Chapter 16
In the end, Jamie came running in as well, and a whole commotion broke out about whether to call a physician or not.
Since both of them firmly believed Mio had fainted because she was sick, there wasn’t much she could say to correct them.
So with a whatever, fine kind of mindset, Mio finally let herself collapse onto the bed.
“Are you sure you don’t need to be examined?”
“Yeah…”
“Then I’ll at least bring you some warm tea. It should help calm you down.”
When Jamie left to fetch the tea, only Aletheia and Mio remained in the room.
“……”
“……”
A strange silence settled between them.
Mio openly scanned Aletheia, who was sitting beside her, with a deeply suspicious gaze.
There wasn’t even anything important in that bag. So why hide it?
She wanted to ask him outright—but she’d missed the timing, and now it felt awkward.
I should’ve said something the moment I checked under the bed! But Aletheia kept shaking me, telling me to snap out of it, and I got dizzy…
Then Jamie rushed in, and after that, there was no opening at all.
Seriously, what the hell is going on?
Mio started thinking through the situation and came up with two possible scenarios.
First: a servant found her bag.
But if a servant had found it, wouldn’t they have noticed it was a woman’s bag and immediately asked Mio whether she’d lost something?
Mio was the only young woman who came and went from this gloomy estate.
If an unattended item like that turned up, anyone would naturally think of her first.
That was the most logical conclusion.
But Jamie, Simon—heck, even Filippo—none of them said a single word to me.
Which meant there was only one possibility left.
You hid it, didn’t you? You bag thief.
Honestly, it wasn’t a big deal if it was lost.
But the fact that Aletheia was involved made it irritating.
And somehow, it felt extremely suspicious.
She could sort of accept that the bag ended up under the bed last time due to everything spiraling out of control—but the bag disappearing without a trace afterward was downright bizarre.
But why my bag, of all things? What could he possibly want with it?
Mio stared at him intently.
Aletheia, wearing an unreadable expression, spoke.
“…Get some rest. Fixing the estate must’ve been a burden on you. It’d be better if you didn’t worry about it anymore.”
“Aletheia.”
As he showed signs of leaving, Mio reached out and grabbed him.
She only managed to catch the edge of his fingers, and they slipped right out of her grasp—but Aletheia didn’t leave.
Instead, his expression changed subtly.
Mio realized it instantly.
There was something she didn’t know. Definitely.
“Aletheia.”
“…Speak.”
“You’re hiding something from me, aren’t you?”
At times like this, it was best to go straight at it.
But Mio deliberately didn’t specify the bag.
Considering he was imperial royalty and a man who’d survived the battlefield, poking directly at his secrets wasn’t a wise move.
And if Aletheia had hidden the bag, it would be somewhere inside this estate.
They had already searched the entire place together—
Which means there’s a part of the estate I don’t know about yet.
Leaving an unknown area untouched while needing to search the estate thoroughly was unacceptable.
Mio stopped glaring at him and instantly put on a gentle, forgiving expression.
Her jaw clenched just slightly, but her voice turned soft—almost pudding-sweet.
“Aletheia. If you’re hiding something, it’s better to say it now. If you do, I’ll forgive anything. Literally anything. For example, if you have… bad habits with your hands. Or if you recently did something impulsive you couldn’t control. No matter what you say, my answer will be ‘it’s okay.’ So be honest.”
“…Anything? Really?”
Mio nodded firmly, signaling that she wouldn’t make an issue of petty theft.
So you really WERE hiding something!
She’d been getting anxious ever since confirming how empty the estate was.
Even his hesitant response felt like a breakthrough.
Aletheia rubbed his mouth and hesitated before finally speaking.
“Actually… I’m very different from other people.”
“Yes, yes. Of course you are. I understand completely.”
Stealing someone’s bag was an unusual habit—but if it led her to his secret space, she could generously overlook a little kleptomania.
Once the oath document was gone, they’d never see each other again anyway.
“I’ve been like this since I was young. At first, I thought everyone was the same.”
“It takes time to realize things about yourself. That’s normal.”
“It wasn’t this bad before. It only happened occasionally.”
“Oh. So you’re saying the symptoms have gotten more serious now.”
Aletheia nodded weakly.
“I can’t explain everything since my memories are gone, but that’s how it feels.”
So… was he saying this happened because he was confused from memory loss?
It was hard to grasp immediately, but it wasn’t completely illogical.
Aletheia continued with a grave expression.
“My curse has reached a critical level.”
“Well, I wouldn’t call it a curse exactly. It’s just—”
—bad hands.
Mio swallowed the rest of her sentence and scratched her cheek.
Playing the villain in high society had taught her a lot about human behavior.
There had been a similar incident a few years back.
At least Aletheia feels ashamed about it.
At least he knew it was wrong.
Some truly rotten people enjoyed tormenting others and, when exposed, dumped the blame onto someone weaker.
“No. This is a curse. I’m sure of it.”
Aletheia insisted, his voice heavy.
Mio found the sight deeply uncomfortable.
What she wanted to know wasn’t why he hid the bag—but where.
Then Aletheia rubbed his forehead painfully and muttered,
“This is a curse. Without a doubt.”
Anyone would feel uneasy watching someone self-flagellate like that.
But it being Aletheia made it especially unsettling.
She’d always just thought of him as insane, so this felt… off.
Still, she couldn’t stop him now.
As she’d already decided, she needed to listen until the end to find out where he’d hidden the bag.
Mio quietly took a deep breath.
“I never figured out how I was cursed, but… meeting you was a relief.”
“…Excuse me?”
Was he expecting her to monitor his stealing habits from now on?
“That archbishop said I was destined to be locked in a tower and die alone.”
“That’s… a lie, right…?”
“It was when I received my first baptism. I was eight.”
Aletheia spoke as if recalling a distant memory.
“Honestly, for a long time, I imagined that was how I’d die. Alone. Because of my curse.”
“…That’s quite a leap.”
Because of stealing, an imperial prince dies imprisoned in a tower?
Mio wanted to shout, If you’re alone in six years, it’s because of your garbage personality!
But Aletheia spoke first.
“I’m serious. You’re the only one my curse doesn’t work on. That’s why meeting you is a once-in-a-lifetime blessing for me. Maybe I did many good things during the six years I don’t remember.”
“N-No, that’s wrong. If the curse doesn’t work on me, then my bag—”
“That’s why I couldn’t believe I had a fiancée at first…”
No, forget that—my bag!
“Mio. I’m cursed to hear other people’s thoughts.”
“No, not that—my bag!”
“It’s hard to believe, I know. But it’s true. If you want, I can prove it.”
Oh, come on.
Not that.
Where did you put my bag, damn it?!
