15. Wherever His Hands Touched
Leophric said that this play was because of the letter received in the morning.
In the letter quietly delivered by Sir Daun in the morning, there was information about an illegal auction house held in Waynes.
I roughly guessed it but pretended not to know and listened carefully to Leophric’s story.
The play, he said, was Arnold’s clever idea — who was to stay behind at the palace instead of him, as he would be away for a few weeks on his honeymoon.
At the end of the letter, it was written that this plan would attract less attention than if Arnold wandered alone to find the auction.
Showing me the postscript, he kept looking apologetic.
Though I should be the one to feel sorry for him, since he had openly told me everything without hesitation.
“Will this be alright, Amelia?”
I thought Leophric’s intelligence and information network were quite good and silently agreed with his plan.
And I awkwardly smiled, burying the content of the morning letter deep inside.
“You said you wanted to be quiet because of the honeymoon.”
Unintentionally, the situation had become noisy, and that sentence just slipped out.
I didn’t want to blame him, but it sounded like I was, and I was a bit embarrassed.
That wasn’t my intention.
Without noticing that expression, Leophric, sitting across from me, lowered his gaze slightly at my words.
His faint smile was full of apology.
“I’m sorry for being born like this.”
It wasn’t sarcasm, nor was he trying to offend me — his expression was purely apologetic.
Seeing that face, I felt sorry instead.
I shook my head quickly and spoke up.
“I’m not blaming Your Highness. I just think if I had known it would be like this, I would have gone to Hamelin and returned to the palace faster.”
“Because we came to Waynes, Mel, we can do this. If we were in Hamelin, I would probably only be able to give orders.”
He said that as he gently shook the auction admission ticket he got from the jeweler during the day.
“Anyway, since we came to Waynes, we get to see something rare, don’t we? It’s a shame I can’t spend more time with you.”
Leophric smiled playfully.
A rare sight, huh.
Looking at the ticket in his hand, I sighed softly.
He and I were now on our way to the illegal auction, holding the ticket the jeweler had boldly given us.
The jeweler, who was dressed sharply in a slightly low-quality suit, said slyly while twitching his well-groomed mustache.
Since Waynes is the empire’s largest trading port, it boasts all kinds of rare items you won’t find even in the capital.
He loudly boasted that I would surely find something suitable for me there.
Seeing him brag so much about a mere illegal auction, I almost struck his cheek on the spot.
If Leophric hadn’t quickly blocked me, I might have been arrested for assault before even getting the ticket.
Anyway, after all the twists and turns, the expensive ticket we obtained was for tonight’s auction.
To prepare for any unexpected backup, the palace knight Sir Daun had requested help from the Waynes security forces under his name.
Leophric and I would quietly infiltrate wearing masks to observe the situation.
Thus, he planned to finish the job without leaving the name of Crown Prince Leophric anywhere, as he hoped from the start.
“As soon as this is done, I can spend time with you again, so I’ll finish as quickly as possible.”
He asked if I wanted to do anything afterward, clearly happy.
Was he excited to raid the auction or just excited to finish the job?
Seeing his flushed face, I couldn’t help but chuckle nervously, about to tell him to be careful.
“I don’t have anything special I want to do, so please be careful.”
“That’s obvious. If I get hurt, I won’t be able to spend time with you.”
“Even if you return to the capital, we can spend time then. The most important thing is that Your Highness doesn’t get hurt…”
“Even if I return to the capital, will you still make time to sit and talk like this?”
At my answer, he briefly looked disappointed, but when I said we’d spend time in the capital, his face brightened instantly.
Who would have thought Leophric Reinhardt would laugh and cry over such small words?
“Once the official schedule starts, won’t there be more to discuss? Because of our contract, it’s better to talk face to face rather than sending someone else.”
I answered casually with a nod.
Even if I don’t want to see him, I have to meet his face two or three times a week.
Though “spending time together” may not mean just this literally, I would be even busier once I went to the capital.
So, it can’t be helped.
Though he probably didn’t like my answer, he still smiled.
