Chapter 11 – Part 2

On the long sofa of the study, the baron couple sat side by side, saying nothing and just looking at each other.

They were waiting for Anne. They already had a rough understanding of the situation from Suen.

However, without having decided what to do, their expressions seemed rather uncomfortable.

In a moment when only the cool wind was blowing, the refreshing sound of birds chirping was heard.

A bluebird flew in through the window and circled around the two people.

“Dear, we’ve been seeing that bird often lately.”

“Have you seen this bird too?”

“Yes, but it hasn’t been around for the past few days.”

The bird, with unusually bright eyes, stood quietly on the window sill, watching the people… in short, it was a strange bird.

Evelyn cautiously got up and gently stroked the bird’s head with her index finger. The bird then spread its wings wide and waddled around the room.

“Oh my.”

“Has it gained a lot of weight?”

At those words, the bluebird spread its wings even wider and flapped them vigorously. Watching this, Evelyn smiled and replied.

“That can’t be. How could it fly if it had gained that much weight? It’s probably just its thick feathers.”

“Hmm, is that so? But it looks quite plump for its size…”

As the baron and his wife were having a light conversation, Evelyn felt a gaze from the door and turned her head. There, peeking through the door, was Anne.

Evelyn tried hard not to lose her smile and said with a sympathetic heart,

“Anne, you don’t have to be so cautious. Come in.”

“…Yes.”

“I heard from Suen. You’ve planned to infiltrate the duke’s manor?”

Edwin, clearly displeased, cleared his throat repeatedly. Anne just kept nodding her head.

“I’m against it.”

“Dear!”

Edwin couldn’t allow their daughter’s dangerous plan, even for the sake of Duke Davis.

“…Then, is there no way for me to stop being a Vanessa?”

Realizing her intent immediately, Edwin’s expression turned to shock.

He could barely understand why Anne would want to give up the comfortable life she had finally achieved.

“Let me be honest.”

“…….”

“Half of the reason we brought you here was because of the duke’s suggestion. We adopted you in exchange for the continuation of the Vanessa family.”

“Dear, saying it like that will hurt Anne….”

“What else could I say when it started that way.”

“…….”

“One more thing, it’s true that the Duke has special feelings for you. But do you think Duke Davis would be pleased if you went to such a dangerous place?”

Edwin, with an indifferent expression, probed the part Anne had been avoiding.

He continued, hoping his newly adopted daughter would give up on her own.

“I think you’re a smart girl. Oh, and before we adopted you, I carefully reviewed the medical report you wrote. I know you’re a valuable talent. So….”

Edwin paused. It was not easy to utter such harsh words.

“Why don’t you forget about Duke Davis and meet someone else?”

“Ha, dear. How could you say that! Instead of harsh words, you should try to persuade her.”

Evelyn hurriedly stepped in front of Anne, but the air had already grown heavy with the harsh reality.

Feeling the chill between the two, Anne nervously clasped her hands.

“…No matter how much you persuade me, I won’t change my mind. I’m sorry, Father.”

“My daughter. Oh, your face looks so weary.”

As Evelyn hugged Anne, a rush of sorrowful emotions overwhelmed her.

Evelyn had intended to firmly oppose Anne this time because the matter involving Evan was extremely dangerous. But seeing Anne on the verge of tears, her resolve crumbled.

Not only was Anne’s white dress covered in numerous ink stains, but there were also clear marks of writing around her cheek, along with the parchment she held.

Faced with this reality, Evelyn found it impossible to speak to a child who had not just cried but also thought deeply about how to overcome the situation.

“I’m, I’m sorry….”

“You’ve done nothing wrong. I know. The charges against the duke were nonsense. He was locked in some room to keep you safe. It wasn’t normal, really!”

“Baroness!”

Despite Edwin’s call, Evelyn was preoccupied with wiping Anne’s tears with the back of her hand.

Edwin sighed deeply at Evelyn’s actions, as if she were treating Anne like her own child.

Then, with a much calmer voice, he continued.

“That was a very dangerous statement.”

“Dear, remember how we were once madly in love? You know it was our recklessness that brought the daughter of a humble family here.”

“…This is different.”

“Even though Anne isn’t my biological child, they say no parent can win against their child, right?”

Edwin chuckled bitterly.

“She could die, this child.”

“…Let’s support her so that won’t happen.”

“Mother….”

Hugging Anne tightly, Evelyn muttered with a self-deprecating tone.

