Chapter 95
“Did you really catch him?”
They said they’d bring the ranger in by tomorrow, but they actually took care of it before lunch.
‘You don’t need to worry about my sister. Luckily, she’s doing better, so if you come back to see her later, that’ll be enough. Rubyche really wanted to see Sierra.’
Feeling a bit guilty for staying at Pallieva and causing trouble, Kestian smiled and reassured me that everything was okay.
Since it didn’t seem like staying longer would lead to anything good, I took that last farewell and left Pallieva.
As soon as I stepped off the Pallieva grounds and onto the mountain path, Aden moved out with a small group of knights, and it wasn’t long before they caught the ranger.
“Are those two all of them?”
“For now.”
Aden handed me a rolled-up document along with his brief reply.
He added that it was the document they had found on the ranger, then approached him.
The ranger, lying on the ground and nervously rolling his eyes, quickly lowered his head.
One of the knights immediately lifted the ranger’s head.
Aden crouched down to meet the ranger’s gaze.
Watching the ranger break out in a cold sweat as he made eye contact with Aden, I turned my gaze to the letter and opened it.
“It’s addressed to Arkindor.”
“Bozbourne.”
“…”
Aden quietly observed the ranger for a moment before speaking softly.
“I’ll ask you one thing. You’ll only get ten chances.”
“…Ten?”
Aden pointed at the ranger’s fingers and pulled out a dagger.
Understanding what he meant, the ranger’s eyes widened in horror.
As the ranger anxiously looked back and forth between his fingers and the dagger, Aden opened his mouth.
“The reason you’re tracking us…”
“The Lady of Brilloxen and the Duke of Rippleton are plotting something secret, and I was instructed to find out their plan and stop it! They said I could use poison if necessary, but since the Duke of Rippleton is immune to it, if I were to use poison, I was told to target only the Lady of Brilloxen!”
The man, who had a bit of freedom with his hands, fished around in his pockets and pulled out the request letter.
“Here…”
Maybe it was too easy and straightforward.
Even Aden, known for his formidable presence, looked baffled as he stared at the ranger and lowered the dagger.
“Yikes-!”
Just the dagger passing in front of his face made a gasp escape him.
The man turned pale, looking like he might burst into tears, while his companion shouted useless encouragement like, “Don’t die, bro! Hang in there!”
It was hard to believe this was the same ranger who had been threatening us.
“Are you sure that’s them? You’re not mistaking them, are you?”
“Hmm….”
Aden seemed to sense something was off too, letting out a groan of confusion in silence.
Even though he wasn’t looking at me, his sturdy shoulders seemed to say, ‘Did I really get worked up and cautious over these clowns?’
After reading the documents meant for Arkindor, I approached Aden, and the ranger looked up at me desperately.
With pleading eyes, the ranger spoke urgently.
“Please believe me! It’s true!”
“We’ll think about that later, but let me ask you something.”
“Anything, just say it!”
I slowly shook the letter in my hand.
“Who was she? Belietta? Or was it Duke Bozbourne?”
“Uh, I’m not sure who it was…”
As Aden pointed the dagger back at his throat, the ranger gasped again.
He shook his head, looking like he was about to cry.
“I swear it’s true. She was a woman, but I didn’t ask for her name. The carriage she came in had a broken arrow insignia.”
A broken arrow.
That was Bairon.
Watching the ranger break out in a cold sweat as he made eye contact with Aden, I turned my gaze to the letter and opened it.
“But… I think she’s not connected to Bozbourne.”
“What do you mean?”
“Since I thought she was sent by Bozbourne, I figured she was on guard against Bozbourne. Besides, Bozbourne has planted people too, so I assumed she wouldn’t be from there.”
“But the letter is addressed to Arkindor, a border city of Bozbourne. How can she not be related to Bozbourne?”
“W-well, that’s just my opinion.”
The ranger’s words were making my head spin.
Fiorette was a puppet who would die if Belietta ordered it.
Now, Fiorette was hiding from Belietta while also dealing with me and Bozbourne.
They had planted people in both places.
How was I supposed to understand this?
Was Fiorette rebelling? Or was she trying to get praise for acting independently?
“Moreover, the request said to use deadly poison, but that woman specified the different poison we’re using now. It felt like she was trying to ruin the request from my perspective.”
Listening quietly to the ranger’s words made my head feel even more tangled.
I couldn’t make sense of what Fiorette was thinking.
While Belietta’s actions were predictable, Fiorette’s were surprising.
Turning against Belietta? And showing signs of wanting to save me was bizarre.
“What do you think?”
“I still don’t know. If this information is true, then it means Fiorette is obstructing Belietta.”
