WHCP 23

Chapter 23.

At the sound of voices in front of the entrance, Aletheia stopped talking. A moment later, when he opened the door, a servant sent from the Kelt ducal household was standing there.

“Ah, um…”

The servant recognized Aletheia and hesitated for a moment. It was only natural—rather than a butler or another servant coming out, the Grand Duke himself had appeared in person.

“Ah—g-good day, Your Grace.”

But soon enough, the servant bowed deeply and paid his respects. He was someone Mio had seen several times in passing. He usually ran errands for Caleb—so what had brought him all the way here?

“I’ve come to deliver something.”

“Hm.”

Aletheia looked down at him for a few seconds, then turned his body and faced Mio.

“It seems something from the Kelt ducal household was sent to you, Mio.”

The servant holding the box widened his eyes in surprise. He hadn’t even stated his business yet—how did the Grand Duke already know it was for Mio? Ignoring his reaction, Aletheia gestured, and the servant awkwardly handed the box to Mio.

“To me? From the Kelt ducal household?”

She was going to return there soon anyway—what would they send all the way to the Moro estate?

For a moment, Mio suspected that the Duchess had sent the adoption papers, but upon seeing that the box the servant handed over was quite large, she felt relieved.

They wouldn’t send adoption papers in a box this big.

The moment Mio took hold of the box, Aletheia quickly took it back from her side. He then said to the servant,

“It seems you still have something else to deliver.”

“Pardon? Ah—y-yes… Mio-nim, here, this.”

This time, the Kelt household servant handed over a letter, wearing a very uneasy expression. Mio didn’t feel particularly pleased to see a paper envelope either, but unlike the box earlier, this one was far too small to contain adoption documents.

“I was just about to head back anyway, so this is unnecessary. Ah—well, instead of that, since you’re heading back, I could go with—”

Click!

Before Mio could finish her sentence, Aletheia promptly shut the front door. From beyond it, the flustered servant’s murmured “Ah, uh…” could be faintly heard.

Mio was startled as well, but she did her best not to show it and said her goodbyes to Aletheia.

“I’ll be going now, Aletheia-nim. It’ll be less troublesome in many ways if I return together with the servant.”

“Shouldn’t you read the letter first?”

“Do you know what it is?”

This was suspicious. Mio narrowed her eyes as she asked.

“…I don’t have the ability to guess the contents of a letter inside a sealed envelope.”

Aletheia replied half a beat late. Indeed, Mio didn’t sense any other kind of ability from him.

But still, something feels off…

Seeing Mio still looking suspicious, Aletheia urged her on.

“Hurry and read it. Once you’re done, I’ll show you what I said I would earlier. After that, I’ll take you to the Kelt estate, so don’t worry.”

“……”

Right. He had said there was something he needed to show her.

Without fully letting go of her suspicion, Mio slowly opened the envelope. Inside was none other than an invitation—to a banquet being held that very day.

“So it was an invitation.”

Aletheia tilted his head toward Mio, checked the contents, and nodded. Mio stared silently down at the invitation, frowning slightly.

Honestly, Caleb is so impatient. Did he really send the invitation all the way here because he was worried I might go out with Aletheia and not attend the banquet?

Mio had no intention of skipping the scheduled banquet anyway. Banquets were held almost every other day, so she didn’t always keep track of the exact dates—but missing a banquet Caleb attended would be a loss for her as well.

If she didn’t go and act like a villainess there, it would only mean having to attend yet another banquet later.

I can’t risk causing trouble for the shipboard party by skipping for no reason.

“Will you attend?” Aletheia asked.

“Well… I suppose I should.”

“Then we should hurry and prepare.”

“Yes, then I’ll be on my way—”

Surely that servant hadn’t already left, right? Just as Mio was about to step away in a hurry—

“Mio. Where do you think you’re going?”

Aletheia grabbed her, looking genuinely puzzled. But the one who was more confused was Mio.

“Can’t you tell? I have to go back and change clothes. I can’t go to a banquet dressed like this.”

Mio spread her arms as she spoke. No matter how much of a villainess she was, this outfit was unsuitable for a banquet. She didn’t even own a single tailored dress, but she also didn’t want to be criticized again over something this trivial.

“I didn’t just send the invitation.”

As he said that, Aletheia held out the box he had taken earlier. When Mio checked it just in case, it really did contain a dress—specifically, the blue dress she had once been falsely accused of hiding.

Well. At least they didn’t send the one I wore last time…

Sighing inwardly, Mio spoke to Aletheia.

“Anyway, I really should head back.”

“The invitation and the dress are both here. I don’t see any reason for you to return to the ducal estate.”

That’s because I need to hurry back and plot things with my baby foxes. And I need to dig up information about the vault as soon as possible.

Mio smiled awkwardly and made excuses.

“Haha, um, well… I don’t even have a bag to carry things in. You may not know this, but there’s a lot to prepare. It takes quite a while.”

“So a bag is absolutely necessary.”

Muttering something incomprehensible in a serious tone, Aletheia suddenly lit up.

“I told you earlier there was something I wanted to show you. Follow me.”

“No, later—”

“Come on.”

Unable to withstand the pressure, Mio eventually went up to the second floor. More than anything, she was curious about what it was that Aletheia wanted to show her. If the marriage-obsessed Aletheia had somehow found the Alkmael pledge document from last night—

…Or maybe he found my lost bag, or the prenuptial contract I used up during experiments…

If that were the case, every hypothesis about the vault would be completely shattered. Otherwise, it would mean that Aletheia had found and opened the vault himself.

Either way, it was impossible to simply ignore.

With her thoughts growing increasingly tangled, Mio spoke in an uneasy voice.

“What is it? Can’t you just tell me?”

“Open it.”

The place Aletheia led her to was a room attached directly next to a large bedroom.

What’s the point of seeing an empty room anyway…

Dragging her feet in annoyance, Mio grabbed the doorknob. With a small creaking sound, the door opened, and the first thing that came into view was a dark interior.

Mio stopped at the entrance, a small question arising in her mind. Had this room always lacked windows?

Why is it so dark?

Her doubt didn’t last long. When Aletheia, who entered after her, pressed a button connected to the chandelier on the ceiling, a space densely packed with items was revealed.

“Well… do you like it…?”

Aletheia asked cautiously. Mio blinked blankly. She had no idea what she was supposed to like. The only thing she could tell was that boxes were stacked so full they completely covered the windows.

“Uh…”

“I didn’t know what you’d like, so I asked for everything.”

“What is all this?”

She asked because she genuinely didn’t know. Every single item was elaborately wrapped, making it impossible to guess what any of them were. Aletheia picked up a nearby box adorned with flashy decorations and handed it to her.

“You said you lost your bag.”

Could it be that he had left the estate last time because of this? In any case, there was no reason to refuse a new bag. Mio slowly untied the ribbon on top and opened the lid—

“Aletheia-nim. Does this look like a bag to you?”

What popped out wasn’t a bag, but a necklace set with large gemstones.

I knew it. The box did seem a bit small.

She had thought a small handbag might still fit, so she hadn’t suspected anything. Looking up at him with an expression that clearly said what on earth is this, Mio saw Aletheia hurriedly bring over an even larger box.

“The clerk said that jewelry is something the man absolutely has to prepare…”

The situation played out vividly in her mind: a clerk pushing unnecessary items, and Aletheia nodding along and buying them.

Hey. You totally got scammed.