Chapter 26
Serena, completely worked up, barged into Sven’s decoy café.
“So far, everything has been excellent.”
Sven, who had been organizing the massive amount of information that had poured in just today, looked at Serena with a baffled expression.
“A perfect score so far. I want to keep watching.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I mean Lady Laria. The way she’s hiding in the Icard Ducal House and plotting—she’s really something.”
Everyone else thought everything that had happened was mere coincidence, but Serena immediately realized it was all part of Laria’s scheme. She’d caught on as soon as the knight commander’s name had been given as “Sven.”
“I’ve got a feeling about this. I really like Lady Laria.”
Serena raised the edge of her hand and made a slicing gesture across her throat.
“She guided Duke Icard himself and wrapped things up cleanly, without leaving any room for controversy.”
Listening attentively to Serena’s excited rambling, Sven leaned back into the sofa with a satisfied smile.
He stroked Neo, the black cat purring contentedly on his lap.
I knew it. She caught my eye from the very first moment I saw her at the racetrack.
“She’s the one we’ve been looking for.”
Serena clasped her hands together and continued.
“Completely different on the outside and inside, brilliant at schemes, and overflowing with acting talent.”
“Then we’ll have to keep a close eye on how she grows, as close as possible.”
Sven’s eyes gleamed as he spoke.
“Judging by the circumstances, it seems clear she’s planning to leave the Icard Ducal House. We should do everything we can to help.”
“Of course! She needs to be free. Someone like her is wasted staying in a ducal house.”
Sven nodded slowly.
“That’s true.”
Considering that Laria had mentioned the imperial family… the rough picture became clear. It sounded like she intended to run away and tie Evan to Princess Elani of the imperial family, just as everyone who claimed to read the situation had predicted.
That might even be Duke Icard’s intention.
Nothing was certain until they met Laria herself, though.
“Maybe…”
“Maybe what?”
“Maybe Duke Icard is planning to kill Lady Laria—once his power grows enough to connect Evan with Princess Elani again.”
“Oh my.”
“Lady Laria is an orphan with no family. Even if she died quietly, there’d be no one to raise an issue.”
“My goodness! So that’s why he brought her in? What a complete piece of trash! No wonder he didn’t look very shocked even when she said she was terminally ill!”
“I didn’t think he was that rotten, but he’s really gone all the way.”
“That’s why Lady Laria is probably trying to escape!”
Unaware that Laria was actually terminally ill, Serena and Sven quickly succeeded in branding Calaudin as the worst kind of human being. Serena, unable to contain her agitation, exclaimed,
“Then there’s no need to stay loyal to the Icard Ducal House!”
“What loyalty?”
“I felt sorry for Lady Laria from the start for marrying so early. She should have a hundred men at her beck and call. I’ll personally teach her how to judge men, step by step.”
“Lady Laria is a married woman. Don’t forget that.”
“They’re going to split up anyway, right? Affairs are common in political marriages, and if things blow up, that’s just the end of it.”
Ignoring Serena completely, Sven pointed at the map with a wooden stick.
“Listen carefully, Serena. If Lady Laria agrees with our intentions, then the plan going forward is this.”
“Yes.”
“When Princess Elani’s marriageable age approaches, we help Lady Laria escape. Naturally, the territory she’s already purchased—Hanyua—would be suitable.”
“Yes.”
“Then Duke Icard will announce that Lady Laria has gone missing and marry Young Master Evan to Princess Elani.”
“Hm?”
Serena rolled her eyes and tilted her head as she listened.
“But what if he doesn’t marry him to Princess Elani?”
“That won’t happen.”
“But what if Young Master Evan ends up liking Lady Laria? The way he looked at her today was no joke.”
“Then it’s catastrophe.”
Sven summed it up simply.
“Duke Icard is utterly indifferent to Young Master Evan. Do you think he’d care about that kind of love? If Lady Laria gets caught by Evan and can’t escape, she’ll be killed without anyone knowing.”
“Haaah…”
“So we have to be careful. If Young Master Evan takes after Duke Icard, he’ll never let go of a woman he likes.”
“Yes. I’ll be careful.”
“If he darkens for no reason, it’ll become a real headache. Don’t provoke them—let them live as a lukewarm couple without thinking too deeply.”
Sven warned, frowning.
The black cat on his lap let out a lazy yawn.
“For example, don’t do things like saying you’ll help Lady Laria develop an eye for men and recommending other men to her.”
“Early education is important, though…”
Serena pouted and grumbled.
“Absolutely, absolutely do not let Young Master Evan set his heart on Lady Laria. If that happens, everything we’ve done will be for nothing. Got it?”
Not knowing it was already too late, Serena nodded with a resolute expression.
“Oh, right. Lady Laria asked for something. She said it was time to make some money…”
“Huh? What is it?”
