Half a month later, I was called to the same salon.
“Lady Mille-Feuille, unfortunately, we could not find any proof that Duchesse Langue de Chat made an attempt on your life.”
“I see...”
It was unrealistic to think that everything would go according to plan. If the assassin was trying to kill me because I was too close to Van, would everything be settled if I left the capital and moved back to my family’s estate?
Whenever I thought about Van, my heart started to ache. Why did I have to fall in love with the exact same man as I had in my previous life?
If Van’s memories returned, it was possible that only Charlotte would remain in his heart. He might stop caring about a lowly woman such as myself. If that happened, would I be able to accept it? I had no idea. But either way, it was cruel to keep Van’s memories sealed away like this. I believed that his memories needed to come back.
“Lady Mille-Feuille, we did not find proof of his attempt on your life, but we found a room that might be suspicious.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes indeed.”
Apparently, it was a room in a research facility that Duchesse was in charge of. They had found the building on the city’s outskirts, and unauthorized personnel were forbidden from entering. They had managed to get inside and found a device that connected to a hidden room, but they’d been unable to unlock it.
“It seemed that a spell was placed on the room, and it would take an enchanted key to unlock it.”
Duchesse kept said key in his possession at all times.
“We were debating whether we should attack him and steal the key, or perhaps capture him and make him confess, even though we had little proof.”
The three ladies talked about these violent plans with smiles on their faces.
“If we capture him, we need proof. If Duchesse Langue de Chat plays dumb and the Dragon Duke takes his side, we’ll have no recourse.”
“If only it were a regular lock. One of my subordinates would be able to open it, then.”
“We would never be able to open one sealed with ancient magic.”
A lock sealed with ancient magic... Hearing that, I suddenly recalled something.
“Oh, right!” I exclaimed. I had brought the items the white squirrels had gathered with me in case they might be of use. Among them was a replica of the key with an engraving of an ancient spell. I took it out and showed it to the three ladies. “I believe this could be the key to the hidden room at the research facility.”
Once I explained that this replica had been made by my white squirrel familiars, the three ladies widened their eyes in surprise.
“I ordered my familiars to look for suspicious items and they found this,” I continued.
“May I borrow this for a while? I would like to make duplicates of it.”
“Of course. Here.”
The ladies said that they would resume their investigation of the facility once the spare key was complete. I decided to leave the matter to them.
“I have other suspicious points regarding Duchesse,” I said. I then told them about his inexplicable actions, such as the threatening letter and the magical contraption hidden within it, as well as the falsified reports regarding the research on Suppression Magic. I was upset that he had done all this, and yet no proof of his actions remained.
“We understand. I will order my subordinates to find proof of those deeds as well. However, I’m sure that he is aware of what we are doing by now, so we’ll need to be even more careful. It will take a while, so please take care and pay attention to your surroundings.”
“Okay,” I replied.
Our deadline was the eve of the Founding Anniversary. Duchesse would be by Van’s side during that time and would not be leaving him alone.
“Oh, that reminds me. The Dragon Duke said that he had something to tell me on the eve of the Founding Anniversary,” I recalled.
“Oh? Is he going to propose to you?”
“He is, isn’t he?”
“Oh my, I am looking forward to this!”
“Um, it’s not anything set in stone yet...” I replied.
Van’d had a grim expression on his face when he invited me, so I doubted that it was a proposal. Even so, the three ladies kept up their excitement, despite my protests.
I returned to the castle, feeling tired.
A package had arrived at my room, and my attendants happily explained what was inside. “Lady Mille-Feuille, the Lord Dragon Duke has sent you a dress to wear at the Founding Anniversary!”
I suddenly remembered that on the Founding Anniversary, I was to wear traditional dragonkin attire. That consisted of a simple dress with no ornamentation, but I’d wear a luxurious belt with intricate patterns on top of it around my waist.
“Would you like to see the contents, milady?” the attendant asked. The others stared at me with expectant gazes, all curious about what was inside.
“Yes, I would. Could you please show them to me?”
“As you wish, milady!”
The attendants opened the lid of the wooden box. Inside was a plain, all-white dress and a belt. The belt was made of silk and had a flower pattern embroidered on it with silver thread.
What a luxurious present.
The attendants squealed in excitement. Being sent an all-white dress on the Founding Anniversary was seen as a marriage proposal. If the woman wore it on the festival held on the eve of the Founding Anniversary, it would mean that she accepted.
“Lady Mille-Feuille, I am so happy for you!”
“The Lord Dragon Duke would be overjoyed if you wore it!”
“He would, wouldn’t he?” I replied.
Only five days remained until the eve of the Founding Anniversary. I could only hope that there would be no further incidents from here on out.