Chapter 31
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Chapter 31 In the quiet room, only the child's soft, rhythmic breathing echoed. I lifted my gaze from the sleeping child and looked out the window. 'Could something have happened in the Forest?' Though things had grown quiet recently, for a year after the passage to the Demon Realm closed, those sent by the Emperor had been combing through the Forest. Searching for weakened barriers among the Demon Realm's passages scattered throughout the Empire. Not out of concern for humans, as Vivian had learned from history books.... But to venture into the Demon Realm and obtain the Demon King's heart. Unlike humans, where only the chosen few could become mages, the demon race was a powerful species where all could wield mana. There were tales that the Demon King's heart—the king of such a race—was an extraordinary concentration of mana itself. The Emperor, who harbored great inferiority toward Second Prince Leopfried, even after his death... or rather, all the more so after his death. Could not abandon his obsession with 'power' and coveted the Demon King's heart. 'I thought he'd given up once the Demon Realm's gate closed.' Yet that obsession seemed to still be in motion. I rose from my seat and approached the calendar hanging on the wall. What caught my eye first were words brilliantly decorated by Vivian in pink, yellow, and various other colored pencils. 【★☆★Summer Festival☆★☆】 The cold gleam in my eyes, which had been sharp moments before, completely disarmed itself with a soft laugh the instant I saw those words. The festival was clearly something I looked forward to greatly. I gazed for a moment at the neat, precise handwriting that resembled my daughter's, then turned to the back page of the calendar. On the final page were dates I had recorded separately. Dates marking when I had visited the Forest each season. Of course, Vivian only knew those days as 'the days Father goes to meet a friend.' The last date was March, just days before Duke Edelwein came down here.
"...It's time to go check."
My quiet voice carried a chill, and the golden gleam in my eyes, which my glasses could not suppress, pierced through. It was a completely different demeanor from when I faced Vivian. After glancing back and forth between the Forest and the calendar for a moment, I removed my glasses and left the room. * * * "Mother, when exactly can we get rid of her?"
It was a question Sally asked every day lately.
"Just wait a little longer. Mother will find the right moment...."
"So when exactly? You keep saying wait! At this rate that girl will marry Rachel―" "Sally!"
Margaret gasped and covered Sally's mouth. Though no one was passing by at this hour when everyone slept, this was still a corridor. Rachel's secret could not be mentioned. Of course, it would be a problem if the maids heard, but if Owen or Kaltz heard.... 'It wouldn't end with a simple warning.' Kaltz had warned her not to tell anyone, not even his daughter Sally, that Rachel was a boy. Margaret hurriedly led Sally into the two of them's room.
"Didn't your mother tell you not to speak of that outside? Didn't she?"
"B-but I got angry and couldn't help myself...."
"I told you not to mention it to anyone. Not to the young lady, not to the Duke."
"Mm...."
"If anyone else hears that story, we're both dead. Do you understand?"
Sally swallowed hard as she stared at Margaret, who was threatening her with a frightening expression. The memory of her own mistake, which she had completely forgotten over the past few months, came flooding back. [How could a woman possibly become your husband.] It was not long after we had come down to the Villa. The Inspector, sent by the Emperor, had discovered Rachel's secret, but I hadn't told Mother about it. I was afraid of being scolded. But contrary to Mother's words, for months now neither Mother nor I had faced any problems. 'The Duke said he came down to the countryside because he was worried, since he was the Emperor's teacher.' So nothing would happen. Sally nodded to herself with that thought, without mentioning her own mistake. Margaret finally sighed and straightened up from where she had been at eye level with Sally.
"She's sleeping. I'll go check on the young lady."
She left Sally behind and headed toward Rachel's Room. A Maid appeared before her.
"Nanny."
"What is it?"
"Some man asked me to give you this."
The Maid handed her a small note. Margaret narrowed her eyes as she looked at it. There was no one in this Village who would contact me personally.
"Who?"
"When I went out earlier, I met some man in front of the Tavern. He asked me to deliver this."
Margaret looked at it with suspicious eyes before taking it. The Maid, having completed her task, bowed lightly and turned to leave. 'No doubt some scoundrel is trying to pull something.' There were often ruffians who would see me going out and attempt clumsy advances. 'Anyway, the contents are probably just vulgar nonsense. Should I just throw it away.' Margaret hesitated for a moment in front of a nearby trash bin before unfolding the note. It was mere curiosity in that instant, with no real expectations.
"...!"
But the moment she read the contents, her pupils began to tremble like aspen leaves. The contents of the note were.... Concealing the son of a traitor is punishable by hard labor. 'Someone knows that Rachel is a boy.' And.... Even the fact that she knew this secret. * * * After questioning the Maid about the man's appearance, Margaret rushed straight to the Village Tavern. With the festival season approaching, the Tavern remained bustling with visitors from all over, despite the late hour. As Margaret wandered through the Tavern, she spotted the Innkeeper and asked urgently.
"Innkeeper. A man about this tall with a scar on his left cheek—where is he now?"
"Ah, that man? Someone mentioned you'd be coming, and here you are right on time."
The Innkeeper pointed out the room as if he had been waiting for her arrival.
"Third floor, the last room on the left."
Margaret climbed the stairs to the indicated room. Before knocking, she glanced around cautiously, pulled her robe's hood lower over her face, and then rapped on the door. Knock, knock— The moment her knuckles struck the wood, a man's voice came from inside the room.
"Come in."
Margaret swallowed hard, opened the door, and stepped inside. There stood the man matching the Maid's description, and beside him was a face she recognized all too well. Margaret's eyes began to tremble uncontrollably at the sight of him.
"How has rural life been treating you?"
He was one of the Emperor's Inspectors who had visited the Villa months ago. The color drained from Margaret's face as despair washed over her. 'The Emperor knows Rachel's secret.' Her despair, however, was not for Rachel's sake. 'Everything Sally said... it was all true.' In truth, the note she had received could have been dismissed as someone merely testing her. Yet she had come here of her own volition because of the warning written at the end of the note. If she did not come to the Tavern, the Duke would learn that his daughter had revealed the Princess's secret. After reading that warning, Margaret had rushed to Sally and demanded whether she had ever disclosed Rachel's secret to anyone. The child, terrified, had confessed her wrongdoing, and upon hearing this, Margaret had no choice but to come here. She felt the ground crumbling beneath her feet as she fell to her knees.
"Please, spare me!"
"..."
"I never intended to deceive Your Majesty! I simply wished to raise my fatherless daughter well..."
But unlike the terrified Margaret, the Inspector responded coldly.
"I didn't summon you to hear such sentimentality."
He gestured with a nod toward the seat across from him and added.
"Sit."
Margaret hesitated briefly before obeying his command and sitting across from him. Her palms were slick with sweat. She felt as though she stood before a tiger. The Inspector got straight to the point.
"His Majesty wishes to handle this matter quietly."
Quietly. At that word, Margaret's hands trembled. She desperately hoped that this "disposal" would not include herself and Sally. The Inspector seemed to relish the sense of superiority that came from the situation, deliberately drawing out the silence as he observed her terrified reaction before finally speaking.
"The Princess, who went to the countryside for recuperation with her grandfather, dies in an unfortunate accident."
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