Chapter 43
The clerk standing in front of Erna and Heine recoiled in surprise.
“Uh, ma’am? Is there some kind of problem?”
Even in that moment, the clerk tried to divert the intruder’s attention.
It was rare, but there had been incidents where customers got into fights inside the store. Seeing Erna frozen in place, the clerk couldn’t help but imagine various scenarios.
But the newcomer paid no attention whatsoever, instead seizing Erna’s shoulders.
“My goodness, it really is you!”
It didn’t seem like she was intentionally ignoring the clerk—more like she was so shocked she couldn’t hear anyone else’s voice.
“Sis?”
Erna finally snapped out of it.
“Alix?!”
Alix Swanheild, the daughter of her uncle Eirik, pulled Erna into a tight embrace.
“You’re safe! I heard bits and pieces, but… it’s been so long.”
Meeting her cousin here, of all places, and getting hugged out of the blue left Erna blinking in a daze.
Judging that the atmosphere wasn’t hostile, Heine discreetly sent the clerk away.
Just then, another voice called out.
“Alix, why’d you suddenly run? That’s not like you… What is it?”
Freed from Alix’s arms, Erna quickly turned toward the voice.
A black-haired young man was walking toward them, but stopped short. Surprise flashed across both their faces.
“…Who’s this?”
Heine stepped forward slightly, asking cautiously.
“They’re my cousins—Alix, and Xavier Swanheild.”
Erna had regained her composure. She quickly scanned their surroundings.
With two cousins suddenly appearing, it wouldn’t be surprising if more showed up.
Fortunately, no other familiar faces were in sight. Alix spoke gently.
“Don’t worry. It’s just me and my brother. Grandfather’s already gone back to Swanheild.”
Not wanting to draw attention in such an awkward situation, the four of them headed to a seating area in the store.
“…What brings you here?”
Erna was the first to speak.
“I didn’t expect to run into you here.”
“There’s an art supply store nearby, so I come by sometimes. It’s a good place to check out the trends too. Never thought I’d see you here, though.”
Erna gave a small nod.
To Alix, even that gesture felt strange. After Erna’s sudden disappearance from home, meeting again in the capital’s department store was surreal.
The cousin she remembered had always stayed in her private study or bedroom, wearing loungewear with no concern for fashion.
“…By the way, is it true you entered the military academy?”
Xavier, glancing between the younger girls, spoke up.
“I heard there was some kind of incident too.”
“I didn’t think you’d know about that, Xavier…”
It wasn’t sarcasm—Erna was genuinely surprised.
After becoming an adult, Xavier had rarely stayed at the estate and showed little interest in family affairs. He hardly spoke with Erna or even his own younger siblings.
“How could I not know?”
Xavier frowned, recalling the chaos earlier in the year.
“I went home and everyone was saying a child had been switched, or that the frail one ran away from home. You should’ve seen Father yelling at the old man…”
“Brother.”
“Right, I’ll watch my mouth. Anyway, summer was another mess. The old man didn’t say a peep—just sat there while Father ranted at him. At least in the spring he still argued back.”
From Xavier’s not-so-cautious account, it seemed her uncle and the Count of Swanheild had quarreled badly—once over her running away, and again in June over the entrance exam. Xavier and Alix must have overheard and pieced together her situation.
“Thank you for your concern.”
Erna’s expression was somewhere between a smile and a frown.
“But I was admitted safely, and I’m doing well. Lanze too.”
It was a natural comment for Erna, but Alix’s face flickered with discomfort.
She had never grown close to Lanze, so her lack of warmth wasn’t surprising. For Erna, however, Lanze had been a younger sibling she’d grown up with since childhood.
Even Xavier, who had casually mentioned the child-switch incident, glanced at her warily.
Still, Alix couldn’t ignore it entirely.
“I’m glad to hear you’re getting along. I heard she entered the academy too.”
“Yes. She’s in much better health now. If not for Lanze, I wouldn’t have been able to leave the estate at all.”
“Your new sister must be quite capable, then?”
As the mood lightened, Xavier’s tongue loosened. Gesturing at Alix, he said:
“I always thought if anyone was going to run away, it’d be Alix. Can’t believe you beat her to it.”
“Oh, my brother must still be hungover from last night. Who knows what else he’ll say if I leave him here…”
Alix abruptly wrapped things up as quickly as the meeting had begun. It wasn’t the right place for a long conversation. She pinched the back of Xavier’s hand and ordered him to get up.
“Write to me once in a while.”
She gave Erna an address.
“It’s a villa in Father’s name, so we can correspond without Grandfather finding out. Not all of us in the family think like him, you know? Especially Father—he’s worried about you two. Let’s meet during the winter break. Bring Lanze too.”
“Uncle…?”
“Yes. He really is concerned. Things would’ve gone better earlier this year if he hadn’t had to rush off to Morigen.”
Her uncle had always been as distant as Xavier.
