* * *
The inside of the guild was as rowdy as any other day.
Though it was well past the hour when everyone should have been asleep, the drinking party was only just reaching its peak.
Mihail, standing guard at the bar as usual, skillfully mixed a cocktail and slid it to the customer in front of him.
“Ah, drinks made by a man don’t taste right. Aren’t there any women? A pretty lady.”
Just as Mihail was dealing with the drunken customer, another bartender stepped behind the bar.
“Mihail. It’s shift change.”
He spoke informally, but his gaze remained respectful. After all, no one in the guild dared to stand above Mihail.
Mihail left the bar and headed up to the second floor.
The genial smile he had worn like a mask vanished, and the gaze behind his spectacles turned cold and sharp.
As if waiting for him, a subordinate approached and handed over a document.
“These are the personal records you requested. It took a while because he is a knight of Del Marc, so I had to travel as far as the Del Marc Duchy.”
“Good work.”
The subordinate bowed and stepped away. Mihail flipped through the documents.
These were the personal background files of ‘Caligo Elparind,’ whom Blair had requested an investigation into a fortnight ago.
[Abandoned in front of the temple immediately after birth; found and raised by a priest in the temple orphanage.
He grew up in the temple until he was thirteen, then entered the Del Marc Knights upon the recommendation of Pope Gerard Lumiel.
Thereafter, he went to war alongside Duke Headrin and…]
Mihail, who had been reading with an indifferent expression, slowly narrowed his brows.
*Why, of all people, this man?*
Caligo Elparind was entangled with someone Mihail found less than desirable. Could this really be a coincidence?
After reading the document to the end, he found himself curious.
Why was Blair investigating this man?
* * *
“A banquet?”
Blair, who had been taking a walk through the garden in the much warmer weather, widened her eyes at the unexpected suggestion from Mason.
“Yes. Ever since the late Duchess passed away, there hasn’t been a single banquet held in the last ten years.”
“Ah…”
“Now that Your Grace seems to have adapted to life in the duchy, I thought it might be time to welcome spring with a banquet.”
A banquet was not merely a day for enjoyment; it was a stage where the family was revealed to outsiders.
It showcased their wealth, the atmosphere of the household, the relationship between the lord and his wife, and the family’s influence within the Empire, reflected by those in attendance.
It was, quite literally, a place where everything about the family was put on display.
In particular, the first banquet held after the mistress of the house changed carried immense significance. It was an event where both outsiders and the family’s vassals would gauge and judge their new mistress.
It was a daunting prospect for Blair.
*Come to think of it, I held a banquet around this time in my previous life, too.*
When she was an Imperial Princess, she never had to prepare such things. Blair’s own nature was not one to enjoy boisterous parties, and large events like birthdays or coming-of-age ceremonies were handled by the Imperial Family itself.
The Imperial Princess never had to lift a finger. After all, who would dare to gossip about a party hosted by the Imperial Family, with all its boundless wealth?
For Blair, who had lived in such a world, preparing her first banquet here was bound to be difficult and clumsy.
*Besides, I was in very poor health back then, too.*
It was a banquet she had agonized over. During that event, she had accidentally overheard the vassals badmouthing her. The reasons were numerous: because she was wasteful, because she served white wine instead of red, because she hadn’t prepared a separate event for the children…
Those words had clawed at her heart. Her chest had tightened—not because her efforts were criticized, but because she felt she had been a blight upon Headrin and the reputation of Del Marc.
But now, she knew better.
No matter how perfect the banquet was, they would find an excuse to tear her down. It wasn’t the banquet they disliked; it was her—the daughter of the Imperial Family, the daughter of Katrina.
She knew there was no need to be hurt by those words anymore.
“The duchy has run for the past month on the budget Your Grace drafted. I believe you will handle the banquet preparations without issue as well.”
When Blair hesitated, Mason, thinking the timid mistress was shrinking back, praised her capabilities. Reading the meaning behind his blunt, sincere encouragement, Blair replied readily.
“Very well. It is about time we held a banquet.”
