ITIF Chapter 40

Of All Things

With eyes brimming with emotion, Mikhail gazed intently at the honey tea with his blue eyes.

Giselle Grante quietly observed such a Mikhail.

“Th-thank you, Giselle.”

Mikhail gulped down the honey tea. Giselle Grante asked the drinking Mikhail:

“Did something unpleasant happen yesterday?”

“……Huh?”

For a moment, yesterday’s events flashed quickly through Mikhail’s dizzy memories.

Attending the academy alumni gathering with Kavelaseth, and nearly throwing punches at the faces of those bastards who were babbling about Giselle Grante.

And the memory of clinging to Kavelaseth’s trouser legs, insisting on just one more drink…….

A deeply regretful sigh escaped through Mikhail’s teeth as he recalled yesterday’s memories.

“Ah…….”

To Giselle Grante, who tilted her head questioningly, Mikhail hastily made excuses.

“Um…… well, nothing much? I met some academy classmates after a long time, you know? In my excitement…… I drank a little too much.”

With an awkward smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, Mikhail finished the rest of his honey tea.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah……. But this tea is really delicious.”

Mikhail thought to himself.

‘Fortunately, it seems her heart was easily softened.’

For some reason, ever since she had recovered from near death, Giselle Grante had been keeping her distance from both Mikhail and their father, Duke Amaterasu.

Things had become awkward between them, and since he couldn’t even understand the reason, he had been secretly fretting about Giselle Grante.

But to come visit him so early in the morning! And while looking after his health too…….

Mikhail felt his heart melt away like snow. All from his little sister bringing him honey tea.

What a simple heart he had.

“I heard from the butler that Duke Cardia came with you yesterday too?”

However, due to Kavelaseth’s name that sprang from Giselle Grante’s lips, Mikhail’s elevated mood sank again.

‘She came to ask about Kavel!’

Mikhail glared at the mug that showed traces of the honey tea that had already hit bottom.

At the same time, veins bulged on the back of his hand that gripped the mug tightly.

Watching this, Giselle Grante hurriedly continued speaking.

“Duke Cardia seems to… care for you a great deal, brother.”

“……What?”

Mikhail’s lips parted slightly.

‘……Brother?’

The disappointed feeling he had felt, thinking she had made him honey tea to ask about Kavelaseth, began to melt away once again.

Mikhail recalled that time when the small, tiny, and cute Giselle Grante used to follow him around. 

–In reality, except for when she was very young, Giselle Grante had never called Mikhail ‘brother.’–

“Of course! You have no idea how close Kavel and I are…….”

In his good mood, Mikhail began to ramble on somewhat.

About how Duke Cardia didn’t abandon Mikhail on the street but kindly escorted him all the way to the Amaterasu ducal residence.

And also about how, instead of returning straight to the Cardia ducal residence, he stayed to be Mikhail’s drinking companion.

Listening to Mikhail’s somewhat long-winded story, Giselle Grante thought:

‘Can that really be called a close relationship?’

She had her doubts.

But since it seemed she could get the answer she wanted from Mikhail if she encouraged him a little more, she didn’t forget to add encouraging responses here and there to let Mikhail talk more.

“Then did he say nothing about me?”

“……Kavel?”

Mikhail asked back, slightly furrowing his straight brows.

Giselle Grante smiled brightly and nodded.

“Yes.”

Hiss, after drawing in a breath and blinking several times, Mikhail soon clamped his mouth shut.

He didn’t seem to remember well.

‘Just how much did you drink?!’

Without losing the smile on her lips, Giselle Grante firmly suppressed her rising irritation.

“If you remember anything later, please be sure to tell me……. brother.”

“Huh? Yes! I will.”

Mikhail nodded vigorously with downcast eyes.

He was just like a dog with a huge build but a gentle personality.

Only after giving such a Mikhail another bright smile did Giselle Grante leave the bedroom.

But as soon as she stepped out of the bedroom door, the smile completely disappeared from Giselle Grante’s lips.

‘He seems more simple-minded than I heard……?’

Giselle Grante recalled the rumors she had heard about the young Duke Amaterasu in the past.

Although she had heard that the other party had made a verbal mistake to the young Duke Amaterasu first, nevertheless. The young Duke Amaterasu, whose anger had reached the top of his head, had thoroughly beaten his opponent until he fainted. No, even after he fainted.

She had heard it was such a major incident that it might have led to murder if Kavelaseth, who was nearby, hadn’t stopped him.

