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Chapter 57
When Are You Planning To Do It?
Delphian sat on the reception room sofa with his eyes closed.
In truth, on his way here, Delphian had been questioning whether coming at all was the right choice.
But if the rumors spreading through the capital truly were Crokan Piace’s doing, then he needed to know exactly what Crokan hoped to gain from them.
If his scheme puts Heidi in danger, I can’t just stand by.
“…Heidi.”
With his fist clenched and his teeth grinding together, her name escaped his lips like a groan.
Step. Step.
At that moment, there was the sound of a cane tapping the floor, followed by approaching footsteps.
“….”
Delphian slowly opened his eyes and fixed them on the firmly shut door.
The footsteps stopped in front of it, and then the large door swung open without a sound.
“This old man’s morning nap made me late, Your Highness.”
“I came without notice, so I understand.”
“….”
“It’s been a while, Marquis.”
“Haha. If I had known Your Highness wished to see me, I’d have come to pay my respects sooner. My apologies.”
Crokan answered smoothly and took a seat, while a quick-witted maid set a teacup down in front of him.
Once she was done, the maid quickly closed the reception room door and left.
“….”
“….”
A faint scent of tea drifted in the silent room.
Delphian quietly watched Crokan savoring the aroma with a relaxed expression.
…Like a snake.
He knew Crokan understood perfectly well why he was here, yet the man was pretending otherwise, playing dumb.
I suppose this means he wants me to feel the impatience.
The clink of the teacup being set down broke the stillness, drawing Delphian’s gaze.
Looking back at him, Crokan’s eyes seemed to pierce right through to his thoughts.
Delphian unconsciously furrowed his brow as Crokan’s voice reached his ears.
“You came all the way here because of the strange rumors going around the capital, didn’t you?”
At the Marquis’s unhurried question, Delphian nodded.
“You’ve heard them as well?”
“Even if I didn’t want to, I couldn’t avoid it. Isn’t it about my daughter?”
“….”
“That a lady with purple hair and sea-colored eyes has replaced Lady Elliana and become the Crown Prince’s new lover.”
Crokan gave a short, incredulous laugh before continuing with a face of puzzlement.
“At first, I was indignant and resentful, wondering why such rumors had spread. But then I thought Your Highness must also be quite troubled by them.”
“….”
“My apologies. I should have investigated and resolved the matter before it came to this, instead of forcing you to come in person.”
Delphian noted how his expression twisted ever so slightly.
What’s he scheming?
Unable to read the truth in Crokan’s face, Delphian’s eyes sharpened.
“So, have you resolved it?”
“Not yet. I’ve been doing my utmost to find the source of the rumors, but I still don’t know where they started or who spread them. It will take more time.”
“….”
“Lately, young ladies in the capital have been using strange dyes sold by the magic tower to change their hair color for fun, which makes the culprit harder to find.”
Crokan lowered his gaze as if troubled, but Delphian believed he already knew that Heidi had met him with hair the same color as Revelia’s.
In truth, no one in the capital had dyed their hair that way—no one except Heidi.
“But Marq—”
Just as Delphian was about to speak again—
“It is odd, though.”
“…?”
“If the rumors have spread this far, it must mean many people have seen it.”
“….”
“It made me wonder—could someone be imitating my daughter?”
Delphian stayed quiet for a moment, then gave a faint, sarcastic smile.
“…Isn’t that quite a stretch?”
Crokan pretended to agree with him.
“I hope it’s a misunderstanding. But her hair color is rare, and people said seeing that woman reminded them of my daughter—it’s unsettling.”
“….”
“Truthfully, unless they share blood, it’s rare for unrelated people to look so alike that others would mistake them for family.”
Unless they share blood?
Delphian felt a strange, unpleasant tug at those words.
As far as he knew, Heidi and Revelia had no connection.
So why would Crokan suddenly bring that up?
The veins on Delphian’s clenched fist began to stand out.
Suppressing his irritation, he smiled faintly at Crokan, who kept his gaze lowered.
