IWTGHFW CHAPTER 46

Episode 46

“Something to confirm?”

“I’m not sure what exactly. I think they said something about looking for someone. So… are you going to buy it?”

I thought about asking more, but decided it was better to end it here. If I aroused suspicion, it might be hard to come back later.

I paid for the earrings I had in my hand and left the jewelry shop. Since the earrings were rather expensive, the shop owner even escorted me to the door, saying I should come again.

…As if they gave me a discount. Yeah, right.

I decided I’d have to bill the crown prince for the earrings and lingered around Marian’s bakery for about an hour longer. Unfortunately, neither Marian nor a single hair of the Barail household’s servant appeared.

If I stayed any longer, someone who remembered me might show up, and with evening drawing near, I decided to head back for now.

When I returned to the Metailer estate, good news was waiting for me.

“Ron’s awake?!”

The moment I heard the news, I ran straight to Ron’s room. I burst the door open to find Ron holding a spoon, about to eat some porridge.

As soon as his red eyes met mine, the spoon slipped from his hand. The doctor beside him quietly warned, “You mustn’t pull out the needles again.”

“Ayle!”

“Ron! Are you alright? Is your mind clear? Your memory? Do you remember everything? How many fingers?”

I rushed over to him instead of letting him get up. Sitting beside his bed, I held up two fingers in front of his eyes. He gave a small chuckle and answered, “Two.”

Good—his recognition and counting seemed fine.

The doctor met my gaze and gave a nod meaning everything was fine, then reminded Ron of his care instructions before leaving the room.

Although the bandages wrapped around his chest were still visible beneath his slightly open pajamas, he looked surprisingly well. Seeing him moving and eating normally eased the tight knot that had been pressing on my chest.

“Shun told me everything. I’m glad you’re safe, Ayle.”

“But Mishi and the Second Prince are still there. This isn’t over yet.”

“They’ll be fine. But you came home late from work today?”

“Oh, I went out.”

I told Ron about the crown prince’s order and my visit to Marian’s bakery. Hearing my story, Ron nodded, saying he remembered Marian too.

“I know Marian. She was the only maid who stayed by the Second Prince’s side. She retired… maybe last year? Or the year before?”

“If you remember her, does that mean she worked with the Second Prince for a long time?”

“Not really. Everyone avoided applying to be the Second Prince’s maid because they were afraid of the crown prince’s disapproval. Marian was the only one who applied back then. She worked for about five years? Retired quickly, so I figured the crown prince must’ve been too harsh. But looking at it now, he probably took great care of her behind the scenes.”

“So she retired early. I heard she came to the palace to look for someone—do you know anything about that?”

“No idea. I just remembered her because she worked for the Second Prince. I wasn’t particularly interested in her.”

The words “wasn’t particularly interested” suddenly reminded me of something I’d forgotten.

Right—he said he liked me.

I quickly cupped my flushed cheeks with both hands. Ron tilted his head curiously at my reaction.

“Ayle, your face is red. Are you running a fever?” He reached out to feel my forehead, but I turned my head away quickly. His hand awkwardly hovered before dropping back onto the bed.

His eyebrows drooped in a dejected way—like a puppy left out in the rain. I couldn’t just ignore him when he looked like that.

With a sigh, I said, “You shouldn’t just touch me like that.”

“I know. Sorry.”

“It makes my heart race.”

“Yeah, sor—wait, what?”

Ron, who had been apologizing like some kind of ‘Sorry-bot,’ froze mid-word and stared at me blankly. I told him I wasn’t going to repeat myself and turned away.

Ugh, I’ve never even dated before—how am I supposed to handle this?

Before I knew it, a warm weight settled on my shoulder. His voice came, lower than before, right beside my ear.

“How about this, then?”

…Isn’t this guy a player?

I mumbled something incoherent and tossed the blanket over his face, telling him to just sleep, before retreating to my own room.

The moment I flopped onto my bed, I kicked my legs furiously.

I must be crazy. What did I just say? “Makes my heart race”?!

Every time I remembered my own words, I buried my face into the pillow.

“Whatever. What’s done is done.”

