“Haa…”
After silently mulling over Eren’s story for a long while, Valen covered his face with both hands, looking troubled.
The fact that Valen had personally checked the ruined village in the East and then come to the North meant that he had clearly turned his back on House Gloria.
If he had left any room for Diana, there would have been no reason for him to conduct a background investigation and come looking for his estranged younger sister.
“So Diana collapsed as soon as she saw the thread in Gelloa Village.”
“She collapsed again? Tell me in detail, down to the second.”
When Liselotte pressed him immediately, Valen muttered with his face still covered by his hands.
“She just fainted the moment we entered a place that had been reduced to nothing but a frame by fire. She’s weak-hearted, so I thought she was startled by the ruins.”
“…You said you knew she was lying, though?”
“She collapses easily to begin with. I heard she even relied on a priest recently.”
Normally, wouldn’t that make one suspicious?
But she could hardly blame someone for lacking perception when they were born without it.
Liselotte merely put on a habitual smile.
‘At least it’s fortunate that he noticed the lie…’
And yet, considering that he still managed to find the World Tree thread, it seemed he was born with some luck as well.
For some reason, it irritated her slightly, but Liselotte forced her lips into a firm line and steadied herself.
After a brief silence, when he lifted his head, he had gathered his chaotic emotions to some extent.
Valen swept his gaze around and murmured quietly.
“It would be better to be careful so that word doesn’t leak out.”
The crystal hanging at his neck glowed faintly.
The sounds from outside the reception room, which had been faintly audible, abruptly cut off.
For a moment, it felt as though a sharp glint of intelligence had settled over Valen’s face, which had previously seemed only dull.
Only after the light of the necklace subsided did Valen speak.
“Grand Duke, are you certain?”
“I am certain. I do not know the details well, but I assume it to be a byproduct of a monster that appears only in the East. We are currently looking for it.”
Valen, who had been rubbing his chin with his hand, swallowed a hum as if recalling Gelloa Village.
“Hmm… put that way, it makes sense. I saw traces of subjugation from long ago scattered all over the village.”
The emotions he once held toward his fiancee had disappeared long ago.
The way he left not even a trace of lingering attachment was, amusingly enough, similar to the Emperor.
Liselotte toyed with the World Tree thread, which had a slightly stiff texture to the touch.
Its condition was far better than the one held by the Head of House Rovans.
Eren fixed his gaze on Liselotte’s hand holding the thread.
“Since it is a village sealed off due to the plague, there is a high chance the dead were patients. An investigation is necessary.”
“Exactly.”
“…?”
As if everything Valen had said up to now had merely been groundwork, he spoke in a heavy voice. This was now a deal that couldn’t be undone.
“Is there a way to legally investigate Gelloa Village and the wasteland in the East?”
In an instant, Liselotte understood why her brother had come all the way to the North where she was.
“I want to investigate House Diconu, but without House Gloria being able to interfere.”
With Imperial authority, an investigation could be carried out easily enough, but if that happened, the process would inevitably reach the ears of Duke Gloria, the ruler of the East.
It was officially a region under his management.
Matters related to monster subjugation for noble Houses were classified as top secret, so even if they investigated openly, they wouldn’t know more than the East.
‘And before that, there’s a high chance the evidence would be destroyed.’
In that sense, Valen coming to her could be called an excellent choice, worthy of being considered one of the greatest achievements of his life.
Liselotte smiled brightly.
“It is fortunate that Duke Gloria is confined right now.”
It was the perfect window, while his actions were restricted.
Valen crossed his arms and asked with a serious expression.
“So about that, I gave it some thought. I heard rumors that Duke Gloria has been frequenting the back alleys recently, so I had him tailed. What do you think about using that as a pretext to demand breaking off the engagement?”
“And what would you do after breaking it off?”
“Accuse him of deceiving the Imperial Family and have the wasteland placer under direct Imperial control.”
“Don’t do it.”
Liselotte answered immediately.
