“The hunting festival will be here soon.”
Dahlia murmured, looking at the barren branches from which leaves had fallen. With the weather having suddenly turned wintry, both people sitting in the garden were dressed quite thickly.
After returning from the Duke’s residence, the two had been spending noticeably more time together.
Though they hadn’t become exceptionally close friends, compared to their past when they barely acknowledged each other, it was a miraculous development. At the very least, the time they spent together had become particularly comfortable.
As a cold wind blew, Dahlia tightened her fur coat.
“If we’re to endure that cold castle for an entire week, we should pack warm clothes, right?”
“I suppose so.”
Sienna responded halfheartedly, picking up her teacup. Seeing her indifferent attitude, Dahlia slightly furrowed her brow.
“Your Highness truly doesn’t seem concerned at all. Aren’t you worried?”
“Worrying wouldn’t change anything I can do about it.”
“That’s true, but…”
Dahlia pouted. Sienna burst into laughter.
“Are you scared? Afraid that Joseph and the Duke might harm you?”
At the question tinged with amusement, Dahlia’s face reddened. She seemed to have taken it as teasing. Dahlia’s eyes turned up at the corners like an angry rabbit.
“Not everyone has a strong heart like Your Highness. Being scared is natural…!”
“I’m not much different.”
Dahlia’s eyes widened again. Sienna absently stabbed a raspberry with her fork.
“I’m afraid that everything I’ve done so far might come to nothing.”
If everything were exposed, how would Joseph respond?
At the late emperor’s funeral, Sienna had been alone, but this time many people were involved. Dahlia, Declan, and even the Duke. Simply dealing with Sienna herself wouldn’t end the matter.
“Is it possible His Majesty might deny my uncle’s crimes?”
“The Emperor has no reason to protect the Duke. Especially since the person involved happens to be my mother.”
Sienna answered with conviction.
The Duke had possessed her mother’s belongings.
It didn’t matter how or why he had obtained them. The important point was simply that the Emperor and the Duke were certainly not on the same side.
“Joseph and Duke Lowell maintained their relationship because they each had something to gain.”
The Duke needed someone who would consolidate his influence over the empire, and Joseph needed someone who would supplement his weak position.
“But if it’s revealed that he possessed a traitor’s belongings, who would stand by the Duke’s side? One by one, people would start watching Joseph’s reactions.”
No matter how limited his power might be, the Emperor was still the Emperor.
The Duke had power but was in a somewhat withdrawn position in politics, not to mention he was entering old age. In such a situation, would Joseph simply sit by and watch as the Duke touched his sore spot?
Perhaps for Joseph, this could even be an opportunity to check the Duke’s power.
“Still, there’s not much to worry about. Whatever the outcome, the damage won’t extend to you.”
“But…”
“If you’re concerned about stealing the ownership documents for Chesperl Castle, you’re already of legal age, so there’s no issue. Therefore, you won’t lose anything because of this.”
Her voice, neither prominent nor flat, spoke calmly. It was meant to ease Dahlia’s tension before the hunting festival, but Sienna was inherently not skilled at such kind words.
“You said you would cut all ties with the Duke’s family and go down to Chesperl once this matter is concluded.”
“…”
“It will certainly happen that way.”
Though rough as far as comfort goes, Dahlia understood the true meaning. Her lips curved slightly, then she awkwardly rolled her eyes around.
“Later, when everything is resolved and I really go to Chesperl…”
Trailing off, Dahlia, with a bright red face, rubbed the back of her neck.
“I hope you’ll v-visit occasionally. I heard it was a place the late Emperor cherished, so I thought Your Highness might like it too…”
At her stammering words, the corners of Sienna’s mouth turned up faintly.
“I don’t know if the Emperor will allow me into the Empire.”
At the puzzling answer, Dahlia slightly raised her head and blinked.
“So… that means you agree?”
“If not, then you could come to Ricata.”
When Dahlia opened her eyes wide, Sienna lifted her lips in a grin. Dahlia also smiled slightly in response. Their gently curved lips resembled each other.
Dahlia murmured in a more composed tone.
“I thought Your Highness disliked me.”
“I did, in the past.”
