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Chapter 21
Back to the Capital (2)
The following morning, at the break of dawn, the family of the Marquis of Wiltiera began moving toward the capital, having planned to leave the manor before sunset.
As she climbed into the carriage, the marchioness let out a small sigh after casting a lingering glance at the twins who had once again turned the manor upside down the night before.
Trying to return to normal life without being consumed by sorrow is commendable, but…
“Madam, the twins have always been like that.”
“Haa… I thought that by now, with their coming-of-age ceremony approaching, they might have matured a little.”
“I think that will still be impossible…”
“Honey, is that the answer I was looking for?”
“…”
“Haa…”
The marchioness thought to herself that her husband, the marquis, was no different in always showing the same predictable behavior.
Hoping that being with her family would allow her to quickly return to her usual routine, the marchioness climbed into the carriage, and the marquis followed behind her.
“It’s your fault, you know.”
“You’re the one who first threw dirt on my face, Berenice.”
“You’re the one who pulled my hair out, Lowell.”
What had started as a light teasing in the garden naturally escalated into a mild physical skirmish, which was perfectly ordinary for the twins.
And it was equally predictable that, frustrated, they would continue for a second round.
“Twins. How long do you intend to keep your mother waiting?”
The marquis abruptly put an end to their antics.
It happened just after the marchioness had sighed once again at the voices of the twins calling from outside the carriage.
His violet eyes flicked toward his wife, then shifted to the twins.
“S-Sorry.”
“Get on now!”
At the signal from the marquis, the twins, recognizing their mother’s displeasure, quickly climbed into the carriage.
Duncan, quietly observing with a gentle smile, approached and bowed to his master, who was seated inside the carriage.
“I will pray to the goddess for a safe journey.”
“Take care of your health until we meet again.”
“Haha, only my mistress worries about this old man’s health.”
The elderly steward, laughing at the marquis’s greeting, lifted his head and added in a very small voice:
“The ‘guest’ has already departed.”
The marquis gave a slight nod, and Duncan, as if realizing what he had just said, closed the carriage door, stepped back, and bowed.
Could that have been the signal?
As everyone who had come to see off the lord of the estate followed the old man and bowed, the carriage, receiving their farewell, began to move slowly.
“It’ll get busy when we return.”
Lowell spoke first, watching the scenery outside the carriage window change more quickly.
Normally, except when speaking with Berenice, Lowell never spoke first in front of the marquis.
Berenice realized that his reason for speaking first now was to lighten the heavy atmosphere inside the carriage, and she responded:
“The preparations for the banquet are mostly done, so we just need to finish the final touches. Right, Mother?”
In truth, Berenice had almost no memory of what banquet preparations were like at this time of year.
She had spent the entire time bedridden grieving during Bledin’s funeral. By the time she recovered, her father had died, and then the family had been thrown into turmoil, with every day a crisis.
Someone’s saying that fortune comes alone but misfortune comes in a crowd had proven true.
In all that misfortune, Berenice had not been able to attend the spring banquet.
Not attending the banquet didn’t prevent one from being recognized as an adult, but it did mean she couldn’t engage in official social activities until the following year, leaving her powerless to act even when family crises arose.
This time will be different.
Her father would survive, and she would be able to attend the banquet.
Preparations… will work out somehow. I’ll focus on what I need to do.
Considering her mother’s nature, she would devote herself fully to preparing the twins’ coming-of-age ceremony, perhaps to distract from her grief.
Relying a little on her mother now would not be a problem.
For Berenice, the urgent matters were first dealing with the future betrayer clinging to her side and then meeting an old friend.
I can’t just let her go.
Recalling Marien’s face, Berenice’s beautiful amber eyes gleamed with a fierce light.
Marien had guarded her back along with Nadia when they escaped the burning mansion.
And foolishly, Berenice had eaten the food Marien had prepared, unaware from the start that Marien intended to secretly track her movements.
