North x Northwest

Chapter 331

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Mireille suddenly realised something.

‘No one here recalls that Liloa was a soldier who had graduated from LeBrun… This stupid crowd had no way of knowing that her first slap was so harsh that it made my skull tremble. That she was skilful enough to hit me at an angle that no one could see… Because we erased her… the 3rd Prince Robero and I… from the Pontenbach War History… the war hero Liloa Obernyu…’

***

By the time the Clotilde had docked, sunset was already falling red on the Risch River. A gangway was crossed between the railings, and people, gathered with their belongings, hurried off the ship. The sailors shouted as they hoisted the sails and lowered the anchor. Amid the hectic commotion, Lil gave Levi a brief hug. The latter immediately held Lil’s hand with an expression of regret.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

Lil smiled confidently.

“I’m strong, so don’t worry, but please do me a favour.”

“Anything.”

“Edgar said he has his own laboratory at the Imperial Clairaut.”

“That’s right. Come visit me sometime. I’ll show you around my lab and Edgar’s as well, which is just rotting away in a dust pit.”

“By any chance, may I ask you to wade into that dust pit?”

“..?”

Levi frowned playfully but still nodded. Lil’s request stemmed from her recollection of the myths she heard from her Ed. When Ed returned to his duties as Admiral, Lil searched through his library, but she couldn’t find anything related to her necklace.

‘Ed said that I would perhaps be able to find traces of it in his Imperial Clairaut laboratory. In there, he apparently keeps some of the books he had excavated.’

“If that’s a yes, can you find me a book? It’s supposed to be a very old book. And since it was excavated, it’s almost in a state of disintegration. The title is… History of Beauty.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll find it and send it to you as soon as I arrive.”

“Thank you.”

“The original plan was Obernyu, but you’re dropping by Sesbron first, right?”

“I think that’s what I should do. Since the situation has reached this point, we should at least try to resolve it. The Duke has already contacted His Majesty, so it’s not a good idea to evade him.”

Linhardt, who had been quietly listening, joined the conversation.

“Then how about I accompany you to Sesbron?”

Lil realised a beat too late that her words could indeed invoke worries. She waved her hand sincerely.

“Why the generous offers? It’s so sudden. It’s fine. I can handle it on my own.”

“Your opponent is formidable. It could be dangerous.”

“Thank you for your concern, but everything’s going to be okay. Besides, Roahn has been without his Lord for quite some time now, right? It’s a busy time, especially with the upcoming monsoon season…”

Due to Lil’s words being true, Linhardt took a moment to choose his own.

“The reason Edgar asked me to accompany you up until this point on his behalf was because he didn’t know for sure if the Duke of Mireille would be on the same ship. If he had known beforehand, Edgar would’ve asked me to come to Sesbron as well.”

“Is that so?”

“I probably need to go with you.”

Linhardt appeared to be stubborn, so Lil briefly pondered on how to deal with this unexpected difficulty. Levi, on the other hand, was torn between who to side with, but soon made up her mind and grabbed Linhardt.

“It’s alright, Linhardt. If Lil says she’s going to be okay, then it should be fine…”

However, even though she just said that, Levi couldn’t help the worry creeping into her voice. She added with fading confidence.

“…And the guards will be following her too. Most of all, Edgar will be there soon…”

Linhardt looked sceptical. Contrary to Ed, the man was deliberate and thorough in everything he did, explaining the look on his face whenever he thought of Ed.

“The problem is that we don’t know when that guy will show up again. If, by chance, things turn out badly before then…”

“I just know it won’t go that far. I have some alliances even without Edgar next to me, and if things go wrong, it’s easy for me to get away with it. Because I have no background. If anything, having an ally like the Governor of Roahn by my side could make things more complicated.”

Linhardt nodded reluctantly after hearing her reasoning.

The couple then crossed the board with half of Roahn’s guards and Lil stayed behind on deck with Shail and four of the remaining guards. As much as she wanted to send all four of them away, she knew fully well how helpless she could be in court. No matter how thoroughly she prepared, it was better for her not to become too overconfident as she could never know when or where her limbs might be cut off.

‘I wrote to the Emperor informing him of my survival before we set sail from Simena, but it’s impossible to predict what decisions he’ll make when I arrive…’

Lil knew she was at a disadvantage because, in Sesbron’s eyes, she surely would be perceived as a woman turned crazy. Despite knowing, she had no intention of playing ‘the obedient lady who returned’, so she had to prepare herself to have her whole body thrown around once again…

***

On the other side of the deck, Mireille walked around trying to disregard the people’s gazes.

He was especially aware of the old ladies looking at him coldly though. However, as Mireille walked around proudly, pretending to be happy to greeting noblemen whom he only knew by name, and meeting with the guests of the upper class who were enjoying drinks and games, the sharp looks from the passengers softened considerably.

He smiled, sensing victory.

‘This is what public sentiment is like. They get swept up in a situation they have no control over, and when the topic stops occupying their thoughts, they will act as if it never happened. They only ostracise or support someone at their own convenience. And since it is not a moral judgement that was made through intense agony, they will not feel responsible regardless of who is buried or destroyed…’

Mireille knew this very well.

An old Count, who was smiling face to face with him, shook the hand eagerly extended by the Duke of Mireille. Even though this old count certainly didn’t forget his harsh criticism towards the older Mireille for his humble appearance, saying that he was no different from a beggar, now, more than 20 years later, he was pretending not to remember anything about that incident and asked for money on his son’s behalf.

“Please help me a little more, René. I will be able to repay you next month.”

“Can you bear it? Even if the interest will be the same as last time?”

“As expected, I can only rely on you.”

‘People do not hesitate to praise those who are more convenient to praise than to criticise. Because they do not want to risk anything. Although Liloa’s revelations were a blow, all I have to do is to calmly maintain my ‘easy to praise’ image.’

From the very beginning, Mireille was well aware of the fact that even if Liloa ever resurfaced, he and his position would never be overthrown.

‘It was the same in Pontenbach several years ago. Rather than labelling the prince, Robero, as an impostor, the public chose to label the woman, already rumoured to be eccentric, as the madman. No one was interested in the facts, cause or effect. And we already knew that it would be like that, making it even easier to do so.

I was only able to become engaged to Liloa under the condition that I would help Robero with the Pontenbach deal. It was obviously excessive to have both the glory of a war hero and the hand of Liloa Obernyu, so Robero eventually gave Liloa to me. Of course, he pretended to still have lingering affections for her to pay for the deal, but I could tell that Robero could not even face Liloa’s eyes after that… Although he was never equipped to swindle a great empire, it was a stroke of luck for him to be born into the imperial family.’

Mireille, who was writing an IOU for the old Count, suddenly stopped his quill.

“Why… why, is there something wrong? René…”

“The deal was…”

‘Somehow, between then and now, I feel a strange sense of déjà vu. There have actually been two deals concerning Liloa in my life. My second deal, what was the price I was willing to pay for…’

Mireille looked down at the gradually spreading ink of the quill pen.

“…The artefact…”

The old Count, who couldn’t hear his muttering, asked back.

“Pardon, what did you say?”

“No.”

Mireille quickly took off his quill and signed a new note next to him. The old Count, noticing that he was acting differently, opened his mouth.

“Is there something wrong?”

“It is nothing. I just remembered something I had forgotten.”

“Oh, is it urgent? Then you should go quickly.”

“Yes, indeed.”

Mireille crossed the old Count’s cabin. It was a spacious and luxurious cabin that obviously didn’t fit the beggarly state of the family renting it.

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