43.
“You could have come and asked me directly. I did tell you that you could.”
He hadn’t said that for no reason.
He had said it because he knew I had the medicine bottle tucked inside my clothes.
“Why didn’t you take it back?”
“Because it wasn’t the only clue. Even without that one, it wasn’t as though I couldn’t find their base.”
“But……”
“You don’t need to prove to me that you aren’t a heretic. I already know.”
Well, it was a relief that he believed I wasn’t.
“But about that attendant of yours. The one I saw at the imperial banquet.”
“Ah.”
Frien and everyone else really had sharp eyes.
They’d only seen him in passing at the banquet, so how they recognized him like ghosts was beyond me.
“Do you trust him?”
“Pardon?”
“I asked how much you trust that man.”
“……Is that important?”
“Because I need to be aware of how far the confidential information we will be sharing may flow.”
I understood.
“As far as official duties are concerned, I will be sure to maintain secrecy.”
“There’s no need to be so tense. I’m the one who drew you into this in the first place. It’s only right that I make the effort.”
“…….”
It was an answer generous enough to feel magnanimous, but it only gave me more to think about.
“……To be honest, I’m not sure how I can be of help to you, Your Grace.”
“There’s nothing particularly difficult about it.”
The duke buttoned his jacket again and rose.
“You only need to do what you have to do.”
Not knowing what he meant, I read the room and stood as well.
“It means that in the near future, you will join the investigation to root out the heretics, while privately moving according to the purpose you hold in your own heart.”
My mouth slowly fell open at the unexpected proposal.
Of course, even if the duke hadn’t permitted it, I had intended to do just that on my own, discreetly.
But I truly hadn’t expected him to say it aloud and openly declare it.
Perhaps my expression looked foolish, because the duke added patiently.
“You seem to have forgotten again.”
“…….”
“Must I remind you once more that I, too, am directly involved in ‘that matter’?”
“I know, but……”
“And if that matter is tied to the heretics, then the person best able to follow its trail would be you.”
That was true, too.
I fingered what I had tucked inside my clothes, then in the end, half on impulse, placed it before the duke.
“What is this?”
“The Great Temple also collected this information, but it is the pattern I discovered there.”
The duke unfolded the folded parchment with his fingertips and pressed it flat.
It was a pattern that looked like an entangled maze, yet gave off a sense of some kind of order.
“It was half-burned, so I couldn’t be certain, but it seemed like a letter.”
“A letter.”
The duke quietly repeated my words.
“I judged it to be important, so I memorized it and later drew it out.”
“On what grounds did you judge that?”
“My intuition told me so. ……It wasn’t simply that it looked familiar, as if I had seen it somewhere before……”
“You’re saying you want to investigate this further.”
“……Yes, that’s right.”
The duke tilted his head to the side and jerked his chin at me.
“Follow me.”
And so, that day, I learned that there was a prison beneath the headquarters of the official residence where the duke was staying.
The stale air underground was thick with the metallic stench of blood.
We passed guards standing at rigid attention several times as we made our way in.
Beyond the cell we arrived at, a man lay curled up, a large tattoo of the heretics’ symbol stretching across his forehead and around his eyes.
The guard rapped his fist against the bars.
“Get up!”
Whether he did or not, the man remained lying there without the slightest movement, only slowly opening his eyes when a shadow fell over him.
The duke bent one knee near the bars, lowered his upper body, and held out the paper so the man could see it.
The duke didn’t say anything, not “Have you seen this pattern before?” nor “Tell me what you know about this pattern.”
He simply fixed his gaze, almost doggedly, on the man’s face as the pattern entered his eyes.
“……So what?”
When the man finally asked that, the duke rose without a trace of lingering attachment.
Then he naturally turned his back, blocking the man from seeing my face.
“Let’s go.”
I couldn’t even wait until we were completely out of the underground prison before blurting out a question on the stairs.
“Your Grace, just now—?”
“He recognized the pattern. And he just concealed that fact.”
The duke met my eyes and gave a small nod.
“Yes.”
This was a clue.
A clue that would guide us to the heart of a secret connected to the heretics.
Would the truth I wanted really be there as well?
I would only know once I went.
* * *
“By the way, Your Grace, is this a pattern you’ve never seen before?”
