Chapter 40
It was clear that an accident would happen on the cliff along the way to Dentar. It was the only dangerous spot on the road to Dentar.
It should be fine.
I lay down and stared at the side table for a long time before reaching out and pulling the cord.
Not long after, Lisa knocked on the door.
“Miss, it’s Lisa.”
“Come in.”
“Do you need me to do something?”
“Could you go to the office downstairs and bring some writing paper and envelopes?”
“Yes, right away! I’ll bring them quickly!”
Lisa left immediately.
Now that my restriction on going out was lifted, I could probably contact Valeri. Each letter had certain things that couldn’t be ignored.
Besides, it had already been a month since I last saw him. Any friendship we had was probably fading.
And he always took me to nice places on our dates.
Soon, Lisa returned with a bundle of stationery, envelopes, and a pen. She also brought another letter.
“What’s this?”
“This letter arrived today for you, Miss. It seems it came while you were out. The seal is the same as the usual royal letters.”
“I see.”
It wasn’t a day when the doctor visited, so maybe it was sent separately. But no gifts came with it today. Could it be something important?
I told her to put the stationery and envelope on the table and took the letter addressed to me.
“Ah.”
It was from the First Prince.
As Lisa said, the royal seal was on it. But the handwriting wasn’t Valeri’s neat style—it was more elaborate and fancy.
“There’s only one reason Delkian would send a letter.”
Yet, contrary to my expectations, there was only the letter. At least there should have been a small bag with it, something a little heavy inside.
“Nothing else came with it?”
“No, just this.”
“I see…”
I opened the envelope and saw a short letter of four or five lines.
“To the lady who is skilled at games.”
My eyebrow lifted automatically.
He must have written this with a slightly exaggerated, teasing expression.
“I am writing to tell you that all the magical stones I will give you are ready. Aren’t you curious?”
Judging by this, the stones were probably fully processed and quite high quality. Frustratingly, I was curious too—very much so.
“I plan to attend the exhibition at the Hall of the Sky this weekend. How about meeting there on Saturday? If it’s okay, I’d like to meet you then.”
He added that if another day was better, I could reply. It was really just the essentials.
A weekend exhibition. Not too open, not too crowded—it was just right.
The only problem was that the weekend happened to be the day after tomorrow, Saturday. But there wasn’t much I could do about that, so it was fine.
“Hmm.”
I had planned to ask Valeri to meet on Sunday if possible. But now, unexpectedly, I would meet Delkian first.
He wouldn’t be upset, would he?
I realized I was unconsciously checking how Valeri might feel, and I chuckled to myself. If he was upset, so what? Who cares?
Yes, this is just one of the steps to secure my own life. Just an extension.
Thinking that, I picked up the pen.
“Valeri Ahivara Kashinef…”
I wrote his name, and then the next line got blocked. He seemed to write easily, but why was this so difficult?
“How have you been? This is Blake Ariandel. Thanks to you, I’m feeling much better.”
“….”
Blocked again.
This was really hard.
“You were very sick? Are you okay now? Oh my, your face looks half gone!”
Jury fussed over me.
Now that my restriction was lifted, I was gradually handling all the postponed appointments.
Every day, morning and afternoon, I was out. It was safe to say these were the busiest days of my life.
Jury Del Chartre’s mansion wasn’t far from mine—less than thirty minutes to meet.
Her family was considered insignificant by my mother and Mr. Shuwalt, but for me, Jury was important.
“I’m fine now. He sent too many gifts. I didn’t expect a whole carriage filled with them.”
“I almost sent more. The scale was much bigger than I expected. If things go well, I plan to expand significantly. Then Father can be even more sure to make me the next head of the family.”
Jury’s expression was determined as she spoke.
She was always frustrated that her father worried even after she completed her tasks perfectly.
“You’d fit the next head’s position even without that, Jury.”
“All thanks to Blake.”
“I just passed along what I overheard.”
“Actually, there’s something even more satisfying. Beating the Gerdo family so completely—it feels incredible. Don’t you want more? I feel it’s too much to just send as gifts.”
Jury’s voice had grown serious. She looked like she could hand over an entire vineyard out of enthusiasm.
“Really, I can?”
“I don’t speak empty words. I want to help however I can. Father really liked it.”
With her insistence, there was no reason to refuse.
“Actually…”
Jury leaned on the table and moved closer.
“Tell me.”
“I also want to try something, but I can’t bring myself to start.”
“Something? Like a business?”
I nodded, looking somewhat despondent.
“Father strongly opposed it. If I mention it, he just tells me to marry instead…”
Jury’s face showed indignation.
“I hate that! Those who think marrying is the only success! Oh, I’m not insulting Marquis Ariandel.”
“It’s okay. Sometimes I wish Father would understand me too. Maybe because I was sick as a child, he worries excessively.”
“You must have struggled a lot.”
I nodded naturally. The information Mr. Shuwalt sent mentioned that she ran other businesses too—she had three trade names.
Perhaps she prepared them in case she didn’t become the next head. They seemed to be doing well.
“I want to secretly pursue my dreams without Father knowing. Can you help?”
Jury’s eyes sparkled.
“How about creating a kind of double identity for this opportunity?”
I widened my eyes.
“Is that possible?”
“Of course. As long as it doesn’t cause major trouble. Some young ladies I know manage it a little. They call it ‘keeping a back pocket.’ If unmarried, the property usually belongs to the family. Shall I help?”
I placed my hand over hers and said earnestly,
“Yes. Please help me.”
It’s always better to have multiple ways to escape.
“Hello, Your Highness, the First Prince.”
“It’s been about a month, hasn’t it?”
“Probably.”
On Saturday, I went to the Hall of the Sky to meet the First Prince.
It was too early to hear anything from Madam. I could only hope everything was resolved and handle the remaining tasks.
There were fewer people than at the banquet, so finding Delkian was easy. Both he and Valeri were striking, so they stood out anywhere.
“Are you fully recovered? I was worried about scarring.”
I smiled to show him not to worry.
Strangely, the First Prince felt friendly in a different way. He reminded me of Ian from childhood, when we played house together.
“I want to show that I’m completely healed, but my knee isn’t fully ready.”
Delkian let out a short laugh.
“That’s enough to put me at ease. Do you like looking at paintings?”
He half-turned to look at a huge painting before us.
It filled an entire wall. Not just brush strokes, but strong, sweeping ones. The colors felt like flames, powerful enough to swallow you.
“I don’t usually have much knowledge or interest, but this painting seems strong, so I like it.”
Delkian laughed again.
“You are very honest, young lady.”
