43.
Perhaps it was because I had agreed too quickly. Holmes asked again, his eyes wide with disbelief.
[A, are you serious?]
[Of course. But….]
[But?]
[Please portray my husband as a good man.]
Holmes nodded immediately, his expression suggesting the request was effortless.
[You mean His Grace, the Duke Edenbahir? The male lead of a romance must always be a dashing man, so that will not be difficult.]
A performance.
*If I use my head, I can achieve good results.*
Holmes is right.
A brilliant story can dominate a person’s reason. Knowing that, the Grand Duchess surely built a rival house like Eden’s Patronage for the exact same purpose.
[Then I shall leave it to you. Let’s discuss the details again tomorrow.]
[Yes. I will be waiting, Duchess.]
Afterward, her plan proceeded as smoothly as flowing water.
Although Lady Milena managing to acquire Holmes’s work—which was not quite a forgery—was an unexpected turn, it presented a golden opportunity to study the hidden meanings within the paintings.
Everything up to this point was a plan she could only have devised because the Grand Duchess remained ignorant of George Pager’s existence.
*If I had revealed the name of George Pager to the doctor on the train to Shavalon, this would have been impossible.*
Lancelot’s act of burning the note without checking its contents had gifted Anita an unexpected opening.
The opportunity to meet George Pager.
It was early morning, and a fine drizzle was ceaselessly wetting the royal castle.
A steam automobile arrived suddenly and came to a halt in front of the royal garden.
Recognizing the owner of the crest, a royal attendant hurried over to open the car door. The first to step out was a young officer with brown hair and a noticeably tall stature.
Beneath his clear-cut features, a stitched scar sat clearly below his right eyebrow. As he rotated his shoulders, the intricate muscles beneath his uniform seemed to press through the fabric.
*Whew. Finally arrived.*
He let out a short sigh and reached his hand back toward the car.
The person who stepped out, guided by his escort, was a fair-skinned, youthful beauty named Sasha House.
“Ah… we ended up arriving two days late after all. What kind of novel-like turn of events is this?”
The complaint came from the woman who had climbed down behind Sasha, also receiving assistance from the attendant.
Sasha looked at Rosa Eburk, who had followed, and replied.
“It couldn’t be helped. We were stuck for three days near the site of the train accident. It was fortunate, at least, that there was a small village nearby.”
“Well, Miss House is right. I’d rather die than sleep out in the open.”
Sasha withdrew her hand from the officer and bowed politely toward him.
“Thank you once again, Major. If you hadn’t been there, who knows what kind of terrible things might have happened to us on that roadside….”
“A hundred times would not be enough to thank you. I, too, shall offer my thanks, Major Bimark. Sasha? Let’s never travel long distances alone as women again.”
The young officer, Major Bimark Paulofna, nodded in return with a faint smile.
“I only did what had to be done. It was my honor to escort two such lovely ladies.”
Bimark Paulofna.
As the heir to the Marquis Paulofna family and a naval officer in the kingdom’s service, he had not originally planned to visit the royal castle.
He had encountered these wayward ladies during an early leave, while he was on a journey headed toward Shavalon.
At the time, Bimark was traveling by steam automobile. While driving, his gaze caught a train stopped in a place that was not a station.
Sasha and Rosa were standing at the edge of a crowd that had gathered like a marketplace beside the train.
[Sasha House?]
[Major? Is that you, Major Bimark?]
Sasha’s expression, upon spotting him, bloomed as brightly as spring flowers, betraying her profound relief. Bimark approached.
[Why is the train stopped in a place like this?]
[The tracks have been severed. It seems someone stole them.]
[Good heavens, Major Bimark? What a coincidence! Ah, truly, one can never say there’s no way out.]
Bimark pulled his gaze away from the deeply relieved Rosa and looked at Sasha.
[If the tracks are severed….]
[They say if we walk along this road for about five hours, we’ll reach a small village. We’ll have to ask for help there.]
[What are you saying, Miss Sasha? Now that the Major is here, is there any need for us to walk that far? Major, I am terribly sorry, but please take us to Hixen.]
