Chapter 49
From what I’ve seen, Sylvia Joubert seems to have a pretty good sense of humor and reacts to Duke Joubert’s rhetoric with a certain amount of panache.
The Duke of Joubert’s rhetoric was so mean and childish that one wondered if he really believed it would work. Well, to Thierry, it sounded like the Duke of Joubert was digging his own grave and lying in it.
The time had finally come to reap the rewards of slowly diminishing the Duke’s funding and standing.
“Keep an eye on the Duke, you’ll soon see the hole.”
Thierry’s mouth twisted into a grim line as he told Bakken about the Duke of Joubert, who’d been raising his voice in the garden.
It must have had something to do with his former handmaiden, but the Duke of Joubert had been on edge since his encounter with Alicia. He’d heard from Oscar the other day about the Duke’s argument with Alicia and wanted to punch him in the throat, but he’d held back, both out of frustration and for Alicia’s safety.
Even if Thierry was an arbitrary tyrant, and even if the noble faction was less powerful than it once was, cutting off the head of the Duke of Joubert, the leader of that faction, for no good reason, would cause great chaos.
“By the way, Princess continues to help me.”
He’d gotten caught looking at Alicia, but if it weren’t for her, he wouldn’t have heard the conversation between the Duke of Joubert and the Princess.
Thierry didn’t like the fact that she was being helped by the one person he’d always wanted to keep safe, but it was the danger she was in, and that weighed heavily on his mind.
Alicia’s arrows from the hunt had led to the discovery of the poisonous herb known as pochi, and her concern for her handmaiden had led to the capture of her in possession of the poison.
And now it was beginning to look more and more like a coincidence, with clues to Duke’s suspicious relationship with his former handmaiden.
“You’re a shrewd woman, I sensed that when you said you’d follow me to the Empire from Ashtad, but despite your cowardice, you seem determined, though it’s curious that someone so perceptive would be dulled only by you.”
Bakken remembered Alicia’s clear laugh that seemed to disarm people.
She was like a calm sea, but she was not a calm person.
In the short time she’d been around, she’d already garnered the attention of the nobility, who were split between wariness and favor, and a fairly good reputation among the servants.
It was a remarkable feat, for someone who usually tried to stay as quiet as possible in the palace.
“… It’s because I’m new. Once you remember, you’ll be fine.”
“How can you be so sure of her without any proof, and even if she’s right, you could live your whole life never knowing?”
Bakken’s brow narrowed at Thierry’s blunt tone. His desire to ransack the dreary elven village was heightened by the fact that there were no known cases of soul transfer, but the reality was that he couldn’t even see the elf’s tail.
Bakken’s frustration at the lack of leads mingled with his disbelief at the lack of answers.
“I just need to be sure.”
But Thierry doesn’t seem to mind, and in fact, is even more adamant in his retort.
“All my instincts are pointing to Lari, it’s definitely her, and while it would be nice if she remembered, it’s okay if she doesn’t, as long as she stays by my side…”
Gradually, the low, creepy turbidity faded, and the red eyes flared with an unknown fervor. It was so alien to Thierry now that he could feel the chill in the air and the heat that threatened to burn him at a moment’s notice.
“Mmm.”
Bakken’s voice was very low. The Thierry he’d known not so long ago, with his inorganic face and occasional outbursts of anger, had recently begun to reveal a stranger side, and it made Bakken’s stomach turn.
Thierry’s obsession with Lari was unusual, to say the least. It was because of her that he had sought out the elf in the first place.
Bakken had used it to get Thierry on board, but he was beginning to realize the extent of his obsession was more serious than he’d thought.
If Thierry was right about finding Lari, he should be purely happy, but why does he keep acting like he’s on the edge of a cliff?
It was an obsession that neither of us realized, a craving for the affection of the opposite sex. But the problem is that the desire to possess and the desire not to be hated collide, and the rational mind is overwhelmed by emotion.
‘The Princess’s attention has delayed our plans, and we’ve put our expedition to the neighboring kingdom on hold.’
The elf’s location was like an island that didn’t exist. Even when we finally get a clue and try to approach it, it’s so heavily guarded that we’re forced to break through it. Years of preparation had come to a screeching halt.
