WHCP 26

Chapter 26.

Why are there only people like this around me?

The moment she saw the count’s shameless face, Mio found herself at a loss for words. Let’s just not say anything. Swallowing a sigh, Mio cautioned Count Duon.

“Lower your voice, at least. You’ll wake her up at this rate.”

“But I’ve got so much I need to say piled up……! Ah, forget this—let’s step outside for a bit!”

Grinning as if this were the perfect chance to unburden himself, Count Duon dashed out of the lounge before Mio could even respond.

“Honestly. That man, really…….”

Mio glanced back and forth between the lounge entrance and Aletheia, hesitating for a moment. Aletheia lay there without so much as a twitch. Judging by appearances alone, she seemed to be asleep. Her breathing was steady, too.

‘It’ll just be for a moment. It should be fine.’

Compared to staying here and talking nonstop, it would probably be easier on Aletheia if they stepped out. Having come to that conclusion, Mio followed Count Duon with a lighter heart.

Where he had gotten them from was anyone’s guess, but Count Duon had set himself up on the balcony with champagne and a cheese platter. As Mio sat down beside him, she voiced the question that had been on her mind all along.

“By the way, a shop? Did you open one in the meantime?”

“Our smuggling business completely collapsed, remember? I’d originally planned to sell discreetly by making contact with noble ladies, but after that whole prison incident, no one would meet with me anymore! So I had no choice but to open a shop.”

Count Duon began lamenting how he’d lost most of his assets to bail money and had been forced to open the shop in some remote place with barely any foot traffic.

Given the circumstances, it didn’t matter to him whether the customer was the grand duke who’d thrown him in prison or not—he happily sold his wares all the same.

“Heh. If you haven’t received the grand duke’s gifts yet, look forward to them. Everything is top-grade.”

“I already got them. You were the one spreading nonsense about them being wedding gifts and whatnot, weren’t you? Because of that, I can’t even bring myself to touch them.”

“Oh my, do you dislike marriage that much?”

Count Duon widened his eyes in apparent surprise.

“Why would you think it’s something I’d like?”

“Well, he’s royalty, so he must have plenty of money.”

With an air of isn’t that enough, what more could you want, Mio asked seriously,

“Go on, recite one rumor about Aletheia. Any one.”

“Hmm…… the evil reaper who brings death?”

In a sense, that was also another way of saying she was the strongest being in the setting. A few seconds later, perhaps realizing belatedly how awkward it was to speak so thoughtlessly about someone else’s fiancée, the count hastily added what he seemed to think was praise.

“Haha, I’ve also heard that the grand duke possesses a special kind of foresight. Supposedly, from long ago, he could unerringly tell who was about to die and would prophesy, ‘You’ll die soon.’ Apparently even his parents…….”

“…….”

“Well, still, it can’t be all bad points. If you look hard enough…… Right! His face isn’t bad, is it? And because of that filthy personality of his, there aren’t any women around him!”

The count cackled, saying at least she wouldn’t have to worry much about infidelity. Mio merely waved a hand with an indifferent expression.

“Save the hollow comfort. If you really want to comfort me, I’d like you to dig up some information instead.”

“Comfort-by-investigation, huh. Sure. What kind of information?”

Mio pulled a key from within her sleeve and held it out to the count.

“You know how an anonymous auction house sometimes opens in the entertainment district? This is something I won there.”

“A key, huh. What’s it for?”

“It’s a vault key, but the vault itself has disappeared. According to the auctioneer, it’s a vault that recognizes its owner—a vault that even gathers up a single button dropped on the floor.”

“Eh? Really?”

Count Duon stared at the key again with an incredulous look.

“All the lost items have vanished without a trace, so it’s quite convincing.”

“Hoo…….”

When Mio handed over the key, the count accepted it with eyes shining. He had a hobby of collecting items with stories attached to them. With a story, he claimed, even the most insignificant object could be packaged and sold splendidly.

In any case, from that perspective, Count Duon was without question the right person for this job.

“What I’m really curious about is the part about recognizing its owner. If the vault works at all, that must mean there’s already an owner the vault has recognized. So I want to know whether that owner can be changed—and if so, what conditions are required for the vault to recognize a new owner.”

“How interesting. Very well. I, Baphomel, will dig into it thoroughly for you!”

Clenching his fist, Count Duon sprang to his feet, looking ready to depart at once to begin his investigation.

There were limits to what she could uncover by sending foxes, and since the perfect person for the task had conveniently appeared, Mio had naturally told him about the vault. Still, belatedly, a sense of uh-oh crept over her.

‘If Count Duon ends up alone with Aletheia…….’

Vault or no vault, everything would be spilled. Frowning with worry, Mio grabbed Count Duon and spoke in an uncharacteristically grave voice.

“There’s something you need to know.”

“Yes?”

“The rumors are true. If you don’t want to die young, never meet the grand duke alone. Just facing her could lead to disaster.”

“What?!”

Leaving behind that grim warning, Mio headed back to the lounge. Count Duon valued his own life above all else, so it was unlikely he’d ever meet the grand duke alone again.

‘Even if she reads minds somehow, unless Aletheia’s memories return, there’s a high chance she won’t even understand what the vault is about.’

If luck was on her side, the count might be so busy trembling over the curse that the vault would remain a complete secret.

Having settled her worries like that, Mio opened the door to the lounge—only to find, unexpectedly, that Aletheia was awake. Mio hurried over to her.

“Lady Aletheia. You’re awake?”

“…….”

Aletheia slowly lifted her head and looked up at Mio. She appeared a little confused. Mio cupped her face, examining her from side to side as she asked,

“How do you feel? Are you in pain anywhere?”

“In pain……?”

“Yes. You said your head hurt. You looked like you were about to collapse, so we rushed to the lounge. Don’t you remember?”

“Ah.”

As if he now understood what had happened, he nodded. But he still didn’t look well. He seemed oddly dazed.

Seeing that made Mio’s heart race. Dealing with the villainess trap as quickly as possible and sending Lethe back was the top priority.

‘If we stay any longer, who knows what might happen.’

If something irreversible occurred, it would be impossible to handle. Making a swift decision, Mio let go of Aletheia and stepped back. She planned to return to the ballroom alone, quickly neutralize the villainess pattern, and come back.

“Lady Aletheia. Please rest here a little longer. I’ll just step out to greet—”

“But tell me,”

“Yes?”

“Why do you call me that?”

That? How had I been calling you?

Not understanding what Aletheia meant, Mio froze in place, silent for a moment. After the brief stillness, Aletheia spoke again.

“You used to call me by a nickname.”

“A, a nickname……?”

Mio stammered, a chill running through her.

‘No way—don’t tell me his memories have come back?!’

Before she could even fully react to the horrifying word nickname, the fear that his memories might have returned overwhelmed her.

“Yes. A nickname.”

Aletheia replied without changing his expression. The face that had seemed absentminded just moments ago now felt strangely calm and composed.

“Have your memories returned……? I mean, the memories you lost in that recent accident…….”

If Aletheia’s memories had returned, what was she supposed to do now? Mio felt her mind go blank.

But the vault key was in Mio’s hand, and Aletheia did not have that damned pledge document. Reminding herself of that, Mio muttered inwardly.

‘Ah, it’s still okay……. There’s still a way not to get married. Probably!’

Repeating that to herself, Mio looked at Aletheia with trembling eyes. Aletheia simply sat there, his expression unreadable.

“Um, do you remember falling from the horse? You were hurt, and…… I took care of you, too…….”

“Well. I do remember being called by a nickname.”