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Chapter 18
Staring at the map Pielle had brought me, I fell into deep thought.
Since Radiers Argentta had already been in danger, it meant the real Phero would arrive soon.
Before that happened, I needed to lay the groundwork for when I eventually left here.
Just like I’d promised myself before the battle—it was time to prepare in earnest.
My goal was to live in abundance somewhere deep in the continent, far from danger. I’d already figured out how to do it.
“The Daisy Forest.”
The forest that stretched across the heart of the continent. And flowing through it—the massive Daisy River.
Right now, that land was largely abandoned, since few dared venture in with the threat of wild beasts and monsters.
But in a few years, a movement would begin to create a major canal centered around the Daisy River.
That would be around the time when the three ducal houses had stabilized the outside threats.
“Real estate is the future, after all.”
I planned to buy land around there before that development started.
The issue was finding the funds to make that happen…
[The duchess’s living expenses are to be paid directly by the House of Allozé.]
I recalled a ridiculous clause from the marriage contract that the Allozé family had sent to Argentta in the original story.
It was my money, so why was it going into their pockets? Either way, it wouldn’t be hard to retrieve.
If I said I needed the money to function here, the Duke of Allozé likely wouldn’t fight too hard to keep it from me.
As I was mulling all that over—
“Croa!”
—Click!
The door opened and in came Dielo, slightly out of breath.
“Dielo?”
“I was worried about you.”
He quickly came over and let out a long sigh.
“I wanted to come sooner, but things kept flaring up along the coast…”
He waved his hands as he explained what had kept him.
“So basically, you’re apologizing for not being at my bedside when I woke up?”
I helpfully summarized his roundabout speech.
Dielo touched the corner of his lips, then nodded slowly.
“I’m sorry. And… thank you.”
Such a considerate man. I chuckled.
“It’s fine. Sounds like you’ve been busy.”
Apparently, he’d spent the last two days on edge, running reconnaissance on all the coastal disturbances.
Even in between all that, he still made time to check in on me.
“But are you really alright? I heard the diagnosis from Nias, but…”
He looked at me with concern.
I shrugged to signal I was fine.
“It was my first time using that power like that. I think my body just went into a bit of shock.”
I waved my hand as if to say, “Don’t worry.”
Dielo let out a faint, helpless laugh.
“…You overused your power, didn’t you?”
“If I hadn’t, the damage would’ve been far worse.”
We were in the same boat now. If Argentta’s future crumbled, so did mine.
He let out a short sigh at my words.
“Thanks to you, many in Argentta were saved. I should be telling you not to do that again, but…”
Dielo paused for a moment, then smiled wryly.
“But that power’s just so ideal for stopping the Endless Sea… I don’t think I could stop you if it happened again.”
He cleared his throat and said, with what I assumed was meant to be a bold expression—
“…So what should I do, Croa?”
His eyes sparkled as they met mine.
“What else? I’ll keep helping you. At least until we drive out Allozé—we’re in this together, right?”
Honestly, he didn’t need to look at me with those puppy-dog eyes like that.
I quietly averted my gaze from his shimmering stare.
That’s when Dielo followed my gaze to the table I’d been looking at.
I was sitting in a chair in front of a small table inside the bedroom.
The moment his vivid blue eyes landed on the map, he spoke in a gentle voice.
“All of this… what’s it about?”
His head tilted when he saw the map.
“Are you interested in the Daisy Forest?”
“Yes. If I ever leave Argentta, I’d like to live near there.”
Since he already knew I planned to leave eventually, I didn’t see the need to hide my intentions.
That’s what I thought, casually.
But his silence lingered a bit too long.
“…Dielo?”
When I called out to him as he studied the map, he finally spoke.
“…If you ever leave Argentta, huh?”
He softly repeated my words.
I didn’t realize right away, but that was his delayed response to what I had said earlier.
Maybe it was the dim lighting, but…
It looked like his eyes sparkled in a strangely unreadable way as he stared at the map.
The next day, after I had laid out my plans for the future—
A letter arrived. One that was welcome… and not.
[As promised, I’d like to meet with Croa once a month to see my daughter.]
Of course, it was from none other than my future financial sponsor—
No, the Duke of Allozé.
“I’ll be back without any issues.”
Croa whispered to Dielo as she sat inside the carriage.
“I’m good at acting, so don’t worry.”
With that confident declaration, Croa departed for Allozé in an Argentta carriage.
It was a visit mandated by the unjust conditions of the marriage contract between Allozé and Argentta—to see the Duke of Allozé.
A meeting that was clearly meant to assess how far his plan had come—
The one where Croa was to “seduce Dielo Argentta and steal his virtue.”
—Neighhh!
Until the sound of the horses faded into the distance, Dielo stood silently where he had seen her off.
“……”
His thoughts wandered back to the night before.
“The Daisy Forest, huh…”
A massive river ran through that place—it was natural that someone with Allozé blood would be drawn to it.
But what about the monsters and wild beasts in the forest?
He turned slowly.
…Then again, someone with the power to control water wouldn’t have much trouble living in a place like that.
“……”
His eyes narrowed.
He didn’t think Croa would use her powers to attack Argentta.
Not because he naïvely trusted people, like his naïve wife might assume—
But because there was no benefit in it for Croa.
Even if she destroyed Allozé and eliminated everyone with that bloodline to claim the power for herself, she’d still be outnumbered.
Even if Argentta wielded fire and Allozé wielded water, she was still human—she had to eat and sleep.
There was no way she could defeat Argentta alone.
“…But still.”
He whispered.
Still… did she have to leave this land?
—Swoooosh…
With narrowed eyes, Dielo could almost still hear the waves from the beach in his ears.
He pictured her—Croa—once again.
Her powers had saved many.
For Argentta, always battling the Endless Sea, just having her around made protecting the coastline so much easier.
“……”
That was probably it.
After seeing her incredible ability, it made sense why she lingered in his mind.
More than anything, last night…
‘If I ever leave Argentta…’
Her words echoed again as Dielo raised his eyebrows slightly.
He kept picturing her—laying out maps with those violet eyes gleaming, dreaming of some impossible future.
“I thought she was smart… why doesn’t she see the whole picture?”
He turned back toward the manor.
They didn’t know when the real Phero would appear.
But Croa had already involved herself too deeply in the affairs of the lady of the house.
In other words, she knew far too much—things outsiders should never know.
And it was Dielo Argentta himself who had let her in.
If she didn’t perform the duties of the duchess properly, their plan to deceive Allozé until the real Phero arrived would fall apart.
Whatever the reason, Croa was now in far too deep.
“It’s either all or nothing.”
According to Argentta’s code, no one outside their fence should know of their affairs.
In short, when the real Phero appeared and Croa’s usefulness ended—
She would have to die.
—That was the plan.
‘Croa…’
Dielo whispered her name again in his mind.
She told him everything with such honesty.
She even seemed to pity him more than herself—
not realizing she was the one who had walked straight into the jaws of the beast.
“If Phero is delayed…”
He slowly continued walking.
And if Croa truly understood Argentta’s rules—
“…Maybe this could work.”
Maybe this would be better, even.
He whispered in a voice only he could hear.
There were already people in Argentta who respected her and began to accept her as one of their own.
Above all, she truly belonged in Argentta.
‘It’s all or nothing, isn’t it?’
That bold bride who once sealed their vows with a kiss—
she was far too brilliant to be wasted on Allozé.
Yes, she was a precious woman.
A radiant, dazzling presence far too bright and sorrowful to let go.
If only she were the real Phero…
If only she could become the real Phero—
Then even more so.