Bakken lost his parents to the elves who found my family in hiding. He was the sole survivor of his parents’ sacrifice. He has spent his life hunting down his parents’ enemies, and thanks to Thierry, he now has a glimmer of hope, thanks to the clues that have eluded him.
For the first time, and perhaps for the last time, I have hope. In my years of following the elf’s trail, I’ve met many other victims, but most of them have died shortly afterward, and none of them had a better identity than Thierry.
‘It’s frustrating that we can’t do anything because of the Princess, even though I feel like if we put a little more pressure on the Kingdom of Ashtad we might catch something.’
It would be nice to be able to settle down a little bit, so that he could make other plans, but the insomnia he’d developed after losing Lari had only gotten worse since meeting Alicia, and Thierry was in a very unstable state.
It seemed so dangerous that I had a bad feeling that if something happened to shatter his expectations or his heart, something irreversible would happen.
‘Now this is not to be taken lightly.’
He was worried that Thierry relationship with Alicia, which he’d been watching with half-interest, might be an obstacle to his plans, and so he’d gone to the break room to distract Thierry with information he hadn’t fully verified earlier…
In hindsight, I wonder if that was a good idea. I had an unfortunate premonition that even the slightest distraction would make things worse than before.
“… Finish what you were saying earlier.”
When Bakken’s mouth clenched shut, Thierry tilted his head as if to say something else.
But the new topic was one he’d just regretted.
Barken stifled the deep sigh that rose from his lips, and reluctantly spoke.
“… Investigation of the Duchy of Joubert, or a gift from Ashtad?”
“Joubert. Why are we talking about him here?”
Bakken’s words were not the least bit unexpected, coming from a man who had visited him in the break room.
A report that someone similar to Lari had been seen in the Duchy of Joubert. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard false reports, but it was a bit outrageous that rumors of Lari, who I thought had been eradicated by Thierry’s stabbing, had resurfaced.
Rather than getting excited at the report, Thierry began to think that if this was the Duke of Joubert’s shallow trick, it would fall apart sooner or later.
“That’s all I reported earlier, a woman with a similar description to your Lari showed up, even her name was Lari, so I thought it would be a good idea to check it out quickly, and I thought it would be better if I went down there myself.”
“… This is the first time you’ve gotten a fake report?”
“Did you forget that I made the move myself each time?”
“I did.”
“Is it because of the Princess?”
Bakken asked meaningfully. Bakken eyed Thierry curiously, who stared off into space, his face pensive.
“Well, the more certainty the better, and who knows, maybe the report is true?”
“Go to…”
After a moment of silence, Thierry’s gaze slowly shifted to Bakken. His red eyes, glowing in the light, sunk into his own.
“I think he needs your reassurance more than mine.”
The voice was firm. Bakken chuckled embarrassedly, feeling like he’d just given away my less-than-pleasant secret, and rubbed his index finger across his brow.
Thierry, who had been staring at Bakken, stood up and reminded him.
“Give me the Princess’s gift from Ashtad as soon as you’ve inspected it for anything dangerous.”
There was no hesitation in Thierry’s steps as he left the room, having only moments earlier claimed to be tired. Bakken watched his long back as he walked away.
***
“Princess, shall I get you ready in your evening dress?”
“Huh? Evening dress?”
“Yes. Usually this is the beginning of part two, so you change into your evening dress and head back to the hall.”
I blinked in disbelief. I thought it was time for them to leave the hall one by one, so I went back to my room and they started part two.
‘Nobles, you guys are so serious about playing, your stamina is incredible…’
I thought to myself and waved a hand at Marie.
“I’m not going, I’m not going, it’s almost dawn and I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to rest in my room.”
“Oh, should I get you a bath?”
“Yes. Please.”
With Marie quickly heading for the bathroom, I sat down on the couch, half naked. It was a debutante’s bash, but it didn’t feel like my thing, and I had a lot on my mind with the Duke of Joubert. Instead of enjoying the party, I was given something to think about.
I felt as if my head was buzzing with one event after another.
‘By the way, did Thierry go back? I didn’t see him…’
I remembered Thierry’s bitter face as he walked away.