After returning to the office, I asked because I had suddenly grown curious.
“I have no memory of it.”
If it was a pattern that even I, with my relatively narrower circle of acquaintances, knew of,
but a proper duke of the capital had never seen it,
“It seems you personally had some point of contact with this pattern.”
That meant it probably wasn’t something as simple as the crest of some family.
“Naturally, we will investigate it on our end as well.”
“Yes, I’ll look into it privately too.”
“Good.”
The duke seemed to think for a moment, then tried to secure a promise from me.
“If you expect friction with outside parties, report to me first.”
“Then, Your Grace, if you find a new lead, will you share it with me?”
“Of course.”
Only after getting that answer did I nod.
“I’ll do that.”
“……I will share them, but.”
But for once, I sensed a hint that the duke was about to go back on his word.
The duke, who always maintained a firm, sharp way of speaking, was stabbing me in the back like this?
“If you want to go out to the field with us, it seems you will need to complete at least the bare minimum of preparation first.”
“By the bare minimum of preparation, you mean?”
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
The one who entered was the aide, unable to fully hide his sour expression.
I was seized by a strange sense of crisis.
At this exact timing…… I had a feeling that man shouldn’t be appearing.
“Let me formally introduce him. This is Sir Batar, my direct aide.”
“……Hello, Sir.”
“…….”
The corners of the aide’s mouth twitched.
Whether they did or not, the duke continued speaking.
“From now on, Sir Batar will fully assist you with the series of preparations required for field personnel, so for the time being, look for him when you report to work.”
“…….”
The words “Couldn’t it be someone else?” surged all the way to the tip of my throat.
As I opened and closed my mouth with a reluctant expression, the duke silently watched me, then spoke sharply.
“He is the most skilled. And he can help you the best.”
Can’t you see he doesn’t look the least bit motivated to do that?
Even as I retorted inwardly, outwardly I lowered my head as if I accepted it.
That “minimum preparation”—I’ll complete it faster than anyone.
Sensing my insolent gaze, the aide lifted his head and raised one eyebrow; for an instant, a sinister smile flickered across his face.
……I’m not going to end up buried somewhere without a sound, am I?
The aide, who had closed the office door and come out alongside me, sneered.
“How unfortunate.”
“What is?”
I answered indifferently.
“You must have thought it was a chance to get close to His Grace the Duke. Surely you’re disappointed things turned out this way?”
The way he spoke as if he had already decided that was my intention made me sick to death of it.
My temper flared despite myself, and I turned to him with a broad grin.
Though my mouth was smiling, my eyes were undoubtedly as cold as ice.
“Why? You don’t look so bad yourself.”
I even lifted one corner of my mouth as high as it would go.
The aide’s face turned deathly pale, and he retreated from me.
“There’s no chance, so give up.”
“That depends on how you behave from now on, Sir.”
“…….”
Only after seeing my sneer did the aide realize I had been teasing him, and the color returned to his face.
“If you cause any disturbance within headquarters, I will report you even if I have to stake my position on it, so you’d best be careful.”
“So what exactly is this ‘minimum preparation’?”
“Come early tomorrow morning. Then you’ll find out.”
He looked me up and down, then added curtly.
“At that time, it would be best not to dress in a gown like this.”
I had a premonition.
A premonition that I was going to be rolling in the dirt.
As I left the official residence in low spirits, a familiar carriage was standing at the entrance.
To be precise, what was familiar wasn’t the carriage, but the family crest displayed on its side.
After confirming that even the coachman waiting in front of it looked familiar, I frowned and turned around.
Surely the residence had a back door or something.
“Why are you avoiding me?”
But at the voice that came from behind me, I had to stop walking.
Rohwinas walked around to stand in front of me, deliberately blocking my way, and said this as well.
“Unless you’re up to something else you can’t be honest about, there’s no reason to avoid me, is there?”
“If you have something to say, hurry up and say it, then leave. I’m rather busy these days.”
“Busy?”
But Rohwinas made no move to get to his point and instead began picking at my words.
What, am I not allowed to be busy?
As I grumbled inwardly in dissatisfaction, Rohwinas smiled.
“…….”
I frowned at the chill that crept up the back of my neck.
That bastard…….
Why is he so damn pissed off?