The Arrow of Destiny Cuts Through the Night

#58

Why is aunt here at this hour… Jersian quickly glanced at the clock on the bedside table and then walked briskly to open the door, not wanting to keep Elmerila Gerold waiting too long in front of the room.

“…Good morning.”

“Yes.”

Elmerila Gerold entered the room with big strides, acknowledging Jersian’s greeting. Her gaze took in Jersian’s disheveled black hair, the unmade bed and blankets, and the disinfectant spread out on the table. Medicine? Elmerila’s sharp eyes returned to Jersian’s face.

He didn’t appear to be injured.

“…I know it’s still too early. I apologize in advance if I woke you from a deep sleep.”

“It’s alright. I was about to wake up anyway.”

Jersian glanced towards the back of the room to see if Kain Starchis might be visible, then said to Elmerila Gerold,

“…If it’s a long conversation, shall we go to the reception room?”

Though he couldn’t hear any sound or sense any presence, he was worried about being caught. However, Marchioness Elmerila shook her head and nodded towards the sofa right in front of the bookshelf that lined Jersian’s room.

“No, this is a conversation that should be heard by as few people as possible. That spot will do.”

“…Yes.”

The attempt to move to the reception room had failed, but the place the Marchioness pointed to was on the opposite side from where Kain was hiding. He had to be satisfied with moving even a little bit further away.

“…”

After giving up the larger sofa to the Marchioness, Jersian sat on the opposite sofa, trying his best to hide his feeling that something was odd. Meeting another guest right after waking up was rare even during his childhood. Moreover, what Jersian was wearing wasn’t casual clothes, but pajamas. No matter how much he considered the Marchioness like a parent, this was something a noble would never do. Like rushing into someone else’s room at dawn.

He waited for Marchioness Elmerila to start the conversation, but she remained silent even as she properly sat on the sofa.

Then, this is what she said:

“Autumn will be here soon. We should start preparing for the hunting competition.”

Weather talk. It was one of the last topics he wanted to hear from a guest who had barged into his room at dawn.

Is this just a whim?

“…The days have indeed turned that way already.”

Jersian nodded with a strange expression.

“This year, the Gerold family is thinking of lending some strength.”

“To the hunting competition? Didn’t you always say it was a waste of money?”

“This time is different. The Imperial family said they’re going to hold it on a grand scale this year, and they explicitly wanted Gerold’s active participation. They say it’s for the harmony between the families within the empire… It’s a good cause. The Marquis family has no choice but to support the Imperial family’s goodwill.”

“Hmm, I understand. I’ll discuss it with Merheim as well.”

Is that why she came to my room instead of the reception room, to talk about managing the family finances? But why at such an early hour?

Jersian leaned back on the sofa slowly, taking a deep breath as if lost in thought. He assumed that was the end of Marchioness Elmerila’s business. But Marchioness Elmerila showed no signs of getting up from her seat. She seemed to be scrutinizing Jersian’s room, as if checking if anything had changed.

If this was Elmerila Gerold’s real purpose, it makes sense that she barged in at a timing when he couldn’t even tidy up, and insisted on the room rather than the reception room. But what is she looking for? Jersian tilted his head and met the Marchioness’s gaze.

“…Shall we go see him now? He’s probably sleeping, but…”

Merheim would jump out of bed at the Marchioness’s order, even if he was sleeping. Elmerila Marchioness waved her palm in the air and said,

“No need. It’s not that urgent.”

“…”

Then? If that wasn’t the urgent business, what did she want to talk about?

After Jersian’s silence passed, Elmerila Marchioness rested her elbow on the armrest of the sofa, cupped her chin, and said,

“Baron Basiz contacted me first recently. He raised his hand voluntarily before receiving punishment. He said he violated the law regarding the family’s knight order.”

“They contacted first? I guess they’ve only now realized that documents were stolen.”

Jersian said with a sneer. He didn’t particularly like Baron Basiz as a person from the beginning.

“That’s right.”

