RTGD 39

Chapter 39

“See? I was more right than you!”

“Come now. It’s not about right or wrong. He said he liked lemons, not that he disliked strawberries.”

“Same thing, isn’t it?”

“…Ha ha.”

Caught between the fierce bickering of Mark and Gorten, Litricia gave an awkward laugh and quietly got up from her seat.

Even as she stealthily slipped out of the room, the heated debate between the two continued.

“They’re far more energetic than I expected… Ha ha…”

Having successfully escaped, Litricia gently closed the door behind her.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Mia around.”

Now that the chaos of recent events had settled down a bit, Litricia realized she hadn’t seen Mia in a few days.

Though Mia rarely spoke, she was usually nearby when Litricia looked around.

But today, her absence was particularly noticeable.

“Maybe… she’s already in the study?”

She had already heard the general situation about Mia from Marsha and Gorten.

Now that the misunderstanding she’d held against Mia had been cleared up, Litricia felt a tinge of guilt and looked around to find her.

As she headed toward the study, scanning her surroundings, someone suddenly popped out from the side.

“Did you lose something?”

“…!”

A sudden breath against her ear sent shivers down the back of Litricia’s neck.

“What brings the young lady of the Grand Duchy to the main building? You should’ve been shown to the guest room in the annex.”

Litricia turned her head toward the voice at her ear. Peter stood there, his eyes smiling brightly.

“I was, but I lost my way to the annex. I ended up wandering… and here I am, running into the Grand Duchess.”

“You got lost, huh.”

Litricia narrowed her eyes slightly at Peter’s answer—then she spotted Mia’s bobbed hair peeking out from behind him.

It seemed the girl had been with Peter all along.

“Mia?”

“Oh, so her name is Mia? I asked her to help me find the way, but she hasn’t said a word.”

“Come here, Mia.”

When Litricia beckoned with her hand, Mia sprang out like a spring from behind Peter and ran straight to hide behind Litricia.

She’d heard Mia had difficulty speaking and usually communicated by writing.

Mia’s hands were empty, and her pocket bulged with a notebook—meaning she hadn’t taken it out in front of Peter.

“She must have offended you. She’s very shy. I’ll find someone else to guide you instead.”

“Offended? It’s not that serious.”

Seeing that Mia clearly didn’t want her muteness revealed, Litricia tried to make an excuse. Peter scrunched his face playfully.

“No need for that. How about you, Grand Duchess, show me the way?”

“Me?”

Litricia looked visibly uncomfortable at Peter’s friendly suggestion.

“Yes. I’m also a bit shy around strangers. But I feel like we have some connection, Your Grace.”

“…Alright.”

Somehow, she ended up walking alongside Peter—and couldn’t help but think of Killian.

She had just confidently said she wouldn’t be getting close to Peter—and here she was, going back on her word within minutes.

Feeling awkward, Litricia turned her gaze toward the window as they walked. Peter, following leisurely with his hands behind his back, struck up a conversation.

He, too, looked out the window as he spoke.

“The northern scenery is quite nice—more than I expected.”

“…”

“I regret not coming here sooner, honestly.”

It didn’t seem he expected a reply—he was just talking on his own.

His next topic was the clock tower, which dominated the scenery outside.

“By the way, is that clock tower the Tower of Shuten?”

“How do you know about that?”

According to Killian, stories about the Tower of Shuten were only passed down among northerners. Naturally, Litricia turned her gaze toward Peter.

He smiled pleasantly.

“Well, I’m something of a merchant. I heard bits and pieces from a nomad from the north during my travels.”

Peter measured the tower with his hand, palm rising from the base up as if estimating its height. Then he narrowed his eyes.

“It’s much bigger than I imagined. Have you ever been to the tower, Your Grace?”

“No.”

“I see. Then do you know the legend about the tower? The one where it grants wishes?”

Wishes?

Litricia hadn’t heard anything like that before. Her gaze shifted toward the tower.

“Judging by your reaction, I guess not. I don’t know the full details either, but apparently, the tower grants wishes.”

“What kind of wishes?”

“Well, depends on the person asking. Maybe they want offerings, or youth, or something else. Why, are you intrigued?”

Peter tilted his head to the side, hands still behind his back.

His golden hair flowed gently in that boyish gesture.

“Even if you’re curious, don’t go making wishes to the tower. From what I heard, there’s always a price. Something like… your life?”

Peter lowered his voice dramatically, making a spooky face like he was telling a scary story to a little sibling.

But Litricia had no intention of humoring him. She continued silently staring at the clock tower.

A wish… But that clock… It looks like it moved again… or am I imagining things?

She narrowed her eyes at the minute hand, which looked slightly off from the last time she saw it.

And oddly enough, there seemed to be a faint blue glow around the needle.

“My story must’ve really interested you, Your Grace. You’re staring at the tower so intently.”

“Lord Peter… do you perhaps…”

“Yes? Do I what?”

Litricia was about to ask about the minute hand and the blue glow but stopped when she saw Peter’s blank expression.

“…Never mind.”

“Oh, you’re no fun. Ah, speaking of which, I heard the Count of Esta returned to his estate a few days ago. I’m sure you already know.”

Peter glanced sideways at Litricia’s expression and let his hands fall from behind his back.

“If I report everything about Patrick and the Loraz girl to my father, it’ll eventually reach Count Esta’s ears. That won’t go over well for him or his son.”

“My brother already knows. And the Count… probably doesn’t care that much.”

“The heir already knows?”

Peter raised his voice in surprise.

“If he did, with that fiery temper of his, I’d think Patrick wouldn’t be walking around unscathed.”

Peter surely knew the strained relationship between Litricia and the Count’s family.

So was he seriously suggesting that Isis would punish Patrick for Litricia’s sake?

Litricia tried for a moment to read Peter’s true intention—but gave up when her head began to ache.

“I must say, I was a bit surprised earlier in the parlor. You’re quite different from the fiancée I remember seeing in the capital.”

Peter then quickly added, as if not wanting to be misunderstood.

“I mean that you’re far better now.”

“You’re the second person to say that.”

Litricia thought of Piril, who had said the exact same thing. She brushed her cheek with her hand.

Before they knew it, they had reached the corridor leading to the annex. Litricia stopped walking.

Peter looked quite disappointed.

“It’s a shorter walk than I thought. Well then, I’ll be on my way. I do hope the antidote is completed soon.”

***

“Li… Litricia. The antidote… it’s ready…”

Just as Peter had hoped, the antidote was completed rather quickly.

Of course, it came at the cost of Piril getting barely any sleep—she looked half-dead by the end of it.

But her hard work paid off. The antidote she created was a success. Allen, who had been bedridden for days, was able to get up after just half a day.

So naturally, Peter was extremely pleased when he received the antidote.

“Unbelievable. I had my doubts, but it really was Tetrad poison that caused the epidemic…”

Peter dropped some of the antidote into a sample of the well water Piril had collected, then ran a hand down his face.

“What the hell was that lunatic Patrick trying to pull…”

Running his hands through his hair in frustration, Peter adjusted his glasses.

“Alright. As promised, now that the antidote is complete, I’ll uphold our end of the deal. We’ll begin distributing it to the capital immediately.”