Chapter – 09
Just as the sorcerer had said, as Vihan rode his horse toward the slums, the capital sky began to turn a murky ash-gray.
Whenever Rosemary periodically checked on the slums, she would occasionally ride her horse out to visit them alone. Even to someone offering aid, the security in the eastern slums was far from safe. Thanks to this, the subordinates Vihan had assigned to Rosemary were now focused more on protecting her than monitoring her.
However, since he hadn’t ordered them to take care of her when it rained…
Even if Rosemary were to get caught in the rain, Vihan couldn’t show his face in front of her anyway. Yet, he had still rushed blindly to the slums.
‘Where could she be?’
Stopping near an open lot in the slums where Rosemary often frequented, Vihan dismounted and looked around. Raindrops began to fall from the darkening, ash-gray sky.
‘If she gets caught in this rain…’
Even if Rosemary had stepped inside one of the houses, none of the structures in these slums looked capable of properly keeping the rain out.
Only after searching all around the open lot and confirming there was no sign of anyone did Vihan head back toward his horse.
I need to make sure she’s alright before I can return. Should I call my subordinate to find out what happened…?
Suddenly, he sensed a presence. Vihan paused, lifting the cloak that covered half his vision just a fraction.
“Ah…”
Lilac eyes shone beneath damp black hair. A fair white hand was stroking his horse as she turned her head.
This time, their eyes truly met. Rosemary offered a relaxed smile and gestured to the space beside her.
“There aren’t many houses around here with intact eaves, so I unintentionally ended up standing here.”
“…”
“Are you the owner of this horse?”
Vihan pulled his cloak deeper over his face as he approached Rosemary. He couldn’t believe they were actually meeting like this face-to-face.
Unable to bring himself to utter a word, Vihan simply nodded.
I might run into Lady Rosemary officially later on… It felt childish, but his immediate thought was that he couldn’t let her catch him looking so suspicious right now.
“It’s raining quite a bit. Before the monsoon season starts, I’ll need to figure out a way to repair the leaking roofs…”
Rosemary fell deep into thought, her brow furrowing slightly.
If staying completely silent on one side could be called a conversation, then this was their very first one.
No, rather, it was the first time they had ever been this close. Not the Rosemary Liotium on paper or seen from a distance, but the real Rosemary.
“You’re the person who was watching the soup kitchen from afar last time, right?”
“…”
“We aren’t running the soup kitchen today. We only do it once a week. There are no restrictions, so feel free to come by anytime.”
Having no particular excuse to offer, Vihan gave an awkward nod. But even with a ragged cloak draped over him, he hardly looked like an inhabitant of these slums.
Moreover, a horse was an expensive luxury. A person coming to a free soup kitchen on horseback made no sense. Why was she offering trust rather than suspicion…?
“A boy with brown hair and a girl with red hair. Do you remember them? They’re young siblings named Eric and Sandy.”
“Ah…”
“I heard from the children. They said some people tried to steal the relief supplies given by the foundation, but ‘the uncles wearing the cloaks we saw last time’ came and helped them.”
He had only stopped by the slums to see Rosemary. It was purely by chance that he saw the young siblings—whom he had crossed paths with once before—in danger, and he had naturally stepped in to help.
“Thank you. Usually, no one comes to help around here.”
Rosemary looked up at the rainy sky with a bittersweet expression.
Seeing her drop her guard over such an obvious act of kindness, Vihan felt a surge of certainty.
He might not know why she was exerting so much effort into rebuilding the eastern slums, but one thing was clear: she genuinely wished for its restoration.
There was no way someone connected to Adrian would put this much personal effort into rebuilding the slums. The foundation and the person behind it posed no threat to Icleat Adrian, making surveillance unnecessary.
Which meant…
He no longer had any reason to keep watching Rosemary.
“If I stay any longer, my companions will start to worry.”
Rosemary bent down to tighten the laces of her boots, preparing to break into a run. Before Vihan could even finish his thought, he unfastened the latch of his cloak.
As Rosemary stayed bowed to tie her shoes, the shabby cloak draped softly over her head.
“Huh?”
Before Rosemary could even lift her head, Vihan kicked off the gap between the ground and the building wall, vaulting up to hide on the roof.
“…Wait… Excuse me…”
Flustered, Rosemary looked around, sticking her head out to scan the alleys.
“Where did he go so fast…?”
Standing blankly beside the horse for a moment, Rosemary eventually sighed and draped the ragged cloak over herself.
“I’ll come back in a little bit. I need to return this cloak to your master and check if he came back for you. If he doesn’t come… well, I guess I’ll take you with me.”
Concluding that the owner of the vanished cloak might be listening from somewhere nearby, Rosemary passed the message to the horse and ran out from beneath the shelter of the roof.
