Even if it was a blasphemous statement, it was completely different from the facts known to the world.
I didn't resemble the Princess's portrait at all. Neither my eye color nor my hair color. In that sense, the man's words were a riddle that had no answer.
The Duke took something out of his bosom and thrust it in front of my eyes.
It was a magnificent piece of craftsmanship, with the candlelight reflecting off it so brilliantly that it took my breath away.
“Do you know this necklace?”
...I know. It was a necklace I had sold. To be exact, it was the Princess’s necklace that Mama Olga had stolen from a noblewoman and given to me.
If I think about it, that was the starting point of all this.
But the answer did not come easily. Is it right to say that I know it here? Wouldn't it be better to say that I don't know so that I can get out of it?
I couldn't figure out which way was right. I bit my lip without thinking.
I was so focused on the right answer that I didn't even realize that it would have seemed more suspicious if I hadn't answered right away. The Duke nodded.
“Take her out.”
“I, I mean, I don’t know, no, I know...!”
As soon as I tried to fight back with my arms and legs, I was caught and pressed down.
And then the next moment, my eyes were blinded. It was complete darkness.
I think I passed out while being dragged somewhere. Or maybe I passed out upon arrival.
My eyes were blinded and my hands were tied, so my thoughts were dull. It was hard to even tell how much time had passed. Considering that I wasn't hungry, it didn't seem like that much time had passed.
I opened my nose wide and tried to smell something. Even though I was blindfolded, I thought I could tell where I was by smell.
The smell of the earth soaked in melted snow was strong, and there was no chill, so it didn't seem to be a dungeon or anything like that.
“Excuse me, excuse me. Is anyone there?”
I didn't feel any movement at all, but I kept talking to someone who was watching me. If I were a prisoner, there would be guards watching me.
But after talking for a long time, I didn't get any answer. I eventually gave up and crouched down in a corner.
I had been complacent, because I had been consistently lucky on my trips, finding good inns, and getting help from Zachary and Enoch.
I was under the illusion that this luck would continue. I shouldn't believe in things like luck.
It's a more fickle creature than a bad cat, and just because it's always smiling doesn't mean it'll be smiling today.
“Stand up.”
I jumped up in surprise at the sudden voice. It felt like I suddenly heard a presence.
If he had arrived just now, I wouldn't have even heard him walk. Are all trained knights like this?
“What’s going on?”
“The Duke is looking for you.”
I was led by the knight's hand to my feet. My legs were stiff from having been squatting for so long.
When I couldn't walk properly, the knight took off the blindfold. The light was so bright that I couldn't help but squint my eyes.
“Walk straight.”
As I stumbled, the knight grabbed my arm and spat out rudely. I wanted to ask him what my crime was, but the knight's murderous expression prevented me from opening my mouth.
He took me very neatly to the front of the barracks.
“Come in. His Highness has been waiting a long time.”
You waited? Me? Why? I was extremely curious, but the knight didn't seem to have any intention of answering.
No matter how much you say that, he was the one who held a knife to my neck. Did he know that he was going to end up like that and go in like that?
I hesitantly lifted the barracks cloth.
Before I could even move my feet, the knight shoved me from behind. I fell into the barracks in an instant.
I almost fell straight to the ground but managed to keep my balance. I timidly walked a little further inside. There was only the Duke in the barracks.
He was sitting at his large desk, diligently writing something down, seemingly unconcerned about whether I came in or not.
“Sit down.”
He spoke without even raising his head.
I sat down on the chair opposite him, hesitant. I felt like something was going to happen at any moment, but surprisingly, he didn't pay any attention to me for a long time.
If this was going to happen, why did you call .e? A rude thought suddenly popped into my head, but I kept my mouth shut. There was nothing good that could come from going against his wishes.
Who knows. If I continue to be polite like I am now, he might believe that I have been framed.
Sitting still was becoming increasingly boring. I was killing time absentmindedly, but I changed my mind and decided to admire him.
