Axel forced himself to invest in the theory — already low-probability — that Bjorn and Judith had been acting together.
He had to. It was the only thing he had left to hold onto.
“…Don’t lie to me. Why — why on earth would you make a trade like that—”
Bjorn answered without missing a beat, as though he had been waiting for exactly this.
“Lie? I wanted pictures of my adorable little brother, so I made a deal with her for them. What’s wrong with that? I have no reason to lie about something like this.”
It was entirely believable. All the more so because it was Bjorn saying it.
Axel’s expression had gone rigid. He was working frantically through it all in his head, forming words — when Bjorn reached into his coat again as though suddenly remembering something.
“Oh, right. Actually, when I was making the trade with her, I accidentally brought the wrong vision orb — and it turned out it had been recording. If you still don’t believe me, you can listen to it.”
Like a whisper from the devil himself, Bjorn extended a single vision orb toward him.
If all of this is the truth — then I truly… to Judith…
Axel stared at it with eyes full of turmoil. He swallowed dryly, and with a hand that was not entirely steady, took it.
The sounds stored within the orb filled the lounge from one end to the other.
When the playback ended, Axel could not bring himself to say a single word.
The very worst outcome he had feared had come to pass in reality.
The things he had thought impossible — they had been real all along.
Judith’s words were the truth. Everything truly was a misunderstanding.
The moment that understanding broke through, a nauseous, inexplicable wave of relief swept through him — and simultaneously, his heart clenched as though squeezed in a fist.
And then it began, one by one.
All the things he had said to her.
All the moments she had desperately tried to explain that it was a misunderstanding.
“No, Your Highness! It was never a performance — I truly, genuinely—!”
“No. It’s a misunderstanding. Please, let me explain again.”
“Please, it truly is a misunderstanding. From the very beginning — I can explain everything. So just — please, one more time—!”
The wounded expression on her face. The small body trembling finely with fear. All of it was still vivid before his eyes.
I — what have I done.
His face was draining to white — and then Bjorn, reading his expression, added a light remark that carried more weight than anything else.
“What’s wrong? You don’t look well — nothing’s happened, has it?”
“It’s not as though you went and made some enormous mistake on your own and did something unforgivable to her, is it.”
The words, delivered in perfect casualness, struck with absolute precision, and Axel went still. The darkness over his expression deepened.
But Bjorn, apparently not noticing, carried on.
“Even so, if there has been a misunderstanding — the sooner it’s resolved, the better. Misunderstandings only get worse the longer they’re left.”
The moment Bjorn finished speaking, Axel was already out of the lounge.
The footsteps that had started as a brisk walk grew steadily faster. He was running through the corridor.
He had no more time to waste.
He had to find Judith. Right now. Immediately.
Find her and—!
And—
…What do I say to her?
That question stopped his feet entirely.
That I couldn’t listen to her, not even once, no matter how many times she told me it was a misunderstanding — that I couldn’t bring myself to believe her?
That I’m sorry for that?
And would a sorry — just that — be enough to earn forgiveness from her?
Axel remembered those small shoulders, helplessly drooped.
That might have been the last chance she was ever going to give him.
If she can’t forgive me, then I…
Whatever her answer turned out to be — whether she forgave him or not — he owed her an apology. For the enormous wound he had caused her.
That was simply the right thing to do.
Even if she looked at him with something terrible in her face.
The thought made his heart drop. He stood with his head bowed, fist tight.
Then he moved again, quick and purposeful, back through the corridor.
When he finally reached the banquet hall, he turned his head, scanning for Judith.
But no matter how long he searched, he couldn’t find her anywhere.
Eventually he stopped a nearby servant.
“Excuse me — have you seen Lady Melberine?”
“Oh — the Lady was drinking with a noble guest over there, but… oh, it seems she’s no longer there.”
The servant pointed toward a spot across the room and widened their eyes slightly at the empty table.
Axel’s throat went tight.
Judith had been drinking? With some noble guest? He wanted to know who, but that was a question for another time.
He thanked the servant quickly and made his way out of the hall.
If she wasn’t visible inside the hall after drinking, she had almost certainly gone outside.
A flicker of worry crossed him — had something happened to her? He quickened his pace.
He jogged through the wide garden for what felt like several minutes before a flash of pale pink hair entered his field of vision at a distance.
That was Judith’s hair, without question.
His pulse spiked — though whether it was from the running or something else, he didn’t have time to consider.
He was moving toward her quickly when something else came into view first — two noble men, partially obscured behind a hedgerow, revealed themselves as he drew closer.
His footsteps toward Judith accelerated.
Choosing to drink in order to erase a melancholy mood had turned out to be, in its way, remarkably effective.
But it came with a side effect that proved just as significant.
Specifically: the problem that had arisen from the fact that neither Isabel nor I had ever had a drink in our lives.
My vision was spinning. Everything around me — objects, people — was unreliable.
Pressing a hand to my throbbing head, I had just begun to wonder how this could possibly be happening, given what I knew my tolerance to be — before remembering, belatedly, that this was the first time Judith’s body had ever consumed alcohol.
“Oh no…”
The disaster registered only briefly before I noticed that the problem was not limited to me.
Isabel, far deeper into it than I was, had already pressed her face flat onto the table and fallen sound asleep.
If someone walked past, they might assume we had downed a bottle of whiskey between us.
Remarkably, the total of what we had consumed was one glass of wine apiece.
That was right. Isabel and I were catastrophic lightweights.
If only I had realized that before this reckless idea took hold of me…
Still registering the regret, I rose from my seat — struck by a wave of dizziness — intending to step outside for some air, when Isabel suddenly sat bolt upright and looked me dead in the eye.
“Hic.”
The intensity of her gaze startled a hiccup right out of me.
What — had she sobered up?
If so, the completely unfocused quality of her eyes wasn’t showing it.
Isabel, rigid with concentration, stared at me for a long moment and then murmured in a very small voice:
“I… home, have to… go home…”
And with that, she turned and began to toddle purposefully off in some direction.
She couldn’t stay on her feet unassisted. She shouldn’t be moving around alone. I was just about to follow after her in concern when, fortunately, a count arrived — apparently having come to look for her.
He took one startled look at the two of us together, exchanged brief pleasantries with me, and led her away.
At least she had someone to take her home.
We’ll see each other again before long, I’m sure…
I waved goodbye to Isabel’s retreating figure as she disappeared with the count, then returned to my original plan and moved toward the open air.
The cool night breeze drifted lightly across my flushed cheeks. I had expected the fresh air to clear my head — but if anything, the heat inside me seemed to be rising rather than fading.
A warmth was rising from somewhere deep in my chest, in contrast to the cold around me…
Like…
Hm…
So…
Wait, was this path always this wavy…?
“It’s a worm. A great big worm…”
Heheheh.
