Chapter 33
“Waaah.”
“There we go.”
Eleanor, who had packed her belongings, held the baby in front of her.
She had even given the baby a pacifier to keep it from crying.
She looked around the room.
She hadn’t stayed there for very long, but quite a number of items had accumulated.
Dresses, daily necessities, and all sorts of health foods.
They were all gifts from Matthias.
“He did save my life…….”
But I can’t trust someone who keeps me imprisoned.
Because I have to take responsibility not just for myself, but for the baby too.
“Baby, let’s go meet your mother now.”
Eleanor turned around.
A faint trace of regret could be felt in her departing footsteps.
* * *
The Hilliard Grand Duchy’s territory was like a fortress in itself, not just the mansion.
The entire time she was confined to the annex, Eleanor had tried to figure out an escape route in advance.
By asking Tedian for books or by prompting him for explanations.
Arriving at the training ground connected to the end of the passageway, Eleanor recalled the conversation she had with Tedian.
‘Young Lord, do you always train alone in the evenings?’
‘Yes!’
‘It would be nice to do it with the knights. Do they all commute from outside the Grand Duke’s residence?’
‘No. That’s not it. There are lodgings right next to the training ground, so they all live there. The training ground you saw is a space reserved only for our family. The other knights use the second training ground right next to it.’
‘Ah, I see.’
Today, Tedian said he was going out with his older sister, Cornelia.
He said they would even have dinner and return late at night, so he wouldn’t be able to visit the baby.
As if proving his words true, the training ground was empty.
Eleanor entered the small office attached to the training ground.
In one corner, along with cleaning supplies, there was an apron that seemed to have been left by a maid.
She quickly picked up the apron and put it on, then looked for an empty basket.
She laid a blanket softly in the basket she found, and placed the baby inside it.
“Gyaah-”
As if thinking it was a game of peek-a-boo, the baby smiled happily.
Eleanor put a finger to her lips.
“Shhh. We’re just going to be quiet for a little while.”
She lightly covered the top with a thin cloth that wouldn’t completely seal the interior.
To ensure proper camouflage, she also picked up a large mop.
Now she looked just like a maid who had come to clean the training ground.
“Phew, let’s go.”
After taking a deep breath, Eleanor opened the door.
But just as she stepped outside the training ground, she happened to run into a knight who was hurriedly running somewhere.
“……!”
Eleanor bowed her head deeply.
Her heart was pounding.
Her luck was unbelievably bad. How could she run into someone from the Grand Duke’s residence the moment she stepped outside?
She waited for the other person to just pass her by.
But contrary to her expectations, the knight approached her.
“Hey, you.”
For a moment, her heart felt like it dropped.
Eleanor answered in a small voice.
“Yes.”
“Are you just coming out of the training ground?”
“That’s right.”
She held the mop she was carrying out in front of her.
“I was just cleaning there.”
“By any chance, inside…….”
“Euu.”
Just then, a whining sound came from inside the basket covered with the thin cloth.
The hair on Eleanor’s neck stood on end.
The knight raised an eyebrow.
“What was that sound?”
“Wh-what can I do for you? Is there something you need?”
Eleanor spoke hastily, trying to divert the other’s attention.
“If you need cleaning, please let me know. I’ll clean it up spotlessly.”
As she said this, she subtly shook the basket containing the baby, trying not to make it obvious.
Fortunately, the baby didn’t make any more noise.
The knight frowned and said.
“Never mind the cleaning. More importantly, did you see Young Lord Tedian inside the training ground?”
“Young Lord?”
But didn’t he say Tedian went out with his sister today?
“No. I haven’t seen him. But didn’t the Young Lord go out today?”
“That was canceled due to an issue with Lady Cornelia. Instead, His Grace the Grand Duke said he would go horseback riding with Young Lord Tedian……. But we can’t find the Young Lord anywhere now.”
Eleanor’s eyes widened.
The knight scratched his head roughly.
“Where on earth did he go? The Young Lord has disappeared, and everyone is in an uproar looking for him.”
“Could he be somewhere in the building? Or perhaps in the garden?”
“We’ve looked everywhere. But he wasn’t anywhere. Ha, this is a real problem. His Grace the Grand Duke is waiting.”
“If I happen to find the Young Lord, I’ll let you know right away.”
“Right. Thanks.”
The knight, having said what he needed, left immediately.
Left alone, Eleanor muttered softly.
“Lucky you, Gilbert.”
Of all days, for this to happen on the day he was threatened into running away.
Eleanor clicked her tongue.
Although she was displeased with Gilbert’s luck, she had a long way to go, so she decided not to pay it any more mind and moved on.
But she hadn’t gone far before she stopped dead in her tracks.
“On the very day I orchestrated Gilbert’s disappearance, Tedian has also disappeared?”
Can this really be called a coincidence?
She had already noticed that Gilbert held a grudge against Tedian.
Just look at the homework he assigned; it was full of spite, hoping the other wouldn’t be able to complete it.
‘No. That wasn’t spite, it was malice.’
Tedian tried not to show it, but he often walked with a slight limp.
As if he had a wound on his calf that was painful.
‘What are you doing right now, Eleanor.’
This is the Hilliard Grand Duke’s household, a place that offers no benefit to the baby’s safety.
It’s already proven its danger by my imprisonment at the hands of Matthias.
So, now that I have a chance, I should run away quickly.
“……”
Strangely, her feet wouldn’t move easily.
Instead, the image of the pubescent boy who came to see the baby every day came to mind.
That tall child who was so happy whenever the baby smiled at him.
“……This is truly insane.”
After biting her lip firmly, Eleanor finally moved her feet.
But the direction was not the path she originally intended to take, but rather towards the largest and most magnificent building within the Grand Ducal estate.
* * *
They said everyone was in an uproar because the youngest Prince had disappeared.
“Young Lord! Where are you!”
“Young Lord Tedian!”
The main residence of the Grand Duke, which she was entering for the first time, was in complete chaos searching for him.
Even though Eleanor, disguised as a maid, was walking through the corridors, no one paid her any attention.
Even when she stopped someone to ask for the location of Gilbert’s office, it was the same.
“This should be it.”
Gilbert, who was operating under the alias ‘Wyatt’, was using an office on the third floor of the main residence.
Just how elaborately had he lied to get this?
Judging by the office location, it seemed the Grand Duke’s household had given him a fairly good room.
While she was imprisoned in an unused annex, the impostor was staying in such a nice environment.
The fact that her escape was already delayed put her in a slightly worse mood.
Eleanor grabbed the doorknob.
*Click, click.*
It seemed like it was locked from the inside, as the door wouldn’t open.
‘I don’t hear any sound from inside, so why is the door locked?’
As she pondered, she pulled a hairpin from her hair.
She straightened it out, inserted it into the keyhole, and fiddled with it.
A moment later, there was a *click* and the lock opened.
She carefully opened the door.
“Young Lord!”
Tedian was lying on the floor, unconscious.
Eleanor rushed over to him.
She set the basket containing the baby on the floor and first checked Tedian’s breathing.
Fortunately, Tedian was breathing.
Eleanor tried to wake him.
“Young Lord! Wake up!”
