“Sir, I have determined the lady’s destination.”
Alexandro cautiously approached and whispered in Clint's ear.
“Oh really?”
Clint, who was sitting heavily in the chair, had a grim look on his face.
Since the disappearance of the Duchess, Psyche, Clint's condition has worsened day by day.
Alexandro thought they needed to find the Duchess before something unfortunate happened.
Although Clint pretended otherwise, Saiki's disappearance had a negative effect on him.
Rumors of scandalous incidents in the palace, involving Clint, spread like wildfire among the nobles. News of the Duke's frantic search for the missing Duchess also spread.
Alexandro was disappointed to learn that Psyche was the only one who did not know these facts.
“So where did you go?”
Clint asked, cupping his eyes with his hand.
“I took a carriage to Randle.”
“Randall...”
It was an area he had no connection to.
Clint let out a small sigh.
Various speculations spread like a snowball.
Some spoke of the couple's inconsistency, while others eagerly waited for the Duke to marry a new bride at this opportunity. Their enthusiasm reflected the solid foundation of Clint's authority.
Clint was somewhat aware of these rumors.
However, for now, his priority was to bring Saiki back and restore things to normal.
He slowly stood up from his seat.
“Departure directly to Rundle.”
"concept."
Alexandro immediately prepared to leave without further words.
❖ ❖ ❖
Clint couldn't sleep at night, intermittently closing his eyes while sitting in the cart.
Although the distance to Randle was still great, the carriage he was riding in was enchanted with special spells.
It could go two or three times faster than a regular cart, and Clint was traveling without rest.
Alexandro wondered if he could catch Saiki if he performed well.
He expressed his hope that things would return to normal as soon as possible.
“…”
Somehow, Clint had woken up and was looking into space with a blank look in his eyes.
“Are you feeling unwell?”
When Alexandro saw his troubled expression, he felt like asking.
“No…”
Clint responded annoyed, shaking his head.
It happened because Psyche appeared in his dreams. What's more, every scene has been meticulously re-enacted, making it seem more like a recreation of a flashback than a dream.
'When was that?'
The scene he saw in his dream was naturally imprinted on his mind.
Leaning against the window, Psyche looked as transparent and pure as the moon, unaffected by the sun's rays.
Clint thought, if only for a moment, that she would rather stay in than go out. But he realized, again, that he knew so little about her. He just ordered her to do her best, without paying any attention to it.
He didn't give it much importance.
When Psyche saw the Duke entering, she smiled faintly, stood up, and called out to him.
"my lord."
Notice that she never addressed him in a friendly way, such as calling him husband, but always addressed him as a formal “sir.”
This thought made him feel uncomfortable somehow, so he put on an even more impressed expression.
Did you eat dinner?
“Oh, not yet.”
“Is that so? Am I preparing food?”
Despite her great beauty, Psyche seemed somewhat aloof, but there was a certain warmth about her when she was dealing with the Duke.
She often initiated conversations and was able to engage in lengthy discussions.
That day was nothing out of the ordinary.
The Duke returned home after finishing his usual work, and Psyche received him as usual.
“Dinner is ready, and in the evening, I thought a cup of warm tea would be nice.”
Looks good. Instead of just tea, bring some snacks as well.
"naturally."
Clint smiled weakly.
“Did anything important happen today?”
Nothing special. As usual. It seemed that His Highness the Crown Prince encountered a gang of thieves while wandering abroad… It must have been a bit annoying, but it was a lesson for the future.
Psyche laughed, covering her mouth.
“You are an interesting person.”
“You might not think so when you meet him in person.”
“When you mention thieves, it reminds me of something funny from my childhood.”
Saiki had a dreamy expression as if she was remembering the past.
“The area I grew up in didn’t have a lot of knights, so when bandits showed up, it was often difficult to fight them off.”
"Is this correct?"
“At times like these, my father would use something like the ‘Illusion Grass’.”
“Illusion Grass?”
"Yes. When used skillfully, this plant causes visual hallucinations. You can't tell what others see. I was a child then, so I wonder if I looked like a monster. When the thieves saw it, they ran away as if their pants were on fire."
As Saiki spoke, she burst out laughing again.
“Is this really a thing?”
Yes, but it is not guaranteed success. Usually, it only works once or twice.
As Saiki continued to tell her stories, Clint found himself subconsciously laughing along with her. She kept the conversation light and engaging until she brought tea and snacks. That day seemed filled with various stories.
