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Chapter 7
Part 1
“What are you doing here, you ask?”
If anyone looked out of place in this village, it was clearly Desion, not her.
Heidi gave an awkward smile and answered.
“I came to visit my family. My home is up there.”
She pointed toward the top of the hill.
Desion nodded as though he had just remembered something.
“Ah, right. Eloise said she had given you some time off.”
“Yes. Thanks to her, I’ve been able to stay home for a few days.”
Heidi smiled politely.
But then—
“……”
“……”
Why was the eye contact not ending?
An awkward silence that felt like an eternity stretched between them. Unable to bear it any longer, Heidi cautiously spoke.
“Um…”
“……”
“May I ask what brings you to Everton, my lord?”
“There is something I’m looking for.”
Something?
His answer puzzled her.
What could someone like him possibly be searching for in a remote place like this? The village contained nothing but rows of old houses packed tightly together. Even if someone turned every pocket inside out, all they would find was dust.
“I don’t think there’s anything in Everton that would interest you, my lord.”
“To be more precise, I should say there’s someone I’m looking for.”
“A person?”
Looking directly into her eyes, Desion said,
“That’s why I’d like your help.”
Heidi immediately nodded.
“Of course. Though I’m not sure how much help I can actually be…”
“Good.”
As if he had been waiting for that answer, Desion took out a pocket watch and glanced at it.
“There are a few personal questions I’d like to ask.”
“Questions about me?”
Desion nodded.
His sharp red eyes fixed on her face.
“Would you answer them?”
“O-Of course…”
Standing before the impeccably composed nobleman, Heidi instinctively shrank her shoulders.
Though his manner was polite, there was something undeniably intimidating about him.
She had survived her entire life by reading people’s moods and intentions.
And yet—
I have no idea what he’s thinking.
Of all people, Desion was impossible to read.
Why would someone like him be interested in the details of a mere maid’s life?
“Have you lived in Everton your whole life?”
Heidi shook her head.
“No. About five years, I think.”
“And before that?”
“In a nearby village. Not very far from here.”
“A nearby village, you say…”
Her hometown.
Her family.
Her household circumstances.
Question after question poured from Desion without pause.
By the time Heidi’s head was spinning from the interrogation—
“Why are you running off by yourself like that?”
A familiar voice interrupted them.
A man approached, breathing heavily, and placed a hand on Desion’s shoulder.
“Did you happen to find someone you know—”
Noah turned toward Heidi.
His eyes gradually widened.
Startled, he pointed at her.
“W-Wait! What?”
“Calm down, Noah.”
“How am I supposed to stay calm? I think she’s the person we’ve been looking for!”
At Noah’s words, Heidi’s eyes widened.
The person they’ve been looking for… is me?
Why?
Her mind began racing.
She occasionally borrowed advances on her wages when things were difficult, but she owed the marquisate no debts.
She hadn’t caused any major accidents while working, either.
I’ve lived a very quiet life…
No matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t imagine why a marquis would travel all the way to this remote village looking for her.
Gathering her courage, she met Desion’s gaze.
“What exactly do you mean by saying you were looking for me…?”
The moment she looked directly at his face, her shoulders stiffened.
His expression was strange.
His crimson eyes seemed filled with complicated emotions she couldn’t understand.
After a moment of silence, as though choosing his words carefully, Desion straightened himself and spoke.
“Tomorrow.”
“……”
“It’s getting late now. Would you come back here tomorrow morning? This may turn into a rather long conversation.”
At his polite request, Heidi nodded.
And faintly, she sensed something.
The reason Desion had come all the way to this shabby village to find her.
For some reason, it didn’t feel ordinary.
Perhaps tomorrow, a storm powerful enough to change her entire life would arrive.
Part 2
But—
“What?”
“……”
“You’re saying… I’m a princess?”
She never imagined the storm would be this large.
Blank.
People always said that when someone heard something completely absurd, words would fail them.
Now she understood.
Early that morning, Desion’s story had utterly shattered Heidi’s composure.
A poor girl who had grown up in a slum and worked as a maid was supposedly the king’s only biological daughter.
Wasn’t that the kind of ridiculous story found only in plays?
And he’s telling me this inside a carriage…? Is this some kind of joke?
But there wasn’t even the slightest trace of amusement on Desion’s face as he sat across from her.
After staring blankly with her mouth hanging open for quite some time, Heidi finally managed to speak.
“On what grounds could you possibly say something like that?”
“……”
“I don’t want to doubt you, my lord, but this is simply unbelievable.”
“I understand completely. I find it difficult to believe as well.”
Gasp.
The moment Desion addressed her with formal honorific speech, Heidi’s face turned pale.
Ignoring her reaction, he continued calmly.
“But even if something is difficult to believe, if all the evidence points toward a single conclusion, isn’t it reasonable to accept that conclusion as the truth?”
“Earlier, your father testified that twenty years ago he found a baby freezing to death in a deserted alley and took her in. He said it happened about a week before the new year.”
“The princess was born roughly two weeks before that. The timing matches perfectly.”
“But still…”
“I’ve heard this region suffered relatively little damage during the war. Which makes sense. It held no military importance, nor was there anything worth looting. For someone fleeing pursuit by the Moizen army, there could hardly have been a better place to hide.”
Heidi shook her head.
“I still can’t accept it. There must have been many orphaned babies that year.”
“A baby girl born at exactly the same time. With bright golden hair. And violet eyes—the symbol of the Panter royal family. What do you think the odds of that are?”
“……”
Faced with his perfectly logical explanation, Heidi found herself running out of arguments.
Yet one question remained.
After hesitating for a long time, she carefully asked,
“Then the princess currently living in the royal palace…?”
Anastasia Janet de Panter.
There wasn’t a single person in the kingdom who didn’t know that name.
The kingdom’s sole princess drew nationwide attention. Even a brief outing was enough to make newspaper headlines.
If Desion was right, then who exactly was the dazzling Anastasia living in the palace?
Desion finished the question she could not bring herself to complete.
“She is not the king’s biological child.”
“…!”
“A baby was switched during the chaos of that time. That is the conclusion I reached after years of investigation.”
Heidi’s eyes widened as far as they could.
Meeting her gaze directly, Desion continued.
“There is a royal treasure known as the Crown of the Sun. It was presented by the temple when the current king and queen were married.”
“……”
“When someone of royal blood wears that crown, it shines brightly with divine power. Even siblings or cousins normally cause it to emit a faint glow.”
“But when Anastasia wore it, there was no reaction whatsoever.”
“Why?”
Desion’s crimson eyes darkened.
“Because not a single drop of the king’s blood flows through her veins.”
Heidi clasped her trembling hands tightly together.
Her heart pounded violently as though sensing the whirlpool of fate drawing near.
But…
Unable either to accept the truth or reject it, she sat there in confusion.
Desion watched her quietly for a moment before reaching into his coat.
He pulled out a neatly folded sheet of paper.
“I imagine this is difficult to accept. I prepared this in the hope that it might help.”
Heidi carefully accepted the paper.
Desion gestured for her to unfold it.
The moment she opened it and looked—
Her eyes widened in shock.
“…!”