Not only was he a very handsome man, but he was also a hero of the North. He was a man above the clouds, someone you might not meet again if not now. That alone was reason enough to observe him.
I felt this way after seeing him for the past few days, but he was really handsome. The cheap newspapers that I can easily find in the back alleys don't even describe one-tenth of his beauty.
I stared absentmindedly at his deep eyes, sharp jawline, and tightly closed mouth.
Looking closely, I thought I could see a bit of Zachary's face in him. They say that every other person in high places is a relative, so maybe that's why?
“I've kept you waiting for a long time.”
As if to cut off my useless thoughts, he finally opened his mouth.
“I investigated you while you were in custody.”
I looked at the heavy wad of paper he had picked up.
That's all the result of my background check? If that's true, then it seems like the documents even list the food I ate on my seventh birthday.
He threw the wad of papers back on the table.
“Who are you?”
“...It’s Sasha.”
His eyes narrowed.
“I’m not asking for your name. I’m not asking you to chat or anything.”
“...”
“What on earth is your relationship with the Lord of Nice?”
That was a completely random question. I asked back with a dumbfounded face.
“What does that mean?”
“The Lord of Nice is one of the people who knows that I am looking for the Princess, and he is the one who knows the exact appearance of Princess Anastasia. He is also a cunning man who will stop at nothing to advance to the central government. He is even capable of making a dead princess look alive.”
The Duke briefly touched his forehead with his right hand. His face looked extremely tired.
“You appeared in the gift box he sent.”
“...”
“And it seemed like you knew this necklace.”
The Duke tossed the necklace onto the table.
But I noticed that it looked different from what the Duke had shown me a little while ago.
Although it was similar in that it was set with large rubies, the necklace I received from Olga was not like that.
He was blatantly shoving a fake necklace at me.
“If you are a fake Princess elaborately created by the Lord of Nice, you should be executed on the spot for impersonating a member of the royal family.”
What does all this mean? Suddenly, I remembered what the Duke had said about me having the Princess's eye and hair color.
It was so absurd, and with all the things going on, I completely forgot about it.
The Duke continued coldly.
“Silence is not the answer. It would be better to make a wise choice.”
I gulped. It seemed as if my escape from the blockade of Saxony had gone undetected.
But... one lie always leads to another lie. If I told him the truth here, maybe he would believe me.
I look too young to be accused of being the mastermind behind the Princess's murder.
The law was always crueler to the back-alley dwellers, but the Duke seemed to understand my grievances. He was a perfect good, an absolute hero in the border regions like George and Saxony.
Even if he chose his birthday present a bit stupidly, this guy was completely different from other guys.
I took a deep breath and calmed myself.
“I, that, well, I, I...”
Damn it. I have a habit of stuttering when I'm nervous.
I've been trying to fix it since I was little, but it hasn't worked. I'm worried that he'll look at me suspiciously if I keep talking like this.
I glanced at the Duke out of the corner of my eye, but he was looking at me with an expression that made me wonder what he was thinking.
“I, I, I, don’t know that lady at all. I’ve never seen her before..."
The Duke still looked calm.
He didn't interrupt or rush me. I gradually regained my composure.
“Ah, as I said before, I accidentally got into the box while running away. I, I was traveling with him from Saxony. I was trying to escape the blockade.”
“Is there anyone who can prove it?”
It might have been easier if Enoch or Zachary had been mentioned here.
But it was too mean of me to run away on my own and then call out their names as if I needed help. I shook my head.
“No, but... That necklace is different from the ones I know. The rubies are a bit bigger than those, and the diamonds are set tightly around it.”
“...Where did you see that necklace?”
“It was given to me by Mama Olga. Oh, Mama Olga is the one who took me in when I was five and raised me...”
The Duke waved his hand, cutting off the words that were about to become unnecessarily long.
“Where is she now?”
“She passed away. The necklace was sold to pay for funeral expenses.”
“...”
The Duke was silent for a moment. He looked at my face in the light. His piercing gaze followed me persistently as if searching for something invisible.
His gaze fell on my eyes, hair, nose, forehead, and lips in that order.
