Chapter – 15
“…The young lady is going outside?”
“Yes, Your Excellency. What should we do?”
Sophia, who had received the report about the outing through the artifact worn by the maids, asked with a troubled expression.
Cassian, who had been writing a letter, put down his pen and after a brief moment of thought took out a potion from his drawer.
“Make her drink this before she leaves.”
If her hair and eye color changed, she wouldn’t resemble the young lady’s original appearance, so it should be fine.
There was a limit to stopping her from going outside anyway. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to let her go out for a change of mood.
“But she looked ready to storm the Nordil Count’s estate.”
“They won’t meet the young lady.”
The father and son were holed up in their territory with the gates locked like an iron fortress. How could she possibly break through?
Unless she threw away her dignity and forced her way in violently, it would be nearly impossible.
As the obvious outcome played out in his mind, Cassian finished the letter he had been writing and tied a silver ribbon—the symbol of the Hetis Ducal House—around the parchment.
“The letter is for the Nordil Count’s family. If she wants to eat something or buy something, let her use this.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
After handing the letter to Sophia, who was preparing the potion, Cassian gestured toward a box filled with gold coins.
Understanding his intent, Sophia carefully packed the items and left.
Left alone, Cassian leaned back and slowly tilted his head.
“Now that I think about it, she’s stayed inside the ducal residence for over a month.”
Aside from the Dwelron Forest, Evelyn had never gone outside.
Even if she was a patient, she must have wanted to go out into the streets, see people, and look around.
Considering she declared she would go out to solve a troublesome problem, she must have been feeling restless all this time.
Perhaps she also wanted to get some fresh air through this opportunity.
Thinking it wouldn’t be bad to give some freedom to the bait, Cassian summoned the knights under his command.
“You called us, Your Excellency?”
“Follow Lady Selredian.”
Observe her secretly like a shadow.
That was the meaning conveyed to the knights.
Normally they would have obeyed without question, but this unexpected order caused visible confusion.
“Pardon? You mean Lady Selredian?”
“If we leave our posts, there will be a gap in the southern wall’s defenses.”
They were right.
The Valhalla Knights were responsible for guarding the southern wall.
Among the many knight orders of the Hetis Ducal House, Valhalla was first-class—more precisely, an elite force even among the first class.
They defended the southern wall against monsters and barbarians and quietly appeared whenever major incidents occurred in the south, resolving them in secret like a shadow organization.
“Please reconsider.”
“This seems like a task that could be given to another knight order.”
Unable to accept the order, the Valhalla Knights strongly protested.
“The only knights who know Lady Evelyn’s identity, aside from the scouts, are you. Didn’t you discover her with me before?”
“That’s true, but… I still don’t understand why we must follow her just because we know her identity.”
It was true they had found Evelyn collapsed while riding with Cassian before, but most Valhalla Knights usually handled major matters while remaining hidden.
Unless it was an emergency or critical mission, guarding the wall came first.
So why were they being told to monitor her?
As puzzled gazes gathered, Cassian’s eyes turned cold.
“What you see is not everything. Right now, following the young lady is more urgent than guarding the wall.”
“!”
“I will assign another knight order to the wall, so keep that in mind.”
At the firm declaration, the knights’ expressions hardened.
If what they saw wasn’t everything, then there must be something hidden beneath the surface.
“Does that mean something will come out if we investigate her?”
“…Yes.”
After a slight pause, Cassian answered.
At that response, the Valhalla captain, Pavel, fell into deep thought.
Come to think of it, the young lady has been too quiet.
She said she lost her memory, but even so, she had been too well-behaved.
She simply ate, played, and slept in her room, loosening the servants’ vigilance.
Then suddenly she demanded the account books and caused a commotion, and later went to Dwelron Forest to uncover corruption.
If this outing wasn’t just a simple trip…
She could be meeting a spy.
Was that the implication?
That there might be secret dealings beneath the surface, and they were to uncover it.
If Pavel’s guess was correct, Cassian had perfectly seen through her intentions.
I almost disgraced my lord.
Perhaps the other knights reached similar conclusions, because their expressions soon became resolute.
“Please forgive us, Your Excellency!”
Realizing their mistake, the knights bowed their heads in unison.
Then—
Swish.
They quickly disappeared.
Clatter. Clatter.
Rattle. Rattle.
The carriage shook.
Along with it, my body bounced in my seat.
“Ow! Why is this road in such terrible condition?!”
The ride had been comfortable when going to Dwelron Forest, so why was the road to Nordil territory so rough?
“Count Nordil intentionally left the road in this condition.”
When I muttered with a frown, Sophia, sitting across from me, answered calmly as if it were common knowledge.
As she said, outside the window were rocks of all sizes, as if meant to block access.
“Is it because of Palladium?”
“Yes, my lady. More precisely, after Palladium prices rose sharply, the Nordil family deliberately cut off trade with the Hetis Duchy by blocking the trade routes.”
“So they didn’t outright forbid visits, but they made it difficult to come.”
The road conditions were beyond words.
Even the four-wheeled carriage we were riding could barely pass because the road was so narrow.
It was clearly meant to prevent knights from invading in force.
At the checkpoint they even tried to screen out people from the Hetis Duchy.
“State your affiliation. Entry is forbidden if you are from Hetis territory.”
“We are Nordil residents. We went to the Hetis territory to buy cloth and are now returning.”
When Sophia presented an identification plaque, the guards stepped aside.
So that’s why Sophia gave me that disguise potion.
I had wondered why I suddenly needed to drink it, but now it made sense.
If we hadn’t used a public carriage, we probably would have been chased away immediately.
At this rate, just getting there would take forever.
“I want to finish quickly and go back home to lie down.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s nothing.”
Something I had only meant to think slipped out.
I quickly corrected myself, and Sophia, who had tilted her head in confusion, turned her gaze back to the window.
Trying to adjust to the shaking carriage, I leaned back and muttered:
“I wish someone would just clear these rocks.”
“We have arrived, my lady.”
At Sophia’s voice, I opened my eyes.
Perhaps the road had become smooth after the monster zone, because we reached Nordil territory earlier than expected.
With Sophia’s help, I stepped down from the carriage and headed straight for the Nordil Count’s residence.
“We apologize. The lord is currently away.”
We passed the gate guards and entered the castle, but were immediately refused upon reaching the lobby.
A man introducing himself as the head butler, Damon, adjusted his glasses and spoke stiffly.
“Is the former Count also absent?”
“Yes. Both are away.”
“Then when will they return?”
“We do not know. They have traveled far, so we cannot say.”
In other words, there was no telling when they would return.
At that moment, I noticed maids moving busily behind him.
A trolley? Preparing a banquet when the masters aren’t even here?
On the trolley the maids were pushing was a large roasted turkey glistening with oil.
Something felt strange.
Why were they carrying so much food when the masters were absent?
I leaned slightly to get a better look.
“We are sorry, but further entry is not permitted.”
At that moment, Damon stepped sideways and blocked my view.
Though he said he was sorry, his expression clearly showed he wanted us gone quickly.
“Then please at least deliver this letter.”
As if used to such situations, Sophia stepped forward, bowed politely, and handed over the parchment tied with the silver ribbon.
“Yes. I will deliver it.”
Damon answered indifferently and snatched the parchment.
If someone showed proper courtesy, basic manners dictated returning it—but he did not.
Holding the parchment by the fingertips as if it were something filthy, Damon looked down at us.
“Do you have anything else to say?”
