Like many manors, Fortrion Manor, located in the capital, had an underground space for secret matters.
“Please, please… Stop…”
Gerturk’s assassins, their eyes covered with cloth and their hands and feet bound with chains, pleaded in broken voices.
Because of the gag in their mouths, they couldn’t even pronounce their pleas properly.
Unlike his usual playful demeanor, Cassius looked at them with a cold, unforgiving face.
“You were ambushing to kill us, and now you’re asking for mercy?!“
That wasn’t even funny to him.
As he hung the whip he used on the wall, a member of the militia woke up the unconscious assassins by spraying them with cold water.
Walter spoke with a deadpan expression, even as he heard them coughing, and coughing.
“Tell me why Elizabeth wants to kill me.”
The assassins had been answering ‘I don’t know’ to the repeated questions over the past few days.
This was because they had been brainwashed for a long time to believe that, in the worst cases, committing suicide without giving away information is what assassins should do.
However, Walter and Cassius, having earlier persuaded the kidnapped blonde assassin to reveal everything, bound the captives’ hands and feet and gagged them to prevent them from committing suicide.
『 These cunning bastards… What’s their real identity?』
『 Were they originally involved in this kind of work?』
The assassins, exhausted from the repeated torture and pressure led by the two men, were no longer able to make rational decisions.
Walter’s magical power, sharp and piercing like a knife, tore through their bodies more cruelly than any other torture device.
In the end, the assassin, who had spat with enthusiasm and told him to “fuck you” on the first day he was captured, changed his attitude and spoke up desperately.
“I’ll talk, I’ll tell you everything…”
“You should have done that sooner.”
Cassius loosened the gag slightly.
The assassin could speak relatively accurately, but not enough to bite his tongue to commit suicide.
“I haven’t seen the contents myself, but after finding a frame, Elizabeth ordered us not only to kill Walter but also the Fourth Lady.”
“A frame?”
“It was a frame with something like a note inside, but she didn’t show us what was written.”
“A note? It’s not a portrait or something? Where did this frame come from?”
“Someone from Elizabeth retrieved something that belongs to one of Nicholas’ gambling friends. I don’t know what it is, but what was inside wasn’t a painting.”
“If this is a lie…”
As soon as the assassin heard his low voice, he became pale and repeated several times that he had only told the truth.
“Hey. Give them some food and water. Don’t forget to keep them under supervision to prevent them from taking their own lives.”
Cassius said to one of the militiamen and left the basement with Walter.
They finally got some information after a long time, but there were a couple of questionable points.
In context, it seemed like Elizabeth saw something in the frame and decided to harm Edith as well.
“Walter, did you happen to have some sort of secret love letter written to Edith?”
“I’ve never written anything like that.”
Walter spoke firmly as if telling him to make sense, but Cassius escalated the level of criticism.
“You’re such an unromantic guy. If you had written at least one letter, Lady Edith wouldn’t have prepared so much to raise the baby alone… hmph.”
Cassius, who saw Walter’s expression grow fierce, interrupted himself.
“Anyway, Elizabeth seems to have figured out why Nicholas brought Edith to you when he said he would get your memories back.”
No matter how much he thought about it, the only explanation for Elizabeth targeting Edith as well was that she had sensed something in their relationship.
Both Cassius and Walter had rough guesses, but currently, there was no way to confirm their suspicions regarding the framed object that Elizabeth possessed.
『 To confirm that Walter and Edith have met before, Walter must find his memories. To do that, he has to burn something closely related to his memories.』
Burn Edith on fire?
It was practically impossible and unthinkable.
Walter blurted out to Cassius, who was racking his brains.
“I think there might be a way to get my memories back without burning anything.”
“How?”
“Ever since I awakened my magic, something seems to be on the verge of coming to mind. If we ask a mage knowledgeable in this field, we might get some answers.”
“A mage who is knowledgeable about memories… I’ll look into it for now.”
Still, Walter was making faster progress in his journey to regain his memory than he did when he was confined. Cassius didn’t forget to say it, but he said it energetically.
“Just don’t forget my efforts and make sure to meet up with me later, please.”
“…”
Walter laughed at his joke and climbed the stairs of the manor because he noticed that the light was on in Edith’s room.
When he knocked on the door, there was the sound of slippers shuffling, and Edith peeked her face out through the crack in the door.
“Ah, Walter.”
Edith looked pleased and opened the door for him.
Seeing her in the nightgown and fur slippers she had received as a gift, smiling and thanking him, a huge wave of satisfaction washed over him.
He used to wonder why some people kept buying things all the time, but consumption was something that could warm the heart depending on the time and circumstances.
