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Chapter 22
“Suspicion”
“I-I’ll check right away!”
Damon rushed out of the office in a panic. Watching him leave in a fluster, Crocan felt his anger surge.
Check? You’re only thinking of checking now?
The fact that no one had even verified whether Levelia had returned home gave Crocan a pounding headache.
Even though it was his own fault that Levelia had been treated so poorly by the Piace household and its servants, Crocan’s anger naturally turned toward the staff.
He gritted his teeth so hard, it was audible.
Did she really change dresses and get kidnapped by Grand Duke Esperos instead of Heidi?
Why? Why would she do that?
“Please trust me, Father. I’ll be someone who brings honor to the Piace name.”
That insolent girl. I should never have believed her words. Never believed the daughter of Anna.
Despite his boiling rage, a new question emerged.
How could she even pull this off? She was supposed to be locked in her room the whole time!
The only time she had left the estate was to fit her dress for the ball…
“Y-Yes. That day, the young lady took me to the plaza. She said she bought me sugar-coated fruit skewers.”
“But I wondered if that was just an excuse, and she had actually met someone that day.”
Crocan suddenly remembered a maid mentioning how Levelia had disappeared briefly while getting her dress tailored.
“They say Heidi Eliana’s dress changed after returning with the crown prince. She wore a golden dress like her hair at the ball, but came back in a snow-white one.”
“…Heidi Eliana.”
His voice was laced with fury as it slipped through clenched teeth.
As he mentally placed the two faces side by side, everything finally clicked into place.
She had met Heidi that day. Somehow, she must’ve tricked her and planned what happened last night.
He felt a violent urge to rip out her icy blue eyes—those eyes that had once pleaded with him for trust.
Holding his aching forehead, Crocan’s black eyes gleamed sharply through his fingers.
“I’ve staked Esperos on this plan.”
“So if this fails, it makes sense for me to take Piace from the marquis.”
“Don’t you think?”
Take Piace from me? Never!
Crocan couldn’t accept losing Piace—the legacy he had built from the ground up.
So if he didn’t want to lose it, there was only one path left for him to take.
“Y-Your Grace!”
A knock and Damon’s urgent voice came from outside the tightly closed office.
When Damon stepped inside and saw Crocan’s murderous expression, he flinched.
It was clear Damon already knew Levelia was missing. But the real problem was whether the next thing he had to say would calm Crocan—or make him explode.
After a quick breath, Damon spoke hurriedly.
“A guest has come to see Lady Levelia.”
“…A guest?”
Crocan repeated, and Damon nodded, pale.
After a moment of hesitation, Damon shut his eyes and said:
“Lady Heidi Eliana is here to see Lady Levelia.”
* * *
Ugh, I think I’m going to get indigestion.
Even though I was slowly eating the soft cream soup served to me, my stomach churned.
If I have to endure another meal like this, I’ll definitely end up sick.
“Is the food to your liking?”
“…Huh?”
Karlier asked as he sliced a tender salmon steak into bite-sized pieces.
Surprised that he spoke first, I stammered to reply:
“I-It’s delicious. Thank you for the consideration.”
But honestly, I couldn’t even tell if the soup was going into my mouth or my nose.
All I really wanted was to finish the soup quickly and get out of here as fast as possible.
As I focused on eating, Karlier’s soft voice came again:
“Of course I’d be considerate.”
“You’re a valuable hostage to lure Delphian.”
His sarcastic remark left me speechless.
Flustered, I picked up my water glass. The cold water ran down my throat, but it didn’t quench my thirst.
As I emptied the glass, a servant nearby promptly refilled it.
Karlier, watching me silently, picked up his fork again and said:
“By now, your family must know you’re missing.”
“…”
“When do you think your father will inform Delphian that you’ve disappeared?”
“He probably already left…”
I started to reply before realizing what I was saying—and quickly shut my mouth.
But my voice had been clear and direct. Karlier’s eyes narrowed.
“Already left?”
He looked at me like he was trying to figure out whether I actually believed that. After a pause, I said nervously:
“I-I meant, I hope he already left!”
“…”
“My parents care deeply for me, and His Highness the Crown Prince treasures me too.”
Karlier gave me a strange look. I didn’t know what it meant, but I had said what I needed to.
In truth, Delphian Zeros had already left Zeros.
In the novel I read, he had started chasing after Heidi the moment he heard she’d been kidnapped—before she even crossed the border of Zeros.
Knowing that, I had begged Lafer to erase any thought of Heidi from Delphian’s mind until we left the capital.
So he wouldn’t even realize she was missing.
In the novel, Lafer used the same forgetting spell when Karlier kidnapped Heidi. So I didn’t think I was asking too much.
I also asked that Delphian wouldn’t run into the real Heidi until we were long gone.
So unless he saw her before leaving the palace—or unless Lafer broke his promise—Delphian Zeros should already be on his way here.
Then a disturbing thought crossed my mind.
…Did Lafer really intend to keep his promise to me?
“I have a question.”
Karlier’s voice interrupted my growing anxiety.
He put down his cutlery, and our eyes met.
“You don’t seem to love Delphian Zeros that much.”
“…What?”
“If you truly loved him, wouldn’t you wish he wouldn’t come here? That he’d stay safe and not fall into danger because of you?”
His once-empty eyes now sparkled with suspicion.
I clutched my spoon tightly, like it was my lifeline, and stared back at him.
“Are you really Heidi Eliana?”
My heart dropped with a loud thud.
