Chapter 28
“Uncle Milles has disappeared?”
“Yes. He left Roosevelt’s estate, and since then… not a word.”
“How does someone just disappear without a sound?”
“My thoughts exactly.”
“Unless, of course, he was silenced before he could make one.”
Elliot and I had been piecing together all the rumors circulating throughout the day.
“No one with a working brain would handle things that way.”
“True. If they were caught, they’d be offering up their own heads.”
“Still, it seems more plausible that he ran—to escape accountability.”
“If something has happened to him, it could be dangerous for you as well, my lady.”
“It could certainly be twisted to work against me.”
When something goes wrong, someone always ends up bleeding.
And it’s dangerous to assume that someone won’t be me.
“By the way… since when did you start tending to plants?”
Elliot asked, noticing the flower I was carefully wiping down.
“I didn’t want her plant to wither. So I’m learning. Karlin seems to know a lot about how to take care of them.”
“I see.”
Maybe it was because I’d changed—but lately, Elliot had been especially curious about me.
“The physician’s coming tonight,” he added.
“Oh, today was a checkup day, wasn’t it?”
My condition had improved a lot.
Daily life was still a challenge, of course, but I couldn’t spend every moment being fragile. At some point, I had to move forward.
“I’m thinking I’ll start horseback training once my stamina improves.”
“That’s completely out of the question.”
“Most of what we do is out of the question, isn’t it? What’s one more impossible thing?”
“…My lady.”
“Two more jokes and you’ll faint, won’t you?”
“…I don’t quite find it funny.”
Poor Elliot.
What a strange fate it was—for him to end up with someone like me.
Feeling oddly sympathetic, I glanced over at his face.
“The retainers are gathered in the council hall. Are you not going?”
“I should give them time to bite and tear at me.”
“They may be plotting something.”
“That’s the point. The more desperately they move to hide their weaknesses, the easier our work becomes.”
Watching the retainers flail in the chaos—something they’d never faced before—was almost amusing.
“Besides, if we squeeze them too tightly, at least one of them will turn on me.”
“A sound strategy, better than pure aggression. Just like Lady Deborah would—”
“Elliot.”
“…Forgive me.”
Even small slips like that could be dangerous.
No matter how private our conversation, that name couldn’t be said out loud.
“Start compiling a list of retainers we might be able to win over. When the time comes, we’ll toss them a carrot.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Soon, the retainers’ voices will carry more weight. Their opinions will influence the heir appointment.”
“We don’t know what kind of test Lord Mergen will present.”
“He might seem like he’s on my side, but it’ll never truly work in my favor.”
“That’s always how he operates.”
“Grandfather’s final test is always pushing you off a cliff.”
He clung to outdated ideals—bloodlines, legacy—but he wasn’t someone who’d ever entrust Mergen to a wolf.
He was, more than anyone, sincere in his devotion to the house’s glory.
“Before I’m pushed over that cliff, I’ll have to show results.”
The mines alone wouldn’t cut it.
I needed more. More proof. More achievement.
“I think I’ll go see the sea tomorrow.”
“You plan to inspect the shipbuilding site?”
“Well… among other things.”
When I smiled, Elliot wordlessly took out his notebook and jotted down the new plan.
“I’ll make the arrangements.”
Truly, what a man of unwavering seriousness.
“She completely outplayed us.”
“Did the maid get bribed or something? Sick and helpless? Don’t make me laugh. Did you see the way she looked at me? I thought she’d peel my skin off.”
As Roosevelt and Vermont raised their voices, Chloe’s expression twisted in irritation.
“How long has she been preparing?”
She tapped the armrest of her chair, visibly frustrated.
“Preparing?”
“How could she possibly know all that so soon after Deborah’s death? There’s no way she memorized that much in just a few days. She’s been sharpening her knife for a long time.”
At that, Vermont rushed to defend himself.
“That’s impossible. That girl was shaking in front of me just a few weeks ago. That’s all she was good for.”
But Roosevelt wasn’t so sure.
“No. There’s someone behind her. Why do you think the retainers are all saying the same thing?”
