Chapter 55 Name This Emotion
After breakfast, the maids Ioannes had assigned immediately withdrew from Delphine’s presence.
Ioannes hadn’t realized they’d been spying on him all this time.
‘It’s not as if they were paying attention to me in the first place.’
Alone in her study, Delphine picked up her communicator and spoke softly.
“Oops. Going well.”
She didn’t expect a response, but a voice came over the comm.
[“Delphine?”]
It was Lynn’s voice.
“Delphine?” came Lynn’s voice.
[“What operation?”]
Oh, no. Belly had told her not to tell him that ordered to seduce Ioannes.
He’s more moral than he seems, and he’d surely object.
Delphine, rolling her eyes to herself, replied.
“Well, I have a separate inquiry from Belly, Ioan… nay, I mean to inquire into an acquaintance of Lord Pride’s…”
[“Oh, you mean the one about the Duke of Purcell?”]
“If it is the Duke of Purcell…”
[“You know, the one who’s been unusually close to the Emperor lately, and seems to be connected to a number of suspicious events.”]
It was a name she’d heard of, as she’d been paying attention to the social scene lately.
He’s made a sudden fortune recently.
But that was as much as she knew, so she didn’t want to press Lynn for more details.
Delphine quickly changed the subject before he could ask more.
“By the way, how’s La Rouge doing these days? I haven’t been to headquarters in a while.”
Without question, Lynn filled her in on what had been happening.
The organization had acquired a large amount of phosgium and was using it to launch various magical operations throughout the Empire.
That their morale had recently reached a new high.
And that they were now focused on informing those within the central barrier of the truth about District 3.
As if on cue, Lynn added a final thought.
[“Oh, and of course, we’re not forgetting to take measures against the Marquis of Pride.”]
Delphine was glad they were talking over the radio.
Otherwise, it would have been hard to hide the guilt that flashed across her face the moment Ioannes’s name came up.
Lynn continued over the black radio.
[“You said he was from the red light district of District 3.”]
Yeah. That’s what she told him.
She had told them all, in her own words, the thing he was most ashamed of.
It was like a stab in the heart somewhere.
She’d been the one to reveal his secret, and she’d even decided to seduce him.
But she shouldn’t feel this way about Ioannes anymore.
“… Yes.”
But even as she finally composed herself, her heart sank again at his next words.
[“Based on the information Delphine gave me, I figured out where he’s from.”]
“If that’s where he’s from… where he lived before coming to Pembroke Manor?”
[“Yes. I was lucky enough to find someone who remembered him from that time.”]
At that moment, Delphine thought of Callie.
Maybe she was one of those people, she thought.
… Though he couldn’t ask her anymore.
Delphine’s eyes lit up, and she spoke urgently into the comm.
“I’ll come with you on that investigation.”
[“But…”]
She expected him to say something about it being dangerous again, but Lynn surprisingly swallowed without trailing off.
After a few moments of silence, he spoke up.
[“Yes, it would be good to see what he really is with Delphine’s own eyes.”]
***
“I will need to be away from the manor for a few days, My Lady.”
His tone was as graceful and smooth as usual.
But there was a hint of anger in his eyes, and Ioannes suddenly spoke.
Ioannes had already heard the story behind his words at La Rouge.
Delphine, however, seemed unaware, her eyes wide.
“This is the first time you’ve vacated the manor since your marriage. Is something wrong?”
“Nothing to worry about. They say there’s been a ‘small’ disturbance in District 3, near the barrier.”
She sliced open a ripe tomato with her knife in a graceful but somehow savage manner.
With a pop, the red kernels of the vegetable exploded.
She spoke in a slow, low tone that sent chills down her spine.
“I think I’m going to have to clean up… For a while.”
As she stared at the red, thin liquid spread across the white plate, she suddenly remembered the blood rushing from her father’s neck.
And the screams and cries that erupted from his throat the day he witnessed the human hunt.
Ioannes found Delphine’s blue face and whispered soothingly.
“Oh, no. I’ve been a bit of a dick in front of you. It’s really nothing.”
