Chapter 33

“It’s probably not a serious illness. He seemed fine the last time I saw him, so he’ll recover quickly and return.”

“He won’t come back. Because I won’t take him back.”

Although Gopher didn’t say it with a heavy tone, he meant every word. His unguarded expression made it clear enough for Bleria to grasp the truth.

“Didn’t he grow up with you?“

“In the end, he left. How could I trust someone who left once? Not that I ever intended to trust him.”

Gopher lowered his gaze, sipping the now-cold tea.

The one who had nearly thrown him into the flames had been a servant he cherished.

The parents who had relentlessly pushed him, hoping their child would catch Stella’s favor, had died in an instant. The knight who acted like a father figure left to care for his real child, and the cousin he had gotten along with reasonably well became his enemy.

The only thing that had remained by Gopher’s side was a dog.

A black dog—ill-bred, loyal only to him.

So how could he trust, cherish, or value anything he couldn’t tether with a leash to keep by his side in body and spirit? They would all leave eventually, anyway.

To mask his distrust, Gopher began to laugh.

Tick.

Lost in his thoughts, he was startled by an unfamiliar sound. Bleria was staring at his sleeve, where only a loose thread swayed in the spot where a button should have been.

When Gopher let out a small chuckle, she hesitated momentarily before tucking her hands under the table. Just as he was about to laugh at her nonchalant gesture, Bleria spoke.

“I won’t leave.”

Her tone was earnest, but the statement felt far less weighty coming from someone who had just broken a button.

Perhaps she realized it too, as her ears turned crimson. Her face remained impassive, but the red blush was strikingly vivid.

“……”

It was clear what she was thinking with that pretty head of hers.

Despite his reassurances, Bleria still visited him on these anniversaries, trying to show her consideration. No doubt, she was once again connecting his words to her thoughts about the deaths of her parents.

She misunderstood, thinking he missed those who had seen him as nothing more than a tool for success.

Presumptuous of her to try and console me.

But it wasn’t unpleasant.

No matter her intentions, the truth remained unaltered.

“That’s right. You won’t leave me.”

Bleria Heaven couldn’t betray him. Just as a dog returned to its owner even after removing its leash, Bleria had nowhere to go but back to him.

With every such conviction, Gopher felt a recurring urge to test her. Humans, after all, sometimes forget their place and act foolishly or unpredictably. He needed to confirm that Bleria wasn’t among those foolish ones.

“Want me to show you something interesting?”

Gopher stood with a smile. As he moved deeper into the study, Bleria followed.

Even in the hidden corner, the shelves were lined with books. There, beyond the outer view, stood three or four desks. Gopher stopped in front of one.

It looked like an ordinary desk but was anything but.

“It’s a specially crafted piece with built-in mechanisms. Inside, there’s a hidden compartment. If you try to force it open, a special solution will spill out and dissolve your hand.“

Bleria’s face turned slightly pale. Gopher moved his hand slowly so she could see.

The compartment opened with a faint mechanical sound. Instead of reaching inside, Gopher waited until it closed again and spoke.

“Want to try?”

Although hesitant, Bleria was easily encouraged. When Gopher took her frozen hands and guided her slowly, she flinched but followed his lead.

This time was no different.

Following Gopher’s instructions, Bleria tapped the desk’s ornaments and pressed the drawers. Soon, there was a soft click as the compartment opened.

“Feel along the top of the first drawer. There should be a hidden space.”

Gopher opened the drawer for her, but Bleria didn’t reach inside. She wasn’t worried about getting hurt; the mechanism had already been deactivated.

Instead, she asked, her face pale, “What’s inside?“

“Something I can’t afford to lose.“

Bleria’s expression darkened as if her entire face said she didn’t want to know.

Gopher found the situation amusing.

Would she still make that face if she knew what was inside?

“Do I… really have to take it out?“

“What if you don’t?”

“Then I won’t.”

Her firm refusal made him laugh as he closed the drawer.

“Do as you please.”

When Gopher backed off without protest, Bleria looked puzzled but relaxed her tense shoulders. They returned to the sofa and resumed the casual conversation as if the hidden drawer had never come up.

However, Gopher firmly believed that human curiosity never truly disappears. One day, Bleria would open the drawer and discover its contents. How would she react then?