Sienna concisely admitted. It was an undeniable fact.
In her childhood, to Sienna, Dahlia had been nothing but the person who took away her father’s love. At that time, Sienna found Dahlia, who smiled brightly by her father’s side, extremely annoying and unbearably dislikable.
“But what fault did you have?”
Looking back, Dahlia was also merely a victim. Perhaps Sienna had been repeating to Dahlia exactly what she had suffered from Joseph and Marianne. After all, she had hated Dahlia for something beyond her control.
After returning here, Sienna had always thought about what she had lost.
But that wasn’t everything. Sienna had certainly lost her most precious person, but despite that, there were definitely things she had newly gained in this life.
In truth, Sienna had always been afraid. She was scared of getting used to a world without Soliet and anxious that even the slightest bit of that child’s presence might fade from within her.
That was why it had been difficult to accept new people who appeared. Even simply blending in normally among people ultimately turned into guilt. It was a terrible cycle.
Sienna knew she could never forget Soliet. But having resolved to live a new life, she couldn’t forever cling to the hand of a dead child.
Everything has an end.
Even the painful past must eventually be turned away from. Sienna was not unaware that now was that moment.
****
As evening fell with no results, the Duke gradually became frenzied. He had even returned to the Imperial Palace, but there was no harvest.
How could this be? It wasn’t as if the item had grown legs. Despite searching everywhere it might be, not even a trace was visible. The Duke was engulfed in an impatience that felt like his heart was burning up.
At that moment, a faint figure flashed through his mind. The only person from the Duke’s residence who had headed to the Grand Duke’s residence instead of the capital, using an ankle as an excuse.
Could it be…
Standing frozen with a pale face, he hurriedly shook his head. No, that’s impossible.
If that were the case, it would mean that the ankle sprain had also been an intentional accident, but Dahlia wasn’t bold enough to pull off such a thing. Moreover, she had no reason to do this.
The Duke prided himself on having done enough for her. Not only had he raised her without lack, but he had also found her an excellent husband. And that was with a match completely beyond the reach of a lowly maid’s daughter.
Furthermore, Dahlia knew her place. Although she was a somewhat slow-witted girl, she knew that the luxury she enjoyed was undeservingly grand.
The Duke grimaced in irritation.
I must be getting old to be having such needless suspicions.
Perhaps because he had spent the past few days in extreme tension, he felt an abnormal spasm in his facial muscles. The Duke nervously removed his glasses and wiped his face. Eventually, he buried his face in his hands and let out a deep sigh.
It wasn’t that he trusted Dahlia. It would be more accurate to say that the Duke had underestimated her to the point where he didn’t see any value in suspecting her.
It was then that a servant from the Duke’s residence, with a pale face, rushed to find the Duke.
“T-there’s big trouble!”
****
Declan was just entering the garden while discussing business with the Count.
After finishing his inspection, when heading straight to his office, he usually used the passage that led to the garden rather than entering the Grand Duke’s mansion. Just then, he came face to face with Sienna who was taking a walk with Theo.
The two, who met eyes inadvertently, stopped almost simultaneously.
Declan spoke first.
“I see you came out for a walk.”
“Yes, the weather is nice.”
“I see.”
After the brief exchange, silence fell. The awkward atmosphere made the Count and Theo, standing nearby, feel even more uncomfortable.
Though neither of them had particularly friendly personalities normally, today something was distinctly different. It was a subtle awkwardness that wouldn’t be noticeable unless you were present.
“Well then.”
Sienna was the first to step away. She passed by him without the slightest hesitation.
“Your Grace?”
Declan, who had been standing in a daze, finally came to his senses.
“Where were we?”
Then suddenly, he looked back in the direction where the princess had disappeared. The Count’s gaze followed in the same direction, but the princess and Theo were already gone.
“Are you not feeling well?”
The Count carefully asked, seeing him uncharacteristically unable to concentrate. With a curt “No,” Declan continued walking forward.
But ultimately, nothing remained in Declan’s mind from that conversation. This was because, even while talking with the Count, all his attention was focused on Sienna, whom he had happened to meet.
When he returned to his office, immersed in belated self-reproach, an unexpected visitor had arrived.
