60
Chapter 60
"What are you trying to do?"
"Keep your voice down. The Duke hasn't left yet."
"Dad hasn't left?"
I looked around, but there was no way I could find him that way.
Duke Dylan was a man who could evade the attention of even the Director of Intelligence, a Sword Master.
"Are you lying to me?"
"Why would I lie? The Imperial Princess is in the middle of her lessons anyway, so just wait a bit."
Anyone could tell he was lying, but the Duke wasn't the type of person to be that idle.
I thought he'd watch for a while and then leave, but to my surprise...
He was still watching us even as we finished our tea and apple pie and tried to stand up.
He's not actually following us all day, is he?
"Excuse me? Did Father leave yet?"
"He's still here."
Left with no choice, I took Shine and headed toward the Central Theater where the play was being held.
"Give me the earliest one."
"They said it already started 30 minutes ago, so the earliest available is in an hour."
The play lasts an hour, but there's a 30-minute break for the actors in the middle.
"Can't we just go in halfway through?"
"Do you think that's allowed?"
We exchanged the invitation for tickets and sat on a bench next to the entrance.
There were quite a few people waiting; perhaps because it was a love story, everyone seemed to be a couple.
"Is that you, Shine Unnie?"
"Huh? Silvia?"
A woman approached and acted like she knew us.
Judging by her attire, she seemed to be from a wealthy high noble family.
"I almost didn't recognize you in that dress. You look so beautiful when you dress up."
"R... really? Thanks."
Shine's face flushed slightly, as if she didn't mind the compliment.
"I'm here with my fiancé. Who is the person next to you?"
"Oh? Well..."
"This is Baronet Bio Rain, a Ranger Instructor at Belliard Academy."
I gave a brief introduction, but her expression turned strange.
Did I do something wrong?
"Ah, so you were an academy instructor. Which territory is yours?"
"I don't have one."
"Oh, really?"
She's laughing?
It might just be my imagination, but it felt like she was looking down on me...
Is it because my rank is low?
Honestly, nobles are all the same.
"Silvia, aren't you going to introduce yourself?"
"I'm Silvia, the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Liaiel. Shine and I were peers at the academy."
"I graduated early, so I don't think we were that close. Silvia, that's enough. You can go now."
It felt like Shine noticed that Silvia was slightly dismissing me.
"Aw, it's been so long, Unnie. Didn't you come with an invitation too? Your seats must be close. Shall we have dinner together afterward?"
"Silvi, did you forget that I hate being bothered the most?"
When Shine lowered her tone slightly, Silvia laughed awkwardly and hurried away.
It seems Shine had quite a temper back in her academy days.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"It seemed like Silvia was looking down on you. She's always been like that since the academy. She barely knew me, yet she acted so familiar..."
"It doesn't matter. There are plenty of nobles like that. Weren't you the same? Saying how I dared to disobey the Imperial Princess..."
As I teased her, Shine's face turned red, and she left, saying she needed to go to the restroom.
'The scoundrel seems a bit strange today.'
I was thinking the same thing as Ark.
Maybe it's just because we aren't close, but it was unexpected for Shine to act out of consideration for me.
Was it because I broke her spirit once this morning?
Or maybe it's because the Duke praised me so much during the meal...
By the way, when on earth is the Duke planning to go back?
A middle-aged gentleman sat diagonally behind me, about seven seats away, reading a newspaper.
He looked like an ordinary old man, but it was the Duke, his face altered by magic.
I was worried he might follow us all day.
Since the Duke hadn't left by the time the play started, I entered the theater with Shine.
Our seats were red leather sofas in the very front row, providing the best view of the stage.
I had hoped to slip out halfway since the Duke hadn't followed us inside, but in seats like these, leaving midway would be difficult.
"I'm going to sleep, so please wake me up when it's over."
...Sleeping in the front row?
"Isn't sleeping a bit much?"
"Unlike some people, I have no interest in plays."
The actors on stage would see her; isn't that a bit too far?
She really is something else when it comes to being willful.
To be honest, I only said I liked plays because the Duke asked; I've never actually seen one.
Besides, romance isn't really my thing.
Just as I was wondering if I should sleep too, the lights went out.
Shine fell asleep as if she had collapsed.
Thinking it was fine to get some rest, I leaned my head back against the sofa.
After some time, I woke up to the sound of applause and saw the actors taking their final bows.
'Ark, what time is it?'
'About an hour has passed.'
As the actors finished their bows and the curtain fell, the lights came on.
Shine was still fast asleep, which was honestly absurd.
