“I don’t understand why you’re trying to help me, Count. If you’d only offered once or twice, I could accept it as sympathy, but you keep insisting—”

“I pitied my mother too.”

“….”

“My father was good but not a good husband. Though it was her choice, he sometimes blamed my mother. He said she was the reason he lost his position as heir.”

Bleria, caught off guard by the sudden mention of family affairs, didn’t know how to respond and sipped her tea.

“Well, whatever you imagine, it probably wasn’t that bad. Anyway, that’s how my dream began. Growing up, I thought, ‘I’ll make my mother happy.’ But unfortunately, she passed away in a fire.”

“I see…”

“You might find it unpleasant that I project my mother onto you to fulfill that unfulfilled dream, but even so, I feel responsible. I think I already know what will happen if you marry Gopher.”

“Gopher—”

“Have you considered that this situation might be a blessing in disguise?”

“….”

“If this were a divorce instead of a broken engagement, and you and Gopher were already tied by the same family register, how do you think he would’ve reacted once the truth about you being a fake became public knowledge? Can you even imagine that?”

Bleria said nothing, but Mixel Luke smiled as if he understood her thoughts.

“See, you know it too.”

Contrary to his words, Bleria found it hard to picture precisely how Gopher might have acted. Even now, after concluding that he would eventually abandon her, she couldn’t quite envision it.

Shaking her head, Bleria forced herself to erase the baseless hope lingering within her.

“And to be completely honest, there’s one more thing: you happen to be my type.”

“Your type?”

“Didn’t you notice how startled I was when we first met? You were much—how should I put it?—more dazzlingly beautiful in person than in the portrait.”

It seemed he was attempting to lighten the mood with a joke…

Bleria suppressed a bitter laugh, pressing her hand against her lips. But then she realized there was no longer any need to do so.

So everything is going back to the way it was.

The realization struck her in the simplest of moments. Lowering her head, she took a slow, steady breath. When she looked up again, her eyes held a renewed resolve.

She spoke to Mixel Luke.

“I want to leave. Will you help me?”

“Hmm. I should be glad to hear that, but my heart aches a little after being rejected so many times. What will you do if I say no?”

“Then I’ll escape on my own.”

“No offers of negotiation? Nothing to trade in return for my help?”

“Frankly, I have nothing to offer.”

“That’s rather plain. If I walk away now, won’t you regret it?”

Regret would overwhelm her, no doubt.

But admitting as much wouldn’t conjure up something she could give. She had nothing. She’d known for some time that clinging to someone’s coattails wouldn’t change anything.

Swallowing her bitterness, Bleria chose gratitude instead.

“Even if you do, I have no complaints. Thank you for everything until now.”

Mixel Luke hesitated mid-motion as he pretended to rise. Was her gratitude so unexpected? Bleria continued.

“Honestly, I’ve experienced far more unpleasantness than anything else while knowing you, but you’re the only one who saw the real me and still said you’d help me escape. I feel I should thank you for that.”

“Oh, uh. Suddenly, you’re making me feel like a fool.”

“Better late than never.”

“…Do you trust me now?”

“I’m sorry, but no, I don’t.”

Bleria opted for honesty. She doubted a man who once led the intelligence division wouldn’t see through her anyway. Besides, she didn’t want to deceive anyone any more.

She wondered if Mixel Luke would walk away in annoyance, but he didn’t seem upset.

“Then why ask me for help?”

This was the second narrow bridge to appear in her life.

She couldn’t see if it led to solid ground or if it would collapse midway. Still, Bleria thought this time was different. This time, she was crossing the bridge of her own volition.

Bleria Heaven smiled, pouring her fear, resignation, terror, and hope into that expression.

Maybe blood can’t be denied.

“I’m taking a gamble too.”

Mixel Luke’s face contorted into an odd expression.

Was her smiling face that unsettling? She recalled how her reflection sometimes looked grotesque when she practiced forcing a smile in the mirror. Quickly, she neutralized her expression.

Mixel Luke, visibly flustered, averted his gaze, making her bite the inside of her cheek in embarrassment.

