Chapter 120

“My lady, are you alright?”

I quickly stood up. Genevieve bit her lip at my reaction and shrugged her shoulders.

“You ask quite quickly. I’m fine now, but earlier I suddenly blacked out. I really wondered if I was sick. Anyway, where on earth have you been? The Marquis and Marchioness were looking for you constantly. I had to make up an excuse that you weren’t feeling well and went to rest.”

I apologized once again for leaving her behind. Genevieve asked what the reason was, and I hesitated, my lips moving a few times before I spoke.

“I’m truly sorry. Something urgent came up suddenly.”

It was an excuse that anyone would find ridiculous. Genevieve’s expression suggested she was debating whether to let this slide or say something. She glanced at me with a prim expression.

“Alright. Did you properly scold that servant?”

“…Yes. It won’t happen again.”

“Sigh, I should have been the one to scold him. But strangely, my stomach suddenly felt like it was turning inside out. Anyway, that’s not why I chased after you.”

Genevieve whispered.

“I have more to discuss.”

Judging by Genevieve’s solemn expression, she seemed to have a lot to say about the favor I had asked. It was understandable, considering I had asked her to send a prince, not just an ordinary person, back to the Empire. It was clearly a much more difficult and dangerous task than anticipated.

“Wouldn’t it be better to rest a bit before we talk? You still don’t look well.”

Perhaps due to the aftereffects of fainting, Genevieve looked so unwell that it wouldn’t be strange if she collapsed at any moment. However, she chided me for suggesting such a luxury and leaned her head towards me. She came so close as if about to kiss me that my eyes widened.

“My lady, you’re too close…”

“Listen carefully. We’re not alone here. There are more eyes watching.”

Her serious tone made me close my mouth tightly.

Someone watching us? Could it be Mother or the Marquis?

“Let’s go somewhere quiet. I have important things to tell you.”

Puzzled, I grasped the doorknob of a nearby room. Click, as I turned the doorknob, Genevieve quickly led me into the room.

“It’s fortunate there was a room nearby.”

Genevieve stepped back from me, looking satisfied. Then she popped a round pill.

“What is that?”

“It’s an item with sound-proofing capabilities.”

How fascinating. There really are all sorts of things. She then sighed and took out the glass bead. It was the communication device she had used to talk with the Princess earlier.

“While you were gone, the Princess contacted me again. She said she needed to tell us about the conditions quickly. I thought she might ask for more money at most, but that wasn’t it. We need your cooperation.”

“What could it be?”

I wondered what conditions she might have. When I asked nervously, I heard an unexpected answer.

“She says she’ll only accept the Prince’s return to the Empire if he’s fitted with restraints.”

Restraints? Isn’t that treating Zachary like a criminal?

“Surely the Princess isn’t planning to harm him? My condition was for his safety.”

“I know. Don’t worry, Oscar. What you’re concerned about won’t happen. The condition was for the Princess to treat the Prince, right?”

Genevieve shrugged, saying there’s no way they wouldn’t have documented such an important purpose. She reassured me that the money would only be sent after confirming Zachary’s safety.

“Then why the restraints…”

“Oscar. Is the Prince in an awakened state?”

I blinked and quickly shook my head.

“I don’t think so.”

If Zachary were in a fully awakened state… wouldn’t the Serpentine estate already be in ruins? Moreover, if he had awakened, the Marquis wouldn’t have been able to continuously inscribe the spell. So there was no way he could be in an awakened state.

“Hmm… The restraints the Princess mentioned are indeed used for awakened royalty. Personally, there’s something that bothers me about it, but anyway, the surface reason is clear. The Empire’s succession battle isn’t over, right? It seems they’re being extra cautious because of that.”

I knew that the Empire’s succession battle was still ongoing. It’s because the Emperor has been unconscious for several years.

“Does it mean the Princess is wary of the Prince?”

“Of course she would be cautious. But the restraints are likely a condition demanded to protect that Prince.”

What does she mean? As I looked at Genevieve quizzically, she added an explanation.

“There have been many unofficial disappearances in the imperial family in the meantime. Powerless princes and princesses. But if a prince who was thought to be dead suddenly appears, he’d naturally become a target, right? So they’ll need to use the restraints even more for the Prince’s safety. The imperial family can sense each other’s locations through holy power, but when the restraints are used, the holy power is sealed, making it difficult to find them.”

So that’s the reason. It was fascinating that the restraints could seal holy power and erase one’s presence. I couldn’t help but be impressed by Genevieve’s level of information, knowing things that I could never figure out no matter how hard I tried. Choosing her was truly a stroke of luck.

“So we’ll need to revise the plan a bit. If we put the restraints on the Prince, he’ll lose consciousness immediately. Since the journey won’t be easy, I’m planning to send people in advance to help. They can’t enter the Serpentine estate, but from the outside…”

“What do you mean he’ll lose consciousness when the restraints are put on?”

Genevieve continued her explanation as if it was only natural that I didn’t know.

“The Empire’s restraints are unique. Unlike ordinary restraints, once they’re put on, one loses consciousness for a good week. They say it’s because it sucks up and seals all the holy power.”

