The door to my bedroom closed behind me, but I couldn’t recall how I had managed to climb the four flights of stairs to the main building. My breath came in ragged gasps, unsure whether it was from exertion or the disarray in my mind.

“Greetings, Madam.”

The servants, hastily clearing a path for me, watched my every move. The informants, in particular, were acutely aware of my mood.

“….”

The reason for their scrutiny was obvious. They, too, must have known that the real Ferro had arrived. Even though they must’ve obeyed the order to conceal her, the sense of betrayal I felt was inevitable.

With a thud, I pulled out a chair and sat down. My breathing was still ragged, but my mind was gradually clearing.

Diello and I had planned to erase Diello’s lily and make it appear as if Ferro’s awakening was impossible. Meanwhile, we would find the real Ferro, awaken him, and eliminate Duke Alors, who would underestimate us and attack.

…Or so it had been.

Our plan had gone awry from the very beginning.

“Why did the Ferro…”

I was told that the real Ferro had not arrived when she was supposed to. I searched for her, but it seemed she wouldn’t come. However, she had been in the basement of the annex all along.

Was I the only one who had been trying to carry out the plan?

And even then…

‘What if Diello had awakened Ferro during this time…’

…I had worried about him, suppressing my own feelings.

I clenched my fists.

“Krua.”

The sweet voice that used to call me came to mind. Neither Diello nor the servants of Argenta, who were now watching me, could have intended to deceive or manipulate me. They had treated me with too much sincerity for me to believe that.

“…Please stay as you are, Krua.”

My suppressed emotions welled up, threatening to spill over.

Then, why had they done this? Because the real Ferro had arrived… did they think I would just leave? Of course, if it had been shortly after our marriage, I might have. But not now.

“….”

When exactly had the Ferro arrived?

I looked at the table, then, with my fists still clenched, I rapped on it as if knocking.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.

It was a signal to call Rick. Would he hear me even if I called him from inside the room?

But soon, Rick’s voice came from outside the room.

“Did you call for me, Madam?”

His subdued tone suggested he was aware of how things were unfolding.

“Come in.”

At my words, Rick cautiously stepped into the room. There were bandages wrapped around various parts of his body, indicating he had sustained some injuries earlier.

As I narrowed my eyes, he bowed his head.

“I’m not seriously injured. Please do not worry and ask your questions.”

Rick’s usually cheerful face was devoid of a smile.

I looked at him and opened my mouth.

“I have many questions, Sir Rick. But…”

I wondered if he would tell me the truth if I asked. As if sensing my doubt, he responded, “His Excellency has instructed me to answer all your questions truthfully, Madam.”

It was easy to guess that I would call for him.

I thought of Diello’s face. The last time I saw him, his expression was a mixture of confusion, distress, and sadness. I recalled the face I had seen in the basement, then looked back at Rick.

“When did the real Ferro arrive?”

At my question, Rick bowed his head deeply and replied.

“…It was right after the monster using magic appeared in the fourth zone and after you visited Duke Alors’ estate.”

“So, that means…”

I counted the order of events in my mind.

…It was exactly when I had expected Ferro to arrive. It wasn’t that the original story had changed… it was that Diello had hidden Ferro.

I exhaled a short breath.

“Why did he hide her?”

I wanted to hear the perspective of the Intelligence Department, not just Diello’s.

Diello… he would probably say it was because he didn’t want me to leave. Still, what about Argenta’s Intelligence Department? What were the Argenta people, who had been waiting for the Duke’s awakening, thinking by aiding in Ferro’s concealment?

To my question, Rick told me something unexpected.

“At that time, Venia Karta was in a state of possessing an unusual water ability.”

“Unusual?”

Was he talking about the water ability she had used earlier? It was certainly strange.

“Yes. Originally, Venia Karta was someone who used the power of Argenta. She was even considered a potential successor to the Duke, next to His Excellency. However, the previous Duke took away her ability before she was banished.”

His words made me wonder.

“…Banished? Why?”

“Venia was a traitor who revealed the location of the previous Duke and Duchess to Alors, leading to their deaths.”

