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Chapter 39
—Ugh!
The bandit immediately snatched the crying daughter from the marchioness’s arms and took her hostage.
—No!
—Stop making such a racket!
As the bandit shouted and muttered strange words, the dark red light they had seen earlier when the carriage door opened sealed the marquis and marchioness’s mouths shut.
The bandit took everything that looked valuable. The jewelry adorning the marchioness’s body was no exception.
Still gagged, the marchioness, disheveled, clasped her hands together and begged for her daughter to be returned.
At that, the bandit let out a cackling laugh and said,
—If I leave her here, your daughter will just become food for wild beasts, you know? Wouldn’t it be better for her to be sold to some western noble instead?
—Mmph—!
—I won’t kill you two, so if you’re lucky, you might survive. I’m probably the only bandit in this world this merciful. Hahahaha!
Knowing well how deserted the road was and how rarely anyone passed through it, the bandit left without worry, thinking the marquis and marchioness would die.
However, a passerby happened to discover the couple, and they barely managed to survive.
They were lucky.
No—could this really be called luck?
From the moment she survived, the marchioness lived on without her sanity. Every day, like a madwoman, she searched for her daughter. Especially in the West—one could say without exaggeration that she searched even between grains of sand.
Even so, she could not find her daughter.
Every night, the marchioness wandered the mansion barefoot. It felt as though she could still hear her daughter’s laughter.
The marquis, who should have been there to support her, was also in critical condition with tetanus.
—I should have protected her. I should have…
In the end, as soon as the season changed, the marquis was called by the gods and passed away.
Leaving behind the words, “I’m sorry… for not being able to protect her…”
Wearing mourning clothes, the marchioness tearfully apologized to him as she recalled her departed husband’s face.
Was losing their daughter really his fault?
‘No. They were Akksia. How could an ordinary man have protected us from them?’
In the quiet room, the marchioness calmly gathered her thoughts.
The husband who had gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders and lavished boundless love upon her and their daughter was no longer in this world.
‘I have to pull myself together. If I’m going to find our daughter, then I…’
From that day on, the marchioness erased not only her smile but even her tears, guarding the House of Marquis Yuria with a coldness and firmness as though not a single drop of blood would ever spill. Deep in her heart, she believed that her daughter would return here.
The marchioness was capable. There was even a saying that if you wanted to make money, you needed to catch the marchioness’s eye. Yet though she was materially wealthy, her heart was empty. How many years had it been already since she last saw the daughter she loved more than her own life?
People often said that, seeing how the previous emperor and empress died young and how the marchioness suffered such an incident, the imperial family must be born with misfortune.
—What’s the use of having so much money? Everyone dies early anyway.
The marchioness did not forgive the noble who dared utter such reckless words in front of her and made sure to take revenge, but perhaps the words were true. Her husband’s death, and losing her daughter that way—perhaps it was all her fault.
The marchioness was truly living without being able to die. Even after reaching an age where she could have been holding grandchildren, the thought of “what if” never left her, and that “what if” was what had kept her alive until now.
‘I cannot give up on life, not knowing whether my daughter exists in this world or not. So if my daughter truly does not exist in this world, then I pray that you will take me swiftly as well.’
Inside the carriage on her way home, the marchioness offered the same prayer once again today.
After finishing her prayer, she gazed absently out the window, then frowned when she saw a familiar carriage pass by her side, heading toward the imperial palace.
‘Isn’t that the carriage of the Duke of Emen’s family? What business could they have at the imperial palace at this hour?’
For some reason, the marchioness had disliked the House of Duke Emen for a long time.
‘The only one in that family worth seeing was the late duchess.’
In truth, the Duke of Emen himself, now bedridden, had once been a decent man—until his hidden lover appeared with children, claiming they were the duke’s.
‘I feel no affection for the young duke who receives so much praise, nor for the duke’s daughter.’
There was nothing particularly wrong with their conduct. If anything, perhaps the marchioness hated even the children simply because their mother was detestable.
Even knowing that such guilt by association was wrong, she could not rid herself of this unpleasant feeling.
‘Come to think of it, the duke’s daughter of Emen still has no fiancé.’
After having her engagement broken off as a child, the duke’s daughter of Emen had not been engaged to any man since.
According to rumors, she had been unable to forget her former fiancé…
‘If it weren’t for those rumors, even His Majesty the Emperor would have sent her a proposal.’