After a long session of rolling around in embarrassment, I finally calmed down late at night.

Lying flat on my back, I thought it over carefully. Maybe what I’d said wasn’t that big of a deal—something that could be passed off as a joke. Probably.

Anyway, I decided to set aside my feelings for Ron for now and plan tomorrow’s tasks.

First, I needed to revisit Marian’s bakery. Before that, I had to go to the palace and meet with Marquis Orion. If I told him that Barail’s servant had visited Marian’s bakery, he might be able to dig up more information.

Oh, and I’d forgotten to ask Ron if he’d consider siding with the crown prince. I’d have to slip that in if the chance came up. Sensitive matter though—no matter how much he liked me, I couldn’t just blurt it out.

And then…

Then, for the first time in a while, I fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, as soon as I arrived at work, I put in for a business trip. Mien let out a deliberately loud sigh. I flinched and turned toward her.

“Now I understand how Ayle must have felt when I wasn’t working. This must be my punishment.”

“Sorry. I’ve got direct orders—can’t be helped.”

“I know. I’ll just have to send in a request for more support staff.”

Remembering the time she’d slacked off and left me to handle everything, I could imagine exactly how swamped she must be now. Even though I was following the crown prince’s orders, I still felt a pang of guilt and apologized several times before leaving the office.

When I arrived at the Intelligence Bureau, Marquis Orion waved, saying, “Back again?”

Do these marquises have no sense of dignity at all?

He was reclining his chair, feet propped up on the desk, casually waving a hand. I shook my head. Between Ron and Orion… honestly, Count Poison seemed more like a proper high noble.

“So Barail’s servant showed up? You think this Marian is that Marian?”

“Possible enough that I was told to go find her.”

“True. Still, you don’t expect to hit the right person on the first try. There are a lot of Marians out there.”

So what—he’d just been planning to watch me run around for nothing?

When I frowned, he grinned, saying investigations were always a grind.

“Lucky, though. This’ll cut down the time.”

“Maybe. Please check her history from when she was in the palace. If she was looking for someone, there should be some trace.”

“That’s easy enough. You heading back to the shop today?”

“Yes. I need to talk to her.”

“Hm.”

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Unlike Ron’s smooth jaw or the knights’ clean-shaven faces, Orion had a few scattered whiskers.

After a moment, he opened his desk drawer and handed me something.

“Don’t just give this to anyone, but take it—just in case.”

“What is it?”

“Intelligence Bureau badge. Most people get intimidated when they see it.”

I examined the badge. It looked similar to the imperial crest, but not quite—the imperial badge featured a golden lion, while the Bureau’s badge had a snake curling beneath the lion.

True, claiming to be from the Bureau would probably be scarier than saying I was just a palace employee. I thanked him and slipped the badge into my pocket.

From the Bureau, I went straight to Marian’s bakery. This time I arrived early, before opening hours.

Knock, knock.

Footsteps sounded from inside. The door clicked open a crack, and Marian’s face peeked out.

“Sorry, we’re not open yet.”

“I’m not here for bread. Here.”

I pulled the badge from my pocket and showed it to her. Her eyes widened, trembling as she recognized it.

“I’m from the Intelligence Bureau.”

【 Still searching for the missing prince 】

The date of Rheinolf’s trial had been set.

By the crown prince’s order, all pre-trial procedures were streamlined. And today, at last, Rheinolf stood in the courtroom.

The nobles sat in their places, looking down at the empty podium.

In imperial trials, the accused was presented along with evidence for and against them, and the emperor decided the sentence. But with all imperial authority currently delegated to the crown prince, he alone decided the outcome. Nobles could appeal through the noble council if they disagreed with the verdict.

In Marquis Barail’s trial, the crown prince’s evidence had been so decisive that no one could argue, and the matter ended neatly.

After that, the pro-emperor nobles decided it was better to replace Barail than to prepare an appeal for him. Their strongest candidate had been Marquis Orion—but when he returned and immediately sided with the crown prince, they were forced to support Count Lev instead.

Thus, the pro-emperor faction was watching today’s trial closely. Depending on Rheinolf’s fate, they could demand the dissolution or reorganization of the knights.