Chapter 31
Vaileon caught Marien’s body as she stumbled forward.
For a brief moment, Marien didn’t even realize what had happened—her breath came out in short, shallow bursts.
Then, as the situation sank in, she startled and quickly pulled away from him.
“Ah, I—I’m sorry! Uh, um?”
This time, she nearly lost her balance again and almost fell backward.
Vaileon reached out, supporting her back, and asked,
“You didn’t realize you’ve been limping on your left leg since earlier?”
“Huh? My left leg…? Me?”
So she really hadn’t noticed.
Vaileon let out a soft sigh.
“I’ll take you to the carriage.”
Marien’s lips parted—he could already guess what she was going to say.
Of course she would insist she was fine, that she could walk carefully on her own, that there was no need for Lord Beers to trouble himself.
But no. Not this time.
Vaileon slid his arm under her knees and lifted his aide into his arms.
Marien squirmed in protest.
“Stay still. It’ll be harder for me if you move.”
At that, Marien immediately went quiet.
Vaileon swallowed another sigh.
She didn’t even realize she was hurt, and yet she’s worried about making things hard for me…
What was this feeling? A mix of anger, frustration, and guilt, all tangled together into a quiet, chaotic mess.
“Lord Beers, these clothes are borrowed, you know. You’ll have to reimburse the owner.”
“Chloise already went to take care of it.”
“And the dress I came in…”
“She’ll retrieve that too.”
So she was trying to make him put her down, huh? Not a chance.
With his long strides, Vaileon descended the staircase.
“How did you know to go down to the second basement?”
“…”
“You heard something, didn’t you?”
The opera house had two basement levels and four floors above ground.
Aside from lounges, game rooms, conference halls, restaurants, and bars, there were plenty of places to hide a small earring.
Yet Marien had borrowed a set of comfortable clothes and gone straight to the dark basement that no one else would have thought to search. She’d spent over two hours digging through that area alone.
That left only two possibilities.
One: Marien Didi was the thief who had hidden the earring herself, passing time in a deserted place before “discovering” it later.
Or two: she had learned something from the real culprit and went there based on that information.
Vaileon could have staked his position as Chancellor on which was true.
“Assistant Didi.”
He called to her in a low, even tone.
Marien lowered her gaze slightly.
“Her Highness’s movements tonight were simple. Unless the earring grew legs, it couldn’t possibly have ended up in the second basement. Who was it?”
“…Who do you think?”
Marien’s voice came out quietly.
“And now, does it even matter? You found the earring, and Her Highness has decided not to escalate the matter.”
Once the earring had been recovered, the search was declared over.
It was a search, not an investigation.
The entire incident was still being treated as a simple case of misplacement, not theft.
The guests who had been detained were now leaving the opera house in small groups, guided by the staff.
Vaileon looked down at Marien in his arms.
“I ran into Duke Blackwood earlier. When I asked if this whole thing was staged, he told me to ‘look in the darkest, scariest, dirtiest place in the building.’”
Kaine Blackwood again.
Vaileon could easily imagine how Marien, bold as ever, had marched down into that grimy basement based on his hint.
“You should have told me. Do you not… trust me?”
Marien nearly jumped.
“It’s not that at all!”
“Careful.”
Vaileon warned gently.
Marien flinched instinctively, afraid she might fall—but she didn’t need to worry.
Even if she struggled, Vaileon was certain he would never drop her.
“If I had told you, everyone searching would’ve followed your lead. Then even after finding the earring, we’d have risked offending Her Highness.”
He understood what she meant.
That earring had been a gift from the Emperor himself—a congratulatory token for her engagement to Duke Blackwood.
And the duke, the very fiancé, had hidden it and caused this entire uproar?
That was gossip made in heaven for the idle tongues of society.
No matter his intent, by the time the story reached the Emperor, it would’ve twisted into a scandal of disloyalty and discord between the Fourth Princess and her betrothed.
The Crown Prince’s faction, already disdainful of the arrogant duke, would seize the chance to make trouble.
Marien had seen all that coming.
She scrunched her nose slightly.
“Better that I suffer a little than let things get that messy.”
“I don’t like that conclusion.”
Vaileon admitted plainly.
“Chloise told me everything. You even wore a gas mask to go into that basement, didn’t you? I also heard you got buried under some heavy debris.”
“Ugh—how far did she tell you?”
“Marien.”
Vaileon stopped walking.
In his arms, Marien looked up at him with the resigned face of someone about to be scolded.
Does she really think I’d scold her right now?
He almost laughed in disbelief.
Why would I ever scold you? How could I?
He had spoken sternly to her before—but only when the situation demanded it, like when she apologized too much or blamed herself needlessly.
“Thank you for helping me earn some credit today. But I don’t want you getting hurt for it.”
