RALMH 64

Chapter 64

As soon as Ian arrived at the Grand Duke’s residence, the speed at which Kane returned with the ordered information was faster than expected.

“So soon?”

Kane had come back saying the investigation was almost finished in just half a day, and Ian’s brows rose slightly at the report.

“Yes, that’s correct. About twenty years ago, a knight-turned-mercenary appeared in the Dwell region. Honestly, it’s not like there could be two people fitting that description. Luckily, since it was a fairly large mercenary company, they had a branch even in the capital, so checking the records wasn’t difficult.”

Ian quickly skimmed through the documents. Of course, the name written there was fake.

But mercenaries, by nature of their profession, often took on dangerous tasks. That was why the basic information about family, recorded for emergencies, was important.

Ian’s narrowed eyes swept over the names “Seirin” and “Betty,” written next to the name “Fred.”

“The ‘Betty’ written there… could it be the same Betty I know…?”

“It’s her.”

Once Betty told him the region she had lived in as a child, finding “Aaron Prowell” became much easier.

Until now, no one knew where he had disappeared, so the search radius had been wide. But with this, it narrowed instantly.

“But why are we looking for him? Who exactly is he? Between this and the playwright, you’ve been searching for people quite a lot lately.”

“Betty’s mother and father.”

“What?”

Ian exhaled the answer almost like a sigh.

Though Kane could sometimes be frivolous, he understood the weight of matters. That was precisely why Ian kept him closest among his subordinates.

Kane wouldn’t run off to blab uselessly, and perhaps it was time to tell him.

“The knight-turned-mercenary you found today is the younger brother of the missing Marquis Prowell. His daughter is Betty.”

“But wasn’t it said at the time that he was trying to marry a commoner actress?”

Kane wasn’t ignorant of the Prowell family’s circumstances. In fact, he occasionally gathered information on the frequently disappearing “Aaron Prowell” on behalf of the marquisate.

“The problem was that all we knew was that Betty’s mother was an unknown actress. After returning to the capital, she hid her name and worked as a playwright, so there was no way to track her.”

No one had thought she’d moved so far away, and that assumption had led the investigation into a dead end.

“So, this is… my goodness. I see now. All the inquiries you assigned to me were connected…”

Early performances of Roxelon’s plays hadn’t even managed to run properly a few times, so naturally there were hardly any records left.

The theater owner likely knew of “Seirin’s” past as an actress, but he had vanished.

“Then the maid is no longer just Miss Betty, but Lady Beatrice?”

“…That would be the case.”

“That’s good news.”

Though it wasn’t his business, Kane’s voice carried genuine gladness and joy.

“The lady needed something good to happen to her. In many ways.”

Ian agreed with his words, yet he couldn’t quite grasp the strange, different feeling stirring inside him.

He too wished for good things to come to Betty. But then… what was this feeling?

“The lady already knows, right? Oh, but I shouldn’t call her ‘the lady’s maid’ anymore, should I?”

“I only confirmed it further through additional investigation. She already knew.”

“Then should I summon Marquis Prowell tomorrow? Surely he’ll want to know immediately.”

“That would be best.”

So why couldn’t he rejoice in Betty’s good fortune as purely and wholeheartedly as Kane did?

Considering his ties with the Prowell family, he should feel satisfied and happy.

Lady Beatrice.

The moment he heard those words, a storm of emotions surged through him.

Ah, he was selfish indeed.

Even while wishing that Betty could finally enjoy what was rightfully hers, he couldn’t accept this feeling of her drifting far away from him.

Betty would perfectly suit that position more than anyone else.

Which only meant that finding a place for himself nearby would become even harder.

“There’s a limit to how petty I can be…”

A hollow laugh and self-mocking words escaped him. What kind of nonsense was he even thinking?

It had to be because of these past few days, when they could converse with only each other.

It was hard to rein in the wish to stay in this moment forever.

Marquis Prowell was very prompt in fulfilling the request to visit the Grand Duke’s residence.

He came at dawn, barely after the sun had risen.

“I was told you wished to see me?”

The marquis hadn’t been this tense since his daughter—the current empress—had married.

He entered Ian’s office, expectant, anxiously awaiting his words.

“There’s something I must tell you.”

Uncharacteristically, Ian stalled. His pettiness knew no bounds.

He knew he had to let Betty go, that he should want that for her.

But once Betty belonged to the Prowell family, the tie between them would stretch thin and, eventually, snap. That thought was hard to shake off.

Still, he had to say it. This was Betty’s life, the Prowell family’s affair. He was merely the messenger.

Caught in the middle, but in truth, he was an outsider in this matter.

Where should he begin? Ian carefully chose his words, not wanting to burden the already frail marquis’s heart.

This was the right place to start.

“Betty will not be entering the Hales barony as an adopted daughter.”

“…As I feared, our proposal was too sudden.”

The marquis’s face quickly darkened.

His heavy sighs were full of regret.

“I knew it… it was too hasty, wasn’t it? That wasn’t the original plan, but since Sharte was being so threatening, Mother was terribly worried. I was too.”

Edmund Prowell suddenly collapsed into a chair, spilling out his uneasy thoughts.

The words Ian had spoken seemed to drain the light from his face, aging him a decade in an instant.

Or perhaps it was only now that his deep worries for Betty showed.

“That’s not it…”

Ian tried to continue, but the marquis gave him no room.

He recovered quickly. Muttering to himself, he suddenly lifted his head.

“She saved my life, didn’t she? For that alone, Betty could demand half the family’s fortune and she’d deserve it. Better it goes to her than to that damned man it almost all fell to.”

“You don’t have to do that. In time, the inheritance will naturally pass on to her.”

At last, Ian found an opening to speak.

And finally, the marquis stopped what had seemed like endless rambling.

“…Naturally?”

The marquis frowned, confused.

Ian went to fetch the sword propped against the office wall.

“What is this? A sword…?”

“…Do you recognize it?”

He placed it across the desk. The marquis leaned in, carefully examining it.

“The condition isn’t great, but the craftsmanship is excellent. Why show me this suddenly? To recommend a good blacksmith? It has been ages since I last saw that smith…”

The marquis’s words abruptly cut off.

His gaze had fixed on the hilt. He seized it, lowering his head to study it closely.

“This is… this sword. I know it. Of course I know it. I saw it swung so many times with my own eyes. It’s the sword I’ve seen more often than any other in my life.”

With visibly trembling hands, Edmund gently set the sword back down.

“Where on earth did you find this? Aaron—Aaron is alive? Is he well?”

“…Aaron Prowell, I’m afraid, has long since passed away. It was confirmed that he died in an accident while working as a mercenary.”

“Ah…”

This time, the marquis sank down with a face full of the world’s sorrow.

“So it’s come to that. Long ago already… Still, if it were Aaron, I thought he might have reached out at least once. If he were alive, he surely would have contacted me after learning I became the marquis…”

“He did marry, though. His wife has also passed away, but he left behind a child. A daughter, his only child.”

“…He had a daughter?”

On his gloomy face, a faint glimmer of hope appeared.