Gopher smiled as he gazed into her orange eyes, which resembled the flames he disliked but lacked their heat. At that moment, as his attention was drawn to the faint flicker of her gaze, reminiscent of a wavering candle flame—

~~~~~~~~~~+++~~~~~~~~~~

Smack!

The sound of flesh colliding jolted Gopher’s thoughts back to reality. He lowered his gaze from the chandelier’s flickering lights and looked toward the door. Stella’s office. Inside was Mixel.

“Is this what you do after coming back to the capital after years away? Flirting with your cousin’s fiancée? Is that why you’ve been holed up in the annex for three months?”

“……”

“I entrusted you with the intelligence division, yet despite such an important responsibility, you dare make a mockery of Allnight!“

“I apologize, Grandmother.“

“Shut your mouth!”

Despite being over seventy, she was remarkably robust. Gopher shrugged his shoulders.

“If you’re truly a child of Allnight, I know you well enough. You’re not the sort to run crying with complaints over a little nuisance!“

“I crossed the line. It won’t happen again.“

“If there’s one more incident that tarnishes the honor of the Allnights, you’d better be prepared, Mixel Luke.”

With that, silence fell within the office.

Soon, Mixel emerged. His face, with one cheek reddened, twisted in fury as his gaze met Gopher’s. Without breaking eye contact, he spat blood-tinged saliva onto the hallway floor.

“It suits him.”

Yes, Bleria would never betray him.

Just as that drawer remained unopened, she wouldn’t use her hands to retrieve the pendant that proved she was an impostor. And so, didn’t he owe it to her to respond in kind to that trust?

With a smile, Gopher brushed past Mixel and knocked on the office door.

“It’s Gopher, Grandmother.”

***

A tea party was held at the Violet Viscountcy. With Mixel Luke’s help, Eos managed to procure an invitation to attend.

Unfortunately, all attention was focused on the news of Bleria’s impending marriage, leaving Eos waiting for quite some time before she could speak. And even then, the opportunity ended in a spectacle.

“So… hic… I want to find my family.”

Bleria hadn’t needed to say a word to lead her on.

Between the sudden revelation of her past and her tears, Eos had committed one faux pas after another, turning the table’s atmosphere into chaos.

Hyacinth glared at Eos while her accompanying friends sighed and occasionally shot glances in her direction.

Although Bleria had come with Eos, their invitations were secured separately, so Bleria remained unaffected by the fallout. However, the guests couldn’t help but notice how Eos’s story resembled Bleria’s circumstances.

Bleria preemptively spoke.

“As you’ve heard, Lady Eos seems to have experienced something similar to what I’ve gone through. It’s rare, but the overlapping circumstances surprised me as well.”

In reality, she was baiting them. If the person at the center of the suspicions raised the issue herself, it would only make Eos seem all the more ridiculous.

“What an extraordinary coincidence.“

“And her hair color is the same as Lady Bleria’s. How uncanny.“

“Though Lady Eos’s case is clearly different from Lady Bleria’s.”

Hyacinth gave Eos a pointed stare, her smile chilling.

“Lady Eos, why are you telling us this?“

“Well… I was hoping someone here might know of anyone who had lost a daughter.“

“The only person we know with such a situation is Lord Heaven. Of course, his daughter is right here—Lady Bleria.”

The eyes turned toward Eos gleamed like predators finding prey. One could almost imagine the word “impostor“ inscribed on the reverse side of those gazes.

“Your birth parents might indeed have been nobility. But wouldn’t it be difficult to inquire with us about that?“

“The clothes I was wearing when my adoptive parents found me looked expensive─“

“To a fallen noble, even a wealthy commoner’s clothing might seem luxurious. No offense to your adoptive parents, of course, but I think a realistic perspective might help.“

“Yes, I suppose you’re right…”

For a moment, it seemed Eos might burst into tears again. However, she merely lowered her head with a darkened expression.

With her faint resistance broken, the tone of the conversation became harsher, escalating to accusations of being an outright fraud.

“You should be careful in the capital, Lady Eos. You wouldn’t want to gain a reputation as an arrogant swindler coveting someone else’s place.”

Even though she deliberately chose the setting and prepared for this, Bleria’s mood continued sour.