Chapter 94: One Year

“She’s not living alone.”

At Ulik’s words, Madam Hannon dropped the book she was holding.

That wasn’t like her.

Setting aside her feelings for Clive, Eirene wasn’t someone who would easily let someone stay by her side.

Still, you never know with people’s affairs.

Eirene, who had left with only a dog, might have been lonely and struggling and found someone to lean on.

Just when Madam Hannon was about to ask what kind of man it was, Ulik spoke first.

“She’s with a woman who looks like Gemma.”

“You should have said that first! I thought she was living with a man!”

Smack! She hit Ulik’s back.

“I never said it was a man.”

Ulik whined “ow ow” dramatically while rubbing his back. He had been playing around, knowing full well the intent of the question.

“Are you sure it’s Gemma?”

“I saw from a distance, but to my eyes it was Gemma.”

“That’s a relief. Then Gemma isn’t visible either?”

“Right. So I’m wondering if the miss noticed. I thought I was being careful not to get caught…”

“What about Zeus?”

“Ah, they said Zeus isn’t there either.”

“Then it seems she’s disappeared.”

Since even Zeus, who she had taken when leaving Dervel Palace, wasn’t visible, there was a high possibility she had completely left her current location.

If nothing special had happened while Ulik was watching, she had been caught just as expected.

“She stayed in one place for so long that I mistakenly thought the miss had settled down.”

“She might have noticed long ago. Don’t be discouraged and keep looking.”

“Yes. But I have an uneasy feeling that she’s hidden herself very thoroughly.”

Even the neighbors who had been in contact with Eirene said they didn’t know her whereabouts.

Since she had never been away from home at night until now, Ulik’s anxiety deepened and became reality.

* * *

For the past five months, Clive had thrown himself into reforming the temple.

He postponed Siaran’s execution and investigated the long-standing actions of the temple and the Phineas Count family.

Siaran had to serve as a witness, having collected materials not only on Sebastian’s evil deeds but also on the temple’s atrocities.

Among all the Popes in history, Sebastian was the most insane and created the most victims, but the corruption was more deeply rooted within the temple than expected.

Combined with the materials brought from the Phineas Count family, it became vast.

Five months passed without him knowing how, as he worked to establish institutional safeguards to prevent such things from happening again.

He had deliberately focused on work.

If he stopped thinking even for a moment, Eirene would come to mind, and from the moment she appeared in his thoughts, he would obviously search for her frantically.

Only the task of placing Rafael in the Pope’s position remained. Once this work was finished, he planned to assist the Emperor and pay attention to Florian.

Clive, who had come to Dervel Palace for the first time in days, was extremely tired, having slept only six hours in the past four days.

When he threw himself onto the bed without even taking off his clothes, his eyes closed automatically.

“Your Grace. Should I prepare bath water?”

Ulik helped remove Clive’s jacket.

“…Yeah.”

“Warm tea, or would you prefer alcohol?”

“…Just one drink after the bath.”

“Yes. Please work while thinking about your body from now on.”

“It’s almost finished.”

Clive’s words became slow with drowsiness.

“Don’t you have a string of schedules remaining? It would be good to rest thoroughly for at least one day.”

“……”

“Your Grace.”

Ulik laid the sleeping Clive properly on the bed and covered him with a blanket.

He decided to postpone preparing the bath water until tomorrow.

* * *

Time flowed so well.

He had thought the world without Eirene would be boring and pass slowly, but contrary to expectations, it flowed like water.

Each day was excessively slow and uninteresting, but looking back, a whole year had already passed since Eirene left.

As Clive had aimed, Rafael took the Pope’s position.

Though the Emperor’s mind, which had depended on Sebastian, hadn’t completely returned, it had improved greatly.

Florian, who had said he would step down from the Crown Prince position out of guilt toward Clive, also gradually found stability.

When he was deliberately brought outside on sunny days, his health improved compared to before.

When Sebastian disappeared, Florian’s condition improved, making one wonder if there had been a connection.

Dervel Palace had a brief chaotic period when Eirene suddenly disappeared, but regained its tranquility. On the surface.

Only Matilda and Betty went in and out of the empty annex to clean, and entry was forbidden to everyone else.

From when Clive entered after finishing dinner each evening until dawn when he came out, no one could approach the area.

No one knew what he did in the annex, but it was a question even Madam Hannon couldn’t ask. Also, the names Eirene and Zeus became forbidden words.

Clive hadn’t forbidden it. It wasn’t a promise made among the people in Dervel Palace either. Everyone had become united in heart and mind at some point and didn’t speak them aloud.

But there was one person who showed her feelings. That was Matilda.

At first she was hurt that Eirene had left without a word, but later she would sniffle at random times saying she missed her.

After being quiet for a while, when the season came that she had met and spent time with Eirene, she went around listlessly.

Matilda still hadn’t let go of the thread of hope.

It was because of her conviction that Clive was also waiting, seeing the completed greenhouse that had been built for Eirene.

If she weren’t just a maid, she would have wanted to search the entire empire to find Eirene.

Since even Clive, who could find her, was staying still, Matilda couldn’t step forward and was quietly waiting.

