* * *
Enraged by the loss of his wife, he was hunting down independence fighters like rats.
Since the duchess’s disappearance, he’d stepped down from his position as commander of the knights and even threatened to quit the military altogether.
The emperor and crown prince were struggling to keep him under control.
“Marquis Rooster is frantically trying to clear his name, saying his connection to the independence army is a misunderstanding.”
“Him?”
“Yes. He’s going around to all the families he supported, demanding full records of how his donations were used.”
‘So he’s going around trying to find me.’
Sylvian smiled and sipped his tea at her words.
“No one saw you while you were fleeing, right?”
“I had my face covered from the moment I got in the carriage. Back then, hoods weren’t even banned yet.”
Even now, looking like this, no one would suspect his identity.
“How many independence fighters does the Naruman Kingdom even have that they still haven’t been caught?”
“They’re still stirring up the kingdom’s citizens and nobles.”
Narman had lost the war and been fully absorbed into the empire.
Everyone had been forcibly relocated.
In exchange, they’d received homes and land, so there weren’t many complaints—at least that’s what he’d heard.
“Being part of the empire is better than being in a small kingdom.”
He didn’t understand why the independence movement continued.
The emperor had executed every noble who opposed until the end.
The royal line had been completely wiped out, though some nobles had survived.
The commoners had come to appreciate the empire’s abundance and leniency, and had begun to accept the new rule willingly.
But the nobles wanted to reclaim their lost power.
“It’s inevitable for them to feel like their nation was taken away by force.”
Elizabeth had no intention of defending them.
But she knew that once you stood against the empire, the only end was death.
Every time the independence army rose up, the emperor made an example of them with merciless slaughter.
It had seemed like the independence fighters were dwindling, but their activity suddenly surged again starting last year.
“When the duchess was kidnapped and the empire was thrown into disarray, the independence fighters made their move, which only worsened public opinion of them.”
‘Well, that’s convenient.’
Sylvian sipped his tea, lost in thought.
Why would Karl support the independence army?
No matter how he thought about it, there was no reason for Karl to fund them.
There were far too many suspicious connections, from the kidnapping to the independence army itself.
‘He’s definitely hiding something.’
There was a maid who frequently came in and out of his room.
She helped clean up the mess he left behind.
“Elise, are there any rumors about me? Like someone found some evidence…?”
“No. I did hear the Duke conducted a surprise inspection of an upscale neighborhood, but nothing related to you came up.”
Why is Zeroth hiding my traces?
Whose mansion was it?
If I catch the maid who used to bathe me from time to time, I can figure out what the Viscount is up to.
That’s her.
Martius swallowed hard as he confirmed the woman stepping out from the back gate of a certain count’s estate.
Brown hair, freckles all over her nose.
She was laughing heartily with the other servants as they left work.
Martius had secretly sneaked into the Ducal Knight Order’s office and stolen information on the servants from the place where his brother had been imprisoned.
“She looks ordinary.”
He confirmed that the maid his brother had described hadn’t run away, then turned around and took a different path into the city.
There weren’t many routes from the nobles’ district into the city.
Since carriages had to follow designated paths, there was little chance she’d just vanish.
Martius put on a wig and changed into rough clothing that mercenaries might wear instead of his usual formal uniform.
With a slight stoop and swagger in his walk, he blended in from a distance.
As he entered the end of an alley, he mentally counted in sync with the maid’s walking pace.
‘One, two, three…’
‘Perfect.’
The maid passed right in front of Martius.
Like someone just stepping out of the alleyway, he naturally began trailing behind her.
“See you tomorrow!”
“Good work today!”
Passing the servants who parted with cheerful laughter, Martius followed the woman.
She stopped by a bakery for some bread, then a grocer for fruits and vegetables before entering a narrow alley.
“…Damn it.”
She was gone.
Martius entered the alley she had gone into—but the woman was nowhere to be seen.
He wandered around like a lost soul, pretending to look around aimlessly before turning to head back out.
Just as he ducked behind a wall and held his breath, the sound of footsteps echoed again in the alley.
‘Shit.’
As the sound came closer, heading in his direction, Martius slipped into the crowd, hiding among the people.
“Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to—?”
“Oh, this is the famous patisserie!”
“I promised my younger brother I’d bring him something from there, but I seem to have lost my way.”
He deliberately deepened his voice and rambled about nothing in particular.
He sensed a glance in his direction, but he kept nodding along as a passerby gave him directions.
“Thank you very much.”
Then, moving as if he had a real destination, he walked away.
‘I won’t be able to approach her so easily tomorrow.’
Martius kept walking until he was sure the prying eyes were gone.
As he turned onto another street, the feeling of being tailed finally disappeared.
“Phew. That was close.”
Scratching his cheek, he actually did go buy some chocolates.
Expecting someone to tail him, he deliberately entered a crowded store, changed his clothes, and came back out.
“You’re home early today.”
“Yes, it’s freezing out.”
“How is Young Lord Holt doing? I haven’t seen him around lately.”
Back at the duke’s estate, the butler Kelvin greeted him.
Although Martius had said he’d return to the capital, the Duke insisted he stay until Sylvian was found.
That look in the Duke’s eyes said he might do something rash otherwise, so Martius had no choice but to remain at the estate.
“…We had a bit of a fight.”
“Are you each looking for Lord Sylvian separately?”
“No. We’ll make up soon.”
Seeing the butler’s unconcealed concern for Yuri made Martius feel a pang of guilt.
He’d said something unnecessary and hurt Yuri.
He probably knew it too.
He felt pathetic for not being able to wait a little longer.
“Haha. Kids always fight as they grow up.”
Kelvin, saying it was too cold, ushered him inside.
His eyes meticulously scanned Martius’s outfit.
“Where is the Duke?”
“He heard there was a gathering of independence fighters at Turtle Bay and left.”
“Do you think my brother’s disappearance is related to them?”
“I can’t say for sure, but ever since Lord Sylvian vanished, the independence movement has become more active. I doubt it’s completely unrelated.”
It was odd that the resistance hadn’t demanded ransom from the Duke, but as the Duchess’s abduction dragged on, people began to suspect she might already be dead.
“Then I’ll head up first. Please prepare a hearty dinner.”
The place identified by the Knight Order didn’t match where the maid had gone.
That meant she had either lied or had other business.
‘Tomorrow, I’ll stake out near her house.’
Martius thought of his brother, who was presumably safe at Count Graham’s estate.
* * *
