8

P-princess? Did you just say princess?"

Leabrick nodded. Even if Elena was very ignorant, it could be assumed that if she is called a princess, she'd be able to deduct that she was the family of the Duke.

"I'm... going to be a real princess..."

Elena pulled out the silly memories of her past life of joy as she thought about becoming a high ranking noblewoman. There was no comparison between living as his own daughter and being adopted simply because of her resemblance in appearance. How her heart fluttered and filled with joy at the thought that she, too, could become part of a noble lineage when she first came into contact with this fact.

'But it was all fake.'

Elena swallowed her abominable anger. Instead, she recalled her birthday with her family last year. She recalled the happiness of the day, the joy spread to Elena's face like a snowflake. To deceive Leabrick. Elena constantly controlled her emotions and acted.

"That's not all. Princess Veronica comes up and down in the mouth of the social world every year as a companion of His Highness the Crown Prince."

"Huh, the Crown Prince?"

Leabrick fanned Elena's insatiable burning desire.

"It's common to say that dreams are dreams. But if Elena makes up her mind, dreams become reality. That's the position of Princess Veronica in the Empire."

"Ah... Ah."

Elena laughed as if she couldn't hide her joy, revealing her gums. She hoped that Leabrick belittled her frivolous appearance and thought of her as pathetic.

"Huhu."

Leabrick laughed low. She was able to get a glimpse of Elena's desire through a smile bright enough to see Elena's gums. It was only a little taste, but she was already blinded. Leabrick knew better than how to deal with such a human. She didn't even know how deadly of a misjudgment that was.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I've been disrespectful enough,"

Elena covered her mouth with her hands and smiled, pretending to be ashamed. She also did not forget her ability to handle the situation in an effort to hide her embarrassment.

"On the other hand, I'm also worried. What if they suspect that I'm not the Grand Duke's real daughter because of my ignorance?"

Leabrick waved as if not to worry.

"You can make it so that they won't doubt it."

"How?"

"I'll teach you. I'll make you the queen of society with a classy, elegant, and undaunted authority."

As if her heart was overwhelmed by those words, Elena replied with her hands on her chest.

"I'll try. I'll be sure to."

Elena looked excited as if she had already become Crown Princess. Leabrick left her at the height of her delusion to her heart's content.

When the conversation ended, Elena was able to stop acting silly and looked outside the car window. Soon her eyes calmed down.

'Mom, Dad, did you get away safely?'

She suddenly remembered her parents. If they had been riding the rapids on the ferry as planned, they would have passed through the northern part of the Principality by now and reached the border of the Kingdom of Royer. It was more likely that they were traveling east, taking advantage of the rugged terrain of the northern mountainous region and the rare censorship of the passage.

'They must go to the Empire...'

The light under the lamp was dark*. Her parents would go to the Vecilian Empire through the Kingdom. It was not an easy journey, but it was the surest way out of Leabrick's pursuit. They'll start over there again. With a new identity, a new name, and new family. And she'd keep the inevitable meeting five years from now.

(T/n: expression meaning hidden in plain view)

'You must live. If you break your promise to meet again... I will not forgive you.'

Elena wished and wished again. She hoped there would be no resentment to her parents, please.

***

Independent City Sylence. As a port city located in the southwestern part of the continent, it was an independent autonomous city that did not belong to any country. Ruled by a governor, it was the most beautiful port on the continent, having not experienced war for hundreds of years.

As soon as she arrived at the lodge, she unpacked and couldn't take her eyes off the sea outside the window.

"What a wonder, isn't it? Looking at the ocean makes me feel reverent."

"..."

Elena had no answer. When Leabrick turned around in a puzzled state, Elena was sobbing low.

"I'm sorry, I suddenly remembered... my mom and dad."

"Miss Elena."

"I couldn't do anything for them... I only just got here, and I regret it so much... I should have at least said good-bye to them."

Leabrick embraced Elena's shoulder with a friendly touch and comforted her.

"Please take good care of them. Sister is the only one I can trust now."

Leabrick's eyes were narrowed by the title of sister. She had no recollection of allowing the title of sister. Elena, who had become weak, leaned on her.

"Please call me Liv. It's my nickname."

Elena stared. Leabrick could see how much Elena was dependent on her right now through her shaking eyes.

