Chapter 34: Pursuit (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 34: Pursuit (3)
“Huuu-m.”
Noel let out a long breath, staring down at the document resting on her desk.
For someone famous for never slacking off at work, this was highly unusual behavior.
“…”
Noel narrowed her eyes, scanning the seal on the envelope. Written in an elegant script, the message was brief and to the point.
[From the Central Intelligence Department to Dame Noel. Here is the personal profile of the individual you requested.]
…It was the background check on Aiden Kellermain that she had ordered a while ago.
She had submitted the request to the department the very moment he claimed they had “been involved in the past.”
Rising silently from her seat, Noel paced around her office.
She walked slowly, her melancholy eyes sweeping over every corner of the room as if searching for something. After a long moment of this aimless wandering, she finally returned to her desk.
“Huuu-m.”
She let out another long sigh, glaring at the envelope once more.
…Even she didn’t know how many times she had repeated this exact routine.
“My Lady, are you feeling unwell?”
It was no wonder Stella, who had been quietly observing her from the side, finally spoke up. It was the first time she had ever seen her usually diligent lady—who was always silently buried in her work—fretting like this.
“Isn’t that the information you personally requested? If I recall correctly, you were anxiously waiting for it.”
“…That is true,” Noel replied with some difficulty, picking up the envelope.
Stella’s question was entirely reasonable.
When she first ordered the investigation shortly after meeting him, she had been incredibly curious about Aiden’s background.
However, since then, her relationship with the man had… progressed a bit.
In her heart, Aiden Kellermain had clearly become someone who evoked far more complex emotions than a mere “contract partner.”
And in this state of mind, there was one thing she knew for certain.
The past of Aiden Kellermain contained within this envelope was undoubtedly uncharted territory.
The Central Intelligence Department dug up even the smallest details; their report would be on a completely different level from the cursory background check she had conducted herself.
Which meant, in other words…
If something goes wrong… we can never go back to how we were.
What if?
What if, by some chance, Mr. Aiden had been involved with her in a “bad way” in the past?
What if this report contained information she absolutely could not overlook?
And what if, because of that, she could no longer maintain their current relationship?
“…”
Her hand, poised to open the document, hesitated once more.
Why?
She had felt something similar before. When she watched the Imperial Prince and Aiden meet from afar, and when she thought Aiden was trying to break off their engagement, she had felt this exact same way.
The thought of him… growing distant from her terrified her.
She didn’t even know why she was so afraid of it.
In the first place…
The corners of Noel’s eyes drooped.
What exactly was her relationship with him?
She had heard him say he liked her, but she had never given him an answer. Yet, here she was, digging into his background behind his back.
“…”
Truly, even if it was necessary, she was doing something terrible.
Noel slowly closed her eyes.
But after taking a deep breath, she snapped them open and ripped the envelope apart.
At the very least…
If she was going to do something terrible, she would do it without regrets.
If she ended up learning something he wanted to hide, she would apologize sincerely. If he had some fault he couldn’t tell her, she would bear the burden with him.
At least that would be a sincere response to his feelings.
With determination in her eyes, Noel pulled out the document and began to read through it thoroughly, her gaze so intense it practically glowed.
After spending a long time reviewing it over and over, she silently tossed it back onto the desk.
“…Stella.”
At the heavy tone of her voice, Stella turned to her, instantly tensing up.
She, too, had many questions about Aiden’s true identity.
“Yes, My Lady.”
“It says Mr. Aiden has never been in a relationship in his entire life.”
“…”
“…And his favorite food is spicy noodles cooked Far Eastern style.”
As Stella stared back with a look of utter bewilderment, Noel swept a hand over her face, tossing the papers onto the desk.
“…And that is the most useful piece of information in there.”
“Pardon?”
“Come read it yourself.”
Tilting her head in confusion, Stella stepped closer and picked up the document.
After reading it to the end, she had no choice but to agree with Noel.
“…This is just a completely ordinary, average citizen.”
“Indeed.”
“There isn’t a single noteworthy detail—”
“Not entirely.”
Noel massaged her temples, looking like she was nursing a headache.
“He’s a war orphan.”
“Pardon?”
“The people he calls his family now are people he met after he turned fifteen. They aren’t blood-related. He was never even formally adopted.”
“…”
Stella blinked.
“Since he cherishes them so much, I naturally assumed they were his blood relatives.”
“…I thought so too.”
It was unexpected.
Since he was willing to risk his life to protect them, Noel had naturally assumed they were close-knit relatives.
On paper, they were practically strangers.
Just like her and him.
“…”
What a strange coincidence.
Especially considering how he went out of his way to help with her affairs as if they were his own family’s.
“But if he’s a war orphan… that would explain why his childhood records are completely blank.”
“Right?”
Indeed, his records prior to meeting his current “family” were completely blank.
Logically speaking, not even the Central Intelligence Department could trace the past of a war orphan. There were countless possibilities of how and through what route he had entered the Empire. It was only natural that they couldn’t uncover it; expecting them to do so would be unreasonable.
“…”
However, there was still a nagging detail that bothered her.
Of all things…
The period of Aiden’s missing records aligned perfectly with the period of her own amnesia—a secret she had never revealed to anyone.
Of all things, the information she wanted to know most was buried in the exact period the Central Intelligence Department couldn’t uncover.
There’s only one clue left.
And to follow it, there was only one path.
“Stella.”
“Yes?”
“…”
“I need to go meet Mr. Aiden’s family.”
“…To ordinary commoners, just meeting you might make them faint from shock.”
That might be true, but… if she wanted to dig deeper into Aiden’s past, they were the only ones she could ask.
As Noel seriously pondered this, the office door suddenly burst open.