Because of the stories of Psyche's birthplace, he seems to have heard different stories about Alistar's lands.
I don't remember them all, but one thing is for sure: those stories from that time were not boring.
Looking back, it was a small, simple joy.
At that time he didn't know...
He frowned when he thought that Saiki might sit next to him and engage in an interesting conversation at any moment.
Saiki's presence, seeping into his daily life, had never been so important before.
He sat with a dissatisfied look, his fists clenched.
In order not to disturb the Duke's mood as much as possible, Alexandro remained silent and calm.
Then suddenly the Duke sighed, as if recalling a fleeting memory.
“So… are you deliberately taking a carriage bound somewhere else to avoid revealing your destination?”
Yes. It is a common method used by mercenaries.
“So how do you reach your desired destination?”
You secretly get off in the middle of the road and head to your real destination. Because carriage drivers, unless they are nobles, do not pay attention to those who disappear in the middle of the road. They have already received the money...
“But wouldn’t you be arrested quickly?”
It's harder than you think. Keeping track of all the possibilities is difficult, and even if one of them tried to find his true destination... enough time would have passed for him to escape.
It reminded him of their previous conversation.
“…The lady probably didn’t go to Randall.”
"What?"
Alexandro, who had been silent, was surprised and opened his eyes wide.
It was as if the Duke's words had come out of the blue.
This information was obtained after Alexandru interrogated a person.
Psyche stopped at the market near the palace to sell clothes and ride a cart. Clint began a thorough investigation from there, starting with the carriage ride to Randall. But suddenly?
“We underestimated the importance of finding the lady...it was so easy.”
Only then did Clint realize it.
Maybe she had been planning to escape from him for a long time.
As he thought about it, he became more confused.
'Why did you run away like that? He couldn't even guess.'
The feeling of betrayal at her departure settled quietly into his heart. If he found her, he would never let her go again. He was determined that she would never leave him.
Clint's words left Alexandro with an unusually puzzled expression.
“If not Randall, then where...”
Clint fell into thought for a moment.
“The lady talks about her hometown.”
“Your hometown?”
Yes. She scattered various herbs and told old stories. She looked happy.
Suddenly, Alexandro remembered what Psyche's maid had told him.
She sometimes talked about her hometown, but that day she felt strangely uncomfortable. Stories of herbs and plants had not been heard so easily since Psyche became the Duchess.
She must have gone to her hometown. I changed the cart halfway through.
no. Do you know such methods too? Methods commonly used by mercenaries?
“…”
Clint became more upset at those words.
“Turn the cart around; head towards Aleister’s lands.”
“Understood...”
Alexandro relayed Clint's order to the driver without saying a word.
He usually asked various questions, but Alexandru was an intelligent person. More importantly, he had only served under the Duke for ten years.
He knew that now was not the time to take the initiative, so he remained silent.
Then Clint looked at him and spoke again.
“Why are you silent today? The man who was making noise, bragging that he understands women better than me.”
“Oh…”
“It's strange that you, who were so loud in the past, are so quiet today.”
Alexandru then scratched his head and replied, “I'm someone who knows when to intervene and when not, you know.”
Alexandro was aware that Clint, chasing Saiki, looked different than usual. Although Alexandro was truly loyal to him, given the Duke's current state, if he said something unintelligible, it might not end well for him.
Alexandro knew that Clint couldn't sleep last night, so he had no choice but to keep his words short.
But Clint's silence bothered him.
“When did you start caring about these things? Say anything.”
“Haha…”
Alexandro was even more puzzled.
Surely, he thought there was something wrong with the Duke after the Duchess disappeared.
But he had to follow the Duke's orders to speak, even if it meant saying nothing.
“By the way, isn’t this area famous for frequent bandit attacks on the way to Aleister’s lands?”
“…”
At Clint's words, his face became even more somber.
Alexandro found himself forced to close his mouth again.
“…”
After a few minutes, Clint spoke again.
“It's more annoying when it's quiet.”
The Duke realized that he had become accustomed to his daily conversations with Psyche, as a child. Alexandro frowned when he heard those words.
Alexandro became terrified.
'What should I do!'
It seemed pointless to talk, as it would likely lead to further reprimands. He decided to remain silent. Inwardly, he repeated the phrase “Duchess, please come back” a million times.
The carriage began to head quickly towards Alistar's lands.
Alexandru clung to the hope that he would soon meet Psyche.
And it happened as he expected.