Chapter 69
<72화>
“I’m not sure. Honestly, I don’t really know.”
“Hmm, well then, are you an only child? Or do you have an older sister, a younger sister? An older brother, a younger brother?”
“Haha. I’m sorry. I…”
As I continued to press her, Ariena’s hesitant expression darkened.
“I lost my memory… When I finally came to, I felt like I had to do something, so I found work as a servant. Thanks to that, I met a wonderful master and I’ve been enjoying my work.”
Hearing that, I could more or less guess what her story had been until now.
No, not you.
I’m going to make you the Duchess again.
With a look of grim determination, I murmured quietly.
“…Even more joyful things are going to happen.”
“Pardon?”
“Oh, it’s nothing! By the way, where is your master? I saw her entering the hall alone earlier….”
“…How did you know? It’s true she went in alone, but she said her corset was uncomfortable and went to the lounge.”
“Aha!”
“It’s right here.”
She stopped in front of a door.
When she opened it, a luxurious waiting room used by nobles visiting the royal castle unfolded before us.
There was a large, plush sofa woven with gold embroidery, and curtains fluttering over arched windows.
‘The royal castle really is different.’
Because it was a particularly cold region, there was a sense of openness here compared to the Duke’s Castle, where the windows were small.
“Whoa….”
Looking around here and there, I plopped down on the sofa and asked Ariena.
“Anyway, Miss Maid. Where is your mas—”
“You’re finally here.”
It was then.
As a greedy voice cutting me off echoed from behind, my body stiffened in a reflexive reaction.
“Aisha.”
Step, step.
Approaching with a leisurely gait, he stopped in front of me as I turned pale.
“It seems our game of hide-and-seek is finally over, doesn’t it?”
It was the Duke of Pose.
When the brain’s circuits stop firing, a person tends to look a bit foolish.
My mouth hung open in shock, but at the same time, my eyes—sensing the gravity of the situation—remained wide open without even a blink.
The toad-like man approached.
One step, then another.
“I sent nine spies just to have a chat with you, and they all ended up dead. Was that your doing?”
His greedy eyes glinted as he took another step closer.
In this situation, all I could do was resist with a terrified expression, like a child refusing an adult offering candy.
“…S-Stop right there.”
“Oho. Now you can’t even tell who your master is and you’re barking orders. You really have deluded yourself into thinking you’re the Princess of Crost.”
The Duke of Pose let out a smirk as if amused and came to a halt.
Only then, having maintained some distance from the Duke, did I clench my cold fingers and scan my surroundings.
‘Ariena? Where is the Duchess?’
The woman who had guided me here was, surprisingly, standing by the door.
The cotton-candy-like expression she had worn just moments ago, smiling softly, had vanished without a trace.
She stood at rigid attention.
It was that chillingly emotionless expression, as if manufactured in a factory, that I had seen countless times at the Duke of Pose’s estate.
‘…No way…’
My breath grew heavy.
‘Don’t tell me. Ariena was, from the start…’
The emotion that preceded the sense of betrayal was the sheer pity I felt for Calips, who would be devastated when he learned the truth.
And that made me so angry.
“Were you a spy for the Duke of Pose from the very beginning?!”
As I jumped up from my seat with a shout, Kyle, who had been squirming in my arms, rubbed his eyes and woke up.
“Answer me, Ariena!”
Ariena didn’t move a muscle.
“Answer me like you did before! Tell me you lost your memory or something—at least make an excuse!”
In the end, I burst into spiteful tears.
“Why did you do it! Why would you…”
It was then.
“Hiss!”
As if sensing something, Kyle let out a growl and lunged out of my arms to attack someone—
Thud.
A dull sound echoed against the back of my neck, and I lost consciousness then and there.
At that same time. The banquet hall.
“Ten minutes have passed.”
Calips checked the pocket watch inside his jacket.
He stepped further into the hall, scanning the surroundings while completely ignoring the gazes of the people.
Aisha was nowhere to be seen.
And the Duke of Pose was also missing.
‘Damn it.’
He had a bad feeling.
He had naturally been worried that the Duke of Pose would target Aisha. That was why he had kept her tucked by his side while moving around, but in the end, the child had run off.
He had felt somewhat relieved, thinking she would be fine since Kyle was with her.
‘That brat Aisha, what on earth did she see that’s keeping her from coming back?’
Worry and confusion mingled.
Calips gave an order to Knox, who was following closely behind him.
“Tell the servants waiting in the hallway to search the entire castle for Aisha.”
“What should I do about the Intelligence Department on standby?”
“Just proceed as planned. Actually, that might be better. That way, the people here will take it upon themselves to find the Duke of Pose.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Sensing the urgency of the situation, Knox left without another word.
It was time for Calips to move as well.
But first, after moving Lucas to a safe place.
“Lucas.”
“Yes.”
“Do you see the head of the Marquis Grentai family over there?”
“Yes, I see him.”
“Stay by his side. If he asks why, tell him it’s my order. That man is trustworthy.”
At Calips’s command, Lucas nodded and approached Marquis Grentai.
The Marquis welcomed the young lord of Crost with a bright smile.
Calips watched the situation with Lucas until the end, and once he judged him to be safe, he immediately sought out Queen Consort Grace.
Grace was still sitting in the royal chair, sipping a cocktail, clearly finding no interest in conversing with the nobles.
When her eyes met Calips’s, she knit her brows.
“Duke of Crost. When you approach, people swarm, so do not speak to me during the banquet…”
“Have you seen Aisha?”
“Princess Aisha? If it’s the Princess, she’s likely making friends with the young ladies her age, given how social she is.”
Feeling frustrated by Grace’s naive answer, he tightened his jaw.
“Aisha is missing, and currently, the Duke of Pose is nowhere to be seen either.”
“……?”
“The relationship between myself and the Duke of Pose. Your Majesty is aware of it, are you not?”
She knew all too well.
The incident with Dorothy the spy had been quietly buried for the sake of the Crost family’s image, but there was no way she, being close to Knox, wouldn’t know.
She had even heard that the Duke of Pose was the cause of the monster berserk incident.
At the time, she had been frustrated that Calips wasn’t moving with his full strength.
However.
“What does that have to do with Lady Aisha?”
Aside from that, there was no logical reason for the Duke of Pose to kidnap Aisha.
Realizing the conversation was deepening, Grace stood up and moved toward a secluded hallway.
Calips, following quietly behind her, answered in a low voice.
“The Duke of Pose wants that child. He has been making continuous kidnapping attempts.”
“I’m asking why.”
Grace crossed her arms and glared at Calips—
“…….”
Calips fell silent for a moment, then looked her straight in the eye.
“Because my daughter is the Duke’s spy.”
“…What?”
Grace’s eyes slowly widened at the unbelievable answer.
At the same time.
“…Cough, cough!”
Consciousness returned with a dry cough. My last memory was of someone hitting the back of my neck.
‘What is this?’
I tried to open my eyes, but something blocked my eyelids from lifting.
It felt like a cloth had been tied around my eyes to block my vision.
Furthermore, I was lying down.
‘Normally, wouldn’t they tie you to a chair to interrogate you?’
Just as I was trying to analyze the Duke of Pose’s actions in this incomprehensible situation—
“Ugh, ngh… Ahhh!”
My body flopped like a fish at a sudden, searing sensation.
A pain so intense it felt like I was being stabbed radiated from my heart on the right side through my entire body.
It felt as if I were being struck repeatedly with a hammer.
“Preparation is complete.”
Then came Ariena’s businesslike voice.
“What, what is com—”
The pain vanished, but a stinging warmth still flowed through my body, as if the heat remained.
I couldn’t breathe properly.