Chapter 165

Tiola appeared to be trembling and looked around, clearly startled. She had been closely watching Duke Nettri and Lady Annabelle from the entrance of the terrace. Scheuer guided Tiola inside the terrace and asked,

 “Are you okay? Is it something that requires a drink?”

Scheuer seriously offered her the champagne glass she was holding. 

“…Would you like to drink?”

She thought it was a good excuse to say it was the alcohol talking. Normally, the food prepared at banquets was not for the attendants. That was a given according to regulations. But what they didn’t see wouldn’t hurt them, right?

Raygrain, who was well aware of this, casually glanced around the Great Hall, where the banquet was in full swing. Perhaps fearing that Scheuer might see him, he pulled her closer to hide her with his large frame.

With his broad shoulders shielding her from view, Scheuer’s bold suggestion of alcohol seemed to have calmed Tiola down. Although the central region was much warmer than the north, the cool night air had excited Tiola, and now she was collecting her thoughts.

After taking a deep breath, she spoke in a very small voice, stammering, “M-magic beast, foot, Duke Nettri, uh, even if it’s not the north, the sword energy…”

“Yeah. I’ve heard that people are talking about it.”

“The magical beast, um, not just Lady Erina, but also, um, His Highness!”

“So, Erina didn’t directly handle the magical beast? And His Highness knows about it?”

“Y-Your Highness also has a magical beast! The tablet, um, the Duke!”

“Oh, so His Highness said he could also subdue magical beasts? And Duke Nettri might have forged the tablet?”

At Scheuer’s calm questioning, Tiola nodded vigorously, still looking frightened. The reason her teeth were chattering wasn’t just because the night air was cold. The maids of the central region were technically under the emperor’s employ, but in reality, they couldn’t go against the words of his son, Silcaro.

If it became known that they had secretly overheard and reported this, it would be a serious issue. Knowing this, Scheuer pretended not to hear.

“Don’t worry. There are already many rumors circulating, so I knew.”

“Ah…”

It was the first time she learned that Silcaro was aware of it. Seeing Tiola visibly calm down, Scheuer smiled brightly.

“You came all this way to tell me because you were worried. Thank you, Tiola.”

Perhaps reassured by that smile, Tiola managed to form coherent sentences.

“I-I was so surprised… The recent rumors about the north have been so bad, and when you were last in the central region, you were accused of forging the tablet. But this time, it’s Duke Nettri…”

Perhaps because she thought they had suffered during the previous forgery incident, Tiola seemed worried that the same thing might happen again. Scheuer sincerely appreciated it.

She firmly grasped Tiola’s trembling hands, wanting her sincerity to be conveyed. Then she gently asked, 

“Who brought that up first?”

“It was Lady Erina.”

That was unexpected. Scheuer had assumed she would be the first to take the lead in helping with the forgery. After all, it was Erina who had delivered pins to the families of the knights who had died in the previous magical beast attack.

It was surprising that someone who had directly dealt with such matters was now completely unaware of the tablet’s origin and suspected Duke Nettri.

‘I expected their relationship wouldn’t be close, but are they acting completely separately?’

If it were to elevate Erina’s standing, there would be no need to act separately. From what Scheuer knew, Erina was someone with considerable ambition. If Duke Nettri had proposed forging the tablet, she wouldn’t have refused.

While pondering this, Tiola cautiously spoke up, 

“Um, what I mentioned…”

“I didn’t hear anything.”

Scheuer casually tilted her head toward Raygrain, as if to ask for confirmation. “

“Right, Duke?”

Raygrain merely nodded in response.

After comforting Tiola several times, who was still anxious, Scheuer was finally able to send her back alone. Watching her disappear into the colorful crowd, Scheuer felt certain of one thing.

“It was Lady Annabelle. She is the source of the rumor.”

“It seems so.”

If Silcaro was indeed moving, it would explain how the story from the temple had leaked early. After all, he was the one who had come to greet them at the temple.

