Chapter 68
“Ribera, just now… what did I see?”
“I saw it too.”
Tap. Tap. As Noma nudged Ribera, he answered with a tinge of irritation.
But despite the curt tone, he too seemed too shocked to speak properly.
While carrying out a request to find a child who went missing eight years ago, they had received another request from Duke Douglas. He had asked them to investigate whether any Star-Chasers still remained in Nesheld.
Windsor’s warning still rang clear in their ears—this was directly tied to Erne’s health, so they were urged to hurry.
Because of that, the pair had to leave the Duke’s estate without even a proper greeting with Erne, off to solve the assignments at hand.
“The Duke said both requests originated in Lank, right?”
“Yeah.”
“The missing child case and the last known trace of the Star-Chaser… they both start in our hometown?”
“…Yeah.”
“And now we’ve arrived at this place…”
Noma seemed to be trying to process and confirm what had just happened.
Ribera wore a grimace as he replied to his twin sister, but his eyes were still fixed on a single point.
Then someone stepped between them, the sunlight behind his back casting a long shadow.
“It’s Marshal.”
The voice knew exactly who they were looking at.
“It’s Marshal. He’s alive. He didn’t die.”
Hearing the voice, Ribera and Noma turned around.
Ribera spoke. “Marquis Demian.”
Marquis Demian, who had supposedly died in a carriage accident after his trial. But the body had vanished without a trace, leaving behind a bizarre mystery—the missing corpse case of Marquis Demian. And now, the man himself was alive and well.
At the same time, a wrinkled old woman quietly opened the door to the hut where Erne had once lived and slipped inside.
All three of them knew her all too well.
“Grandma Marshal…”
Noma muttered.
Marshal, who they believed to be dead and had held a funeral for, was alive.
Noma couldn’t help but think—this must be what Erne always talked about. The culprit always returns to the scene of the crime.
Marquis Demian slowly made his way toward the hut that Marshal had entered.
His gait was solemn, almost tragic.
What was going on? The twins exchanged glances before quickly following after him.
Marquis Demian being alive was no coincidence.
It all began when he had visited the Ravens, looking for Princess Erne, who had vanished.
“I have one more… personal request I’d like to make.”
“Not in the name of the royal family?”
He had turned back just as he was about to leave, having paid and received the information he needed. Ribera had frozen mid-task, organizing papers. She hadn’t expected that.
“I’d like to make a request in the name of House Demian.”
“…Let’s hear the details first. We don’t take payment in advance.”
At her words, the Marquis chuckled deeply.
When his laughter finally subsided, he spoke.
“If something happens to me… I want the Ravens to kill me.”
“…Huh?”
Ribera thought she’d misheard. Kill who?
“We’re not an assassination guild,” she replied quickly.
“I’m not asking you to literally kill me. I want you to fake my death. And help me disappear.”
“Fake a death? You should be talking to a mortician about that…”
“The Emperor is dead. Who do you think they’ll go after next?”
“…”
“The princess, the heir? Or the people who support her—like me? They’ll want to cut off her limbs first. It’s the easiest and fastest way.”
After hearing that, Ribera couldn’t refuse his request.
While searching for Erne, when it was discovered she was at House Douglas—
Even when Demian had recklessly visited the Duke’s estate to meet her—
Ribera had never once told Noma about his personal request.
Even while he was imprisoned during the trial, the Ravens kept watch. But since no direct threats appeared, Ribera had lowered her guard.
That is, until Duke Douglas tampered with the trial.
Babylon must have prepared a Plan B for just such a scenario, and it became evident they were targeting the newly released Marquis.
As a result, Ribera was able to fulfill the Marquis’s personal request.
She faked his death—without telling the grieving Erne the truth.
The carriage accident was perfectly orchestrated. Actually, Ribera hadn’t even planned it.
The Babylon family had already bribed the coachman, who drove the carriage off a cliff and disappeared with the money.
All Ribera did was use the Ravens to rescue the Marquis in the nick of time.
Thanks to Babylon stepping in, Windsor’s suspicions were diverted from the Ravens and toward Babylon instead.
But without a body, there was no solid evidence. It was ruled an accident.
“Erne is dead?! They found her body swept up by the river?!”
Marquis Demian bellowed after reading the latest paper.
His face was flushed red with fury.
Noma quickly poured him a cup of tea, waving her hand.
“Now, now, calm down, Marquis.”
“How can I?!”
“Your blood pressure, sir…”
Ribera, watching silently, clicked her tongue and snatched the newspaper from his hands, tearing it to pieces.
While being protected by the Ravens, Marquis Demian naturally came to learn that they were Erne’s close friends.
Perhaps because they were his daughter’s dear companions, the three had grown quite close.
“See? Again. I told you not to read the paper, or you’ll end up clutching your neck and passing out.”
“Reading the paper is the joy of my life, you brat.”
“And you’re a noble? Talking like that?”
“It’s your fault I’ve picked up this language.”
The Marquis, perhaps embarrassed, gave a fake cough.
Noma finally managed to calm him down.
Just then—tap tap. A noise at the window made her jump.
“It’s Erne!”
“What?! Where? Where is our Erne?!”
While the two fretted noisily, Ribera calmly walked over and opened the window.
It was Coco—the raven that served as Erne’s contact.
She was alive. She was impersonating Princess Ash and planned to become queen.
Marquis Demian had seen the raven bring news of Erne before, so he muttered deeply after hearing this.
“She’s using her twin sister’s identity…”
“She’ll be okay, right?”
Noma muttered worriedly.
But the Marquis sprang to his feet and roared with laughter.
“So the newspaper article was a lie after all! Haha! Of course! You should never trust the media too blindly!”
“…And who was it that trusted it the most again?” Ribera murmured.
But the Marquis pretended not to hear her.
“As long as Erne is safe, I’m satisfied.”
He sat back down and sipped the tea Noma had given him with exaggerated serenity.
Freeloader.
Ribera and Noma exchanged exasperated glances.
The one person in the room with the least to do, who was the most relaxed, eating their food, and interfering with their busy schedules—there was only one culprit.
And Marquis Demian’s intrusiveness didn’t stop there.
“What?! Who’s getting married to whom?!”
“It says engagement, not marriage, sir.”
“They’re saying our precious Erne is engaged to that wicked Duke Douglas…!”
“I thought newspapers couldn’t be trusted.”
“That’s not the point! They put a picture of the two smiling together on the front page!”
This time, it wasn’t Ribera who shredded the paper.
It was the Marquis himself, tearing it apart in a rage-filled howl.
Ribera tried to calm him down, but eventually let out a deep sigh.
Noma didn’t know how exhausting it was to share an office with the Marquis every day. Ribera was at her wit’s end.
Anytime there was news about Erne, he flew into hysterics.
Her face grew tighter with frustration.
“It’s just an engagement announcement, not an actual wedding. Please calm down. Your blood pressure…”
“That bastard Duke Douglas… So he realized how beautiful our princess is…! He’s been scheming all along!”
Ribera shook her head.
There was no reasoning with him. The Marquis was already muttering darkly about curses for the Duke—stepping on dung, slipping and getting bald spots on his head…
Not wanting to hear more, Ribera rose from her seat.
“Hey, where are you going, Ribera?”
The Marquis asked while tidying the shredded newspaper with exaggerated neatness.
He had just thrown a tantrum, but now he was being meticulous.
With a disgusted expression, Ribera replied, “I have a request to follow up on.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“No. What if someone recognizes you?”
“I know I’m not that memorable of a face.”
“….”
Ribera chose silence.
Mostly because… she didn’t have a good comeback for that.
