That was a serious accusation. Octavia paused in the middle of bringing her cup of tea to her lips. “You’re being threatened? You? Not threatening someone else?”
“I think you’ve misjudged me terribly. Why is that?”
“I don’t think I’ve misjudged you too much. In any case, won’t you explain the situation to me?”
“It was Mrs. Smile who approached me with this offer,” he began. “The bride in question is Mrs. Smile’s daughter. The young lady’s name is Colette. Six years old. Her chief hobby is playing with dolls.”
If they were to be married, that would make conversation between husband and wife rather difficult.
“Mrs. Smile is the lady in charge of an emerging trading firm known as the Smile Trading Company. She’s an impressive woman. She was the one responsible for the company’s growth. After her husband died, their son took his place, but she’s the one with the real power. She’s even been kind enough to broker several deals for me.”
So she’s a work acquaintance. Whether he’s an art dealer or an antiques dealer, it sounds like he really is working, thought Octavia as she made appropriate remarks. “So, was there a problem with one of your deals?”
“She said that the antique doll I procured for her daughter is a Demonic Heirloom.”
Octavia nearly dropped her cup of tea.
With his chin in his hands, Raven somberly resumed his tale. “When I met you, I was on my way home from that very delivery.”
About two months ago, Mrs. Smile had asked Raven to procure an antique doll for her daughter. She had ordered it as a present for Colette’s sixth birthday, since her daughter was fond of playing with dolls, and also as a keepsake that she could put on display once she had grown up.
Both Mrs. Smile and Colette had seemed satisfied with the item Raven procured, and the deal had been concluded. The item and payment smoothly changed hands. Soon after, however, the strangest of things happened.
“Evidently, the doll vanished. When Mrs. Smile and her daughter searched their manor, they found it quickly enough, but then this happened again and again.”
They would be sure that it had been placed on the mantelpiece, only to find it lying on the floor in another room. At some point, the ornament on its head had been replaced with a ribbon.
“Soon, there were rumors that the doll was moving all by itself.” It didn’t stop at rumors among the manor’s servants, who said they had seen it walking through the corridors or peering into the kitchen. Soon, the rumors spread. It was only natural that eventually they began to whisper, Could it be a Demonic Heirloom?
“Mrs. Smile apparently tried to throw it away, but her daughter was dead set against it. Besides, when she did throw it away, it only came back.”
“I say,” Octavia put in. “Isn’t this simply a horror story now?”
“Mrs. Smile at least wanted to take the doll in question away from her daughter, but each time she tried, it led to an argument between them, creating a vicious cycle. So, this time, she decided to come to me. She asked me to take responsibility for making her daughter lose her senses. After all, I was the one who procured the doll.”
“You’re joking. Marriage, based on that?”
“If the doll really is a Demonic Heirloom, no one will ever accept her daughter. Don’t you see? It is a bit forced, but it makes sense. Mrs. Smile, who has always been ambitious, wants to use my peerage as a foothold to climb into upper class society. Two birds with one stone, you might say.” Shrugging, Raven once again rested his face in his hands. “I know it may sound like an essentially baseless accusation, but I’m not in a very good position to brush it off. I can’t shirk responsibility, now. If it really is a Demonic Heirloom, the inquisitors will have their eyes on me as well.”
In this kingdom, it was illegal to own or use Imperial Heirlooms. There were cases where those who used them were executed. Even if they managed to avoid that, they would be ostracized, losing their livelihoods and social statuses. In the first place, nobody besides Octavia could use an Imperial Heirloom without suffering harm. If one of the tools ran amok and became a Demonic Heirloom, the user would be pulled to the other side, and that would be the end of them. In the worst case, the people around them would be caught up in it as well. For ordinary people, it was sensible not to get involved with them at all.
For that reason, the inquisition was tasked with retrieving and sealing away—or destroying—Imperial Heirlooms. They were experts on Demonic Heirlooms. The queen of Angelus had shared a portion of her power with these inquisitors; Her Majesty’s personal troops were permitted to carry weapons and to use magic, and they were granted broad jurisdiction and license to use those weapons.
Keeping order in the Kingdom of Angelus behind the scenes, they mercilessly hunted down the Imperial Heirlooms and anyone involved with them. If someone were found to have brokered the sale of something that appeared to be an Imperial Heirloom, be they a marquis or otherwise...
No. Precisely because of his rank, Raven would not be let off easily.
“If the rumor has already spread, then this is very bad. Have any inquisitors come to investigate yet?”
In answer to Octavia’s question, Raven shook his head. “No, not yet. The Smile Trading Company has a branch office in the Royal Capital, but it is headquartered in a harbor town, a short distance away from the capital. Her daughter and the doll are both there, and so far, the rumor is only being spread between local gossips.”
“Meaning that it hasn’t yet caused enough of a disturbance to attract the attention of the inquisitors?”
“So far, it seems like nothing more than a mere ghost story. There’s been far too little harm for a Demonic Heirloom to be involved. Still, it seems that it has been brought to the attention of the police. It appears that Mrs. Smile intends to sue me for tricking her and selling her a suspicious item.”
It was a stickier situation than Octavia had thought. She was on the verge of sympathizing with Raven, if only just a little bit, but she still had a problem.
“All that being said, still, why did you come to propose marriage to me?”
“Mrs. Smile targeted me like this because I don’t already have a match. If I’d been married already, she surely wouldn’t have attempted this method of extortion.”
Octavia did not quite take his meaning. She looked back at him quizzically, her head tilted to one side.
Raven gave her a wry smile. “Mrs. Smile doesn’t believe in the Imperial Heirlooms. To her, they’re just a cock and bull story. She’s just that kind of lady. She considers reports of the doll’s antics to be nothing more than nonsense on the parts of her daughter and servants. She’s only interested in quashing these scandalous rumors. And she’s not the sort of woman who’d ever let an opportunity slip through her fingers. She knows that if she were judged to be involved with any Demonic Heirlooms, she wouldn’t escape unscathed. But if she dragged me into it, she’d surely fare at least a little better. She’s merely hedging her bets.”
“Yes,” sighed Octavia. “I understand now that she’s a shrewd lady.”
“But suppose I already had a suitable partner! However large her enterprise is, she runs a trading company; she’s no stranger to the balance of costs and benefits. She wouldn’t directly pick a fight with the daughter of an earl.”
Octavia pointed at herself, and Raven nodded, smiling slightly. His eyes, however, weren’t smiling in the least. Was he inwardly irritated at Mrs. Smile’s unreasonable demand?
There was something frightening about how one never knew what Raven might do next.
With some reluctance, Octavia nodded. “I-I see. In that case, wouldn’t any other young lady do just as well? Surely someone like you has many acquaintances?”
“Not at all. I want you,” replied Raven, immediately and definitively. Octavia could only blink. Raven uncrossed his long legs, then crossed them again. He picked up his teacup and sneaked a glance at Octavia. “I believe in marrying for love, you know.” Again, his tone was strangely childish.
Bewildered, Octavia set down her own cup. “Really? Well, I believe in marrying strategically and prioritizing my own benefit. Since it seems that we are incompatible, let’s each of us do our best to find a match elsewhere.”
“I thought you might say that. You really are formidable. No, wait a minute. In that case, what if there were some benefit to you?”
“Hmm? Well, that would be a different story.”