Chapter 19
The glances she threw his way felt more friendly than rude. Lenart couldn’t quite figure out Ranje.
‘Why only to me?’
Though she seemed cheerful, judging by her attitude toward Petra, it was hard to call her sociable or outgoing.
Lacking the energy to be bewildered any further, and not exactly hating the warmth either, Lenart prompted Ranje.
“Anyway, finish what you were saying yesterday.”
“Yep!”
Though pleased that Lenart seemed to be getting used to her, Ranje focused on the unfinished topic.
She crossed her arms and tried to begin the complex story.
“Uh, actually, something strange happened recently. I mean, Fri—Fri…”
“Fride.”
“Ah, thank you, senior. Anyway, as Sir Fride remembers, originally Erna was known as my father’s legitimate daughter. But then I broke into—um, opened the safe, and everything turned upside down.”
Did she almost say “broke into”? Lenart and Petra both caught that, but since it wasn’t the main point, they let it slide.
“My grandfather, Count Swanhild, said there must’ve been a switch. Then he kicked the sick Erna out and shoved her into my attic.”
Even now, she snorted thinking how cold-hearted that was.
“So yeah, I brought Erna with me.”
“…That’s the whole explanation?”
“Is that a problem?”
Though she had clarified the blood relationship Erna had used to calm tensions and suspicions, she had skipped the more crucial details. Seeing her wide, innocent eyes, Lenart sighed.
‘So it really was a runaway case.’
Putting his personal thoughts aside, he filled in what Ranje had missed.
“I met these two sisters at the station. We got off the same train, and they were getting robbed. They said they came to Farel to find a doctor, so I accompanied them.”
From the fire at the marketplace, to meeting Kalisa and fleeing from misunderstandings, to Erna’s abduction—Petra listened intently to the chain of events.
Reading her serious expression, Lenart asked,
“Sir Fride, you raided that group’s base yesterday. May I ask why?”
Petra’s power was centered here in Fride, her own territory.
Even without knowing all of Simone’s internal affairs, it was clear from the distance that Farel was outside her usual sphere of influence.
Lenart had seen Petra only briefly in the capital, but even then, he judged her as someone who wouldn’t tolerate a violent gang within her domain.
‘She’s also not the type to act impulsively without proper preparation, like yesterday.’
Petra leaned back, falling into brief silence. Then she blinked as if realizing something and rubbed her chin with a grave face.
“Yesterday… you said that doctor Kalisa mistook Your Highness and the others for foreign spies and ran off. Then the Damille gang raided her clinic.”
“Now that you mention it, I never did hear the full reason.”
Ranje mumbled. She had been too focused on tracking down Erna to question the thugs who had rampaged through the clinic.
The branch manager who had fled was immediately caught by Petra’s subordinates, so they hadn’t yet heard the interrogation results either.
Even amid the serious topic, Petra’s hand didn’t stop reaching for snacks—her guard completely lowered.
“Yes. We’ve been interrogating the captured men since morning…”
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
“Lady Petra, I have a report.”
After listening outside, Petra returned with a grim expression.
“It seems there were some misunderstandings on our end as well.”
Combining the testimonies of Ranje’s group, the doctor, Damille’s men, and Petra herself, they could now trace how a small event had snowballed into a disaster.
It had all started with a random fire.
Ranje, whose mood had been lifted by concern for Erna and excitement at working with her partner again, had frantically put out the fire.
Kalisa, who had previously received offers from foreign powers, happened to arrive at the scene and made contact with them. Damille’s men witnessed this.
Suspicious of Ranje’s group, Kalisa purposely brought them to her clinic, then fled with materials, convinced they were spies.
Meanwhile, the Damille gang assumed Kalisa had decided to defect and join the enemy, so they attacked her clinic.
Trying to manage the situation, they stirred up Farel, moving their forces—and in the process, kidnapped Erna.
At the same time, Petra of Simone also detected the unrest in Farel.
“…I thought it was my younger brother mobilizing troops.”
Damille had ties to Petra’s brother, and if he ever decided on armed conflict, it was obvious that this group would move as his private force.
That’s why Petra interpreted the organization’s actions as her brother’s intention.
—Hesitation leads to failure.
She chose to strike first, attacking the area with the most activity.
It happened to be the branch near Kalisa’s clinic, where most of the higher-ups had fled and where Erna had been taken.
There were several other places the gang had harassed, so Petra had misjudged where the real base was.
After hearing all this, even Ranje could tell things had taken a dire turn.
