Chapter 66
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Chapter 66
"Dale cooks wonderfully."
"But why are you so thin? Miss, this really upsets me."
Emma pouted her lips and fed me cake more enthusiastically.
"What is this, anyway?"
Emma picked up the papers spread across the bed and asked.
The papers, filled with traces of crossed-out words and rewrites, were letters.
"Miss, who are you sending letters to?"
"Dale. I promised to send him letters regularly once he returns home."
"Ah... Your husband must be worried. There's been no communication at all."
"Shh, that's why you shouldn't keep mentioning 'husband' while we're here. If Father finds out, you know what could happen? He might kill him."
Emma shook her head with a pitiful expression.
"That's why I suggested you create a family for yourself, isn't it?"
"Are you sure that was advice?"
"But it's the strongest solution, isn't it? You won't have to marry The Emperor, and you can keep the handsome man. It's killing two birds with one stone!"
"Just be quiet, Emma."
I shut down Emma's nonsense and returned to writing my letter.
"Can you secretly send this to Dale?"
"Of course."
Emma, beaming with a bright smile, tucked the letter into her pocket.
"But Miss, why did you suddenly decide to return to the Family Estate? What changed your mind?"
"There's something I'm looking for."
"Something you're looking for?"
I gazed at Emma intently.
"You know, Emma. When I was young, I brought you to our house, didn't I?"
"Yes. You saved me, Miss Enya. I'll never forget that day."
Emma looked at me with a smile on her face.
"Do you remember anything else?"
"What kind of memory?"
"The fact that you were with us at our house from when I was young."
Emma was a maid I had brought home.
I had found a pale older sister collapsed on the street, brought her home, and cared for her—and that sister became Emma as she is now.
Emma had been a test subject for Hexagon, forced to take medicine, and was dying.
Fortunately, our household had the means to treat her, and we restored her health. After that, Emma pledged her loyalty to our family and received a new name, "Emma."
It took time to shake off Hexagon's pursuit, but now she was completely free.
Emma tapped her chin with her finger, lost in thought.
"When you were young, Miss, I was also a newly hired maid undergoing training. Given my origins, I couldn't approach you carelessly."
"...."
"I was Hexagon's test subject, after all, so it was only natural. But ah, now that I think about it?"
Emma's eyes widened as the memory surfaced.
"I believe you were ill at some point back then, Miss."
"Me?"
"Yes. I remember it from when I came here and went through various tests. There were so many medicines in the laboratory at the time. I have a clear memory of several of them being brought to you every hour."
I had no recollection of such a thing.
"Could that be related to what you're looking for, Miss?"
"It's possible."
If I'd been taking medicine every hour, it would have meant I was gravely ill, yet I retained no memory of it whatsoever.
Even though I was old enough to remember if I'd fallen ill after Emma arrived, I couldn't recall anything at all.
"Then Miss, what if you tried consuming Memory Grass?"
"Memory Grass? What's that?"
"Originally it's a poisonous herb used for torture during interrogations, but if you brew a small amount and consume it, it can be used as medicine."
"Such a medicine exists?"
"I understand it's excellent for memory treatment. In the old days, it was apparently used to treat dementia."
"Do we have any in our Greenhouse?"
"No, unfortunately. Memory Grass was already rare in the past, and now it's nearly extinct. I've heard it's one of the few rare cases our family doesn't possess."
"Do you know any way to obtain it?"
"Perhaps, based on what I know...."
Emma flipped through the list of bazaar attendees and pointed to a name.
"This family should have it."
* * *
"To have your birthday gift discovered before your birthday itself—you've chosen quite an unfortunate method of gift-giving. Since you've already given it, there's nothing to be done about that, but you'll still need to present something on the actual day. However, there may be a gift with even greater impact. In this way, the book gift loses its meaning..."
"..."
At Aide Getty's muttering, Dale's complexion grew noticeably colder.
The flustered aides hastily clamped down on his mouth.
"Silence, Getty!"
"Yes? Oof!"
"W-well, Your Majesty, please don't worry. A novel was never an appropriate gift to begin with. Everyone will think the same."
As another aide attempted damage control, everyone nodded in agreement.
But Dale's expression, frozen in the midst of reviewing documents, didn't soften in the slightest.
"...Ah, there's still plenty of time! There must surely be another gift that the Lady would enjoy."
"And yet you've already tried nearly everything, oof!"
The growling aide dragged Getty away by force.
Once the chattering Getty disappeared, only suffocating silence remained in the office.
As the Emperor's anger slowly rose, a murderous aura mixed in, and my body began trembling like an aspen leaf.
The news that Adeline had returned to the Family Estate had brought joy, but the reality now was far too ominous to match that happiness.
'Has the wedding ceremony finally arrived!'
The aides' hopeful expectations, buoyed by such dreams, came to nothing as no event occurred.
Whether it was because he couldn't spend time with the Lady, or because His Majesty's condition had grown even more depressed, making it unbearably difficult.
Soho, the ace among aces among the aides and leader of Zeta Team, pondered for a moment before recalling a fact.
"The novel was delivered directly by the Lady's husband, and you witnessed her delighted expression, so this year's gift already held sufficient meaning."
"..."
At the words emphasized as if being driven into his ears, Dale showed some reaction.
He, who had been gripping his pen tightly in his gloomy mood, lifted his head and looked at Soho.
His gaze was cold, but he seemed willing to listen to what the man had to say. Soho didn't miss this opportunity for the Emperor's clemency.
"Your Majesty, shall we prepare one more gift to present on the actual day?"
All this time, Dale had sent Enya a gift every year on her birthday.
Along with flowers, necklaces, dresses, earrings, shoes, watches, brooches—he had gathered every expensive thing imaginable and conveyed his overflowing affection to her.
For some reason, Enya seemed to think he had only given her flowers, but it didn't matter if she didn't acknowledge the rest.
Still, for Dale, celebrating the day Enya was born was the greatest joy and festival of the year.
Just as a child eagerly awaits the day they receive gifts, her birthday was a special day he counted down to with anticipation.
Whether Enya had been pleased or displeased with the gifts, he could only know through what Duke Lockhart told him, and the Duke had said she was pleased.
Perhaps the Duke's decision not to reveal the sender of the gifts he had sent along with the flowers was a prudent measure.
Had he made it known they were from him, she surely would have returned them or refused to wear them.
The hat Enya had been wearing the day they first met in Grunvalt was one he had gifted her for her sixteenth birthday.
The feeling of receiving such an unexpected great reward made his heart feel as though it would burst.
For Dale, Enya had become such a significant presence long ago.
A connection from childhood that Enya herself did not remember.
"Of course, as Emperor I must prepare something as well. Deliver it discreetly through the Duke as usual."
At Dale's answer, Soho fell into thought for a moment.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty. May I offer my opinion?"
Once Dale gave his permission, the Aide spoke up.
"Now that Adeline has returned to the family estate, I suspect the Prime Minister won't let her leave easily."
"I know."
Dale had already anticipated this.
Enya had promised to return as quickly as possible, but this would be a long journey.
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