The duke’s daughter of Emen was the most eye-catching young lady at present. With the background of being the only daughter of the House of Duke Emen, her moonlight-like golden hair, pure green eyes, slender frame, and facial features where elegance and innocence coexisted…
‘She truly is a peerless beauty capable of stealing every man’s heart.’
And yet, for such a woman to love only one man.
‘For someone like me, who doesn’t like the duke’s daughter, that’s welcome news.’
In any case, rather than becoming the wife of the emperor, who was her blood relative, it was better for her to become the wife on “that side.”
‘Why do I hate her so much for no clear reason…’
Swallowing the inexplicable emotions welling up inside her, the Marchioness of Yuria prayed once more. That her daughter’s day today might be a happy one.
As soon as the Marchioness of Yuria left, the emperor picked up something no bigger than his palm.
‘Heh heh~ What kind of information came in during that short time~? Eek! It’s chubby Piyang fan art? So cute~!’
Just as the emperor covered his mouth, a servant announced from outside,
“Your Majesty. The young duke of Emen has come to visit.”
Startled, the emperor immediately hid what he was holding somewhere out of sight and cleared his throat.
“Send him in.”
When the door opened, one could see soft brown hair, large slightly drooping eyes with clear, shining green irises, and the warmly smiling face of Molton, the young duke of Emen, whose kind impression showed even when he wasn’t smiling.
Molton walked forward and stopped before the emperor, bowing as he greeted him.
“Your Majesty, thank you for granting me an audience on such short notice.”
“No, it’s fine. But what brings you here? What is it you seek me for?”
The emperor worried that something might have happened to the Duke of Emen, who had been unable to rise from his sickbed for a long time, prompting this hurried visit.
“I regret to say that I have a favor to ask, which is why I came.”
“Is that so? What is it?”
“May I borrow the ‘Eye of Truth’?”
The Eye of Truth was a national treasure of the empire and a magical tool owned by the imperial family. It was exceptionally effective at tracking the traces of living beings, whether people or animals…
“I truly wish I could lend it to you, but regrettably, the condition of the Eye of Truth hasn’t been the same lately. Its lifespan must have run out.”
The emperor said this with regret.
Molton gave a rueful smile.
“I see.”
Feeling uneasy, the emperor asked carefully,
“Since you’re asking for the Eye of Truth, I assume you’re searching for something. What might that be?”
“I’ve heard that about a month ago, the young lady of the Rive Count family in the eastern region went missing.”
The emperor’s eyes widened at the news—it was the first he’d heard of it. Naturally so; how could he know about the affairs of the eastern countryside unless it involved a central noble’s daughter?
“Oh my! That’s unfortunate. Is there no evidence or leads discovered?”
“No. Many people joined the search, but they couldn’t find even a single strand of her hair. That’s why we thought to borrow the power of a magical tool, and so I came… but…”
The young duke trailed off.
The emperor felt heartache. Magical tools existed precisely for situations like this, yet the tool’s life had ended.
With a regretful expression, the emperor said,
“By the way, I didn’t know you had ties to the eastern region.”
“It’s not me, but Delis who has a connection to her. Apparently, that boy came to the capital without sleeping just to borrow the Eye of Truth… I truly don’t know how to speak to him about this.”
Worry shadowed Molton’s face.
Though it wasn’t his fault, the emperor’s heart ached sharply.
“If there’s any support you need instead of a magical tool, tell me anything. I’ll make sure to provide it one way or another.”
“Thank you for your consideration. I will be sure to convey His Majesty the Emperor’s deep generosity to Delis and to Count and Countess Rive.”
As Molton was about to leave, he suddenly seemed to recall something and turned back to ask the emperor,
“Your Majesty, might the Grand Duke of Hespia’s family have a similar magical tool?”
“Hm? I’m not certain, but given that it’s the House of Grand Duke Hespia, they might.”
“If so, may I ask one more favor?”
“What?”
The emperor blinked innocently.
Molton smiled quietly.
Piani was frustrated—beyond frustrated. Every time she tried to grasp her mana, it fled like an arrow, as if saying, “Hmph, no matter how much I belong to you, I won’t be manipulated by the likes of you.”
‘Because of this little brat, I can’t make any progress! Aaaah!’
In contrast to her turbulent inner state, Piani’s surroundings were peaceful beyond measure.
Sitting on a soft, pretty cushion and staring blankly at Chris as he worked, she looked like nothing more than a carefree doll. No one could possibly know what was going on inside her mind.
