The protagonist I saw on the cover of the novel was obviously dark-haired, but now I can’t say that I’m certain of my memories.
Despite this belief, there was nothing clear about the idea. In the end, I have no choice but to ask directly.
At the end of the last words, I looked at Aaron, who was silent, and carefully opened my mouth.
Aaron, um … I’m just curious. Can you tell me where you went?”
“….”
“I know it’s rude. But it seems like a place I knew, and just in case … is it Ernhardt?”
“….”
“Sir?”
Aaron’s body, which was sitting in a daze, collapsed. Come to think of it, we were in the middle of a chat, but it’s been quiet for a while….
“Wait a minute, Aaron, are you sleeping?”
Sleep? How much did you drink? No, no, wake up, please!
As I was speaking more loudly demanding him to answer me, I began to hear footsteps. The butler who guided me to the drawing room was approaching with a tray. Huh, why is the butler carrying a tray?
It was strange, but it seemed to be understandable when I think of my own butler. He must have come to see his master’s love story.
I shut my mouth and leaned back against the table.
This was not Valrose mansion, but I still could not show my distress to others.
“I’m apologized, the preparation is longer than I expected … my lord?”
“I’m sorry, I think it’s too late. Aaron must be a little weak at drinking.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, my lady! The lord is having a hard time in training today, so that must be why the alcohol.…”
“No, that’s not what I’m sorry about.”
He must apologize for throwing the bomb and running away.
I tried to answer gracefully, enduring my sigh.
“If Aaron wakes up, please tell him I’d like to see him again soon.”
Living as a aristocrat is tiring.
***
“I’m sure it’s hard to hear what he did for the knight training. It is a very sacred ritual, if not as much as in the old days when they were on the battlefield, and the Claymore family in particular is strict in that respect.”
“I know, Sadie.”
“My brother is a knight, so I picked up a little. “
It turned out that Sadie’s sister is a knight, a member of the Imperial 3rd Order. I’m sure she heard it from her brother.
When Aaron wakes up, I thought I’d ask him again, but I can’t tell him why I’m asking. Perhaps the reason why he told the secret in the first place was because he was drunk and loosened his tongue.
Rather than answering the question, it just became more and more entangled, and the more I thought about it, the more I felt frustrated.
“If he’s going to keep it secret, keep it secret until the end, or what else will he spill with alcohol?”
“Did Sir Claymore do that?”
“Yeah, Aaron’s drinking habit was the worst I’ve ever been through. Oh, you can’t tell that to anyone, I’m joking.”
“I won’t.”
Aaron, Alice, and Nocton are doing good job in haunting me with questions, and there’s no contact.
Of course if I get a call from Nocton, I will run.
Why is my relationship like this? Is there something wrong with me?
“And my lady, I asked for an an appointment with the Radiant Boutique. If you don’t want to go in person, I will go there.”
“Haven’t I bought a new dress just recently?”
“You’re going to a tea party soon. Have you forgotten?”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. I’m not going, I’ve changed my mind.”
“What? Ah … yes, my lady. Then I’ll send a letter of rejection to Duke Edgar today. “
“Don’t do that, either.”
Even if I refuse to go to the tea party, Nocton will not simply step down.
Rather, if I send a reply of rejection, wouldn’t he come to my house right away?
There is nothing that has become clear about his identity or purpose, and there is no need for me to call him first. Even if it was just a simple buy of time, it was better.
Of course, it’s rude not to show up on the day without a reply, but as I told Aaron, the minor rudeness in this situation was not important.
If Alice was mistaken, and Nocton Edgar was in fact an innocent person, then I’d apologize. Since my engagement with Aaron in the first place was to distance myself from Nocton, there would be no need for me to go further.
Sadie seemed unconvinced by what I said, but she nodded. She left the room, and soon Duvel knocked on the door as if he had made a replacement.
Valrose’s loyal butler seemed more proud than ever.
“Do you have any good news, Duvel?”
“Yes, Lady! It was much sooner that I thought.”
“You got the … no way.”
Duvel put the glass bottle down in front of me.
Inside the tightly-capped glass bottle was a light purple liquid.
“It’s the Memoria’s Seal!”
***
Edgar’s mansion is busy.
The arrangement, which used to be neat and monotonous according to the owner’s taste, turns into a bright color. In addition to the chandelier in the hall, the window was illuminated with a magic lantern, and the carpet of colored rugs were installed on the floor. A glass table is engraved with colorful patterns, and a rose vine is wrapped in the frame of the window.
At the fingertips of people dressed in black and white, a tea party was created to perfectly match one’s taste.
Strangely, all of these moving people in the mansion have a bright face and dim eyes.
