/
“Thank you for apologizing. I, too, apologize for my rudeness.”
I inclined my head toward the Duke of Bright, who was waiting for a response. Not that I liked him, but I didn’t want to ignore someone who was sincerely apologizing.
“Thank you for accepting my apology.” He said, looking relieved.
He exhaled a long breath, his face slightly tense.
I looked at the Duke, who breathed a sigh of relief, and then slowly opened his mouth again.
At that time, the Duke thought that I was Archie, so I guess it wasn’t really a big deal if you think about it.
However, it was because he assumed that Archie lived like how people said she did. He was mistaken though, and so he also owes her an apology. That means, he’s not completely forgiven yet.
“I wanted to apologize to Archie as well—”
The Duke of Bright smiled bitterly, and he gazed ruefully at the rising sky. A wistful voice slipped from in between his thick lips.
“If that child ever comes back…”
⚘
Scratch. Scratch.
The fountain pen moved restlessly across the white paper.
“Mmm.”
After finally filling the first letter in a flash, I also took the second stationary from the drawer and grasped the fountain pen again.
That brief conversation with Duke Bright in the morning made me realize something.
So I decided to tell the butler and nanny the whole truth, and wrote the letter that they’ve long since waited for.
I felt a great desire to write about it.
My nerves were sharpened, my hesitation was finally gone, and the words flowed out so smoothly that I wondered why I hadn’t written about it before.
I wrote about everything that had happened to me since I came to the capital, not leaving anything out.
I also wrote about what happened when people mistook me as the Young Lady Bright, what happened when I met Marquis Bright and how he also mistook me as the Young Lady Bright. Lastly, I told them about what happened when I heard the truth behind Young Lady Bright’s misfortune from the crown prince…
I wrote everything one by one, and soon, the second stationary paper was also full.
“Let’s see.”
I glanced at what I’d written before pulling out the third stationary paper.
It looked like I’d written quite a bit, but I still had a long way to go.
“That’s a lot.”
It would probably take me more than ten pages to write about the whole saga of Young Lady Bright being framed as a villainess, the jerk Second Prince, the damned Countess Olette, the final boss which was the Empress, and the people of the Bright family.
My reason for writing about it in such detail was partly to reassure my butler and nanny, but ultimately to ask them for help.
I suspected, though I could not be certain, that the Young Lady Bright was with my mother, a suspicion that arose from my conversation with the Marquis of Bright.
‘Is Archie’s whereabouts still unknown?’
‘We haven’t found anything significant, so far.’
When I heard that the Young Lady Bright had been missing for several months, my first thought was that it was suspicious.
The Bright family had sent for Knights to find her. At the same time, they sent men across the Empire to search for her.
When the search took longer than they expected, they turned to the Intelligence Guild and posted a Bounty for anyone who knows her whereabouts at the Mercenary Guild. Still, they had no idea where she was.
It was strange to think that a noble lady with a weak body, who was neither a powerful knight nor an experienced adventurer, could wander around alone and not be found until now.
It was strange to say the least.
At worst, she could have been involved in an accident.
‘Could she have been kidnapped?’
‘I’m keeping it a closely guarded secret for fear of anyone hostile to our family or a newspaper reporter picking up the scent, but I’ve actually found a few traces of Archie.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes. From what our investigators sent, it looks like she’s hired some pretty good mercenaries to work for her.’
‘That’s good to know.’
‘Indeed.’
The Marquis of Bright smiled wryly.
‘The child’s most recent stay
was in a city called Sid, though she’s already left it.’
‘Sid?’
‘Aye. It’s a port city in the east. We’ve also found traces in the oasis town of Abbia and the border city of Kerou. The investigator said they must have traveled. They said that…’
The Marquis of Bright sighed heavily in frustration.
‘Perhaps there are no more traces after that.’
He muttered wistfully, his gaze fixed on the far east. But I didn’t have the heart to offer him comfort.
Kerou, Abbia, Sid.
The names of the cities where Young Lady Bright’s traces were found, overlapped with the names of the cities my mother had written that she’s been to in recent months.
It was too much to dismiss as a mere coincidence.
‘It was too much of a coincidence.’
‘I wonder if they’ve kept in touch.’
Could it be because she’s been moving around with our mother that’s why her whereabouts can’t be found.
If someone from the Bright family were to come to our estate, would they give us that information?
It was still speculation, but if the mercenary the investigator was referring to was my mother, it was certainly possible.
