“I wonder what Lilia is thinking right now? What is she thinking to make such a face?
I suppressed the burgeoning questions one by one and managed a faint smile.
“So, will you help us, Lilia?”
I felt anxious at the possibility that she might refuse, but I deliberately ignored it. There’s no good in showing the anxiety I feel outwardly.
Lilia, who had been looking at me intently as I asked directly, soon curved her eyes into a gentle smile. It was like the smile of a bird poised for a new leap after having its injured feathers tended to.
***
“I am grateful for the opportunity to assist His Majesty, the noble lady, and my elder brother.”
“Huh.”
Suddenly, the refreshing voice of Lilia mixed with the sound of the rain falling outside.
Simultaneously, my body, buried in the armchair, was consumed by an inexplicable drowsiness. The conversation I had with Lilia yesterday led to a successful outcome.
Despite my worries that she might take my suggestion negatively, swallowed by sorrow, Lilia, after some contemplation, unmistakably voiced a positive response.
As a result, today I lazily killed time, filled with the satisfaction of having accomplished a significant task, believing there was nothing more I could do under the circumstances.
Of course, there still remains the issue of Helen and the identity of the mysterious maid. At some point, as the sky darkened and rain poured down, I swallowed the sigh I was about to let out.
Although I felt frustrated by circumstances beyond my control, I was too tired to worry and blame the situation as before. Probably because I have worried and suffered too much thus far.
Without needing to delve deeper into why I felt tired, I simply let out a laugh and wrapped the shawl tighter around my shoulders.
Helen told me to contact her whenever my thoughts were in order, but I couldn’t muster the courage.
The reason being, I would undoubtedly be disappointed if she showed any sign of being like the usual nobility.
If the person had been Cedrics, I wouldn’t have cared what he thought, but it was Helen that troubled me. Helen, who first offered to be my friend. And Helen, who first made me aware of the comfort of having a friend.
I had been aware for some time that she wanted to gain something by becoming friends with me. However, after meeting Helen a few times, it seemed that an unsuspecting expectation had begun to form within me.
In the end, that expectation turned out to be poison.
“Maybe it’s time to start writing a letter… If it gets any later, we might not be able to talk properly before the hunting contest.”
I was muttering softly to myself, swinging my feet about a handspan above the ground, when someone lightly knocked on the bedroom door and called me with a pleasant bass voice.
“Milady.”
Just by hearing the voice, I felt like I knew who it was.
Ruth.
Suddenly feeling my heart start to race, I swept my hand over it once and then deliberately made a calm expression. Carefully, I got off the armchair and walked toward the door.
“Your Highness, what brings you here at this time?”
As if nothing was out of the ordinary. I opened the door and asked him teasingly, and Ruth’s eyes narrowed.
“I came because I missed you.”
“You really have a way with… jokes.”
“I know it’s just a joke, but why does it still make my heart flutter?
It seemed like he didn’t expect me to respond that way, so as I recited back with a slightly trembling voice, the corners of Ruth’s lips curled up beautifully.
“Wasn’t that fun?”
“It wasn’t particularly fun, but it wasn’t unpleasant either.”
“Then, next time, I’ll practice more interesting jokes and come back.”
“By the way, what did you really come here for?”
“Ah.”
As I deliberately steered the conversation back to the main topic, the playfulness quickly faded from Ruth’s smile. The boyish grin vanished before my eyes, and unconsciously, I found myself missing it.
I must be crazy.
Although, I immediately shook my head to clear away such thoughts.
While I was doing that, Ruth took out a round bead from his interdimensional pouch.
“As promised, I captured the arrest of Count Dright, and I came to watch it with you.”
“Ah. So, that was today.”
“Did you forget? If so, that’s a bit disappointing.”
Realizing belatedly that today was the day Count Dright was to be arrested, I sighed. Then, Ruth made an artificially sullen face.
Because I was certain that he wasn’t truly upset, I didn’t pay much attention to Ruth’s expression of feeling slighted.
Instead, I turned my body to the side to make it comfortable for Ruth to enter my bedroom.
“It’s a bit odd to watch it alone, but if Your Majesty doesn’t mind, would you like to watch it together?”