“So you believe the rumors in the capital were spread deliberately?”
“That’s right.”
Seeing Crokan so certain made Delphian pause.
Before coming here, he had assumed the Marquis himself was the one spreading them.
But the more Crokan spoke, the less certain he felt.
“Marquis, I see you hold me in high regard.”
“….”
“But the human heart is unpredictable. What if I really am seeing someone else, as the rumors claim?”
He forced an exaggerated smile.
Crokan looked at him for a moment, then his lips curved oddly.
“Your Highness tells amusing jokes.”
“A joke?”
“You would never see another woman. And even if you did, it wouldn’t be my daughter. That’s why you can say such a thing.”
“….”
“So I am simply curious—who would spread such useless rumors, and why?”
Answering Delphian’s question, Crokan finally let out a laugh, as though mocking the foolishness of whoever started them.
Delphian’s expression hardened.
Useless to anyone?
More importantly—why was Crokan so certain he would never meet with Revelia?
As if sensing his thoughts, Crokan added,
“Oh, I suppose I didn’t mention—after the last party, my daughter’s illness worsened. She’s gone to stay with relatives in the countryside. That’s why I’m certain she hasn’t met you.”
“You mean Lady Revelia isn’t even in the capital?”
The unexpected claim made Delphian’s eyes widen.
Crokan’s face took on a worried look.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“I didn’t know she was ill. Is Lady Revelia all right?”
“She inherited her mother’s weak constitution. But I believe she’ll recover.”
“I sincerely hope so as well.”
Delphian returned Crokan’s smile with one of his own.
Could it be true? Would he really lie about his daughter’s health? No—someone as cunning as Crokan wouldn’t risk an easily exposed lie.
Delphian silently studied him as he sipped his tea again.
He had come for answers, but the longer they spoke, the more muddled his thoughts became.
A strange quiet returned to the reception room.
“What do you mean, ‘dying would be best’?”
“To be precise, I mean pretending to be dead would be best.”
At Laperre’s answer, I instantly understood what he was thinking.
If it was possible, and if we could fool everyone, it would indeed be the ideal solution.
“Is it possible?”
He hummed thoughtfully before answering.
“When I was about ten, there was a pair of lovers—couldn’t live without each other.”
“…?”
“A common story. Their families were enemies, so of course the families opposed them.”
“….”
“They couldn’t give up, so they came to me begging for help.”
“….”
“I hate troublesome things, so I refused. But they clung like leeches until I finally made them a potion that would put them in a deathlike state.”
…That sounded oddly familiar.
“Well, the point is, I’ve made it before, so I could do it again. Once you drink it, it’s not hard to fool people.”
“But didn’t that story have a bad ending?”
“Hm?”
I remembered the ending I knew.
Unlike those lovers, no one would follow me into death, so it wouldn’t be exactly the same, but still—copying a tragic ending felt unsettling.
When I asked, he frowned slightly.
“They didn’t end well?”
“…No. They both died.”
If I remembered right, within just seconds of each other.
They were… fifteen? Sixteen?
He blinked, then his face crumpled in confusion.
“What are you talking about? They’re doing fine.”
“What?”
“They drank my potion, escaped their families, got married, and are living happily. They even have five kids.”
“K-kids?”
He nodded with an annoyed look.
“I don’t care to know, but they send so many letters to the magic tower every year. If they’re going to do that, they should send money instead.”
“….”
“Don’t you agree?”
His face was already back to smiling, and I couldn’t help but smile too.
“So, my lady, do you think my plan could work?”
“Well… more than I expected?”
“….”
“If it works, there’ll be no one left trying to kill me.”
He was silent for a moment, looking at me intently, then his expression turned serious.
“Then when will you do it?”
“…Do what?”
“The day you leave Esperos.”
“What?”
Frowning, he added,
“It’s not just Zeros that needs to believe you’re dead, my lady.”
“….”
“Calier too. Everyone in Esperos needs to believe you’re gone.”
