Chapter 53: Report (1)
The white box that reminded me of Odelia had the swan seal stamp she used whenever she wrote letters.
And when the lid was opened, it revealed dark-colored cotton that reminded me of Odelia’s black hair—and a dead bird inside.
A bluebird, dyed unnaturally blue.
Laughter escaped my lips at the sight in front of me.
Don’t try to find out. If you do, this is what will happen.
To me, it felt like that kind of threat.
I had only gone out today to learn more about the bluebird, and immediately this warning-like gift arrived.
Such a blatant threat.
“That’s enough. As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters.”
Baizen, who had closed the lid of the box, tried to comfort me, claiming everything was fine.
Even though he was the one who had been shocked.
Receiving the box must have made Baizen think that danger had come to me.
A dead bird among symbols that represented me.
To someone else, it might look like a warning from someone who kidnapped or threatened Odelia.
Given the recent history of kidnappings and confinement, it wouldn’t be surprising if everyone assumed that.
I felt sorry for those who must have worried, but I postponed comforting them for now and called out to the relatively calm Arcon.
“Who’s the sender?”
“…There was none.”
“Then who brought it?”
Arcon shook his head.
That meant the package had arrived without anyone noticing.
Was it teleported by magic?
In that moment, I thought of Rudolf.
Why had he dropped me at the front entrance today, instead of my room?
Or rather, why had he left so easily today?
A flood of questions swirled in my head.
“Where were you?” Baizen asked, piercing through my tangled thoughts.
Ah, right. I had left the birthday party for a bit and just returned now.
Baizen had probably been talking to Diane at the time.
He must’ve been shocked when I couldn’t be found before the party ended.
“I was in the garden.”
“The garden? We searched there, but you weren’t.”
Ah, I had briefly forgotten how meticulous obsessive male leads are.
Reminding myself that Baizen was one of them, I offered an excuse.
“I was with Rudolf. We rested somewhere secluded, and I dozed off without realizing. I came as soon as I woke up.”
A mixture of truth and lies rolled off my tongue as I shrugged like it was nothing.
“…Really?”
But Baizen frowned suspiciously.
So unnecessarily sharp.
“It’s true. Anyway, let’s all head inside. I’m sorry for keeping everyone up so late—we should get some rest.”
I steered the conversation away and nudged Annie’s back.
The servants followed her inside one by one.
It was already quite late, with the moon high in the sky.
They must’ve been tired from waiting.
Not just ordinary waiting, either—but filled with all kinds of worrying and speculation. The fatigue must’ve been doubled.
“Stra, let’s take it easy tomorrow. Everyone should move more slowly—today must have been exhausting.”
“You won’t attend the party tomorrow, then?”
I nodded at Stra’s question.
“You won’t go either, right, Brother?”
“…I have business at the Imperial Palace, so I’ll have to go out, but I’ll be back early.”
Baizen gently stroked my head, his face filled with concern.
Then, as I requested, he gave the order for everyone to take the morning off and resume work in the afternoon.
“Oh, right.”
I stopped a servant who was about to throw away the box that had been delivered earlier.
The servant flinched, clearly trying to dispose of it discreetly, and cautiously watched me—or rather, watched Baizen behind me.
“Take it to my room.”
“B-but this is—”
“Throw it out.”
Baizen, gripping my hand, gave a short command.
The servant turned pale, clearly frightened by Baizen’s sharp glare.
“Why are you being mean again?”
I tugged lightly at Baizen’s cheek as I asked, but he didn’t respond.
He clearly just wanted to get rid of the box as soon as possible.
But I needed that box.
If it had been sent via magic, I could detect traces of magical energy from it.
Even if Rudolf didn’t help, I could request the Magic Tower to analyze it.
…If Rudolf did help, I might even learn who sent it. But judging by his behavior today, that didn’t seem likely.
I released Baizen’s cheek and patted the arm he had wrapped around my shoulders.
“If you don’t want it in my room, I’ll store it somewhere else.”
“…”
“But I need it. You can sense it too, right?”
Baizen gave a short, understanding reply.
“It’s a threat. A threat sent to me.”
At that, Baizen turned me toward him and locked eyes with me.
His voice growled low like a beast.
“Then throw it away. Why would you keep such a filthy, low-grade threat near you?”
Some of the servants who had been heading back froze at the rising tension between Baizen and me.
