Chapter 90
“One Thing Is Certain”
“Young Lady!”
“Mei?”
The carriage from the Grand Duke’s castle, Esperos, had arrived.
Even though the distance from the Grand Duchy to Babylon Forest was not short, it seemed Calliere must have sent word ahead, since they had arrived early.
I gave Mei, who looked as if she were about to cry, a sheepish smile.
“I… I’m sorry, Mei.”
“Please don’t disappear like that again. I—I was so frightened.”
Her words made me nod with an awkward expression.
Feeling guilty, I scratched my head and added softly:
“…And I’m sorry for deceiving you.”
“What do you mean?”
Mei tilted her head in confusion, until I lowered my eyes toward the strands of hair that had slipped down to cover my chest.
Following my gaze, Mei turned—and gasped, quickly covering her mouth with both hands.
“Oh my goodness! That’s right… you once told me your real hair color was violet, didn’t you?”
“…Yes.”
“Your hair is so beautiful, my lady!”
“H-huh?”
“Blonde is so common, but I’ve never seen violet hair before.”
‘…That’s not really the important part here, is it?’
Her eyes sparkled as she stared at my hair. Then, in a careful voice, Mei asked:
“May I… may I touch your hair?”
“…Huh?”
Calliere quietly watched as Mei led Rebellia back toward the cabin.
She looked a little awkward, but not displeased. Perhaps it was best to leave her with Mei for a while.
“You can’t take your eyes off her, Your Grace.”
“I wonder why even you came all the way here. What of the Grand Duchy’s management?”
Calliere’s voice carried a sigh as he responded to Zenber’s teasing remark.
Zenber only shrugged.
“There are many capable people in the Grand Duchy. When I said I was going to escort the Grand Duke and his future Grand Duchess, they all insisted I take the lead.”
“…”
“But it seems that, while escorting the Grand Duke is easy, winning over the lady is not.”
Zenber’s words—spoken as he watched Rebellia disappear inside with Mei—carried weight. Calliere’s brow furrowed ever so slightly.
“You came not to escort me, but to nag me.”
“They say the older you get, the more you worry.”
Zenber smiled softly at Calliere’s grim face.
With a faint sigh, Calliere glanced around at the quiet surroundings and asked in a low voice:
“Ban followed as well?”
“I couldn’t just sit around eating meals for nothing. I came as an escort.”
A man with a long scar across his left eye emerged from the bushes. Placing a fist to his chest, he bowed.
“I greet Your Grace.”
“Enough with the greetings. There’s something I need you to investigate.”
At those words, Ban’s eyes sharpened.
“Give the command.”
“Look into Crocan Piace.”
“…Crocan Piace.”
Ban’s gaze flicked briefly toward the cabin before returning. His voice dropped lower.
“You mean the Marquess of Piace from Xeros?”
“That’s right. Find out everything—who he’s met, where he’s gone, what he’s plotting. I want it all.”
The serious edge in Calliere’s voice made the air grow heavy around the three men.
Ban finally answered lightly, as if to ease the tension:
“That should be enough to pay back all the meals I’ve eaten. Very well—I’ll investigate and report back quickly.”
He dipped his head and vanished in an instant.
Zenber, still watching him go, asked with concern:
“Your wish to investigate the Marquess… is it because of Lady Rebellia?”
“…Something about it troubles me.”
“Troubles you?”
Seeing Calliere unwilling to explain further, Zenber gave a short nod.
“Everyone has their reasons.”
“…”
“Then I’ll see to preparing the carriage and luggage so we can depart at once.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Calliere watched Zenber hurry off toward the carriage, then turned his eyes back to the cabin.
This morning, when he had spoken of meeting the Marquess, Rebellia’s reaction had been startling.
Her voice carried unease. The hand holding her spoon had trembled violently.
Her eyes had shaken with clear fear, and when he held her hand, it had been as cold as if she were standing in winter wind.
‘Could such a reaction really be explained by nothing more than a poor relationship with her father?’
He already knew the answer.
No.
Rebellia was strong enough to risk her life pretending to be Heidi in a household where even the servants looked down on her.
If someone that strong was now so shaken, then whatever she was facing must be worse than risking her very life back then.
Calliere couldn’t even guess what could be more dangerous than that.
“How is it? Do you like it?”
“Yes. Thank you, Mei.”
Rebellia’s violet hair was braided over one shoulder, adorned with flower-shaped sapphire ornaments that matched the color of her eyes.
As Calliere quietly admired her, her gaze suddenly lifted and met his.
“Oh—Your Grace… ah, my lady?”
The moment their eyes met, Rebellia turned quickly and walked in the opposite direction.
Watching Mei hurry after her, clearly flustered, Calliere let out a faint, relieved sigh.
“I-I’m fine with things just as they are now.”
Remembering Rebellia’s hesitant response when he asked her to marry him, Calliere ruffled his own hair with a sigh.
The only thing he was certain of now was this: he wanted to share the burden on Rebellia’s shoulders.
“Rebellia Piace is alive?”
Heidi’s voice trembled.
“D-don’t lie to me.”
“…”
“I saw it with my own eyes. She was dead—no breath, blood pouring so much it soaked the floor! I saw it with my own eyes!”
At that moment, Crocan’s eyes flashed coldly.
“Then what about her severed neck?”
“Wh-what did you just say…?”
“Or did you drive a blade through her heart to be so sure?”
“Marquess!”
Heidi’s voice rose, shaken by his indifferent reply.
Crocan stepped closer. Heidi instinctively backed away until her back hit the door.
His killing intent filled his gaze as he looked her straight in the eyes.
“This is why people call you a fool, Heidi Elliana—because you left such an important task to someone else.”
“…”
“You were foolish enough to be deceived by that cunning Tower Master and my daughter’s act!”
His furious roar thundered through the room.
Crocan turned from Heidi, who stood dumbfounded, and snarled:
“If I hadn’t planted spies to watch that mage and the Grand Duke’s castle, I would have been fooled as well. A drug that only feigns death—how ridiculous!”
“…”
“Hah. They called him eccentric, but he’s nothing more than a gullible crow.”
‘A… a drug that mimics death?’
At those words, Heidi’s mind flashed with memory—when she had tried to stab Rebellia’s lifeless body with a blunt paper knife, only for Lafer, the wizard, to erupt with wild fury.
“You remembered something, didn’t you?”
Crocan’s mocking voice made her bite down on her lip.
She couldn’t understand since when they had schemed to deceive her, or why they had fed her such lies.
Clenching her teeth, swallowing her rage, Heidi finally bowed her head and said:
“B-but that wasn’t my fault! From the beginning, the two of them plotted together to trick me—!”
“Heidi Elliana.”
Crocan’s cold, emotionless voice made her flinch. She looked up, terrified.
But Crocan only gave her a kind smile.
“I’m not blaming you for incompetence.”
“…”
“I called you here to give you a task more suited to your abilities.”
“Wh-what do you mean…?”
“With that pretty face of yours, go to the Crown Prince.”
“…”
“Tell him this: that Rebellia Piace was kidnapped by Calliere Esperos in your place.”