This was a suggestion I wouldn’t have made if our relationship was the same as it was one or two months ago. But now, it seemed we were comfortable enough with each other to give it a try.
After hesitating for a few seconds upon hearing my suggestion, Ruth eventually smiled warmly.
“Yes, I’d like that.”
***
There’s no guest sofa in my bedroom, so I offered him an armchair and sat on the bed myself, placing the projection orb on the table.
Ruth, noticing I was ready to watch the video with a glance, eventually snapped her fingers. The orb, emitting a bright light, soon projected a clear image into the air.
It was my first time seeing past events as if they were happening now through the projection orb, so I tensed up with anticipation. I was excited.
“Here we go.”
“I’ll pay attention.”
“Okay.”
Glancing at me replying half-heartedly while fixating on the video, Ruth chuckled quietly. Then, after some rustling, silence fell just as the video started to play.
The video opened with the scene of Duke Dright pacing anxiously in a dark study. His busy movements, enough to make viewers anxious, soon shifted as he swore profusely and hastily grabbed something from the table and left.
Given that most of these items seemed to be made of paper, they were likely important secret documents not meant to be seen by others.
Just as he was gathering the documents and about to leave, suddenly, the sound of several footsteps approached, and fully armed knights blocked Duke Dright’s way.
“Put down everything you’re holding, please.”
-What, what is this? I don’t really understand what’s happening here…
-I won’t take a long talk. Put down what you’re holding right now. This is the second time I’m telling you.
As one of the knights repeated his words indifferently, the countenance of Duke Dright became ashen, as if he were a criminal caught at a crime scene.
-What kind of outrage is this, in broad daylight! It seems you are knights of the royal palace, but is this really His Majesty’s will? To enter a noble’s office without permission and disrupt my work? I will not say this twice. Leave my family’s mansion at once. And I will formally protest this matter to His Majesty…
-Oh, protest?
-His Majesty?
Even as Duke Dright tried to sound indignant, his voice faltered upon spotting Ruth emerging from among the knights.
Crossing through the knights to stand in front of Duke Dright, Ruth wore an attractive smirk and donned his gloves as if he was about to touch something he utterly disliked. Then, he brushed back his soft platinum hair.
-I believe I had warned you once before. If you don’t know your place, don’t step forward. But now it seems you didn’t even listen with half an ear. If you had any sense at all, you would have known the proper stance to take in this situation, but unfortunately, you did not.
“Your Majesty, I’m not quite sure what you mean.”
“Casinos. Slave auctions. Embezzlement. Murder.”
“…!”
Ruth, listing Count Dright’s crimes one by one in a harsh tone different from his usual, furrowed his brows fiercely. Inside his coolly shining purple irises were thousands of needles.
Did Ruth actually warn Count Dright before?
Surprised to learn this for the first time, I glanced at Ruth, who mumbled as if making excuses, his ears slightly reddened.
“It was just because I found Count Dright’s behavior in the meeting slightly irritating.”
“I see.”
“It wasn’t simply because I felt bad unilaterally, but that situation was clearly one where Count Dright should not have intervened….”
“You did well.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
Ruth rambled on about himself, and I smiled reassuringly at him, to which he gently returned the smile.
The moment our brief conversation ended, Ruth’s cool voice resonated in the video.
“Do you want to know more? The reason why you must put down what you’re holding right now and follow us?”
-…..
– Theor Dright, the Duke. I am arresting you for the crimes of royal disrespect, fraud, embezzlement, and murder. I hope you will follow without much resistance in the investigation to come.”
As Ruth finished speaking, the Duke of Dright’s head drooped low. It seemed he instinctively felt that everything was over now.
With the Duke of Dright standing silent, mouth firmly shut, Ruth gestured to the knights to take him away and quietly watched as the royal palace knights took hold of the Duke’s arms and disappeared somewhere.
Then, as they completely vanished from sight, Ruth bent down to read one of the documents the Duke had left behind.
It didn’t seem to contain anything particularly shocking, as Ruth, with an indifferent expression, put the document back down and slowly walked towards the orb of light. Then, reaching out with a gloved hand, Ruth picked up the orb.
And then,
“It’s over.”
The video came to an end.
