“Yes, miss.”

“Thank you. …Um, and. You know, Annie.”

After expressing my gratitude to her for her prompt response, I hesitated a bit and then carefully broached the subject. Annie tilted her head slightly and said:

“What is it, miss?”

“…I need to give a handkerchief as a gift to someone. So, I was wondering if you could recommend a good merchant?”

“Hmm. Who are you giving it to? A lady, or a knight?”

Annie asked me thoughtfully. I hesitated and answered:

“…Well, I want to give it to a knight.”

“…Oh. What should we do? The merchants I know all make and sell items for noble young ladies. I’ll try to ask around discreetly, but it might be hard to find something suitable for a knight. What was it they said? Something about the unit price not matching, or not being profitable.”

“I see. Then what should I do?”

Having heard Annie’s reply, I pondered aloud. Annie stared at me for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said:

“What do you mean, what should you do? You should make it yourself, miss!”

“What? Me?”

I asked, my eyes wide with surprise. Annie nodded and continued:

“Yes. Since it’s for a knight, you don’t need to add pretty and complicated embroidery like for ladies. Just a simple initial would do. You’re good with your hands, miss, so you should be able to make something like that easily. I’ll teach you!”

“…Ah, I’m not confident. Wouldn’t it be better to just choose a plain lady’s handkerchief?”

“A lady’s handkerchief would be too thin for a knight to use comfortably. He probably wouldn’t be able to use it properly and would have to put it away. It’s better to give something he can actually use, right? …Right, miss?”

Seeing my hesitation, Annie tried to persuade me. I was intrigued by her quite reasonable argument.

It did seem better to give something usable if I was going to give a gift. And she said it wouldn’t be difficult to make. After pondering for a moment, I spoke:

“Do you think I can make it? Won’t I just end up ruining good fabric?”

“You can definitely do it. I’ll be there to help you, so what’s there to worry about?”

“…Well, I suppose you’re right. Okay. Then I’ll ask for your help.”

Annie’s face brightened at my response. She nodded vigorously and said in an excited voice:

“Yes! I’ll get the most expensive and thick fabric!”

“Thank you, Annie.”

“A handkerchief made by someone as precious as you, miss! How happy he’ll be! I’m sure Young Lord Klein will be very touched!”

At those words, I hesitated for a moment. I muttered in a cold voice:

“I wonder. It would be fortunate if he doesn’t mock it as sentimental.”

“…What? Oh my, how can you say such a thing? That won’t happen!”

“Yes, alright. That’s enough. I misspoke.”

I quickly changed the subject to stop Annie from making a fuss. A moment later, Annie, who was clearly excited, left the bedroom saying she would go buy the fabric. Left alone after the door closed, I stared blankly at the locked drawer.

‘I boasted to the Duke that day that I’d give him the most expensive handkerchief in the world. I wonder how he’ll react if I give him one I made myself.’

Will he like it?

No, maybe instead of liking it, he might criticize my sewing as terrible with that usual expressionless face of his.

I smiled quietly as I imagined the Duke’s reaction.

I spent all day making the handkerchief with Annie, who had bought fabric from the store.

It wasn’t as difficult as making a dress or formal wear, as it just required sewing a few straight lines on a cut piece of fabric. With Annie’s help, I completed a plain navy blue handkerchief.

Annie examined the handkerchief I made from all angles and praised it, saying it was perfect. Then, pointing to the bottom of the handkerchief, she said:

“Now we just need to embroider the initials here! The Young Lord’s initials are… R.B.C, right? Shall I draw the design in advance?”

I pretended not to hear Annie’s words and changed the subject.

“…No, it’s fine. Let’s do that later. More importantly, I’m curious if Uncle has returned home. Could you check for me?”

“Oh, that’s right! You asked me to inquire if you could have dinner with the master! Just a moment!”

Annie scurried out of the bedroom. Then, returning shortly after, she said to me with a somewhat gloomy face:

“Well, miss. The butler said that the master has already returned, but…”

“Yes. And?”

“He said he would replace dinner with just tea and dessert today. So he said it would be difficult to have dinner together today and asked me to tell you.”

“…Is that so?”