As Scheuer observed Duke Nettri, Silcaro, and Erina still engaged in friendly conversation, Raygrain asked her, 

“Can I ask you something?”

At his indirect question, she turned her head. 

“Yes! Anytime!”

“How did you understand what the maid said?”

“Tiola? Didn’t she pinpoint the points quite accurately?”

“…”

Raygrain stared at her for a long time, still looking as if he couldn’t comprehend.

***

The banquet that lasted until dawn finally came to an end late at night. After a long while, Scheuer returned to the room provided by the imperial palace, changed into something more comfortable, and excitedly threw herself onto the bed.

“Nothing beats a bed!” she exclaimed.

Rolling around for a moment, she suddenly remembered something and jumped up. She glanced over at Raygrain, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, quietly watching her from a distance.

“Didn’t Jess say he would come by dawn? Do you think it’ll take long?”

“I don’t know.”

His response was nonchalant. Scheuer casually sat on the bed, brushing her hair aside, and asked, 

“You haven’t seen the magical beast’s foot that Duke Nettri has, have you?”

“No.”

“According to Tiola, it doesn’t seem like Erina caught it…”

As she trailed off, Raygrain slowly approached her. She discreetly folded her legs, encroaching on his space. After securing her position, she clapped her hands together proudly and continued, 

“The book that Priest Sevi showed me. The person who gave the same one to Erina seems to be His Highness Silcaro.”

“I think so too.”

He slowly sat down in the spot Scheuer had prepared for him. The bed creaked under the shift of weight. Scheuer propped up a pillow and spread her arms wide, as if inviting him to sit comfortably.

Seeing her quick movements, Raygrain let out a soft sigh. As he leaned back against the pillow, Scheuer smiled, clearly satisfied with the situation.

Raygrain opened one arm and said, 

“You should come here, too.”

“What?”

“Of course. You’re just going to sit there while I’m over here?”

Almost instinctively, Scheuer moved to sit beside him. She looked up at him with her bright, clear eyes as if she had something to say. Despite sitting next to him, there was still some distance between them.

Noticing this, Raygrain furrowed his brow slightly in discontent and bent one knee. Resting his arm on it, he turned to look at her.

“That look again.”

With a slight frown, he suddenly pulled Scheuer closer by the waist. Her shoulders jumped in surprise for a brief moment, but Raygrain chuckled quietly as he whispered, 

“Finally paying attention to me, huh?”

He lowered his head and softly kissed her forehead, then murmured, 

“Go on, keep talking. I’m listening.”

Scheuer looked up at him and continued, 

“Well… You had some connection with Prince Silcaro, right?”

“It wasn’t bad.”

They weren’t close, but they hadn’t been on bad terms either. And yet, now, Silcaro was openly trying to harm Raygrain. All the evidence and circumstances pointed in that direction.

Regardless of intention, receiving someone’s malice is always difficult. Remembering the two people who were so unreserved when they first arrived at the center, Scheuer gently comforted him.

“Are you okay?”

“Not really.”

He seemed unaffected, even though it would be understandable if he were feeling down. This made Scheuer feel even more sorry for him, so she clenched her fists and declared, 

“Don’t forget that I’m always on your side, Your Grace!”

She then added, 

“By the way, is there any way to get the magical beast’s foot?”

Then, after a brief pause, she added, 

“By the way… is there any way we can get hold of that monster’s foot?”

Raygrain hesitated for a moment, appearing deep in thought. It was unlikely that Duke Netri would hand it over easily, and there was no chance the artifact would be poorly guarded. As he struggled to find a viable solution—

Knock, knock.

A knock came at the door, followed by a voice from the other side.

“Your Highness, it’s Jess.”

With a click, the door opened, and Jess entered, his arms full of the very item Scheuer had been eagerly waiting for—a bundle of Crown flowers.

“Smile Love”