“Claudel is not dead.”
“My Lord.”
“Claudel isn’t dead. So keep looking.”
The butler was overcome with a complicated feeling.
“If you work hard on something that has no hope, the people’s hearts will fall.”
Kaian had a point.
The people currently being mobilized to search for Claudel were those who lived nearby, including Rowen Castle.
The entire vast Rowen territory wasn’t looking for the missing woman.
So, the fact that some of the farmland around the castle was not producing enough crops because they were looking for people might not have been a huge problem overall.
However, people’s hearts were not like that.
It was unacceptable to take away the livelihoods they had worked for their entire lives from those who had witnessed the shocking scene during the banquet and had been constantly pushed around.
The closer they lived to Rowen Castle, the more loyal they were to their families and proud of their land.
These people were getting tired.
“No hope?”
“It’s already been three days.”
“It’s only been three days. What’s the problem?”
“It’s unlikely that the lady is alive.”
In the end, these words came out of his mouth.
Why was a pregnant woman who fell into the water not found?
If she had lived, she would have surfaced right away that night and made a fuss like Hannah, begging to be rescued.
Or, if she had been pushed to land for some reason, it would have been difficult for her to go far in her drenched dress.
The butler had strengthened the security from Rowen Castle to the border of the estate, but no suspicious person had passed by.
The water was quite cold in the deep part of the lake, so if she had drowned, the body might not have floated yet. It would soon get hotter, so he thought she would float on its own as the water temperature rose.
“Find her.”
However, Kaian, who had to make a decision, was so unyielding and unmoving.
“Until you bring that woman before my eyes, I will not believe whether she is alive or dead.”
“Your Excellency.”
Kaian left the office as if he did not want to talk to him anymore.
As he walked toward Claudel’s room, every servant he encountered in the hallway quickly bowed to him. It seemed as if they were afraid of making eye contact rather than simply being polite as usual.
The appearance of the head of the household that the people of the castle had witnessed over the past few days was very unfamiliar to them.
The elite knights who fought behind him on the battlefield might have seen Kaian's uncontrollable, ferocious, rampaging spirit, but those who lived in the estate had no chance to see it.
"It's not unreasonable for the butler to act like that."
Baron Colon was anxious to protect him as if this was some kind of emergency.
However, he was going in the wrong direction.
Kaian was perfectly fine and contrary to the butler's judgment, he was extremely rational.
He hadn't lost his mind to the point of being unable to discern right from wrong due to the shock caused by Claudel, as the butler had thought.
"The more time passes, the less likely it is that we'll find her."
So Kaian had carefully considered the situation and concluded that he could not give up on finding Claudel now.
The harvest from the farmland around the lord’s castle was not even enough to cover the entire cultivation of Rowen. However, once the search party was disbanded, there was no chance of finding Claudel. Wasn’t his head working properly like this?
Kaian felt like his trained judgment and reason were being tested to the limit.
However, as soon as he entered Claudel’s bedroom, the reason that had been firmly holding on until just a moment ago crumbled away.
Kaian went to the bed and sat down weakly.
“Kaian. What’s going on at this hour?”
It seemed as if a pretty woman would appear at any moment.
Could it be?
Could this terrible thing he was experiencing right now be a dream?
Kaian stared blankly into space and paused for a moment.
“Is it a reality?”
If it was a dream, he wished he would wake up.
Kaian creaked like a wooden doll with broken joints as he got up. He went to Claudel’s desk, pulled out a chair, and sat down, placing his hand on the spot where her hand had touched.
For three days, his work consisted largely of turning and turning.
When he felt better, he could not stand it without going to the lake and stirring up a pile of twigs. When he felt weaker outside, he returned to the castle, half-captured by the guards sent by the butler, and then, ignoring the entreaties to eat or rest, he locked himself in Claudel’s bedroom and searched through her room.
Kaiaa took out a bundle of papers from a drawer.
The things he had seen and re-seen were things she had written to send to the Duke of Vermont.
