94

The eyes of Sian shook violently in bewilderment. The familiarity felt from L in the hall was stronger when he saw her right in front of him.

"Your Highness."

"…!"

The voice that had always drifted from his ears came from between the mask L wore. It was that moist voice that made a noise like a lark and brought a smile to his mouth.

"Have you been well?"

L asked Sian how he was doing, as if she had known him for a long time, and she stretched out her white hand behind her head. Then she unfastened the pins of the mask that had been holding it in place. Elena's beautiful fair face was now fully visible. There was no make-up, which she had used to fix the lines of her face to disguise herself as Lucia, and no glasses, which she had worn to hide her features. All these minor differences came together to make her look like a completely different woman. It was even more difficult to find an image of Lucia if not for the short brown wig.

"Are you really the Lady Lucia I knew?"

"If you're looking for the junior Lucia who once interacted with you at the academy, that's right."

"…"

Sian was speechless. In front of this woman who resembled Lucia but had a fatal beauty, a heterogeneous face and familiarity coexist cleverly.

"L. Is that your real name? Or is it also a fake name?"

"L is an ancient letter for my real name."

Elena told the truth. There was no reason to come here and hide it, and she did not want to hide it from Sian anymore.

"It's not your real name either."

Even though she had come this far, Elena could not tell him everything. Sian would have been disappointed, but he didn't ask any questions. Instead, Elena asked.

"Do you have any more questions?"

"Do I have to ask?"

"I've prepared an answer in advance."

"That's true."

Sian smiled a feverish smile and approached Elena. With his eyes full of excellence, he faced Elena and made her concentrate, then came right up to her with his long legs. Elena swallowed her breath as she felt her head would touch Sian's chest with a slight bend. It was when she was going to raise her head as if nothing had happened. Without warning, Sian embraced Elena. In his broad and peaceful embrace, he squeezed her tight, like he was blaming Elena for disappearing, but it was not sinister. Elena couldn't move as if all the muscles in her body had been paralyzed.

"I was worried."

"Y-Your Highness."

"And I missed you."

"…!"

That one word, "I missed you," made Elena's head go blank. Her heart beat against her will. Elena couldn't look up. She could only stare down at the ground, breathless. Sian relaxed his arms and let Elena go. When the time that felt like eternity came to an end, Elena felt an unbearable awkwardness.

'W-what should I do?'

Unlike Sian, who was standing casually, Elena was forced to do something to ease the awkwardness. Then she found the decorative rapier in Sian's hand.

"Y-Your Highness, I've been wondering… why are you holding that?"

"You mean this?"

Sian also looked down to see if he realized he was holding the rapier. Then, he answered with a blank expression, looking at the rapier.

"I was taking it out because it was too bad to leave it for decoration. Well. It looks well-balanced and durable."

"…"

"Do you know the blacksmith who manufactured this rapier?"

In a panic, Elena looked up to see if he was serious. However, Sian did not change his expression as if he really thought so. It was Elena who was embarrassed by the shame.

"… I'll find out and let you know."

It was a bit strange, but the awkwardness that Elena felt through this conversation had eased a lot. On the contrary, she felt comfortable because the distance toward each other was less than when they first met.

"I have a question."

"Speak."

"If you were L, I wondered why you needed to borrow Lucia's name and go to the academy. Can you answer why?"

"…!"

Sian hit the nail on the head. She prepared a lot of responses, but not as many as that question. It was an unconvincing question, unless the assumption was laid out that she was Veronica's replacement.

'What should I do? Should I tell him everything?'

It seemed like such a good idea, but Elena quickly shoved her into a corner. When Sian heard that Lucia had taken a leave of absence due to illness, he was not only worried, but he even showed a spontaneous behavior by visiting Emilio in the middle of the night. If he knew that Elena was pretending to be Princess Veronica and engaging in a thousand dangerous activities in L without the Grand Duke's knowledge, he would do everything he could to stop her.

"It's a tough question to answer."

"I can't tell you right now, but please trust me and wait a little bit. I'll tell you later."

It was heartbreaking that she could not be true to Sian, who came to convey his sincerity.

"I'll wait."

"Your Highness…"

Sian said so calmly, without expressing his displeasure. Rather than urging, he wanted Elena to unlatch first and get really close to her.

"I'll be waiting, just promise me one thing."

"Promise?"

"Don't disappear without telling me. If you go anywhere for a long time, make sure to tell me. Can you do that for me?"