I didn't resemble the Princess's portrait at all. Neither my eye color nor my hair color. In that sense, the man's words were a riddle that had no answer.
The Duke took something out of his bosom and thrust it in front of my eyes.
It was a magnificent piece of craftsmanship, with the candlelight reflecting off it so brilliantly that it took my breath away.
“Do you know this necklace?”
...I know. It was a necklace I had sold. To be exact, it was the Princess’s necklace that Mama Olga had stolen from a noblewoman and given to me.
If I think about it, that was the starting point of all this.
But the answer did not come easily. Is it right to say that I know it here? Wouldn't it be better to say that I don't know so that I can get out of it?
I couldn't figure out which way was right. I bit my lip without thinking.
I was so focused on the right answer that I didn't even realize that it would have seemed more suspicious if I hadn't answered right away. The Duke nodded.
“Take her out.”
“I, I mean, I don’t know, no, I know...!”
As soon as I tried to fight back with my arms and legs, I was caught and pressed down.
And then the next moment, my eyes were blinded. It was complete darkness.
***
I think I passed out while being dragged somewhere. Or maybe I passed out upon arrival.
My eyes were blinded and my hands were tied, so my thoughts were dull. It was hard to even tell how much time had passed. Considering that I wasn't hungry, it didn't seem like that much time had passed.
I opened my nose wide and tried to smell something. Even though I was blindfolded, I thought I could tell where I was by smell.
The smell of the earth soaked in melted snow was strong, and there was no chill, so it didn't seem to be a dungeon or anything like that.
“Excuse me, excuse me. Is anyone there?”
I didn't feel any movement at all, but I kept talking to someone who was watching me. If I were a prisoner, there would be guards watching me.
But after talking for a long time, I didn't get any answer. I eventually gave up and crouched down in a corner.
I had been complacent, because I had been consistently lucky on my trips, finding good inns, and getting help from Zachary and Enoch.
I was under the illusion that this luck would continue. I shouldn't believe in things like luck.
It's a more fickle creature than a bad cat, and just because it's always smiling doesn't mean it'll be smiling today.
“Stand up.”
I jumped up in surprise at the sudden voice. It felt like I suddenly heard a presence.
If he had arrived just now, I wouldn't have even heard him walk. Are all trained knights like this?
“What’s going on?”
“The Duke is looking for you.”
I was led by the knight's hand to my feet. My legs were stiff from having been squatting for so long.
When I couldn't walk properly, the knight took off the blindfold. The light was so bright that I couldn't help but squint my eyes.
“Walk straight.”
As I stumbled, the knight grabbed my arm and spat out rudely. I wanted to ask him what my crime was, but the knight's murderous expression prevented me from opening my mouth.
He took me very neatly to the front of the barracks.
“Come in. His Highness has been waiting a long time.”
You waited? Me? Why? I was extremely curious, but the knight didn't seem to have any intention of answering.
No matter how much you say that, he was the one who held a knife to my neck. Did he know that he was going to end up like that and go in like that?
I hesitantly lifted the barracks cloth.
Before I could even move my feet, the knight shoved me from behind. I fell into the barracks in an instant.
I almost fell straight to the ground but managed to keep my balance. I timidly walked a little further inside. There was only the Duke in the barracks.
He was sitting at his large desk, diligently writing something down, seemingly unconcerned about whether I came in or not.
“Sit down.”
He spoke without even raising his head.
I sat down on the chair opposite him, hesitant. I felt like something was going to happen at any moment, but surprisingly, he didn't pay any attention to me for a long time.
If this was going to happen, why did you call .e? A rude thought suddenly popped into my head, but I kept my mouth shut. There was nothing good that could come from going against his wishes.
Who knows. If I continue to be polite like I am now, he might believe that I have been framed.
Sitting still was becoming increasingly boring. I was killing time absentmindedly, but I changed my mind and decided to admire him.
Not only was he a very handsome man, but he was also a hero of the North. He was a man above the clouds, someone you might not meet again if not now. That alone was reason enough to observe him.
I felt this way after seeing him for the past few days, but he was really handsome. The cheap newspapers that I can easily find in the back alleys don't even describe one-tenth of his beauty.
I stared absentmindedly at his deep eyes, sharp jawline, and tightly closed mouth.
Looking closely, I thought I could see a bit of Zachary's face in him. They say that every other person in high places is a relative, so maybe that's why?
“I've kept you waiting for a long time.”
As if to cut off my useless thoughts, he finally opened his mouth.
“I investigated you while you were in custody.”
I looked at the heavy wad of paper he had picked up.
That's all the result of my background check? If that's true, then it seems like the documents even list the food I ate on my seventh birthday.
He threw the wad of papers back on the table.
“Who are you?”
“...It’s Sasha.”
His eyes narrowed.
“I’m not asking for your name. I’m not asking you to chat or anything.”
“...”
“What on earth is your relationship with the Lord of Nice?”
That was a completely random question. I asked back with a dumbfounded face.
“What does that mean?”
“The Lord of Nice is one of the people who knows that I am looking for the Princess, and he is the one who knows the exact appearance of Princess Anastasia. He is also a cunning man who will stop at nothing to advance to the central government. He is even capable of making a dead princess look alive.”
The Duke briefly touched his forehead with his right hand. His face looked extremely tired.
“You appeared in the gift box he sent.”
“...”
“And it seemed like you knew this necklace.”
The Duke tossed the necklace onto the table.
But I noticed that it looked different from what the Duke had shown me a little while ago.
Although it was similar in that it was set with large rubies, the necklace I received from Olga was not like that.
He was blatantly shoving a fake necklace at me.
“If you are a fake Princess elaborately created by the Lord of Nice, you should be executed on the spot for impersonating a member of the royal family.”
What does all this mean? Suddenly, I remembered what the Duke had said about me having the Princess's eye and hair color.
It was so absurd, and with all the things going on, I completely forgot about it.
The Duke continued coldly.
“Silence is not the answer. It would be better to make a wise choice.”
I gulped. It seemed as if my escape from the blockade of Saxony had gone undetected.
But... one lie always leads to another lie. If I told him the truth here, maybe he would believe me.
I look too young to be accused of being the mastermind behind the Princess's murder.
The law was always crueler to the back-alley dwellers, but the Duke seemed to understand my grievances. He was a perfect good, an absolute hero in the border regions like George and Saxony.
Even if he chose his birthday present a bit stupidly, this guy was completely different from other guys.
I took a deep breath and calmed myself.
“I, that, well, I, I...”
Damn it. I have a habit of stuttering when I'm nervous.
I've been trying to fix it since I was little, but it hasn't worked. I'm worried that he'll look at me suspiciously if I keep talking like this.
I glanced at the Duke out of the corner of my eye, but he was looking at me with an expression that made me wonder what he was thinking.
“I, I, I, don’t know that lady at all. I’ve never seen her before..."
The Duke still looked calm.
He didn't interrupt or rush me. I gradually regained my composure.
“Ah, as I said before, I accidentally got into the box while running away. I, I was traveling with him from Saxony. I was trying to escape the blockade.”
“Is there anyone who can prove it?”
It might have been easier if Enoch or Zachary had been mentioned here.
But it was too mean of me to run away on my own and then call out their names as if I needed help. I shook my head.
“No, but... That necklace is different from the ones I know. The rubies are a bit bigger than those, and the diamonds are set tightly around it.”
“...Where did you see that necklace?”
“It was given to me by Mama Olga. Oh, Mama Olga is the one who took me in when I was five and raised me...”
The Duke waved his hand, cutting off the words that were about to become unnecessarily long.
“Where is she now?”
“She passed away. The necklace was sold to pay for funeral expenses.”
“...”
The Duke was silent for a moment. He looked at my face in the light. His piercing gaze followed me persistently as if searching for something invisible.
His gaze fell on my eyes, hair, nose, forehead, and lips in that order.
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