Adelheit, Dejere, Batildis, Nürnberkian. With trembling hands, she wrote her name where the signature was.

The crimson ink, long dried, didn’t smudge or spread even if she tried to erase it.

It looked exactly like a bloodstain.

A coincidence? The fact that her name was ‘Adelheit’ and the name written in the book was also ‘Adelheit.’

‘How much practice did he put into calling that name with a human voice.’

Valentin’s voice affectionately brushed against her ears. Adele was so startled that she closed the book.

Even with her eyes tightly closed, the noble name echoed persistently in her mind.

At the end of the woman’s name was attached ‘Nürnberkian.’ An Aryan born of the Nürnberk family.

Nürnberk was one of the ancient royal families, so the previous owner of this book must have inevitably been a princess.

‘I wanted to call her name properly when I met her.’

Once again, Valentin’s voice echoed like a hallucination. She stood up abruptly, looked around, and scanned the room.

She checked if he had returned, but there was only her and her shadow in the room.

The shadow cast alone by the torch seemed to mock her.

“…”

A pointed thought aimed at her heart.

Sometimes, even if his words and actions seemed meaningful, she thought it was okay as long as he called her name.

As long as that name was hers, and if he looked at her in the end. But now…

It felt like she was overturning someone’s shell. Not Valentin.

“Enough!”

A voice suddenly heard startled Adele, and she looked up.

Outside the tent, a scuffle was taking place.

Someone seemed to insist on seeing her, and the soldiers were struggling to stop him.

“I’m here to see my sister. Do I have to get permission from the Grand Duke to meet my family one by one?”

A sharp voice rang out again. Adele instantly recognized it as Charlotte’s voice.

“Hawna, if the Grand Duke…”

“If the Grand Duke doesn’t allow it, I won’t say I can’t see my sister. I’m just telling you in case it’s considered a breach of etiquette. I am her sister.”

“…”

“Or should I argue now that I, a mere Grand Duke’s physician, should block the Crown Prince’s visit?”

Strictly speaking, Charlotte was not the Crown Princess. She was only the fiancée of the Crown Prince and a strong candidate, nothing more.

But some lower-ranking soldiers occasionally didn’t understand the difference.

The position of high-ranking people was sometimes considered absolute, and rumors of their impending marriage had spread throughout Denburg.

A soldier’s hesitant voice was heard in response to Charlotte’s provocation.

“No, no… I’ll report right away that the Grand Duchess is here to see you.”

“There’s no need for that.”
Adele lifted the flap with her own hands and stepped outside the tent.

It had been dark outside for a long time, but torches illuminated various places, making it as bright as daytime.

The expressions of the soldiers split exactly in half at her appearance.

Half seemed to see her as a savior, while the other half frowned.

It seemed that half of them had received an order from ‘someone’ to prevent her from coming out of the tent.

“Long time no see, Charlotte.”

As Adele greeted with a calm face, one of Charlotte’s eyebrows twitched.

However, she soon smoothed out her lips, perhaps conscious of the surrounding gazes.

“You’re audacious. You’re not planning to entertain your family you met after a long time with even a cup of tea, are you?”

“My maidservants haven’t arrived yet. If you have business, please tell me briefly.”

“Come to think of it, I don’t see Greta.”

Charlotte’s smile around her lips deepened slightly. At the same time, Adele’s fingertips trembled.

The confrontation was never long. Adele had never broken Charlotte’s stubbornness even once.

“I know news that you might be curious about, but it’s not a story to share here.”

“…Come in.”

As Adele cautiously stepped aside, Charlotte confidently stepped inside as if it were her own tent.

Adele noticed that she was looking at the luxurious furniture inside the tent with an unpleasant expression.

“Please sit.”

Adele said, pushing the book and parchment spread on the table slightly to the side.

Charlotte knew that she could read Ancient Aryan, but for some reason, she felt that she couldn’t read the characters in this book.

It seemed like a spell erasing its presence was cast on the old books.

Although Charlotte glanced at the table as Adele expected, she didn’t show much interest in the worn-out books.

“It’s tolerable.”

Adele evaluated Charlotte, who sat in the authorized chair, coldly. Adele was strangely grateful for her consistent attitude.

Meeting her beautiful stepsister, Adele felt a strange sense of relief, free from complicated thoughts.

How Charlotte interpreted her expression made Adele uncomfortable in her chilly pupils.

In an instant, a poisonous expression surged with a tense expression.

“To you, they might be too good. Regardless of how the situation outside is, I suspected by seeing the state you’ve been stuck in here.”

“…It’s sudden. Please tell me clearly what your business is.”