Faith and loyalty. That was the meaning of the belasion. And the one who had told her that was none other than Lady Miller.

❀❀❀

“It’s definitely Lady Miller.”

Blair looked at the purple flower on the table as she spoke.

“Going by what the page boy said, it lines up.”

A short while earlier, Blair had called the page boy in and asked about the woman who had told him to deliver the belasion.

‘She had a hood on, so I couldn’t see her face. When I asked if there was any message to pass along, she said the one flower was enough.‘

There was only one person who would say something like that.

“Lady Miller told me about this flower just a few days ago.”

“……A flower that means faith and loyalty. She’s asking us to trust her and wait.”

Kalintz, lost in thought, opened his mouth.

“Whatever the case, she clearly has some kind of lead. Going to this much trouble to leave a message, at this kind of risk.”

Blair looked again at the belasion on the table.

She could be caught and killed at any moment, so why go this far……

Something about Lady Miller’s actions left Blair unsettled in a corner of her heart.

She was on the verge of sighing from the frustration when a knock came at the door.

“It’s me, Ernst.”

Ernst had apparently been up all night keeping watch on Duke Brienne. There were dark circles under his eyes.

“The Duke’s side is also searching for Lady Miller. The atmosphere doesn’t look good, which suggests they haven’t located her either.”

“Any other signs?”

At Kalintz’s question, Ernst shook his head.

“How she vanished so completely, I have no idea. Even the guards say they saw no one suspicious.”

“She must know a lot of hidden passages. She worked in the Valian royal palace for over ten years.”

Ernst nodded slowly.

“So she left the flower and slipped away quickly.”

“Pardon? A flower?”

Kalintz showed Ernst the belasion and gave him a brief account of the situation.

“I see…… in that case, there’s no need for us to go out of our way to find her. It might only draw attention.”

“Right. Better to focus on keeping Willer Brienne from finding her.”

Kalintz nodded in agreement.

“We don’t have much time left anyway.”

Blair thought of the letter that had arrived from Eiron a few days ago.

“Queen Rhea already sent a letter because our return has been delayed. Now that we’ve decided not to make the hunting grounds incident an official matter, there’s no real reason for us to stay in Valia any longer. It might actually be better to head home around now.”

“You’re saying it’s better to bring Willer Brienne back to Eiron.”

Blair nodded.

“That way, the Duke won’t be able to move as many people in Valia. Grand Duke Clovitz has already stepped back, after all.”

At that, Kalintz thought for a moment, then continued.

“Then we’ll leave the search for Lady Miller to Ariela and the mercenary company, and head back to Eiron ourselves.”

The long journey through Valia was drawing to a close.

❀❀❀

“You’re welcome to stay a little longer.”

Grand Duke Clovitz said it with a look of genuine reluctance.

And understandably so. Ever since his conversation with Blair, the Grand Duke had seized every opportunity to hear more about Queen Rhea.

Blair, who had been turning him down each time, was starting to find it difficult herself.

“We have already imposed enough. If our return is delayed any further, those at home will worry. Queen Rhea is already concerned as well.”

Kalintz offered his farewell in a dry, measured tone.

“Ah, yes. We mustn’t cause unnecessary worry.”

The Grand Duke’s expression softened the moment his daughter’s name was mentioned. He nodded with a slightly awkward air.

“Then we shall see you again, Your Grace.”

Blair bowed politely and added in a quieter voice,

“I hope that next time, we may enjoy tea together with Her Majesty the Queen.”

“……”

Grand Duke Clovitz’s grey-blue eyes wavered. He said nothing, but for now, that was enough.

The Grand Duke then exchanged farewells with Duke Brienne as well. The atmosphere between them, however, was very different from the first day they had arrived in Valia.

“Duke Brienne’s expression is quite something.”

Not a trace of a smile remained on the Duke’s rigid face.

“Losing Lady Miller must have stung deeply. And now that Grand Duke Clovitz is pulling away, his pride must be taking quite a blow.”

Blair was nodding along at Kalintz’s words when she caught the Duke’s cold gaze.