"Believe me, I can't right now, but after some time, I'll make sure that your letter of regards is well-received."

"I don't know how to thank you, Liv."

Leabrick quietly embraced her. Elena didn't say no, she was held and comforted. The appearance was so gentle that she could have been mistaken for a real sister. But the eyes that could not be met beyond the cheeks of the two women who were touching contained conflicting feelings toward each other.

Leabrick laughed at the pathetic Elena. She even had a vicious idea of how to use Elena's filial piety. On the contrary, Elena's eyes were so rational that there was no room for emotion to go in.

'You'll start doubting me as early as today or tomorrow at the latest.'

Sooner or later, she would learn about her parents' escape and of course will suspect Elena. Today's tears, and the title 'sister' are a mix-up for that time. How far was she sincere and false? Whether she was really dependent or was pretending to be dependent. Elena calculated that far. In the midst of vague words and deeds, there was a thorough arrangement, and none of them were wasted.

'From now on. You and I are fighting.'

Until this moment Elena was playing in Leabrick's head.

***

The sunset set in Sylence. The sun setting over the horizon colored the sky red and then disappeared. Soon it was the pitch-black darkness that filled the void.

"They're gone?"

Leabrick doubted her ears. She thought maybe she misheard it.

"When I came, the house was already empty. I followed their tracks, but when I reached the middle of the mountainside, their footprints were cut off, so no further tracking was possible.'

Lorentz, who was close to the wall, replied in a somber tone. It was hard to notice that there was a person unless you looked closely in the shade where the moonlight could not reach.

"Tell me in detail. The footprints cut off?"

"It seems that they reached the middle of the mountainside and went along the stream."

Leabrick's eyebrows wiggled.

"Along the stream?"

"They seemed to have not left a trace."

"Huh."

Leabrick was overwhelmed. It was hard to believe that the couple ran away, but they erased the traces as if they had anticipated the chase.

"I found and tracked the wet sand, but the trail was completely cut off from the canyon ferry."

"Have they run away on a ferry?"

"That's all I can say. I tried to track them down, but the current was too fast. I'm sorry."

Throughout the report, Lorentz did not raise his head. This was because he failed to fulfill his responsibility as a knight.

"It's not your fault. This is my mistake."

Leabrick looked back at the ridiculous situation.

'You ran away? Not even a trace?'

You can make a hundred concessions and run away. Because parents are the ones who can jump into the fire if they think they can be a burden to their children. The escape method was meticulous. A skilled technician would have taken a path so optimized that it was impossible to track. Could she dismiss this as a coincidence? She couldn't shake the impression that they had anticipated the danger and fled.

'It doesn't add up.'

It was not that there was no doubt at all. However, it was not easy to draw conclusions because neither was clear.

'It was weird. I can't believe her parents didn't even come out to say goodbye to their daughter.'

Those who cared about their daughter that much did not see her off, this was a questionable point.

'There are two kinds of families.'

The fact that the couple left Elena alone was in order to get time to escape. This was the subject of fleeing.

'Elena may have known that the couple had run away, but pretended not to know in front of me.'

Leabrick recalled Elena crying when she arrived at Sylence. She said she only had her as an older sister and begged her to take care of her parents. If she was an accomplice, there would be no reason to do that.

'What if... What if the tears were meant to deceive me?'

Leabrick shook her head hard to get rid of the root of her thoughts. It was a delusion. Elena was neither clever nor brilliant enough to deceive Leabrick. She also lived as a fallen aristocrat, so she had a deep sense of inferiority.

"Give up tracking them."

"Give me your orders. I'll make sure to search the continent for them. And somehow, I'll clean them up..."

Lorentz wanted to recover his tarnished honor, but Leabrick refused to allow it.

"I don't want to leave any regrets, but I don't think they'll be a problem right now. Please step back."

"... I understand."

"Hide yourself for a few days and get on the ship. It's difficult if you encounter Miss Elena for nothing."

Lorentz nodded reluctantly and left himself in the dark. He was already gone, she couldn't even hear his footsteps as he left. Leabrick raised her chin and looked up at the night sky.

"It's not refreshing."

There must have been something, but she was frustrated that she didn't know what it was. It was an annoyance that she hadn't felt in years.

"I need to check. Are you really trying to deceive me or have I overreacted?"