Chapter 81
When I turned my head to follow that gaze, I saw Taelon picking up the wooden sword I had dropped.
“Since when… have you been learning swordsmanship?”
“Since I came to Razan. There were a lot of dangerous situations… so I wanted to build up my strength too.”
“…Are you learning from that man?”
“Yes! His name is Taelon. The Marquis—my father—introduced him to me, saying he’s a promising young knight. He said that if I got along well with the instructor, the lessons would go even better…”
“There’s no need for unnecessary familiarity in sword lessons.”
“…What?”
“You learn what you need from the class, and that’s the end of it.”
The words sounded strange and awkward to me.
His tone was as firm as always. Coming from the Empire’s greatest swordsmanship genius, it could be excellent advice in itself.
But there was an odd feeling in his gaze that I wasn’t used to seeing.
His eyes, which had lingered on Taelon, slowly shifted and stopped at my wrist, which was starting to bruise.
“…Keep a proper distance from your teacher. You are engaged to me, after all.”
His quiet, low voice sounded like a warning, but the underlying meaning was entirely different.
A cold air seeped between us, wrapping around us silently.
‘…Huh?’
For a moment, I was so startled I couldn’t say a word.
Did I just… did I really hear that?
It wasn’t a hallucination—I was sure of it. My heart started pounding like crazy with anticipation.
“Have you forgotten how many eyes are watching?”
He meant that he said it for the sake of appearances. Even though our engagement hadn’t been officially announced, it was already treated as an established fact.
If the Crown Prince’s fiancée was seen getting close to another man, and strange rumors started spreading, it would be a problem.
The excitement that had been fluttering inside me so foolishly lost its wings and crashed down. How silly of me.
“I’ll be careful.”
I forced a calm nod. But Khalid still looked displeased, his eyes fixed on my wrist.
Feeling self-conscious, I quickly hid my wrist behind my back. His eyebrows twitched.
“Let’s go inside.”
“O-oh! Yes! You must be tired—let’s go in and talk.”
He had come straight here without resting, so I hurried to lead him inside the mansion.
The Marquis’s mansion had two separate areas for receiving guests: the reception room, where I had first waited when I arrived, and a more exclusive parlor used for distinguished guests or private conversations.
Both rooms were similar, but the parlor was a little smaller and had a more closed-off feel, so the Marquis often used it for business talks.
Since our conversation wasn’t one to be held in a large open room, I guided Khalid to the parlor.
Polished wooden tables glowed softly under the light, surrounded by refined leather chairs. Dark curtains were drawn, letting in only a trace of sunlight that cast faint shadows across the table.
Click—
The sound of the door closing made me flinch and step aside without realizing it.
“Did you do something wrong?”
“Huh?!”
“You jumped like a kid who broke a plate and tried to hide it.”
Sitting on the sofa like he owned the place, despite not coming here often, he chuckled lightly.
“Worried I might bite you or something?”
“N-no!”
“If you have nothing to hide from me, there’s no reason to act like a frightened puppy.”
I felt embarrassed because I had let myself expect too much, and because being alone with him in such a space had stirred foolish thoughts I regretted.
As always, I was the only one conscious of it—but it must have been obvious. Maybe because it had been a while since we last met.
“Won’t you sit?”
It was only after hearing Khalid’s words that I realized I was still standing awkwardly. I hurried to sit opposite him.
Trying to look casual, I gave him a strained smile.
“It’s just… because it’s been a while since we last met.”
“I thought maybe you’d fallen for someone’s charms.”
His teasing expression was so blatant that I could only pout my lips in response.
Luckily, a maid entered with a tray carrying teacups, a teapot, and a plate of sweets, interrupting the conversation at that point.
As I watched the steaming tea pour into the cups, I placed a thick envelope from the tray I had brought onto the table.
“What’s that?”
“A summary of the progress on the matter.”
Seeing the thick bundle of documents, Khalid immediately reached out for them, setting his teacup down without hesitation and not even glancing at the sweets.
The dark circles under his eyes, which still hadn’t faded, must have come from working too hard like this.
“It seems everything went well.”
“It was thanks to how quickly you moved.”
“I only did what I was told. You were the one who planned all this—you have every right to feel proud.”
Khalid gave one of his rare, unguarded compliments.
Though his gaze remained sharp and cold on the papers, the slight curve of his lips showed satisfaction.
More than the words well done, that simple remark—you can be proud—felt like an even greater compliment.
I couldn’t help but grin widely.
“I couldn’t just sit back and take it.”
Fidgeting with my hands on my lap, I accepted the praise gladly.
It was true I had made the plan, but it only worked because Khalid trusted me without suspicion.
Recalling our conversation in Bellanive, I began to explain.
“The recommendation letter plan was a success.”
It felt almost like reporting to a boss, and I found myself getting nervous. Taking a slow breath, I continued.
“As we expected, once word got out that the letters were forged, reports from lords poured in, and we were able to arrest them all.”
“That was faster than I expected.”
“It seems the Bellanive nobles caused quite a lot of trouble in the territories they moved to. The moment we made the issue public, they reported it without a second thought.”
I handed him the papers listing the identities of the captured Bellanive nobles.
Names written across the sheets, faces I recognized.
I had encountered them as the Lord of Rivier during the Great Flood.
Some of them had clasped my hand in gratitude for protecting the city, which made seeing their names even more bitter.
Suppressing the emotion rising in my chest, I pulled out another document and spoke calmly.
“Two days ago, we also announced that the letters weren’t forged, but genuine. The backlash… is spreading even faster than expected. According to Father, there’s no need for additional agitation.”
Khalid let out a low laugh and murmured:
“For five years, aid has been given for the flood refugees. Even a fool would know how much money that took. If they find out all that became someone’s personal fortune, they won’t sit quietly.”
Exactly. Even if they didn’t expect a return on their investment, hearing that it was used for someone’s greed would enrage anyone.
Everything was going according to plan. It was having an even greater effect than expected, so at this rate, Rivier’s authority and trust would collapse, and Khalid would rise above it.
There were no major variables yet—except for a few people we had overlooked.
“Count Joubert, who was involved in the Maersen affair, has gone off the grid.”
I hesitated before looking at Khalid carefully.
“Father said… after the ledger was stolen, he looked unsettled and then immediately left for the east with his children.”
Khalid replied with a calmness that suggested he already knew.
“He’s likely dead. The count was Maersen’s supplier for slaves. Seeing the names of the missing maids from the Arpin estate recorded in the ledger means he probably handled Rivier’s clean-up as well.”
The Maersen investigation had started because of those missing maids from the Arpin estate, so learning they were disposed of that way stabbed painfully at my heart.
“If their names are in the ledger, can’t we use that to link the fighting ring and Rivier?”
“No. The ledger only recorded the delivery of slaves, not where they came from. They wouldn’t have left such details when disposing of maids.”
A hollow feeling spread in my chest. We had risked so much to get that ledger…
But then Khalid shook his head, reading the disappointment on my face.
“Don’t be discouraged. That ledger didn’t just contain slave records.”
“Huh? Then…?”
“It also listed the names of those who frequented the fighting ring.”
So the guest list Khalid had been after was included in Joubert’s ledger. It was something even Seru, the fighting ring’s manager, hadn’t had—making it incredibly valuable.
From the beginning, the plan had been to take down not just the ring itself, but all its patrons in one blow. That alone made it worth everything.
