Is She a Fake?
He seemed to soften or restrain his emotions only in front of Pay. Cassel had resolved to stake his life on this matter no matter what, and issued another warning.
“This is no mere warning. I mean it.”
“At least you resemble her a little.”
“What…?”
A hint of admiration slipped into Lucia’s gaze, which had been nearly glaring until now.
“Your family’s ancestral line carries the blood of Caron, the last emperor of the Sharp Empire. I thought everyone’s blood had been diluted to the point of worthlessness except for one, but you turned out to be an exception.”
Even though Lucia suddenly switched to informal speech, Cassel remained unfazed.
“Emperor Caron? Well… some of the ancestral portraits do resemble ancient figures. But I have no particular interest in such matters.”
“Is that so?”
Interest flickered in Lucia’s eyes.
This one is different from those nobles who obsess over useless legends and trace their genealogies back four generations.
“Whether my ancestors were imperial descendants or slaves makes no difference to me. What matters is that I am a subject and duke of the Arcan Empire, and I intend to uphold my family’s honor without abandoning my convictions.”
“Your ambition is excessive.”
“…I did not come here today to discuss such things. I requested this meeting with you, Lucia, to ask a very important question.”
“Then what is your business?”
Cassel met Lucia’s confident gaze directly and posed his grave question.
“We traveled to the Sionel estate to inquire about the identity of the rumored Lady Tricia Caris. Is she the same person as the Klein daughter who was adopted as my younger sister? She was called Dotricia at Grace Monastery, and when she came to our family she asked to be addressed as Dorothea. That must be connected, isn’t it?”
“……”
“You seem to know the full truth.”
Lucia did not answer immediately, maintaining his aloof expression. Inside, however, he was impressed.
He is not irredeemably foolish.
Cassel had taken a winding path instead of going straight to the answer, but that could not be called wrong. After all, Cassel was Tiana’s real older brother. It could not have been easy for him to voice suspicion about the identity of the sister he had finally found—the girl who had supposedly passed the temple’s verification. Any human would feel the same.
Even though Lucia kept his mouth firmly shut, his eyes held silent affirmation.
He does not deny it. My absurd deduction. Good heavens…!
Realizing his suspicion was correct, Cassel asked urgently.
“Does Pay know this fact as well? How did she find out? Or perhaps…!”
“Enough.”
Lucia’s “enough” carried an irresistible coercive force. It was a Word of Power he could use even without returning to his true form.
Cassel tried to resist like any proper knight, but human instinct proved stronger, and his lips sealed shut.
Lucia rose slowly. The motion was as ferocious as a dragon long curled up suddenly striking the ground with its claws.
“I can never do anything she does not wish.”
“……”
“And… Cassel. You are the only one among those gloomy ducal family members with any brains, so think carefully. Suppose the daughter you are sheltering is fake. Could she have orchestrated all of this alone?”
The words were truly shocking, yet they made sense.
In other words, this was not something one person could accomplish. Then who on earth…!
“To claim the position of another family’s daughter without arousing suspicion and without a single obstacle throughout the entire process—do you really think that is easy?”
Great turmoil swirled in Cassel’s crimson eyes, now even redder from burst capillaries.
That means…!
Lucia was right.
Dotricia Caris.
A mere viscount’s daughter living on the empire’s frontier.
No matter how meticulously she planned and executed her scheme, it was impossible for her to succeed in this conspiracy without any accomplices! That meant the number of collaborators was likely far greater than one.
I…!
Cassel’s obsession to escape this situation was so strong that a single finger twitched, breaking through the binding force of the Word of Power.
Impressed, Lucia offered one more hint.
“One cannot absolutely judge whether an action someone believed was ‘right to carry out’ is good or evil. Because not every living being desires the same thing.”
“……”
“Therefore, someone who was once an accomplice can turn their back in an instant and become an enemy. If you fail to grasp that, you will spend your life forever chasing after others.”
“I… am…”
“Think. Before you act, thoroughly analyze what is truly important and what is necessary. Those who blindly brandish only principles and justice rarely succeed. Even if you have lived that way until now, you were able to achieve your goals only because of your status as the grand duke’s heir.”
Leaving Cassel, whose eyes had gone blank, Lucia completely departed.
Only then could Cassel escape the invisible pressure.
Thud. He collapsed onto the sofa as if kneeling and muttered in a low voice.
“So that means we must not reveal it recklessly. Not until we fully understand the background and power structure surrounding the fake daughter…”
This was not a situation where a single word could expose the fake daughter and tie everything up neatly.
Even the servant who had found and brought the silk robe was suspected of being a spy—how many more people must be entangled outside?
No matter how many there were, he would never forgive them.
How dare they…! No, when exactly had the conspiracy targeting the Klein ducal house begun?