[To the Duke of Vermont. Irena is going back today. I and my husband have been getting along well since my illness. The Duke of Temnes is good to me. He comes to see me every day and talks to me.
So, I know you were planning to make my sister the next Duchess when I die.
But I am here. If you need anything, just let me know. I will try to make it between Temnes and Vermont.]
The long letter was truncated and cut short several times to send the telegram.
That was usually the way it was when sending a telegram. The only one who didn’t care about the price per character was Valquiterre, who talked as he pleased.
[Irena departs. I am trying to win my husband’s heart. If there is anything you need, let me know. I can do it.]
When he read the shortened text, his eyes stung again.
He knew that, and yet he thought that Claudel was a spy between him and the Duke of Vermont.
And it was shocking that he thought that she would end up with Irena after she died in Herzol.
“Nonsense.”
Kaian tried to fold the letters that Claudel had rewritten as if they would wear out and put them in a drawer.
Knock.
At that moment, the drawer he was pulling out got caught on something inside and stopped.
“Why is this happening?”
The desk, carved from solid, smooth wood, was a luxurious item made by a craftsman.
Why was it suddenly like this when it should have come out smoothly when pulled?
Kaian pulled the drawer with a puzzled mind.
Then, he saw a space where a wooden board was placed inside the drawer that was pulled out and divided the compartments invisibly.
Since he hadn’t paid attention to the depth of the drawer, he had searched through it several times to see if there was anything that could help him find Claudel’s whereabouts, but he hadn’t seen it.
Kaian picked up a box the size of his palm, a corner of which was slightly dented, perhaps because it had been caught earlier. It looked like a gift because it was tied with a ribbon. However, it wasn’t something he had given her.
Kaian went crazy for three days and nights.
The man, who had not been able to eat, drink, or sleep while going back and forth between the castle and the lake to find Claudel, who had disappeared, became haggard in the meantime.
“Your Excellency.”
The butler, who had to say what he wanted to say without being able to understand his master’s feelings, swallowed a deep sigh inwardly.
“We should stop looking for Madam and let the people of the estate rest.”
“Why?”
“Isn’t it time to start farming soon?”
The water banquet itself was a place where the lord would kindly feed and encourage the people of the estate before starting the farming for the year.
After eating and resting to their heart’s content, the time had come to bow to the ground and bow to their backs, praying for a good harvest. But the event ended in a mess, and the people were already exhausted and tired because they had to work hard to find the mistress who had fallen into the lake and disappeared before the alcohol had even subsided.
If they were working hard in the middle of summer, they wouldn’t have gotten tired easily from suddenly doing different work for a few days.
However, since the entire continent of Ita had prepared for the fall harvest and was resting throughout the cold winter, those who had been resting along with them were losing energy more quickly when they suddenly began working hard on unfamiliar labor. This was the time when the Lord should have stepped forward more than anyone else to console the farmers.
“Do you think I don’t know that?”
Kaian’s eyes were swept up in confusion.
“It won’t be a big deal if you don’t farm for a year or two.”
The man, who had not been able to eat, drink, or sleep while going back and forth between the castle and the lake to find Claudel, who had disappeared, became haggard in the meantime.
“Your Excellency.”
The butler, who had to say what he wanted to say without being able to understand his master’s feelings, swallowed a deep sigh inwardly.
“We should stop looking for Madam and let the people of the estate rest.”
“Why?”
“Isn’t it time to start farming soon?”
The water banquet itself was a place where the lord would kindly feed and encourage the people of the estate before starting the farming for the year.
After eating and resting to their heart’s content, the time had come to bow to the ground and bow to their backs, praying for a good harvest. But the event ended in a mess, and the people were already exhausted and tired because they had to work hard to find the mistress who had fallen into the lake and disappeared before the alcohol had even subsided.
If they were working hard in the middle of summer, they wouldn’t have gotten tired easily from suddenly doing different work for a few days.
However, since the entire continent of Ita had prepared for the fall harvest and was resting throughout the cold winter, those who had been resting along with them were losing energy more quickly when they suddenly began working hard on unfamiliar labor. This was the time when the Lord should have stepped forward more than anyone else to console the farmers.