So naturally, she had expected the young Duke Amaterasu to have a brutal temperament and be the type who couldn’t control his emotions well and would go berserk.

But the behavior he had just shown her was, how should she put it…….

‘Should I say he seems a bit foolish?’

In any case, it was a positive thing for her.

In fact, she had been keeping her distance from both Duke Amaterasu and the young Duke, these two people.

If she spent time with them, naturally they would notice that she had changed from before.

So she had deliberately distanced herself from the two in order to gradually pretend that her personality had changed.

‘It seems there’s no need to do that with the young Duke.’

Seeing Mikhail’s appearance, as if he would give her his liver and gallbladder if she was just a little affectionate, she naturally came to think that way.

****

[Please pledge your loyalty to me.]

Loyalty? Even thinking about it again, it was definitely nonsense that didn’t make sense.

But Giselle Grante’s words made Count Frederick’s heart noisy.

“Damn it…….”

In the past, Princess Trinity had also said the exact same words to Count Frederick.

Word for word, exactly the same.

Recalling the moment when Lady Amaterasu had uttered those words, Count Frederick’s heart raced once again.

“Of all things, to say such words.”

Count Frederick knew well what Princess Trinity had wanted from him. He also knew what his usefulness to her had been.

A chess piece on a chessboard. A hidden card to be kept concealed and used when needed.

Fortunately, Count Frederick knew his place well. That it was definitely not some sweet whisper asking him to become her husband.

The problem was that those words felt far too sweet.

Just as things that taste sweet on the tongue are often bad for the body.

In fact, Count Frederick had foreseen that it would be extremely difficult for Princess Trinity to ascend as the next emperor.

It was then that he received Princess Trinity’s proposal.

Becoming her chess piece was something that Count Frederick could fully anticipate would bring him losses as well.

But he had fallen for the temptation. Because her whisper asking him to pledge loyalty was far too sweet.

Because he had realized that the reason she had gently melted into his life was love.

And when he realized that, it was already too late.

“Damn it…….”

He knew well that there was nothing he could do about it now, but the heart wasn’t something that could be simply cut off like slicing with a knife.

At first, he had simply been angry at Baron Oppenheimer’s daughter who had killed Princess Trinity, and at the princess’s exclusive knights who had failed to protect her.

But he felt puzzled by the fact that there was no target on which to pour out that anger.

He had considered it natural. A royal who was to become emperor had died, and the incompetence of the subordinates who had failed to prevent it should be punished.

But looking back, something was strange.

The fact that they had cleaned up Princess Trinity’s corpse and the crime scene far too quickly after her death, and that all the maids and knights who had been there that day were immediately executed.

So he dug deeper.

Even knowing that if it wasn’t a simple murder due to a love affair, both Count Frederick himself and all his family members could be in danger.

But if he didn’t do at least that much, he simply couldn’t forgive himself.

No, he might have needed to be absorbed in something, even briefly.

So Count Frederick had been secretly investigating the case alone.

It was then that Lady Amaterasu had suddenly appeared before him.

At first, he was suspicious.

Wondering if the Amaterasu ducal house might be the mastermind behind Princess Trinity’s murder.

But given the circumstances, there was no justifiable reason for the Amaterasu ducal house to step forward, and he couldn’t find any reason why Lady Amaterasu would be interested in Princess Trinity’s incident.

Then this thought suddenly occurred to him.

‘Was I really the only hidden card Princess Trinity had kept?’

He thought that perhaps Lady Amaterasu might also be a collaborator chosen by Princess Trinity.

Even when everyone turned their heads at the crown prince’s appearance, only Lady Amaterasu was trying to dig into the past that everyone was forgetting.

That was the reason he had found.

And at the same time, he felt betrayed. By the fact that there were more subordinates she had kept hidden and controlled besides himself.

The night Lady Amaterasu had followed Count Frederick’s carriage, his visit to the Amaterasu ducal residence had been almost impulsive.

Because he wanted to observe closely and gauge whether she was really another hidden card of Princess Trinity.

And every time Princess Trinity’s habits and way of speaking subtly emanated from Lady Amaterasu, he was startled.

Having suspected as much, Count Frederick became certain through their conversation at the Amaterasu ducal residence a few days ago.

That Lady Amaterasu had also been Princess Trinity’s subordinate. That he hadn’t been the only special person to Princess Trinity.

He had to acknowledge that.

Only after replaying his conversation with Giselle Grante for quite some time was Count Frederick able to lower his gaze to the documents that had hardly caught his attention.