It was Katya, looking extremely displeased.
“…Your Highness? What brings you here?” Noel asked, tilting her head.
Ever since they had managed to exchange apologies after their previous clash, Noel hadn’t shown any awkwardness, but Katya still seemed uncomfortable around her. In any case, to get along smoothly, neither of them should feel uncomfortable, so Noel was usually the one trying to break the ice.
“Just listen to me calmly.”
…However, the topic that followed would make it impossible to maintain any semblance of calm.
“That guy got kidnapped.”
“…’That guy’?”
“Your groom.”
Sparks flared in Noel’s eyes.
* * *
Having a sack pulled over your entire head was actually more physically taxing than one might think.
Not to mention the sheer exhaustion of being tightly bound with ropes and dragged along.
So, when someone finally yanked the sack off his head, Aiden was already quite exhausted.
I need to train more.
He had never thought he lacked stamina, but getting tangled up in the main scenario—which was crawling with all kinds of monsters—made him experience all sorts of things.
And things would only get worse from here.
As he was thinking this, the person who had removed the hood pressed a gun barrel against his forehead.
Their outfit was quite striking, completely covered up: a mask, black gloves, and a heavy coat.
It was a look that practically screamed, “I do shady, dirty work.”
“Is this him?”
“Yes. We found him near the building and brought him in.”
“…That was easy. Isn’t he the guy who’s been poking around about us all day?”
Hearing the words of another masked man, Aiden smiled bitterly to himself.
No kidding it was easy to catch him. After all, Aiden had surrendered without putting up an ounce of resistance.
As he was thinking this, the man holding the gun to his forehead raised it.
Ah.
There was no need to ask what he was about to do.
The pistol swung down hard, slamming directly into Aiden’s face. After the action was repeated several times, blood trickled down his forehead, tinting his vision red.
“…He doesn’t even show that it hurts. What a tough bastard.”
“…”
…Well, it wasn’t that he was tough; he was just prepared.
He had simply taken pain-relieving medicine beforehand. He knew for a fact that if he got kidnapped and brought to a place like this, they wouldn’t treat his body gently.
Even my Divine Power isn’t manifesting.
Seeing that his Divine Power, which normally would have flared up instantly upon sensing danger, remained dormant, Aiden chuckled inwardly.
…Well.
“That’s enough of a greeting. I hate wasting time, so let’s get straight to the point. Who sent you?”
“I hate wasting time too, so let me give you a direct answer. If you don’t want to die, leave a reasonable amount of documents and items behind.”
The reason his power wasn’t manifesting was likely because Aiden didn’t perceive this situation as a “crisis” at all.
The masked man hesitated at the response, delivered without Aiden even blinking.
“…What?”
“You know as well as I do that you can’t destroy everything in time anyway. Just leave enough evidence to show a direct connection to the Imperial Prince or the Administrative Minister. If you do, I won’t hunt you down and kill you.”
“…”
The masked man let out a hollow laugh and pressed the gun back against Aiden’s forehead.
“Hey, I don’t think you grasp the situation—”
“I know you won’t kill me.”
“…”
“You still have a mountain of evidence to destroy. If you add a corpse to the mix, there’s no way you can make a clean escape without leaving a trail.”
“…”
“If you want to save your own skins, you don’t have the luxury of time to cause more trouble here, do you?”
As Aiden spoke so casually, the masked man remained silent.
What is with this guy?
His mind was likely filled with that exact thought.
He was acting as if he had let himself be captured on purpose. He saw right through their situation and methods. Even though they were the ones who had him tied up with a gun to his head, they felt like the ones being cornered.
“My goal isn’t to kill you guys either, so if you just cooperate—”
Aiden stopped mid-sentence.
As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he began to make out his surroundings, allowing him to properly assess the situation.
And that meant… the number of people surrounding him was far greater than he had anticipated.
“…You guys haven’t evacuated yet?”
…Because there were far too many of them.
Aiden’s face instantly turned pale.
It was such a sudden shift in emotion that even the masked man pointing a gun at him was momentarily taken aback.
For someone who hadn’t even blinked and had been threatening them just a moment ago, his sudden change in demeanor was bizarre.
“I mean, you guys are supposed to be competent enough for the Imperial Prince or the Administrative Minister to hire you directly. What have you been doing all this time?!”
…And then, he suddenly started scolding them.
“…What?”
“I naturally assumed almost everyone would have evacuated, leaving only one or two behind! If there are this many of you, I can’t protect you all! People are definitely going to die!”
“…”
They had no idea what he was talking about.
He got kidnapped, threatened them, and now he was saying he would protect them?
“Calm down and listen to me carefully,” Aiden said, his voice tight with urgency. “It’s not too late. First, treat my wounds.”
“…”
His words were making less and less sense.
Is he mentally unstable?
While the men in the room were genuinely beginning to wonder if he was crazy, Aiden spoke frantically.
“I mean, you must have an elixir or something! You don’t even have to fully heal me, just make me look presentable! If she sees me hurt, you guys are seriously all going to die!”
“What the hell is this crazy bastard talking—”
Someone finally lost their temper and started to shout, but the sentence was abruptly cut short.
—…
Because… they, too, felt that something was terribly wrong.
—…
—…
—…
It vibrated.
The very air.
Even though it was still far away.
…Something horrific was slowly approaching them.
—…
—…
—…
Step.
Step.
With every step it took, the vibration in the air grew heavier. It felt as if a colossal beast was drawing near.
“…She’s coming,” Aiden said to the frozen men, his voice filled with utter resignation. “My fiancée.”
Along with Aiden’s voice, which sounded more terrified than anything in the world—
—…
—…
—!!!!!!!!
—heaven and earth turned upside down.