CHAPTER 58…………….
“Darling.”
“He’s not living like a proper person anyway, so how could things possibly get worse than they are now?”
Samantha secretly took Thomas’s hand.
“Your Grace Ignas. One should at least get called that once in a lifetime, don’t you think?”
Those words tempted him.
“Honestly, no matter who sits in that seat, they’d be better than the current duke. This is for Ignas.”
For Ignas.
Thinking of it as serving a greater cause, harming Noah began to feel like the right thing to do.
His wife was right in every word.
If he took the lead, both he and the family would find happiness.
Surely even the divine beast Ignas wished for such an outcome.
“I truly have a wise wife.”
“Of course you do.”
The couple exchanged a sly smile.
A few days later.
Concealing her identity, Linaria went out into the streets with Kaas.
She carried with her a shard of porcelain she had brought from the Ignas estate.
I can’t check every day, but Noah must be taking the medicine regularly. I have to keep my promise.
First, she visited a workshop to ask whether the porcelain could be restored to look brand new.
But the answers she heard were always awkward and reluctant.
“It’s impossible to return it to its original state.”
“Perhaps we could try making an identical piece, but…”
“Apologies. It would be very difficult.”
It was indeed impossible to make it look as though it had never been broken in the first place.
Watching the craftsmen shake their heads, Linaria made another suggestion.
“Then what about doing it this way?”
“That would be possible!”
Fortunately, the discussion went well.
Leaving the shards in their care, Linaria turned to the real purpose of her outing.
Namely—
“He should usually be around here.”
August.
Nothing was easier than running into August.
But perhaps because it was already late in the evening, she couldn’t spot even his shadow.
The medicine should be kicking in by now. I can’t keep pretending to be a maid forever, so I need to approach him naturally…
She wanted it to seem like they had met by chance while she was out on other business.
But this wasn’t a day to rely on luck, it seemed. Just as she was about to turn back—
“Tonight’s on August!”
A familiar name reached her ears from nearby.
It came from a tavern.
The knights.
They were wearing the same uniforms as August.
A group of them were gathered around him.
“Let’s just have a quick drink.”
Conveniently, Linaria had dressed plainly so as not to look like a noble.
Entering the tavern would not seem strange.
“Two beers, please.”
She took a seat in the corner and waited for the right moment to speak quietly with August.
But then, their conversation caught her attention.
“Boss, bring us everything on the menu as side dishes!”
“Isn’t that a bit much?”
“No matter how expensive, it’s nothing compared to your wealth. Right, August?”
“Of course. Order whatever you want without holding back.”
August replied cheerfully.
Something’s off.
The more she listened, the more unnatural it sounded.
“What are you doing? August is a pampered young master; he can’t eat things like this.”
“…….”
“I bet you were raised being told not to eat random food outside. Weren’t you?”
“My parents weren’t that strict. And I’ve been to this place several times already.”
Even when treated rudely, August kept smiling.
Under her deep hood, Linaria realized that if she left things as they were, she would never get the chance to speak to him tonight.
They’re treating him like nothing more than a wallet.
They wouldn’t let him go easily.
Tap, tap—
While debating what to do, Linaria absentmindedly drummed her finger on the table and then caught sight of Kaas’s face.
“Why that expression? You don’t like the beer?”
“…Was it that obvious?”
A shadow lingered over Kaas’s features. He tried to recover, but too late.
“Is it really that bad?”
Kaas’s expression had betrayed his thoughts, though Linaria assumed he was agreeing about the beer. She chuckled softly.
Normally he never shows what he likes or dislikes, yet now he sulks over a single beer. Quite the progress since we first met.
She smiled at the thought and took a sip.
“It’s not bad, actually.”
She had braced herself, but it wasn’t nearly unpleasant enough to be depressing.
Instead of answering, Kaas reached out and wiped the corner of her mouth.
Beer foam clung to his finger.
He casually licked it off before saying,
“On second taste, I agree.”
Linaria’s face flushed red.
“You shouldn’t put into your mouth what you wipe off someone else’s face.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Kaas nodded brightly, his gloom completely gone.
It hadn’t been the beer.
Just watching Linaria, whose thoughts seemed full only of August, had made his chest churn as though he would be sick.
But seeing her blush now made it all bearable again.
Linaria composed herself and placed enough coins for the beer on the table.
Then she flicked a single 1-lun coin.
The coin arced perfectly and struck the back of the head of the knight who had just called August a pampered young master.
Smack—!
A sharp sound rang out.
“What the—!”
The knight turned irritably, spotting the coin.
“A single lun?”
Scowling, he quickly found the culprit.
“Throwing money without even an apology? What’s the meaning of this?”
“Oliver, let it go. Must’ve been a mistake.”
“Yeah, you’re just drunk.”
Not wanting trouble, his companions tried to calm him.
But—
“I thought you looked like a beggar.”
Linaria’s voice came from beneath the hood.
“So I gave alms.”
Realizing it was a woman mocking him, Oliver drew his sword.
“Hiding your face under a hood—you must not see clearly! To insult a knight of the Empire like me—!”
He would have pointed his sword at her, had someone stronger not intervened.
Clang—
“Ugh.”
Overpowered, Oliver lost his weapon. Startled, he looked up—
And met a pair of sharp golden eyes filled with killing intent. He recoiled at once.
An icy silence fell.
Linaria spoke.
“I knew the Brimstone family worked hard for the Empire’s safety, but I never realized they also did charity work.”
Saying only that, she rose and left the tavern with Kaas.
“Is he following?”
“Yes.”
Without looking back, Kaas nodded.
Trusting him, Linaria deliberately turned down a deserted alley.
“Linaria!”
August’s voice called from behind.
Stopping, she faced his flustered figure and asked calmly,
“Did you pay for the food?”
“Oh—right!”
So he had forgotten.
“Good. One should always pay for what one orders.”
For a moment, August looked stunned.
“Don’t take that talk about charity too seriously. I didn’t mean it. We can’t appear too friendly, after all.”
“…Right.”
“You don’t expect me to apologize to your companion, do you?”
“N-no.”
“There’s nothing wrong with calling out rudeness when you see it. Whether it’s from me or from someone close to you.”
At last, August seemed to understand.
Pffft—
Then he burst out laughing.
“I don’t think what you did was rude at all. And that friend… well, I do have money, so I should indulge them a little.”
“But why don’t they show you the same courtesy?”
“That’s…”
August hesitated.
“He’s a good kid, really.”
“If he were truly good, he’d try not to hurt others.”
“Aside from that…”
“Saying someone is good except for their actions makes the word meaningless.”
Her firmness left August awkward, scratching his head with an embarrassed smile. He changed the subject.
“I keep showing you my most shameful sides. Were you out drinking?”
“No. I have something to tell you.”
“To me?”
Linaria nodded, then spoke directly.
“If Duke Ignas were to go outside again, what do you think would happen?”
“Noah… could he recover?”
August’s eyes shone with delight, more than ever before.
“I can’t be sure. But if things go well, he may be able to go out.”
“Linaria, you’re amazing!”
“No. I haven’t done anything yet.”
She couldn’t very well admit to trespassing.
There was still information she needed.
“Before I move forward with the plan, there’s one thing I need to know. I think you, brother, are the one who can answer.”
