Chapter 97
The maid carrying a tray of snacks froze as she saw Lavinia holding a gun.
A look of admiration. An expression of envy.
Watching Hannah like that, Rita noticed her gaze and Hannah, startled, hurried into the garden house.
“Miss, I brought some snacks!”
“Thank you. Just put them here.”
Rita nodded, and Hannah carefully placed the tray on one side of the garden house table. Her eyes flicked toward the revolver parts laid out in front of Rita, shining with curiosity.
Rita smiled faintly and spoke.
“Hannah.”
“Yes, Miss?”
“Are you interested in guns at all?”
“W-what?”
“If you want to try learning how to shoot—”
“Ah, n-no! I never had such an arrogant thought! How could I possibly!”
Hannah jumped back in shock, shaking her head frantically.
Rita watched Hannah’s pale, trembling figure with complicated thoughts swirling in her mind.
The investigation into Hannah’s father had been stalled. It was a matter from over twenty-two years ago, and even for Rascaille’s jewelers, it was hard to investigate the Adicl Duke’s castle openly.
‘In a way… it feels like the scope is narrowing since no other father candidates are appearing.’
Either the former Adicl Duke or the current one.
Either way, royal blood flows in their veins. It could be verified through the royal family tree.
Previously, the risk of verification was too high to even attempt. But now, there was a way to verify quietly without causing a fuss.
‘Because Gid is here.’
And there was now a necessity to verify.
Rita recalled the letter she had received from Olivia just yesterday.
‘The analysis of the magic circles engraved on the coffin fragment and slipper piece is complete.’
Although only parts of the magic circles remained and couldn’t be fully interpreted, all possible analysis had been done.
The results weren’t far from expectations: memory separation and sealing functions. The coffin also had a life-sustaining function, and both items included anti-contamination elements.
‘The skill to inscribe high-level magic circles that seal memories—not on a jewel, but on something like a slipper—and the habitually attached anti-magic contamination element…’
Magic that touches human memory is almost delusional. It’s generally considered nearly impossible.
Even Olivia, a genius magician who left her name in history, could only engrave vast historical records into her own memory.
‘So it’s confirmed—this is the work of Grand Magus Pascal.’
It was certainly Pascal himself who possessed Hannah ten years ago to abduct Lilieta. Along with that conclusion, Olivia added new reasoning in her letter.
‘…Pascal and Hannah are highly likely to be blood relatives.’
And using that bloodline, Pascal may have occasionally possessed Hannah and used her as a substitute for himself.
‘The reason Pascal had Dorothy in the future could have been to possess the past Hannah whenever needed through Dorothy.’
Then, after discovering Lilieta and recognizing her talent, he may have conducted an exceptional experiment, putting Lilieta’s soul into Dorothy’s body.
‘If this hypothesis is correct… Hannah wasn’t simply caught up in my abduction case.’
She might herself be Pascal’s observation tool and proxy, regardless of her own will.
Lilieta’s abduction could have happened simply because she was near Pascal, observing the past through Hannah.
‘And Pascal must have some connection to the Adicl Duke—either personally or by blood… so Hannah and Pascal’s blood relation would also relate to her father.’
At the end of her letter, Olivia suggested asking Gid to verify Hannah’s lineage. As the Crown Prince, he could discreetly reference the royal family tree without anyone noticing.
Rita hadn’t replied to that letter yet.
Hannah herself, the key clue at the center of this whole matter, knew nothing. Rita hesitated to test her bloodline without her knowledge.
‘To think a person’s life is tossed around because of some unknown man who forcibly made their mother pregnant? And now even the descendants are being used…’
She felt pity, and suspicion arose due to Pascal’s potential for possession.
Who released the Kraken and the doppelgänger that suddenly appeared in the capital?
‘No, since Hannah was revealed to have been kidnapped, she’s been under the watch of the Amethyst Jewelers. If she had done anything suspicious, it would have been discovered.’
Hannah probably wasn’t being used to that extent.
If Gid’s speculation was correct and Pascal had returned, Pascal of this era might not have Dorothy as a medium, preventing him from possessing Hannah.
‘Honestly… I hate having to be cautious like this around someone innocent.’
Lilieta honestly wanted to tell Hannah all of this.
She felt guilty that Hannah was caught up in such an enormous incident without even knowing it. Surely Hannah deserved to know.
‘But… if Pascal approaches Hannah by any other means besides Dorothy, he might read her memories. That person’s skill in manipulating memory is tremendous.’
And since it was Pascal, she had to be cautious. It wasn’t even a matter of trust in Hannah, which made it even more frustrating.
Lost in these uneasy thoughts, Rita remained silent. Hannah, sensing her hesitation, spoke firmly again.
“Miss, I really am not interested in guns. A maid learning to shoot? I’m not so foolish as to have such ridiculous ambition.”
They say a strong denial is a strong affirmation. Despite Hannah’s protests, Rita sensed a strong desire beneath her words.
Rita set down the revolver parts she had been holding and looked up at Hannah.
“Hannah, guns don’t care about social status. They are tools, meant for whoever holds them.”
“……”
“If you want to learn, I can teach you. It’s you, after all. You are my loyal servant, the one who promised to serve me.”
Hannah’s pupils trembled at Rita’s gentle tone. Rita continued softly.
“You can speak honestly. Do you truly have no interest?”
Swallowing hard, Hannah lowered her eyes and whispered,
“H-honestly… I’m not… not uninterested. But a maid like me… how could I…”
“Don’t worry about that. I’m here.”
Rita smiled and glanced toward Lavinia, whose pink head was pressed against the wall, fully immersed in her practice and not even looking toward the garden house.
Rita turned back to Hannah.
“I’ll get you a revolver. Try learning once.”
“W-what? Isn’t that insanely expensive? How could I possibly—”
“But, Hannah.”
Before Hannah could continue her panicked protest, Rita interrupted, lowering her voice.
“Don’t you want to know your lineage?”