Delphine smiled awkwardly and nodded.
Doing her best to look like an out-of-this-world noblewoman who was simply surprised to hear of the commotion.
“I really didn’t want to go… Especially at a time like this.”
She sighs softly.
Delphine narrowed her eyes at the rare display of emotion from the man who always maintained a stoic demeanor that felt like he was wearing a mask.
“At a time like this?”
Oh, no. That came out too sharply.
Quickly composing herself, Delphine added in a nonchalant tone.
“Is there something going on at the Imperial Palace…?”
He smirked, then replied softly.
“My lady has been in a good mood lately, hasn’t she?”
His red lips curved gently, and the corners of his brown eyes twitched.
Today, she was sweet and seductive, a far cry from her earlier conversation.
… She doesn’t know how it’s possible to be both at the same time.
Delphine tore her gaze away from his devilish grin, as if he were appearing in her dreams to seduce a maiden.
That overly beautiful man often scattered her reason.
Especially when he was being so determined and affectionate.
Delphine muttered a small greeting, keeping her head down, trying not to show the mixed emotions on her face.
“… Be safe, and goodbye.”
As soon as he left, she would go digging for his identity.
And in the meantime, she’d say these pretentious words to him.
Ioannes, who knew nothing, smiled with a blank face.
“Of course, My Lady. Goodbye.”
***
Taking advantage of Ioannes’s absence, Delphine slipped out of the manor with ease.
Netherfield Street in District 3.
Delphine pulled her cloak over her striking red hair once more.
She’d worried that she’d be more conspicuous in the middle of the day, but there were plenty of cloaked people on the street.
“Really.”
“What?”
Lynn asked, walking beside her.
He, too, was bundled up in a cloak, but he was much taller than her, so she could look him in the eye if she looked up.
“Speaking of cloaks, why do the others have their faces covered?”
“The same reason we do.”
Lynn replied in a somber tone, the corner of his mouth twitching upward.
“To conceal their identities and find something, though I’m sure it’s nothing like what we’re looking for.”
A narrow street of red-lit alleyways.
The place where Ioannes was born and raised until he was sold to Pembroke Manor.
“This is probably the lowest of District 3, the fringes of the Empire.”
Lynn said in a low voice as he led her down the alley.
The deeper they went, the narrower and darker the alleys became.
Walking through the red-light district for the first time, Delphine was mildly shocked, even though she had braced herself.
Vomit and bottles of liquor littered the streets, and the occasional human sleeping with nothing but a cloak over their own vomit.
Even though the sun was high in the sky, there was not a single sane human being awake in this strange alley.
The only people awake and roaming the streets were skinny children.
Most of them were boys.
Ioannes. You’ve come to Pembroke Manor.
In that manor, where he has finally escaped this hellish place, her father has given him…
Her heart thudded in her chest.
It had been like this lately, whenever she thought of Ioannes.
Delphine hadn’t bothered to look up the name of this emotion.
Whenever it came up, she was quick to bury it beneath her chest, like a child who had done something she shouldn’t have.
“There are things I’ve learned from your recent aggressive offensive against the Pride.”
Lynn, who had no way of knowing what was going through her mind, pressed her cloak down and continued his report in silence.
“Nicolai was right, Pride, he doesn’t use black crystals.”
“How do you know that…?”
“He never holds any in his hand, even in battle, fighting with just his sword and his body.”
He added with a disapproving look.
“Although… Is overwhelmingly strong with that alone.”
Delphine echoed, confused.
“But then how did he erase his past and reappear as a Marquis?”
That was inexplicable, short of magical power.
“We’ll look into that today.”
Lynn replied simply.
“Because I found someone who claimed to have seen him around here… About a year ago.”
“You mean an acquaintance of Ioan’s, no, Marquis of Pride’s?”
Had he ever had a friend… no, not even a casual acquaintance?
The man who had been indifferent and cynical to humans other than Delphine since childhood?
“No.”
Lynn replied firmly, his face blunt in response to Delphine’s question.
“A survivor, to be precise.”