She claimed she couldn't sleep unless she was in her own bed, going so far as to bring her own bedding and a canopy to the dormitory, yet here she was with dried drool on her mouth.
"Hey, time to wake up."
Not wanting to touch her, I used my magic power to shake her awake.
"Mmm... Imperial Princess, five more minutes."
She thought I was the Imperial Princess... Wait, is the Imperial Princess the one waking Shine up?
Haha, I can't tell who's the master here.
The audience began to stand up one by one.
It would be embarrassing for her, but I didn't want to be seen with a companion like this, so I had no choice but to flick her forehead.
Snap—
"Ow! What... what was that?"
She reacted immediately to the clear, sharp sound.
"Didn't you ask me to wake you up?"
"Who wakes someone up like this..."
"Wipe the drool off your mouth first."
She hurriedly rubbed her mouth; it was truly pathetic.
'I wonder who will end up with her?'
It seemed Ark was thinking the same thing.
Just as we were about to leave, Shine suddenly started rubbing her neck.
"What are you doing? There's no drool on your neck."
"It's not drool, it's my necklace. My necklace is gone!"
Necklace?
Come to think of it, the thin necklace with the red gem that Shine always wore had disappeared.
I was sure it was there when we left the tea house.
"Did you drop it on the floor? Stand up."
I leaned down to look for it, but the necklace was nowhere to be found.
'Ark, did you see anything?'
'How should I know? It's not like you slept with your eyes open.'
Fair point.
I scanned the floor and used magic to lift and shake the sofa, but the necklace didn't appear.
"Maybe you dropped it in the restroom earlier?"
She wondered if that was the case.
She rushed to the restroom, but came back with a look as if she were about to cry.
"I have to ask the theater manager."
She looked as if she had lost everything in the world; anyone watching would think she'd been robbed of her entire fortune.
It didn't even look that expensive.
"Just buy a new one. It didn't look that pricey, and you've got plenty of money, right?"
"...My late mother bought it for me as a birthday present when I was six..."
...It hit me then.
'This one's on you, Bio.'
'Well, why didn't she explain it like that from the start? How was I supposed to know it had such a story?'
I felt wronged, but guilt swept over me, so I met with the theater manager and helped search the premises with the staff's assistance.
However, despite scouring the entire theater, the necklace was not found.
"It seems someone must have picked it up. We will provide compensation..."
Perhaps because she was a child of a ducal house, the theater offered compensation even though it wasn't their fault.
"It's fine..."
"If we hear anything about it being found later, we will notify the Duchy immediately."
"Okay..."
Despite saying it was fine, Shine's eyes were brimming with tears, as if she were about to cry at any moment.
"Your father is gone now, right?"
"Huh? Yeah, he is."
I hadn't felt the Duke's presence when we entered or when we left the theater.
"Then you can go. I'm sorry for taking up so much of your time because of me."
"It wasn't intentional, so there's no need to apologize."
"I'll tell my father that I don't really like you, so nothing like this happens again..."
Watching Shine turn away so forlornly made me feel uneasy.
I had thought she was the type to find any excuse to blame me...
'Don't worry about it. She brought this on herself. Who told her to sleep?'
...Ark wasn't wrong, but I couldn't just leave it like this.
I went back inside the theater and met the person in charge again.
"Oh? You're the one who was here with the young lady from the Dylan Duchy..."
"That's right. Could I get the attendee list and the seating chart for today's play? I'd like to check who was sitting around us."
Honestly, there was no guarantee I'd find it this way, but I felt I had to try to ease my conscience.
"I can check that for you, but do you suspect someone stole it...?"
"Someone could have stolen it while Lady Shine was focused on the play."
She wasn't focused—she slept the whole time—but I couldn't exactly tell the manager that.
"That's true, but the people in the surrounding seats were all nobles attending with invitations, so the possibility is..."
Was he hesitating because the list consisted of nobles?
"The lost necklace was a gift from the late Duchess."
"T... that may be true, but..."
"If the Duchy sends someone over later, they might start by cutting off one of your arms or legs. Can you handle that?"
Of course, the gentle Duke Dylan would never actually do such a thing, but the effect was immediate.
His face turned pale, and he vanished, saying he'd look into it right away.
After a short wait, the manager returned with the list and the seating chart.
"Thanks."
I checked the chart first, but it recorded the families or the people who received the invitations rather than who actually sat there.
For starters, our seats were marked as the Dylan Andres Duchy.
When I asked if he knew who actually sat in those seats, he shook his head, so I left with the list and chart.