I opened my eyes wide.

Even if it’s for Zachary’s safety, to go that far… Is this why the Princess kept hesitating earlier?

‘Then… will I really not be able to say goodbye?’

I’ve always thought about parting with Zachary. But I didn’t know we’d be separating while he’s unconscious.

Although he’s under a spell, I thought I’d at least be able to say a final goodbye to someone I’ve spent so much time with…

‘Still thinking like this.’

I rubbed my face dry. I’ve resolved countless times to let go of my feelings for Zachary as I send him away, but it’s not easy.

“The Princess’s side said they’d send the restraints along with the items entering the Raven estate tomorrow. I’ll send them to the Serpentine estate soon, well-hidden as if they’re my gift, so keep that in mind.”

If it wasn’t her, I would have asked in detail how they would be hidden, but I wasn’t worried since it was Genevieve. After all, she even intercepts letters… For Genevieve, who has announced that we’re to be married, sending hidden items to our family would be no challenge at all.

“And that one corpse you asked me to store before. I’ll send that on the same day, so hide it as you see fit.”

There was no question on Genevieve’s face as she relayed the plan. When I had previously asked her to store a corpse, she had persistently inquired about the reason. But now she didn’t ask about the corpse at all. She seemed to have fully grasped the circumstances.

The plan to swap the Holy Empire’s prince in the Serpentine estate with a corpse and send him out pretending to be dead, that is.

“Let’s greet the Marquis and Marchioness before we leave. There’s more to prepare than I thought, so I’ll need to return home early.”

“By the way.”

I caught Genevieve’s sleeve as she was about to take action. She looked at me quizzically.

“Earlier, you said there was a personal reason that bothered you about using the restraints. May I know what that is?”

“…Ah.”

Genevieve blinked slowly and tilted her head.

“You haven’t heard anything from the Prince?”

How could I have heard such things from Zachary, who was under a spell? As I couldn’t answer, she sighed.

“The Princess received news of her missing brother, the Prince, but instead of rushing over immediately, she showed reluctance. She even rejected the proposal to return her brother once.”

“That’s…”

“She might have abandoned her own brother.”

I opened my eyes wide.

“Of course, it’s not a confirmed fact. I’m just guessing roughly. Because… On the day Zachary Thaddeus disappeared, the Princess went out alone with the Prince and returned alone. If a brother she was so close to went out together and disappeared, she should have at least pretended to search for him, but she didn’t look for him at all. There was no mention of it either. Isn’t that suspicious enough?”

Genevieve paused for a moment as if choosing her words, tapped her chin with her fingertip a couple of times, and then continued.

“Of course, the Princess probably didn’t do it directly. At the time, the Princess was in great distress, taking large doses of sleeping pills, and was so mentally troubled that she regularly got medication from our family. So there must have been other reasons why she had no choice but to turn her back on her brother at the time. Succession issues, perhaps. I don’t know the details, but anyway, wouldn’t it be uncomfortable if such a brother said he was coming back alive? Undoubtedly…”

“…That can’t be.”

I might be misremembering the original story, but in the original, Zachary and the Princess’s relationship wasn’t that bad.

However, I couldn’t say Genevieve’s words were entirely wrong. If what she said was true…

“So… I sometimes think that might have been why he did that then.”

Suddenly, I recalled the bitter expression Zachary had worn as he muttered something in passing in the greenhouse.

“Well, all my guesses could be wrong. They were famous for their good relationship before his disappearance.”

I know she’s not the type to spread baseless rumors. She’s fastidious about the quality of information and verifies facts to the point of obsession. Coming from her lips, it must be close to the truth.

It seemed like more safety measures for Zachary might be necessary.

“Is it possible to request that the Princess make a sacred oath guaranteeing the Prince’s safety and freedom?”

A sacred oath using holy power was tantamount to a life-or-death promise for the imperial family. If they broke the promise after making the oath, they would receive divine punishment. The story of imperial family members dying after breaking a sacred oath was famous enough even for me to know.

Genevieve nodded as if it wouldn’t be impossible.

“Yes, that much should be requested so that Oscar can trust her too. After all, there are rumors… By the way, you’re being quite considerate. Oscar, are you quite close to the Prince?”

Genevieve carefully asked, watching my reaction.

I briefly considered whether I should tell Genevieve that Zachary was actually under a spell and serving as my servant.

“Later, when everything is safely resolved, then…”

But it didn’t seem like the right time. There were still too many issues to resolve, so I quietly murmured with a confused face that I would explain everything later. Fortunately, Genevieve didn’t ask further and patted my shoulder.

“Let’s go greet the Marquis and Marchioness first.”

Creak, she opened the door. Then, sticking her head out and looking around, she whistled lightly. She turned to me with a grin.

“They’re gone. No one’s here.”

She said the presence she had felt earlier had completely disappeared.

However, unlike when we entered the room, my heart was now heavily shadowed.

“Oscar?”

“…Ah, I’m sorry.”

I hurriedly followed Genevieve, who had already moved ahead. Yet my mind was completely filled with thoughts of Zachary.

“She might have abandoned her own brother.”

Those words just wouldn’t leave my mind.