“Behind her… You’re not implying it’s the Lord himself…?”
“That’s not it,” Chloe cut in, firm and fast.
“But is there anything to worry about? We can just… get rid of her.”
“…If only killing her would solve everything, it’d be simple,” Roosevelt muttered. “The problem is—we still need her.”
“But if Lord Abel becomes the heir, wouldn’t that change things?”
“And how long will that take? That’s the problem. Right now, that girl is under too much attention. Even if she gained notice for the wrong reasons, all eyes are on her now—and that’s acting as her shield.”
Chloe sighed and looked at both men.
“Hmph. And with the way she’s going, I doubt she’ll settle down quietly…”
Vermont was too restless to stay still and began pacing the room.
“So what do we do? For now, maybe we just watch and wait…”
“No. We need to find out—whether this is real momentum or just arrogance.”
“Find out?”
Roosevelt licked his dry lips and looked toward Chloe.
“She needs to be punished—for daring to make a fool of me.”
Chloe rang a small bell, calm and deliberate.
“You called, madam?”
A maid hurried in, flustered.
An arrow cut through the wind and slammed into the center of the red target like lightning.
“Bullseye!”
A loud shout echoed in the distance.
The sharp sea wind tousled Henry’s shining hair like fireworks as he stared down the target.
“Ha ha ha, things are getting quite entertaining, aren’t they?”
With a bright laugh, Henry loosed his second arrow.
As it soared, his aide handed him the next arrow and continued speaking.
“Thanks to that, the entire Mergen estate has been in an uproar from night until morning.”
The fierce storm that swept through Mergen was now the talk of the empire.
Anyone with eyes or ears—nobility, royalty, and common folk alike—had heard of it.
“Looks like my betrothed stirred up quite the spectacle.”
“She’s not your betrothed, Your Highness,” the aide corrected calmly.
“Hm. I suppose not. Then what—prospective fiancée?”
“She hasn’t expressed any intent in that direction either, sir.”
“Then I don’t know what to call her.”
Henry grumbled, resting one arm lazily on his longbow with clear dissatisfaction.
“Try using her name. No need to add anything fancy.”
“I suppose… but.”
His brow wrinkled with mild irritation.
“It just doesn’t sit right. Her name. There’s something strange about it. Feels… off.”
“What’s strange about a perfectly normal name…? I truly don’t know if you like her or dislike her, Your Highness.”
The aide shook his head in exasperation.
Henry was unpredictable—capricious to the point of exhaustion—and the aide still hadn’t grown used to it.
“I didn’t expect much from Mergen lately, but with how interesting things have gotten, I can’t help but stay invested.”
“Mergen is always at the center of something.”
“It really is a curious place. And now that I think of it, the Mergen ancestral rites should be coming up soon.”
“I wonder if they’ll survive it this time.”
“Survive…” Henry let out a low chuckle.
“Isn’t it funny? Mergen once held the empire in its grasp through mystical power, and now it has to hope it won’t suffer humiliation.”
“Power rarely lasts even a century. But Mergen… it’s endured for five.”
“Power changes, ideology changes—even the gods change. But the imperial court? Still stuck in its mold.”
“You’re speaking dangerously again.”
Henry, losing interest, tossed the bow back toward his aide.
The aide caught it easily, as if used to this rhythm.
“Since these cursed traditions refuse to change, I figured I might as well be the one who does. But people always call that dangerous.”
“I fear that sharp tongue of yours more than anything, Your Highness.”
“There you go again. Enough of that—let’s go out.”
“You mean, leave the palace again?”
“I want to visit my uncle.”
“You mean the Grand Duke?”
“Do I have any living uncles besides him? Unless you count the ones buried in the family plot.”
With long strides, Henry walked off, his robe flaring dramatically in the wind.
“Smells like the sea.”
The city of Agrapina, not far from Mergen, was a bustling port town.
Here, one of Mergen’s trading ships was docked, and a new vessel was still under construction.
“My lady, what brings you here?!”
Workers gathered near one of the estate’s official buildings began murmuring in surprise at the sight of me.
