Chapter 17
17. Trap (1)
It wasn't hard to realize that fact. Because his shoulder had been hurting the whole time. When Liene moved, his head followed. His body was still, but his head followed, so naturally, the shoulder with the arrow wound was pulled. He thought it was something he couldn't understand, but he didn't want to deny that obvious fact. He stared at Liene, mesmerized. If she was in front of him all day, he would stare at her all day.
“You know…”
“And you're not making up lies to me.”
“……”
Fermos looked at Black with an expression that asked if that was really true. In fact, Black was also confused. He could guess why Liene was trying to hide what had happened at the Kleinfelter Family. If her undead lover had sneaked into Nauk, the place he would be was obvious. Liene probably went to that house under the pretext of delivering the obituary to meet her lover. To meet him there, and so… Damn it. Thinking that far made him feel bad. There was blood on his lips. He had been bothered because he couldn't think of anything that could put blood on his lips without a wound. That's probably why he wanted to check the wound. He couldn't stand it without checking. What confused him was Liene's reaction. He thought she would reject him because she had met her lover, but Liene obediently accepted what he was doing. She even seemed to really believe his flimsy excuse that he was checking for a wound. That kept fueling his thirst. He couldn't figure out whether Liene was trying to accept him as promised, or whether she was pretending to appease him to protect her lover. It was the first time in his life that he couldn't figure something out like this. It was also the first time he couldn't take his eyes off someone like this, and wanted to keep holding on to check.
-We're moving away at the same time.
When Liene said that, he had to doubt his ears. Because that meant that Liene was in the same state as him, unable to let go first.
-One, two, three.
Her expression as she said that just seemed sincere. Her endlessly trembling fingertips, her bristling hairs, and her eyes, darkened with desire, seemed to be screaming that they wanted his body. Could that really be a lie? Could that woman pretend to do that to protect her lover? He couldn't figure it out at all. It was the first time he had met such a difficult person.
“No matter how good a liar someone is, they can't create all those subtle reactions.”
“Hmm… I guess so.”
When working as a mercenary, there were countless times when he had to pick out spies or get confessions through torture. Most people could spew out lies with their mouths, but their bodies couldn't. Subtle reactions such as goosebumps, cold sweats, and heartbeats were signs that could reveal lies. Liene's subtle reactions were just saying that she wanted him.
“Well, then I'll take it that we'll be watching for the time being. Should we just leave the eldest son pretending to be a bastard alone?”
“There's still more we can squeeze out of that family. Squeeze them as much as possible when they have something they need.”
Fermos grinned.
“You must really not like that family to say that much. I understand. I'll do my best.”
“It's a place that will eventually have to be eliminated. Set a trap in advance.”
“So we can get rid of them completely when they get caught someday. I'll start now.”
With those words, Black closed his eyes. His shoulder hurt. …Damn it. Now, even when Liene wasn't in front of him, he felt like he was looking at Liene.
* * * It wasn't that Liene didn't believe Fermos's words, but she couldn't just wait for Weroz to come back on his own. Liene called the guards and ordered them to track down Weroz's whereabouts. The guards were also greatly shocked by Weroz's absence. She even heard that the deputy commander, who suddenly had to take over Weroz's position without any preparation, was sweating profusely.
“Haa…”
Liene sighed as she sent the guards away. With Weroz suddenly gone, Nauk Castle naturally had to rely more on Tiwakan for security.
“Could Tiwakan have been behind this… hoping for this result?”
Regardless of whether she liked Black or not, Liene couldn't completely relax either. Weroz's disappearance also meant that there was no one she could trust in any situation anymore. While she was deep in thought, frowning without realizing it, Madam Flambard came to visit. Knock, knock.
“Princess. It's me. May I come in?”
“Yes. Wait a moment.”
Madam Flambard wouldn't have come empty-handed. Liene quickly got up and opened the door herself. As expected, Madam Flambard was holding a large basket in both hands.
“What's all this?”
“Sewing materials. For the wedding dress.”
“I see. Put it down over here.”
Liene pointed to the rug in front of the fireplace.
“I've also brought your mourning dress, Princess. I've reduced the size and added a collar, so it should look more like a mourning dress now.”
“Thank you for your hard work, Madam.”
While she was at it, Liene changed into her mourning dress with Madam Flambard's help. Madam Flambard, who carefully dressed her in the much neater mourning dress, sighed.
“Still, there's a problem. You're still too beautiful.”
“……It's fine like this. Don't overdo it.”
Liene hid her embarrassed face and put away the mirror. Now that she had changed her clothes, it was time to start sewing in earnest.
“Did you measure all the sizes?”
“Roughly.”
She hadn't been able to measure below the waist. But she figured, how different could people's leg lengths be? The late King was also tall, so she calculated that the pants would fit roughly.
“Then let's see.”
Madam Flambard spread the ceremonial robe out on the rug. Liene unfolded a ruler and compared the measurements.
“We'll have to alter it quite a bit.”
Madam Flambard frowned with a serious expression.
“Really?”
“It seems like ordinary clothes wouldn't even fit him. Oh my, how can his shoulders be so broad? Did you perhaps measure wrong, Princess?”