Edith, dressed in fluffy and soft winter clothes, really looked like a white sable, and Walter secretly fantasized about petting her to his heart’s content.
Edith then inquired in a hushed tone while looking at him. He appeared to have an oddly relaxed expression.
“Walter. What are you doing tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow?”
Walter didn’t know why he felt so refreshed when Edith asked about his schedule.
He tried to downplay his interest, as if not to appear too eager for attention.
“I guess I’ll be busy as always.”
“Ah… Then I’ll have to ask someone else to escort me. I need to stop by the academy to submit my deferral application.”
She wasn’t actually going to enroll, but just the thought of going to the academy in person filled Edith with anticipation. Her shy smile, which she couldn’t hide, gradually seeped into Walter’s mind.
He imagined Edith bringing another escort into her room and asking about tomorrow’s plans.
If you smile like this again in front of another guy…
Absolutely, he couldn’t allow it.
“But if M’lady has plans, I should accompany you.”
“Can you do that?”
Edith’s face filled with joy.
Since she had received many gifts today, she wanted to give him a return gift as well. She was fortunate that he had the time.
“Then let’s visit the academy together tomorrow and take a brief tour of the capital.”
“As you wish.”
Walter casually replied and then left Edith’s room.
Then he checked to ensure that she had stepped back from the door.
『 I think there’s someone who has lived in the capital for a long time.』
He walked quickly down the hall to look for someone who was familiar with the capital, hoping to find recommendations for places that Edith might enjoy.
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“Today’s concept is comfortable yet warm, glamorous yet elegant.”
Vivian said as she led Edith, who was fully dressed, in front of the mirror.
Thanks to Walter filling Edith’s closet and jewelry box with accessories, Vivian was able to style Edith with her artistic spirit.
“Thank you, but isn’t it a bit too much just to go to the academy office for some paperwork?”
“What are you talking about? M’lady has gorgeous features, so even this looks natural. Besides, it’s the academy, right? There will probably be many young elites coming from influential families.”
Edith decided to leave the room, thinking that Vivian’s words might not be entirely wrong.
Walter, who was waiting in front of the carriage, gulped hard as soon as he saw her.
Edith was caught up in a strange sense of tension as his gaze toward her clearly revealed his desires.
“Well then, have a nice trip.”
Vivian, who sensed the change in the atmosphere between the two, bid farewell to Edith as she boarded the carriage with Walter.
As the carriage departed, Edith peered out the window with a face full of anticipation.
“Going by carriage is a bit… the academy is not that far from the manor.”
Although her current situation had temporarily shifted her priorities, arriving at a place that had always held a special place in her heart was a fresh experience.
“Look at this, Walter. We need to go to this building. This is the library.”
The inside map of the academy that Edith brought along with her acceptance letter had been opened so often that the folds were somewhat worn.
Just by looking at that small map, Walter could tell how much Edith had been looking forward to entering the academy.
Moreover, as the carriage entered the academy grounds, all he could see in every direction were students from prominent households who appeared as if they were about to throw a tantrum.
Even if he didn’t know, it was definitely a miracle that Edith, who had lost her parents at a young age in the countryside of Fortrion, was accepted there.
“Edith, aren’t you disappointed that you can’t enroll right away?”
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed…”
Edith locked eyes with Walter. As she recalled that the child growing up in her womb was their child, her thoughts became surprisingly clear.
“But right now, my child is more important to me.”
Edith’s intense gaze made it seem as though she had disclosed the fact that she was carrying his child, so she quickly added.
“I mean, Isaac’s child.”
“I suppose so.”
“It’s not like I’m canceling my enrollment. I just need to do something else until the child is a bit older.”
Edith told Walter about some of the jobs she had researched.
Walter was dumbfounded when he learned that she had received an unconventional job offer from Helen and the Karkus Trading Company before she could even begin her full-fledged job search.
If he stayed idle, it seemed like Edith would genuinely raise the child on her own, and do it exceptionally well.
『 This woman is something else…』
Sometimes, Edith was so rational and clever that it baffled him.
If he didn’t inspire her confidence, he worried that she might consider him a useless husband and choose to go her own way, leaving him behind.
Walter swore that he would do whatever it took to ensure that she didn’t have to bear the responsibility of raising the child alone, or even think about it.
“We’ve arrived.”
While having such thoughts, the carriage came to a smooth stop.
Edith was looking out the window as she prepared to get off following the coachman’s instructions when she noticed a luxury carriage waiting for someone.
It seemed like there were visitors who had arrived before them.
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