Chapter 66
The capital was largely divided into two areas.
Vicente Street, where the nobles lived, and Rocfen Street, where the commoners’ residences were clustered.
The place Alice wanted to go was the commoners’ residential area.
“Rocfen Street, well…”
Sienna hesitated.
Alice knew the reason without needing to hear it.
As Rocfen Street was a commoners’ residential area, security was naturally poor.
Given that assassins had recently come for her, Sienna couldn’t readily agree to go to a place with poor security.
She didn’t want to put Sienna in a difficult position, but what could she do?
The bookshop alley on Rocfen Street was where the Third Prince frequented almost daily.
In the original story, that’s where Sienna and the Third Prince had met.
The Third Prince had received no support or attention from the imperial palace since childhood.
So, wandering around the palace in hunger and loneliness, he accidentally discovered a dog hole leading outside the palace.
From then on, the Third Prince would sneak in and out of the palace through that hole, selling the gold buttons from his palace clothes to buy food and necessities.
Then he happened to discover the bookshop alley and spent countless hours there reading books and accumulating knowledge.
He had no teacher to teach him basic knowledge and etiquette, nor could he access the palace library, so he visited the bookshops almost daily.
To educate himself.
It’s a… pretty pitiful setup, isn’t it?
Anyway, since the Third Prince frequented the bookshop alley, Alice planned to take Sienna there.
That’s how she could make the two meet.
It would be a problem to defeat the Third Prince there, but… that was an issue for later. The first step was to take Sienna there.
If the first chapter is blocked, she can’t even attempt anything.
Alice carefully asked the hesitating Sienna:
“Are you uncomfortable going with me?”
Slightly lowering the corners of her eyes.
Sienna responded with a start:
“Of course not. I think I’d enjoy going with you, Duchess.”
“Then let’s go together. With Lord Ruyd and you who can use magic, we’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
“You’re right, with me by the Duchess’s side, there shouldn’t be any major problems. I’ll speak to my brother about it. Let’s go together tomorrow, Duchess.”
She’s offering to get Kylus’s permission on her behalf.
Alice’s lips curved up involuntarily, happy that one of her tasks had been taken care of.
“You must have really wanted to go.”
Sienna laughed lightly, misunderstanding Alice’s brightened face.
“Yes. I really wanted to go. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.”
To the moment you and the Third Prince meet.
Alice gave Sienna a deep smile, hoping that everything would go according to plan tomorrow.
* * *
Late at night.
Even as the lights in the servants’ quarters of the duchy were going out one by one, the Duke’s office was still brightly lit by magic lamps.
“All remnants of Quillian have been dealt with. All her people have been sent away, and all the items she used or cherished have been incinerated, Your Grace.”
The butler in charge of organizing the mansion interior reported to Kylus.
“Did the Orpheus Barony not want to receive them?”
Kylus asked without taking his eyes off his documents.
Lady Quillian.
She had been expelled from the Dearrut Duchy simultaneously with being burned yesterday.
Therefore, she should rightfully return to her original surname, Quillian Orpheus.
However, as soon as they heard the news of Lady Quillian’s death yesterday, the Orpheus Barony sent a letter to the Dearrut Duchy.
The contents expressed regret for Quillian’s misdeeds and drew a line, stating that she was no longer a person of the Orpheus Barony.
“Yes. The Orpheus Barony stated that Quillian is no longer a member of their family.”
“So she was expelled from there as well, it seems.”
“It appears so.”
To have completely lost her noble status.
If that woman had been expelled from both families while alive, she would have wailed in shock and lost her mind.
It was a bit disappointing not to see her struggling.
But she was already dead.
He shouldn’t dwell on it.
All traces had been removed, so there was no need to think about it anymore.
Kylus signed the document and said concisely:
“Good work. Give the servants who’ve been working hard lately a bonus for a while.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Just as the butler bowed his head, there was a knock.
“Your Grace, it’s Ruyd.”
Kylus slightly raised his gaze towards the door.
“Come in.”
Before Ruyd, who had entered the office, could even offer his greetings, Kylus waved his hand as if annoyed.
“Skip the formalities. Is it already time for the shift change?”
Ruyd had been closely guarding Alice.
But even Ruyd couldn’t provide close protection without sleep, so at night he switched with another knight.
There weren’t many skilled enough to replace Ruyd, so at night, three knights stood guard in front of Alice’s bedroom.
The best method would be… for him to share a room with her.
But they weren’t at that level of relationship yet.
If he approached too forcefully, she might run far away.
