Chapter 117
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Dear, I believe you may be misunderstanding.
Chapter 117
'You swear you'll never let me die...?'
Grace said nothing in response to Hiess's words.
His crimson eyes and the violet pupils intertwined within them rippled with a complex emotion.
She simply gazed into his eyes, searching.
Then she voiced the fragment of doubt that lingered in the corner of her heart.
"But what does that have to do with me?"
At Grace's words, Hiess stared at her with a dazed expression.
Then, as if he'd heard something entirely unexpected, he burst into laughter.
"Ha ha!"
Why was he laughing again?
Just as before, I couldn't fathom what amused this white serpent.
As she regarded him with a puzzled expression, Hiess continued smiling down at Grace.
"You're far more composed than I anticipated, aren't you?"
Composed.
It was the first time I'd ever heard such a thing.
Hiess, who had been quietly studying her expression, corrected himself.
"Rather, not merely composed—but incisive. You're far more prudent than appearances suggest."
"If that's a compliment, then thank you."
Hiess's eyes lacked a double eyelid and were cut long and narrow; ordinarily they held a cool quality, yet when he smiled, they conveyed a warmth that belied his appearance.
He regarded Grace now with precisely such a smile.
"Indeed. My vow to keep you alive won't weigh heavily upon you, will it? After all, you didn't come to me first begging for your life."
"...In any case, I'm grateful you saved me from the carriage just now. Thanks to you, I escaped serious injury."
"Such incidents may well occur again. I'm offering to prevent them beforehand—wouldn't you show a little more gratitude?"
"I'm grateful. Thank you for the warning. I'll be more cautious and vigilant from now on. I should also petition the General to increase my guard detail."
Grace thanked him with genuine courtesy while simultaneously erecting an impenetrable wall.
Her expression made clear: she found accepting his help distasteful.
'Ah, this woman is truly impossible.'
Hiess felt both helplessness and an inexplicable competitive spirit rise within him.
His serpent's venom proved ineffective, and she felt no pull toward his magical essence.
Grace was the first woman to shake her head firmly at his appearance—something that would sway a hundred and one others without fail—declaring it simply wasn't to her taste.
He would have wagered his life that no such woman would ever exist again.
"What a shame. Had we met just a little sooner, we might have become quite good friends."
"...Says who?"
At Grace's bewildered retort, Hiess found himself at a loss for words once more and burst into uproarious laughter.
As he laughed again, Grace herself now showed reluctance.
"I don't understand what you find so amusing. Am I funny?"
"Less funny than fascinating. Your reactions. They're so utterly unexpected."
'A peculiar woman indeed.'
Grace scratched her cheek and glanced furtively toward the window.
I had no idea how much time had passed, but I couldn't simply sit here any longer.
"In any case, I'm truly grateful for your help today, and I understood what you explained earlier. To be honest, I can't completely trust you, but...."
Grace turned over in her mind what she had heard from Hiess just moments ago.
The Elder Council, which had been conditioning the family heads since childhood by feeding them poison.
And the man who had decided to stand against them.
Suspicious and dubious though he was, when she thought about it, he had always helped her.
Even in front of the hospital, and now.
Lucas Black had insisted vehemently that she must never trust this man, but....
Grace found herself thinking that this red-eyed man might not be such a terrible person after all.
Concealing a fragile core beneath a pale, translucent shell....
Yes, like a young serpent on the verge of shedding its skin.
"Still, I hope you win."
Though his serpentine appearance might inspire fear, a serpent too was merely a small creature standing alone against the world.
"For my sake as well as yours...."
At her words, he gazed at her quietly.
In that moment, Grace felt as though an invisible, gossamer veil that had enveloped this man had been shed away.
"...I'll make sure to win. For your sake as well as mine."
Hiess answered with a smile.
* * *
Fortunately, Rüfel had not sustained serious injuries.
He had only minor abrasions and a sprained wrist, and after disinfection and bandaging, he was able to move about reasonably well.
"I apologize. I should have protected you."
Rüfel bowed his head deeply, his face etched with profound remorse.
However, according to Hiess, it was thanks to his quick reaction in turning the carriage that there had been no casualties.
The horses had been somewhat startled but unharmed, and the carriage had only sustained partial damage.