“She asked us to find someone and bring them to her.”
That night—
“Evan, shouldn’t we sleep now? I’m getting sleepy.”
I asked deliberately in a cheerful voice.
Evan no longer said things he didn’t mean—but that didn’t mean he said what he did mean, either.
“Yeah… we should sleep.”
He fidgeted with the picture book, as if he wanted to say something, then stopped, then hesitated again.
Sigh. He’s still young, and he must’ve been under a lot of stress lately. I’ll let it slide.
“Want me to read you a storybook? Until you fall asleep?”
“That’s something kids do…”
“Don’t you want to?”
“Well… we are kids.”
Evan’s charm point was how, despite being stoic, the back of his neck would turn red if you treated him just a little kindly.
“Come here. I’ll read it to you.”
I patted the space beside me confidently. Evan handed me the book and sat next to me, then gently rested his head on my shoulder.
Huh? I said I’d read to you, not that you could lean on me.
Still, he’d been getting hit a lot lately, so I decided to accept it all out of pity. The son’s mental state was shattered thanks to a mad knight commander, and his father, Duke Icard, wasn’t even trying to fix it. So at least I should be nice to him…
I stroked Evan’s hair once and began reading. The cover showed a very cute baby bear.
“The baby bear loved looking at the stars in the night sky.”
Evan leaned against me with a contented expression, listening to my voice.
“But one day, one of the stars fell and became a shooting star.”
Honestly, I’d bought the book because the illustrations were pretty. I didn’t really know the story.
“The baby bear crossed mountains and fields to bring the star back.”
Why do you have to cross mountains just to pick up a star? I wondered.
“And then it searched frantically, its eyes bloodshot.”
Huh? What kind of children’s book is this?
The baby bear looked cute, but wasn’t its obsession a bit much? The content felt oddly mismatched with the pretty cover illustrations.
“When the baby bear finally reached the sea, it embraced the star—now turned into a starfish—against its chest.”
What kind of story is this? Shouldn’t we consider the feelings of the starfish that was living perfectly fine in the sea?!
Evan slowly shared his thoughts.
“It’s a good story, isn’t it?”
“Huh? Uh…”
Since I was the one who bought it, I couldn’t bring myself to say it was weird. I closed the book awkwardly.
“Alright, let’s sleep now.”
“Wait, Laria. Why do you sleep like this?”
Evan gently pulled me into a hug and patted my back.
“You keep clinging to me when you sleep.”
That was because I was trying to check your injuries. Is this what they call a disaster of my own making?
“I’m sorry about everything so far. So I want to do the things you like in advance.”
Well… calling it a disaster to sleep hugging Evan felt a bit off…
“Don’t worry. If we don’t hold hands, no baby will be made.”
“R-right?”
Evan said it calmly, but something about it made me uneasy.
“I did almost make a mistake and hold your hand in my sleep once, though…”
Still, looking at his serious expression, all I could think was, He may be big, but he’s still a kid.
“I’ll be careful, so trust me.”
“…Okay.”
I had no choice but to nod slowly.
Evan was a year younger than me, but he was so much bigger than kids his age that he looked fifteen or sixteen. Meanwhile, I was smaller than average, so I fit snugly in his arms.
Even so, I felt like I had to take care of him. Especially on nights like this, when he lay awake for a long time without saying anything. I let out a small sigh and spoke first.
“Evan.”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t take what Rudva said to heart.”
“I’m not.”
He answered quietly.
“He said I shouldn’t get along with you, but I won’t be swayed by that anymore. I really want to get along with you.”
“No, that’s not what I mean.”
That wasn’t the point at all.
Feeling frustrated, I lifted my head and met his red eyes.
“Those things he said, like how everyone became unhappy because of you—those are nonsense…”
“That’s true, Laria.”
“…Huh?”
“Didn’t you notice? Everyone in the ducal house misses Mother. Even Father.”
I couldn’t deny it. Even calm Lisa sometimes looked utterly lost with longing for Lady Matilda. And Duke Icard, who had changed completely, went without saying…
“Unless Mother comes back alive, it’s a darkness I’ll carry for the rest of my life.”
“But that’s not your fault. You know that. And if you don’t overcome that darkness, you’ll stay unhappy.”
“That can’t be helped, Laria.”
Evan smiled carefully. Of course—there was no way someone like me, who hadn’t been in the ducal house long, could resolve such long-standing trauma all at once.
“Still… when I look at you, Laria…”
He murmured softly.
“I get the fleeting thought that this is what a family is supposed to be like.”
“……”
“The racetrack event was our first family outing. For that moment, it really felt like we were just an ordinary family.”
Without replying, I buried my face in Evan’s chest. For some reason, realizing that Evan and I had been thinking exactly the same thing that day made my heart ache.
