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Chapter 13.
Mio slightly furrowed her brows.
“Every time we touch?”
She thought harder, but she remembered far more instances where they had simply talked while keeping a normal distance. If she traced her memory back a little further…
“Ah!”
Right. At the banquet, when he asked her to dance—he had started smiling like a madman the moment he took her hand. And then he’d said, “Finally, it’s quiet.”
“Does his mind reading shut off when he touches me?”
Lost in thought, Mio spent a long while reflecting on the few days she had spent facing Aletheia.
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Aletheia can read minds.
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Aletheia cannot read Mio Northam’s mind.
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When Aletheia touches Mio Northam, his mind-reading ability is nullified.
Something like that?
Based on the information she had gathered so far, Mio arrived at three conclusions.
“Ha… this is getting annoying.”
Mind reading or not, the situation offered her no advantage at all.
“I was thinking of sending only the foxes to search the mansion if it came to that…”
According to Roy, it seemed the man could read even the thoughts of animals.
“The fact that he called it ‘fox speech’ probably means he doesn’t understand the exact meaning, but still…”
The greatest risk was having the foxes discovered. And Mio couldn’t bring herself to send those adorable baby foxes into a place where something so dangerous lurked. Maybe it would be different if he ever returned to being an ordinary human—but still.
Wait a second.
“There is… a way, isn’t there?”
And so, a few days later—
Mio stood once again in front of Aletheia’s mansion.
“Who goes there? This early in the morning?”
The gatekeeper, Filippo, looked half-asleep.
“…I was here before. Mio Northam.”
“Oh! You’ve come!”
Only after hearing her name did he grin and open the iron gate.
“His Grace has been waiting so eagerly his neck nearly stretched out.”
“No way.”
“Hahaha. It’s true.”
Leaving the boisterously laughing Filippo behind, Mio slowly looked up at the mansion.
“If Aletheia really has mind-reading abilities… he must’ve already realized I’m here.”
After all, he would have heard Filippo’s thoughts. The distance between the main building and the front gate was fairly long, which suddenly made Mio wonder how far his mind reading could reach.
“It’s probably quite wide.”
Roy had been discovered immediately while searching for the oath outside, so at the very least, it likely reached from here to the main building. Maybe even farther?
While Mio was lost in thought, gauging Aletheia’s abilities, someone came running toward her.
“Mio!”
“Good morning, Jamie.”
It was Jamie, the only guard knight of the estate. She smiled brightly as she spoke.
“His Grace told me to go out at once, so I wondered what it was about! Turns out he meant for me to welcome you, Mio!”
“…Haha.”
So it really does reach that far.
When Mio replied awkwardly, Jamie covered her mouth as if she’d said something wrong and glanced at Mio nervously.
“Ah, um… His Grace has always had sharp instincts. Please don’t misunderstand.”
“Yeah. Seems that way.”
“Absolutely! It’s not because he’s some kind of strange lunatic like the rumors say!”
“Jamie. I’m only telling you this, but honestly, at first I—”
-
Aletheia can read minds.
Mio suddenly recalled the first hypothesis she had reasoned through overnight. She swallowed the words, ‘I thought he was exactly a lunatic.’
“Even if he can’t read my mind, Jamie’s thoughts are practically a clear stream.”
Confiding everything in Jamie—the one person she thought she could talk to—would be like openly begging Aletheia to read her mind. Mio rolled her eyes slightly before speaking again.
“I never imagined the ducal garden would change this much.”
“Huh? Ah! The garden!”
It was a truly excellent change of subject. Jamie clapped her hands and began enthusiastically introducing the garden, which was dotted with holes in the soil.
“We started construction right after you left, Mio! We haven’t planted all the flowers yet, but… it’s already quite lively, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. It looks wonderful. Exactly like what I imagined.”
In truth, only two or three plants were actually in the ground—but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that they served perfectly as conversation material.
“I’ve kept you from your work. Jamie, you don’t need to follow me inside.”
“Huh? No, it’s fine! I can plant flowers later.”
“I think I told you last time…”
Mio whispered softly.
“When I say you don’t have to follow, it means I don’t want to be interrupted.”
“…Oh! My goodness! I really am clueless! Damn it! Did I leave my sense on the battlefield?!”
Jamie cried out dramatically, then grabbed the unplanted flowers by their stems and gave Mio a thumbs-up.
“Don’t worry. I’ll stay here and make a beautiful garden where the two of you can stroll together.”
“…Thank you.”
With some effort, Mio finally shook Jamie off and entered the main building.
“Whew.”
She’d kept her gaze on the garden to avoid accidentally letting her true feelings slip out. But now, would tonight’s search become more difficult? The thought crossed her mind briefly, but she soon shook her head.
“Once night falls, both Filippo and Jamie will be off duty. The outside of the mansion will be empty anyway.”
At first, she had wondered why the mansion operated with such a system, but now she understood. If someone tried to break in, the lord of the castle would notice first—so there was no need for many servants.
“…Anyway, my plan still has no problems.”
Just as Mio inhaled and stepped onto the stairs—
“Mio!”
“Simon?”
They really were appearing one after another, like some kind of ritual. Mio found herself newly grateful that there were only three servants in Aletheia’s castle.
“You came back! Thank you so much, Mio!”
“Yeah. That’s how it turned out. It’s good to see you again.”
“I was so worried that I hadn’t treated you properly last time. This time, I’ll truly show you the skill of the Morro Castle steward.”
As a chef, not a steward, surely? Come to think of it, Mio hadn’t tasted any of the food Simon had prepared before leaving last time. She recalled the lamb chops he’d mentioned and swallowed unconsciously.
“Thanks for the hospitality. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Do you have any requests today? Anything you’d like to eat…?”
Simon asked, his eyes shining. Mio wanted to order something delicious and time-consuming, but for some reason, nothing came to mind.
“Maybe it’s because I’ve been surviving on whatever ingredients were left in the kitchen…”
Being asked about food put her in a bind. In the end, Mio forced a smile and replied, “I’ll leave it to the chef’s recommendation.”
“Yes! Understood! Leave it to me!”
It was an oddly military-like response for a butler—but whatever. After passing the third stage of the Grand Duke’s castle gate at last, she thought she’d finally meet the final boss…
“You’re late. Are you a slow walker?”
The moment she climbed one floor after leaving the kitchen, Aletheia was standing crookedly in the hallway.
“I—I’m sorry…?”
Mio apologized reflexively, then immediately felt something was off.
“Wait. Why am I apologizing? He’s the one who caused all this!”
At her instinctive apology, Aletheia lowered his gaze and spoke in a lonely voice.
“…You left so suddenly last time. It really caught me off guard.”
Only then did Mio recall their last encounter—herself shouting, “Say it now! What did you do to me?!” Thinking about it, she probably did owe him an apology.
“I heard you were staying at Duke Kelt’s castle. I even thought about going to find you… but decided that wouldn’t be appropriate.”
“I—I’m so sorry!”
No. Don’t come! If Aletheia ever visited Duke Kelt’s estate, the duchess might chase Mio with adoption papers in hand. Delivering an apology with 100 percent sincerity, Mio began rattling off excuses.
“That day, I was just too shocked! Two days had suddenly passed, and when I opened my eyes, I was in an unfamiliar place…”
“I understand. I feel exactly the same—I lost six years of memories.”
She’d unintentionally rubbed salt into his wound. Mio hurriedly continued.
“S-so today, I really want to take care of you properly. As an apology… I’ll stay by your side without leaving, all the way until night.”