Elena loved being cared for by him more than any other expression.

"I promise."

"That's enough."

Sian also nodded his head as if the answer was very satisfactory.

"If I want to see you, can I come to the salon?"

"No."

Elena laughed bitterly.

"I don't come to the salon often."

"You've been… No. I almost asked another unnecessary question."

Sian, who felt that he had made a slip of the tongue, quickly became bitten.

"Then when can I see you again?"

"I'll call Count Willem when the day of my visit to the salon is decided. Will it be all right?"

"Count Willem…"

Sian slurred his words. He could see Count Lyndon, who was suddenly being treated as the connecting link between Elena and Sian, would be furious.

"I will. I'm sorry that I can't see you more often… but I'll put up with it."

As long as he was registered with the Grand Duchy, it was not easy for her to come and go from the salon. Leabrick was not happy about it. It was a priority to have a good reason to go out freely, even if it took time. She appreciated Sian's heart, but Elena had no choice but to keep herself safe.

'Fortunately, the salon is well managed without me.'

That was why Elena was relieved even though she did not visit Salon often. Khalif, who has matured as an art broker, had become close to the masters of the times and managed them and advanced their heyday. From Randol, Centonio, and Christina, all of them shone faster than the original history by touching the Khalif's touch and sincerity.

Emilio was also reliable. He put more effort into strengthening the salon's inner workings than in the business of the Chamber of Commerce of Castol. Elena dissuaded him, saying, "You don't have to do that," but he said, "It's fun to work." Elena and Sian sat on the sofa and stared at each other, promising to meet again.

"…"

A wordless silence continued, but the two did not break the silence as if they had promised from the beginning. For they knew that sometimes silence could take the place of more words than any other.

***

A four-wheeled cart galloped madly along an unimproved road in the suburbs of the capital. The horseman scolded the horse, whose tongue had even dried up, for running without resting. Every time the wheel stepped on a stone or a hollow, the carriage moved violently, but it never slowed down. At a certain moment, the carriage left the cut-off road behind and proceeded to cross the forest, stopping in the deep forest where there was little traffic.

The safe house. Located in the best hideaway of nature, it was a place that did not exist on any map, and was the most secretive of the dozens of safe houses held by the Grand Dukes.

Kkiiik.

The gates, made of iron bars taller than the trees that seemed to reach to the heavens, opened. Through the bars, a carriage drove inside, revealing a large mansion. No matter how much nature is a means of hiding, it seemed doubtful whether it would serve as a safe house once it was discovered, as there were far fewer guards.

However, what you see is not all there is. The lady safe house was an impenetrable territory that even the Bastasche family's secret intelligence organization, Majesti, had never penetrated. The reason for this was that the most elite knights of the First Order, which was regarded as the last fighting force of the Grand Duchy of Friedrich, were stationed in the vicinity to dispose of any intruders.

"Wow, whoa!"

The horseman pulled the reins to stop the carriage. Then Lorentz, who was sitting next to the horseman, got off and opened the carriage.

"Come down, please."

The one who emerged from the carriage was none other than Leabrick. She had a reputation for not being in a hurry no matter what, but today she seemed to be in a hurry. She had already visited the safe house several times, so she was not hesitant in her steps.

Thud.

As she entered the house, she lifted her skirt gently and walked up the stairs to the second floor. As she turned the corner, she saw three people loitering in front of a room at the end of the hallway. They were the Grand Duke's resident physician, a herbalist invited from the outside, and the mute maid. As Leabrick approached, the three people turned their heads and greeted her.

"Is she in there?"

"Yes, go ahead."

At the words of his doctor, Leabrick nodded and knocked on the door. There was no answer, so when she saw the doctor, they nodded as if it was okay.

Kkiiik.

As soon as Leabrick opened the door to the room, her gaze was on the bed. There was only a messy blanket on the bed. She looked around the room, surprised to see that the person who was supposed to be there was not there.

"…!"

Behind the curtains that were rustling in the breeze coming from outside the window, she saw the silhouette of a woman sitting on the window sill. She looked out the window, wearing a pure white dress, and turned her face away. The woman, who was still pale from her physical condition, opened her pale lips.

"Welcome, Liv."

Her voice was small but clear. As if to prove she was alive.

"I guess I slept a little too long. Liv looks older than me."

"Your Highness the Princess."

From the mouth of Leabrick, words came from which she might be identified.

Princess Veronica.

She woke up from a long sleep.