IWETR 13

Chapter: 13

The interior of the large old mansion was well maintained, but not a single servant was in sight.

An inexplicable sense of unease crept over Seria as she glanced around, carefully observing her surroundings.

Though it was winter, the chill she felt now was different from ordinary cold—it was something else entirely.

“This place is a private villa I use personally, so it’s fine. But when we arrive at the Belvart estate, you really shouldn’t be wearing an expression like that.”

Theodore turned back and spoke to her.

Whether he said it or not, Seria silently followed behind him.

As they walked, a small side door beside the staircase caught her eye. It was nothing special, yet for some reason it bothered her.

“What are you doing? Hurry up.”

When Seria stopped, Theodore, who had already started up the stairs to the second floor, urged her on.

It looked suspicious no matter how she saw it—but it was probably better to let it go.

After giving the side door a brief glance, Seria headed up to the second floor.

Waiting there was an elderly woman with completely white hair.

She had been expecting Theodore and Seria.

A name tag on her chest read “Noma.”

“I will assist you with your bath.”

Noma moved her lips as if speaking. Inside her mouth, glimpsed occasionally, there was no tongue.

Seria’s eyes wavered as she looked at her.

“No… Noma….”

She called the name in a trembling voice.

As if calling someone she had already known.

“I will assist you with your bath.”

Noma moved her lips again. She shaped her mouth slowly and skillfully, as though she knew that moving too fast would make it impossible for others to understand her.

Yet at the same time, she seemed unable to recognize the person standing right in front of her.

“Noma, it’s me. Seria. Don’t you recognize me…?”

Seria grabbed Noma’s hand and pleaded.

But the nanny she had parted from six years ago repeated the same actions over and over, as though she remembered nothing at all.

“Princess! Please, come this way!”

Noma’s desperate cry still rang vividly in Seria’s ears.

Six years ago, when she had shaken her off and run away.

If only she had turned back even once.

If only she had taken Noma’s hand and gone with her.

Would they have avoided meeting like this?

Regret surged like a tide at the sight of how completely Noma had changed.

Hoping desperately to be recognized, Seria tightly held the woman’s wrinkled hand—but nothing changed.

“I will escort you this way.”

Noma mouthed the words with unfocused eyes.

Seria’s gaze was drawn, painfully, to Noma’s severed tongue.

“Noma….”

“It seems you know her.”

Theodore, standing beside them with his arms crossed, finally spoke.

At his words, Seria turned and glared at him.

How dare he pretend not to know?

Theodore had already known who Noma was.

He had destroyed the Argenta royal palace with only a small number of elite troops—something impossible without meticulous intelligence gathering.

And yet he dared to feign ignorance about Noma, the princess’s former nanny.

“You… what is the meaning of this?”

“What meaning?”

“You’re telling me you didn’t know Noma was my nanny?”

“Oh? I didn’t know.”

Theodore still looked genuinely surprised.

Anger surged up inside her. Her head felt hot and dizzy.

When Seria staggered, pressing a hand to her forehead, Noma hurriedly supported her.

Standing so close to Noma, Seria caught the faint scent of Argentura flowers—the same fragrance that had always lingered around her.

Breathing it in made her feel as though she had returned to the past.

What had happened to Noma all this time?

Was Theodore the one who had turned her into this?

Strength entered Seria’s gaze as she looked at him.

“It’s not as if I know everything. I simply took in a homeless Argentan and put her to work here as a caretaker.”

“You took in a homeless Argentan…? Coming from the person who made them homeless in the first place, isn’t that a bit rich?”

Seria strode right up to Theodore.

The way he stood there without batting an eye looked unbearably shameless.

“There’s something else that should matter more to you.”

Theodore’s expression hardened coldly.

There was no room for doubt in his firm tone.

“There’s only one thing that should be on your mind right now. Remember that.”

“Ha… hahaha….”

Noma was, in effect, a hostage.

A hostage meant to bind Seria to the deal no matter what.

‘You really are damnably thorough.’

