Chapter 46
Owen finished drying my hair—more accurately, he resumed after I sneezed. To be honest, it had taken him a while to even start properly in the first place.
Perhaps because we were getting closer to the North, the air felt different against my skin.
Owen added more firewood to the fireplace, stoking the flames.
“It gets quite chilly after sunset. It was a good decision to come back early and rest.”
“Owen, come to think of it… where did you go earlier?”
He had still been wearing his coat when he came to my room earlier. I hesitated, wondering if it might be an awkward question, but Owen answered without hesitation.
“Yes, Sophia. As you may have noticed, hasn’t the number of people watching us increased too much?”
“They had.”
“So I went to negotiate—well, discuss things with them. If they were sent by Mother, they should at least recognize my face.”
“Well done. Did it work out?”
At my praise, Owen’s expression softened slightly. But then he quickly frowned.
“That’s the problem… they were all gone.”
“…What?”
Owen explained that even though he had deliberately made himself visible while walking around, no one followed him.
Twice—once earlier, and once again around the time I finished bathing.
Moreover, there had been no sign of anyone lingering near the hotel we were staying at.
“And…”
Owen stopped speaking and took my hand.
After the past few days, I had learned what this meant.
It was a habit of Owen’s that appeared only at certain moments.
Normally, Owen seemed like someone incapable of feeling anxiety. But when he was about to say something and wasn’t sure how I would react, he would instinctively seek physical contact like this.
Just as I expected, Owen hesitated, then finally spoke.
“Sophia… you may find this unpleasant. Still, I don’t feel right keeping it from you.”
“Mm?”
What could be so serious that he was dragging it out like this? It felt similar to when he brought up the sleeping drug in the carriage.
Owen studied my expression carefully before continuing.
“When I was walking outside earlier… I smelled the same fragrance as your bath salts.”
“…What?”
By now, Owen was gently rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb.
“Of course, it was so faint that it could have been my imagination… but if one of the watchers had… peeked into the bathroom while you were bathing…”
At that moment, his voice dropped.
“I wouldn’t let that go.”
All those watchers vanished at once? And he smelled my bath scent in the street?
…Ah. I got it.
I answered confidently.
“That was probably Bambi.”
“…Pardon?”
Everything clicked—including the words Bambi had left me.
Ah, that lingering discomfort disappeared completely. Honestly, Bambi could have just explained properly.
Unlike me, smiling brightly, Owen blinked several times before asking,
“Do you mean… the guard you mentioned before? Was Bambi a person?”
Now it was my turn to blink.
“Did I ever talk about Bambi?”
“You only mentioned something like that in passing.”
Hmm. When was that? I definitely hadn’t properly introduced him. No wonder Owen was asking whether Bambi was human.
But… how was I supposed to explain Bambi?
I opened my mouth.
“Bambi is… an assassin I hired.”
“……”
After a moment, Owen slowly repeated my words.
“You… hired an assassin.”
Only then did realization hit me.
Wait—was this grounds for canceling the engagement? Should I have told him earlier? Now that I think about it, isn’t it obvious?!
What do I do? Should I just brazen it out?
Doesn’t everyone hire at least one assassin? Oh my, Owen, don’t tell me you didn’t know? It’s all the rage among noble ladies these days.
Ridiculous. Even I knew that.
I glanced up at Owen. As expected, his expression was serious.
“I’m confident in a duel… but assassination isn’t something I’ve tried. That might be difficult for me.”
“…What?!”
What on earth was he talking about?!
Before I could think, Owen asked,
“Are you satisfied with his work? I could find someone more skilled if you wish.”
“Well… there probably isn’t anyone better.”
After all, Bambi was the head of the assassin guild.
The conversation was going completely off the rails. Owen asked again,
“Is his success rate that high?”
“Uh…”
I hesitated.
I had only ever commissioned Bambi to assassinate one person—Leonie. And Leonie lived longer than I did in my previous life.
So technically speaking, the success rate was 0%.
“…Not exactly.”
Come to think of it, there was a reason Leonie survived all those assassination attempts. What was it again?