Erna didn’t know how to respond and stayed silent for a moment. Alix, insisting she remember, even wrote the address on a slip of paper and pressed it into her hand.
“Don’t forget to write!”
“Stay healthy. Take care of yourself.”
As her cousins walked away, Erna turned back to Heine.
Though he’d been beside her the whole time, he had kept his eyes on the opposite wall, not betraying any curiosity.
He’d already heard the gist of the sisters’ story before her enrollment, and the mood had left no room for him to chime in.
Neither Alix nor Xavier had even asked his name.
Erna gave him a sheepish smile.
“You came all the way up here only to get bored. Sorry. I didn’t expect to run into relatives.”
“It’s fine. But it seems you get along well with your cousins.”
He had only heard about the poor treatment the sisters received from the Count of Swanheild, so their cousins’ warmth was unexpected.
“Alix is kind. And Xavier… he’s not the formal type.”
Neither seemed the sort to suddenly shun her when the Count wasn’t around.
Fiddling with the note Alix had given her, Erna sank into thought.
Footsteps approached briskly.
“Erna, there you are.”
Lanze waved as she walked over, both hands free—likely having left the light shopping to Lennart.
“I bought all the gifts and had them sent. Did you enjoy looking around?”
“Thanks to you.”
“Then shall we head back?”
“Actually, just before you came, I ran into my cousins.”
On the way back, in the carriage, Erna confessed to the earlier encounter. Lanze’s voice rose in genuine surprise.
“Don’t tell me the whole family came?”
The thought alone made Erna shake her head.
“No. Grandfather’s gone back to Swanheild. Uncle and Aunt might be in the capital, but they don’t like crowds…”
“So it was Alix and… who?”
“Xavier.”
“That’s a bit unexpected.”
Lanze gave a small snort.
She didn’t know much about her cousins. The youngest had died early, and her memories of Alix were brief and one-sided now.
In her own private recollections, Alix had doted on her new cousin, perhaps out of guilt for sending her to the academy in her place, and had hurriedly taught her various points of etiquette.
Xavier, on the other hand, had only ever shown up rarely, making idle remarks before disappearing back to his drinking and card games.
They hadn’t seemed close enough to go shopping together.
Perhaps they felt a sense of solidarity as equally irritating grandchildren in the Count’s eyes.
“In any case, meeting them today made me think… Could Grandfather have been involved in what happened during the exam?”
Erna’s thoughts had gone somewhere much deeper.
“He came to see us before the exam, remember?”
“That’s right. And you yelled at him when he told you to quit.”
She was explaining for Lennart and Heine, who hadn’t been there, but both could tell Lanze’s summary was technically true yet slightly off.
Erna didn’t correct her, continuing instead:
“Given the timing and his motives, isn’t it reasonable to suspect him?”
On the day itself, the Emperor had been considered the prime culprit—his actions and the fact that his daughter Helga had foreseen the incident put him in the spotlight, while the Count of Swanheild was overlooked. Erna and Lanze had both almost forgotten about him.
Lennart nodded in agreement.
“…It’s possible. The conditions fit.”
He glanced at Lanze.
Erna seemed a bit shaken by the idea that her grandfather might have tried to have her killed. Lanze, however, simply looked thoughtful.
“It’s possible, like you and the senior say… But would someone that selfish have the guts to orchestrate something that dangerous?”
“What do you mean?”
“One wrong move and we could’ve all died. For him, that’d be a huge loss and a massive risk. Worse than us running around outside.”
Lennart understood immediately.
“The fact that you two were switched at birth and that you ran away was already public knowledge. If, on top of that, the Count failed to look after the family and was caught ordering his granddaughters’ deaths, it’d be fatal to his reputation. At the very least, Simone—who supports you—and the Morigens, as blood relatives, wouldn’t let it pass.”
“Well, he could have gotten involved without realizing how dangerous it would be.”
Lanze leaned back.
Erna’s expression remained troubled. Lanze felt a pang of frustration—she had avoided bringing up such worries precisely so Erna wouldn’t have to dwell on them.
‘So much for being careful. Why go stirring things up outside?’
She leaned toward Erna.
“Try not to dwell on it. Just think of him as someone who’s got nothing to do with us anymore, and stop caring. It’s easier that way.”
“…It’s just, when I heard Uncle’s worried about us…”
“Uncle? Why?”
Erna briefly recounted what Alix had told her and showed her the note.
“…I see. Well, meeting him over the break might not be a bad idea. You could ask about the things you’re wondering.”
Since it was still a long way off, they let the matter rest.
But then Lanze, with a single sentence, tensed the air again.
“Not that it matters if we don’t get through the next exam first.”
Even she didn’t look happy about saying it. Only Lennart looked calm as he glanced at the two juniors.
In truth, he’d already taken the course once and, like last year’s seniors, found no rival in the current class.
The reason was obvious without him saying it, and Lanze’s mouth twisted downward.
“You do realize how annoying that is, right?”
“Not really.”
