<CHAPTER 07>
Even though she had drunk strong liquor, her mind was perfectly clear. It must have been because the alcohol had awakened her senses.
As she quietly followed behind him, she noticed that the Grand Duke barely made a sound when he walked.
He had been the same way on the battlefield.
Was this simply a habit of his? Or was it some lingering aftereffect of the war?
Ibel thought she knew Victor Bayern quite well as both a ‘commander’ and a ‘Grand Duke.’ But as a man who had set those titles aside…
There was nothing she knew about him.
All she knew was that his back was remarkably straight and his posture impeccable.
And wherever the moonlight happened to fall, the muscles beneath his thin shirt were clearly visible.
She also understood that he was exceedingly courteous toward ladies.
Even when that ‘lady’ was dressed as a man.
“…I can’t tell whether this is a dream or reality.”
She truly had no idea.
A short while later, after washing up in the small bathroom attached to her room, Ibel sprawled across the bed with her arms stretched wide.
Everything felt so insane that she had drunk far more than she normally would, yet her eyes remained wide open.
Sleep simply would not come.
‘A comfortable bed and enough food to eat my fill….’
She could hardly believe it.
She half expected to wake up and find herself back on the battlefield, with several officers she had grown close to approaching her, joking as usual while checking whether she was still alive.
If she told them about this dream, they would probably clutch their stomachs and laugh at how ridiculous it sounded.
‘That was my reality.’
Pulling the rustling blanket up over her face, she let out a small sigh.
War, surgery, artillery fire.
And…
The warm wine she had just drunk.
It felt as though she were standing on the boundary between reality and unreality.
When an inexplicable anxiety suddenly washed over her, Ibel immediately grabbed her pillow and took several deep breaths.
Wondering if his night was like this too.
After letting Ibel into her room, Victor spoke quietly without even turning around.
“Starting tomorrow, investigate a man named Abel Claren. Apparently, he can be found somewhere in one of Lindau’s gambling houses.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Matthias, who had followed him while carrying the documents, bowed his head.
Ever since he had begun serving his master, the Grand Duke had never once behaved strangely.
He had always been rational and pragmatic, devising practical strategies and issuing concise orders.
This was the first time Matthias had ever seen his master behave like this, and he was having a difficult time adjusting.
‘I couldn’t exactly eavesdrop on their conversation, so I waited outside.’
But he was dying of curiosity.
What on earth had they talked about in there?
Who exactly was that person?
Why was she disguised as a man, and why did the disguise look so natural?
And how in the world did she know Morse code?
It had been a specially designed code, without a doubt.
Even he hadn’t been able to decipher it.
‘Ah, could she perhaps be an elite agent Your Grace knew during his time in the Intelligence Bureau?’
It was hardly strange that Matthias, after exhausting every possibility, had reached such a conclusion.
There was simply no other explanation that made sense.
“Um… What should we do when we find this Abel Claren?”
“He seemed like someone who needed to come to his senses.”
“Ah, yes! Understood!”
They said a new era was dawning as industrialization spread throughout the country, but there were still plenty of dark corners that civilization had yet to reach.
Understanding the Grand Duke’s meaning, Matthias bowed and withdrew.
If His Grace thought the man was in need of ‘coming to his senses,’ whoever he was, Matthias could only think that the poor bastard must have lived one hell of a rotten life.
—
“W-What the hell! You bastards…! Mmph! Mmph!!!”
Several days later, in an alley behind one of the gambling houses in the port city of Lindau.
Abel, who had squandered every last bit of the money he had extorted from his younger sister and then collapsed drunk in the street, was overpowered by several burly men and shoved into a carriage.
“D-Did you come for money? Who are you? Northwick? Or Koran?”
There had been a few times when he had borrowed money and run away without paying it back.
Spitting out the names of loan sharks as they came to mind, Abel rolled his bleary eyes around, searching for a way to escape.
They were twins, born from the same womb.
His younger sibling had supposedly graduated top of her university class?
Big deal.
If he put his mind to it, he could have done the same.
He was always drunk or high, but that was only because he was too smart.
The world was simply too stupid.
That was what frustrated him.
And that was why he had turned to gambling.
No matter how many ridiculous excuses he piled on, there was no denying that Abel’s mind worked just as well as Ibel’s.
He simply chose to use his intelligence for all the wrong things.