Overwhelmed by immense grief, Cassel gritted his teeth.
“Tiana…! Ha… All this time, I even felt guilty about the feelings I had toward that child. How could I doubt the identity of someone so pitiable? Am I even family after doing this…? It was hard to escape such thoughts!”
Cassel had always blamed himself for being unable to fully accept the younger sister he had finally found.
Yet that had not been mere rejection.
“Every suspicion I harbored about you became a terrible guilt to me! You… you came back after enduring so much, through coincidence after coincidence.”
How overjoyed Mother had been when she regained you.
How hard Father—His Grace the Duke whom I respect—had worked for your debutante ball!
And how ashamed I felt before His Highness the Crown Prince!
Boom.
Still prostrate, he slammed his fist violently against the floor.
“Doubting your identity was the greatest sin I could commit against myself. If you were real, I resolved to care for and protect you for the rest of my life while carrying this debt of guilt. And yet… how dare a wretch like you steal my sister’s identity and settle in?! Where on earth did that girl called Tricia get our Tiana’s silk robe…!”
Lightning struck Cassel’s mind as he clenched both fists.
This is the Magic Tower. And the silk robe is in Mother’s possession. In that case… I just need to bring it here and ask them to find out the current name of the person who once owned it! Because the owner of that silk robe was Tiana even before it became clothing!
This time, he would definitely find her.
Whether Tricia was a common name or one so rare that no one knew it, he would never let it slip away.
Whether our Tiana is dead or alive, I will find her. That is the path to restoring justice!
Cassel’s ragged breathing could be heard through the sturdy door and into the corridor beyond.
“What will you do? She’s already so close to the truth.”
Lucia asked Pay, who had been listening to the entire conversation from the beginning, her presence completely concealed by the sylphid wrapped around her body. Lucia had suggested she listen.
She asked calmly.
“What do you think, Lucia?”
“After you and that woman, he has the highest chance of having broken through the gap in the regression magic and regained memories of the past. If we give him a little more shock, he should start remembering soon.”
A bitter smile formed on Pay’s lips.
“…He really was different from the others. But of all people, the one who never burdened the past me with anything is the one who might regain his memories.”
It hurts.
She could not say those words to Lucia.
Not until she heard the confession he held in his heart—the words he wanted to say to her.
Even Pay, who was clumsy at expressing affection, was gradually beginning to notice.
He sometimes looked at her turned back or her profile with averted eyes, carefully and cautiously.
She had never asked why he looked at her that way.
Until she heard Lucia’s full sincerity, she would not ask such trivial questions.
Instead, Pay turned her thoughts to Cassel’s heart on the other side of the door.
Cassel, my brother. I was saved from the pain of returning from death when I met you. You were the first to extend a hand to me. Just as I had desperately wished…
Even though not all my old memories have returned, you acted differently from the past and met me by chance, then brought me to the Magic Tower.
I still do not like the Klein ducal house.
But… I do not want to see you suffering either. It is enough now that I know I was not the only one struggling alone with loneliness.
“Shall we stop him?”
“…No. Let things unfold as they will. Anyway, I already told His Highness the Crown Prince that he may report everything about this trip in detail, so he will know soon enough.”
“Understood.”
Pay lightly touched the sylphid’s arm wrapped around her body.
Just a few days ago, while they were at the Sionel estate, she had not been able to see the sylphid. Lucia had shared a portion of his magic power so that Pay, who had no affinity with wind spirits, could commune with it.
“Once you can converse with the sylphid, your range of movement will expand further.”
“Again? Why does Lucia keep giving me such excessive gifts…!”
“I simply wish for you to become an excellent mage… That is all I wish for.”
What Lucia had given her was a special ring imbued with wind magic.
It was neither the ruby that had blocked Pay’s magical talent nor the sapphire hanging from Cassel’s chest.
A slightly lighter shade than Lucia’s black eyes, an obsidian ring now gleamed on her little finger.
“You could have just left it as is.”
When the sylphid returned to Lucia at Pay’s request, he made a reluctant face.
“Undine is fine, but the sylphid is a bit much. The fine echoes get too jealous.”
Right now three out of the four had gone near the monastery, so it was not too bad. Once everything was resolved and they rejoined, they would cause an even bigger uproar.
“They have no ability yet their greed is endless.”
“Hehe, you can just lend it to me again next time. I think I really do like the sylphid, just as you predicted.”
“I see.”
Pay left first, and Lucia waited patiently.
After a long while, the door opened.
Click—
“…Ah.”
Cassel’s gaze, having discovered the Lucia he had been waiting for, turned toward him.
“Your sister does not wish to reveal her own affairs. I have no intention of stopping you from approaching the truth, but—”
Whoosh.
Watching Lucia’s retreating back after he had said only what was necessary, Cassel could think of only one person.