As if drunk in a dream, the lack of expression made them look like dolls, not people.
It was only their master, the young lord, whose eyes were clear.
At the back, Nocton Edgar was watching the progress of the work with indifference.
“I hope you’ll like it.”
The master said something, but none of them responded.
Nocton also took it for granted.
Instead of these meaningless and worthless people, he smirked as he thought of someone.
“You must be happy and cheerful enough, so that you can endure sad things.”
The light purple eyes rolled back to the sky.
“You think so too, don’t you?”
Alice Limorand.
“Ugh!”
Alice jumped out of her bed.
Her heart was pounding.
Her body was in there, but her mind was gripped by the sight she had seen a little while ago. Like a man still wandering in a dream, Alice holds herself in a sitting position.
She tried to step back, but the headboard touched her back, and she crumpled the sheets.
Nevertheless, fear paralyzes her reasoning and she didn’t even realize what she was doing.
Alice closed her eyes tightly and crouched. The sound of her beating heart gave her anxiety.
‘Eyes, his eyes … I’m finished.’
It’s a dream, only a dream. There’s nothing to worry about, what happened a little while ago was a simple dream.
She was sure.
Because she’s already given a similar dream before coming to Ernhardt, and she never had the same foresight dream before. The dream a little was an illusion brought up by Alice’s fear.
Not surprisingly, in the real foresight, she didn’t even make eye contact with the Duke.
It was worth closing her eyes, the trembling slowly subsided.
But even that’s just a flash of relief.
Nothing has been sorted out yet. It’s been quite a long time since she had a foresight dream since she was young.
Alice never told anyone her secret. The same was true for Roa, her precious friend.
She didn’t want to look strange to others, and she thought the secret could be her weakness.
Alice knew how painful it was to be branded as a strange person. In addition, there was a calculation that it would be more profitable not to inform anyone. If she knew what was going to happen in the future, whether it was beneficial or harmful, it would be of great help to her.
Still, it was because of Nocton Edgar that Alice told Roa about the existence of her foresight dream.
Because she figured out what was going to happen at the tea party he invited.
“From the very beginning, we weren’t supposed to meet….”
The day she didn’t know what kind of man Nocton was. when she only caught a single glimpse of him in her dream through her dream about Roa, Alice wanted to go back to that day when she didn’t know anything.
She wished she said no when Nocton Edgar approached her.
“Greeting, young lady Limorand.”
“Your Grace? Nice to meet you, my lord. My name is Alice Limorand.”
“I know, you’re Valrose’s best friend, right? I’d like to hear about your story with her. Can you spare me some time?”
A cry finally burst and Alice buried her face in her lap.
At the tea party she saw in her dream, Alice Limorand was murdered along with Aaron Claymore.
***
“Thank you for your precious time, lady.”
The young man who entered the drawing room in Limorand mansion said with a smile. His purple eyes shone brightly.
He was certainly a beautiful person.
Even though he was not a knight, his height and physique were as finely carved. The snow-white face looked a little lifeless, but the combination of the light purple eyes created a strange atmosphere in itself.
A black hair like gold, graceful nose, and elegantly colored lips, he looks like a living art.
Even the teacup seemed to have gleamed from his fingers.
Just like the first time she saw Roa in the less crowded Ernhardt, perhaps more than that, Nocton’s appearance had a provocative look.
That didn’t mean she was taken away. Alice clearly already had someone she loved.
Even though she couldn’t meet him again as Alice Momont since the moment she became a Limorand.
When she recalled that she didn’t know his real face or voice because of the artefact, a bitter smile formed in her face.
Alice knew him for about three years, but because of the anti-recognition magic, all Alice knew was his way of speaking and walking.
Even his restrained posture is so common because it’s a characteristic of knights.
Even if she met him again, she had no confidence to recognize him.
His name also must be an alias.
That’s the story Alice’s first love, who had been buried in the past.
As soon as the young man met her eyes, she smiled again.
It was familiar to conceal her feeling and just smile.
“Valrose is engaged. Did the lady know that?“
“Didn’t Roa tell you beforehand, my lord?”
“It’s sad, but I only knew it after she got engaged.”
Only
Really?
Bewildered by the unexpected remark, Alice blinked.
Because she has been dreaming about Roa for a long time, she knew that those two were not always friendly and tender to each other.
But even so, they were definitely friends.
Why did a close friend tell you the their engagement news only afer it became official?
“I went to my estate because of work, and when I came back, she told me she was engaged.”
“You’re away! You might not have known that. She was engaged in a bit of a hurry, because she made up her mind almost as soon as the marriage offer came in….”
“Marriage … I’m surprised I could still come in.”
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