Chapter 29
“Mother, would you like to have tea with me today?”
The crisp afternoon air drifted in as I stood in the corridor, peeking gently into the room. Mother nodded as if she had been waiting for my invitation.
“That sounds lovely.”
“Then, a little later—”
Before I could finish, I felt a gaze on me from my right.
Father, now a familiar impassive face, looked down at me with an expression that suggested my speaking from the doorway was somewhat inconvenient.
“It’s a pleasant afternoon, Father.”
“Talking in the corridor—”
“Sorry, I forgot for a moment.”
I spun my head away sharply, signalling that I didn’t want to continue the conversation. Contrary to what I expected, Father paused, glanced at me briefly, and then continued on his way.
Even if I tried to ask what had happened, I would only get a scolding, and since I still didn’t know anything about that journey, I avoided conversation with him as much as possible.
After all, any discussion we attempted would only sow ill feelings between us.
After repeating this a few times, I had grown somewhat accustomed to it.
“Good afternoon, miss.”
Even the voice of the secretary, smiling at me, had become easy to ignore over time.
“Miss.”
Meisha leaned close, as if to whisper something in my ear, her hand cupped near my face.
“A message came from Forhanka. It’s probably related to that matter…”
I glanced at Mother, realising it must be the documents I had asked Lael to prepare for this task.
“I’ll be in my room soon.”
Not long after returning to my room, a large envelope, far too big to be a mere letter, lay on my desk.
The sender, as expected, was Forhanka.
As I went through the contents one by one, a bright smile spread across my face.
“Found it.”
“Did you find something?”
Meisha’s question made me shake my head, but the smile on my lips remained, clear and wide.
‘I may not know the full reason, but I can follow the thread.’
“They’ve picked out nobles among the knights. If I can reach these people, I can find out anything.”
Father clearly had no intention of telling me anything, and I no longer wanted to expect anything from him.
‘Raisen, my duties—rather than waiting to hear, it’s better that I search myself.’
The stack of documents in the envelope was lighter than I expected. Most of the knights were commoners, excluded from my list, leaving only those connected to noble houses.
Knights weren’t gathered in a single location. On a journey, they could be scattered for various reasons, but ordinary knights were usually under the jurisdiction of a noble.
This meant that if I wanted to investigate them, I’d first need permission from their respective nobles.
And there was almost zero chance that those nobles wouldn’t ask why. They’d inevitably try to uncover what was behind my enquiries.
But knights with no noble affiliation were different.
It was easier to meet them by chance and easier to strike up casual conversation.
Depending on who they were, it would vary, but it was still far simpler than negotiating access through a noble.
“That’s a relief!”
Meisha’s voice rose with excitement.
‘Then, let’s take a closer look…’
The documents Lael had provided weren’t many, meaning there weren’t many nobles involved.
“Bel Giasia—female-only Talien knights—exclude. Noly Estel—returned midway, exclude…”
Exclude, exclude, exclude.
‘Not many remain.’
I flipped to the last page.
“Exclude, exclude… huh?”
A familiar name and signature caught my eye.
‘Evit Linotain.’
I furrowed my brow. Of all people, he had to be one of the few remaining.
Evit Linotain, son of Marquis Linotain, and the one I despised second only to the Marquis himself.
Excluding the impossible, only three remained for me to investigate.
The problem was, I had never had any contact with these people before. How could I approach them… ?
“I know them.”
“Pardon?”
On the second day of investigating the three, Eli, enjoying a brief tea break, pointed to the names I hadn’t fully organised and said,
“These people often visited Haron.”
“But isn’t Haron a place for guild owners? How would knights—”
“Well, two of them run guilds. This journey is just at the request of the crown.”
I had heard that former knights, now nobles, were recruited to manage large groups of knights.
“And the remaining one?”
“The spouse runs a guild. A famous salon. They sometimes appear together.”
“Would they come to Haron now?”
“Recently, no, but after the journey ends and they manage their health, they should return.”
According to Eli, one of the three had already accepted the invitation.
“…!”
I couldn’t help but exclaim in excitement.
None of the three were from familiar houses, so I had little worry. This luck was incredible.
