Chapter 31

Chapter 31
“Why?”

“Why what?”

“…What are you looking at?”

“Straight ahead. Where else would I look?”

“……”

Elio ate a handful of green grapes, patiently waiting for her chance, and finally mimicked him.

“…What are you doing?”

“Practicing acting like I care. It’s hard for me—insincere actions between a man and a woman.”

Elio pouted slightly and wiped away a tiny speck of water from the tip of his chin. As she concentrated with her lips pursed, Carlos let out a low sigh.

“Why bring sincerity into taking care of a kid?”

The moment her fingertips brushed his lips, the muscles in his chest swelled tightly as if about to burst.

❖ ❖ ❖

“She is an Aquitan?”

The Imperial Princess wrinkled her nose as she stared at the lady in the newspaper. Beyond her delicate face, slender limbs, and striking curves that were enough to drive men wild, something else caught her attention.

What truly shocked her were facial features identical to someone in her memories.

“No matter how many times I look at it, isn’t it too identical? She looks exactly like Yunus.”

The moment the Princess saw the portrait, a sharp sense of deja vu struck her, prompting her to search her memories. After mulling over the portrait late into the night, she suddenly recalled Yunus—the Commander of the Robitan Knights back around this age—and his three-year-old daughter.

“Are you certain both Yunus and Valentin are dead? Aren’t they secretly alive somewhere?”

Hearing the Princess’s irritated question, her nanny let out a deep sigh.

“…Sir Yunus is definitely dead, Your Highness. His body was recovered.”

“Why on earth couldn’t he fight back against an evil dragon?”

The Princess muttered the unresolved question to herself, one she hadn’t thought about in a long time.

Commander Yunus of the Robitan Knights and his men had accompanied the Young Duke on a retreat, only for all of them to end up dead. His wife, Valentin, and their only daughter were reported missing and officially declared dead.

The Young Duke, who was nine years old at the time, suffered fatal wounds and hovered between life and death.

That bloody tragedy—hushed up by the Ducal House—was recorded as a grand assault by a ferocious evil dragon.

“What do you think, Nanny? Do you think it’s just a coincidence? A woman of the same age with the exact same face… If Yunus’s daughter had grown up, she would look precisely like her.”

“…How could I possibly know? That was seventeen years ago.”

The nanny’s voice trembled as she glanced at the portrait. Though she couldn’t remember a face from seventeen years ago, she too found it perplexing—why Valentin, Yunus, and the entire Robitan Knights had been wiped out as if caught off guard.

When rumors spread that a dragon disguised in human form had suddenly transformed into an evil dragon and attacked, the Magic Tower offered no position.

They simply issued a short statement expressing deep regret over failing to prevent the dragon’s atrocities and the resulting hundreds of deaths. Shortly after, the Magic Tower temporarily closed its doors.

People expressed sorrow, wondering if the old Master of the Magic Tower had fallen into despair after losing both his daughter and granddaughter at once. They whispered that even if he was estranged from his daughter, outliving her must be painful—especially after losing his young granddaughter as well.

On the other hand, some clicked their tongues, remarking that a man who hadn’t even visited when his daughter married or gave birth couldn’t possibly feel true grief. There couldn’t be any affection there.

“Kal used to carry that kid around everywhere. If anyone saw them, they would’ve thought Elio was Kal’s sister, not me.”

The Princess twisted her lips into a smirk and set down her whiskey glass.

“You know, I don’t believe in coincidences. Do you know why half the people in the imperial palace die? They die in accidents caused by that damn word: ‘coincidence.’ The other half die in bloody coups.”

“……”

“And yet, by coincidence…”

The Princess stopped mid-sentence, suddenly breaking into a loud laugh as her eyes narrowed playfully. The memory of Kal—acting like a fool as he carried that three-year-old baby everywhere—was still vivid in her mind.

“You’re telling me he coincidentally met that same baby seventeen years later and brought her back as his fiancee? Wow, how amusing. Right?”

The Princess giggled and took a sip of her whiskey.

The nanny bowed her head lower and clasped her hands together. The gloomy sound of the rain outside sounded like the wailing ghosts of those who died in that tragedy seventeen years ago, making her shrink back in fear.

“By the way, Nanny. In the end, it was revealed later that Valentin belonged to the Empress’s faction. And it’s true she married Yunus just to act as a spy, right?”

“Your Highness, that is—!”

“What nerve she had. How did a spy even dream of picking the Commander of the Robitan Knights as a husband? I suppose you need that kind of audacity to be a spy.”

“Your Highness! That is merely a rumor…!”

“Rumor, my foot. If she hadn’t died to that evil dragon, Valentin would have killed Kal long ago. Her temper was quite fiery, wasn’t it?”

The nanny shook her head in panic.

“Your Highness, you must not speak so recklessly! Attempting to murder a noble is an insult to Lady Valentin…”

The Princess snorted, cutting the nanny off.

“Is he trying to get revenge on her daughter now? Was he furious that Valentin—who raised him like a mother—turned out to be a traitor?”

“I… I don’t think the Young Duke has that kind of nature.”

“Nature? Please. His temper is even worse than mine. He’s just an insensitive fool.”