“I never intended to push you into such a dangerous situation.”

“I’ll find a way, no matter what.”

Anne’s brief and firm words prompted Evelyn and Edwin to exchange glances.

Seeing Evelyn’s eyes asking if he could win against her, Edwin raised both hands and asked.

“I give up, daughter. Do you have a plan?”

“…I’m confident I can meet the commander. After that, I’ll have to trust the commander’s abilities.”

“Alright, explain it to me.”

“I plan to inquire about the whereabouts of a lieutenant named Joseph. He’s the person who would know best about the commander’s current state. However, the problem is I don’t know where he is right now.”

“Oh, if it’s Joseph….”

Edwin rubbed his chin and continued.

“If we go through the Dane family, we might be able to find out where he is….”

“Pardon? What did you just say? The Dane family?”

A note brought by the bluebird flashed through Anne’s mind.

– The marionette is Dane.

“The Dane family has many sons. Including illegitimate ones, there must be more than a dozen.”

As the puzzle pieces fell into place, Anne’s face turned pale.

If Joseph was also from the Dane family…. Anne asked again to be sure.

“…Wait a moment. Is Duke Davis lieutenant named Joseph from the Dane family?”

“Yeah. I think they said he was the thirteenth child. With such a large gap between him and his siblings, he probably gave up on being the head of the family from the start.”

“Aren’t there any strange things about him?”

“Well, he seemed like a young man who found his own path early on, which was nice to see. He was quite personable too.”

Anne agreed with that, but she felt uneasy inside. She looked at the bluebird that had delivered the note and said, “It’s strange.”

“Strange?”

“The bluebird gave me a note saying, ‘The marionette is Dane.’ Shouldn’t we be suspicious of someone from the Dane family then?”

Evelyn, who heard this, spoke with a subtle expression. “I’m not sure if we can trust the owner of the bird that delivered that note.”

“Taming birds requires highly trained individuals, and there aren’t many of them. It might be the enemy’s doing. To deliver the note to a specific person, they’d need to imprint the message using their scent, especially with this species.”

Edwin looked at the bluebird again. Its color and leg length clearly identified it as a messenger bird, but its size was unusual.

The bluebird, making eye contact, spread its wings wide and flapped energetically to fly to Anne’s shoulder. Then it pecked her on the back of the head.

“Anne!”

Startled, Evelyn stood up, but Anne, used to it, caught the bird and placed it on the table, saying, “It’s okay. Were you waiting for this?”

“Peep peep!”

Anne rummaged through her crossbody bag and placed a handful of peanuts in front of the bird. “You must have been very hungry. Father, who in the Empire could have trained this bird?”

Edwin watched the bluebird devour the large amount of peanuts in one go, mouth agape. It was astonishing that such a small bird could eat so many nuts.

Training messenger birds was a common hobby among noblemen. With some knowledge, Edwin answered in disbelief, “It seems like you’re its master now.”

Anne looked at the bird with a surprised expression. She had never thought of herself as having tamed it, just that she was feeding it.

“Daughter, why don’t you stretch out your arm with just your index and middle fingers extended?”

When Anne extended her hand, the bird took off, circled around her, chirping, and landed on her fingers.

“Peep peep peep!”

“Can it be tamed just by feeding it?” Anne said with an incredulous look, feeling the weight of the bird on her fingers.

Edwin laughed in disbelief. If birds could be tamed with mere food, people wouldn’t go to such great lengths to win them over. He shook his head, recalling the bizarre methods many had used to tame birds.

Whether the bird had a big appetite or Anne had a knack for bonding with it… Edwin set aside his curiosity and thought of a way to find out where this bird came from.

“There’s one way. On a night with a full moon, send a note with the bird to meet at Robin’s boutique. After you leave for the Duke’s manor, I’ll meet the person.”

“Father, is that really necessary…?”

“As your guardian, it’s my decision.”

Faced with Edwin’s firm words, Anne could only nod. She wrote “Robin’s boutique, full moon night” on a piece of paper and tied it to the bird’s leg.

“Can you go to your original owner?”

“Peep?”

The bird tilted its head, looking unsure.

“You don’t know?”

As Anne looked at Edwin with a troubled expression, the bird flew up and pecked at her bag.

“Anne, it seems curious about what’s in there.”

When Anne opened the bag, the bird grabbed another peanut and chirped. “Peep! Peep!” Then it flew out the window. Edwin watched in disbelief and couldn’t help but laugh.