and head to Artemene’s estate as well.
There was one rule for the family banquet: you had to enter together with the person who invited you.
In other words, since the elder who invited us was Artemene, we had to go with my aunt.
Frezen Decart hasn’t gone ahead already, has he?
Just as the thought crossed my mind, a knock sounded at the door.
The door opened, and the person who entered was none other than Frezen Decart.
“Ah, h-hello!
Your Grace!”
At Frezen’s appearance, the maids who had been chattering moments ago stiffened and hurriedly stepped back.
“I thought you might be done preparing.”
Frezen gave only a brief nod to the maids’ greetings and looked at me casually.
The maids bowed and quickly left the room.
“I was just about to come to you, so this works out.
Oh, Mela already went ahead to Aunt’s estate.
Let’s hurry and go too.”
I had already finished preparing, so I only fixed my slightly disheveled hair and stood before him.
Frezen, however, seemed lost in thought and didn’t respond, staring blankly ahead.
“Your Grace?”
What is it with him all of a sudden?
He looks completely out of it.
I waved my hand back and forth in front of Frezen’s face.
Even so, he treated me as if I were invisible, continuing to stare blankly into space.
After a moment, Frezen finally seemed to gather his wandering thoughts and asked with a startled expression,
“…You were coming to me?”
I had no idea which part surprised him, so I simply nodded in response.
“We should go together.
We’re a married couple.”
“Right.
We’re married.”
“The way you say that so pointedly, did you forget?”
I didn’t mind if he had, but I asked playfully to ease the awkward atmosphere.
“Of course not.
I was just surprised you said it first.”
“…”
“More than that, Evlyen Leella, hearing the word ‘married couple’ from your own lips sounds better than I expected.”
His answer was so sincere it was embarrassing, and I couldn’t respond, only darting my eyes around.
When he smiled like that, my words caught in my throat.
Dressed for the banquet, he wasn’t especially adorned, yet his unique presence naturally drew the eye.
Simply put, he was openly handsome.
“Ahem.
You shouldn’t be startled by trivial things so often.
Your heart might fall out.”
Trying to hide my flustered feelings, I replied more curtly than usual and walked past him.
“I think it’s fine.
It already fell once, because of you.”
“Eh?”
At his words, I was so startled that an unidentifiable sound slipped out.
My heart thudded sharply at that moment.
I knew he was playful and sly by nature, but lately it felt like the intensity had increased.
“What do you mean by—”
Before I could finish, Frezen’s hand suddenly came close.
I flinched and squeezed my eyes shut.
What is he trying to do all of a sudden?
Don’t tell me he’s going to pat my head?
My lips felt parched with tension.
“Your ribbon is crooked.”
“…Ah.”
As he spoke, his hand passed over the top of my head and adjusted the ribbon tying my hair at the back.
All the random thoughts filling my head vanished in an instant.
I squeezed my eyes shut, overwhelmed with embarrassment.
“But why does Madam’s expression look like that?
You look like you were hoping I’d pat you.”
His playful voice followed.
“W-what?
Who would expect something like that?”
“Your cheeks are red.”
“…It’s makeup.”
“Is it?”
“Let’s go.”
Knowing well that strong denial often means affirmation, Frezen only smiled.
If this continued, I would clearly be teased nonstop.
Just as I was about to move, Frezen spoke in a gentle voice.
“The dress suits you.”
“…”
“I knew it would suit you.”
At his words, my heart began pounding wildly.
What kind of expression is he making right now?
I was curious, but my face was burning red, and I couldn’t bring myself to turn around.
Could it be that he chose this dress…?
After hesitating for a moment, just as I gathered the courage to speak—
Tap, tap, tap.
Urgent footsteps echoed through the corridor, and soon the door burst open.
“M-Madam!
Huff, huff!
It’s terrible, something terrible has happened…!”
* * *
After hearing Loren’s words, we hurried to the basement.
The medicine storage cabinet clearly showed signs of having been deliberately smashed.
It was so obvious that mud had even been deliberately thrown over it.
“…They didn’t take it.
They broke everything so it couldn’t be used.”
“It was intentional, right?”
“Yes.
It’s so blatant that it’s almost shocking.”
The floor and walls were splattered with the liquid that had spilled from shattered medicine bottles.
The bitter smell filling the basement made my brows knit together.
The person who did this most likely knew about the existence of this medicine.
The other medicines and ingredients stored nearby were untouched.
When we exited the basement, Frezen, who had been guarding outside, asked me.
Though he said nothing, his eyes were filled with concern.
“Do you have anyone in mind, Madam?”
“Roughly.
I had some expectations, so I’m not that surprised.”
At that moment, Loren cautiously joined the conversation, watching Frezen’s expression.
“W-well, when I arrived at dawn, it was already broken.
So it must have happened sometime between last night and early morning.”
Frezen continued,
“Then there’s a high chance it was a maid on night duty.
Most likely someone from the annex estate.
Among them, someone who knows about this basement.
Can you look into it?”
“Ah, yes!
Your Grace!”
“No.
Wait for now, Loren.”
I quickly stopped Loren as she was about to rush out.
Both Frezen and Loren looked at me with puzzled expressions.
“Pardon?
Is that really alright?”
“You must have another plan, Madam.
Isn’t that right?”
Frezen seemed to grasp what I was thinking.
Realizing it in just a few seconds—he really was impressive in many ways.
I checked that no one else was in the corridor and continued.
“I have a way.”
* * *
With little time left before the banquet, we did a brief cleanup and headed to Artemene’s estate.
As the time drew closer, my heart began pounding like mad.
After all, it was my first family banquet by formal invitation.
It would have been something I could never have dreamed of before.
“This way, hurry!”
As we entered the entrance of Artemene’s estate, the atmosphere felt different from usual.
I had expected nothing but pleasant excitement, yet it felt strangely chaotic.
What on earth was going on?
As I stood there confused, I spotted Rina, whom I recognized.
I grabbed Rina by the shoulder and asked,
“Rina!
What’s going on?
Why is the estate in such an uproar?”
“M-Madam!
…Madam, um, what should we do?”
Rina’s face was pale white, just like the day I first met her.
At the same time, I heard Atil crying overhead, and anxiety gripped me instantly.
“What happened?
Calm down and tell me.
Quickly.”
The thought that something terrible might have happened.
That thought soon turned into certainty and finally became reality.
“I-I don’t know how this happened either, but Miss Reia has disappeared again!
And Miss Mela too…!”
