~Chapter 55~
Some time later—
The entire social circle was thrown into chaos.
“You mean Duke Ricardo and Miss Bianca broke off their engagement?”
“And Miss Bianca just accepted it quietly…?”
It was because of the news of our cancellation.
“But I heard something strange too.”
“Like what?”
“Well, apparently, Miss Bianca wasn’t the one obsessed with the Duke. Miss Danae said the Duke himself told her that he was the one clinging to Miss Bianca!”
“My goodness. Lady Danae wouldn’t lie about something like that.”
Before I knew it, all the rumors had turned their focus onto Ricardo.
People started criticizing him for cheating on his fiancée, and I became the object of sympathy.
It didn’t take long before the blame and gossip stopped pointing at me and turned toward him.
But eventually, all of this would die down.
People would find a new target to gossip about.
…Still, this isn’t what I wanted.
Ricardo, are you really that stupid?
Did you think I’d be grateful for all this?
“At least the nasty rumors about you are dying down,”
Cedric said, taking off his glasses. Looking tired, he pressed his fingers to his eyes.
I refilled his empty teacup.
“I didn’t expect people’s opinions to shift this much.”
“Well, think of it as a good thing. It means you’ll be able to find a good match now.”
At Cedric’s dry tone, Grandfather narrowed his eyes immediately.
“Already talking about marriage matches, are you?”
“I was just saying. I was worried no one would want to deal with her troublesome personality, but this changes things.”
Grandfather let out a deep sigh and shook his head.
Then he glared at Cedric.
“And what about your office? Why are you here instead of working?”
“….”
Cedric simply put his glasses back on instead of answering.
He had even moved his desk into Grandfather’s bedroom.
Grandfather kept grumbling about his stubborn grandson, but honestly, he seemed happy.
“Bianca, don’t get married too soon. The thought of being alone with your boring brother is absolutely dreadful.”
“You’re blocking your own granddaughter’s future, Grandfather. You should reflect on that.”
“See? Your brother can’t even take a joke.”
Grandfather reached his hand toward the window, but as both Cedric and I turned to him at once, he quickly pulled it back.
I said firmly,
“The doctor said you need to keep using the herbal sedative for now.”
“If you’re going to do whatever you want anyway, you might as well dismiss the family doctor entirely.”
“…You two are harsh.”
With our scolding, Grandfather finally lay back down.
Only then did Cedric sigh in relief and change the subject.
“Still, I didn’t expect the Hessen family to agree to the annulment so easily.”
Cedric glanced at me.
“…Didn’t you arrange that?”
Judging by how things played out, even without Cedric’s involvement, it probably would’ve happened anyway.
“There was a terrorist attack at the palace — I didn’t have time to fix that too.”
…That’s true.
“Forget it. I shouldn’t have said anything.” Cedric said and sipped his tea.
Then he noticed Grandfather hadn’t said a word for a while.
When we looked over, he was deep in thought, his expression unusually dark.
“Grandfather?”
My voice snapped him out of it.
“Are you feeling unwell?”
“No, not at all.”
He forced a smile and shook his head. Then, in a joking tone, he said:
“I was just wondering if Leon would be a good match for Bianca.”
…That was not the expression of someone making a joke.
“Didn’t you just say it was too early to be looking into Bianca’s marriage?”
“You’re too serious. I was just speaking hypothetically.”
Cedric frowned.
“Does the idea of becoming family with Leon make your chest tighten already?”
“We probably wouldn’t even see each other that often.”
Grandfather looked like he already knew what Cedric was thinking without needing to hear it.
Cedric glanced at me.
“Besides, her standards aren’t that low.”
“…Haha.”
He tilted his head, as if asking, Isn’t that right?
***
Back in my room, I found a note wedged in the window.
It didn’t have a sender mentioned, but I knew immediately who it was from.
Why is Peril calling me to the Mage Tower?
I had never been there before.
Ever since he fell asleep, the Mage Tower had stayed locked up, only supplying magic tools to the Empire.
If he was calling me there now… maybe he was ready to reveal he’d woken up.
“My lady, here are the books you requested!”
Allen entered with a towering stack of books.
“Can you put them on the desk?”
“Yes!”
He set them down with a grunt and wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand.
“What got into you all of a sudden?”
I shrugged lightly in response.
The books I’d asked for were about the Mage War.
Books published by the Empire only told the story from the victor’s perspective, so they didn’t have what I wanted to know.
So, I’d bought some from Orphen instead.
“If it’s about the Magic War, wouldn’t it be faster to ask Lord Bluea?”
“I don’t really want to bring up the past with Grandfather.”
Allen went quiet for a moment.
“…Sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
“It’s okay! Thanks for caring.”
With an awkward expression, he scratched his cheek and walked toward the bookshelf.
“There are some good reference books here too. Want me to pull them out for you?”
“Yes, please.”
Allen scanned the shelves and began pulling out books one by one.
Meanwhile, I sat and opened one of the books.
“There’s probably more in the library too. I can look th—”
Thud!
Allen dropped a book.
“Are you okay?”
I asked, startled. He gave me an embarrassed nod.
“I don’t know why I’m so clumsy today…”
I walked over to help him pick up the book.
But then I noticed something fell out from between the pages.
“My lady, I’m sorry! I’ll put it back in place.”
“….”
“My lady?”
His voice finally brought me back to my senses.
“Huh? What did you say?”
“I said I’d return it to its place.”
Allen looked at me, puzzled.
“Oh, right. Something fell out of the book.”
“….”
“If it’s trash, I can throw it away for you.”
Allen reached out his hand.
“…No. It’s okay.”
In my hand was a dried, withered four-leaf clover.
I couldn’t hold it too tightly, afraid it would crumble.
I quickly returned to my seat and slipped the clover back into the book before closing it.
Even then, I couldn’t calm the storm inside me.
***
“…Is this really the place?”
It looked like a ruined castle.
Overgrown vines covered the gates and walls in an eerie mess.
There wasn’t a single sign of life inside the Mage Tower.
No lights, no sounds—there was not a single thing that suggested this was a castle.
“Um… hello?”
My timid voice echoed back at me.
“You told me to come here… didn’t you?”
I tried pulling the large gate, but it didn’t budge an inch.
Clang!
A creepy noise rang out, and I gave up.
Sigh…
Was I supposed to climb over the wall?
Just as I let out a long sigh, the door—once completely still—began to creak open.
“Huh?”
The person coming out stopped in her tracks with wide eyes.
It was Idette.
She clearly didn’t expect to see me here and looked flustered.
It seemed I wasn’t the only one remembering what had happened the last time we met.
…Should I say something?
The air was awkward.
Then suddenly, Idette clutched her skirt and blurted out,
“I—I’m sorry!”
And with that, she bowed her head deeply, too afraid to even look up.
