Finally, Astaire entered Second Prince Phaios’s palace.

Phaios’s reception room, decorated with splendid flowers, spoke of his recently rising position in political circles.

But Astaire had no interest in such things right now.

“So, I’m curious what urgent matter brings you to seek me out, Duke.”

Phaios didn’t hide his sarcasm.

“Daphne.”

The Duke said just one word.

“Daphne Seyfried, where are you hiding my wife?”

“…Pardon?”

Phaios didn’t understand at first and asked back.

However, this sharp-minded man soon grasped the full situation.

Daphne Seyfried.

That woman had finally run away, leaving Astaire.

It wasn’t particularly surprising.

If it was the Daphne he remembered, he thought she was more than capable of doing so.

On the other hand, another thought occurred to him.

Was Daphne’s current state really okay? Did she have enough cash on hand? Was she perhaps staying somewhere dangerous?

Rather than surprise at the news Astaire had delivered, worry about whether Daphne was doing well filled Phaios’s mind completely.

Watching the Second Prince give no answer even after hearing his words, Astaire narrowed his eyes.

Suspicion turned to certainty.

The certainty that perhaps Phaios had taken Daphne away and was secretly hiding her.

Astaire’s head cooled down.

But the more that happened, the more he curved his lips into a smile.

The arc-shaped lips radiated such wordless madness that even Phaios watching the Duke flinched momentarily.

However, Phaios soon composed his expression too.

A silent battle began between the two men.

“…I’m sorry about the Duchess’s situation, Duke.”

“Is that truly all you have to say to me?”

“Then what do you want from me?”

Phaios didn’t hide his absurdity.

“I don’t have much time to respond to your delusions one by one.”

“I would appreciate it if you could spare me even a moment to confirm.”

“Confirm what?”

Phaios was frustrated.

The Duchess leaving the estate itself was shocking, but more important than the immediate shock was whether she was staying safe and unharmed wherever she was.

The Second Prince wanted to quickly get rid of this d*mn husband. Once this husband left, he could find out what had happened to Daphne.

But Astaire was unmoved.

Until he heard from Phaios’s own mouth about Daphne’s whereabouts that he didn’t know, the Duke seemed to have no intention of leaving.

“I’ll have no choice but to call the palace guards to drag you out. Surely you don’t want to become such a laughingstock to others after coming all this way.”

“If doing so could bring my wife back, I would gladly do it.”

It was truly tearfully touching love.

No, could this even be called love?

Phaios’s assessment of the Duke after even this brief time was that the Duke was quite a mad man.

During their Academy days, Phaios had been able to see how the Duke and Daphne treated each other.

Though those moments were very brief, he could easily notice that Daphne subtly admired the Duke.

But now Daphne had become completely disappointed in the Duke and left him.

Phaios understood why Daphne had left Astaire despite enduring everything.

“It’s really funny how you come here making a fuss after messing up yourself.”

Phaios approached Astaire and whispered. His voice was small enough for only the Duke to hear.

True to someone who had rolled around on battlefields for a long time, Phaios sometimes used rough speech completely unbefitting a noble royal, despite having learned proper imperial etiquette.

“Making a fuss? Me?”

Astaire laughed like he was hearing the most amusing thing.

This won’t do.

Phaios no longer wanted to deal with the mad Duke Seyfried. He was about to call the palace guards to chase him out.

“Well then, I’ll be going. Your Highness. Thank you for your help.”

Astaire left his final sarcasm, rose from his seat, and left like the wind.

It happened so suddenly that Phaios stared vacantly at the Duke’s retreating figure that was gradually becoming a small dot and disappearing.

“Ha.”

The Second Prince left alone let out an empty laugh.

No. This wasn’t the time for this.

He immediately called someone.

“Yes, Second Prince. How may I help you?”

“I need to find someone.”

Phaios decided to investigate Daphne’s whereabouts in his own way.

He was different from Astaire. He didn’t plan to recklessly find Daphne and drag her back.

Instead, he planned to help Daphne.

Quietly, from behind.

* * *

Daphne recklessly entered an alley.

This was a street she had passed through once in the past when she ran away from the Viscount’s estate just once.

The street she’d visited once hadn’t changed much over time.

She occasionally saw rats passing by. A musty sewer smell rose from somewhere, and children sprawled on the roadside were grimy from not washing for a long time.

“Hey miss, take a look before you go.”

As she walked down the street with her head down as much as possible, a young child attempted to solicit her.

What the child had hung on a stall to sell were herbs of unknown origin and a brown robe.

Daphne’s gaze turned to the robe.

If she wore that, she felt she could at least protect herself from people who recognized her.

