🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter – 04
After receiving the ring, Emilio returned to the restaurant where he had originally worked.
Calix had him watched for a week in case he showed any suspicious behavior, but since nothing unusual happened, he eventually ordered the men assigned to him to withdraw.
‘Something feels off.’
Even though there was nothing concrete to be concerned about, Calix couldn’t shake his unease.
To begin with, the so-called keepsake Emilio mentioned was suspicious in itself.
‘If a ring like that was left behind as a keepsake, then his mother must’ve been a noble.’
A noble boy disguising himself as a commoner with an unclear background…
Calix had the feeling that if he dug too deeply, he would uncover something dangerously troublesome.
‘It’s probably better not to get involved.’
Especially now, when his engagement to Luize had only barely allowed him to avoid the Emperor’s scrutiny.
At that moment, there was a light knock, and his aide Ilian entered the office.
When Calix stared at him questioningly, Ilian bowed his head.
“We’ve completed the purchase of the Anantium mine.”
Inside the envelope Ilian handed him were documents confirming payment and the transfer of ownership.
“We rushed the process in case they changed their minds.”
“And Marquis Orlando’s side?”
“They still don’t seem aware that we were the ones who purchased the mine. Though I suppose it’s only a matter of time now.”
“Just in case, make it appear as though another intermediary purchased it before us.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Marquis Orlando didn’t particularly like Calix.
Apparently they had once been childhood friends, but Calix had coldly rejected the marquis’s marriage proposal in the past.
That was all Ilian knew.
“Still, how did she know?”
“I’ve been wondering the same thing.”
“Pardon?”
“The information came from Luize.”
And the moment Marquis Orlando put the mine up for sale, Calix had immediately asked Luize where she got the information.
“Theodore, Marquis Orlando’s younger brother, was my classmate at the academy. I heard he’s been very ill recently.”
“The fortunate thing is that descendants of the Thierry Baron family—whose lineage was thought extinct—have appeared. If it’s them, they might be able to create medicine to cure him.”
So Luize had predicted that they would urgently sell the mine in order to work with the descendants of House Thierry to develop a cure.
In other words, it wasn’t information from a reliable source—just speculation that happened to be correct.
Calix wanted to dismiss it lightly, but…
‘It’s suspicious.’
The timing and details were simply too perfect.
Still, it was difficult to believe Luize had another route for obtaining information.
She was just an ordinary noble lady and had never shown signs of using information guilds or anything similar.
“It’s certainly suspicious, but not impossible,” Ilian said with an uncertain expression, apparently reaching a similar conclusion.
“Shall I investigate further?”
“No, forget it.”
If there had been suspicious movements around Luize, word would have already reached him.
“Let’s leave this matter alone for now.”
For now, at least.
“More importantly, what about the descendants of House Thierry?”
“Yes. Just as Lady Luize said, descendants of the Thierry Baron family have indeed appeared. We believe they’ve already made contact with House Orlando.”
Exactly as Luize predicted.
“What are the chances they’re impostors?”
“House Orlando is tightly controlling information, so it’s difficult to investigate thoroughly, but…”
“The chances are low?”
“Yes.”
If they were fake, then there would be no reason for House Orlando to block information so carefully in the first place.
They must have demonstrated enough medical skill to be acknowledged as descendants of the famous medical family.
‘Vivian is thorough about things like that.’
With that cold assessment of the current Marquis Orlando, Calix decided to continue observing the situation.
“Keep watching the marquis’s household for the time being.”
“Yes, understood.”
Ilian bowed and left the office.
Now alone, Calix turned his attention back to the documents in front of him.
He needed to finish quickly if he wanted to go boating with Luize.
After the carriage accident, Luize remembered her past.
More accurately, memories of both the past and the future.
Luize had lived until the age of thirty-six before dying.
Then she returned to the past, lived again, and after the carriage accident regained the memories she had lost.
The memories of her life up to thirty-six.
There were many reasons behind Luize’s death, but the greatest one was…
‘Because I married Calix.’
Luize had never broken off the engagement with Calix and had maintained the relationship until they eventually married.
As a result, the faction supporting the Third Prince—who viewed Calix as a thorn in their side—tried to use Luize.
‘And when I refused, they killed me through Brother Cedric.’
Cedric was Luize’s only full-blooded sibling.
As she died, betrayed by the one person she considered family, Luize shed tears of blood.
‘At that moment, no one was by my side.’
No one…
Only as her life faded away did Luize realize the truth.
She had never been worthy of standing beside Calix. She had invited disaster by being greedy for something beyond her place.