Since she had regrets about that banquet in the past, she wanted to address those points and do it properly this time.
“I intend to refer to past records, so please prepare them.”
“I will have them ready for your review by tomorrow.”
Just as Blair finished her conversation with Mason, she heard approaching footsteps. It was Mely.
“Your Grace, Her Highness the Empress Dowager has summoned you.”
It was unexpected news.
* * *
“Still no news?”
In their first meeting since the wedding, the first thing Katrina asked about was a pregnancy.
It wasn’t a novel topic for Blair. Her mother was just that kind of person.
Blair replied calmly.
“No, not yet.”
“Are you and the Duke fulfilling your marital duties periodically?”
“Yes.”
Katrina picked up a cup of tea that had cooled to just the right temperature and continued.
“Men are foolish creatures who only know how to look at the reality right in front of them. It is only when they have a child clinging to their necks that they learn to feel fear and be cautious.”
The subject was Headrin. Blair, having lived as her daughter for twenty years, realized her mother wasn’t speaking without purpose.
She grew curious. What had the two of them discussed when left alone during Katrina’s birthday banquet?
“Did something happen?”
“I hear you’ve been meeting with the Countess of Sionel periodically these days?”
Blair paused, her teacup hovering.
She hadn’t intended to hide it—she wasn’t doing anything wrong. She was simply setting right what should have been corrected long ago. However, she hadn’t informed her mother because she knew it was a prickly subject for her.
“Are you even thinking of attempting hypnosis?”
Knowing that the Countess of Sionel hadn’t yet attempted the procedure meant she even knew the progress of the counseling. To grasp that detail, she must have planted a spy in the ducal residence.
“…Did you plant someone?”
“It’s because I’m worried about you. How do you know if the Duke won’t mistreat you?”
Katrina didn’t even try to hide her surveillance. She was brazen, as she always had been, in the name of a mother’s love. It was heart-wrenching because the sincerity in her eyes was without a single tremor.
*You, who worry about your daughter so much, why did you leave me alone to face such isolation in my previous life?*
Old resentment surfaced like a hidden thorn. Blair repressed her emotions, swallowing the stinging bitterness.
Katrina set down her teacup and spoke.
“Go and tell them you’ll stop. Tell them that questioning your mother is unpleasant.”
“I’m not questioning you, Mother. I’m just revisiting the parts that were suspicious at the time.”
“You are questioning the testimony I gave!”
Katrina’s voice rose, and she closed her eyes, appearing fed up.
“It’s tiresome. It’s horrible. How much longer must I suffer from the ghost of that insane woman who died ten years ago?”
“Mother.”
“What will change if you dig it up now? Will that dead woman come back to life?”
“…”
“That woman is dead! She went crazy to the point of being prescribed neurosis medication out of jealousy toward me, and she died trying to take her anger out on you.”
Blair stared blankly at Katrina, who shuddered at the mere mention of Esmeralda.
In her previous life, she had been suspected by Headrin and the vassals regarding Esmeralda’s death. Knowing that pain, she didn’t want to suspect Katrina lightly.
Above all, she was afraid. Afraid of suspecting her own birth mother.
Ten years ago, Katrina had gone to find Gerard herself to ask for help—a woman who would never go anywhere on her own had traveled at a late hour, all to save Blair.
Through that incident, Blair had realized that even if her mother prioritized Ivan, she was, in the end, her mother. She might abandon Blair for her son, but at that moment, the heart seeking to save her daughter must have been sincere.
Blair had clung to that hope. *Still, Mother loves me.*
But seeing Katrina, who was not just reluctant but terrified of her uncovering those memories, a suspicion she had long ignored sprouted.
“Mother. If that is the truth, what are you so afraid of?”
Katrina’s eyes flickered with anger, betrayal, surprise, and… fear.
Blair read that fear and added, “Do not suppress me any longer, Mother.”
“…”
“If you ever truly thought of me as your daughter.”
Blair’s gaze was filled with resolve, laced with sadness. She was still afraid of what might lie behind the veil of truth, but this time, she had no intention of running away.