Chapter 10

For Her Safety, Only as Far as the Destination

“What do you make of this? Somehow, it sounds as though she’s telling His Highness not to attend, doesn’t it?”

Count Seymour spoke cautiously.

“Ahem! Surely not. If that were her intention, it would be an insult to the Kairan Imperial Family. As the heir to one of the most prestigious ducal houses in the Vilhoa Empire, she would know that very well.”

Although he spoke with conviction, Count Seymour wasn’t actually very confident in his own interpretation.

The phrase Isabella had written in her letter—

“I’m worried that the weather may make it difficult for Your Highness to travel comfortably.”

—wasn’t particularly suspicious.

It was something often said to nobles who weren’t accustomed to the unpredictable weather of the Vilhoa Empire.

But the words that followed were somewhat more questionable.

“Therefore, it would be perfectly all right if Your Highness decided to rest comfortably today.”

There was something strange about the implication.

And to make matters worse, Isabella had added a postscript explicitly stating that she was declining his business proposal.

Taken as a whole, the letter could certainly be considered offensive from Leonard’s perspective.

“As for the business proposal…”

Count Seymour cautiously spoke to his lord, who had remained silent for a long time.

“I suppose the outcome was somewhat predictable, Your Highness.”

“There is no particular difficulty with the management of the merchant guild, after all. Even if we offered Lady Bruin a large sum of money, from her perspective, why would she have any reason to share it with us? That brings me to my question. May I ask what compensation you mentioned separately to Lady Bruin that day?”

Leonard looked at Count Seymour, whose curiosity was plainly visible.

Instead of answering, he raised a finger to his lips.

Count Seymour’s brow furrowed.

“Your Highness?”

“It’s a secret. At least until Lady Bruin rejects it.”

“Pardon? But it seems she already has.”

Count Seymour tilted his head, clearly unable to understand.

Leonard raised one corner of his mouth.

“Not yet. She hasn’t rejected it.”

He tapped the desk lightly a few times before straightening up.

“She broke the rules.”

Count Seymour looked back and forth between the letter lying on the desk and Leonard, who was now heading toward the study door.

What on earth does he mean…?

Could the letter have been sent by mistake?

No. It was unquestionably from House Bruin.

“Your Highness?”

Leonard opened the door and walked out.

Count Seymour hurried after him.

By then, Leonard was already halfway down the long corridor, striding forward.

“Should we look into another merchant guild so that we can establish a base in the Vilhoa Empire even at this point?”

“No. There’s no need.”

“But this means the plan is bound to go awry. The diplomatic delegation won’t be staying here for very long, Your Highness.”

Count Seymour voiced his concern as they descended the stairs and reached the first floor.

Leonard stopped near the entrance hall and turned to face him.

“If it can’t be done, then we make it possible.”

Whether Count Seymour was startled by the firmness of his words or was simply trying to understand their meaning, his nonstop chatter abruptly stopped.

Leonard continued with determination.

“If the plan is destined to go wrong, then we simply have to set the plan straight again.”

He should have been annoyed that Isabella had rejected his proposal.

Unexpectedly, however, receiving her letter hadn’t irritated him at all.

If anything, he found the way events were unfolding rather amusing.

He didn’t know why Isabella had rejected his offer.

But he would soon find out.

“What about Dilmun? I haven’t received a report regarding the separate order I gave.”

Leonard’s question pulled Count Seymour from his thoughts.

“Ah. As it happens, a letter arrived a little while ago. They accepted Lady Bruin’s request. They also said that she would be transporting something by ship, and they’ve agreed to provide an escort for that as well.”

“Is that so?”

Leonard’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Then send another message. Tell them to fulfill only half of the first request.”

Count Seymour’s eyes widened.

“Pardon? Only half?”

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“But if we do that, Lady Bruin will be in trouble, won’t she? Marquis Fitzroy…”

“Exactly.”

Leonard’s lips curved upward.

“She needs to be in trouble for her to need me.”

Ever since arriving in the Vilhoa Empire, more and more things had gone contrary to expectations.

And, along with them, his lord’s actions were becoming increasingly impossible to predict.

As their conversation continued, people throughout the palace began glancing in their direction.

“Stay here and keep watch.”

Leonard turned away from Count Seymour.

“I’m going to get a proper answer from her. And I’ll collect the penalty for breaking the rules while I’m at it.”

Count Seymour belatedly snapped back to reality and hurried after him.

“Your Highness, are you going to Lady Bruin? Then I’ll come with—”

“No. That’s second. Right now, I’m on my way to the main palace. You don’t need to come.”