Rick’s words hung in the air.

The weight of the word ‘traitor’ made me speechless.

“Normally, she should have been executed on the spot, though she entered Argenta claiming to be Ferro…”

Rick, who had been watching me, went on cautiously.

“Immediately after that, she demanded the hostess position of Argenta. And also…”

His gaze briefly turned to me.

“She demanded to punish the Madam.”

“….”

…Well, I thought she would be annoyed by the fake Ferro. I didn’t want to get involved, as the real Ferro’s personality described in the original story was also bad. Nevertheless, I didn’t expect her to ask for punishment for me.

“And she claimed that Duke Alors was behind her.”

I narrowed my eyes at that.

“There’s no way Diello wouldn’t know that’s a lie.”

Duke Alors sent me as a fake Ferro to interfere with Diello’s awakening. Therefore, there was no way he would suddenly send the real Ferro to Argenta.

Rick nodded politely at my words.

“Yes, I realized it was a lie, but it was true that Venia could use Alors’ ability.”

He continued.

“So, he ordered me to use a special magic tool to prevent her from using her water ability and to expose her to water as little as possible while investigating how she acquired the ability.”

Since they had already investigated the conditions for creating Ferro, they had failed to investigate how she acquired the water ability. That was because Venia went berserk before that.

Rick’s story continued.

“The lord was worried that if Venia found out about his and Madam’s plan, she might leak the information to Duke Alors through her water ability.”

I narrowed my eyes at that.

“That’s….”

That could be true. Nonetheless, did that mean he had to completely hide Ferro’s existence from me?

It was then that I bit my lip.

Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.

I heard a voice calling Rick nearby. When I looked up, with a troubled expression, he glanced at the door.

“…It seems there’s a report for me.”

“Tell them to bring it.”

I was going to collect my thoughts in the meantime. However, the information the informant brought in after receiving permission was, of all things, information related to Venia.

To be exact…

“…The power crystal that Venia had?”

“Yes. It doesn’t seem to be an ordinary power crystal, but would you like to see it?”

At those words, he handed me the report he hadn’t even read yet.

I took it and looked at it.

It was a drawing of a white pearl I had seen, half-melted. And among the descriptions below it, there was something that stood out.

[ …During the investigation, those who came into contact with it for a long time felt their power being sucked away, so the investigation time per person was shortened to within five minutes. ]

“…Power being sucked away?”

The first thing that came to mind was the lifeless appearance of Venia.

[ There are some who remember seeing records of a similar object called ‘Calamity’ in past records, so we have started a separate document investigation… ]

Calamity, the name itself was ominous.

I returned the document.

“You’re investigating that pearl-like object?”

“Yes. They say that Alors’ power was embedded in that strange power crystal.”

I felt a sense of unease at that.

“It was something she had with her when he first came?”

Rick immediately understood what I was asking.

“Yes. It is presumed to be one of the beads on her bracelet. However, at that time, I didn’t feel the power of water at all.”

Well, if I had felt the power of water, I would have caught her.

“It’s normal not to feel the solidified power well, though the Intelligence Department has never encountered a crystal with such faded power that even you can’t feel it…”

He bowed his head.

Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.

Just then, I heard the knock calling Rick again.

“Go ahead.”

Since the basement of the annex was in such a state of chaos, he must have had a lot to do. Besides, now wasn’t the time for a full-fledged battle with Alors.

Anyway, I’ve heard all of the stories.

“….”

I narrowed my eyes.

To summarize, Venia entered Argenta with a strange power she received from the pearl, claiming that she was under the protection of Duke Alors. Diello saw through the lie, but he didn’t let me know and stopped me from meeting her.

…All for my safety.

A short sigh escaped my lips.

My head was a mess. The more I thought about it, the more I felt suffocated, as if I was sinking into my thoughts.

* * *

After a long time of contemplation, a knock on the door echoed through the room that night.

“…Krua.”

It was Diello’s voice.

“Diello….”

Sitting on the bed, I looked far away at the door.

I hesitated. Should I let him into the room? If I did, would I be able to solve these numerous questions?

—