“Go back now.”
“…”
After speaking coldly, I turned to walk away when,
What is this?
I noticed Redian was following me at a distance. He walked when I walked and stopped when I stopped. The shadows cast on the hallway floor made it clear how much taller Redian was compared to me. Yet, his following behind me felt almost puppy-like.
“Why are you following me?”
“It’s too late for you to go alone…”
Redian didn’t come any closer; he just maintained his distance.
“It’s too late, Master.” He simply looked out the darkened window and spoke.
“I’m going to take the carriage to the west building. Aeron will come along too.”
“Aeron is also dangerous.
I stopped and just looked at Redian. The fact Siani’s reddish eyes were helpful in such times. Without saying a word, just standing emotionlessly had its effect.
“So, what do you suggest?”
“…Please just let me stay by your side.”
“It’s too late for all that. Go to bed.”
“I won’t be able to sleep worrying about you.”
From claiming to be a ‘dog,’ now he looked like a thoroughly disheartened puppy.
“If I can’t sleep anyway, I’d rather not sleep by your side.”
Hmm. Truthfully, it didn’t really matter to me whether Redian followed or not. Continuing this pointless conversation would only waste more time.
“Do as you like,” I replied nonchalantly and continued walking.
With each step I took, Redian followed, keeping a two-step distance. His long legs had to stop several times to match my pace.
Am I housing Norma or raising a wolf?
The moonlight twinkled between our shadows cast on the hallway.
* * *
“You’re here, Princess.”
“Butler, what happened?”
Upon arriving at the west building, Loid, the head butler, was waiting.
“It seems it’s not as serious as we feared.”
“Still, there must be a cause for the fire. It didn’t just ignite on its own.”
Loid led me to the document room where the fire had occurred. “It was actually Francis who came.”
“Francis?”
As I entered the document room, indeed, Francis was there.
“Why are you here at this hour?”
“I’m sorry, Princess…” Francis mumbled, eyes cast down. “I heard you were looking for resumes, and I wanted to help… but I accidentally dropped a lamp.”
I looked around the storeroom. Indeed, the fire hadn’t been large, as there were no traces of it left.
“I went out to look for people, but both the butler and the on-duty knight were unconscious, no, asleep…”
It seemed a spark from the dropped lamp had caught some papers on fire.
“I couldn’t manage it quickly.”
Finding the cause of the fire was fortunate, and thankfully, there was no significant damage.
“Are you hurt?”
“No, I wasn’t hurt.”
Perhaps it was because they had spent so much time confined in the underground castle. Their behavior was too rough to blend in with the people here.
“I forgive you for coming forward, Francis.”
“…Yes.”
“Your intention to help the butler is appreciated, but be more careful.”
That point had to be precisely addressed. Excuses like, ‘I can’t be controlled unless I’m being restrained,’ or ‘I was born a monster and cursed,’ only worked in the underground castle.
“It’s different here than in the underground castle where you could be excused for anything because you’re Norma.”
From now on, they weren’t Norma but my knights. I had no intention of letting comments like that slide while they bore my name.
“I’m sorry, Princess.” Francis bowed his head.
Today seemed to be a day filled with their apologies.
“I’ll take care of the cleanup here, so Princess, you should go back and rest.”
“Just do as the butler says. You’ve overexerted yourself all day.”
At the butler and Aeron’s suggestion, I touched my forehead. To be honest, I was indeed tired.
“Butler, what about the butler of the west building and Phil Roberto?”
“I have instructed the butler to write a report. Let him and Francis handle the cleanup of the west building’s document room. As for Phil Roberto…”
According to him, he wasn’t asleep but had fainted.
“Butler, why did he faint?”
“I’m not sure. He doesn’t remember anything beyond that… He’s not the type to lie, though.” Loid also looked puzzled.
“I have been calling on Phil quite frequently lately. Maybe he was too tired from overworking and being on duty.”
Then, Aeron spoke up in defense of Roberto.
The duke had indeed left a lot of work to me during this transition, and Aeron had struggled in the middle. It seemed he had often relied on Phil’s help during that process.
“Let’s end it with Phil Roberto writing a report and helping with the cleanup of the west building’s document room.”
“Yes, understood, Princess.”
“And, Butler, you don’t need to bring Roberto’s resume. It’s better to keep him as a guard.”
I decided against bringing Roberto in as a trainer for the Norma. Although he was diligent and smart, he didn’t seem to have the nerve to handle the Norma.
Should I add a courage test to the trainers’ interviews?
Everything was settled, and the tension eased. But rather than sleeping, I felt like getting some fresh air.
What is he doing there?
After instructing the carriage to wait and walking out to the middle courtyard of the west building, I saw Redian. Leaning against the wall, he was gazing up at the sky. His gaze was serene.
“Master.”
“What are you looking at?”
Feeling my presence, Redian turned his head.
“Ah, the stars.”
Uh? Stars? That sounded like something out of a pure romance novel.
“I’m not exactly sure, but I heard it was around this time.”
Redian’s gaze returned to the night sky.
“So, around this time, I always thought about the same thing.”
His explanation was concise to the point of being rude, but I knew what he meant.
“If I had been born a little later in the colder season, I might have frozen to death.”
He was reflecting on the moments he was born and abandoned.
“Why did I survive…”
There was no emotion on Redian’s face as he gazed at the sky. His tone was just as indifferent as if he were talking about someone else’s story.
“But now, I just find the stars beautiful.”
Looking into those blue eyes lingering on each star, it seemed genuine. Instead of contemplating death while looking at the night sky, he found it somewhat miraculous that he could now count the stars.
“Sometimes I even think I did well to survive…”
“When do those ‘sometimes’ happen?” I asked without realizing it.
“Like now…” Redian then smiled lightly and looked at me. “When I’m looking at you, Master.”
* * *
It was the next morning.
“Father is returning suddenly?”
Hearing from Irik that the duke was on his way back, I was momentarily taken aback.
“Why?”
“I’m not sure. He said he had something to tell you.”
“He could have sent a message through a vision or sound sphere. What could it be?”
“He only left a message in the sound sphere saying he would return today.”
Having overslept, I hadn’t received the sound sphere directly.
It should have taken at least two days to get there, and it seemed like he had planned to stay for about a month.
It’s strange.
The sudden news of his return puzzled me. But then,
Claude’s vault.
The real reason the duke went there came to mind.
Right. He went to open Claude’s fault.
And I suspected there might be something related to the Norma in it.
Could it be…
But if the duke was hurrying back like this, perhaps…
“Sister, why do you look like that?” Irik noticed my expression.
Izel and Claude. I brushed it off, but my thoughts were quickly aligning.
Izel and Claude, who grew up together like sisters;
The underground castle which was created to fulfill Claude’s last wish;
Izel’s son, Redian.
It might happen sooner than expected.
I was convinced that the duke had discovered something related to Norma, or rather, Redian. This meant Redian’s identity would be revealed sooner than in the original story.
I really need to prepare now.
I braced myself.
* * *
The afternoon passed unusually slowly yet quickly.
“You’ve arrived, Father.”
“Siani!”
The duke, having arrived late at night, immediately sought me out.
“Why did you return so hastily? You haven’t even taken off your coat yet.” Though I had a rough idea, I asked as calmly as possible.
“I have something to show you right now. Don’t be too shocked.”
Even after entering the study, the duke looked around several times, cautious of eavesdroppers.
“Claude…”
He then shakily took something out.
“She left this for us.”
When the golden cherub decoration of the jewel box was revealed before my eyes,
As expected…
I realized.
What was to come had finally arrived.
