“Alright. I can’t think of a reason to believe the lady. So, I’ll just create a reason to believe.”

“You’re going to create a reason to believe?”

“Yes, using a very traditional method. I treated the lady, took her side, and she repaid me. If she were to betray me after that, wouldn’t that be strange?”

“……Are you saying that if I say I won’t betray you, you’ll believe me?”

“Of course, that’s not all. The suggestion I’m about to make is a work in progress, so it could become a charming reason for the lady.”

“…….”

Caleb looked bewildered, wondering what she was talking about.

Brody, after taking a deep breath, spoke in a slightly lower, quieter, and more careful tone than before.

“I’ll find your daughter.”

“……!”
Caleb’s pupils shook significantly. The composed and serious woman from just a moment ago seemed to have lost her composure as her breathing became rapid.

She grabbed the blanket with trembling hands and, almost involuntarily, stood up. In a posture almost crawling towards Brody, her voice, on the verge of snapping, demanded,

“My daughter… my daughter!”

“Calm down, madam. I waited until you calmed down to speak. If you seem to get agitated again, I’ll give you a sedative and put you back to sleep. Do you understand me?”

Brody explained firmly to Caleb, who was shivering and incoherent.

Fortunately, Caleb managed to regain control over himself.

Brody nodded approvingly, feeling that her mental state had improved significantly.

Caleb eventually sat neatly at the edge of the bed, changing his posture to face Brody.

Although he still tightly clenched the sheets, making his fingertips tremble, at least it seemed like they could have a conversation.

With an urging look prompting her to speak, Brody began her explanation.

“As the head chef of the Duke’s estate, why and how I came to the North.”

This time, Caleb’s lips began to tremble.

“Ah, are you saying that the lady is a… concubine?”

“Well, madam. First of all, I’m not the Duke’s lady. Please call me ‘madam’ again.”

Caleb nodded eagerly. It seemed that he had unintentionally referred to Brody by her former title, thinking of her as a fragile young lady from the Duke’s residence.

However, Brody no longer felt like a fragile young lady to Caleb.

“And I’m not a concubine.”

Caleb sighed audibly with relief. It seemed that after the mention of his daughter, his internal turmoil had caused his feelings to unintentionally surface.

‘What if she thinks I’m really a concubine? What will happen?’ Brody chuckled inwardly.

Originally, Brody was a concubine. She infiltrated the North as a spy disguised as a captive to assassinate the Northern Grand Duke.

Of course, it was the original Brody, not the current one. Nevertheless, the point was that when Brody infiltrated the North, she had received training as a concubine. The current Brody remembered that experience.

Brody ran her lips along the side of her index finger and spoke frankly.

“I know some of their routes. I have quite a bit of information.”

“Y-you mean you can use the Empire’s intelligence network?”

“I should, discreetly and without leaving a trace.”

“Ah…”

Caleb covered his face with both hands. It seemed like his emotions overwhelmed him, and he began to cry.

Brody clenched her fist and lightly tapped her arm.

Then, somewhat forcefully, she said,

“This fact is top secret, madam. I’m telling you, but… Still, if I try to approach the Empire, you probably won’t like it. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Caleb lowered the hand covering his face and met Brody’s gaze directly.

Tears were streaming down, but his eyes were determined.

“Yes, yes. Of course, madam. I will definitely find her. Otherwise, I won’t be able to find our daughter. Absolutely, I will find her.”

Brody nodded.

“Alright, is that settled?”

“What?”

“Now, can I trust you, madam?”

Saying so, Brody took out a handkerchief and extended it.

Caleb, hearing Brody’s words, was about to smile in disbelief, but then he burst into tears, wiping his face with the handkerchief.

Despite Brody’s cheerful tone, witnessing Caleb’s reaction was heart-wrenching for her.

In Brody’s memories, Caleb was as elegant as any noblewoman. She was a renowned chef in the Duke’s estate and especially took care of Caleb’s appearance as she was considered the Duke’s pride. “Chef Caleb” was the envy of many, given the Duke’s reputation. However, now it was different. A gaunt, troubled face and rough hands with prominent bones. Reading about it and hearing from Caleb herself, Brody knew what this woman had endured, but it was challenging to imagine the hardships she had faced.

“Can I meet my daug… meet that child? Will she be safe?”

Caleb asked with a trembling voice. It might not have been a question meant to receive an answer, but rather something she had questioned herself countless times over many hours.

Is my daughter safe? How is she doing? No, is she… alive?

Normally, expressing hope would be difficult, but Brody could answer. In the original story, the mother and daughter had a reunion thanks to the Crown Princess.

And Brody even knew where to find the daughter.

So, without needing to exploit the Empire’s information network, it was just a matter of time until she would bring the daughter back.

Brody carefully put her arm around Caleb’s shoulders and comfortingly said, “You will be able to meet her.”

Caleb’s eyes trembled at Brody’s calm words. How could one express hope? Dare to? Her gaze seemed to be asking just that.

Caleb hesitated before hope. She wanted her daughter to be alive, but if she was dead, she didn’t have the courage to face life beyond that fragile hope.

Brody sensed her feelings and tightened her grip on the hand supporting Caleb’s shoulder.

“Even if not, if…”

“If not…? Does that mean considering the possibility of my daughter’s death?”

Brody, looking at Caleb’s shocked expression, bit her lip. Even if it was painful, she had to finish her words.

“We need to find out what happened. So, please stay strong.”

Caleb’s eyes, which had been momentarily blank, finally released a tear. Whether what needed to be accepted was hope or despair.

For Caleb, what she needed right now was ‘that.’ An ending still in abeyance.
There may not be a need for despair, but even if it’s not a promised hope.

A life that must somehow survive, even to know that ending.

Only by having such a goal, it seemed possible to endure the present and maintain sanity.

The process of struggling to accept the ending itself would allow her to live.

Caleb pressed her lips tightly, almost turning pale.

In the eyes that met Brody’s gaze, determination emerged along with pain.

Brody nodded forcefully, as if agreeing with that look in her eyes.