With trembling eyes, I sneak a glance at the grinning Isabella, and she wore a look of not understanding why.
…No, it couldn’t be.
I desperately denied my vile suspicion.
Given Isabella’s character observed over the past month, there’s no way she would have leaked anything I said. Look at her now. Didn’t she even run to give me Helen’s letter as quickly as possible?
Such a diligent and kind Isabella, it couldn’t be that she…
“Why do you ask?”
“…”
…Is it there?
While denying my groundless suspicion, I kept remembering how our eyes met in the library. Additionally, I recalled the peculiar expressions she sometimes had since that day.
It could be my imagination, but something didn’t sit right. It felt like being oblivious to the darkness around because you’re only looking at a single streak of light.
After hesitating for a long time, I couldn’t let go of my suspicion and decided to address it.
“Isabella. It seems there have been rumors about me circulating among people recently.”
“Rumors?”
Isabella blinked her round eyes and asked back.
Seeing her innocent amber eyes made me feel guilty as if I was harboring unnecessary suspicions.
I wondered if I should change the topic now, but I regretted stopping now.
“Right. Haven’t you heard the rumor?”
“What rumor?”
“The rumor that my relationship with His Majesty isn’t good.”
As I briefly explained about the rumor, Isabella’s pupils shook once.
After hesitating, a cautious voice flowed from her opened mouth.
“……I had no idea such a rumor was circulating among the people.”
“Really?”
I mulled over her words several times to distinguish if they were a lie.
However, there was nothing to fault in her voice filled with worry.
So, I felt even stranger. It was absurd that I thought there was something when there wasn’t.
What should I do?
Chewing over my still unabated suspicions, I eventually decided to lay aside my doubts and forced a smile.
It wasn’t right to suspect without evidence. Therefore, it was my plan to reserve judgment and slowly observe.
I hope my doubt is wrong, but if it’s right…….
I muttered dryly and lifted the corners of my mouth a little more.
…In that case, no matter if the opponent is Isabella, I must respond firmly.
“It’s good you don’t know. Let’s go now.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
As I spoke calmly and began to walk back, Isabella quickly followed behind me.
***
Time flowed like a running stream. After a while of leisurely reading in the royal palace library and taking a walk in the garden, the day I had arranged to meet Ian had arrived.
“Could you prepare some peppermint tea?”
“Yes, understood.”
Sitting in the drawing room waiting for Ian, I instructed the maids to prepare peppermint tea.
It was still early for Ian to arrive, but if he were to choose what tea to drink upon his arrival, he would definitely have chosen black tea.
Therefore, I intended to have peppermint tea ready in advance to prevent that.
“Peppermint tea is said to help with sleep……”
I felt a bit sorry for Ian, but it couldn’t be helped.
I murmured to myself softly and kept checking the ticking wall clock.
As the time of Ian’s promised visit approached, the excitement of seeing him after a long time grew.
It had been over a month since the last time I saw Ian, which was at our engagement ceremony.
Thinking back to the last time we met before the engagement ceremony, I remembered the flower ring Ian had given me.
That flower ring he had given me was now in a small box on the nightstand in my bedroom, as carrying it around had a high risk of losing it.
I thought of the flower ring, which seemed to be losing its magic and fading, and suppressed my feelings of disappointment.
In the midst of everything changing around me, only the flower ring remained the same. It preserved the appearance and scent of that time intact.
So, when I saw the flower ring gradually withering, I felt a surge of emotion. Thinking, now even this is changing.
It was when I was absent-mindedly watching a maid pour clear green tea into an empty cup, lost in thought. That’s when I heard Ian’s voice from outside the door.
“Sister, I’m here.”
“Ian.”
Perhaps because it had been a long time, saying Ian’s name out loud felt awkward yet immensely joyful.
“Come in.”
As I urged him, Ian opened the door and came in.
I slowly looked over the robust body, tall stature, and the man with silvery hair and bright, clear eyes, and I smiled faintly.
It was Ian. He seemed a bit thinner than the last time we met, making his features sharper, but it was undeniably Ian.
“…I missed you.”
I murmured in a choked voice, and he smiled back at me.
“I missed you too, sister. How have you been?”
“As I wrote in my letters, I’ve been well. How about you?”
“I’ve been fine, except for staying up several nights straight worrying about my sister.”
Though he said it jokingly, there was a hint of truth in his words as Ian’s face was filled with tiredness.
I held back a sigh as I noticed the dark circles under his tired eyes.
Seeing his unhealthy complexion, it seemed he hadn’t slept well while I was away, not just for a few nights.
