Chapter 21

I watched the retreating Duke Duncan and shook my head, and the man who had already returned to his sweet Linus self asked me,

“Goodness, that surprised me. Were you really thinking of dueling that man?”

“Of course not. I’m someone so fragile that even a spring night breeze could knock me over. Father would’ve gone out in my stead.”

That’s what I said, but honestly, I had expected Linus to step in once I laid the groundwork.

After all, the person that badger actually insulted wasn’t me but Linus, so I had hoped he would respond himself.

And if he really didn’t step up… well, then I’d have just used Dad as my trump card.

There’s no way he’d stay quiet after finding out something like this happened to me.

I was going to ask him to thoroughly stomp that guy, but who knew Duncan would run off without even accepting the duel.

And what are we supposed to do about this mess of a mood left behind?

I shouldn’t have let him go so easily, that damn badger bastard.

Every gaze in the now deathly quiet restaurant was still fixed on us.

The manager approached hesitantly and bowed his head.

“I am terribly sorry, Lady Titanoa, Duke Piction. I don’t even know what words of apology to offer…”

“It’s fine. Just bring us the most delicious dish you have here. I’ve gotten hungry.”

“I’ll have it prepared at once.”

The manager scrambled toward the kitchen, and I lifted my chin high, making sure every whispering person saw me looking straight at them one by one.

This is exactly when you can’t afford to look intimidated.

I can’t stop rumors from spreading, but at least they shouldn’t dare say anything right in front of me.

Thanks to the force I put into my glare, anyone who met my eyes quickly looked away.

Right then the music started again, and I returned to my seat and sat as if nothing had happened.

I gulped down my water and set the empty glass down, and Linus spoke with a gloomy expression.

“Because of me, Ayrbet had to suffer for nothing.”

“How is it because of you? It’s because of that badger bastard who picked a fight with someone who was minding her own business.”

“He wasn’t lying, though.”

I wanted to snap back that he wasn’t wrong, but something about his words stuck with me.

Calling me a dog or a cow was nonsense, but since a badger came to a restaurant, surely dogs or cows could too, so fine.

And saying he had no foundation could be excused because Linus had lost his memories…

But calling him a murderer wasn’t something that could be brushed aside.

I watched his expression and carefully asked,

“How did that awful rumor even start?”

“I told you before that I have no memories of my past, right? When I came to, there were dead people around me. Because of that, I was investigated… and during that process, the late Duke Piction’s will was found.”

Linus explained that day with a lonely expression.

When he inherited the Piction dukedom, the case was left unresolved and quietly closed.

If they had pursued the investigation to the end and found the real culprit, no unpleasant rumors would have spread, but that outcome only made things worse for Linus.

“So no one knows who killed those people?”

“It might have been me. I was the only one who survived.”

“Maybe you were just lucky enough to survive. What if you were attacked by someone and lost your memory from the shock?”

“I hope that’s the case.”

Linus answered with a faint smile.

I had only thought “wow, a handsome man with memory loss, nice,” but this was a much nastier situation than I imagined.

He undeniably exists, yet there’s no way to prove who he really is.

I looked at Linus, who was bowing his head like a dejected puppy, and spoke gently.

“Why not investigate properly? Someone must remember you. And someone might know the truth of that day.”

“But if it turns out I really did it…”

His voice trailed off like he was already a condemned criminal.

So that’s why he never responded to the vicious rumors, he was afraid of the truth.

I could understand him in a way.

If I had possessed someone who spent ten years sleeping like Ayrbet, it was fine.

But if she had been some monstrous criminal, things wouldn’t have ended with just being inconvenienced.

But Linus wasn’t a possessor like me.

Ever since I met him in the Butterfly Garden, Linus had always been sweet, gentle, and polite.

Losing memories doesn’t change a person’s nature, right?
This man simply couldn’t be a bad person.

“Losing your memory doesn’t change who you are. So don’t bow your head to stupid rumors. Linus is definitely a good person.”

“You trust me?”

“I’m trusting my own eyes.”

“If Ayrbet thinks so… then I’ll try believing that too.”

Linus’ lips curved into a wide, soft smile.

It was so clear and innocent that it made me smile without meaning to.

The dishes that soon arrived were all incredibly delicious, and the dessert was sweet enough to melt on my tongue.

But the sweetest thing of all was still Linus’ smile.

* * *

After taking Ayrbet home and returning, Linus faced the stack of documents piled on his desk.

They were sent by the retainers of the Piction Duchy.

He knew they were waiting for the Duke Piction’s approval, yet he had kept putting it off until now.

Linus took a deep breath and read through the first document.

Then he checked the next one, and the one after that, before calling for Corbett, the butler of House Piction.

“You called for me, my lord.”

Corbett’s manner was polite, but the eyes he directed at Linus were cold.

It wasn’t just Corbett; every servant of House Piction looked at him that way.
Many had even left the ducal estate, saying they didn’t want to serve a master whose origins were unclear.

Under Corbett’s chilly gaze, Linus read the request to authorize the sale of the Ayak Mine twice more before gathering his courage.

“Corbett, is the Piction family’s financial situation so dire that we have to sell even the mine?”

“Baron Julius is in charge of the family’s finances, so I wouldn’t know.”

His answer was even colder than his eyes.

Linus had tried, for the first time, to perform the role of Duke Piction, but he hit a wall from the very beginning.

No matter what he attempted, the duties of the duke were as obscure as his past.

As Linus stared at the unanswered documents, Corbett added in the same cool tone,

“However, I can look into it.”

“Please do.”

Linus replied with relief, and Corbett, still expressionless, asked,

“May I ask one thing?”

“You may ask anything.”

“What made you suddenly take interest now? Until now, you never tried to learn anything about House Piction.”

The question sounded both scolding and resentful, and Linus chose his answer carefully.

There was only one reason for him to care about the affairs of House Piction.

A name that still felt awkward, the duties and confusion attached to that name.

But it was the only name he had, and the reason he was able to meet Ayrbet, so that one reason became the reason for everything.

“Because I am Duke Piction.”

“……Understood.”

Corbett replied after a brief pause.

He clearly disliked acknowledging Linus as Duke Piction, but Linus decided not to mind it anymore.

He issued his next order without hesitation.

“One more thing. Have the case in Nobuck Village reinvestigated.”

“The case involving your lordship, you mean?”

“Yes. I want to know who the culprit is.”

When Linus answered firmly, Corbett asked as if surprised,

“Would it not be better to leave it buried?”

From Corbett’s perspective, he was saying it for Linus’s sake.

He couldn’t understand why Linus would dig up a scandal that could only bring trouble.

Trouble.

Until yesterday, Linus had thought the same.

If it turned out he had been a murderer, even the late duke’s will wouldn’t protect him.

Who would accept a criminal as a duke? The emperor would revoke his approval and throw him in prison.

Everyone suspected Linus. Even he had suspected himself.

Until now, he hadn’t known what he was and could do nothing, but thinking of Ayrbet, Linus lifted his head.

“I want to know the truth.”

She said she believed in him.

To Linus, Ayrbet’s belief was the most solid truth of all.

Corbett looked into his unwavering red eyes before slowly bowing.

“I will inform them that you have ordered a reinvestigation.”

After Corbett left the office, Linus opened the window and drew in a deep breath of the moisture-laden night air.

The first spring of Linus Piction was deepening.