Ignoring the nanny completely, the Princess’s eyes curved into crescent moons.

“Nanny, bring me new stationery and the fastest carrier pigeon. You know, that scented paper. Hmm… Should I write on green paper, just like the one I used for Kal? A matching set?”

Listening to the Princess’s giggles, the nanny looked at her face with uneasy eyes.

“Who are you planning to write to…?”

“I need to tell Aquitan right away!”

“Your Highness, please! Leave Lord Carlos alone. Don’t go causing trouble for no reason, please exercise restraint—”

“Who said I’m bothering my brother? I just need to let Aquitan know who her real mother is!”

Glancing with glinting, amused eyes, the Princess broke into a wide, soundless smile.

“That her mother was the Empress’s informant and the spy who tried to kill Kal! What a crazy woman she was!”

❖ ❖ ❖

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to sit down?”

Having finished a rather long dinner, Carlos had spent a considerable amount of time outside smoking cigars. He ran a hand through his hair, slightly wet from the raindrops, and stared at her.

Elio rubbed the tip of her nose at the heavy smell of cigars. What was he so unhappy about?

She stared at the man who had smoked three cigars in one go, as if he intended to suffocate himself with smoke.

“Are you going to keep standing?”

“…I think the sofa is too small.”

Elio brushed off imaginary dust from the two-seater sofa and rolled her eyes. With such a massive man in the room, the house felt so cramped that she wasn’t even sure where to sit.

“You’re small too. Come here. Take good care of these extra curtain hooks in case the curtains fall.”

The man gestured to her as he put the remaining hooks into a box. Absurdly enough, he acted completely at ease, as if this were his own home.

Elio knitted her brows and perched on the edge of the sofa. She rubbed her bare knees and then awkwardly clapped her hands, as if just remembering something.

“By the way, why did Sir Grita come instead? I mean, why did Sir Grita make the delivery so suddenly at this time of night? Sir Grita needs rest too. Does he work late into the night? You should have sent him home early.”

“I was suddenly busy entertaining a guest.”

It was a brief answer, no different from what Grita had told her, so Elio reflexively nodded. However, more questions immediately welled up inside her.

‘Why did you make Sir Grita do it? Were you two together all night? Who was the guest that made you dress up in full uniform?’

She wanted to ask, but her heart felt restless, wondering if there was any need to be curious about such things.

…It wasn’t as if she were his real fiancee, anyway.

“…My Lord. The knights of Robitan… they all guess that our relationship is temporary, right?”

Carlos raised an eyebrow.

“Well, when Sir Grita gave me dinner earlier, he said he’d introduce me to a decent guy among his seniors or juniors. He told me to let him know if I was interested.”

As she leaned forward slightly with interest, Carlos let out an irritated sigh and stood up. Unfastening the knot of his cravat, he walked toward the window.

“None of Grita’s seniors or juniors are decent. Get an introduction from me instead.”

“Then who would you introduce me to? Your peers? Even if our engagement is just for show, wouldn’t it be a bit awkward if I dated your friend? Do your friends know we’re going to break up eventually?”

Unbuttoning the top buttons of his shirt, Carlos locked the double latches on the window.

“Sleep with all the windows closed. Don’t open the door blindly to unfamiliar men.”

“My Lord, I’m not a fool. Why would I open the door to just any man?”

Elio frowned deeply.

What on earth did Grita and this man take her for? Just because she grew up confined in Aquitan, did they think she was stupid? Her voice rose in frustration at the man who kept treating her like a helpless child.

“I may seem unreliable to you, but I have enough skill to look after myself. There is nothing pitiable about me.”

When the man headed toward the front door, Elio was startled and quickly trotted after him.

“As you know, I know how to make potions and have studied basic magic extensively, right? I’ll find a good job on my own soon. I can earn my own money, so why would I be pitiable?”

“Why work? Is the money I gave you not enough?”

“No, you gave me more than enough. It’s not lacking, but I need to learn to earn my own living. I can’t rely on you for the rest of my life.”

The man paid her no mind, roughly checking only the front door latch. Looking at his indifferent back, Elio began to speak faster and faster.

“And growing up confined in Aquitan isn’t something to feel sorry for me about. Most ladies haven’t lived independently or traveled by the time they’re twenty. If I were a knight like Sir Grita, I would have gained various experiences too.”

Brightening up as if sharing good news, Elio stood right behind his broad back—even though he wasn’t paying her the slightest attention.

“Mercenaries who hunt monsters travel to inns a lot, so it seems inns often need bedroom purification. Maybe they’ll need my skills!”

Without offering a single reply, Carlos grabbed the doorknob and pulled it roughly with a clatter as if he were about to tear the front door off, inspecting the joints. The muscles in his upper arms bulged tightly.

“It’s almost a done deal! The innkeeper liked me, saying I was sharp and sensible. He thought I could handle the mercenaries’ moods easily and do a great job purifying the bedrooms. Of course, I’ll do it without letting anyone know I’m your fiancee!”

Carlos yanked the front door wide open as if he were about to tear it completely off its hinges.

“Let them find out. Don’t hide it from anyone.”