Chapter 55

Her unfocused eyes struggled to find clarity. Gopher instinctively reached out to touch the corner of her eye but stopped at her words.

“How about we end the engagement here?”

A brief silence followed, and the ripple of her statement soon reached Gopher’s understanding. He scoffed.

“Is your illness acting up again?”

“…”

“If you’re upset, just say you’re upset. Don’t bother with that nonsense—I’ve been tired of it for years.”

Leaning back against his chair, Gopher crossed his legs.

Bleria, for her part, simply stared into empty space. She showed no sign of being hurt or angry at his sharp words. Even the usual habits she used to conceal her boiling emotions were absent.

Suddenly, Mixel’s words came to mind.

“She’s your masterpiece, right? After meeting you, someone who used to laugh and cry freely turned into a wax doll.”

What nonsense.

Hiding emotions might be a strength but never a weakness. Bleria was more challenging to read than usual but wasn’t entirely indecipherable.

If you’re curious about what lies beneath the water, you just have to throw a stone.

“Did the Duke of Heaven tell you to leave? Or does this engagement feel like a farce, and you should step down?“

“He won’t even meet me, so there’s nothing new he’s said.“

“Then did he say he’d hold Damian accountable for his crimes?“

“Likewise. He hasn’t even acknowledged me recently.”

Even when sensitive topics were broached, her expression and voice remained steady. Sometimes, she seemed detached, but digging deeper would typically reveal her true thoughts. Today, however, she wasn’t her usual self.

Gopher felt an odd sense of unease.

“If nothing’s changed, then why suggest breaking the engagement? Were you hoping to vent your frustration because I ignored your messages?“

“I’m not particularly upset.”

The conversation refused to deepen. Bleria looked at Gopher with empty eyes. Even when their gazes met, it felt like she wasn’t truly looking at him but through him, as though her focus was on something behind him.

That vacant stare unsettled him. Swallowing his disquiet, he asked:

“Then?“

“I just thought, if it’s going to happen eventually, it might as well happen sooner.”

If it’s going to happen eventually.

Ah.

Did she already believe it was hopeless? Had she resigned herself to that thought? If so, snapping her out of that despondent state should be simple.

“Bleria.”

Because what she thought would happen wasn’t going to happen.

“I’ll deal with Eos Liche.”

Her mind felt hazy from the heat. She did her best to appear fine, but who knew her condition? She didn’t seem too strange in his eyes, judging by Gopher’s reaction.

Of course, if he came closer, he would notice her feverish state. No matter how much effort she put into masking her complexion, the heat radiating from her body would betray her. But he seemed disinclined to come near.

Is that a relief?

She wasn’t sure. Why was she hiding her illness? Gopher might show her some tenderness if she pretended to be weak, but she didn’t want him to know—neither her physical state nor her emotions.

Was she angry, as he claimed? Was she simply sulking, or had she grown so tired that expecting anything felt futile?

As she blinked absentmindedly, his voice continued.

“I’ve just found a lead, and soon this will be resolved. Surely, you’re not going to tell me not to kill anyone now, after all this?”

Kill someone? Oh, right. He just mentioned killing Eos.

And now, it seemed, he was berating himself. It made sense—if Eos Liche had been dealt with earlier, none of this would have happened.

Even now, the outcome wouldn’t change. The rumors had yet to surface fully. If Eos were eliminated, people might whisper privately, but the story would be buried.

Others, like the Duke of Heaven, might investigate Eos’s death. But it seemed unlikely. He would have summoned her long ago if he were that kind of person.

Whether he was ignoring the evidence of her crimes or conducting his own investigation, the Duke remained silent. Looking back, what Bleria had mistaken for affection might have been guilt.

Had she lost guilt, not love? That thought brought her a sliver of comfort.

Then what is Gopher to me?

What on earth did this man mean to her? He had always been hard to read, but after their wedding date was set, he had become utterly incomprehensible.

“…Bleria?”

Oh, right. They were having a conversation.

Bleria was about to apologize but suddenly asked,

“Is Eos Liche the real one?”

When she first saw the pendant, she was sure it was real. After hearing Gopher, she became convinced it was fake. Now, she didn’t know. She knew nothing anymore except that she had used certainty too lightly.