“Mmm…”
Marien’s expression turned uncertain, her ears tinged faintly pink.
Then she changed the subject abruptly.
“This is random, but since we’re talking about the basement… Lord Beers, could you ask the theater owner to install a ventilation system down there? Maybe clean out that old tar smell too?”
She babbled on about how doing that would probably make the rumors about the “curse” disappear.
Ah, so she was deflecting again.
“Alright.”
“That’s good. It’s an old building anyway…”
“On the way back, we’re stopping by the hospital. If the doctor finds anything beyond a simple sprain, I won’t let Duke Blackwood off easily.”
“…”
“You’ll see.”
◇ ◆ ◇
Vaileon paced the hallway, glancing at his watch. 2:30 a.m.
Too late to visit a subordinate’s room without a reason.
He needed an excuse—something like bringing her medical supplies.
He stopped a maid on her way to the guest rooms.
“I’ll take care of that. You can go rest.”
The maid handed over the tray. Vaileon waited until she was gone before quietly knocking on Marien’s door.
At her “Come in,” he opened it just enough to lean halfway inside.
Marien, clearly expecting the maid, was lying on the bed in a loose nightgown.
“Assistant Didi, it’s me. May I come in?”
“L-Lord Beers?”
“Don’t move. Be careful with your ankle.”
Marien froze awkwardly, caught between sitting up and lying down.
Vaileon deliberately set the tray down on a table far from the bed.
As he poured hot water into a heat bag, Marien spoke behind him.
“You’re still awake?”
“I usually sleep late.”
“You shouldn’t.”
He heard her shifting—probably pulling a thin blanket around her shoulders like a shawl.
He took his time, moving slowly.
If the maid had come instead, Marien wouldn’t have bothered covering up.
It was uncomfortable for both of them—having her superior personally tending to her like this.
But I couldn’t stop worrying until I saw for myself…
When they’d returned from the opera house, it was already past midnight.
Vaileon had woken up the on-call doctor to examine her.
The doctor had prescribed ointment for abrasions and a mild painkiller.
Both doctor and patient had looked as if to say, This is overkill.
Chloise, waiting by the carriage, had muttered when she saw the medicine bag, “So you actually got the prescription, huh.”
Only Vaileon had remained grave and silent the entire time.
Marien asked,
“You took the cold medicine when you got home, right?”
“I did, just like you said.”
Vaileon sealed the water bag and turned around.
Then he saw Marien—still in her nightgown—and paused.
So she wasn’t trying to cover up after all?
“Give me the heat bag.”
Marien held out her hand.
Vaileon passed it over uncertainly. She slid it under her lower back.
“Ahh… that feels so much better…”
She sighed contentedly.
As prescribed, she was icing her sprained left ankle propped up on a cushion, while applying heat to her back from the strain of lifting and carrying heavy objects.
So that’s why she was fidgeting earlier—to get comfortable against the cushions.
“I know it’s late, but I was worried.”
“Our kind, overprotective Lord Beers.”
Relaxed by the warmth, Marien smiled sleepily.
“I’m fine, really. The doctor said so too. I’ll probably be running around again tomorrow.”
“You’re joking, right? You’re resting for three days, minimum.”
“Says the one to talk.”
Marien puffed her cheeks.
“Honestly, the one who should’ve seen the doctor was you. You should’ve gotten stronger medicine than what’s in the estate.”
“I’m not sick.”
“Why not?”
Before he could answer, she did it for him.
“Because you took the medicine. You were coughing during the performance, your voice kept giving out…”
“Now that you mention it,” Vaileon said, “the lemon tea you gave me before the show—it had a bitter aftertaste. When I went to the kitchen earlier, the head maid made the same mix.”
“Ah.”
Marien bit her lip playfully.
“Caught me.”
“You’re not even pretending to deny it?”
“Why should I?”
She smiled impishly, her expression soft and a little mischievous.
“So, are you going to scold me?”
When someone was this adorable, it made your chest tighten.
Vaileon rubbed his forehead, trying to hide his expression.
It felt like his mouth refused to obey him.
“Do you have a fever?”
Marien’s eyes went wide.
“Even after taking medicine?”
“N-no. No fever.”
“You’re sure? You’re not lying to me, are you?”
Technically, he was lying—but in a different sense.
He couldn’t exactly admit, I forgot how to breathe for a second because you were too cute.
Meeting her eyes, Vaileon smiled.
“I’m fine. I’ll go straight to bed tonight instead of working. Since my aide went so far as to sneak me medicine, it’d be a shame to waste her effort by getting sick.”
“Good decision!”
Marien beamed.
For a moment, it felt like flower petals burst open around her clear, bunny-like face.
Vaileon quickly looked away.
Maybe she was right—maybe he really was sick, and the medicine was the only thing keeping him on his feet.
Hallucinating, even.
