Ch#229
**Shards of the Broken Glass Shoe**
**Chapter 229**
Marie, brought in with the support of others, was covered in wounds from head to toe. Her cheeks, which had been beaten severely, were swollen bright red, and her clothes were torn in places and covered in dust. Her hair was a disheveled mess. Her face, drenched with tears, was filled with resentment and sorrow.
As soon as she saw me, she hesitated greatly before speaking with difficulty in a small voice.
“I-I’m sorry. The letter was taken from me. Please forgive me.”
Upon hearing that, the people supporting Marie looked at me warily and quietly stepped away from her side. Hearing that a letter—not just a simple errand—had been stolen, they had become frightened.
And for good reason; a letter is a text containing extremely personal stories. For a noble, there was nothing more humiliating than having a letter containing their private life stolen. It was because one never knew where their story might be bandied about.
I carefully examined Marie's appearance. While I wore a piteous expression as if considering how to dispose of her, in reality, I had no intention of scolding her.
It was because I had expected it to be stolen. Having sent her on the errand with a fake letter just in case, I found it almost laughable that someone had snapped up the bait so readily. After all, it was a letter filled only with talk of tea and dresses. Thinking of the thug who would be enraged by the useless content, I already felt a sense of poetic justice.
“Oh dear, you’ve been hurt badly. Are you alright?”
Marie seemed moved once again because I didn't get angry and instead kindly worried about her physical condition first. She sobbed loudly and answered in a tearful voice. The people around her were no different, looking at me with eyes full of admiration. It was the exact same look they used to give Roena.
“Do you remember who took it?”
“I don't know. I was clinging to it frantically, so I didn't have a chance to get a good look.”
“Is that so? That is quite a strange thing. It was just a letter with miscellaneous stories; why would they try to take it? It wasn't a pouch of money, so it wouldn't be of much use. Unless it was someone selling rumors. At any rate, you’ve suffered a pointless misfortune because of me. Don't worry about the letter and go get treated first.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
As Marie was supported by others and left the room, the guardian, who had been watching this, suddenly asked me. He was scowling suspiciously and raising his voice slightly; anyone could see he was agitated.
“To steal a letter—it is truly a strange occurrence. Just who could have done such a thing? By the way, where were you sending the letter?”
Is he planning to report even this? I answered as if it were of no consequence.
“I sent it to Lady Roshan. I’ve been feeling quite stifled lately and wanted to send a simple greeting.”
“And besides that?”
“……You seem to be showing a lot of interest in the content of the letter.”
“Is that not only natural?”
“It is not natural.”
“……Lady?”
I dipped the pen nib deeply into the ink and continued speaking with an indifferent face.
“Do you remember when you first met me? Do not forget that heart.”
“What does that mean…….”
“I’ve looked into it, and it seems the guardian can be changed. If it is my aunt, even the Crown Prince will have no choice but to acknowledge her. Back then, she couldn't because she volunteered to be Roena’s guardian, but if it’s for me, the law is different.”
When I spoke circuitously, telling him to stay as quiet as a dead mouse and not step forward anymore before he failed even the tasks ordered by the Crown Prince, his face distorted miserably.
The way his lips kept twitching as if he wanted to say more, yet he held back for fear it might actually happen, was a sight almost too good for me to see alone.
“The maids have been grumbling lately that there’s more to wipe because of the wind. Having a lot to clear away is a nuisance. But to become clean, one must sweep, wipe, and dispose of things several times. Ah, of course, I’m talking about cleaning.”
I am already no different from the Emperor within the mansion. Having cleared out the butler without difficulty, isolating him was not a difficult task either. With the Crown Prince heading toward the distant Border Region, who could possibly stop me?
Perhaps intimidated by my statement, he fell silent in an instant. The way he straightened his back suggested he had realized his position once again. Satisfied, I smiled brightly and handed the guardian the document I had just signed.
Since I had already instructed Mullang to leave a note at the information broker’s residence on her way back from delivering the letter to House Rosan, I would soon be able to find out who attacked Marie.
And that night, before midnight had even passed, the informant arrived.
“We found Jack.”
Rat spoke first as soon as he dropped from the window frame. And he restrained me—quite rudely—as I was about to open my mouth in joy, and continued speaking.
“However, we could not bring him.”
In an instant, I felt my good mood plummet to the floor. I struggled to remain calm and asked them.
“How can I believe those words?”
Then Bird approached me and showed me an item. It was a small coin engraved with a familiar mark. Since Jack had shown it to me and boasted about it before, there was no way I wouldn't know it.
It was because he said that each member leaves a mark indicating ownership on their coins, and that he himself had engraved such a mark.
“He gave this to us, worried that you might not believe us, My Lady.”
“How do I know you didn't kill him and take it?”
“You know that there is no place that demands trust as much as this world. When it comes to faith, we are cleaner than clerics. Even so, if you say you cannot believe us, I don't know what we should do.”
“Give the coin to me.”
Bird placed the coin on my palm without hesitation. And as he slowly backed away with his hands up as if telling me to be calm, my mouth was turning bone-dry, oppressed by a strange tension.
I carefully examined the coin in my hand, repeatedly gripping it. For some reason, it felt as if the scent of blood was rising, and a surging emotion was welling up.
*I finally found you. You were alive.*
I felt as if I would burst into tears if I opened my mouth immediately, so I struggled to hold it in. I suppressed my trembling emotions and inhaled deeply. To grasp the truth of the story with cold reason, I squeezed the hand holding the coin so hard it hurt.
“How did his health appear?”
“It was neither very good nor very bad. Though he has lost a lot of weight. Fortunately, it seems the trackers have thinned out, perhaps thinking the fellow is dead. It’s no different from good news for Jack.”