‘They’re dressed like ordinary laborers, but their clothes are brand-new. Not just one of them—the entire group, including the coachman. There isn’t a single sign of repairs or patches. And those shoes are practically shining. They bought these clothes specifically for this job.’
In other words, whoever had hired them was someone of high status.
They had disguised themselves precisely to conceal that fact.
‘None of them are familiar faces. I’ve been avoiding loan sharks for years. I know all their faces by now. Yeah, I’m certain. These men aren’t here because of a debt.’
With his life suddenly in danger, Abel’s mind was working faster than ever.
Even faster than when he was calculating the cards in his opponent’s hand.
“Oh, come now, gentlemen. Why are you doing this to a nobody like me? Hmm?”
Keeping his tone ingratiating, Abel secretly twisted his wrists.
His hands and feet were bound, but they had not gagged him.
Why?
What was the reason?
Men this thorough should have gagged him as well.
“I’ve lived my whole life without causing trouble for anyone. Perhaps you’ve mistaken me for someone else?”
No answer came.
Not one of them met his eyes.
‘So they came specifically for me. Someone hired them.’
All right.
The alcohol was wearing off, too.
Even if they remained silent, there was still so much he could learn from that silence.
‘If I’d known this was going to happen, I should’ve squeezed more money out of that brat. I was short on cash yesterday, so she ended up throwing me out.’
Even in a situation like this, Abel was thinking about something like that.
Then, suddenly, he froze.
He had never considered it from this angle before, but could this possibly—
“Ahaha! Ahahahaha! Ibel. It was Ibel who sent you, wasn’t it? That bitch didn’t want to give me any more money, so she did this, didn’t she?”
He found it so hilarious that tears sprang into his eyes.
Bending forward, Abel snickered for a long while before shaking his body and shouting.
“You stole your own brother’s name and lived under it, and now you’re even trying to have me killed! Amazing. Absolutely amazing. That’s exactly what I’d expect from someone born from the same womb as me. You were always acting so high and mighty, going on about how you were going to become a doctor and all that! But look at you. I knew you had something rotten hiding underneath. Blood will out, after all! Ahahaha!”
Thud.
The laughter died in his throat when the man sitting across from him drove a fist straight into his stomach.
The blow was so powerful that his consciousness nearly cut out, and his vision shook violently.
A long while later.
The carriage finally arrived at its destination.
At the entrance of a gray building, a sign reading [Greyhaven Mental Rehabilitation Center] creaked ominously in the wind.
—
“Pleased to meet you, young lady. My name is Old Vanya.”
“Ah… Pleased to meet you.”
“Please, speak comfortably with me. I was ordered to see to your every need and make you feel at ease.”
Early the next morning.
A breakfast of savory bacon and raw eggs, warm bread and expensive cheese.
There was even a salad overflowing with fruit and olives.
After finishing the impossibly peaceful meal, someone came to see Ibel.
The elderly woman had snow-white hair and a very sturdy build.
There was something bold and hearty about her appearance.
“I used to be a nanny for the Bayern family when I was young. I received basic combat training as well, so I was also entrusted with protecting His Grace in emergencies.”
“Ah.”
“I currently serve as the head housekeeper at the main estate in the territory. I took some leave to come here.”
No wonder.
There had been something comforting about the woman’s presence.
So she had been a nanny.
Old Vanya swept the curtains open, clapped her hands together, and declared cheerfully,
“Well then! Let’s get you ready. I bought several dresses on my way here as well, so I’ll see whether any of them need alterations.”
Dresses…?
Ibel couldn’t even remember the last time she had worn one.
Including her years on the battlefield, it must have been at least seven years.
For now, Ibel climbed into the prepared bath and spent the next two hours being meticulously tended to from the tips of her fingers to the tips of her toes.
Her hair was short, at least, so it didn’t take long to dry.
“Actually, with your hair this short, it’s easier to attach a chignon. Hoho.”
Ibel looked at the wigs laid out on the trolley with an expression of utter dismay.
Still, there was nothing she could do about it.
Dressing up was part of her mission now.
“All right, the makeup is finished. What do you think? It’s been quite a while since this old Vanya had the chance to show off her skills.”
Ibel opened her eyes and was slightly startled by the reflection staring back at her in the mirror.
The woman in the mirror looked so completely different that she almost wondered who she was.
“You’re quite skilled with makeup.”
“Thank you for the compliment. Before I became a housekeeper…”
I used to serve the late Lady Susanna for many years.”