“Do you think I don’t know that?”
Kaian’s eyes were swept up in confusion.
“It won’t be a big deal if you don’t farm for a year or two.”
“My Lord.”
“Claudel isn’t dead. So keep looking.”
The butler was overcome with a complicated feeling.
“If you work hard on something that has no hope, the people’s hearts will fall.”
Kaian had a point.
The people currently being mobilized to search for Claudel were those who lived nearby, including Rowen Castle.
The entire vast Rowen territory wasn’t looking for the missing woman.
So, the fact that some of the farmland around the castle was not producing enough crops because they were looking for people might not have been a huge problem overall.
However, people’s hearts were not like that.
It was unacceptable to take away the livelihoods they had worked for their entire lives from those who had witnessed the shocking scene during the banquet and had been constantly pushed around.
The closer they lived to Rowen Castle, the more loyal they were to their families and proud of their land.
These people were getting tired.
“No hope?”
“It’s already been three days.”
“It’s only been three days. What’s the problem?”
“It’s unlikely that the lady is alive.”
In the end, these words came out of his mouth.
Why was a pregnant woman who fell into the water not found?
If she had lived, she would have surfaced right away that night and made a fuss like Hannah, begging to be rescued.
Or, if she had been pushed to land for some reason, it would have been difficult for her to go far in her drenched dress.
The butler had strengthened the security from Rowen Castle to the border of the estate, but no suspicious person had passed by.
The water was quite cold in the deep part of the lake, so if she had drowned, the body might not have floated yet. It would soon get hotter, so he thought she would float on its own as the water temperature rose.
“Find her.”
However, Kaian, who had to make a decision, was so unyielding and unmoving.
“Until you bring that woman before my eyes, I will not believe whether she is alive or dead.”
“Your Excellency.”
Kaian left the office as if he did not want to talk to him anymore.
***
As he walked toward Claudel’s room, every servant he encountered in the hallway quickly bowed to him. It seemed as if they were afraid of making eye contact rather than simply being polite as usual.
The appearance of the head of the household that the people of the castle had witnessed over the past few days was very unfamiliar to them.
The elite knights who fought behind him on the battlefield might have seen Kaian's uncontrollable, ferocious, rampaging spirit, but those who lived in the estate had no chance to see it.
"It's not unreasonable for the butler to act like that."
Baron Colon was anxious to protect him as if this was some kind of emergency.
However, he was going in the wrong direction.
Kaian was perfectly fine and contrary to the butler's judgment, he was extremely rational.
He hadn't lost his mind to the point of being unable to discern right from wrong due to the shock caused by Claudel, as the butler had thought.
"The more time passes, the less likely it is that we'll find her."
So Kaian had carefully considered the situation and concluded that he could not give up on finding Claudel now.
The harvest from the farmland around the lord’s castle was not even enough to cover the entire cultivation of Rowen. However, once the search party was disbanded, there was no chance of finding Claudel. Wasn’t his head working properly like this?
Kaian felt like his trained judgment and reason were being tested to the limit.
However, as soon as he entered Claudel’s bedroom, the reason that had been firmly holding on until just a moment ago crumbled away.
Kaian went to the bed and sat down weakly.
“Kaian. What’s going on at this hour?”
It seemed as if a pretty woman would appear at any moment.
Could it be?
Could this terrible thing he was experiencing right now be a dream?
Kaian stared blankly into space and paused for a moment.
“Is it a reality?”
If it was a dream, he wished he would wake up.
Kaian creaked like a wooden doll with broken joints as he got up. He went to Claudel’s desk, pulled out a chair, and sat down, placing his hand on the spot where her hand had touched.
For three days, his work consisted largely of turning and turning.
When he felt better, he could not stand it without going to the lake and stirring up a pile of twigs. When he felt weaker outside, he returned to the castle, half-captured by the guards sent by the butler, and then, ignoring the entreaties to eat or rest, he locked himself in Claudel’s bedroom and searched through her room.
Kaiaa took out a bundle of papers from a drawer.
