Chapter – 87
Roxand answered honestly.
“There are seven people.”
“What about money pouches?”
“Currently, we have twenty-two.”
“That’s all?”
Roxand nodded.
Time passed.
Because Sian had returned, the plan to choose a new emperor was completely abandoned, but Emperor William looked bright.
Thanks to meeting the red-cloak fortune teller at the ball, they avoided a terrible curse. The decorations and tree at the banquet became unexpectedly popular, and requests to hold another ball poured in.
Most of all, he was happiest about his future daughter-in-law.
Kyle bowed politely to William, who could not take his eyes off the carriage where Di was sitting.
“Then I will take my leave.”
“Very well. Take good care of our daughter-in… no, our Lady Diana, the holy maiden. Next time, come again with her… I mean, with our holy maiden.”
William kept stumbling over his words, and Rona standing beside him spoke to Kyle.
“Your Highness, it seems the Emperor wants you to come next time with news of marriage.”
“I will handle it myself. Please tell His Majesty not to interfere.”
“Our son really lacks filial piety, doesn’t he?”
The two people with completely different personalities started arguing again, and William sighed.
After the greetings, Kyle headed toward the carriage but could not find Sian anywhere.
Because of that, he boarded the carriage where Di was sitting while feeling tense. When Kyle returned, Di held up Roxand and said,
“Roxand wants alcohol.”
Kyle clicked his tongue and took a small bottle of liquor from his inner pocket. Since the region of Payton was very cold, many people there carried strong alcohol for warmth.
Di rested her chin on her hands and watched Kyle open the bottle.
“My boyfriend is an alcoholic…”
“…I carry it because it’s cold. And for disinfection.”
Kyle made excuses and handed the alcohol to Roxand.
The carriage left the imperial capital and soon separated from the group heading to Payton, turning west.
They were going to meet the original owners of Quildsack Castle, the Enfer couple.
As the Enfer mansion came closer, Di became nervous.
“Will I cry when I meet my parents?”
“Yes.”
“And I’m not allowed to tease me if I cry, right?”
“I won’t tease you.”
“…You will, right?”
“I can’t promise I won’t tease you at all.”
Kyle smiled as he answered. Di stood up and sat right next to him.
“It’s a reunion, so don’t tease me.”
“Go away.”
“I won’t.”
“Go.”
“I said don’t tease me…”
Di trailed off.
Kyle leaned toward her. His sweet gaze and voice came closer.
“Then don’t go.”
Di quickly held up four fingers.
“I have four months left until I become an adult.”
“So?”
“Other people don’t care, but someone keeps telling me I can’t drink alcohol. Isn’t kissing and things like that also forbidden until four months later? Is there some law about that?”
Kyle made a frightening expression that would surprise anyone watching and pushed her away.
“Let’s see each other after April.”
“I’m not scared at all.”
Di stuck out her tongue, and Kyle covered his face with both hands and sighed.
I must be crazy… why do I keep getting shaken up by someone like her? But the ribbon really suits her. Damn, she’s cute…
While they talked, the carriage stopped in front of the Enfer mansion.
They both swallowed nervously after getting out.
“I’m nervous…”
Di said, and Kyle answered.
“Me too.”
“Why are you nervous?”
“I told you. I’ve always felt uncomfortable with this house’s people.”
Then Kyle looked puzzled.
Come to think of it, why do I really feel so uneasy around these people?
While he was thinking, the butler of the Enfer family came out and checked their faces. After going inside, the Enfer couple rushed out.
Mrs. Enfer, Silvia Enfer, suddenly hugged Di.
“Lady Diana! It’s been so long! I told you to visit more often!”
“Well, it hasn’t been that long.”
“What do you mean! You last came in the previous year!”
It was only January…
Di was buried in her arms and looked troubled, so Christopher tried to calm his wife.
“You shouldn’t be rude to the holy maiden, Silvia.”
“I know, but…”
Silvia stepped back with teary eyes.
Christopher also could not hide his joy, but he asked politely.
“So, what brings you here?”