It would be more tedious, but I only needed to investigate the people sitting around Shine, so it shouldn't take long.
'You're actually looking for it? What's gotten into you?'
'It might have been stolen. I just want to check that.'
'As if it were that pretty.'
'Didn't you say she looked a bit better when she dressed up earlier?'
To be honest, Shine looked quite decent today.
Of course, I mean her behavior, not her looks.
* * *
As soon as I got home, before I could even change my clothes, my father called for me.
"You called for me?"
"Why are you back so early? You should have stayed for dinner."
My father really does like that girl.
"...The Imperial Princess is waiting."
"The Imperial Princess would say the same thing if she knew the situation. More importantly, how was it? Wasn't it great?"
I started to dislike my father a bit for asking when he already knew everything since he had followed us.
Of course, losing the necklace was my fault, but if he hadn't set up this meeting—or if he hadn't followed us and made me nervous—this wouldn't have happened.
"Next time, please meet her alone, Father."
"Was she not your type? The atmosphere didn't seem too bad... Ah, I'm talking about when you were together earlier."
He should have just admitted he followed us; it's way too obvious.
"...I don't like him."
"What? Baronet Bio thinks you're not his type? You should have played hard to get..."
"Why should I? I have no feelings for him, and I think he feels the same. Besides, he only has one arm. Father, you can't seriously expect me to..."
"Shine!"
Suddenly, he barked, and the atmosphere around Father shifted completely.
"Are you telling me you looked down on Baronet Bio because he's missing an arm?"
This is scary.
He didn't even get this angry when my youngest sibling broke the glass of the frame containing Mother's photo...
Does he like that man that much?
"I know you worry that I'm all brawn and no brains when it comes to swordsmanship, but I'm not so thoughtless that I'd say such a thing to someone's face."
"Then did you imply it indirectly?"
I felt a pang of guilt since I had done that before, but I shook my head and said no.
"I'm glad to hear that. I would have been truly disappointed. Baronet Bio traded his arm for the success of a mission."
"I don't actually care about the arm, but we just aren't interested in each other."
"Did he tell you that himself?"
"Not exactly..."
Actually, considering he accepted my request to help the Imperial Princess, maybe he is interested...
"Shine?"
"Yes...? Yes."
"It's too early to judge after one meeting. Since you're at the same academy and have already introduced yourselves, make sure to greet him politely when you run into each other."
"But..."
"Couldn't things change if you see each other more often? As I told you before, I didn't like your mother at first either."
"Right, right. You mean the story where you fell for her because she kept confessing and being so kind, right?"
It's a lie I've heard about a hundred times.
My maternal grandfather told me that Father fell for Mother's free spirit and spent every day chasing her until they married.
Father told me to stay for dinner, but I said the Imperial Princess was waiting and returned to my room to change before leaving the Duchy.
Once I boarded the moving carriage, thoughts of the lost necklace started creeping back in.
Maybe I should have told Father...
But it's not like he would have a special way of finding it.
He'd only get upset, and it would just put him in a bad mood...
I told Bio I'd handle it, but knowing Father's personality, he'll probably call him again.
I was blaming myself, thinking nothing was going right, when I finally arrived at the academy.
I paid the fare and headed toward the campus, where a familiar man was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed.
"You're quite late."
"What are you doing here instead of going inside?"
Was he actually waiting for me?
"You said we shouldn't act like we know each other at the academy..."
Given His Majesty's personality, he might be monitoring me as well as the Imperial Princess...
"This isn't the academy, is it? And thinking about it, I figured it doesn't matter if we're seen together anymore."
"What?"
"Since the Duke introduced us, wouldn't it be weirder to pretend we don't know each other? In fact, if we get close, it'll be a more natural way to approach the Imperial Princess."
When he put it that way, it made sense.
"I can just go back and forth to my room using the artifact, so there's no need to... Bio?"
Suddenly, he strode forward and pinned me against the wall.
"Wha... what are you doing? You did this this morning too, stop it. If someone sees us..."
He didn't even listen and brought his face closer.
Fortunately, what I feared didn't happen, but he raised his hand.
I thought he was going to stroke my cheek again, but he didn't touch my face.
I tried to push him away, but Bio stepped back first.
"I just picked this up."
With those words, he simply walked away toward the academy.
What on earth is he doing?
And what does "picked this up" even mean?
Wait a minute...
Feeling a familiar sensation around my neck, I immediately pulled out a blade to look.
I was shocked to see the necklace I had lost hanging there.
Wondering if he had bought a similar one, I channeled magic power into the red ruby in the center, and my initials appeared.