Chapter 22

The next day, Father returned home just in time for dinner after attending something called a Privy Council meeting.

He was always busy with various duties, but he tried to have dinner at home whenever possible.

It was his own effort to spend time with me.

At first, eating across from a father who was practically a stranger had been terribly awkward, but now, on nights when I had to eat alone, I felt strangely empty.

Tonight’s fish dish was especially good, and I was eating enthusiastically when Father casually asked,

“I heard you threw a napkin at Duke Duncan’s face yesterday.”

“Ah… well, that is… um…”

I hesitated, watching Father’s expression.

Yesterday, it had absolutely been a situation where that reaction made sense, but with all the context chopped away, it sounded like I had done something ridiculous.

I thought Father would take my side, but facing his expressionless face, I suddenly lost confidence.

As I fumbled uselessly without giving a clear excuse, Father suddenly burst into laughter.

“Well done, Ayrbet. If anyone is rude to you, never tolerate it.”

I blinked in surprise before asking in confusion,

“You’re praising me? You’re not going to scold me for causing trouble?”

“A little trouble like that is fine. Do you think this Duke Titanoa cannot clean up after his one and only daughter?”

Father smiled kindly and spoiled me rotten.

Even if I slapped a duke across the face, apparently Dad would clean up after me. Wow. My dad is the best.

“Don’t say things like that. I’ll get spoiled.”

Even while saying the right thing, I couldn’t help but grin like an idiot.

Seeing my expression, Father let out another hearty laugh.

“So, how did such a thing happen?”

“That badg… I mean, that man insulted Linus when he wasn’t even doing anything. He was incredibly rude.”

“Then why did you step forward before Duke Piction could?”

“Linus challenged him to a duel on my behalf. Duke Duncan got scared and ran away.”

I enthusiastically praised Linus, saying he had subdued Duke Duncan with just a look.

I was afraid Father might tell me not to meet Linus anymore since trouble had happened after going out with him.

As I kept talking, I got carried away and started praising Linus for things that had nothing to do with the incident.

I even said Linus looked pretty when he smiled because his upper teeth showed neatly, only then did I snap back to my senses.

At some point, Father had been listening with a faint, wistful expression, and he asked,

“Do you like Duke Piction that much?”

Oh, Father. It’s not the time for that, but yes, I do like him.

How could I not like him? If you kneaded my tastes together and shaped them into a person, it would be Linus.

He looks like someone who would carefully catch a fly and let it go outside, yet he worries he might have killed someone. That tragic vibe is unreal.

If I weren’t stuck in this possessed-body situation where I could get dragged into a dungeon at any moment, I’d be holding his hand and asking him to be mine already.

I swallowed my regret and didn’t say anything, but Father seemed to read the answer in my expression.

He looked at me with a complicated expression before sighing and saying,

“In today’s Privy Council meeting, Duke Duncan formally proposed an investigation into Duke Piction’s past. He made such a fuss that His Majesty said he would dispatch an investigative unit.”

That damn badger bastard actually tattled.

Linus already said he would look into it, but now the emperor was dragged into it and the situation had blown up even further.

The Privy Council of the Dioretta Empire was composed of five dukes in the pro-imperial faction and five dukes in the anti-imperial faction.

My father was also a member, but unfortunately, so was Duke Duncan.

For the anti-imperial nobles, it must have been a great opportunity.

Since Duke Piction was also pro-imperial, they probably wanted to grab onto a flaw and reduce the numbers on the opposing side.

Thanks to that, my already-worrying father now had one more thing to fret over.

“Murder is a grave crime, Ayrbet. Even a noble would have difficulty escaping punishment. He could lose his title.”

“That won’t happen. Even if Linus has no memories, he is not someone who would do such a thing, Father.”

“If you say so, then we shall wait for the results.”

With that, Father ended the conversation about Linus.

Since his daughter liked the man, he couldn’t say more, and so he just poked at his poor fish, his weakened fork movements carrying the sorrow of a father with a daughter.

If even the slightest chance existed that Linus might be revealed as a murderer, Father might really collapse and forbid him forever.

In any case, with the emperor dispatching an investigative unit, the truth would be revealed soon enough.

Then the vicious rumors drifting around Arendel would surely die down.

I was thinking that maybe this was for the best when Father brought up another topic.

“Anyway, the wedding date has been decided.”

“The wedding date?”

“The wedding between His Highness the Crown Prince and Lady Toned.”

“A wedding? Not an engagement?”

“They’ve decided to skip the engagement. His Majesty seems to be in quite a hurry.”

Father chuckled as if it were nothing, but I was more than a little taken aback.

In the original story, they got engaged first before marrying.

And between the engagement and the wedding, the whole push-and-pull between Heide and Larienne took up a significant portion of the plot.

The subtle emotional progression as they tried to find ways to avoid the marriage, yet grew wrapped up in each other, that was the highlight.

It was a political marriage between enemy families, so even though the ending would be disastrous, that irresistible tension was the charm.

You know, that whole “we pretend to dislike each other but can’t stop caring” thing.

I slapped my knee so many times reading it I almost tore my ligament.

But still… is this okay?

If the engagement ceremony is skipped, the timeline diverges from the original by about a month.

Ever since the first scene went off track, the schedule kept drifting, and now I was starting to feel genuinely uneasy.

* * *

A new month had begun.

I had things I wanted to ask, but Himong never appeared.

Fortunately, no gates appeared either.

Larienne and Heide’s wedding was now only fifteen days away, and I had gone on three more dates with Linus.

And today, Linus came to see me without any prior notice.

When I heard he’d come, I happily went downstairs, only for him to say something unexpected.

“I came to say goodbye, since I don’t think I’ll be able to see you for a while.”

“Why? Are you going somewhere?”

“I have to return to the Piction territory.”

“Did the investigation team find the culprit?”

“Quite the opposite. That’s why I believe I need to verify things myself.”

“What do you mean? They didn’t find out anything?”

“They identified that the deceased were a band of thieves from that village. They also found people who knew them. But apparently not a single person knows who I am.”

The more he spoke, the less sense it made.

They had confirmed the identities of the dead, yet only Linus’s identity remained completely unknown.

Had he been hiding in the mountains training like some hermit?

Otherwise, how could no one know a man with this face and that level of skill?

With the trail broken, finding the killer became uncertain, so Linus intended to meet those who had known the dead thieves and ask them directly who he was.

It was a frustrating situation, but Linus himself looked even more frustrated, so all I could do was tell him to go safely.

“When will you be back?”

“I will return before His Highness the Crown Prince’s wedding day.”

“We promised to go to the wedding banquet together. I’ll be waiting.”

“I won’t be late.”

Linus smiled softly, bowed his head, and kissed the back of my hand.

Then he turned to leave, and watching his retreating back made me feel strange.

Come to think of it, this was the first time I was seeing him turn away from me first.

The only times Linus had shown me his back were when he stepped forward to protect me, nothing else.

I also realized, belatedly, that I had already grown used to turning around and always finding him smiling at me.

But wait… why does this feel like a farewell?

We’re not even at the stage where a breakup is possible.
Then what is this urge to stop him from leaving?