Chapter 42: Ch. 42 …The Only Time (2)
The first thing Mirabelle did when she woke up the next day was ask about her mysterious savior.
"Sister, where is the man who looks like my teddy bear?"
"…What?"
"I mean the dark-haired man. Didn't you see him yesterday?"
Elena feigned ignorance about Kuhn. There was no explanation she could give her sister. She was unable to explain that he was a man assigned by the crown prince to her, much less say that an outsider stayed in her room late last night.
"I don't know who you're talking about."
Mirabelle's face crumpled in disappointment. She already looked quite sickly, but with her sullen expression on top of that Elena could not help but feel a pang of guilt in heart.
"Why are you looking for someone like that?"
"…"
"Did you want to thank him for helping you?"
"…I told him not to go, but he left."
Mirabelle clutched at the coat jacket around her. It wasn't until she woke up, free from the fog of pain, did she remember what he looked like. Before Mirabelle suddenly lost consciousness, she recalled the last few words she had with him.
"I'm not a teddy bear."
Anyone would be embarrassed if they were suddenly asked if they were a teddy bear, but he replied with such a strange calm. Mirabelle might have giggled if it weren't for her condition.
The man's blue-black hair was astonishingly similar to the color of her teddy bear's. It was not a common color among the population. Perhaps in her feverish haze she was desperate to see her bear come to life.
"Let go of me, please. I need to bring someone else in."
"It's okay…Just stay here, please. It won't be any good if the doctor comes anyway."
"You need to see a doctor."
Kuhn made to pull away from Mirabelle's grip several times, but each time Mirabelle pulled his coat even harder. She didn't want to be alone. She hated being left alone while in pain.
Kuhn could have easily pulled himself out of Mirabelle's grasp, but he seemed to be debating with himself with what to do. Kuhn looked rather distant to Mirabelle, but it was somewhat comforting compared to the looks of pity or sadness she was often given.
"Don't…leave me alone."
"…"
"When I'm sick…I hate being alone."
"…"
"It'll be fine if you stay a little bit…so please stay here…"
Each wave of pain that hit her was like the pain of death. At that moment, she thought that she did not want to be alone when she died.
But the man responded in a way that no one had responded to her before.
"…Young Lady, the world is lonely."
Those were the last words Mirabelle remembered. When she woke up again, she wondered if it was dream. A man who looked like her teddy bear was surreal indeed.
However, the coat clutched in her hands was not from a dream. She had asked him not to leave, but her words had no effect. She felt a small pang of sorrow.
*
*
*
In the home of Marquis Selby.
Helen frowned at the woman who had been brought in. She had heard that this woman, who had been dismissed by the Blaises, had had a hard time on the streets, but she didn't realize she would be this filthy.
'If I had known she would look like this, I would have had her bathed first.'
Helen quickly pulled out a perfumed-scented handkerchief and covered her nose, and regally stood before the woman who was lying prostrate on the floor before her.
"Is your name Sophie?"
"Yes, yes, My Lady! I am Sophie who worked at House Blaise."
"But you were dismissed?"
"Oh, I…"
Sophie's voice trailed off. She was forced to leave House Blaise as punishment, and didn't dare say anything in case Elena came for her neck.
Seeing that Sophie was mute with fear, Helen tossed something from her pocket. The tinkling of gold coins echoed loudly on the floor, and Sophie lifted her head in surprise and looked up at Helen. Helen furrowed her brow upon seeing Sophie's dirty face.
"This will be your reward depending on how you do. Now, I would like you to answer whatever I ask in detail. Why were you suddenly dismissed from of House Blaise?"
"I–I was kicked out because I learned that Elena would sneak out to meet men every night. So she fired me to keep my mouth shut!"
Hearing Sophie's indignant rage, a cruel smile twisted on Helen's lips. She already knew the rumors to some extent, but she had to find Sophie, the witness to the event. Otherwise, she would not be willing to pay such a large sum to the maid.
"Can you tell me everything later?"
"Oh, anything. You saved my life."
"Ho ho ho, I'm looking forward to it."
Helen already plotted how to exact her revenge on Elena in her head. How dare Elena embarrass her with the salty tea? Elena would repay the humiliation Helen had suffered in the most severe way possible.
"Stand up. I don't think there's enough time to tell me everything you know about Lady Blaise."
Chapter 43: Ch. 43 Am I Missing Something? (1)
Elena's traveling party began journeying for the capital more slowly than ever. Fortunately Mirabelle had recovered her strength after only a few days, but after that one incident Elena was even more cautious than ever.