I’ll need to practice regular expressions again.

“…Well, alright then.”

Fortunately, Mixel Luke soon returned to his usual self.

“I’ll help you. No need to feel indebted. Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to strike at Gopher, and I do feel bad about dragging someone doing just fine into this mess. And… I’m unsure if I mentioned it, but my mother—did I tell you this story already?”

Anyway.

He slapped his cheeks loudly and roughly ran his hands over his face.

“You know that dragging this out won’t help either of us, right?”

“Anytime is fine.”

“Five days from now, Count Kesio is holding a hunt at Egle Mountain. Pack what you need and meet me there. There’s no coming back.”

“I wasn’t invited. Will that be alright?”

“It’s called hunting, but it’s really just a pretense for a party, so they won’t care who shows up. I’ll make a casual excuse. Considering your recent fame, they’ll probably let you in even if you barge in unannounced.”

Mixel Luke carefully detailed everything she needed to do: what to wear, when to arrive, what she could and couldn’t do.

Bleria nodded repeatedly but hesitated at the last moment.

Concernedly, she said, “It’s going to provoke Heaven.”

“I hear they’ve already turned their backs. Do those people still matter at a time like this? Besides, when the real one shows up, they’ll soon forget how you disappeared from the stage.”

Mixel Luke’s words were brutally cold but undeniably realistic.

That’s right. I was only ever a substitute for someone else.

Whether Eos was genuine or just another fake, people would accept them as the real one. How she exited the stage didn’t matter.

When Bleria nodded, Mixel Luke adopted her most serious expression since entering the parlor. Lowering his voice, he set a heavy atmosphere and spoke gravely.

“And one more thing. This is a matter of utmost importance.”

“Go ahead.”

“From now on, call me Mixel.”

She almost kicked him in the leg.

***

It was the final moment before the leash on the prey was cut. If there had been just a bit more time, everything could have been resolved.

When you think about it, whose misfortune was this wretched turn of events? Gopher Allnight?

Or Bleria Heaven?

Gopher gazed at Stella with sunken eyes.

“You know I’ve waited a long time. Breaking off the engagement will leave a stigma no matter what, but staying entangled out of fear of that stigma isn’t an option.”

“…”

“You must have sensed something strange, Gopher. Why didn’t you speak up?”

The reason he hid the fact that Bleria was a fake and stubbornly maintained the engagement?

His answer to Bleria came to mind, but it was hardly worth sharing with Stella. Personal feelings didn’t carry much weight in the grand scheme. Stella wouldn’t accept an explanation he couldn’t fully convince himself of. So, Gopher shifted the focus.

“Wouldn’t breaking off the engagement bring dishonor to you, Grandmother?”

Stella narrowed her eyes.

“If you believe I bear any responsibility for this, feel free to give out whatever punishment you see fit. I will accept it.”

“It was I who brought the proposal forward in the first place, you insolent boy. I have no intention of punishing you over this incident.”

The unexpected response made Gopher’s fingers twitch slightly.

“All eyes of the system are on Heaven right now. Punishing you in this situation would lead to predictable assumptions. I have no desire to tarnish Allnight’s name by associating us with that impudent con artist.”

Ah, so that’s how it was.

He bowed his head, slowly blinking his eyes open and closed.

“Are you certain Bleria is a fake?”

“What are you implying?”

“I found no evidence when I looked.”

“Last night, the head of the intelligence division came to report on the matter. I know you underestimate Mixel Luke, but do I seem so easily swayed by claims without evidence?”

Evidence, she said… Gopher’s brow twitched slightly.

The Dewey Robe journal was in his possession, and most of the involved parties were dead. Where could evidence possibly surface—proof that Bleria was fake or that someone else, like Eos Leese, was honest? It didn’t make sense.

“Or are you suggesting that if you couldn’t find it, the Allnight intelligence division wouldn’t be able to either?”

“…No, Grandmother.”

“If you are utterly convinced that child is real, then say so. I’ll pull strings to bring the sacred relic out of the temple. But if it turns out you were wrong even after going to such lengths, you’ll be held accountable with everything you have.”