No matter how she struggled, she would never escape Theodore’s grasp in this situation.

Humiliating as it was, this was reality.

“…I never thought you’d remind me of it like this.”

In the end, Seria let out a sigh. She didn’t want to be dragged along by him, but she couldn’t think of any way to defeat him.

When Seria stood there, drained of strength, Theodore tilted his chin slightly toward Noma. Seeing this, Noma gave a small nod.

“Then go on. I’ll be waiting.”

As if he’d never frowned at all, he smiled neatly.

That attitude—changing masks so freely—could he really be human?

It was enough to make her skin crawl.

As Seria stared at Theodore in a daze, Noma, who had been watching their expressions, quickly guided Seria toward the bathroom.

Noma skillfully assisted Seria with her bath.

Watching her movements—so ingrained they seemed second nature—made Seria’s eyes burn with tears.

Whether it was the weight of time or the loss of her tongue, Noma’s once-lustrous golden hair had turned white.

Noma, who had loved and raised Seria and Serion in place of the Argenta queen, was like another mother to them.

“Princess! Your knee is bleeding… How much it must have hurt….”

She had always been the first to run over when Seria fell while playing.

“This is the prettiest clover I’ve ever seen. Thank you so much for giving it to me.”

She had delighted in even the smallest gifts.

“I will stay by your side until you grow into a fine young lady and meet a wonderful partner—if you wish, even after that.”

She had always been there, steadfast and reassuring.

The fact that Seria hadn’t been able to protect someone so precious filled her with bitter regret.

“Noma… I’m sorry.”

Even at Seria’s apology, Noma simply smiled warmly. She still didn’t seem to remember her.

After the bath, Noma arranged Seria’s hair.

“I wonder if you’ll like it.”

A butterfly-shaped hairpin adorned Seria’s half-tied hair.

Butterflies had been her favorite when she was young.

Her actions were the same, yet she couldn’t remember—was it really true that she didn’t recognize her at all?

Seria wanted to ask her right away, but her lips refused to part.

Did she even have the right to ask, after having abandoned her in the first place?

All she wanted now was to take Noma out of Theodore’s grasp as soon as possible.

“I like it. Very much….”

Seria looked at her reflection in the mirror.

A face that was neither smiling nor crying—such a pitiful, ugly expression that she couldn’t stand it.

After finishing her preparations and coming down to the first floor, Seria looked lovely at a glance.

Like a noble young lady raised in innocence.

In the meantime, Theodore seemed to have changed clothes as well, and his already neat appearance looked even more irritatingly polished.

“I almost didn’t recognize you.”

“Yes. At this level, I could fool anyone. Perfectly.”

Throughout her time with Noma, Seria steeled her resolve.

She would kill the crown prince and find Serion—no matter what.

And then she would escape Theodore’s grasp.

Her expression hardened with determination. Seeing it, Theodore smiled in satisfaction and approached her.

“A good mindset.”

He carried the unmistakable air of a noble heir.

If that appearance truly belonged to the Belvart family, it was alluring yet oppressive—so much so that she didn’t want to learn anything from it.

“You are now my younger sister, and you must act like a member of the Belvart family. In return, you’ll be able to use the name Belvart.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Just as I use you, you should use me—use the Belvart family—as much as you need for your own goals.”

With that, Theodore held out his hand to her.

Seria stared at it and thought:

‘That’s right. This was our deal. You use me for your freedom. I use you to kill the crown prince and find Serion.’

Honestly, she didn’t think a relationship where both sides treated each other as mere tools was normal.

But seen another way, once their goals were achieved, they could turn away without a shred of hesitation—nothing to hold them back.

Seria placed her hand on top of Theodore’s.

“Just as you see me as a means, I’ll see you as nothing more—and nothing less—than a tool to reclaim Serion.”

“As you wish.”

Theodore grinned as he looked at Seria’s hand resting on his, utterly unconcerned.

As expected, he was the type of person who far exceeded the limits of normal human understanding.

Shaking her head slightly, Seria sighed.