Watching her figure recede into the distance, Vihan ran a hand through his rain-soaked silver hair. A subordinate who had been keeping watch over Rosemary appeared out of nowhere to offer his own cloak, but Vihan shook his head.
“Just make sure she returns safely to her mansion. From now on, limit your duties to ensuring the Lady’s safety whenever she goes out.”
Sending the subordinate after Rosemary, Vihan descended back beneath the eaves. He stroked the horse and whispered softly:
“You follow her, too. Now that I’ve given her that shabby cloak, I have no way left to appear before her.”
I have neither the reason nor the means to dare stand before her, other than by hiding my identity.
With a fleeting, bitter smile, Vihan left the slums behind without his horse.
And for about a year after that, until he met her as ‘Vihan Caisus,’ he never visited the slums again.
“I cannot tell you.”
“…Are you joking with me right now, Duke?”
“…”
“Ha?”
With Vihan plunging into absolute silence and refusing to say another word, Luke’s expression crumpled.
“This involves Icleat, and you won’t tell me?”
“…”
Icleat Adrian. When it came to matters concerning him, Vihan and Luke were forced into a mutually beneficial partnership. Both shared the same goal of protecting Icleat Adrian; holding a petty grudge would only get in the way of that purpose.
This situation was no different. They had rescued Icleat from the Barony of Adrian, and though he was now staying in the Duke’s estate—the safest place possible—Icleat was still afraid of something.
As if he knew for certain that something bad was bound to happen.
‘That must be why Luke Ventus came looking for me.’
Vihan kept his mouth shut and closed the report he had been reading. Luke Ventus wasn’t the only one taking an interest in the eastern slums and the foundation.
Crown Prince Edgar was also using his intelligence network to investigate the foundation. As the foundation’s operations expanded, it would become increasingly difficult for Rosemary to hide her identity.
“I’ll ask you one more time. That foundation in the eastern slums—do you really not know who is behind it? There’s no way you don’t know, Duke.”
“I never said I didn’t know. It’s just a place you have no business interfering with, so there’s no reason for me to tell you.”
“Is that so? Then why does this feel so strange? My gut is practically screaming at me to look into that foundation.”
Luke stood up with a smirk. Since the Duke had clamped his mouth shut, further persuasion was useless. Though his intelligence network lacked compared to the Duke’s, he could simply find out by moving personally.
“Well then, keep up the good—”
“Icleat will be looking for you.”
Luke, who looked ready to bolt toward the eastern slums that very second, paused in his tracks.
“…Icleat is looking for me?”
“Tell the servant outside the door, and he’ll lead you to Icleat’s room. Follow him.”
After a brief hesitation, Luke nodded and exited Vihan’s office. He had bought a little time.
The reason Crown Prince Edgar and Luke Ventus were showing interest in the foundation was that its identity remained completely shrouded in mystery.
Even with massive moves being made to build a library, not a single nobleman seemed to be linked to it, making it impossible to grasp what kind of faction was at play.
And to make matters worse, the place that foundation was touching happened to be the hometown of Icleat Adrian—the very center of the ongoing controversy.
“Butler.”
At Vihan’s call, the butler opened the door and entered, bowing his head.
“You called, my Lord?”
“Call Cael. And prepare a carriage… No, prepare a horse.”
There was no time to ride a carriage. He needed to warn Rosemary of the danger. And… he wanted to help her directly now.
And so, rushing over to meet Rosemary as Vihan Caisus for that brief moment, every single word he had spoken to her had been from the heart.
‘My Lady, perhaps I might be of assistance to you.’
‘You may seek me out at any time, My Lady.’
‘It is Vihan, My Lady.’
‘The next time we meet, I pray you will address me as such.’
Enough time had passed for him to recognize and accept the reason behind his own unfamiliar behavior and tone.
It’s only natural, considering how bright a person she is. It couldn’t have ended up any other way.
I wanted to be involved with you so badly that I felt regret over the marriage proposal my elders had arbitrarily sent to Liotium. I wanted to help you.
Knock, knock.
Lost in thought, Vihan stood up from his seat at the sound of a knock. In his hand was a newspaper.
[Will a Free Library for Commoners Be Built in the Eastern Outer Slums?]
It was an article generated by her plans. It would be built. Of course, even without his help, she would somehow achieve whatever she set her mind to.
“Come in.”
“…Lord Vihan…?”
“Icleat.”
Even so, he couldn’t help wishing that she would need him, even just a little…
“Are you busy…?”
“No, I am fine. What brings you here?”
“I have a favor to ask…”
Yes, I wish it were her coming to find me. Not Icleat Adrian, but Rosemary Liotium.
Seriously… The names and pronouns are crazy. All messed up.
Thanks for pointing it out. I’ve revised it and fixed the names and pronouns. It should be much clearer now.