Ignoring the ranger’s insistence that he hadn’t lied even once while looking up at the sky, I got up from my seat.
Aden ordered the ranger to be tied to a tree and then followed me.
His eyes narrowed as he looked at the letter in his hand.
There was just too much to think about and assume.
Was it really possible for Fiorette to break free from Belietta’s shadow in such a short time?
No way could that cunning Belietta not notice the actions of Fiorette, who was basically her own pawn.
“Please send this letter to Arkindor.”
At this point, it was the same for both Belietta and me.
Neither of us knew where the cliff lay beneath our feet…
“Let’s see what kind of move they make.”
Until we crossed that bridge, no one would know for sure.
But one thing was certain: Belietta would definitely pay for her sins.
Only by my hand.
***
“Here’s the letter back.”
Fiorettr opened the stack of papers handed to her by the servant with a dry look in her eyes.
The dense content inside revealed where Sierra and Aden were headed.
“Pallieva, Ruderun, Philburg… and then Redboron?”
Fiorette’s gaze shifted to the map hanging on the wall.
As she traced the broken red line with her finger, she asked, “Redboron is a mine, right?”
A few days ago, Brilloxen had been surveying the terrain of Rippleton.
They were suspecting the presence of a vein, which had caught Fiorette’s attention too.
If there was indeed a vein, then heading to the Redboron mine, crawling with monsters, made some sense.
As she scanned the map with her murky eyes, Fiorette finished her thoughts and turned her body.
She headed straight to Belietta.
Belietta, who had been reading a book in the room, glanced at Fiorette as she entered and then turned her gaze back to the door.
“What is it?”
“I’ve caught the prey.”
With a thud, she slammed the book shut.
Belietta rolled her eyes to look at Fiorette.
Fiorette, who had been standing still as if rooted, moved her legs and handed the letter to Belietta.
Watching the unchanged expression on Belietta’s face, she confirmed the letter Fiorette offered.
“Redboron. So they went to check the mine.”
Unlike Fiorette, who had pondered for a while, Belietta quickly reached a conclusion.
Belietta smiled slowly and tilted her head slightly.
With her eyes narrowing and the corners of her mouth turning up, she seemed to be having quite an enjoyable thought.
Belietta looked at Fiorette and slowly opened her lips.
“Did you catch the ranger?”
“We’re checking, but it seems so. The Duke of Rippleton wouldn’t let anyone chase after him. Plus, since they used poison, they must have definitely caught him.”
“Then he probably revealed all the information.”
With a satisfied look, Belietta got up from her seat.
She walked to the window, gazing beyond the sunny sky as faint, dark clouds gathered.
Her eyes opened softly as she took in the view.
“I wonder what Sierra is thinking.”
Does she believe Fiorette has betrayed her?
Or is she suspecting a trap?
Either way, it didn’t matter.
For Sierra, if Fiorette became a source of confusion, that was enough.
Just imagining that proud nose of hers, usually so steady, getting blown around like a feather in the wind made me want to laugh.
Fiorette quietly stepped up behind Belietta, lowering her gaze to the ground.
Belietta glanced back at Fiorette and then turned her gaze back out the window.
“Fiorette, Lord Holland is truly an excellent person. He would never do anything to disappoint my father.”
“…”
“You may not be able to resemble him, but at least you shouldn’t tarnish that face.”
“I’ll handle it for sure, Your Highness.”
Fiorette, who quietly bowed her head, slowly bit her lip.
Belietta stared at Fiorette’s reflection in the window.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t escape her fate.
Those born in Bairon, carrying that bloodline, were bound to their destiny.
The fate engraved in their blood never allowed Fiorette to escape the deep abyss.
“What about Marquis Vladia?”
“We’re keeping an eye on him. So far, there hasn’t been any significant movement. We’ve confirmed he’s gathering people, but there haven’t been any distinct actions.”
“He’s more boring than I expected, that guy.”
I thought he’d have something special since he caught Sierra’s attention for a moment.
It turns out he’s just some dull, stupid guy.
“I wish he’d do something interesting like that guy next to Sierra.”
“…”
“Keep pushing Marquis Vladia a little more. He’s a proud man, so if his reputation takes a hit, he’ll react quickly.”
“Understood.”
Belietta turned her body to leave the room, avoiding the sunlight streaming in through the window.
As she left, the sunlight flooded back into the spot where Fiorette had been standing.
That light carried a chilly coldness, keeping the warmth around.
Sunlight can’t reach where there are walls.
The sunlight, which is equal for everyone, was just an unfair luxury for Fiorette, who couldn’t easily obtain it.