At her firm voice, Valen scrunched the bridge of his nose.
“What? No?”
“Yeah. No.”
The evidence that he had been going in and out of back alleys wasn’t an issue related to Diana, who was the party to the engagement.
While it was possible to find fault, reclaiming the territory would be sure to provoke backlash from the nobility.
When Liselotte dismissed his suggestion with a smile, Valen let out a hollow laugh.
“I thought you had matured since you’ve been using honorifics lately. Turns out you are back to your usual way of speaking. Grand Duke, you see? With this, how could our relationship ever be good?”
“Don’t go tattling to Eren. He’s my husband anyway, so he’ll take my side.”
As Liselotte deliberately hooked her arm through Eren’s, his shoulder twitched slightly.
“Right? Say something, Eren.”
“It is only natural.”
“You heard that, right?”
Valen frowned arrogantly and turned his head away as if he had seen something unpleasant.
“You made such a fuss about hating it back then. And now, after asking whether I’m planning to break off the engagement, why are you saying it can’t be done?”
“I only asked about your intentions. If you break off the engagement now, people will say the Imperial Family intervened in the lawsuit between the North and the East.”
Even if it weren’t true, House Gloria would cling to anything they could.
Just looking at how they were already harassing all sorts of nobles under the pretext of defaming their House made it easy enough to predict.
In any case, there were plenty of ways to end an engagement cleanly at any time.
And above all, even without such methods, there were plenty of ways to get hold of the wasteland.
…They just wouldn’t be pretty.
Liselotte abruptly held out her hand to him.
“Hand it over.”
“W-what?”
Startled by her unhesitating presence, Valen flinched.
“You said you had evidence that Duke Gloria has been frequenting back alleys. Give it to me.”
“…Why has her shamelessness never changed?”
When she held out her hand again in insistence, Valen waved his hand vaguely through the air.
“Fine, fine. I’ll tell my aide to pass it along. I don’t have it on me right now.”
“Then please return safely, and I’ll wait for your aide’s message.”
As she stood up without a trace of lingering now that the business was done, Valen opened his mouth in disbelief.
“The air in the North must be good. To hear something that absurd and not even get a headache.”
Was he trying to dawdle by making excuses like that?
No sooner had he received Liselotte’s suspicious look than he furrowed his brow.
“I’m serious! I always had a faint throbbing in my temples, but it got better after the last banquet, and then recently it has gotten worse again!”
Eren, who had been listening quietly, narrowed his gaze slightly, as if measuring something.
“…Have you ever met an outsider of unclear status?”
“No.”
Despite the firm answer, Eren’s expression looked deeply serious.
His steady golden eyes sank even deeper.
“May I use the Word of Command on Your Highness?”
“…”
Valen’s pale-colored eyes, meeting the golden gaze without avoiding it as if measuring his intent, were fierce.
No matter how tolerant the Imperial Family was toward nomads, using the Word of Command on a member of the Imperial Family without direct verification could, if mishandled, be taken as an act of treason.
Even so, Liselotte didn’t want to restrain Eren.
After hesitating, Liselotte suddenly grabbed the back of Valen’s hand that had been resting on the sofa armrest.
“It is fine.”
“Why are you answering? And suddenly grabbing my hand like this. You never even did that when we were kids.”
He hurriedly tried to pull his hand away, but Liselotte held on even tighter.
Since the Word of Command didn’t work on her, she was preparing for any contingency.
Of course, Valen didn’t know that.
Taking advantage of Valen’s momentary confusion at having his hand grabbed, Liselotte signaled to Eren.
It meant to finish whatever he had to do, quickly, right now.
While Valen was distracted, recoiling in shock at the contact with Liselotte, Eren whispered something quietly.
The sound was low and short, small enough that Valen, shuddering as if struck by lightning at the fact that his sister was holding his hand, couldn’t hear it.
At the same time, the space between Eren’s brows twisted fiercely.
He murmured as if he couldn’t believe it.
“…There’s an incantation on him.”