“How much?”

“Since you’re pretty, miss, I’ll take just 1 brown.”

Daphne chuckled at the boy’s cute words. She held out one silver coin instead of 1 brown.

“Ah, change…”

One silver was worth about 10 browns. The boy fumbled in his pocket to get change. His actions were slow and clumsy, seemingly unaccustomed to giving change.

Still, Daphne didn’t rush the boy.

“It’s okay. You can keep the change.”

“What? Really?”

“Yes. But instead.”

Daphne crouched down to the boy’s eye level. Looking closely, though his appearance was grimy, his eyes sparkled like jewels.

Daphne saw her own childhood in this boy.

“Don’t tell anyone anywhere that you met me.”

“Yes, I promise!”

After shouting in a bright voice, the boy quickly covered his mouth and looked around. Daphne couldn’t help but chuckle at that innocent sight.

“Anyway, I’ll keep meeting you a secret.”

The boy whispered.

Daphne bought the brown robe, put it on, and walked the streets again. Having obtained something to hide her appearance, she could walk the streets more freely.

She passed through the dirty alley and came out onto the main road. This street too was one she’d visited in childhood.

The street remained unchanged.

Daphne headed to the train station, tracing old memories.

She often came to the train station as a child, but each time she came, she had no money and couldn’t actually board the train. Back then, Daphne kept her head down staring only at the street, hoping coins might be lying around.

Thinking about it now, she felt foolish for expecting good fortune.

Without making her own efforts, she relied on coincidence and hoped for luck.

She knew now.

Heaven brings fortune to those who make efforts. But ironically, fortune doesn’t come to those who merely wish for it—that was life’s irony.

From the moment she entered the train station, it was completely unfamiliar territory.

“The ticket office is that way.”

As she wandered around not knowing the way, someone pointed toward the ticket office with their finger.

Daphne silently bowed her head and headed to the ticket office.

“What time is the earliest train?”

“10:45.”

10:45 meant only 20 minutes from now.

“Yes, then I’ll take that one.”

“To Timaru, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

Timaru.

A small city with a population just under 50,000, located by a harbor. She hadn’t particularly intended to go to that city, but the destination didn’t really matter.

Daphne recalled learning about Timaru during geography class in her Academy days.

Her heart pounded.

This was her first step into a world she didn’t know well. Once she arrived in the city, she would have to handle everything herself from then on—eating, sleeping, working.

What kind of work should she do to make a living?

Once she arrived in the city, she planned to stay at an inn with the money she had and read newspapers to look through the help wanted sections.

Having roughly formed a plan in her head, Daphne headed to Platform 3 written on her ticket.

A stillness hung over the platform where the cold morning air seeped in.

Soon a steam locomotive slowly revealed itself, piercing through the darkness. The sound of wheels touching the cold rails echoed on the platform.

Daphne boarded the train, blending in among the tired-faced passengers.

“49B… 49B…”

Muttering the seat number written on her ticket, she went back and forth through the train cars.

She finally found her seat, but someone was already sitting there.

Daphne looked back and forth between the seat number written at the head of the seat and the seat number on her ticket.

Then she quietly spoke to a deeply sleeping middle-aged man.

“Um… I think you’re in the wrong seat.”

“Wh-what?”

The middle-aged man wearing dusty glasses opened his eyes with a start. His bloodshot eyes were full of fatigue.

Daphne felt sorry for waking this exhausted man, but wrong was wrong.

“Ah, sorry, miss. My seat was across the way.”

The man sat across from Daphne’s seat, and Daphne also settled into the inner 49B seat.

Somehow they ended up having to face each other throughout the train ride in this awkward situation.

In the awkward atmosphere, their eyes met.

The man looked at Daphne and put his hand inside the bag he was holding. Daphne flinched for a moment.

It wasn’t like that man would pull a weapon from the bag to harm her, but perhaps because the situation just now was awkward.

“Hmm, I feel bad about taking your seat, so won’t you at least eat this instead?”

What the man held out was a chocolate bar.

Daphne’s eyes widened.

Though it was a popular brand product that commoners enjoyed eating and Daphne had eaten it often before, it was the first time she’d seen it in several years. 

Since coming under Astaire’s care and receiving his patronage, she’d only eaten desserts made by a personal chef, so it had been a long time since she’d eaten such ready-made snacks.

“Huh, you’re looking at it so curiously, like you’re seeing it for the first time.”

The man looked at Daphne and laughed heartily. It was a laugh that reminded her of a good-natured father. Daphne smiled along. Though she’d never had a father like that. Thinking that made one corner of her heart feel bitter.