“Merheim was still going through the materials we found at the Baron’s house. I’ll tell him to stop that work until the Imperial family’s decision is made.”

“What I want to say isn’t about those materials.”

Marchioness Elmerila shook her head from side to side. Immediately, a question clouded Jersian’s face. Then… As he mumbled softly, he felt Elmerila Marchioness observing him while tapping the desk lightly with her fingertips.

“He admitted his fault to the Imperial family first regarding the private army issue. He said it wasn’t for rebellion or any other intention, but just to send to his eldest son staying at another castle.”

“…Hmm.”

Was it for such a trivial reason? When I saw the documents, his knight order wasn’t numerous enough to prepare for war or rebellion.

But after hearing the full story, I couldn’t understand why the Imperial family had been concerned about the Baron. However, most of the confidential missions that came down from the Imperial family were irregular and sporadic, making it difficult for those actually moving at the bottom to grasp their essence.

Marchioness Elmerila opened her mouth while staring blankly at Jersian’s face.

“And then Baron Basiz voluntarily confessed. He said that along with the knight order documents, a very important item was also stolen.”

“…”

A very important item.

There was one thing he could guess. The letter his mother had written to the then Crown Prince. Jersian asked back without changing his facial expression.

“An important item?”

“To be precise, it’s not an item. He said it was a letter.”

Marchioness Elmerila’s sharp gaze immediately turned to Jersian’s face. It was to thoroughly dissect the emotions he would reveal after hearing the story.

Fortunately, enough time had already passed to swallow the shock and bewilderment stemming from the letter. Jersian raised his clear red eyes to face Marchioness Elmerila.

“A letter… I only searched the rooms of the knights and the Baron’s head servant. The Baron wouldn’t have entrusted such an important letter to someone else, would he?”

“He didn’t reveal where the letter was. But according to Baron Basiz, he was certain that it was taken along with the materials related to the knight order when they were stolen.”

“Baron Basiz and certainty, what an amusing combination. Do you believe what he says, Aunt? Isn’t he just trying to blame even the things he had lost along with what was stolen?”

Jersian said jokingly, shrugging his shoulders once.

“I know nothing about it. I don’t even know what kind of letter it is to cause such a fuss.”

That mission was carried out not by the Marquis family’s regular knight order, but by those he had personally chosen. The knights who would loyally devote their lives to Jersian for their respective reasons would never open their mouths about that letter, even if a knife was put to their throats. What Jersian was curious about was whether the Marchioness knew the contents of that letter.

“Jersian Gerold.”

Marchioness Elmerila called his name in a firm voice. When the Marchioness used his full name, it meant there was something she didn’t like. Jersian, sitting on the sofa right next to her, answered.

“…Yes.”

Does the Marchioness already know the contents of that letter? It’s quite a plausible hypothesis. That would explain why she pushed me into full-fledged heir training after the party.

But why did Elmerila Marchioness use such a method? She was someone who could have just shown me that letter.

Yes, there was originally a third party involved in this mission, neither Baron Basiz nor the Marchioness.

“You should know that you don’t need to hide anything from me, right? I’m always on your side, Jersian. There’s no one in this empire who cares for you as much as I do. That was true when Cynthia was alive, and it’s still true now. But it seems you still don’t trust me as much as I trust you.”

A strange light swirled in Jersian’s red eyes. These were words he had always wanted to hear, but had never heard before.

But.

It wasn’t as happy as he had thought it would be. Why? Something seemed to sink deep within his red eyes.

“…I’m always trying to repay that trust. But I really don’t know anything about the letter the Baron is talking about.”

“If you know anything at all about that letter, it would be better to tell me. For your own safety.”

“Yes.”

“…Well, that’s all I have to say. If you have even the slightest suspicion about anything, feel free to tell me.”

“I will.”

With Jersian’s answer, Marchioness Elmerila got up from the sofa and left the room.

“…”

Kain, who had been listening to their conversation with his back against the wall on the opposite side of the room, furrowed his brow.

That was…

Kain’s expression turned cold.

The head of the Elmerila family just lied to Jersian. And not just once.