Chapter 5
The aide stared at me, mouth hanging open as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.
Then, without warning, he jabbed Linier sharply in the side.
Terrified by whatever had happened back at the Count’s estate while I was gone, Linier looked at me pleadingly.
“Ruwayne… please…”
She covered her face as tears welled up.
That’s when I noticed the dark blue bruises covering her wrist.
Making sure the Duke couldn’t see, I stepped in front of her and gently rolled up her sleeve.
“Oh my God…”
I’d expected something like this…
But her arms were covered in bruises.
The Count must have taken his anger out on her.
I already knew from the novel that Count Larsel and his wife constantly mistreated Linier.
But seeing the evidence of that abuse with my own eyes was far more shocking than merely reading about it.
Turning to the Duke, I bowed my head.
“I’m sorry, but could we continue this conversation a little later?”
“I think there are some things I need to discuss with my sister first.”
Until then, the Duke had been observing everything as though he were merely an uninvolved spectator.
He let out a mocking snort.
“You certainly have a lot of confidence for someone who’s been locked up.”
“Have you forgotten what you did yesterday?”
His sarcastic tone grated on my nerves.
I understood that this was his home.
And I’d wandered wherever I pleased inside his territory.
Of course he had every reason to be annoyed.
But…
I was already in a foul mood.
Because of him.
He’d made me feel humiliated by insisting I smelled strange.
Granted, sneaking into his room had absolutely been improper.
Especially since he clearly wanted to keep his illness a secret.
And whether it had been because of his pain or something else…
He’d completely lost his composure and acted strangely.
It was understandable that he’d been embarrassed afterward.
Locking me in my room?
I could forgive that a hundred times over.
But…
Making such a fuss over my smell?
It felt childish.
Like he was deliberately trying to embarrass me simply because he’d been annoyed.
So I answered rather coldly.
“As I remember it, I happened to wander through your estate yesterday…”
“…and I found Your Grace in obvious need of assistance.”
“So I helped you.”
Imagining how Ruwayne herself would have behaved, I lifted my chin with as much aristocratic confidence as I could manage.
I even dared criticize him.
“And despite receiving my help, Your Grace responded in a most ungentlemanly manner.”
“You imprisoned me over a simple mistake.”
“And you made me into a laughingstock by insisting I smelled strange.”
He had suffered for years from the agony caused by cursed magical poison.
He had desperately searched for a way to lift that curse.
Eventually, according to the novel, that search would bring him into conflict with the imperial princess—the heroine.
That was why I believed he couldn’t simply cast aside someone who had demonstrated genuine healing abilities.
Besides…
What could he realistically do to a noblewoman from a count’s family?
The worst I’d done was wander around the estate without permission.
He might find it rude.
He might dislike me for it.
But he couldn’t exactly use that as an excuse to ruin me.
Just as I’d expected, he frowned in irritation.
Yet he neither lost his temper nor pressed the issue.
Instead, he muttered in disbelief,
“Made into a laughingstock?”
“You’re shamelessly pretending nothing happened.”
“I can still smell your scent.”
Apparently, however, he had no intention of discussing what had happened the previous night in front of Count Larsel’s aide.
He simply waved one hand dismissively.
“You’ve caused enough trouble by switching brides.”
“Take your sister.”
“She looks like she’s about to collapse.”
“I’d rather not have a corpse lying around my drawing room.”
A corpse?
How awful.
Still…
He was giving me permission to take Linier away.
I immediately led her toward the door.
“Miss! Miss Ruwayne!”
The Count’s aide hurried after us.
I closed the door right in front of his face.
The moment we were alone, the question I’d been holding back burst out.
“Why didn’t you run away?”
Linier flinched and shrank into herself.
Seeing that, I took a deep breath and softened my voice.
“I’m sorry.”
“I wasn’t trying to yell at you.”
She only closed herself off even more.
To her…
I probably wasn’t much different from the parents who abused her.
Or from the old Ruwayne, who had watched everything happen without ever helping.
I gently tried to reassure her.
“Did Father do this?”
“How badly did he beat you?”
“Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“I-I’m… fine.”
“You’re obviously not fine.”
I carefully examined her arms and legs for more serious injuries.
Fortunately…
Aside from the bruises, nothing seemed badly damaged.
While talking to her naturally, I quietly let a little of my healing power flow into her.
Little by little…
The bruises began fading without her noticing.
I wanted to heal her completely.
But I stopped halfway.
Even now…
I couldn’t trust Linier completely.
This ability could become dangerous if the wrong people learned about it.