“Thank you, Eli! Really?”
She laughed, and the cotton-like strands of her hair bounced with her movement.
“No problem. Just go to the place indicated in the letter from last time.”
‘Thank goodness.’ Relief washed over me, but a memory flashed in my mind—
A few days ago, receiving a letter from Haron and hesitating, then dropping it after hearing news from Father.
‘…!’ I received it quietly.
“Meisha!”
Once hesitated, she dropped.
“Yes? Did you find something?”
“That’s not it. Meisha, did you happen to see the letter I had during the tea party before?”
Meisha shook her head, seemingly unaware. My mind went blank.
“Maybe the other staff tidied it up. Shall we check?”
I nodded, heading to the room where the party had taken place. Perhaps it had fallen somewhere unnoticed.
But no matter how thoroughly we searched, the letter was nowhere to be found.
“Miss.”
As I searched repeatedly, Meisha’s voice came from behind, checking under the table.
“What happened, Meisha?”
“Well…”
Her hesitation filled me with unease. Silence might have been preferable.
“I handed the letter to the Marquis because I didn’t know what it was…”
The words were worse than I imagined. My letter meant to protect Raisen had ended up in Father’s hands. There was no chance he would return it.
A wave of despair washed over me, and I knew now there was no turning back.
‘I hope Father hasn’t opened it.’
“I have to go to Father. Meisha, help me.”
I clasped my hands tightly, whispering the goddess’s name in prayer, and made my way to Father’s study.
Upon entering, Father, who had been reading documents, removed his glasses.
“What is it?”
“I… thought you might be feeling a bit better, so I came to speak with you.”
As I spoke, my eyes scanned the study desk, tables, and bookshelves. Then I saw it: the familiar envelope among the countless others atop his drawer.
‘Found it.’
“I need to talk to you about something.”
“About Raisen.”
I approached slowly, with Meisha trailing behind.
The letter was still sealed.
‘Luckily, it hasn’t been read.’
As I stood before Father, Meisha naturally positioned herself beside the drawer.
“There’s nothing more to discuss regarding that matter. I do not understand why you keep obsessing over it.”
Father and his secretary alternated glances between us. Any attempt to sneak a peek at the letter could reveal its contents.
I carefully observed the desk, noting the documents that included the eventual transfer papers for Raisen.
He must have prepared everything meticulously before even mentioning it to me.
“Huh…”
I exhaled sharply, my discomfort unmistakable today.
Approaching the desk silently, I grasped the document.
“Could you at least try to listen to me?”
‘If only he had paid attention, he wouldn’t have been so upset over this minor provocation.’
Each word on the paper seemed to constrict me.
Ah, it’s easy enough to refuse to look at it and draw attention simultaneously today.
My hands gripped the top of the document. From just a few steps away, Father could clearly see me.
His expression froze in disbelief.
“That’s—”
Before he could finish, I tore the paper apart with both hands.
The fragments fluttered and fell back onto his desk. Father and the secretary stared, speechless.
They had much to say but seemed too astonished to utter a word.
“You’ve prepared something unnecessary. I, too, have nothing more to say about this matter.”
Of course, my action did not leave him unangered.
“…Even after giving you time, it seems you still have not come to your senses.”
“Do you think handing over Raisen will make me sensible?”
“Do you think I say this to you for no reason?”
“Yes. That’s how it looks to me. To me, Father, you appear as someone who blocks my path without a word.”
The words escaped my mouth in a single burst, never before spoken in my life. I had always only loved him.
Beneath his distorted expression, he bit his lower lip. Bitterness.
These feelings were meant for him alone, yet somehow, I felt more pain than he did.
“I will leave now.”
I bowed my head, avoiding his gaze, and quickly left the room.
Click—
I exhaled, collapsing slightly in my room, looking at Meisha.
“I was really nervous.”
She shivered, vowing never to repeat the experience. In her pocket was the letter I had recovered.
“Perfect. Thank you.”
I quickly skimmed its contents. Thankfully, the date had not passed. Still, it was only two days away—almost too close to miss.
“Good. Prepare a carriage for two days from now.”
For some reason, I smiled awkwardly, setting aside the ache in my chest.