“What? The main palace? Surely you’re going to see the Emperor of Vilhoa… Your Highness—!”

Count Seymour froze with his mouth hanging open at the unexpected answer.

“Why on earth…?”

Today had to be absolutely perfect for Isabella.

In every one of her repeated lives, turning twenty-one had marked the beginning of the road toward her death.

Fate had always pushed her relentlessly from behind, desperate to make the story reach its predetermined ending.

If I can safely make it past my twenty-first birthday…

If my uncle and Marquis Fitzroy don’t appear before this banquet ends…

And if I can meet the Emperor tomorrow…

Then perhaps, in this life, she could finally reach a happy ending.

Her clear, lake-like eyes repeatedly glanced at the square clock hanging on the wall of the banquet hall.

The short hand was approaching midnight.

Ten minutes.

Just ten more minutes…

That was when a voice reached her ears.

“Lady Bruin?”

The moment she confirmed that midnight had arrived, a voice she absolutely should not have heard came from behind her.

The back of her neck prickled.

Isabella forced herself not to shiver as she turned around.

“It’s been a long time, Lady Bruin.”

Marquis Robert Fitzroy stood before her in a black formal suit from head to toe, grinning unpleasantly.

His unnaturally gleaming eyes, set in his gaunt, unattractive face, were filled with unmistakable delight.

“…Why?”

He definitely shouldn’t have been able to come here…

The color drained from Isabella’s face.

Her throat felt as though it had suddenly closed.

She stared blankly as Marquis Fitzroy, completely disregarding etiquette, wet his thin lips with his tongue while looking around the banquet hall.

—“There are quite a few people who arrived before us.”

“There are quite a few people who arrived before us.”

The scene she never wanted to remember began repeating itself.

—“It’s a shame I arrived so late. I should have come earlier so that we could share the good news together.”

“It’s a shame I arrived so late. I should have come earlier so that we could share the good news together.”

Words she had heard in her previous life.

And the life before that.

And the life before that.

—“I’m so relieved that I can still share our happy news with everyone who has attended the banquet, including you, Lady Bruin.”

“I’m so relieved that I can still share our happy news with everyone who has attended the banquet, including you, Lady Bruin.”

If only I could shut that man’s mouth right now…

Every time one of her repeated lives came to an end, Isabella had wished for the same thing.

And yet this time, too?

Even after I struggled so desperately to escape it, am I really going to follow the exact same path again?

—“Viscount Tyron, in his capacity as your guardian, has asked me to…”

“Viscount Tyron, in his capacity as your guardian, has asked me to…”

Ah…

No. No…!

Isabella’s face grew deathly pale as she remembered what came next.

Then—

CRASH!

“Ugh—!”

Marquis Fitzroy dropped the champagne glass in his hand and fell forward in an undignified heap.

His emaciated body made little sound when it hit the floor, but the impact against the hard surface was clearly painful.

Behind him, as he lay groaning as though he were about to die, a tall man appeared.

He was standing exactly where Marquis Fitzroy had been only moments before.

Isabella couldn’t hide her shock as she looked at the man gazing down at Fitzroy with complete indifference and unmistakable confidence.

“…Your Highness?”

The cursed wheel of fate had twisted.

Because of Leonard van Grophius Kairan.

“Oh! So this is the Fairy’s Heart! At last, it’s come to me. Finally!”

The Emperor of the Vilhoa Empire, Berius, repeatedly laughed like a child as he held the fist-sized pink diamond in his hands.

Unable to contain his excitement, he even bounced in his seat without the slightest concern for his dignity.

The flesh on his body jiggled along with him.

The sight was so unpleasant that Isabella lowered her gaze halfway and instead looked around the long table.

There were delicious-looking dishes filling the table, elegant tableware, and an antique interior decorated according to the late Emperor’s tastes.

Of course, she didn’t forget to appropriately react to the Emperor’s excitement.

Then, at last, Berius said exactly what Isabella had wanted to hear.

“Excellent! You found something no one else could find and brought it to me. In return, I’ll grant your request, Lady Bruin!”

Joy surged through Isabella so intensely that her heart almost ached.

But she suppressed her emotions as much as possible and made sure nothing showed on her face.

The only thing she couldn’t control was the slight trembling of her fingers beneath the table.

She clasped both hands together tightly.

And yet—

She could feel Leonard’s gaze beside her.

It was almost as though she could hear the faint sound of an amused, breathless laugh.