…Well, that wasn’t important right now. Not wanting Owen to misunderstand Bambi’s abilities, I stumbled through an explanation.
“It’s not really about success rates… Bambi doesn’t only do assassinations. He also works as a guard, and takes other kinds of requests…”
“A guard… and other requests.”
“Yes. So the people watching the hotel were probably ‘taken care of’ by Bambi.”
I hoped that “taken care of” didn’t mean something too assassin-like, but honestly, I wasn’t sure.
…No, surely not. Even Bambi wouldn’t be that reckless. Still, I’d better talk to him properly next time.
I guessed Bambi assumed those watchers were connected to Arne.
They were sloppy enough to let Owen and me notice them, so they weren’t professionals. That ruled out Leonie. And it certainly wasn’t Owen’s side. Naturally, Bambi must have concluded it was Arne.
Completely unaware that I was on my way to see the Dowager Duchess!
Owen was now pressing a hand to his temple.
“Then the reason I smelled your bath fragrance earlier…”
“Yes. Bambi came into the bathroom earlier. The scent must have lingered since it’s strong. Oh—of course, nothing inappropriate happened. He came to tell me where my sister Eluise is. He doesn’t like revealing himself, and I’m rarely alone these days… Owen?”
Suddenly, Owen pulled a towel over his face, covering it completely.
Then he hugged me tightly.
Good heavens.
It was sudden, but not enough to startle me, so I simply stayed in his arms. Even through my robe, I could feel his body heat clearly.
Still holding me, Owen asked,
“I have a feeling I know the answer… but Bambi is a man, isn’t he?”
“Yes. Um… as far as I know.”
“I thought so. …Is he younger than you?”
“Y-Yes… technically.”
Owen tightened his embrace.
It took him longer than before to speak again.
“And he’s… someone you truly need.”
“…You could say that.”
I answered honestly. There was no denying it.
Apart from the practical help Bambi provided, there was another reason he needed to remain by my side in this life.
In my previous life, I lost Bambi—to Leonie.
More precisely, it was Leonie’s escort knight who took Bambi’s life.
The loss of Bambi—my only ally—was indescribable. After that, I fell even faster, until I eventually joined the rebellion with nothing left to lose.
Now, having returned to the age of twenty-one, one of my goals in this life was to make sure Bambi didn’t die like he had before.
And for that, I needed to properly confront Leonie.
The very first step after regressing had gone a bit… awry, but still.
Owen remained silent for a while. Then he buried his face against my shoulder.
“I was foolish. There’s no way I’d be the first person to be captivated by someone as charming as you.”
“Oh, come on. Who would think that?”
“…What?”
I laughed without even realizing it.
I knew Owen meant it kindly—but Sophia ta Bartolli, the Bartolli family’s ugly duckling?
Of course, I didn’t deny my own abilities. I was someone who constantly learned, someone capable of many things. I truly believed I was qualified to become Empress.
But charm and reputation were a different matter entirely.
“I know what kind of person I am. Still, it made me happy. Thank you, Owen.”
He lifted his head, staring at me in disbelief.
Compared to his usual self, it was an unusually expressive face.
“Why would you say something like that?”
“Huh? Say what?”
“You said just now—‘who would think that?’”
Why was he acting like he didn’t understand?
I shrugged.
“It’s obvious, isn’t it? You know my siblings too.”
“Your siblings…?”
“Yes. Leonie is famously beautiful, lovable, and clever. And Eluise is a genius who’ll go down in history.”
Objectively speaking, I was nothing special.
In that sense, I could even understand why Father treated me the way he did.
Yes… there was a time when thinking like this hurt me. Quite a lot, actually. Especially around this age.
But now that I’d already died once—what was the point of dwelling on it?
“….”
Suddenly, Owen reached out.
With his large hand, he pulled my head firmly against his chest. The movement was so quick and unexpected that I couldn’t see his expression.
The sound of his heartbeat near my ear was much faster than I’d anticipated.
Without letting me see his face, Owen spoke.
“…The Marquess’s doing.”