"I'm really feeling better now, sister."
"I know."
"We can speed up a little…"
"Don't worry about anything else and cover yourself with the blanket."
It was always a good idea to keep Mirabelle warm, so Elena piled another blanket over her in the carriage. Mirabelle simply smiled, knowing she could not stop her sister.
Mirabelle's hair was now decorated with the butterfly hairpin. It suited her better than Elena imagined, and she felt a surge of happiness whenever she saw how pretty her sister looked. But the strange thing was…
Mirabelle felt much more grown up during this trip.
Although Elena couldn't pinpoint exactly when it happened, but Mirabelle, who was small for her age, began to seem more mature. Something changed about Mirabelle's heart, but what it was unclear.
'…I don't think there was anything special about Sir Kasha that day. Why?'
For a time Mirabelle kept asking Kuhn's whereabouts, but Kuhn had never mentioned it as if he were oblivious about that night. But there was something curious that couldn't be dismissed. The face that Mirabelle made when she placed the coat around the precious teddy bear left by their mother. It struck Elena strangely. Mirabelle and Kuhn were two people who would never cross each other's paths in any other circumstance. They were mismatched in status, age, personality, anything. Mirabelle was such a gentle soul she would not pluck a single flower, while Kuhn's path was drench in blood. It was not good that there was some accidental meeting between the two, and a kind of change seemed to have come over Mirabelle.
'…Am I missing something?'
She knew she was worrying needlessly, but she didn't want to make light of it. She did not reveal the whereabouts of Kuhn to Mirabelle.
Mirabelle, who was quietly looking out the window of the carriage, suddenly spoke to Elena.
"Look over there, sister. The white flowers are so pretty."
Elena looked at the spot where Mirabelle was pointing.
"They are very pretty."
Suddenly, a wash of gratitude came over her as she remembered she was living in a time she thought she would never get back. She had already lost Mirabelle once. Even small, everyday moments were so precious to her. So Elena and Mirabelle enjoyed their time in their own little word, chatting in the carriage as it carried them to the capital. And in those happy moments Elena sometimes recalled the words Carlisle left behind.
'I wanted to see you.'
A man who couldn't stand not seeing her in a short period of time that he traveled all the way from the capital…
Did he still miss her? She was struck with such curiosity.
*
*
*
Elena perused the report on the Kraus family when they stopped to take lodging. She also read several times through the information she received about nobles and the royal family in the capital city area. As Kuhn had cautioned her, there was not much detailed information that could be obtained on the Krauses. Inside the document was a brief account of Count Evans, the most powerful man in the Kraus family.
Evans Kraus. Although he was over sixty, he was still quick to calculate profit and loss. A businessman to the bone, he was reluctant to get into the politics of the Ruford Empire, preferring to focus on his commercial ventures. There was nothing very helpful in the report, but it was better than nothing.
'…I wonder if Caril knows what I'm thinking.'
If Carlisle also knew all this information, he would have wanted to muster support from the Kraus family. But there must be a reason why hadn't.
Elena entertained the possibility that Kuhn might've concealed information from her. Although she did not necessarily doubt Kuhn, she could not solely rely on him. In a fraught political field she could not unconditionally trust whatever she was given, and she would need to confirm everything for herself.
'There's a lot to be done.'
For now, it was urgent that she and Carlisle meet at the ball and officially become married, but there still many more mountains to climb before he could be crowned emperor. She was calculating the scenarios in her head when–
Knock knock.
She checked her watch and saw it was time to board the carriage.
"Are you ready, sister?"
At Mirabelle's voice Elena began to roughly shuffle the documents on her desk.
"Yes, I'll be out now."
Their journey had been slow, but after some time they had finally entered the capital area. Perhaps by the end of the day they would reach their father's mansion. When Elena emerged from her room, she saw Mirabelle waiting by her door.
"Oh, sister, about the gowns for the ball. Shall we stop by the dress shop on the way?"
"The gowns? Are you wondering how they're made?"
"Yes. I wish we had the dresses delivered to Blaise Castle, but I said we'd pick it up at the capital in case they got wrinkled. And I want to see how they look myself."
Currently, all of the dress shops were swamped with orders due to the royal ball. Luckily, Elena and Mirabelle had already ordered their gowns quickly, and were informed they were already finished. Elena nodded happily, as the dress shop was on the way to the mansion.
"All right, then."
"I can't wait!"
Elena boarded the carriage with her beaming sister. No matter how fancy the lodging was, it was finally the day when the monotony of carriage and inns would be over. Her spirits were as high as Mirabelle's.
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