Chapter 95
Chapter 95. Welcome Banquet for the Envoys
It’s here. That was the first thought that came to her mind when Adrian asked. Although she had come to eat together without overthinking it, Henelone had been consciously trying to keep some distance from Adrian.
If she could confidently call him her friend without any worries, then she wouldn’t have to hesitate. But there was a clear, unspoken tension between her and Adrian. So it was right to keep her distance.
Henelone, who had clenched her fists under the table, straightened her back and swallowed hard. Now was the time to speak firmly.
“Um… Adrian, I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can go to the lake with you.”
Adrian’s smiling face hardened at Henelone’s answer. Henelone, who had lowered her eyes in the awkwardly stiff atmosphere, carefully began to speak.
“There’s someone I like. Adrian is truly too good for me, and I was definitely attracted to you. But I realized that my feelings for you are very different from my feelings for the person I like.”
“…Henelone.”
“So, let’s not meet like this in the future…”
“Is that person you like the Duke of Woodward?”
Henelone flinched, startled, and covered her mouth. She tried to retrace her words, but she’d never mentioned Heinz.
How on earth did he know? She didn’t answer, keeping a close eye on him, but Adrian smiled bitterly as if he had guessed.
“If I had met Henelone before him, would I have had the luck to win your heart?”
“That… I don’t think it really matters.”
She liked Heinz, and Heinz liked her too. The assumption of “if she had met someone first” was unnecessary. Adrian nodded as she answered firmly, seemingly apologetically.
She was relieved that things would end well like this, but Adrian’s expression was terribly hardened.
“But Henelone. He’s the Duke of Woodward.”
“I, I know that. I’m just the daughter of a baronial family, and Heinz—”
“No. Wait a minute, Henelone. That’s not it… Duke Woodward is engaged to the third princess of Honfleur.”
“Huh? Who with whom… What…?”
Henelone, doubting her ears at the unexpected answer, asked blankly. However, Adrian’s words were unhesitating.
“Duke Heinz Woodward and Princess Marie-Jose, the third daughter of the Kingdom of Honfleur.”
Her heart sank.
***
A hot, scorching afternoon. Heinz, who had just returned from his investigation at Port Berner, gave his report. Dietrich, who had been flipping through his documents, raised his eyes.
The peaceful summer vacation had been extremely satisfying and enjoyable, but the aftereffects were terribly weighing on Dietrich.
“Hmm? Oh, right. I saw a few suspicious people… How were they?”
“They seem to have entered the port in small groups disguised as wandering mercenaries, but most of their origins match.”
Heinz’s expression was just as grim as Dietrich’s as he spoke. The investigation process had been very tedious.
For some reason, those who disguised themselves as wandering mercenaries were traveling all over the empire to cover up their origins. Tracking their movements without much gain was quite a burden, even for Heinz, who had great stamina.
Patience is bitter, but the fruit is sweet. Fortunately, after persistent investigation, they were able to find out their original origins.
“Where are they from?”
“They came from the Marquis of Grossmann in the west and the Duke of Sylvester in the north.”
“Hoho… Coincidentally, they are all from the former emperor’s faction.”
Marquis Grossmann and Duke Sylvester. Dietrich smiled faintly as he recalled the faces of the two old men who had grown old. At the moment when his body was aching from boring paperwork, he began to feel a sense of anticipation as he personally started to pursue them.
“So, they were mercenaries?”
“I can’t be sure yet, but there’s a high chance that they’re trained knights or soldiers.”
Those who settled in Berner Harbor were suspicious in more ways than one. Ordinary mercenaries constantly searched for commissions to make money. However, these individuals didn’t even show any effort to receive commissions and were just sitting at the harbor, killing time.
Also, their gait and posture. They were deliberately standing awkwardly, but even that was a balanced posture with their lower body firmly centered as if they were rooted to the ground. Their gait was consistent in terms of stride and weight. Those were habits one would only see in those who had trained for a long time.
When Heinz finished his report, Dietrich, who had been tapping the thick paperwork with the pen in his hand, opened his mouth with a dazzling smile.
“I think it’s time to come back to me, Heinz.”
“…The investigation is not yet complete.”
“Shouldn’t that be something you leave to your subordinates? Without you by my side, I’m afraid my neck will fall off. I stayed up all night crying.”
Even on a ship in a storm, he was still vivid in his memory, wrapped around the mast and sleeping.
However, Heinz’s expression was not good despite Dietrich’s witty and playful antics. Dietrich, who seemed to be hesitating, raised his eyebrows for a moment and smiled mischievously as if he understood.
“Is it because of the library?”
Heinz, who couldn’t bring himself to answer, looked away. Now that they had finally confirmed each other’s feelings and were immersed in a sweet time, he acted like they were separated for life.