I felt sorry for adding to his worries, especially since he already suffered from slight insomnia due to his sensitive nature.
“How is mother? Is she doing well?”
Despite my worries, I didn’t want to nag Ian during our first meeting in a month.
I shifted the conversation to our mother, wanting to keep the atmosphere warm.
“Mother is doing well, although she sometimes looks out the window with a sad expression.”
“Please, take good care of her. You know I must stay at the palace.”
“Of course, I am taking care of her. So, sister, you just need to worry about your own matters.”
“Is that so?”
I couldn’t help but burst into laughter at Ian’s assertive response, which was too definitive to argue against.
Then his eyes softened, as if looking at an adorably precious creature.
Ian often looked at me with those eyes, so I didn’t take it too seriously.
“By the way, sister. How are things with His Majesty? The letter mentioned that things weren’t bad between you…”
After taking a sip of mint tea and slightly furrowing his brow, he hurriedly brought up the topic.
Awaiting this subject, I almost lifted my teacup following Ian but then stopped.
“His Majesty and I…”
Though that was quickly shut down.
Should I tell Ian about the contract between Ruth and me?
Suddenly remembering that the contract stated no one but us should know about it, I found myself in a dilemma.
Since Ian had promised to support me in every way possible, telling him would definitely help with fulfilling the contract. However, a contract was a contract.
After a brief moment of contemplation, I decided not to go into detail about the contract with Ian. I needed Ian’s help to support Ruth, and to get even a bit of his help, lying was not an option.
“His Majesty and I have aligned interests, so we agreed to divorce as soon as His Majesty’s plan is successfullly concluded. Until then, well, I’ll just be a fiancée in name.”
“I see.”
Contrary to my concerns, Ian believed my vague explanation without a hint of doubt.
“So, if the Majesty’s plan ends quickly, does that mean your engagement with the lady will end quickly as well?”
“Eh?”
Then, I was internally taken aback by his unexpected question.
But soon enough, I managed to compose my expression and nodded.
“I suppose so.”
Whether I wanted it or not, once my task was completed, the contract engagement with Ruth would also come to an end.
At my answer, Ian fondled the handle of his teacup with a smile full of satisfaction.
“Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Eh? Why do you ask all of a sudden?”
I asked back, feeling uneasy as if he had read my mind.
I thought I hadn’t acted too obviously, wondering if I was overconfident, when Ian chimed in.
“If the Majesty’s plan is successful sooner, that engagement holding back the lady will end, won’t it?”
“Right.”
“That’s why I want to lend a hand. The mercenary group I was part of dealt in buying and selling information, so I’m sure I must know something that could help with His Majesty’s plan.”
“Really?”
I couldn’t help but suppress a voice that wanted to rise crudely, happy with the situation flowing smoothly in unexpected ways.
I secretly clenched my fist, then carefully opened my mouth after spreading it.
“Then, without hesitation… Ian. Do you have any information related to Dright that might be of help to Her Majesty?”
“Hmm…”
To my question, Ian made an incomprehensible nasal sound and was silent for a moment.
The reason I asked this question was because the family we were aiming to target after the House of Abyss was precisely the House of Dright.
Among the four great ducal families, excluding the Obelton and Abyss families, only the Hazel and Dright families remained.
However, even after mustering up courage several times, it was too much to target the House of Hazel right away.
“The lord of the House of Hazel is Laszlo Hazel,” my uncle said.
Whenever I thought of the House of Hazel, the memory that followed choked me.
So, I decided to target the House of Dright first, but the problem was that unlike the other four great ducal families, there wasn’t much known about the House of Dright.
Hence, my plan was to gather information related to the House of Dright through Ian.
After a moment of contemplation, Ian finally began to speak.
“As you know, sister, the House of Dright is a military family. The fact that most of those rare swordmasters are from the House of Dright says it all.”
“I know that too.”
“But this remarkable Dright family is a noble faction that could rebel against the royal family at any time without it being strange. So, until a few hundred years ago, the royal family considered the Dright family a risk factor. If their swords did not move for the royal family but instead moved against them, they judged it better to break them.”
This was content I had learned from studying history. So, naturally, I continued Ian’s words.
“Unfortunately, the Dright family was not easily broken. I’ve heard that the royal family and the Dright family made some kind of contract. In exchange for the royal family not pressing the Dright family arbitrarily, the Dright family’s swords would never turn against the royal family.”
“That’s correct. You know well.”
He looked at me with a somewhat proud gaze.
“Then, do you know how the royal family and the Dright family have maintained that contract until now?”