By swiftly turning the carriage, he had created space for Grace to evade, so his actions had been entirely appropriate.
Ironically, the one most severely injured in this incident was Hiess Cerviente.
"It's fine. My body is naturally weak, so even slight exertion can break my bones."
His shoulder had been dislocated against the wall while he cushioned Grace's fall.
As Grace pondered whether she ought to offer thanks once more, she belatedly noticed that the devoted retainer who usually accompanied him was nowhere to be seen.
If he had become an enemy of the Elder Council, surely his situation would be dangerous now—so why was he traveling alone?
"Your eyes betray your curiosity."
"I was wondering why you travel alone. I thought if you had someone to protect you, you might not have been injured so severely."
"Ah, my guard."
For the first time, a cold chill crossed Hiess's face.
"I replaced them. The person who was supposed to protect me tried to stab me in the back. Well... though I did learn quite a lot because of it. Oh, this. You should take it."
He smoothly changed the subject and extended an envelope of documents.
Grace accepted the envelope, thinking it was the article she had intended to bring to the newspaper, but felt the thickness in her hand was different.
Grace's face went rigid as she opened the envelope and examined the papers inside.
"This isn't my contribution."
"It's supplementary material I thought you might find useful. Take a closer look."
Grace examined the documents again.
As she read the text carefully, her expression shifted to one of disbelief, and she looked at Hiess Cerviente.
"These are all...."
"They'll be helpful for what you're trying to accomplish. I'd appreciate it if you could trust me."
Hiess Cerviente gazed at her with the earnest expression of a devoted believer.
For a moment, his beautiful features wielded considerable power, almost reverent in their effect, but Grace was not the sort to be swayed by such things.
"I'm sorry, but simply handing me these documents doesn't mean I can trust you."
"My, it's truly difficult to earn your trust."
"Isn't it miraculous to expect someone to trust you in half a day? Besides, I saw you deliberately provoke Trisha back then. How could I easily trust you?"
"Ah, you noticed?"
"I couldn't possibly have missed it."
"At that time, I had no choice. I needed to prove a hypothesis I'd formed, and it seemed unlikely you'd cooperate otherwise."
He glanced briefly at Grace's arm.
Only then did Grace understand why this man had provoked Trisha.
'He was testing whether I have a connection to The Curse.'
Grace narrowed her eyes and glared at Hiess Cerviente.
"Don't look at me that way. You must understand that was the only method available to me. Besides, Lucas Black is hostile toward me, so I couldn't exactly ask you about matters related to The Curse, could I?"
"But there could have been a more gentlemanly approach."
"Perhaps. But I'm not that sort of gentleman. When there's a direct and certain method, I follow it."
"...You're incorrigible."
He laughed, shrugging his shoulders.
"I'll ensure your contribution is handled properly. The Information Bureau and the newspaper are inseparable entities, after all."
"You want me to entrust my contribution to you when I don't even trust you yet?"
"Let's say I'm hoping this situation might help us rebuild some trust. Just trust me once. All you need to do is tell me when and how widely you'd like this news to spread."
Besides, I had another copy of the contribution carefully transcribed.
In the worst case scenario, my father would read the contribution first and make his move—silencing those involved, destroying evidence, or having me declared mad.
But his influence isn't great enough to accomplish all that in mere days.
'Besides, I have the Black Family behind me now.'
Having finished her calculations, Grace looked at Hiess Cerviente and spoke.
"Very well. I'll ask for your help."
"It's my first time feeling grateful to be asked for help."
A flicker of joy passed through his eyes as he spoke.
'...I'm only reluctantly trusting him, so why does he look so pleased?'
The more we spoke, the more inscrutable this serpent became.
Hiess Cerviente's gaze suddenly caught sight of a carriage racing toward them wildly from the distance.
"Well then, tell me quickly. When and how widely do you want this to spread? Your large, imposing husband is charging over there as if he's about to tear me to shreds this very moment."
Grace glanced at the approaching carriage and smiled with relief.
I thought I was fine with it, but the moment I saw Lucas running toward me, my strength drained away completely.
'Phew.'
I exhaled a short, sharp breath and spoke to Hiess Cerviente.
"...By noon tomorrow. I'd like everyone in the Capital to know about this. Can you do it?"
At my challenging question, Hiess Cerviente answered with evident delight.
"Gladly."
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