The Unseen Thread

Thump!

Helmut threw his body onto the carriage seat with enough force to make the entire vehicle sway.

'Lady Laila, you say?'

Helmut knew that woman’s name, too.

No, in truth, it wasn't just a matter of "knowing." It wasn't because Laila was a socialite currently making waves in high society, either.

It was because that woman had captured Ezekiel’s heart.

After the massive success of The Curtain Opens, the Schwab intelligence network had conducted a background check on her. The results had revealed several suspicious details.

She claimed to be a distant relative of the Andex Count family, but her identity was far from certain. While a family tree could be drawn up, the only guarantee of its validity was the word of Count Andex himself. No one in the Ranier Principality knew her, either. To be precise, she seemed to have been a person who never stood out.

But how could a woman like that have managed to remain so invisible? Or had she perhaps been struck by a terminal illness, leading to a sudden change in her outlook on life, prompting her to reveal her hidden beauty and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠talent to chase fame?

However, when he had tried to report these findings, Ezekiel had refused to listen.

"Forget it. She’s nothing of consequence anyway."

"There is a high probability she is a spy from the Ranier Principality. If the Royalist faction has joined hands with them..."

"I know she’s planning something. Leave her be. If I find out too much, the game loses its fun."

"Are you serious?"

"If she is a spy from Ranier, that makes it all the more interesting. Is her primary objective to seduce me?"

As he spoke, he curled his lips into an ecstatic smile, as if the mere thought of Laila brought him pleasure.

"I look forward to seeing what that woman is capable of."

At the time, Helmut had thought that if she truly was a spy sent to seduce Ezekiel, she was playing her role perfectly.

Regardless, since Ezekiel refused to listen, he hadn't pressed the issue. All he had done was advise Rowan that it might be wise to dig a little deeper into Laila’s past.

But if Duke Klaus was involved, the situation was entirely different.

'If the matter is significant enough to make Duke Klaus break his seclusion and rush out, she is absolutely not a person from the Ranier Principality. It would be more accurate to assume she is a figure of the Royalist faction.'

And she wouldn't be a mere spy, either. Helmut tried to run through every possible scenario, but his thoughts felt blocked, unable to move forward.

'I’ll have to investigate. Should I start by digging into the Andex Count family?'

He couldn't speak to Ezekiel about this directly. Ezekiel had explicitly stated he didn't want to hear any more about Laila. He would need substantial evidence to justify defying that order.

Meeting Laila in person was a last resort. Ezekiel had clearly told him to "leave her be."

"I’ll have to consult with Rowan privately," he muttered with a sigh. Since he couldn't mobilize the intelligence network against Ezekiel’s orders, he had no choice but to rely on Rowan’s personal initiative.

***

11. Rumors

The succession ceremony for Theodore Lutgarth continued to be delayed.

Regarding the suggestion made by Helmut Schwab—who had arrived as an envoy of the Imperial family—to hold the ceremony in the Imperial Palace, Theodore had sent a reply stating that he would hold it in his own territory only after the three-month mourning period had fully elapsed.

However, he hadn't spent that entire time agonizing over what to do. He was not ignorant of the current political landscape of the Sirach Empire. While the Imperial family was presented on the surface, it was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Schwab Duchy that had actually reached out, and rejecting their proposal was akin to slapping their hand away. But as a man whose nature was rooted in principle, he could not look favorably upon the Imperial family being rendered powerless while the Schwab Duchy wielded all the authority.

Realistically, he could not ignore the fact that the vassals of the Lutgarth Count family were leaning toward the Royalist faction. The families he had relied upon, including the Knox Count family, as well as those connected through alliances and marriages, were not heavily involved in central politics, but they were mentally close to the Royalists.

The further one went toward the border territories, the more common this sentiment became among the lordly houses. They had always found central interference unpleasant, and since the party in question wasn't even the Imperial family but the Schwabs, they hated it all the more. If the only Imperial Princess, Roella, were not scheduled to marry the Duke of Schwab, there would have been those who stood against them more actively.

But the delay of the succession ceremony wasn't due to that problem. Pavel’s will remained unresolved.

Marquis Asencio spoke with a frustrated tone.

"It’s been six months now. You cannot marry a woman who doesn't exist, Theodore."

"I will settle the matter, so please, tell me where she went."

"Did I not tell you I don't know?"

Theodore didn't seem to believe him. Marquis Asencio sighed.

He truly didn't know. The legal processing of the inheritance had been handled by a lawyer designated by Olivia, who had also claimed to have been commissioned via letter. An agent had visited, but they were a foreigner.

Theodore frowned and said, "Money is not important. If property is what she wants, tell her to take it. But I must meet her."

For the past six months, he had struggled to find Olivia. But he couldn't even guess where she had gone.

Olivia should have had nowhere to go. She had no relatives, no friends living far away. He had even pressed the head butler, Henry, thinking he might know, but Henry had only looked at him with a face full of worry, agreeing that Olivia likely had no place to stay.

Theodore had also looked into Mary, the maid Olivia had supposedly taken with her. But the return address on the letter Mary’s family received was a post office box. The owner of that box was some theater troupe from abroad, and they claimed they had received letters from various people and forwarded them before coming to Sirach.

'Did she really leave for a foreign country?'

If so, she would be difficult to catch.

Theodore himself didn't know why he was so obsessed. As Marquis Asencio said, he couldn't marry a woman who wasn't there. He should just think of her as a one-night encounter and forget it. If he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠felt unpleasant because he felt toyed with, he could just be angry about it and be done.

But even so, he still couldn't accept it. He and Olivia were not the kind of people whose relationship should end like this.

'Why, Olivia... why?'

That day, those feelings were by no means one-sided. She had wept endlessly in his arms, and he had swallowed her heart along with those tears. That day, they had confirmed that they were connected at the very depths of their souls.

Was that all a delusion? No matter how much he thought about it, Theodore couldn't believe it.

He had to meet her again. If she could look him straight in the eye and say, "That meant nothing," only then would he finally be able to let her go.

After finishing a conversation with Marquis Asencio that had gone nowhere, he returned to his office, where his chief aide, Jan Sommer, spoke up.

"There is an important message for you."

When Theodore looked at him, asking what it was, Jan opened the office door to check the aide’s room connected just outside. After confirming it was empty, he locked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that door. It was to ensure no one was eavesdropping.

Theodore looked at him, puzzled. Jan pulled out a letter and handed it to him.

"It is a letter sent by Count Zeppelin."

"Count Zeppelin?"

Theodore asked back, his face full of confusion. He and Count Zeppelin were acquainted, but they were by no means close. Jan nodded.

"A college classmate of mine works as Count Zeppelin’s secretary, and it was delivered through that channel."

If a head of a house sends a letter to another head of a house, it is considered an exchange between families. Unless it were a private letter between very close friends, it would be dignified to send such a letter directly via a messenger. To send it in the name of a secretary was strange.

'Was it sent in secret? Why would Count Zeppelin send this to me?'

He took a letter opener and slit the envelope. Inside, along with a brief greeting, the following was written:

It was an absurd suggestion. It was not a matter for Count Zeppelin, with whom he wasn't even particularly close, to be involved in.

However, next to Count Zeppelin’s signature, the crest of the Duke of Klaus family was stamped.