“I think I measured correctly…”
Liene had nothing to say when she brought up the measuring. She had been so distracted by Black that she didn't even remember what she had done. All she could remember now was Black's voice telling her not to count the numbers too quickly.
“I've never seen measurements like this before. Is it really like this… What would it feel like to be held in shoulders like these… Oh my, I've said something I shouldn't have.”
Madam Flambard, who had been muttering to herself, was startled and shook her head vigorously.
“I'll pretend I didn't hear that, Madam.”
“You must. What on earth was I blathering on about in front of the Princess, who has to get married against her will…”
Liene turned her head and suppressed a laugh for a moment.
“It's been a long time since you've worked on such fancy clothes. You must be a little excited too, Madam.”
“Well… that's right. We should have had something like this happen all along. We haven't had a chance to touch good fabrics since the late King passed away, have we?”
“That's true.”
Madam Flambard's sewing skills were probably the best in Nauk. She had been mending old, worn-out clothes all the time, so it was understandable that she was excited to work on something new for once.
“Then, will we perhaps run out of fabric?”
“That's why I think we should shorten this cloak a little. It was made to drape long down the altar on the coronation day, so we don't necessarily need to do that for the wedding ceremony. If we cut this and add it to the shoulders and neck, it will look even better.”
“I see.”
“While we're at it, how about making a belt? We should put the same fabric on the ankles too.”
“Ah, that would be nice.”
“How much more should we add? The pants should be much longer than this, right?”
“That's…”
She stopped there.
“I didn't measure his leg length…”
Liene said in a voice as small as a whisper.
“What? How could you forget that? What if the pants are too short and his ankles are all exposed?”
“I thought they would fit roughly.”
Actually, I couldn't measure them. Because that man said it was a mistake. No, because I was bewitched by that man.
“Tsk tsk… How could that be? I think it would be best to measure the sizes again. What if the wedding dress doesn't fit properly?”
“I guess so…”
Her voice was very small this time too. As Liene hesitated whether she could properly measure the pants length, Madam Flambard misunderstood her expression.
“Princess. Do you not want to deal with him again? Then I'll do it.”
“No, it's not that I don't want to… it's not that I necessarily dislike it…”
“That's right. How could you be happy about it? I didn't even consider your feelings, Princess. Then I'll be off. You can take off both sleeves.”
“It’s not that I dislike him.”
Liene said it again, but the misunderstanding remained.
“I’m fine. No matter how much I dislike that man, it can't compare to how much the Princess does, right? Then, please be alone for a while.”
Madam Flambard, who had spread out a lot of sewing, hurriedly left Liene's bedroom.
“That’s not it……”
Left alone, Liene's face turned red for no reason, and she fidgeted with the scissors.
“That’s really not it……”
Is it so strange that I don't dislike him? Others might not understand. That thought made her heart feel a little heavy. Madam Flambard, who went to Black's room, learned that he was away with his men. She couldn't chase after him on horseback, so she sent the guards to find him and bring him to Liene's bedroom. * * * Since Madam Flambard returned, Liene had simply kept her mouth shut and concentrated on her sewing. The Madam kept glancing at Liene, saying that she had asked him to come to this room because of this and that. No matter how many times she said she didn't dislike him, she didn't seem to believe it. …Never mind. She'll understand later.
“But, Princess.”
The sound of a person's voice followed again in the bedroom, where only the sound of the needle passing through the cloth could be heard.
“Yes, Madam.”
“The wedding is only about ten days away, isn't it?”
“That’s right. Once the funeral is over tomorrow, it'll be exactly ten days from the day after.”
“Then, um… doesn't that coincide with your period, Princess?”
“Ah… Ah.”
At the unexpected words, Liene pricked her finger instead of the cloth with the needle.
“Oh my. Are you alright?”
The Madam rushed over and took Liene's hand. A drop of red blood welled up from the tip of her thumbnail.
“Oh my, dear. You had to prick yourself under your fingernail.”
She pricked the most painful spot.
“Give me your hand. I need to disinfect it and apply medicine. I'll go quickly and…”
“No.”
Liene grabbed the Madam, who was about to get up. Blood was gushing from under her thumbnail, but Liene didn't even feel the pain.
“Yes? What do you mean, no?”
“The date… I mean, my period.”
Her face was as white as paper.
“Princess…”
Finally, the Madam's face became as serious as Liene's.
“If it’s discovered… it won’t do. No, it can’t.”
“Princess.”
Madam Flambard patted the back of Liene's hand as if to calm her down.
“I don’t know much about politics or anything like that… but if you’re going to get married, do you have to lie that you’re pregnant?”
“That’s… yes. I have to. That’s the only way Nauk's rule won't pass to Tiwakan.”
“Things have come to this.”
Liene asked seriously.
“Is there no way to hide my period?”
“How can you hide that? Well, you wouldn't know if you didn't share a room, but if it's a wedding, you still have to consummate the Wedding Night, don't you?”
“Ah… what should I do? I didn't even think about that. That the date would be like that.”
A dark shadow fell over her once-white face.
“Then the only way is…”
“Is to refuse the Wedding Night.”
The Madam's face was turning as pale as Liene's.
“But will that man accept it willingly?”
