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Chapter 50
Night Walk (1)
After leaving the Imperial Library, Berenice couldn’t bring herself to re-enter the library and instead followed the servant waiting outside, who guided her to the carriage prepared by the Empress.
On the way back to the Marquis’s estate, Berenice took out a scrap of paper she had hidden in her clothes while briefly admiring the quiet scenery outside the window.
It was a paper with hints that Bledin had hidden inside the fairy tale book.
“For now, take this. And see if you can find any other hints that might be related, perhaps left by your brother.”
There might be something left behind that only blood relatives could recognize. Thinking of Kaiden’s face as he told her to take responsibility and find it, Berenice hid the scrap of paper back in her clothes.
“Who exactly is Bella?”
Did Bledin have a woman? Perhaps he had a secret lover no one knew about. But no matter how she thought about it, Berenice had never gotten the impression that Bledin had a lover.
Besides, if he really had a lover, the Marchioness would have been the first to notice and would have arranged Bledin’s marriage.
“…Hmm, so maybe that’s why he hid it even more…”
Bledin had declared that he would remain unmarried, using the excuse of preventing future conflict by giving up his position as the heir of the Marquis family. The argument was that the child of the firstborn of the family could one day challenge the succession and bring chaos.
“If that ever happened, Lowell would gladly give up the Marquis title, right?”
It was Lowell, who had once protested, insisting that the position of Junior Marquis belonged to his elder brother and refusing to accept it even to the point of a hunger strike. He had accepted the title only after Bledin’s persuasion and the promise that the Marquis would allow him to return the title to Bledin whenever he wished.
Feeling the carriage slow down and shaking off the thoughts that had crowded her mind, Berenice straightened her posture.
Meeting her family, who must be worried about her, and explaining what had happened with the Empress took priority.
“Nia.”
“Mother.”
Had she received a message in advance? Berenice, taking the worried hand of the Marchioness, who had been waiting with the head lady-in-waiting, politely greeted the royal knights escorting the carriage.
After seeing them off, she entered the estate with the Marchioness and faced her father, who, like her mother, wore a shadowed expression.
“You’re back at last?”
Her twin brother… well, let’s consider him a bonus.
Sitting next to her mother, who could not let go of her hand, Berenice explained to her father and brother what had happened at the palace, conveniently leaving out the part about visiting the Imperial Library and meeting Kaiden.
“So the Third Prince really did ask you to retrieve the book.”
“Yes. If it weren’t for being near the Empress, it felt like I was looking after a child smarter than those my age.”
“The Empress is the problem, then.”
Taking the paper Aschad had handed her, the Marquis nodded. The Empress shaking her young son in her hands was the real problem. Well… if one dug deeper, more serious issues would surface, but for now…
“The Empress is too impatient.”
Lowell spoke, having quietly listened to Berenice’s story.
“Yes. I don’t think this can be postponed any longer.”
Realizing from their conversation that her father had chosen Kaiden, Berenice clenched her fist in secret. By past standards, it was a poor move.
Kaiden had never sought the throne, and the Third Prince ultimately took the position of Crown Prince. Yet Berenice could not stop her father’s choice here. Doing nothing would also be a poor move, inviting danger to her family and their house.
“This happened because of me, after all.”
It was a result of her actions, different from those of her previous life.
So now, her task was not to oppose her father’s choice, but to make that choice the best possible one.
“The method is the same.”
Eliminate dangers to her family, uncover the secrets surrounding Bledin’s death, and hide all her actions as long as possible. Eventually, it would be discovered, but she needed to delay it to prevent her family from facing past dangers again.
“Why that expression?”
Lost in thought, Berenice was brought back by Lowell’s voice from across the table.
Her quietly observing family members were all looking at her.
“Why? Worried that I’ll end up marrying the Third Prince?”
“That will never happen.”
“Rest easy, Nia.”
She must have unconsciously been wearing a rather serious expression. Berenice shook her head and forced a brighter smile.
“I’m not worried.”
“But it’s probably best to start looking for a suitable match…”
“You can’t just grab anyone and arrange an engagement. Slowly.”
Back to the marriage topic again. She had just reached adulthood—was this really necessary? Considering the empire’s average marriage age, her parents’ concern was understandable, but she hated that the Empress’s impatience forced her to rush the search for a spouse.
Berenice let out a small sigh and, using fatigue as an excuse, got up first.
From then on, it was simple. With Nadia’s help, she changed clothes and took a late nap. Having started preparations early in the morning and having dealt with the Empress, she was exhausted. No one in the family disturbed her rest.
As a result:
“Good heavens… slept until this time?”
Berenice woke up near midnight. Amazed that someone could sleep this much, she got up and noticed a sandwich prepared in case she got hungry. It was certainly Nadia’s doing.
Berenice, soothing her stomach with the slightly dried sandwich, stood up. The time and darkness were just right.
“I need to find out about Bella.”
Changing from pajamas into black “work clothes,” Berenice opened the window.
Although it was late, people were still moving in the hallway.
Berenice secured her white hair to prevent it from sticking out of her hood and climbed out of the window. Having consistently trained her body and recovered her condition, she felt lighter than just after the reincarnation.
Arriving at Bledin’s room, she used a tool she carried to easily open the locked window and carefully slipped inside without being seen by passing guards.
The room was quiet, left behind by its absent owner.
She quietly closed the window and examined the room thoroughly, letting out a sigh. As expected, she could not find anything that seemed related to “Bella.”
Perhaps searching Bledin’s former residence at the palace would be more effective.
“The problem is… I can’t easily get over the palace walls.”
Bledin’s luggage had been returned, and most of it had been moved into this room.
Should she return to the estate and search the lord’s chambers again? Previously, all she had found was a diary.
Berenice sighed unknowingly, thinking of a way to move such a long distance without the family noticing. She realized it was impossible to move that far unnoticed.
Even though she had more information than before reincarnation, she still felt frustrated at having nothing she could do immediately.
“First, I’ll meet the White Crow and give them the information I already have.”
At first, she intended to reveal her information gradually to avoid suspicion, but she realized there was no time for that. She feared wasting time chasing only Bledin’s hints.
“Besides asking the White Crow about Bella, I’ll have to find out myself.”
She knew a few taverns where palace guards gathered rumors from the city’s underworld. Bledin would have surely visited them. Perhaps someone working there was named “Bella.”
“Looks like another visit to the black market is in order.”
With her savings, she could easily get disguise tools. She also realized she hadn’t acquired a dagger yet.
“If I get the dagger too, my pocket will feel lighter… I need to think about funding.”
Organizing her thoughts, Berenice slipped back out the window.
Her body felt light. Once she fully regained her original strength, her movements would be easier.
“Maybe I should train more seriously.”
Stepping along the grooves of the estate wall, Berenice’s eyes sparkled.
