Chapter 17. Where On Earth

“What?”

Allen approached threateningly. Vanessa, taken aback by his sudden, high-handed demeanor, took a step back.

“Or maybe, since you grovel under Lady Ailexia, you think that’s all I amount to as well.”

“No, I…”

“Even though I am here as a hostage, I am still a royal, higher than a mere maid like you.”

He cut off her hurried attempt at an excuse with a sharp retort. His low voice growled as he cornered Vanessa.

Cornered against the wall, Vanessa trembled like prey before a predator. The pressure choking her throat made her breath stop automatically.

“I’ll find my own way back.”

Only when her breath was on the verge of stopping did he withdraw his cold gaze. He stepped back and turned away without hesitation.

A long time after his footsteps had faded, Vanessa slid to the floor, gasping for breath. She clutched her wildly beating heart as if she had just sprinted.

“Damn it, I was just trying to help, and he takes it out on me? That crazy bastard!”

Her voice, filled with frustration, echoed briefly in the empty hallway before quickly dissipating.

***

The carriage carrying Aster passed through the wide garden and headed towards the grand mansion.

The moonlight, resting clearly on the mansion’s roof, greeted him with a beautiful scene like snow that hadn’t melted.

“Welcome back.”

As he entered, an elderly butler was there to greet him alone. Because it was late, the number of people welcoming the master’s return was sparse, making the grand, spacious mansion feel even more desolate.

But Aster, used to this, handed over his coat and gloves without a word. The butler, with a gentle smile he often wore these days, accepted them.

The butler had worked in the main castle of the duchy for a long time before coming to oversee the capital mansion with the previous Duke. Seeing the young master he had known since infancy grow up so splendidly filled him with pride.

“If you’re heading to the office, shall I bring a light snack?”

“No need. Where’s Robert?”

“He’s waiting in the office. He asked for brandy in his tea, but I told him to wait until your business was concluded.”

“Delay it further.”

Aster loosened his tightly bound cravat and gave a firm order, raising an eyebrow. The butler nodded gently, understanding the importance of the matter.

It wasn’t unusual for Aster to come to the capital mansion where the previous Duke resided, but it was significant enough to send his parents and sister back to the duchy temporarily.

The previous Duke, known for his stubbornness and unwavering nature, had moved, indicating a very serious matter related to the family or the empire.

On the surface, the reason given was to deliver something to the Emperor, making it seem even more significant.

Indeed, it was a very important matter in his life.

Aster, lips pressed into a firm line, quickly made his way to the office. He arrived to find Robert, half-asleep on the sofa, startled awake by the sound.

“What, what… Oh, you’re back.”

Robert hurriedly straightened himself and adjusted his askew glasses.

Then, seeing the Duke head to the desk, he wiped the drool from his mouth with his sleeve.

“Hmm, you’re later than expected. The conversation must have been lengthy?”

“Yes. Long enough for you to sneak brandy into your tea and doze off leisurely.”

“How did you know?”

Aster, seated and sifting through the piled documents and gathered information, retorted sarcastically. Robert, feeling guilty, twitched his nose. He had only added ten drops!

“The night after tomorrow, I’ll go to the auction house with that woman.”

Robert froze at Aster’s words, pen in hand.

“Am I drunk? I think I just heard something absurd.”

“You’re not drunk. You heard correctly.”

“…Oh.”

Robert was momentarily speechless, letting out a meaningless sound. He looked at Aster, silently asking for more explanation. Aster summarized his conversation with Ailexia.

“She proposed a deal. To keep the previous encounter a secret and help her secretly leave the palace once.”

“You accepted that? What do you get out of it?!”

Naturally, Robert was outraged.

How could someone so smart do something so foolish? He soothed his burning frustration with the tea, subtly spiked with brandy.

“She had the key to the illegal auction house.”

At these words, Robert carefully set down his teacup.

“The auction is the night after tomorrow. If she’s really there… we can’t miss this auction.”

Seeing Aster’s furrowed brow, as if the mere thought pained him, Robert couldn’t argue further. This was a matter involving someone who could make the rational and judicious Aster act foolishly.

“Can you trust that woman?”

“Of course not. I’ve taken precautions.”

Aster gritted his teeth, recalling an old memory.

Ailexia, with her arrogant smile, had brazenly suggested at a noble banquet that he join the harem. Her audacious attitude, assuming he wouldn’t refuse, was infuriating.

When he was summoned by his father after becoming the talk of the social circles, he wondered if it was a ploy. Despite knowing his father’s secret double standards, he was blamed for tarnishing the family’s honor.

His father, in a fit of rage, had slapped him with a ringed hand, calling it a disgrace. Aster, who should have felt the shame, only found it ridiculous.

The only reason that incident wasn’t entirely a bad memory was because of her.

Her soft hands treating his unhealed wounds, her careful touch, the concern she gently expressed, and her beautiful eyes watching over him.

“Prepare a plain carriage without the family crest. How many wolves that don’t search other places are left?”

“About five.”

“Take all of them and quietly follow the carriage. Once at the auction house, have them discreetly search the area for other entrances and the location of the auction items.”

“I’ll pass on the orders.”

Unlike before, Robert received the orders with a straight posture and precise attitude and left the office.

Left alone, Aster set down his quill and leaned back in his chair. Pressing his fingers to his eyelids, he let out a long sigh, filled with exhaustion and anxiety.

Inside him, two contradictory feelings clashed violently.

He hoped this endless search would finally come to an end, but at the same time, he wished she wouldn’t be there.

While desperately hoping to find her, the thought of her suffering and being tormented there made him wish his fears were unfounded.

The thought of darkness clouding her bright face and precious smile made his heart feel like it was being squeezed, leaving him breathless.

“Where on earth did you disappear to?”

His voice, filled with anxiety, trembled pitifully.

Aster roughly unbuttoned the collar that was tightly fastened to his neck and ran a hand over his dry face.

At that moment, the dark blue thread bracelet on his wrist caught his eye. It might look crude and rough to others, but to him, it was incredibly precious.

[“They say if you make a wish, the thread will break and your wish will come true.”]

A clear voice, like a breeze softly settling on a leaf, whispered in his ear.

Even the fact that she had prepared it in the same color as his hair, which he inherited from his detestable father, made him like it at that moment.

“Maybe it can’t be granted right away.”

He muttered, pleading, as if hoping for an answer he knew wouldn’t come.

In truth, the wish he made when she tied the bracelet around his wrist was different, but for that wish to come true, she needed to be there.

Aster stared intently at the bracelet, then took out a small square velvet box from the innermost drawer.

Unable to open it, he carefully rubbed the lid with his thumb, feeling the soft velvet against his skin, soothing him.

When he finally opened the box as if making a decision, the color that matched her eyes filled his silver eyes.

The gift he had painstakingly prepared over a long time had not yet met its owner. But…

His eyes, which had been gloomy, now showed determination. His voice, which had carried a hint of despair, regained strength.

“I will find you soon.”

He made a firm resolution to deliver it to its rightful owner as he had intended from the beginning.

She would surely show a radiant smile like sunshine, just as he had imagined countless times.

For that smile, he could endure the endless search, the growing anxiety, and the uncertain wait.

He had already sworn deeply to protect that smile.

“Wait for me, Iella.”

The pink diamond necklace in the velvet box sparkled brilliantly, as if cheering for his wish.