The fact that the Intelligence Guild and the Mercenary Guild were unable to locate Young Lady Bright suggests that she has covered her tracks well.
However, a plant in a greenhouse wouldn’t have such a skill.
Whoever Archie had brought with her must be a pretty good helper.
It would all make sense if the mercenary moving with Archie was our mother. Covering her tracks and outrunning her pursuers would be like eating cold soup.
But I couldn’t tell the Marquis about this because I wasn’t sure.
After all, with great expectations come great disappointments.
I didn’t want to jump to conclusions and find out later that it wasn’t true. So I decided to ask the butler and nanny.
My mother should have sent a letter after I left. They might have some useful information.
Even if there’s nothing, I would still ask the butler and nanny to find her.
‘They won’t hide this from me, right?’
They already had a history of hiding things about the Bright family from me. I hope it’s just a fluke…
I roughly finished the letter, noting the nagging suspicion in my heart. My frenzied writing had finally turned into five more pages.
“Alright.”
Before I could stuff the letter into the envelope, I realized that something was missing.
As I looked to see what was wrong, I suddenly heard heavy footsteps coming down the hallway.
I turned my head at the sound of the footsteps, which gradually grew nearer and nearer, and then the door burst open and Sophie appeared.
“Hey, Miss Iris!”
“Sophie?”
Sophie’s breath caught in her throat as she burst into the room. Her face was as pale as if she’d seen a ghost.
“What’s wrong?”
“Pr—..Prin…ha”
Sophie stuttered like a broken music box.
Her small body rattled like an aspen tree.
“Sophie, calm down. Take a deep breath.”
“Hah… Hah….”
Sophie dutifully followed my instructions.
She took a deep breath and let it out.
She then opened her mouth again.
“Per…Pri…n..Prince.”
“Who?”
“Prin.. His Highness the Crown Prince has sent for you!”
A shrieking cry escaped Sophie’s lips.
“His Highness the Prince is here?”
“!”
Sophie’s voice echoed through the room.
“Right now, the butler is… Oh my god! Oh!”
Sophie stamped her foot, unable to calm down. Her pale cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“Whatever. Let’s get downstairs, shall we?”
“No miss! You need to change your dress!”
“I’ll go as I am.”
“But, ugh.”
Sophie looked at me anxiously. She fidgeted with her hands, as if she didn’t like something. Her gaze flickered to the vanity.
“We shouldn’t keep His Royal Highness waiting for five hours just to get ready.”
“Oh, well, yeah, but, uh.”
“Okay, then just help me with my dress.”
“…Yes!”
I straightened my dress with Sophie’s help, and quickly left the room.
I wondered if Sophie had gotten tired of me.
I felt unnecessarily impatient.
“Where is the crown prince?”
“The butler is taking him to the parlor!”
‘What’s going on? Why is he here?’
As I made my way down the stairs, I suddenly had an ominous premonition.
‘Iris, if anything happens to you in the future, I will do everything in my power to help you.’
‘You don’t have to.’
‘No, I want to. You are not alone in this, the Empress will try to attack me as well as you.’
‘Ah, I see.’
‘Whether you like it or not, we’re in this together now, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Think of it as an alliance against a common enemy.’
‘I see.’
After our conversation in the cafĂŠ, we agreed to help each other prepare for any eventuality.
And the crown prince was true to his word— He sent a couple of scouts to the marquis’s residence to let him know how things were going. Fortunately, there was no movement on the Empress’s part.
‘Has the situation changed?’
If the crown prince himself had to come to the marquis’s residence to find me, it was more likely to be for the worse than for the better.
“Lady.”
I ran anxiously to the front of the parlor.
The butler saw me and said,
“I heard his highness has come?”
“Yes. He had summoned you to the parlor.”
The butler’s voice trembled faintly, and uncharacteristically.
Even the most seasoned butler seemed surprised by the crown prince’s visit.
“Thank you.”
“Shall I prepare tea?”
“Yes. Please.”
I thanked the butler and went inside the parlor.
I then saw the crown prince sitting on the sofa. He jumped to his feet when he saw me.
“Young Viscountess Sabrina.”
“Greetings to His Royal Highness.”
I bowed hastily, and he came closer, his face still looked fresh and beautiful after so many days. He then said,
“I apologize for my behavior.”
“No.”
“I have urgent news to tell you. Come sit.”
It was customary among nobles to call ahead to arrange a meeting before visiting someone’s residence.
It must be serious enough for the crown prince, who should know better than anyone, to show up without doing so.