“You have returned, Your Highness.”

The one who greeted Rafez upon his return was Glen, the head maid.

Whenever he saw her, she was always calm and composed, without the slightest disarray.

“Is the Grand Duchess in her room?”

“No. She went to the library earlier.”

“…The library? Was that on the third floor?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

At the unexpected location, Rafez searched his memory.

He had even forgotten what was on the third floor of the mansion, and so his memories of when he had last gone to the library were hazy as well.

“It seems Her Highness is still uncomfortable with her newly moved quarters.”

“I suppose she would be. Has she been eating well?”

“About the same as usual.”

Rafez nodded and headed toward the stairs, then stopped.

After a very brief moment of thought, he changed direction.

His steps were headed toward the basement.

The knights guarding the place saluted silently the moment they saw Rafez.

“Your Highness.”

“How is it going?”

Rafez asked Muel, the knight commander standing guard before the door.

“It remains unclear whose crime it was. They are all denying it, saying they did not do it, and they keep insisting they know nothing.”

In a way, it was only natural.

The culprit would never admit so obediently that they had done it, and those who were falsely accused would also say they knew nothing.

But the fact that the people who had only said they knew nothing on the first day were still doing the same even now…

Rafez seemed to grow angry again.

“…Open the door.”

The knights opened the door, and when Rafez entered, the people who had been sitting scattered across the floor hurried toward him.

But the knights immediately blocked them, and Rafez let out a sigh.

Seeing the desperation in their eyes made him feel once again that this truly was reality.

“Your Highness!”

“Your Highness, we have been wronged!”

The head chef in charge of the Grand Ducal House’s kitchen, the two cooks under him, as well as the maid and manservant mainly assigned to the dining room.

They were all familiar people he often saw in daily life.

“Enough.”

At that single word from Rafez, their voices soon fell silent as well.

“Wronged? You say you have been wronged? I coughed up blood and nearly died, and yet you can still say you have been wronged?”

In the dim darkness, only the lantern swayed in the draft, and only Rafez’s voice echoed through the room. No one answered.

“It seems you think that if the culprit does not come from among you, you will be able to leave here alive.”

Rafez murmured in a low voice.

At his words, the suspects’ faces turned pale, and Rafez caught it precisely.

“Think whatever you like. You are free to delude yourselves. But you will not be given much time.”

Rafez turned around again and left the basement, and the door soon closed behind him.

Then, as he stood there, Rafez felt something he could not quite define.

“…I never thought this would be easy, but it feels strange. As though everything is so obvious it seems almost too neatly arranged. Am I the only one who feels that way?”

“I feel the same, Your Highness.”

Muel, who stood behind him, also nodded almost imperceptibly.

Even if they were not the culprit, they could have said someone had seemed strange, or something of the sort. How could every single one of them only say they knew nothing?

Even so, because they were people of the Grand Ducal House, Rafez could not bring himself to t*rture them and had only locked them up.

“Did you inform Nain?”

“Yes. And I was told he just arrived and is waiting for Your Highness.”

Rafez nodded and quickened his steps again.

* * *

“Your Highness.”

“You are faster than I expected. It has not been long since I handed over the documents.”

“I have not finished investigating this incident yet either. More than anything, it seems it will take far too much time, so I came to ask whether I may investigate it myself.”

“Yourself?”

Rafez, who had entered the study, paused just as he was about to sit down.

Without a word, Nain held out a single sheet of paper to him.

“What is this? It looks like a list of families. Are they part of the Emperor’s faction?”

“They are mostly nobles from the Emperor’s faction, but…”

The imperial family, House Lennon, House Schkotz, House Jin, House Bererian, House Florant, and several other families were written there.

“Seeing House Bererian on here, it seems this is not simply a list of the Emperor’s faction.”

“These are the families that appear to have planted spies in the Grand Ducal House.”

“What?”

He had told him to find the spies, and yet Nain had suddenly brought him a list of families.

And on top of that, House Bererian was written there too.

“Of course, these are only the suspected sources. There may be more besides these.”

Nain could not quite meet Rafez’s eyes as he continued speaking.

“I heard you found one spy from House Lennon. A spy who entered through House Jin, I believe. But there is unlikely to be only one spy who entered by such means.”

“Even so, House Bererian… And there are quite a few houses here that are not part of the Emperor’s faction.”

“I apologize for saying this, but it is certain that House Bererian has a spy inside the Grand Ducal House. We secured information leaking out through a rat hole.”