I’d better keep it secret.
I gently pressed her hunched shoulders back into place.
“Stand up straight.”
“What, did you murder someone?”
“What… are we going to do now?”
“What else?”
“Do you want to marry Duke Bluois just because Father says so?”
“I’ll tell you this now.”
“I don’t want to become the Emperor’s mistress.”
“But…”
“I thought you wanted exactly that.”
I shrugged.
“You didn’t know because Father kept it hidden…”
“…but he was forcing me all this time.”
“I don’t love the Emperor.”
Well…
That wasn’t exactly a lie.
At least, not from my perspective.
Whether she believed me or not…
She seemed to accept that we were now on the same side.
Quietly, she confessed,
“I…”
“…never told Nigel to run away with me.”
Nigel.
Her lover.
One of the Larsel family’s knights.
I’d met him before.
Though he’d sworn loyalty to the family…
I’d never once seen genuine devotion toward my father in his eyes.
I often wondered how he’d ended up serving the Larsels at all.
Perhaps…
He’d come chasing the family’s former glory.
After all…
The first Lord Larsel had supposedly been a legendary swordsman.
I looked at Linier carefully.
“Don’t you trust him?”
“It’s not that…”
“…but…”
“…he’s never proposed to me.”
For a moment, I was speechless.
Of course he hadn’t.
How could a knight serving the family suddenly propose to his lord’s daughter?
That would have been impossible.
“Then you propose.”
“Linier.”
“The idea that the man has to propose first…”
“…is just an outdated custom designed so only men get to pursue the person they love.”
“You should go after what you want.”
Her eyes trembled.
I spoke more firmly.
“Be brave.”
“For yourself…”
“And for me.”
“But…”
“What about you?”
“Even if it’s you…”
“I don’t think Father will let this go.”
“There’s a whole diamond mine involved.”
Even now…
She was worrying about me.
Poor Linier.
After all…
In the novel, her defining trait was that she was so kind and trusting it bordered on frustrating.
That was exactly why I’d wanted her to escape with Nigel instead of alone.
I really believed she’d succeed if he was with her.
This was entirely my fault.
I’d underestimated just how timid she truly was.
“Don’t worry about me.”
We couldn’t change the past.
The important question now was—
How could neither of us become sacrifices…
Escape Count Larsel…
And obtain the lives we each wanted?
Linier might be able to disappear…
But the Emperor and Count Larsel will never give up on me so easily.
I need Duke Bluois.
He alone possessed the power to stand against the Emperor.
What do I do now…?
While Ruwayne and Linier quietly discussed their plans…
Dimitri had stepped outside the drawing room to get some fresh air.
The fresh grassy scent lingering from Ruwayne had permeated the room itself.
Whenever he caught even a trace of it…
His mood softened.
His guard lowered.
His suspicion toward her weakened.
Deliberately sharpening his thoughts, Dimitri summoned the maids who had attended Ruwayne.
“I told you to watch her carefully.”
The maids immediately bowed their heads.
“We bathed her twice, just as you ordered.”
“And we dressed her in the gown you prepared.”
“We searched all her belongings…”
“…but couldn’t find any perfume.”
“That’s right.”
“We watched her the entire time.”
“She never sprayed or applied anything.”
“We checked several times…”
“But we couldn’t smell any scent at all.”
Dimitri frowned.
Judging by their expressions…
They weren’t lying.
Nor did they have any reason to.
With an irritated wave of his hand, he dismissed them.
His thoughts grew increasingly tangled.
Am I the only one who can smell it?
Human senses of smell were dull compared to beastfolk.
Perhaps she’d used a fragrance only someone like him could detect.
His eyes narrowed.
They say she abused beastfolk…
Did she use some kind of enchanting scent to weaken them first?
At that moment, Hael spotted him standing outside the mansion and hurried over.
“Did you find anything?”
“Yes.”
“But we couldn’t locate any perfume capable of producing the effects you described.”
“We even questioned collectors.”
“We found nothing.”
Dimitri folded his arms, tapping one finger thoughtfully against his elbow.
Then he looked back at Hael.
“So…”
“You really couldn’t smell anything?”
“No.”
“Not at all.”
“What kind of scent is it?”
“It must be incredibly potent if it’s bothering you this much.”
Dimitri groaned.
“It’s good.”
“…Pardon?”
“I said…”
“It’s good.”
“So good…”
“It’s enough to drive someone completely insane.”
“Enough to make you lose your mind.”
Hael stared at him in complete bewilderment.
