Chapter 56
Why Do You Think That Is?
Heidi wants me dead?
And not just dead—dead while still living as Heidi Elliana here?
The Heidi Elliana I knew was the kindest, most lovable person. She was gentle to those around her, generous to those in need, and had a warm, compassionate heart.
So when Laperre told me this, it was impossible for me to understand—because the Heidi I knew could never wish for such a thing.
“You’re joking, right?”
“…”
“That makes no sense. Of all people, why would Heidi—Miss Heidi—want me to die here?”
The situation had caught me so off guard that I couldn’t even pretend to be calm.
Laperre’s reply came in a steady, matter-of-fact tone to my trembling voice.
“I understand it’s hard to believe, but I’m not the type to waste time on a joke that gains me nothing, my lady.”
“…”
“It’s not fun.”
“B-but Heidi, Miss Heidi, she—”
“My lady.”
His voice dropped lower, calling me, and my heart gave a heavy thud.
He met my gaze with an expression utterly devoid of emotion.
“I don’t know what you’re basing your certainty on when you say she wouldn’t do that.”
“Sir Laperre.”
“Can you really say you know everything about her?”
“…”
“Even her very depths?”
I couldn’t answer.
Only after hearing him did I realize—the Heidi I knew might have been nothing more than the partial image shown in the story.
I’d already learned that truth after meeting Calier.
My lips stayed pressed in a tight line, not even a sigh escaping.
It’s my fault. I assumed that because Heidi is the protagonist, she must be a good person, and if she knew my situation, she’d help me without hesitation. I was careless.
Laperre said nothing for a while, watching me with my lips sealed.
A quiet pause lingered between us before I finally looked up at him and asked,
“…Since it’s come to this, can I ask you a few things?”
“Do you trust my answers?”
“At the very least, I trust the sincerity of someone who would go out of his way to come see me, when it would’ve been easier to let me die on my own.”
“And also because it wouldn’t be fun otherwise.”
He added playfully, nodding for me to go on.
I took a steady breath and met his eyes.
“You’re right—I don’t know everything about people, especially the parts they hide.”
“…”
“But I do know this—Heidi isn’t the kind of person who would try to kill me herself.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Heidi has a timid side and a soft heart. She’s not someone who would easily decide to kill. Personality can change, of course, but not that easily.”
“…”
“Unless someone pushed her to the edge, I don’t think her nature could change so drastically in just one month.”
It was true. A dark thought had already started to grow in my mind.
I’ve only been in Esperos for a month. There’s no way a personality shaped over more than ten years could suddenly change in that short time—unless she was cornered and forced into it.
Laperre smiled faintly, intrigued, and asked,
“So what’s your question?”
“Was it my father, Crokan Piace, who made Heidi think that way?”
At first, I’d only wanted his confirmation, but the more I spoke, the more certain I became.
If Heidi wanted me dead, my father had to be the one behind it.
Laperre thought for a moment before shrugging.
“Well, I can’t say for sure, but it’s true that the marquis and Heidi Elliana have been seen meeting recently.”
Just as I thought.
My head ached from the confirmation, but another question arose—
Why had my father dragged Heidi into this at all?
If he acted himself, it would’ve been easier and more certain. So why involve Heidi? Was it to make sure that, if Delphian ever found out, he wouldn’t be able to punish her? Because Delphian could never abandon her?
As I pondered, Laperre suddenly asked with a teasing look,
“But I’m curious about something too.”
“…?”
“All I said was that Heidi wanted you dead. So why did you immediately assume she was trying to kill you?”
“…What do you mean?”
“Well, wishing someone dead and actively trying to kill them aren’t the same thing.”
He seemed genuinely curious.
I frowned slightly before answering.
“Because you already knew Heidi wanted me dead.”
“What?”
“If she only wished for it silently, even you wouldn’t know. There’d be no way for you to find out something she kept entirely to herself.”
“…”
“So that means she must have gone to you to have me killed. That’s why you know.”
Laperre looked a little surprised, his eyes glinting with mischief as he asked, almost like playing word games,
“Why do you think she came to me to kill you?”
“…Huh?”
“I’m a magician, not a dark sorcerer. If she wanted you dead, wouldn’t hiring an assassin be more effective than trying to persuade me?”
His smiling question made my face twist.
“Do you really think that?”
“…?”
“That hiring an assassin would be easier than persuading you to kill me?”
At my retort, he gave a mysterious smile.
I sighed lightly and explained,
“For Heidi, in Zeros, to hire an assassin to kill me all the way up here in Esperos, in the northern part of Hestonia—it would’ve been too risky.”
“…”
“And even if she managed it, killing me inside Esperos Grand Duke’s castle, under the watch of who-knows-how-many knights and His Grace himself, wouldn’t be easy.”
That meant being Calier’s kidnapped hostage was the very reason I was still alive.
If I’d escaped earlier and settled quietly in some small rural village in Hestonia, Heidi probably would have gone with hiring an assassin instead of seeking Laperre.
“…”
For the first time, I felt grateful for being a hostage.
Maybe, in Esperos, I was actually the safest person of all.
The thought of Calier—who had unknowingly made me so safe—flitted through my mind, but I quickly shook it off.
No. Don’t think about him. He’s the one who left the castle without a word.
Pouting slightly, I noticed Laperre still watching me and hurried to finish.
“A-anyway, Heidi must have felt it was easier to persuade you. Once you agreed, she’d be sure the rest would be handled.”
“Well, if I’d known my help was so essential, I’d have asked for the whole of Zeros, not just half. Don’t you think?”
The whole of Zeros… wait—half?
My eyes widened.
“W-wait. What did you just say? Half of Zeros?”
He nodded, and I stared in disbelief.
“Are you saying Heidi offered you half of Zeros to kill me?”
“Well, do you think she really meant to give me half? It was probably just her way of saying she was desperate.”
“Even so…!”
“Hey, my lady.”
He pressed a finger to his forehead and let out a long sigh.
“That’s not the important part. The important part is that even with such an offer, I still came to see you.”
“W-why would you?”
“Hmm?”
“Even just saying that means she was prepared to pay a reward equivalent to half the territory, if not the whole. That’s huge.”
“Well, I suppose so.”
“‘I suppose so’—that’s not the point! I don’t understand. If Heidi finds out I’m alive, she’ll never agree to pay you.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
He nodded indifferently, which only made me more frustrated.
“So, you think my life is worth that much—”
Do you think my life is worth that much?
I couldn’t finish.
I didn’t want to hear him deny it. I didn’t want to belittle myself either.
Because if no one else in the world valued me, then I at least had to value myself.
“Why do you think that is?”
His serious question left me speechless.
It sounded almost like he was saying my life was worth half of Zeros.
“…”
Maybe I was only hearing what I wanted to hear. Maybe I couldn’t understand what was in his heart.
But I wanted to believe it—
that to someone other than myself, my life might be worth something.
Laperre watched my silence for a moment, then spoke playfully again.
“Well, that’s for you to think over on your own.”
“…?”
“Now, I’m going to talk about how to save you.”
Something in me tightened, and I could only nod.
After tapping his forehead in thought, Laperre’s lips curved in a mischievous smile.
“Still, dying would be the easiest way, don’t you think?”
Any tears that were about to fall instantly vanished.
…Even being infuriating like this was a talent, I supposed.