They all seemed wary of what might happen.
Among them were Arcon, Stra, Annie, and Lucy.
But they didn’t know.
Baizen wasn’t angry right now. He was just excessively worried.
And scared.
The corpse of a bird buried in black cotton…
To him, it must have overlapped with my image.
Baizen had finally begun accepting Odelia as family.
Now imagine that family dying. How terrifying must that be?
Baizen had once taken the life of someone’s family—he must know how terrifying that truly is.
He had seen Odelia collapse completely after her family was lost.
Now he realized he might collapse the same way.
That’s why my overprotective, frightened brother was just worried about me recklessly charging into danger.
“Why?”
But I was someone who could only survive by charging ahead.
That’s the only way I’d find any clues.
“So what if it’s a threat? Am I supposed to run away in fear?”
“What?”
“If I run, where do I go? That thing was likely sent magically and silently—if they appear in front of me in one second, it’s over.”
I pried Baizen’s grip from my arm and spoke.
“I won’t run.”
At that moment, a look of despair—not just worry—crossed Baizen’s face.
“So don’t you run either, Brother.”
I tightened my hold on his wrist as I continued.
“If you want to protect something, then fight with me.”
I felt Baizen’s strength drain from his hands. He wouldn’t try to stop me anymore.
Unlike earlier, I no longer saw fear or despair in his eyes.
Just a very familiar worry.
“…Still, you can’t keep it in your room.”
“Fine. Then I’ll have it stored somewhere else.”
Baizen gave a small nod, and the remaining servants let out a collective sigh of relief.
Thinking the situation had finally calmed down, I told the servant holding the box to place it in an unused room and lock the door, then returned to my room.
Baizen didn’t stop me for once.
He seemed quite tired. Maybe he was finally resting in his room.
I told Annie and Lucy to rest as well, then returned to my room, washed up, and changed alone.
Maybe because it had been a while since I got ready for bed on my own, I felt especially tired.
I had fainted at the party, so I should’ve felt less exhausted… I mused as I dried my wet hair and walked toward the terrace.
For summer, the breeze was unexpectedly cool.
Not a bad temperature for ending the day.
While drying my hair in the refreshing wind, I looked up at the sky.
Countless stars sparkled above—something you’d never see in the city.
Among them, some looked like crushed stardust sprinkled across the sky, resembling the Milky Way.
It was beautiful. I gazed at the sky for a moment before walking back inside.
I stopped when my eyes landed on Odelia’s familiar desk—and the box sitting on top of it.
“…I should probably take a look before tomorrow.”
The old wooden box had been handed to me by Annie before I returned to my room.
She said it was a mid-report item and thought I should see it before any explanation.
I tossed my towel over a chair and picked up the wooden box.
Slightly bigger than my palm, it rattled faintly with something inside.
As I stared at it, I felt an odd sense of familiarity.
Just in case, I opened the drawer of my desk.
“As expected.”
Inside was a wooden box identical to the one Annie had brought.
It was the one we found in the ‘garden’ where the first Marchioness had been confined.
It didn’t have a lock, but the hinge was rusted shut.
I shook it gently.
There was weight to it, so something was definitely inside, but no sound came. Maybe it was paper?
“Should I oil it?”
Or just break it open?
I examined the sturdy wooden box and decided to leave it be for now—better to ask someone else to open it naturally.
I turned my attention to the box Annie brought.
“Hinge works. No lock.”
Thankfully, it was intact.
Thinking the contents might be similar since the boxes looked the same, I opened it.
Or perhaps it was just the same brand of box?
Annie’s box looked old, but the Marchioness’s box was likely several hundred years older.
They were both aged, but at very different levels—would the contents really be similar?
“…Let’s open it first and see.”
Since I planned to open both anyway, it wouldn’t hurt to start now.
I picked up the box Annie brought and gave it a light shake.
It rattled again.
It sounded like something hard.
No rolling sound, so it was probably a solid item. And it wasn’t too heavy, so maybe something small?
After a short guess, I slowly opened the box.
“…What is this?”
Inside was a multifaceted piece of glass.
It looked somewhat like a polygonal die, but there were no numbers or markings.
And since it was made of glass, it seemed too fragile to throw like a normal die.
A strange blend of purple and orange shimmered across the surface.
“What is this?”
