~Chapter 41~
What’s going on here? I’m the only one who doesn’t understand the situation.
Sertien seemed to know this woman, so he spoke.
“Where have you been? I missed you.”
“I’m sorry, Young Master… I never intended to leave the mansion, but at that time, it couldn’t be helped. I’m just glad to see you’re healthy.”
The woman let go of Sertien and then came over to me, still unable to understand what was happening, and suddenly hugged me.
“Is this… a dream? I saw you die with my own eyes… How can you be alive, Lady…!”
“Excuse me…”
“I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you! I should’ve done better back then…”
“Excuse me… I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what you’re saying. I think you might be mistaken me for Erias. I’m not Erias.”
Only then did the woman look at me again, seemingly in disbelief.
“But you just called him ‘Mom’… And you’re definitely the lady I remember. It can’t be wrong!”
How much do I look like Erias for people to keep saying this?
At least it didn’t seem like she was being hostile, so I was relieved.
I spoke calmly.
“He just calls me that. Many people mistake me for Erias because I resemble her a lot, but I’m Litya Alpres, the commander of the Imperial Knights.”
Only then did the woman step back from me.
“I… I’m so sorry.”
But even as she apologized, she continued to look at me as if she didn’t believe me.
I sighed and asked,
“By the way… What kind of relationship did you have with Erias? I’m not sure if I should ask, but…”
“My name is Baizel. I worked at the Frissilea household for a while, taking care of the Lady and Young Master.”
After things calmed down a bit, I had a conversation with the woman who called herself Baizel.
“So you didn’t work there permanently, then?”
“No, I was originally a servant from the Sylvia Kingdom. I met my master by chance, and then I went with the Lady to the Frissilea mansion.”
So, she didn’t have a hostile attitude because she mistook me for Erias.
“Unlike the other servants there, you are different. What I mean is…”
“You know well. That’s right. The family members were hostile toward the Lady. I was the only one who didn’t treat her that way and took care of her. So, my master entrusted most of the Lady’s care to me.”
“I see.”
“But… I’m sorry, I can’t believe it… You look so much like her.”
“Do I really look that much like her?”
“…At this point, if you told me you were actually Erias, I’d believe it.”
“Well… I did see a picture of her, and I can see the resemblance.”
“I’m sorry. I must have upset you.”
“No, it’s not that I’m upset.”
If I hadn’t ended up liking Latryne, I probably wouldn’t care at all if people came up to me and said I looked like Erias.
But Baizel seemed to have noticed something in my reaction and went silent.
“Why are you quiet?”
“…Oh, no. It’s just that you remind me so much of the Lady. It’s not a bad thing, though. The Lady didn’t seem to mind being treated poorly at the mansion.”
“Really?”
That was unexpected.
I always pictured Erias as a frail, pitiful person who was always being mistreated.
To hear that she didn’t care about being poorly treated at the mansion was surprising.
“I had a different impression. I thought she would be more gentle and frail.”
“She was physically weak, yes. But even with her frail body, she couldn’t just stay still. She always wanted to do something, which made my master and me very worried.”
“…”
It seemed like I would have to completely change my thoughts about Erias.
What kind of person was Erias, really?
“By the way… If you don’t mind, could you tell me more about Erias?”
Baizel didn’t seem hesitant to talk about Erias, so I asked.
Fortunately, Baizel answered as if excited.
“Of course!”
Following Kater’s orders, Ivan had arrived at the palace.
Before coming to the palace, he had visited Latryne’s mansion, but after realizing that neither Latryne nor Sertien was there, he made his way to the palace.
Wondering if there was any information to be gathered there, Ivan entered using the family seal Kater had given him, and by chance, he spotted Shun.
‘That must be the vice-commander of the knight division… He might know something about Litya Alpres.’
Ivan walked over to Shun.
“Excuse me, I’m sorry.”
“Do you need something from me?”
Shun asked casually.
“Where is the Commander right now?”
“…The Commander is resting due to an injury. If you need something, you can tell me.”
“I really need to see the Commander… Could you at least tell me where she is?”
Shun looked at Ivan cautiously.
He felt suspicious about the constant questioning.
Instead of telling the truth, Shun lied.
“The Commander is resting at her private mansion… but she probably won’t see anyone. She said she doesn’t want to meet anyone.”
“I see. Thank you.”
Ivan gave a simple greeting and walked away.
‘Who is this person looking for the Commander? I’ve never seen him around the palace… He must be someone new…’
As Shun was thinking this, a knight passing by looked at him and said:
“Isn’t that person the butler from the Frisilea family? What is he doing here?”
Shun quickly turned to the knight and asked:
“Is that true? How do you know that?”
“Last time, the Commander had called the maid from the Frisilea family to punish her. He came with her then.”
“…Why would the butler from the Frisilea family come here?”
“Well… maybe he’s here to see the Duke?”
“Then why not just go see the Duke? Why look for the Commander?”
“That’s true…”
Shun thought it was getting a little uncomfortable.
He quickly headed to his office.
Just in case, he planned to send a letter to Litya, informing her that the Frisilea family’s butler had come by.
Shun felt relieved that he hadn’t told Ivan the truth.
Meanwhile, Ivan was heading toward Litya’s mansion after hearing Shun’s words.
Upon arriving at the mansion, Ivan took a quick look around and thought:
‘It looks like no one has been here for a long time. This place is almost unused. There doesn’t seem to be anyone inside.’
Ivan realized that Shun had lied to him for some unknown reason.
He didn’t think there was any reason to stay at the mansion any longer.
Ivan left the mansion and headed toward the nearby mountain.
As soon as he entered the mountain, people started disappearing from sight.
Anyone unfamiliar with this place would think it was strange for Ivan to enter here.
But Ivan kept going.
After passing through the woods for a while, he spotted a house in a secluded area.
A woman was standing in front of the house.
“It’s been a while, Karen. So you’ve been living here?”
It was Karen, the maid, whom Litya had expelled.
As soon as Karen saw Ivan, she lowered her head and greeted him.
“Butler, I didn’t expect you to come find me here.”
“It saddens me to see you living in a place like this. Even if you’re not working as a maid, there are many other ways to live. Why are you staying in such a place?”
“I just… don’t want to mix with other people unless I’m with the Frisilea family.”
Ivan looked down at Karen and thought:
Karen had always been very loyal to the Frisilea family.
So much so that she ended up living in the mountains after being expelled from the family.
“What did you want to talk to me about?”
Karen asked.
“Karen, I know you wouldn’t have acted so rudely toward the Commander without a reason. Why did you do something like that?”
Karen was someone who would never act disrespectfully toward the Commander, no matter how impolite she might be.
Ivan instinctively sensed that something was wrong with Litya.
Karen hesitated to speak, as if unsure whether she should share the truth.
“I… I’m not sure if I should say this.”
“It’s fine. You’ve been expelled, and no one can say anything to you now.”
“…I mistook her for someone else because she looked so much like her.”
“Who?”
“Madam Erias. No, it wasn’t just a resemblance. She looked exactly like her. Honestly, I still can’t believe she isn’t Erias.”
Even Ivan, who wasn’t easily surprised, froze for a moment upon hearing this.
A Commander who looked exactly like Erias?
He had to tell Kater about this immediately.
Ivan quickly left the mountain, heading to send a letter to Kater.