Hearing this, I slightly furrowed my brow.

The Duke Yusten I knew was someone who always made sure to eat properly, no matter how busy he was. It was rather strange that such a person would say he’d replace a meal with tea and dessert.

Moreover, the fact that he wanted to drink tea alone was also concerning. The man I knew would choose alcohol over tea if he had to drink something alone.

Crucially, it was strange that he would refuse to meet me when he was facing a big plan to promote the imperial princess’s marriage. If it were the usual him, he would have summoned me urgently before I could even ask and demanded if I had any good ideas.

‘Something is definitely off. It’s bothering me.’

What could be the reason Duke Yusten refused my request?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t guess the reason. I bit my lower lip hard and thought.

‘I should check it out.’

I immediately asked Annie:

“Annie, are you sure Uncle is in the main building?”

“…Yes. Probably.”

“I see. Thanks for letting me know.”

Hearing Annie’s answer, I stood up. Annie, startled, asked me:

“Oh my, miss. Where are you going?”

“I just remembered an urgent matter. I’ll be back soon.”

“Ah, miss!”

I left the bedroom and went downstairs. After crossing the garden of the annex and the path leading to the main building, instead of entering the building, I went into the sculpture garden of the main building.

The place, with small mazes made of trees with lush leaves and statues of mythical heroes placed here and there, was not only a beautiful garden but also a huge door leading to the secret passage of the main building. When I was young, my father had it made for me, who liked to roam around the mansion. Only Annie and I, and a few servants who had been driven out by the Duke, knew this fact.

Grateful for this fact, I passed through the maze-like garden and stood in front of the statue of the goddess holding scales.

When I pressed near the left side of the scales, the bottom part of the statue opened with a click, revealing stairs connected to the basement of the main building. After checking my surroundings, I bent down and descended to the basement. Feeling my way along the wall, I climbed the stairs leading to the secret passage on the upper floor of the main building. First, I went to the passage connected to the reception room of the main building and focused on the sounds coming through.

“…is it.”

I heard the Duke’s voice, seemingly talking to someone.

‘It was good that I checked the reception room first.’

I felt along the passage wall. Soon finding a hole connected to the reception room, I pressed my ear close to it.

Then I could clearly hear the Duke’s voice.

“So what is this urgent matter you wanted to tell only me, Danae?”

At those words, I held my breath even more. It seemed the reason the Duke had refused my proposal with an unclear excuse was because of Danae. Danae soon spoke:

“Dad, don’t you think sister’s behavior has been very suspicious lately?”

“…!”

“…Your sister? In what way?”

The Duke asked, intrigued. Danae answered in a meaningful voice:

“She’s been cooped up in the annex lately, making all sorts of excuses like being busy or sick. She rarely meets me even when I visit. I also asked Young Lord Klein and sister’s friends casually, and they said she hasn’t replied to letters or visited their homes recently.”

“She must have been really busy. And she was sick too. Are you suspecting your sister just because she secluded herself a bit?”

The Duke’s voice became indifferent after hearing Danae’s explanation. Then Danae raised her voice excitedly and said:

“Oh, come on! That’s not all!”

“…Not all? Was there more suspicious circumstance?”

“Yes. I visited sister’s annex a while ago, and on my way back after our conversation, I ran into sister’s maids. And guess what, they were talking about how sister’s robe button was broken a few days ago.”

“…!”

“Have you ever seen sister wear such clothes inside the mansion? Moreover, a few days ago was when sister was supposedly sick and confined to her bedroom. But suddenly her robe was broken? She must have secretly left the mansion and done something behind our backs.”

The moment I heard her words, I couldn’t help but gasp urgently. I quickly regained my composure and hastily covered my mouth with both hands.

If it was a robe with a broken button, it must have been the one I wore when I snuck out to prevent the assassination of Viscount Miles.

‘I’m sure I entrusted it to Annie, but how did it end up in the hands of other maids?’

I gritted my trembling teeth. It was my mistake. I never thought Danae would become suspicious because of that robe. I desperately pondered how to resolve this situation while focusing on eavesdropping on the conversation.

Soon, I heard the Duke’s voice: