HIFH | Chapter 9

Episode 9

Tatadat!

As soon as I entered the underpass, I started running.

I had spent more time than expected talking to the kid.

By now, I should have finished the fitting, and it was enough time for Lou to grow suspicious.

Huff!

Taking a deep breath, I leaped high and grabbed onto a protruding brick. Using another brick as a foothold, I propelled myself upward and reached the fitting room window in one swift motion.

Swish—!

Sliding smoothly into the fitting room, I quickly started unbuttoning my blouse.

“Charles. Are you still not finished?”

As expected, Lou was right outside the door.

“J-just a second!”

I hurriedly stripped off my skirt and randomly grabbed one of the dresses I had been handed earlier.

“Hm.”

I could hear Lu humming through the door.

Was he finding something odd?

Shoving my legs into the dress, I hastily buttoned up the back.

Just then—

“I’m coming in.”

Thud!

With a loud sound, a chair toppled over, and the door swung open.

I turned my head to look at Lu, unable to button the ones near my shoulder blades.

“Uh, um…”

I quickly made an excuse.

“My hands couldn’t reach.”

Twisting my arms in an attempt to fasten the buttons, I must have looked helpless enough to dispel any suspicions. Probably.

“I didn’t consider that. Turn around. I’ll help you.”

Lu strode toward me and slowly reached for the buttons I couldn’t fasten.

Was it because my body had cooled down? Or was his hand truly that warm?

Either way, his heated fingertips brushed against my bare skin.

My throat felt dry.

I wasn’t sure if it was because I was nervous about him suspecting me, or for another reason.

Regardless, my heart was pounding faster than ever.

“The dress fits well.”

Lu leaned in slightly as he fastened the last button, and his breath tickled my skin.

I involuntarily held my breath.

“We just need to adjust the waist. Is it uncomfortable?”

“…No. It’s fine.”

“That’s a relief.”

Lou looked at our reflections in the mirror.

“Charles.”

Still locking eyes with me through the mirror, Lou spoke.

“Why did you block the door with a chair?”

For a moment, I almost flinched.

But I couldn’t afford to show any reaction.

I couldn’t leave him even the smallest clue to suspect me.

“Because I was afraid you’d barge in like that.”

“Oh dear. Do you distrust me that much?”

“Well, you’re already in the room, so what does trust even matter?”

Lou slowly blinked. Then, he suddenly dropped his gaze to my feet.

“Your shoes are clean.”

What a sharp-eyed bastard.

Since I had anticipated this question, I responded without hesitation.

“I noticed they were dirty while changing, so I wiped them.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen Charles with clean shoes.”

“I just wiped them, I told you.”

Lu tilted his head to the other side as he looked down at me.

“Are you asking me to believe that, or not?”

His voice was low, almost a murmur, but we were close enough that I couldn’t miss it.

My eyes stung, as if a foreign substance had entered and traveled up to my head.

But I didn’t avert my gaze from our reflections in the mirror.

I was afraid.

Afraid that he might do something.

That he might not just end with suspicion but actually arrest me.

“…Perhaps.”

Lu’s gaze traced from the side of my face down to my nape. I could feel the goosebumps rise on my skin.

“You should wear a necklace.”

Lu spoke as his fingertips lightly brushed against my tensed nape.

“To make sure you don’t run away so easily.”

“Haaa…”

As soon as I got home, I collapsed onto the bed with a deep sigh.

A pile of clothes I had bought today was stacked in one corner of the room.

Mardi had offered to organize them, but I postponed it until tomorrow.

It was obvious that sorting them would take forever.

And that’s not even all the clothes.

The custom-made outfits were scheduled to arrive next week. At this rate, I could practically build a house out of clothes.

Lu had purchased dozens of outfits, including the ones I had tried on in the fitting room.

I told him it wasn’t necessary, but he had been relentless.

Something about maintaining his dignity.

I didn’t really understand.

Even while suspecting me, he was dressing me up as his fiancée to keep up appearances?

— To make sure you don’t run away so easily.

He had definitely caught on.

That I had secretly left the boutique.

And yet, he was still treating me as a Guardian agent.

I couldn’t quite grasp it.

Why isn’t he confronting me directly?

It didn’t make sense.

Even though he was suspicious, all Lu did was observe me.

Why?

If he had found something incriminating, he could have reported it to the Guardians.

Or at the very least, he could have subtly informed his adoptive father, the High Priest.

He merely continues to observe me persistently, just as he is now.

Is it because he has no evidence?

Even so, he could have questioned me, yet he only keeps testing me subtly.

Like today.

Unconsciously, I touched the nape of my neck, where Lu’s hand had brushed against me.

His touch on my skin had been hot, and his breath, felt so closely while fastening the buttons, had been impossibly soft.

If he weren’t suspecting me, if I weren’t a spy, it could have been quite a romantic moment.

For an ordinary man and woman… they might have been embarrassed, or perhaps even thrilled.

I think I might have been a little embarrassed.

Lu, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be.

He had been perfectly composed.

Come to think of it, I’ve never seen Lu flustered before.

I couldn’t even imagine it.

The Lu I knew was always cold, analytical, and unshaken.

Is that why he’s just watching me for now?

Perhaps he was leisurely observing me, waiting for me to slip up and provide solid evidence.

So he could capture me with absolute certainty…

‘I should tell them that I’ll return to the Empire once this is over.’

I wasn’t sure if Catacle would allow it, but for the sake of my sanity, I had to.

‘This is killing me, seriously.’

Muttering to myself, I sat up.

Then, I pulled out the shoe polish tin that the child I had met outside the boutique had given me.

— I haven’t found anything yet.

— But I did hear something about the relic.

With those words, he had handed me the shoe polish tin.

The reason Vice Captain Henry was searching for the relic was clearly to keep the Captain in check.

That’s why he was working behind his back.

I might be able to use this later.

And the kid I met today, too.

This information, which had practically fallen into my lap, would serve as valuable material for someone like me, who had spent over a decade working as an infiltrator.

Organizing my thoughts, I opened the tin.

It was almost new, packed full of hardened polish.

Using a teaspoon, I gently scraped at the surface. Since the tin wasn’t very large, it didn’t take long to scrape everything out.

“Eureka.”

Once I had removed all the polish, an inscription at the bottom of the tin was revealed.

A cipher written in the code used within Katakl.

“Gold…”

I deciphered the message.

“The one who creates gold seeks to correct the truth.”

The meaning was immediately clear.

Alchemists, who in the present day were seen as mere pharmacists, had once pursued the creation of gold as their ultimate goal.

“The one who creates gold” referred to an alchemist—Themis.

And the truth must be about the relic.

I didn’t know why they sought to correct the truth, but one thing was certain: Themis had information about the relic.

But how?

I wasn’t sure about that part yet.

‘One thing’s for sure—he must never meet Lu.’

I had already intended to keep them apart, but now, I had an even stronger reason to ensure it.

‘The problem is how to do that.’

After pondering for a moment, I came to a conclusion.

There were plenty of ways to keep Themis from speaking to Lu without getting caught.

So for now—

I should get some rest today.

After tossing the cipher into the fireplace and watching it burn, I lay back down on the bed.

— To make sure you don’t run away so easily.

I tried my best to ignore Lu’s voice, which kept echoing in my mind, and forced myself to sleep.

Tomorrow was the day of the party at the marquis’ estate.