Rafez was so bewildered that no words came out.

House Bererian had planted a spy in the Grand Ducal House?

What was that supposed to mean?

“Why on earth would the count’s family… What information did they take?”

“Even the most trivial matters occurring in the Grand Ducal House were written down. It seems they even knew in advance about Her Highness the Grand Duchess’s plan to hold a tea party.”

At Nain’s firm words, Rafez was so dumbfounded he nearly let out a hollow laugh.

Unlike when he had hesitated at first, saying he apologized for the disrespect, Nain was now looking straight at Rafez without the slightest wavering.

“Why…”

He could not understand it.

Count Bererian handled much of the Grand Ducal House’s affairs, went back and forth to the Grand Ducal territory, and often dealt with Louis as well. Why would he try to monitor the Grand Ducal House?

He was someone who already knew more about the Grand Ducal House than other nobles, someone who was already aware of most matters.

So what on earth had he been trying to find out?

“Is it still valid? What you told me before.”

At Nain’s words, Rafez recalled what he had said.

“Find every spy in this mansion. I don’t care who planted them.”

Yes.

Back then, he had certainly expected it.

That it might not only be the Emperor’s faction, but some other house as well.

It might even be the doing of a house close to them.

Rafez soon nodded.

“Of course.”

* * *

A leisurely afternoon.

Hereis was drinking tea with Rose in the study.

“It’s nice to have you at the mansion after so long.”

“It is. I suppose I should make time like this once in a while.”

“Yes. With you away from the mansion, and Julien and Felix going out for sword training every day… whenever I’m left alone in the mansion, I keep thinking of Isaac.”

“Rose.”

“Have you forgotten him now? Isaac still appears in my dreams sometimes.”

Hereis did not answer.

How could he possibly forget his first son, who had left this world without even being able to close his eyes?

“…Let’s stop talking about that.”

He could never forget.

Even so, he no longer wanted to speak of it.

“I miss Lacy.”

“Rose.”

“When will I be able to see her? It has already been more than six months.”

It was then.

“Duke Edward Schkotz has arrived.”

At the servant’s words, the conversation paused for a moment, but Hereis soon nodded.

Then Edward entered.

“Duke. Ah, the Duchess is here as well. It has been a long time, my lady.”

“It has. It’s been a while. You are as handsome as ever, Duke.”

“Ha ha, you flatter me. I hope I have not interrupted a pleasant teatime between the two of you.”

“It was merely a passing moment. But what brings you all the way here, Edward?”

“I was passing by as well.”

Edward naturally took a seat as though it were already his own. Then he turned his gaze and looked around the study.

It was a large study, no matter how many times one saw it.

Through the full-length glass window covered by curtains, the warm afternoon sunlight streamed in softly.

When the maid brought tea, Edward smiled and lifted his teacup.

“I hear the Grand Duke attended today’s meeting.”

“Yes. There was quite a commotion as well… Well, I’m sure you already know.”

Hereis nodded.

He had avoided the meeting because he knew Rafez would attend, and even though he had not been there himself, he had heard all the news.

Back when Louis had been Grand Duke, Hereis had often clashed with him in public settings. Then Louis’s health declined, and he could no longer take part in imperial affairs as Grand Duke. After Rafez became Grand Duke, he married Lacy, so Hereis had been avoiding him in order not to clash with him as he had before.

After all, even if Hereis did not face Rafez directly, there were plenty of ways for them to collide.

“The Grand Duke asked about you.”

“About me?”

“Ah, I’m sure you already know this news as well. That the reason the Grand Duke was ill was because he had been nursing the Grand Duchess. Today, His Majesty even said he looked forward to the two of them having an heir. Whether it is true or not, I cannot say. Ha ha.”

Edward could not hide the laughter that spilled out of him.

Things were becoming amusing.

“In any case, it seems certain that something is happening.”

But Hereis was not smiling.

Rather, his expression was grave.

He knew the Emperor and Edward were watching the current situation with interest, but Hereis could not find it interesting.

Because he could not tell what Rafez was thinking.

The matter was not progressing, and the situation was unfolding differently than expected.

Even if he wanted to dig into the reason, no matter how many spies he planted, he still could not see into Rafez’s mind.

That was why he had tried to end things quickly.

“But were you not a little too hasty this time?”

Edward asked with a smile, as though he could see right through him.

There was something strangely chilling about his voice.