I finally managed to calm myself down.

‘For now, there are two possibilities. One is that this hair ribbon never belonged to Sever in the first place and somehow, by sheer coincidence, found its way into Death Gorge.’

Although officially prohibited by the Magic Tower, some royal households occasionally disposed of magical waste or trash in Death Gorge. 

The abandoned ribbon could possibly have ended up there through such means. However, in the current situation, dismissing it as mere coincidence seemed highly improbable.

‘If, by some remote chance—truly remote—Sever did possess this ribbon, there are again two possibilities. Either he went to Death Gorge and dropped it, or someone stole it from him and then lost it there.’

But would Sever be so careless as to drop something like this? Strictly speaking, I had never given him any clues about Death Gorge. 

Though I couldn’t rule out the possibility that he might have gone there after hearing about black magic, he wasn’t reckless or foolish enough to venture into Death Gorge without good reason.

Then perhaps Sever was a black mage, the culprit behind everything, who had gone to Death Gorge even before I issued my order. ‘But then he wouldn’t have dropped something like this. And why would he bring such a thing to Death Gorge in the first place? It doesn’t have any special function.’

Either way, the hypothesis that Sever personally went to Death Gorge didn’t seem very plausible. Moreover, even giving him the benefit of the doubt and assuming he wasn’t as principled as I’d thought, I still trusted his caution. ‘A Dragon Slayer of his caliber wouldn’t carelessly carry around and lose something like this.’

Let’s move on to the next hypothesis then.

‘Someone stole this hair ribbon and dropped it in Death Gorge?’

In this case, it would be difficult to view it as coincidence. It would be more accurate to say someone deliberately placed it there, waiting for the Magic Tower to discover it. But Death Gorge was a place strong with black magic energy—who could predict when something left there would be found?

That left only one final possibility.

‘Someone stole this and deliberately mixed it among the items found in Death Gorge so it would reach my hands.’

And the premise of this possibility…

‘Have they planted a spy in the Magic Tower?’

Whether Sever had betrayed me or there was a spy in the Magic Tower, neither was good news. I stared intently at the slightly faded ribbon. It felt like seeing a remnant of the past, making me sigh involuntarily.

‘Even if this is someone’s deliberate act, why this hair ribbon specifically? Surely stealing any other item Sever regularly carries would have been better than this.’

No matter which hypothesis I considered, questions remained—questions that wouldn’t be easily resolved anytime soon.

‘Confronting Sever directly or suspecting him might be playing right into the enemy’s hands.’

Whatever the case, it would be best to hold the hunting competition first and then verify things afterward. Besides, didn’t those people also say “Your Excellency”?

I placed the hair ribbon deep inside my drawer.

‘But if someone is truly trying to frame Sever, why would they do that?’

Unlike me, surrounded by enemies on all sides, Sever was generally respected by everyone. If someone wanted to slander him, it could only be out of jealousy. The moment I considered this, I felt an inexplicable uneasiness. Unable to identify its source, I simply closed the drawer.

* * *

Felix, the aide to Sever Kelliard—the most respected nobleman in the empire—had always taken pride in his position. Recently, however, he was experiencing what it felt like to wish for death due to an unintentional “mistake.”

“Have you found it?”

“I apologize, Your Grace. We’ve searched everywhere you’ve been these past few days, as well as every corner of the mansion, but we couldn’t find it.”

As soon as Felix finished speaking, Sever’s face hardened. Seeing this, Felix cautiously spoke again.

“I’ll continue searching.”

At Felix’s words, Sever sighed lightly, his thoughts unreadable. Eventually, he set down the pen he was holding.

“A hair ribbon can’t walk away on its own. At this point, it’s certain someone took it.”

What Sever had been searching for these past few days was none other than the red hair ribbon tied to his sword.

Originally, Sever rarely parted with his sword. The only times he would set it aside were when he attended an audience with Estria as Duke Kelliard rather than as a knight, or when entering the Senate chamber where weapons were prohibited.

He discovered the ribbon was missing after a Senate meeting had concluded. Felix, who had been keeping the sword as usual while Sever was in the chamber, turned pale upon learning that the ribbon tied to the sword had disappeared.

“Your Grace, I deeply apologize. My carelessness—”

He—no, all the servants of House Kelliard who had served Sever for a long time—knew how precious that ribbon was to him. No one asked whom it belonged to, but everyone vaguely knew.

Sever would remove and hide that ribbon in Estria’s presence. Just like he had hidden his feelings all this time.

Especially the butler who had known Sever since childhood and Felix who was always by his side knew this better than anyone. However, discretion was fundamental for those close to Sever, and those perceptive enough to notice Sever’s peculiar change in demeanor before Estria weren’t reckless enough to speak carelessly about the Emperor and the Duke.

This was why Sever’s feelings had remained hidden until now. Of course, the most fundamental reason was that Sever rarely showed his face in the capital.

“We should search for it. It might have fallen somewhere.”

Thus, for five days, Sever searched everywhere he had been, including the imperial palace and anywhere he could think of. Despite this, the ribbon was nowhere to be found.

‘But who could have taken it?’

While that ribbon was an irreplaceable treasure to Sever Kelliard, to others it was merely a faded old hair tie. If someone had taken it despite this, there could only be one reason.

‘The only ornament I’ve ever carried was that ribbon. And I wore it in a visible place.’

Therefore, if it were to be discovered somewhere, countless people could testify that the ribbon belonged to him.

So where might it be found?

‘Certainly nowhere good.’

With this thought, Sever suddenly inhaled sharply at a hypothesis that crossed his mind. Soon after, however, he smiled bitterly and shook his head.

‘Her Majesty wouldn’t possibly remember it.’

He had been completely erased from her mind. Indeed, if he were in her position, he probably wouldn’t want to see himself for the rest of his life either.

Why would she remember a mere hair ribbon? That ribbon, with its clumsy, crooked embroidery and nothing else particularly distinctive about it, was unique only to him.

“Keep searching. Not just places, but people too.”

“Understood.”

Felix bowed his head and left the room. Sever shifted his gaze back to his documents.

Just then, almost on cue, there came a knock followed by the butler’s voice.

“Your Grace, Viscountess Delmen has arrived.”

A look of puzzlement crossed Sever’s face.

Iris Delmen. He quietly murmured the name before speaking.

“Show her in.”

The butler nodded and left the room.

A few minutes later, a woman appeared with measured steps. Dark ash-gray hair and beautiful amber eyes characteristic of House Delmen gave her a cold yet serene impression.

Iris Delmen.

Sever regarded the heir to House Delmen, who had suddenly come to see him, with an impassive face. Despite having grown up in adoration like himself, he and the Delmen heir were not personally familiar with each other.

Nevertheless, the reason he didn’t refuse her unexpected visit was simple. He needed to investigate black magic on Estria’s orders, and naturally, House Delmen was included among the subjects of investigation.

House Delmen, in particular, was not on good terms with the imperial family—more specifically, with Estria.

“I greet you, Your Grace.”

Sever looked at Iris’s face before responding indifferently.

“Sit.”

After some time had passed, Iris, who had been elegantly sipping tea from her cup while seated on the sofa, slightly raised her head. Her bob-cut hair swayed around her neck, enhancing her dignified impression.

She spoke.

“I was surprised to hear you came to the capital so suddenly.”

“What brings you here?”

Sever, however, had no intention of engaging in her preamble.

Iris smiled slightly, seemingly having anticipated this response from him.