Noticing Lenart and Petra’s dark expressions, she raised her hand cautiously.
“This is… a really big deal, right?”
Petra didn’t want to agree, but she had to admit it was an accurate summary.
In her silence, Lenart muttered,
“A full-blown war with that gang is now inevitable. In the worst case… we’re talking civil war.”
Even if Petra’s actions were the result of misunderstanding, they couldn’t be taken back.
Her brother would think she’d finally “made her move.”
There was no turning back, no explaining it away. And even if she could, Petra wouldn’t choose that path.
If she were the type to swallow her pride and back down, she wouldn’t have fought over her title to begin with.
“It’s already been ten years.”
Petra straightened her posture.
“This was bound to happen someday. My brother and I just kept delaying it, claiming it wasn’t the right time. In a way, I’m almost relieved. At least… he’s not at an advantage right now either.”
“Sir Fride…”
“It may be troublesome if you stay here, Your Highness. I advise you to leave soon.”
She turned to Ranje.
“You two should return to Swanhild before things get dangerous.”
“I’d rather not…”
Thinking it childish stubbornness, Petra ignored her.
After Petra left, Ranje stood up pretending to be busy. Lenart watched her bustle around suspiciously.
By now, he had no excuse even if someone called him a nosy meddler. Still, he had to ask.
“Where are you going?”
“I think I left something at the clinic.”
After yesterday’s chaos, both Farel’s gang and Petra’s brother were likely on high alert.
Yet there wasn’t a hint of fear on Ranje’s face.
“You’re not even scared?”
“Well, you’re not scared either, are you?”
Simone descending into civil war was serious, but strictly speaking, it didn’t concern them.
They were only caught up in the mess by chance. Like Petra said, it might’ve happened sooner or later anyway.
Still, Ranje noticed something strange in Lenart’s expression.
“If it’s just luggage, don’t worry. I asked someone to retrieve it yesterday when we moved.”
He turned away and propped up his chin.
“It’s probably in your sister’s room.”
It was an attempt to change the subject, but Ranje picked up on the self-blame behind it. She might not fully understand his heart, but she knew enough from experience to recognize that this was just the kind of person Lenart was.
“Wanna go out for a bit of air?”
“…What?”
A sudden suggestion, but Lenart eventually nodded.
Unlike when she had blocked his way at the station, Ranje seemed more careful now.
Of course, if he had known that “a bit of air” meant climbing up onto the roof, he would’ve refused immediately.
Still, he followed silently as Ranje confidently climbed the hidden servant stairs.
She boldly entered the attic, threw open the window, and that’s when Lenart realized something was wrong.
“What are you planning to do?”
“I told you, let’s get some fresh air.”
Ranje was already standing on the rooftop.
Lenart considered turning back. Setting aside that this was someone else’s house, simply being up on the roof was absurd.
Yesterday had been an emergency, so they used it as a route—but under normal circumstances, it was hard to justify.
Still, rather than preserving his dignity, he bent his waist and stepped outside.
Ranje beamed up at him as he sat beside her.
Lenart grumbled lightly.
“This is my first time sitting in a place like this. If not for you, I probably never would’ve.”
“How touching.”
“Who gets emotional with that kind of expression?”
Ranje cupped her cheeks and studied his face.
‘So even you had moments like this, huh?’
They had worked on all sorts of schemes together, but he’d never shown discomfort over just a roof. It was refreshingly new. She realized he was still in the stage of life before true hardships.
“So, are you really going back?”
“I could.”
“But a true gentleman wouldn’t leave a lady alone in a dangerous place.”
“Surprised you even recognize it as dangerous. And what did you just call yourself?”
“Judging by your tone, you’re not exactly the classic gentleman either.”
Given how many men only sounded refined, Lenart’s behavior was exemplary in comparison—but his manner of speaking certainly wasn’t polished.
“But didn’t someone teach you to be kind to the weak?”
Lenart furrowed his brow.
“You talk like someone who knows me well.”
It wasn’t just a guess—she spoke with confidence, and she clearly knew a lot.
He recalled something from yesterday he hadn’t yet addressed.
‘She didn’t react at all.’
When Petra called him “Your Highness,” Kalisa and Erna had been visibly shocked.
But Ranje, despite hearing everything, had just sat there, lost in thought. He had assumed she was too feverish to react, but even now, her attitude hadn’t changed.
Ranje hugged her knees and looked away.
Yeah. This will take some explanation