“Ah, well…”
Di couldn’t speak easily and only dragged out her words. She needed to explain, but she feared they would be disappointed if she turned out not to be their child. Since she remained silent, Kyle spoke instead.
“We came to check whether Lady Diana is a member of the Enfer family.”
“What? Your Highness, what do you mean…?”
Silvia tilted her head in confusion. Kyle continued.
“Lady Diana was born on April 29th and was moved elsewhere soon after birth, returning recently. So we wondered if she might be the child you lost.”
His words made Silvia stagger.
“H-honey!”
Christopher quickly supported his wife. Silvia said with a pale face,
“Our child… was also born on April 29th.”
“But that alone doesn’t prove anything.”
Christopher tried to reassure her so she wouldn’t be hurt, but Di clapped her hands.
“Come to think of it, I might have a scar on my toe.”
“Do you?”
Kyle asked, and Di calmly shook her head.
“No. I just wish I had one.”
“…How can you joke in a situation like this?”
“It’s to lighten the mood because everyone is too tense.”
She shrugged.
For twenty years, Di had truly wondered. Who were my parents? Why did they abandon me?
She had wondered countless times and felt disappointed, so it was hard to open her heart. She didn’t want to be disappointed again.
However, Silvia already seemed certain and said tearfully,
“Oh… to have grown up so lively…”
“Mrs. Enfer. I’m sorry, but we still have no proof that the holy maiden is our child.”
Christopher tried to comfort her, but he too had tears in his eyes.
Di decided to think rationally.
How can we confirm whether they are my parents…?
“Let’s do a paternity test. Mages in the capital are good at that kind of thing.”
Kyle suggested, and Di happily replied.
“Oh, that was possible?”
“We probably need to return to the capital because there aren’t mages nearby.”
Di raised her hand.
“Isn’t Quildsack Castle closer than the capital?”
“It’s much closer.”
“There’s a lighthouse near Quildsack Castle. Jason… the guy said mages working there don’t care about money.”
“Oh, right. Good idea.”
Kyle nodded, and Di told the Enfer couple,
“Then we’ll go to Quildsack Castle. Oh, by the way—did you notice a red wing mark in the room where your daughter was born?”
The couple became silent for a moment.
Di worried that maybe it wasn’t true, but Silvia said in a trembling voice,
“Yes… now that I think about it. Perhaps it was a sign that Lady Diana was born.”
Christopher tried to hold back tears.
“After our child disappeared, we tried to forget it… but it’s certain. Yes. When our daughter was born, there was definitely such a mark on the wall near the window.”
“Oh, is the mark still there?”
“We changed the wallpaper right after she disappeared, so I’m not sure…”
“Then I will go to Quildsack Castle and check the wall and the lighthouse!”
Kyle added from the side,
“But wouldn’t someone from the Enfer family need to come with us to confirm it?”
As if waiting for that, a voice came from behind.
“Shall I go?”
Di and Kyle turned around and saw Julian, the only son of the Enfer family.
Sian entered an old warehouse in the market.
“It’s been a while.”
He smiled, and the young men sitting inside turned pale and stood up.
They had heard news that a neighboring young couple had been robbed of everything, not even enough money to feed their child the next day. He had taken money from the dying elderly and even from orphans. He didn’t care.
After hearing the rumors, the debtors gathered friends and waited for Sian, planning to resist.
The debtor who had borrowed money from him said angrily,
“Your Highness, this isn’t right. If you die once, it should end. Making us pay again is against common decency.”
“I would know if I had died. I didn’t expect to come back alive.”
Sian sighed and checked the documents.
“First… when you borrowed the money, you were warned. If you don’t repay by the due date, the interest increases. So what you owe is… twenty gold. Wow, you borrowed a lot.”
“What? That’s three times the original loan! How can we pay that!”
“So you should have repaid it on time…”
Before he could finish, the debtor rushed and grabbed Sian’s collar. Sian immediately drew a knife and cut off the man’s arm. The severed arm fell to the floor, and the man screamed and collapsed.
Sian paused and then continued.
“Sorry. I’ll deduct one gold.”
