I understood in hindsight, but at the time, I hadn’t noticed. I’d been too harried by shock. However, Lord Simeon hadn’t missed the irregularity, even under the pressure.
He turned to Mr. Meyer. “You said that you waited in front of the embassy, then went to go searching for Her Highness when her carriage didn’t come out. You hurried after the Flaubert carriage and saw it careen out of control on that hill. Had I been in your position, I would have chased after them at full speed. Why did it take you so long to arrive?”
Mr. Meyer had an extremely displeased expression on his face. He certainly hadn’t predicted that anyone would see through his plan.
Lord Simeon started suspecting him from that moment? Impressive, considering how nonchalant his face has looked these past few days. Ah, but I remember now. As soon as we arrived at the hotel, when I went out into the garden, Lord Simeon was acting a bit out of character: He talked about suspecting Mr. Mace loud enough that Mr. Meyer would hear as he passed us. Lord Simeon did that on purpose to make Mr. Meyer think we misunderstood and to make him drop his guard.
This is why my husband is amazing! He really is a blackhearted military officer! Awful, but oh so cool!
I readjusted my glasses. “So the carriage incident was his doing as well. Was his target the princess or me?”
“I can’t say for sure, but I do believe you were his primary target. He most likely hadn’t expected Her Highness to ride with you, but he wasn’t opposed to the development, so he let things progress.”
I locked eyes with the princess again. “Why did he target me so incessantly...?”
Mr. Meyer didn’t answer as our gazes bored into him. He simply turned away and snorted.
For the time being, Lord Simeon ushered us out of the room and back down the tower. Lord Hilbert walked with a knight aiding him. As expected, even he couldn’t keep up his usual boldness in this situation. He must not have liked that we’d seen him so afraid—he was pointedly not looking at me or the princess, as if pouting.
Once we left the tower, we walked along the hallway to get back to the rest area. The castle we’d previously thought deserted was now filled with people. The knights were moving all around, and the men captured on the ground were probably the armed force that Lord Hilbert had mentioned. How had this many people been hiding in one empty castle?
“Ah, you’re back.” Lord Nigel was among the amassed men.
We shrank back upon seeing him; he was in a more distressing state than anyone else. His stylish gentleman’s outfit was dyed red—blood was even spattered on his face and hair.
“Uh, ummm, are you...all right?” It was scary seeing him laugh so freely while covered in blood. I would cry if I encountered him alone.
“I’m sorry to show you such a gruesome sight,” he said. “But no need to worry. None of this blood is mine.”
“Th-That’s...good.”
It took all I had to say that. S-Scary...! Just how much had he fought? How many people had he cut down? This was the power of a Knight of the Rose...of their leader, no less. His unmatched prowess was even greater than I’d heard...
Lord Simeon stood in front of me and assessed our surroundings. A person came up behind Lord Nigel. It was Ms. Eva.
“At least take off your jacket!” she hollered. “Being soaked in blood in a place like this makes you look like you’re in a horror story. Cover up with this.” She scolded Lord Nigel like usual and threw her own jacket on top of his honey-colored hair.
A small boy was also present. Arthur silently removed Lord Nigel’s jacket and handed him a handkerchief. Once the blood was finally cleaned from Lord Nigel’s face, I managed to somewhat look at him again.
I peered at Ms. Eva and Arthur from Lord Simeon’s shadow. “You two were here too, then.”
Ms. Eva turned around, letting me see that she also had a sword in her hand. On her belt hung a handgun. I decided to pretend to not see the red stains on her sleeves.
“We were undercover, by Master Nigel’s orders. We crossed over to this island on foot during the night, when the tide was low.”
I see... They’d come here first and weren’t off duty after all. The same probably went for the knights in this castle. They’d foreseen an attack and prepared in secret. Mr. Meyer had laughed earlier, claiming that the place was abandoned, but that had been just what Lord Simeon had wanted him to think. Yes, yes, that’s the kind of person Lord Simeon is! Sheesh, what a man!
Lord Simeon and Prince Severin were as capable as always, and the knights who’d managed to remain unnoticed in this castle were incredible too. Though I supposed I should’ve expected no less from Lagrange’s prized Royal Order of Knights.
But...still! Still! I had no choice but to pout at being the only one unaware of this plan. I puffed out my cheeks, which made Lord Nigel laugh and made the knights look at me as if pitying a child. Oh, Lord Simeon, you...! How should I have you make it up to me? I’ll be sure to make tons of selfish requests!
My husband led us back to the original resting room. The storm yet persisted heavily—you’d never have been able to tell it was still afternoon with how dark it was. But my heart had a bright light shining in it because the foreboding clouds had disappeared.