The things he had seen and re-seen were things she had written to send to the Duke of Vermont.
[To the Duke of Vermont. Irena is going back today. I and my husband have been getting along well since my illness. The Duke of Temnes is good to me. He comes to see me every day and talks to me.
So, I know you were planning to make my sister the next Duchess when I die.
But I am here. If you need anything, just let me know. I will try to make it between Temnes and Vermont.]
The long letter was truncated and cut short several times to send the telegram.
That was usually the way it was when sending a telegram. The only one who didn’t care about the price per character was Valquiterre, who talked as he pleased.
[Irena departs. I am trying to win my husband’s heart. If there is anything you need, let me know. I can do it.]
When he read the shortened text, his eyes stung again.
He knew that, and yet he thought that Claudel was a spy between him and the Duke of Vermont.
And it was shocking that he thought that she would end up with Irena after she died in Herzol.
“Nonsense.”
Kaian tried to fold the letters that Claudel had rewritten as if they would wear out and put them in a drawer.
Knock.
At that moment, the drawer he was pulling out got caught on something inside and stopped.
“Why is this happening?”
The desk, carved from solid, smooth wood, was a luxurious item made by a craftsman.
Why was it suddenly like this when it should have come out smoothly when pulled?
Kaian pulled the drawer with a puzzled mind.
Then, he saw a space where a wooden board was placed inside the drawer that was pulled out and divided the compartments invisibly.
Since he hadn’t paid attention to the depth of the drawer, he had searched through it several times to see if there was anything that could help him find Claudel’s whereabouts, but he hadn’t seen it.
Kaian picked up a box the size of his palm, a corner of which was slightly dented, perhaps because it had been caught earlier. It looked like a gift because it was tied with a ribbon. However, it wasn’t something he had given her.
When he untied the ribbon and opened the lid, he saw Claudel’s letter, neatly written in a neat order. When he picked it up, he saw what was inside.
“...A stone?”
It was a rough, blunt, gray-brown, triangular stone.
Then, a bracelet made of vivid red hair caught his eye.
Kaian picked it up with trembling fingers.
Here was the red hair he had been searching for but could not find.
[Kaian. This is a letter to your future self. I wanted to give you this stone for your first birthday, but Madame Marcel and Hannah said no. Madame Marcel said I could give it to you the year after next.
Why not next year? Anyway, I'm a lost dog. I'll give you something different this year, but look. Isn't it amazing?
I read in a book that the shape of the human heart is really similar to this shape. That's why I wanted to give it to you. Do you know what I mean?]
As I read the letter, the stone that seemed to have been picked up and rolling around somewhere looked like it was shaped like a heart as if it were inside a human body.
[Happy birthday. From Claudel.]
The moment his nose felt stuffy and stung, tears flowed without him being able to hold them back.
Tap.
Tap.
As large tears fell on the stone in his hand, the wet spot turned red like blood.
As if he had chewed up his heart and squeezed out a handful.
"...Even though you loved me this much."
“...A stone?”
It was a rough, blunt, gray-brown, triangular stone.
Then, a bracelet made of vivid red hair caught his eye.
Kaian picked it up with trembling fingers.
Here was the red hair he had been searching for but could not find.
[Kaian. This is a letter to your future self. I wanted to give you this stone for your first birthday, but Madame Marcel and Hannah said no. Madame Marcel said I could give it to you the year after next.
Why not next year? Anyway, I'm a lost dog. I'll give you something different this year, but look. Isn't it amazing?
I read in a book that the shape of the human heart is really similar to this shape. That's why I wanted to give it to you. Do you know what I mean?]
As I read the letter, the stone that seemed to have been picked up and rolling around somewhere looked like it was shaped like a heart as if it were inside a human body.
[Happy birthday. From Claudel.]
The moment his nose felt stuffy and stung, tears flowed without him being able to hold them back.
Tap.
Tap.
As large tears fell on the stone in his hand, the wet spot turned red like blood.
As if he had chewed up his heart and squeezed out a handful.
"...Even though you loved me this much."
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