Right now, she was holding his hand, but Alice was still looking for an opportunity to leave.
Like a herbivore intensely wary of traps around its prey.
So he absolutely must not move rashly.
Kylus glanced at the clock and turned to Ruyd.
He had already put down his quill pen the moment Ruyd entered.
“Who’s on night watch today?”
“Evan, Deryl, and Rios. We’ve only assigned skilled men for night watch, so you needn’t worry, Your Grace.”
As Ruyd said, they were quite skilled.
Kylus nodded slowly and then looked at Sienna’s letter placed on one side of the desk.
It was a letter saying she would go on an outing with the Duchess tomorrow.
When Sienna had come earlier to relay the message, Kylus had been too busy, so she had sent a letter instead.
Hmm.
There was no reason to refuse permission.
He couldn’t force Alice on where she could or couldn’t go.
The poor security of Rocfen Street and the Empress’s assassins were a bit concerning, but… with Lady Meltain and Ruyd accompanying her, it should be fine.
Kylus looked at the letter and said to Ruyd:
“Ruyd, pay extra attention to the protection tomorrow.”
“Don’t you trust my skills? You’re worrying needlessly, Your Grace.”
Ruyd said with a confident face.
At first glance, it sounded quite rude, but Kylus knew Ruyd well.
His playful personality.
But currently, he must be having a hard time suppressing his personality due to the close protection of Alice.
Knowing this, Kylus let it slide more generously than usual.
Chuckling lightly, Kylus picked up his quill pen again and asked:
“Was there anything unusual while guarding today?”
It was a routine question.
“Unusual… I’m not sure if this counts as unusual, but the Lady seems to suffer from severe insomnia. She received a strong sleeping pill prescription from the doctor.”
But the answer that came back was not routine.
Kylus’s hand paused.
“Insomnia?”
Who? Alice?
“Yes. She seemed to have quite severe insomnia, but…”
As Ruyd trailed off slowly, Kylus let out an incredulous laugh.
He had clearly seen her sleeping soundly, snoring even, and yet she claimed insomnia?
Of course it was absurd.
To say she only slept well that day… if she originally had insomnia, she would have had even more trouble sleeping that night.
With the assassin’s attack and the changed bedroom.
If she were a sensitive person, she would have stayed up all night.
But Alice slept well.
Very deeply and well, at that.
She didn’t even stir when he left the bedroom in the morning.
“And yet, sleeping pills.”
Kylus suppressed his laughter and let out a low sigh.
She got a strong sleeping pill prescription from Helkin.
Surely she didn’t get it to take herself.
Then what does she intend to do with it?
At that moment, his gaze naturally fell on Sienna’s letter.
“Ruyd.”
“Yes.”
“Was it Sienna who first suggested going to Rocfen Street tomorrow?”
“No. The Lady suggested to the Young Lady that they go out together. She said she wanted to visit the bookshop alley on Rocfen Street.”
“The bookshop alley…”
The bookshop alley on Rocfen Street.
It wasn’t a place with anything particularly special.
But Kylus’s instincts were telling him that Alice was planning something special.
If he thought about it a bit more deeply, it was strange that Alice suddenly wanted to go on an outing with Sienna.
They weren’t even close to begin with.
There was rarely anything… simple about Alice’s actions.
It had been that way since that Quillian woman was alive.
Everything Alice did had a reason.
Threatening Helkin, going to the temple, becoming friends with Prion.
All were movements with a purpose.
To escape from the duchy.
Surely not this time too?
Kylus’s brow furrowed.
If she left the duchy now, she would be killed by the Empress.
It didn’t seem like Alice would make such a choice.
There was no lie in her eyes when she asked him to protect her for a year.
Then what on earth is she trying to do?
And what does she know that makes her act like this?
Kylus wondered what Alice knew every time she showed suspicious movements.
Something that he didn’t know, but Alice did.
But he couldn’t ask what that something was.
Because if he did, she might say she’d leave him instead of answering.
If it was something she could talk about, she would have already said it.
So Kylus wouldn’t ask anything.
He would silently watch over her, waiting for the day she would speak of her own accord.
His deliberation didn’t last long.
Kylus raised his eyes to the butler.
“Send any urgent matters for tomorrow to Tessiri. And, Ruyd.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll quietly follow behind tomorrow, so even if you sense my presence, don’t show it.”
“…Understood, Your Grace.”
Although he didn’t know what Alice was trying to do, his choice now and in the future would always be the same.
To protect Alice from harm.
Kylus folded Sienna’s letter with a subdued look in his eyes.