In the end, he diverted his path toward Shavalon and changed his destination to Hixen, accompanying the two ladies.
As an officer, he found it difficult to ignore ladies in distress. Furthermore, in a personal capacity, Bimark was not in a position to refuse their request.
“Our Sasha is lucky. To have such a dashing fiancé.”
This was because Sasha House was his one and only fiancée.
Sasha, catching Bimark’s eye, gave an awkward smile.
Even though they were engaged, their connection was remarkably brief. They had only met a few times for light meals; they were essentially in a relationship only slightly better than being strangers.
Rosa, walking ahead into the royal castle, spoke to them.
“By the way, do you know? I’m saying this now that we’ve arrived, but I think I heard something very interesting at Hixen station. That the Grand Duchess has sued the Duchess Edenbahir….”
“What? Grandmother sued Anita unni?”
With Sasha’s cry, Bimark’s footsteps came to a dead halt.
“Hmm. It was such an out-of-the-blue story that it might just be a baseless rumor.”
“No, no. When you think about it, it’s not that strange… Major?”
The women, who had been walking ahead, looked back at him.
Bimark’s face was as stiff as someone witnessing the betrayal of a trusted friend, or as if he had received a shock equivalent to one.
“What did you say just now?”
“…The Grand Duchess sued the Duchess?”
“No, I meant the name of the Duchess Edenbahir.”
“If you mean the Duchess, you mean Anita unni?”
Anita.
At the familiar name, Bimark felt his mouth go completely dry.
He desperately hoped he had misheard.
“Are you referring to Anita Boellony of the Boellony family, by any chance?”
“That’s right. Do you know Anita unni?”
But as expected, he had not misheard.
“Major?”
“…I apologize. I never even dreamed that Anita would be married. Did the Duke Edenbahir pass away?”
“He closed his eyes only recently. Do you really know nothing, Major?”
Bimark hurriedly composed his expression.
*Anita, you became the Duchess Edenbahir? So suddenly?*
Swallowing a bitter sigh, he squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again.
*What on earth happened while I was away….*
The fact that the marriage took place right after the death of Sir Boellony made it weigh even more heavily on his heart.
Rosa, who had approached him, opened her lips with an unpleasant expression.
“We were surprised too. Who would have expected that Lancelot oraboni would take such a woman as his wife the moment he inherited the title? Though, they’ll probably be divorced soon enough.”
Sasha scolded Rosa with a look of disgust.
“Rosa. Don’t say such strange things.”
“Am I wrong? Miss Sasha, you’re her cousin, so you know better, don’t you? That’s Lancelot oraboni we’re talking about. Do you really think he’s the type of person to rush into marriage out of pity or love?”
“Things between people are unpredictable. It’s not for us to judge lightly.”
“Who couldn’t say such clichés? Our Lancelot oraboni is truly clever. To boldly marry a woman of lowly birth and easily solve the issue of investment management rights.”
Investment management rights.
*Could it be that she married the Duke Edenbahir because of that…?*
It was a matter worth suspecting.
“I didn’t know the Major and unni were acquainted. How did you come to know each other?”
Bimark, having regained his composure, replied calmly.
“The one who sponsored me during my student days was Sir Vincent Boellony. I was indebted to the Boellony estate every summer break.”
“Ah. I vaguely recall hearing there was someone like an older brother to her… I didn’t know it was you, Major. It’s a small world, indeed.”
“My, Sir Boellony was truly something else. His daughter becomes a Duchess, and his protégé becomes the adopted son of a Marquis family. Did he save the country in a past life? If he hadn’t closed his eyes, he could have lived quite lavishly.”
Bimark was born the illegitimate son of a fallen aristocratic family.
He, too, had lost his parents at a young age. If Sir Boellony, a long-time acquaintance of his parents, had not readily sponsored him, he would not have been able to stand out in school, nor would he have become the adopted son of his distant relative, the Marquis Paulofna.
That was why he felt even greater self-loathing for having been unable to help Anita.
*I should have been by her side.*