She could detect it merely by the reversed smell of “Sith’s Tears” used on Kaiden.
That was because Marien had prepared a poison to restrict Berenice’s movements.
It wasn’t lethal but would incapacitate Berenice, forcing her to depend on Marien.
During this weakened state, Marien extracted useful information, sold it to the Blaze count’s family for a price, and likely wanted to prove her own competence and audacity.
Berenice had not succeeded yet, so Marien had likely planned ahead for her own survival.
At the time, Berenice had relied on a mysterious “antidote” without knowing where it had come from.
Without Nadia, antidoting would have been impossible.
Nadia had used a substance called Parcon, popular in the capital, to create the antidote.
Its primary effect was body purification, and Nadia’s intention had been simply to make Berenice feel a little better.
Thanks to this, Berenice was freed from the poison, but Marien had grown wary.
Fearing that a healthy Berenice would discover her schemes and seek revenge, Marien finally handed all the information she had been leaking to the Blaze count family for one last gain.
In the process, Berenice lost Nadia.
This time, the one who dies won’t be Nadia—it will be Marien.
Berenice, thinking of Nadia who rode in the carriage behind her with the others, nodded silently and turned her gaze out the window.
Unlike the journey to the manor, the scenery outside, unshielded by curtains, now passed swiftly.
“By the way, Nia, have you spoken with Viscount Blaze?”
“…Huh?”
Berenice, momentarily recalling the past, reacted a beat late to her mother’s sudden question.
The marchioness, realizing her daughter hadn’t understood, repeated her question while looking into Berenice’s eyes:
“I meant your partner for the banquet. I think you spoke about it when preparations began… Your first dance will be with the viscount, right?”
“Oh…”
She had forgotten.
Nion Blaze.
One year older than Berenice, her fiancé, and the companion she had chosen in the moment before returning to the afterlife.
The reason for choosing him as a companion was simple: he was the heir of a family that had actively cooperated in the downfall of Wiltiera.
Moreover, he had been the first to greedily take the bait Berenice had set and proudly follow her as if it were his own achievement.
Berenice had anticipated Nion’s presence, but recalling his last scene, where he had been more foolish and crude than expected, she momentarily blamed herself.
How could she forget the Blaze count family?
No, she hadn’t completely forgotten.
Her plan clearly included the downfall of the Blaze count family.
She had only momentarily forgotten that she would need to attend the spring banquet with her fiancé, Nion.
This made sense, as in her memories, they had long been broken off.
“Nia?”
Recalling Nion’s face, Berenice clenched her teeth, then quickly composed herself at the concerned voice of her mother.
“Don’t worry, Mother. I’ve already told the viscount.”
Having been bowed and unable to see her daughter’s distorted expression, the marchioness, observing Berenice’s usual demeanor, felt relieved.
However, the next words made her frown slightly.
“But I haven’t received a definite answer yet…”
“…What?”
Seeing her mother’s face darken instantly, Berenice felt a little guilty but knew it was necessary to gather information about Nion whenever possible.
“I had a few chances to discuss the banquet, but each time he left saying he had urgent business.”
Despite Berenice’s hidden agenda, this was not a lie.
Since their engagement, she and Nion had met regularly.
Because it wasn’t a love-based engagement, they spent time getting familiar with each other.
Being from Wiltiera, and with the Blaze count family in the same hierarchy, the Blaze family had been more proactive, trying to build familiarity.
At some point, Nion began reducing the time spent with Berenice.
It probably wasn’t the count’s decision—the Blaze count was the one more invested in the engagement.
So the reason lay with Nion—but at the time, Berenice, having little interest in her fiancé, had never cared to find out why.
But now it’s different.
If this could be a weakness of Nion or the Blaze family, it would be advantageous to know in advance.
With that thought, Berenice turned her gaze out the carriage window.
Ignoring the expressions of her parents and the twins inside, the carriage steadily moved toward the capital.