Then he picked up the mask beside him and gently put it over my face.
His delicate touch came so quickly I couldn’t stop it, smoothing the strands of hair escaping from the mask edges.
Wherever his hand touched, a warm glow remained.
“Let’s finish today’s task first and think about the rest later. The most important thing is that we both return safely.”
His seductive voice was followed by a laugh that made me uneasy.
Before I could say anything, blinking dumbfoundedly.
“We’ve arrived.”
Sir Daun’s low whisper came through the carriage door.
Exchanging silent looks, we tidied our clothes and prepared to get off.
“You must stay close to me, Madam. Understood?”
In case something happened.
Leophric muttered quietly as the door opened.
Tense moments passed, and the play began again.
Beatrice Moldina, commonly called Betty, was quite a capable maid.
With her clever mind, sharp intuition, and excellent sense, she became the personal maid to Amelia Bermerian, the Marchioness and the flower of the social circle.
At the same time, she was Amelia’s capable assistant as the head of the Janet Guild.
Of course, she was the second assistant after the deputy head Hayley who managed the guild, but Betty was quite satisfied with her position.
She enjoyed helping with the guild’s work—specifically Amelia’s work—as much as she loved washing, dressing, and beautifying the lovely lady.
She always told her friends she wanted to serve only one lady her entire life and die doing so.
That showed how proud she was of her job.
Unless her mistress kept asking her to do unreasonable things, Betty was confident she could live every day satisfied.
How nice it would be if the world always went the way she thought.
Because of this, Amelia Bermerian, whom Betty served, was greedy and never satisfied unless everything was perfect.
No one who raised or cared for her ever demanded perfection, yet she was that way.
Betty was most curious about the root of that perfectionism.
“This must be a sickness, a disease.”
Muttering quietly while pulling the hood of her robe deeper.
Amelia’s perfectionism was not new, but Betty never imagined she would order something like this.
Even when delivering Hayley’s letter in the morning, she was caught off guard.
She expected Amelia to move without telling the Crown Prince, but never that she would do it alone.
Betty shook her head, recalling the rare dazed expression on her mistress’s face earlier.
‘When did she first order me to find out about Isolde’s Tears?’
Before leaving the hotel with Leophric, Amelia quietly asked Betty.
Betty nodded as it was natural, and Amelia left the hotel with a serious expression.
It was a little odd that her mistress, who never forgets orders, asked again about the details.
But since that clever lady had once been obsessed with an unreasonable man not long ago…
Betty thought that man might be involved again and dismissed it lightly.
But the problem was what came next.
Amelia ordered her to go to the Janet Guild’s Waynes branch for cooperation.
And to secretly follow the knights of Waynes Castle to find out the whereabouts of ‘Isolde’s Tears.’
She only told her to find out.
Betty pouted.
Suddenly, for some unknown reason, Betty, who had served Amelia closest and longest, understood that sudden whim.
‘No matter what, she must wear Isolde’s Tears on her head at the coronation.’
The Emperor and Empress were still young, but the Empress’s health was not good.
The Emperor wanted to abdicate soon and rest.
So Amelia thought there were only a few days left before she would stand by the Crown Prince as Empress.
Betty wanted to applaud her meticulous preparation.
Such foresight and thorough preparation…
No one could follow her.
Clicking her tongue softly, she stepped into the darkness where barely anything was visible.
Though she could only see the vague dark shapes of objects right in front of her, she moved through the darkness without difficulty.
Walking through a place that felt like a very dark night street or a deep underground, Betty finally stopped at a certain point.
“It should be around here…”
She waved her hand and shook her feet, tapping around.
Soon she exclaimed, holding something in her hand.
And pulled it.
Slowly pulling, a small rumble came from somewhere.
The sound echoed through the space, gradually brightening the surroundings, and Betty slipped through the light that appeared.
As Betty disappeared, the rumbling echoed again and the faint light vanished.
In the darkened scene, only a gloomy wind quietly howled, searching for the lost light.