His grey eyes were full of contempt, unpleasant in every way, but Blair dismissed it lightly and turned to exchange greetings with the others.

A short while later, their farewells complete, they made their way to the plaza in front of the main palace. Carriages bearing the Eiron royal crest were waiting there.

And beside them stood a familiar face.

“Lord Remarque……?”

Rashid Remarque was standing next to their carriage, apparently there to see them off.

“What’s he doing here.”

Kalintz recognized him and immediately furrowed his brow.

“……Still, he helped us a great deal. Don’t be like that.”

Blair poked him lightly in the side and whispered, and Kalintz gave a dismissive scoff.

Rashid approached in the meantime.

“You’re returning to Eiron.”

His expression was as unreadable as ever.

“I’m glad your injury has healed well.”

“I think you meant to say you’re disappointed.”

At the pointed remark, Blair shot Kalintz a quick look, but he paid no mind.

Rashid replied with a low laugh.

“Rest assured. I will not involve myself between the two of you again.”

“You seem to be doing exactly that right now.”

“Consider it a farewell from a fellow soldier.”

Kalintz studied Rashid quietly for a moment, then gave a quiet laugh.

“You didn’t even fight for me.”

Rashid neither confirmed nor denied it.

“Regardless, we did receive your help, and I intend to compensate you properly once we return to Eiron.”

“I doubt there’s any use in declining.”

“I can’t stand being in debt. To the young duke in particular, I’d rather owe nothing.”

Just then, Ernst’s voice came through saying everything was ready to depart.

“It seems you must be on your way. I wish you a safe return.”

Rashid gave a slight bow toward the two of them.

Blair hesitated over what to say, then offered a short farewell.

“Thank you, Lord Remarque. I’m sure we’ll meet again someday.”

At that, Rashid smiled with what looked like a faint trace of bitterness and turned away.

With their farewells done, they boarded the carriage.

“When would you ever see that island man again.”

Island man. Blair found it both exasperating and quietly satisfying that Kalintz wasn’t even bothering to hide his jealousy anymore.

“How can we not see the person who holds real power in a friendly nation? We have to maintain diplomacy.”

“Since when did you care so much about the Eiron royal family.”

“For as long as I’m by your side, I will. That’s my role.”

Out of arguments, Kalintz turned away and fixed his gaze on the carriage window. Even so, he didn’t loosen his grip on Blair’s hand even slightly.

Before long, a procession bearing Eiron’s banners filed out of the Valian royal palace.

Much had changed since the day they first arrived, but the Valian sun still beat down just as fiercely as before.

❀❀❀

The first thing that made the return to Eiron feel real was the dry wind of early winter.

“Maybe it’s because we were in a warm country, but it feels even colder than usual.”

Tilda said it while sipping her milk tea, sweetened generously with honey.

“I know. It feels like we were away for a long time.”

Blair remarked, struck by the unfamiliar chill in the air.

“Oh, by the way, Your Highness. What happened with Chief Chamberlain Baldin?”

“Ah, that.”

The moment they returned to Eiron, Kalintz had tracked down the chief chamberlain of the central palace who had been presenting the Leaves of Youth to King Rubens. He had denied everything at first, but the moment his grandson was mentioned, he had apparently collapsed and confessed.

“His grandson became the master of a trading company owned by Duke Brienne, didn’t he?”

“He begged on his hands and knees not to let anything happen to the boy.”

Decades of loyal service to the king had crumbled just like that.

“Going forward, one of our people will present Ariela’s antidote to His Majesty in place of the chief chamberlain. He’ll be kept as a figurehead.”

Exposing his crimes now would only give Duke Brienne another chance to cut off a tail and escape. Bringing him down required a net with no gaps to slip through.

“When Lady Miller eventually returns with whatever lead she got from that dead alchemist, we’ll need the chief chamberlain’s testimony.”

At that, Tilda nodded in understanding.

But before long, she wore the expression of someone with something on her mind.

“Tilda, is there something you want to say?”

“Pardon? No, it’s just…… I actually heard something a little strange from Lucia earlier.”