‘If things had followed their natural course and Sister Eloise had married Calix instead, none of this would have happened.’
But even imagining that made her heart sink painfully.
‘Even after going through all that, I still haven’t let go of my feelings.’
It was honestly remarkable.
The realization only made her bitter, showing once again how deeply the man named Calix Western had influenced her.
‘No. I just need to change from now on.’
If she wanted to change that miserable future, all she had to do was break off the engagement with Calix.
‘But first, I need to change the Emperor’s mind.’
It wouldn’t be easy, but it wasn’t impossible either.
She simply had to eliminate the reason the Emperor had chosen her as Calix’s fiancée in the first place.
‘To do that, I need to restore my reputation first.’
The reason the Emperor had chosen Luize instead of Eloise Florence, the proper Duchess of Florence, was entirely because of reputation.
If Luize’s reputation improved—or even better, if people started seeing her as a respectable marriage prospect—the Emperor himself would likely want the engagement broken.
Of course, breaking off an imperial engagement wasn’t child’s play, and an emperor wouldn’t easily retract his own decree.
But that was something Luize intended to solve herself.
‘Besides, I need to weaken the Third Prince’s faction too, just in case.’
She already had plans for that as well.
Though it certainly wouldn’t be easy.
Just then, urgent knocking sounded along with Anna’s voice.
“My lady, Duke Western is here!”
“What?”
Luize instinctively asked back before suddenly realizing something.
Come to think of it, she and Calix had planned to go boating.
‘I completely forgot.’
Something unimaginable for the old Luize.
Before the carriage accident, the center of Luize’s world had been Calix Western alone.
“There was an appointment, and I forgot about it.”
“What?!”
Anna looked horrified.
Her expression clearly said it was impossible for Luize to forget an appointment with Calix.
“Y-You need to hurry!”
Anna immediately brought water for washing and quickly helped prepare her.
She used scented oils and perfume to make up for the lack of elaborate preparation.
“Sorry. Did I keep you waiting long?”
“No.”
Truthfully, the old Luize used to spend far longer dressing up than she had today, so she always kept Calix waiting.
Compared to that, this was relatively fast.
Smiling brightly, Luize approached him.
“So today, um… we were going boating, right?”
“Yes.”
Luize inwardly sighed in relief.
She had nearly asked where they were going out of habit.
That would have been terribly rude to Calix.
“We should hurry if we want to arrive before sunset.”
With that, Luize quickly headed toward the carriage.
As a result, Calix—who had extended his hand to escort her—was momentarily caught off guard.
Was she nervous?
Thinking that way, he could somewhat understand why Luize had walked off without accepting his escort.
She must be excited for their long-awaited date.
Completely unaware that Luize had actually forgotten the appointment, Calix reached that conclusion on his own.
Their boating trip began smoothly.
The sky was perfectly clear without a single cloud, the sunlight gentle, and there was almost no wind.
Rather than bringing a boatman, Calix rowed the boat himself.
Nearby, at a slight distance, were other boats carrying maids, servants, and knights assigned to attend and guard them.
“Is this really a date? There are way too many eyes on us.”
Looking around, Luize sighed.
“It feels more like we’re being monitored.”
“Really?”
Calix let out a soft laugh.
Then he stopped rowing and held out his hand.
“Then would you like to come over here?”
Though he said that, he didn’t actually expect Luize to come.
Contrary to appearances, Luize was surprisingly shy.
“So you want me to come over there?”
As expected, Luize frowned slightly, and Calix nodded.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Luize grabbed his hand without warning.
Caught off guard, Calix flinched slightly before quickly regaining composure.
Holding his hand, Luize carefully made her way toward him.
“Careful, Luize.”
“Okay.”
Nodding, Luize eventually crossed over to his side.
“Phew, thank goodness.”
Relieved, she naturally remained holding Calix’s hand and leaned into his arms.
Feeling her sudden warmth against him, Calix blinked silently.
What is this?
Unlike Calix, who had frozen in surprise, Luize herself appeared perfectly calm.
Still nestled against him, she admired the scenery of the lake.
“This isn’t bad either.”
Her voice drifted into his ears on the wind.
Like a stone thrown into still water, ripples spread through his heart.
At the same time, Calix felt an inexplicable irritation.
‘Why does she seem so used to this?’
At least the Luize he knew had never acted this composed around him.
She had always looked at him with undisguised excitement, blushing and panicking even at the slightest touch.
A question naturally arose in his mind.
Who changed Luize like this?
Could it be…
‘Does she have another man?’
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Calix felt a cold sensation spread through his chest.