Everyone seemed to be waiting even without saying so. Because they had all been happy seeing the completed greenhouse.

While thinking it was impossible, everyone hoped and hoped again for the greenhouse’s owner to return.

* * *

Clive was enjoying the spring sunshine while taking a walk with Florian.

The Empress appeared and joined them midway, but the atmosphere was fine because of Florian in the middle.

Until the Empress asked that question.

“Grand Duke. What will you do now? Are you planning to stay alone forever?”

Florian glanced at Clive and smiled awkwardly.

“Mother. Doesn’t brother also need time to sort out his feelings? It’s only been a year since he parted from Miss Phineas.”

“It’s not ‘only’ a year, it’s ‘already’ a year.”

The Empress, who had answered Florian, turned her head to look at Clive.

“If the Grand Duke had just stayed single all along, everyone would have been quiet, but since you broke off an engagement right before marriage, there’s a lot of talk.”

After Eirene left, Clive had announced to the Imperial family and the empire’s citizens that the engagement was broken and the child had been miscarried.

Instead of revealing details, he said it was because of his own fault, but rumors spread that Eirene had hidden herself because of Count Phineas.

It made sense since it was after the trial ended.

However, the Empress was someone who knew well why the two had parted.

Though he couldn’t understand why she brought up such talk when she knew everything, Clive just listened without responding.

“On top of that, there was even a child, so everyone had high expectations, Grand Duke. The Grand Duke should also welcome a Grand Duchess and build a stable family.”

“Mother!”

Florian tugged at the Empress’s collar, meaning for her to stop.

“I’ll introduce you to a young lady from an excellent family.”

So the Empress had a purpose.

Over the past year, Clive had lived like a different person, so the nickname of scoundrel that had always followed him had somehow disappeared.

While some nobles felt threatened by his change, there were also nobles who wanted to join with him. Even more so because he was royalty.

This was an opportunity for the Empress to plant another person on her side. He had thought she was reflecting, but indeed people don’t change.

“It was only an engagement in name, but it was no different from being married. I still haven’t forgotten Eirene and the child who left.”

“People divorce and remarry, so what does that matter? At least meet her once. Only other people can help you forget people.”

“Isn’t finding a Crown Princess more urgent than me?”

“When the Crown Prince gets healthier.”

“Anyway, I’m not interested. Well then, I’ll be going.”

Clive, who had greeted Florian and the Empress, strode away.

Florian, who was watching his retreating figure, frowned.

“Mother. Please don’t interfere with my walking time with brother from now on.”

“The Grand Duke tries not to meet with me, so I had no choice.”

“Brother refuses because mother acts like this. Why do you force someone who says they have no thoughts of marriage?”

“Looking at the Grand Duke’s recent moves, he seems to be trying to establish his position in the Imperial Palace, and he needs a family to back him up.”

“Brother doesn’t care about things like position in the Imperial Palace. And he said he can’t forget Miss Phineas.”

“Is that really true?”

Florian looked at the Empress with a displeased expression and sighed. Even if she wasn’t a good person, she wasn’t someone tactless or unreasonable. Her appearance just now wasn’t the mother he had seen until now.

Hoping she wasn’t plotting something again like that day in the past, he decided to watch his mother closely for the time being.

* * *

Ulik continued searching for Eirene, who had disappeared without a trace.

She had hidden so completely that she couldn’t be found even when searching down to small villages.

Then he received contact from one of the subordinates he had sent to various regions.

They had heard rumors of a pretty woman providing free treatment to people in some countryside.

There was talk that this woman’s appearance was similar to Eirene’s, so they were reporting before going to check.

A few days later, news came that it seemed to be Eirene. Ulik had to go personally to confirm whether it was definitely Eirene.

He fell into contemplation.

“It’s too far. What excuse should I make? Should I just go with His Grace?”

The fact that he was searching for Eirene was a secret from Clive.

If Clive found out, there was a fifty percent chance he would scold him for doing something useless, and a fifty percent chance he would rush there without thinking.

Either way was fine with Ulik, but he couldn’t rashly tell him in case Clive would suffer from knowing but not being able to go.

“Should I consult with Madam Hannon?”

Not feeling inclined toward that either, Ulik spent several days just in contemplation.

Another letter came from the subordinate who had discovered Eirene. It seemed it probably wasn’t Miss Eirene after all. Ulik stared intently at the writing that listed the reasons why it probably wasn’t Eirene.

He rubbed both eyes and looked again to see if he had read wrong. She was a mother raising a baby. They said it was born not long ago.

A little over a year since Eirene disappeared. A baby born not long ago.

The paper he was holding crumpled. Which is it?

When she left here, she said there was no baby. Then another man’s?

Ulik shook his head vigorously. When he roughly calculated, that couldn’t be it, but you never know.

His worries deepened further.

Should he tell? If by any chance it wasn’t Clive’s child, he didn’t know what to do then.

Even if it wasn’t, Clive was in no position to say anything. But if it was Clive’s child, the story would be different.

He decided to tell Clive and go together.

Instead, he decided to leave out the baby story. Seeing with his own eyes would be most certain.

If it was Clive’s baby, he would bring it back somehow, and if not, he would give up.