“Her Highness the Archduchess… mentioned she was going away for treatment.”
No matter how blinding late love may be, my family and benefactor who saved my life come first.
After shedding tears a few more times, Laila struggled to express the guilt she had been holding inside.
“What did you say?”
“The Archduchess has left for treatment, and the young noble lady is with her. They are supposed to return to the capital soon, and I’ve heard that Minister Linke from the Ministry of Magic is going to escort the Archduchess…”
As Laila stumbled through her words, she felt clarity in her thoughts. Speaking about what she had only suspected before allowed her to naturally organize her thoughts.
It might really just be a coincidence, and Franz could be entirely unrelated to all of this, just as she wished.
However, if there’s even a 1% chance that it’s not, she must tell Pulcheria and Archduke Albrecht the truth and ask for forgiveness.
That would be the least she could do for Pulcheria, who saved her when she was lost. Laila knelt to the floor.
“I truly don’t believe that Archduke Toskurr could do such a thing, that he approached me with any intentions… I certainly didn’t mean to threaten His Highness Archduke Albrecht with my words… but I was very careless. Yes, my lady, I was indeed careless. I never thought a careless remark would lead to such a disaster.”
She didn’t even know what she was saying anymore. Once she began to speak, the words poured out like a flow.
Feeling wronged and guilty for betraying Pulcheria, she found no resentment toward Franz.
Perhaps, she realized that acknowledging Franz’s intent to approach her would mean the most hurtful realization wouldn’t be for Pulcheria or Karl, but for herself. Tears dripped from Laila, pooling on the floor.
“It might not be true. The Archduke might have simply gone out for some business elsewhere. What happened to the Archduchess could just be a coincidence…”
“Laila!”
Pulcheria could no longer bear to listen. She wasn’t a child unable to discern right from wrong. She collapsed to the floor, gripping Laila’s shoulders tightly.
“Please, I hope this child comes to her senses,” I shook Laila with all my might, thinking that somehow shaking her might bring her mind back.
“So, you’re saying that the incident involving Karl, his wife, and the disappearance of their child all began with just one word from you…? Oh, my goodness. God! How could this happen…!”
“Ah, that may not be the case, ma’am. It’s not… it’s not….”
He surely said he loved me. He expressed a desire to marry me and have children. Didn’t he complain that the process of those plans couldn’t be expedited because of Duke Albrecht’s marriage?
His mention of Duke Albrecht was solely for that reason. There was no ulterior motive. It couldn’t have been. It shouldn’t have been.
As the doubts and thoughts I had long denied quickly became tainted with suspicion, Laila shook her head vigorously.
“The Duke said he wanted to spend his life with me.”
“What did you say?”
“He said he wanted to spend his life with me, and he wanted to hold the ceremony soon, but he lamented that he couldn’t because of Duke Albrecht. He merely mentioned the Duke. He never asked about the Duke’s well-being or the whereabouts of the Duchess. Not even once did he bring it up first.”
Looking down at my niece who was starting to defend Franz in front of me, Pulcheria could only show disbelief.
How could this child defend that man in front of me? That very man! Pulcheria’s lips began to tremble.
“I was the one to start the conversation about the Duchess. The Duke of Toskour didn’t seem curious at all…!”
“My… goodness.”
“If he approached me with the intention of digging up information about Duke Albrecht, he shouldn’t have behaved this way, ma’am. He should have immediately demanded information about Albrecht as soon as he got close to me or persistently asked about the Duchess’s situation.”
“Do you really think that?”
What to do with this naive child? Just an hour ago, I thought that her ‘innocence’ was her strength and the best quality that made her shine, but now it felt terribly disturbing to Pulcheria.
Can a person really blindly believe someone while shutting their eyes and ears like that? Is it possible to trust and rely on an evil person so naively?
At this point, can we really consider that purity? Perhaps I’ve mistaken ignorance for purity. Pulcheria simply closed her eyes to the bleak reality.
She had no more words to say, nothing more she wished to express. From the moment she faced a truth she didn’t want to accept, her brain seemed to stop functioning, leaving her with no thoughts.
All she felt was an endless sense of betrayal and frustration. Pulcheria, with her pale face, struggled to stand up.
“Now that I know where the leak came from, I must plug that hole.”
Even in front of Pulcheria, who was moving away from her, Laila could only bury her head and remain prostrate.
“If I reveal this fact, there’s nothing more I can do for you.”
It was a declaration from the betrayer. Pulcheria recalled Count Edward, who had been dragged away by the knights.
“I can guess what you were thinking when you told that guy about Karl. But, Laila, there’s something you don’t know.”
“Madam….”
“The one who knows your temperament well enough to exploit it, who is cunning and good with calculations, is that Franz.”
“…….”
“He must have made you think that way about me. He’s the kind of person who would do that. With his seemingly kind mask, he would have spoken sweetly to you, ensuring you believed him without a shred of doubt. You, in your naivete, have been completely caught in that thorough and cruel plan.”
“That’s… that can’t be…”
“Look at you now. Can you say my words are wrong? If he truly fell in love with you and simply whispered sweet nothings, where is he now?”
She could say nothing. Pulcheria’s sharp questions painfully pierced Laila’s heart. It was the harsh reality she desperately wanted to ignore.
Where is the man who professed his love to her while whispering of the future?
In the midst of such a horrific situation, if he truly loved her, shouldn’t he appear here to help her?
It was a thought that suddenly popped into my mind, but it was also a fact I had been trying to ignore.
“I didn’t want to say anything because I became Karl’s wife. But you wouldn’t claim you don’t know how that Franz guy got entangled with the Countess Luise’s child, would you?”
“That’s just gossip…!”
“Well, does that guy say so? Just gossip?”
“…….”
“If it’s just gossip, then where is he now? Shouldn’t he be by your side? Why has he also disappeared now that Karl’s wife is gone? Answer me, Laila!”
She couldn’t say anything. Tears streamed endlessly from Laila’s eyes.
***
Deprived of the freedom to speak, time flowed by helplessly. After confirming that what I had thought might be true actually was, perhaps half a day passed.
Franz, who had shared the terrible words that my life lay in his grasp with a smile, did not say anything for the next half day. What could he be thinking?
Maybe out of some respect for my struggle to breathe and my suffering, Franz did put a gag back in my mouth, but he didn’t cover my face with a cloth.
Even though I couldn’t speak, breathing through my nose was no longer as difficult or frightening as before.
Thus, the carriage continued to run and run for quite a while. Where were we headed? I couldn’t stray too far from LaHart.
At the very least, we should be at a distance where Karl could run to find us. I couldn’t arrive too late…
A multitude of thoughts intertwined, eventually culminating in a great anxiety. They say that too many thoughts make life burdensome.
However, with my hands and feet bound and my mouth obstructed, there was nothing I could do other than think. Where was Valerie? What had happened to the wounds of Clovis and the knights?
Worries and thoughts seemed to arise together, filling my mind with endless musings.
Celeste’s father had joined hands with Franz’s mother to save his daughter’s life. Perhaps, as a price for saving her life, he had sworn lifelong loyalty.
To preempt his betrayal, Franz’s mother, who was skilled in dark magic, must have cast spells using Celeste’s life as collateral.
That’s probably why I had gotten sick several times after meeting Franz. Thinking about it that way made sense.
Slowly, I lifted my gaze to look at Franz, who sat across from me. What was he thinking? His eyes were consistently directed out the window.