“He only needs to be resting comfortably wherever he is. Yes, is Jack in a safe place? Has the situation improved?”
“There can be no such thing as a perfectly safe place. Still, the good news is that the situation has improved a lot. If before he couldn't even breathe, now it’s to the extent that he can at least breathe?”
“Is that so? I see. Then can he not just stay under your protection? Why is he not returning?”
At my words, Rat answered promptly.
“Perhaps his heart is the same as yours, My Lady, when you cast away the child named Arina?”
As expected of an information broker who knows everything, he even knew the fact that I had sent Arina away on purpose. They confessed that they had been protecting her in advance because they knew Jack maintained a close relationship with Arina. Adding that thanks to that, they were able to lower Jack's guard.
“At any rate, since we failed to fulfill the contract to bring Jack, we inform you that the previous oath remains valid until he appears before your eyes, My Lady. We will simply fulfill the task you called for today as a sign of apology for failing the contract.”
I felt like bursting into a hollow laugh at Rat's generous-sounding attitude. It was because it was funny how he was trying to package it this way when his pride was clearly wounded because he couldn't persuade Jack.
But thinking that a good thing is a good thing, I nodded as if it were natural and then lifted my chin with an arrogant attitude. And then I commissioned the matter that happened to Marie today.
It was because thinking of the clumsy greeting that couldn't even properly shake off the resistance of a mere maid reminded me of the thugs in the back alleys. Since there was no one as well-versed in the affairs of the underworld as they were, it was a perfect fit for the reward conditions.
Then, a piece of a story flowed from Bird's mouth as if he had been waiting.
“Come to think of it, a fellow came to the tavern earlier with his face scratched by a woman's fingernails and was ridiculed by everyone. He acts so much like an idiot—ah, excuse me; please overlook that with generosity—that he clearly has no woman he knows, yet he was scratched all over as if he had been in a marital spat. He claims it was a cat, but where is the fool who cannot distinguish between human fingernails and animal claws? So I was just finding it strange that he was struggling to hide the wounds.”
“Certainly suspicious.”
“Yes, I think so too. Hearing your words, My Lady, I am certain he is the culprit.”
“Then can you find out if he acted alone or was being used?”
“He is famous for having a loose mouth, so it won't be difficult. You will know by tomorrow morning.”
“That quickly?”
“Since it was so suspicious, we had already started working on it.”
Rat answered with a beaming smile. Adding that it was a good thing they had attached one member to him since they couldn't just pass him by, given their profession.
The way he spoke while rubbing his palms together looked like flattery and was a bit uncomfortable, but at any rate, I could ask for nothing more if they found out the motive for the crime.
“……And can you find out where His Highness the Crown Prince is right now?”
“You ask the obvious.”
Bird shrugged and mentioned a place name. Hearing the name, he hadn't gone very far. Well, it would be impossible to move quickly with that much military force. To the statement that it would take a month at the latest or three weeks at the earliest to reach the border, I asked how the Border Region was.
“Do you realize you are asking for high-level information that cannot be revealed to just anyone right now?”
“So you won't answer?”
“Well, we are currently weighing the profit that comes to us.”
“Profit?”
“Yes.”
Rat and Bird spoke while slowly backing toward the window frame. Adding that it was difficult to balance the abacus because it was hard to gauge whether I would become the Crown Prince’s consort, or the second daughter-in-law of House Aires, or if I would take charge of House Bischwaldz until Lian grew up.
“The first is a loss, the second is neither here nor there, but the third would be worth telling you information unsparingly.”
Usually, wouldn't they place more weight on the Crown Prince’s consort? I had no intention of becoming one anyway, but finding it fascinating that they regarded it that way, I asked back.
“What is the criterion?”
“Freedom.”
“Freedom……”
“The freedom of how much a customer who has opened a deal can operate their assets freely. Whether they can go in and out of a mansion like this is also a factor included in the calculation of the criteria.”
“I see.”
“Then may we take our leave?”
“How do you plan to let me know the culprit? It’s troublesome if you enter while I’m sleeping.”
“Do not worry. One member who is a maid in the mansion will approach you, My Lady, and give you the information.”
They now speak of having a member infiltrated as a maid in the mansion as if it were nothing. As I let out a hollow laugh in disbelief, Rat and Bird leaped over the window immediately as if their tails were on fire. They disappeared before I had a chance to give a proper farewell, so there was no time to even fault them for their rudeness.
I stared at the curtains fluttering in the wind and then looked down again at the coin I was still holding. I felt momentarily dazed because they had vanished so quickly, but before long, I came to my senses as I thought of Jack.
It was because the unique weight felt in my hand vividly conveyed that the child’s survival was not a lie.
“Yes. You were alive. Thank God.”
Nevertheless, the reason my heart was heavy was because of Jack's attitude in not coming to see me. It was no different from saying he was still in danger.
Of course, the information brokers said he was much better and spoke as if it were nothing, but if he had truly improved, there was no way he wouldn't have followed them. In other words, the informant's words were no different from Jack asking them to say that to put me at ease.
So I was upset. My eyes felt hot as if tears were welling up.
*How can I ever repay the debt for those two fingers of yours?*
How much would he despise me if he found out that I had tried to abandon him? Perhaps it would be better if he didn't come. Yes, if we grow distant like this, if that happens……
“I won't be able to bear it.”
I repeatedly stared at and stroked the coin in my hand. And bringing it near my chest as if it were Jack, I swallowed the rising sighs and tears.
Suddenly, I missed Arina. So very much.
**Shards of the Broken Glass Shoe**