Gopher gave a dry laugh at her question.

“At this point, does that even matter?”

Bleria couldn’t interpret it as anything other than an affirmation.

Gopher’s thoughts must have changed. He must believe Eos Liche is genuine now.

With that possibly biased conclusion, Bleria nodded.

“I won’t interfere. Do as you wish.”

If he was intent on saving her life, why should someone else’s life matter to her?

More than anything, she just wanted to rest. Nothing else mattered if she could end this conversation quickly and bury herself in bed.

Gopher’s expression was odd, as though her answer wasn’t what he had expected. Just as his lips parted to say something else, there was a knock at the door. A servant approached, whispered something in his ear, and he nodded.

“I need to step out for a moment. Get some rest.“

“Oh.”

Bleria opened her mouth to respond, but her unwell body couldn’t react swiftly enough. By then, Gopher had already left the study.

I don’t want to wait for him.

Resigned, she stretched out on the sofa. The heat in her body was relentless as if boiling water coursed through her veins instead of blood. She felt she might fall asleep if she remained still, so she forced herself upright. Gopher had just left, and it would take time for him to return.

She walked deeper into the study, stopping at a particular desk.

She recalled something Gopher had mentioned long ago: a hidden compartment in this desk, concealed with a unique mechanism. When she asked what it contained, he said it was too important to lose.

He had also explained how to open the drawer, but Bleria had deliberately forgotten. She thought it was a test of her trust.

Now, years later, she stood before that same desk, recalling the words written in a letter from Mixel,

“If possible, open the secret drawer in Gopher’s study. Then you’ll understand—Gopher has always been ready to sell you out.”

At any other time, she would have ignored such words. She rarely found herself alone in his study when he wasn’t present.

But the fever heating her head, the expectations withered from waiting all day, and the strange coincidence of circumstances seemed to push her forward.

Tapping the ornate frame at the desk’s edge counterclockwise, pressing the second drawer three times, and then opening the first drawer triggered a hidden compartment above.

When she entered, her fingers brushed against something unfamiliar—a rectangular object wrapped in cheap leather. It felt like a book.

“…”

Suspecting what it might be, she pulled it out. It was an old journal, weathered and worn. A bookmark protruded from its pages. When she opened it to the marked section, words immediately came into view:

“January 27, Year 388.

Norma brought back something strange. Its white hair looks like thread unraveled and rewoven a dozen times, and its body, thin as a sewer rat, seems to eat no more than once every three days. The eyes are tolerable to look at, but they’re not something you could pluck out and sell on their own, so there’s that.

That body is useless for chores, too young to grow up soon, and so scrawny that you can’t even tell what its face looks like. They say it’ll be used as a hostage when the runaways return, but who’s to say they’ll return?

Whether it’s kidnapping, abduction, imprisonment, or human trafficking, charges can always be fabricated. So, I’m recording this for the record.

Age: Eight. Name: Mel Slopey. White hair, orange eyes. Hair turned white due to a fever. Birth parents are…“

Although the handwriting was unfamiliar, the tone unmistakably painted a vivid picture of its owner: Dewey Robeau, Norma’s lover.

Gopher had cited this journal as evidence when he claimed she was an imposter. The existence of such an item wasn’t surprising, but…

He kept it.

It made sense—Gopher wasn’t the type to destroy evidence that could prove she was a fake. She hadn’t expected him to. Yet there was a vast difference between vaguely suspecting something and confirming it firsthand.

This was especially true when the evidence was so accessible, close at hand, and ready to be used at any moment.

“Gopher has always been ready to sell you out.”

Although she had only uncovered a single piece of evidence, it felt like everything Mixel Luke had claimed had been validated.

Perhaps it was even confirmed that Gopher had been the one to give her the genuine pendant, all as part of an effort to tame her. If that were the case, the trust built from that event was an illusion.

Her hand trembled as she held the journal.

Should I take it? Or burn it and destroy it?

Countless thoughts ran through her mind quickly, but Bleria ultimately returned the item to its place.

He might retaliate even more aggressively if she took away the key to her vulnerability from Gopher. It was better to play along, to remain compliant…

But for how long?