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“LORD Riddhe will escort Lili, right?”
“Lord Riddhe will escort Lala, right?”
Liliana and Laurencia, the twin princesses of Erdal, huffed and glared at each other as they clung onto each of Riddhe’s arms.
After leaving the royal archives, Riddhe and Albert had ridden fast to Kingsley Castle, hoping to catch Barnabas, who would be there with the fashion designer.
That said, it would be rude to interrupt them while they were serving the royals. To get around that, Riddhe had sent word to Lady Crowne, and sure enough, a reply soon came with an invitation for him to join the group in the drawing room.
And that was how this situation arose.
“Lord Riddhe is to dance with Lili!”
“Lord Riddhe is to dance with Lala!”
“Your Highnesses, please don’t fight…”
With his right arm captured by Liliana and his left by Laurencia, Riddhe was at a loss. His former upbringing as a duke’s heir had not included details on how to handle such a situation. Looking to his servant for help, he saw Albert’s shoulders shaking as he tried to hold in his laughter.
Just you wait, Albert…
“Your Highnesses, you’re putting Lord Riddhe in a tough spot,” Beatrix coaxed gently. “You should be more gracious when responding to an invitation from a gentleman.”
“Besides, you little ladies are still too young to need an escort!” Ist’s designer came to Riddhe’s rescue and clapped his hands. “Come, now! I still need to take your measurements!”
With a reluctant “All right,” the princesses let go of Riddhe and raced over to the designer.
Beatrix smiled as Riddhe drooped in relief and sank onto a sofa. “My apologies, Lord Riddhe. It’s rare for the princesses to meet a young gentleman like you, and it seems you’ve captured their hearts.”
“Oh, no. I should be apologizing for interrupting your session with the designer,” he said.
“It’s all fine. It was a good chance for you to meet the princesses. By the way, what are your plans after this? If you don’t mind, would you like to join us for tea?”
“It’ll be my pleasure. Could I wait while the measurements are taken, if you don’t mind?”
“Of course. We’ve already chosen the fabrics, so it shouldn’t take long.”
Happily, Beatrix called out to a maid waiting nearby to prepare the courtyard for teatime, then followed the princesses into the adjoining room. Once the door was shut, Riddhe turned towards the other man in the room.
“What a coincidence, Mister Barnabas. I didn’t expect to see you two days in a row,” he said with a grin.
“It is a coincidence, indeed.”
Barnabas McGregor’s voice was half surprised, half resigned. He’d probably already guessed the real reason for Riddhe and Albert’s appearance.
So Riddhe decided to get down to business.
“I got the archivist to show me the documents related to Adam Fisher, so let’s get straight to the point. It’s been six years, Mister Barnabas; why are you still investigating the incident? Why did Adam die?”
“The archives? Did you see the records there?” Barnabas bolted up, overwhelmed with emotion, but Riddhe smiled calmly. Soon, Barnabas realized that the other man wasn’t going to talk yet. “…I’ve told you before. It’s no use seeking the truth from the dead.”
“Let me be the one to decide if it’s of use or not,” Riddhe said.
“Are you here to speak to me as an ambassador of Heilland?”
“You may think of it that way, yes. Either way, rest assured that whatever you say will remain top secret.”
Silence fell between them. Then Barnabas sighed.
“I’ve not found much evidence in the past six years. It’s just that he was acting strangely the last time we met. That’s why I felt that he must have gotten mixed up in some kind of trouble.”
“You met him right before his death?”
“Yes. We happened to run into each other in Kingsley the night before his body was found in the woods.”
Slowly, Barnabas recounted the events of that night.
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THAT day, six years ago, Barnabas came to the royal capital of Kingsley to visit the Yggdrasil mansion. Back then, he was an up-and-coming merchant working under Ist President Hopkins and frequently traveled the world. In his spare time, it was his custom to visit the chancellor’s family and spend time with young Charlotte and her older brothers.
The doors of Yggdrasil mansion were always open to Barnabas, and he was often invited to stay the night. Though he accepted on occasion, he didn’t want to impose and often spent the night at Ist’s dorms instead.
That night was no different. After having dinner at the Yggdrasil’s, he was walking through Kingsley on his way back to the dorms. On the way, he spotted a lone traveler crouching in the dark.
Thinking him a drunk or homeless, Barnabas tried to move past him but stopped when the man called out.
“…Barnabas, is that you?”
“…Adam? Are you really Adam?!”
Shocked, Barnabas peered closer to see that the man was, indeed, Adam Fisher, his long-lost best friend who had disappeared from Ist a while back. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but seeing Adam suffering with fatigue and hunger, he’d supported the man to a bar nearby.
Why had he disappeared without a word? And why are his clothes all torn, as if he’d just escaped from somewhere? Barnabas wondered as Adam ate his fill. They hadn’t seen each other in a while; just what had happened to Adam during this time?
“Where have you been, and what have you been up to?” Barnabas asked. “You abandoned your debt and left Ist, so why are you back now, looking like the dead?”
“…Sorry, Barnabas, but I can’t tell you.”
“No? I guess not. You disappeared after leaving behind a simple letter. Lord Yggdrasil and myself have been searching all over for you to no avail.”
Barnabas hadn’t wanted to bother Yggdrasil with the personal matter of his missing best friend, but the chancellor had shown concern about Adam himself, and the two had each tried to locate Adam. Even so, they hadn’t succeeded, meaning Adam had thoroughly covered his tracks.
And now Adam wouldn’t talk.
Didn’t want Barnabas to ask about the past few years.
But Barnabas insisted.
In response, all Adam kept saying was that he had failed.
“I failed. I screwed up. He must be disappointed. I’m sure he’s given up on me…” Adam murmured with a dry, hopeless smile before gulping down his alcohol as if punishing himself for something.
Despite not knowing anything, Barnabas tried to comfort his friend.
“What’s a little failure? Remember our time back in Ist? It won’t be easy, but rather than let it go to waste, you should try your best to regain that lost trust.”
Barnabas could sense the emptiness of his own words, yet Adam seemed encouraged as he narrowed his eyes in nostalgia and laughed.
“I’m not joking,” Barnabas complained.
“I know, but it’s funny how you’ve not changed at all.”
After that, the pair drank together, just like in the old days. As Adam slowly came back to himself, they joked about their time back at Ist as they shared drinks happily.
Soon, it was late at night. In a good mood, Barnabas brought Adam back to the dorms and booked another room for him. Pushing his drunk friend inside, Barnabas left with a final word before staggering back to his own room.
“Listen up. You’re coming with me to see Lord Yggdrasil tomorrow. He’s been worried about you, too. I know you screwed up, but don’t run away again.”
He wasn’t sure if Adam heard him, but he did wave weakly at Barnabas, where he lay collapsed on the bed. Exhausted, Barnabas waved back and shut the door.
And that was the last time he’d seen Adam alive.
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“THE next morning, the room was empty, and he was gone,” Barnabas concluded.
“So he’d disappeared again?” Riddhe asked.
“…I guess that’s what happened,” Barnabas mumbled with a frown. Riddhe tilted his head and waited for the man to continue. “Well, the next time I saw him, he was a corpse. No one at the dorms had seen him leave… I can’t help but wonder what happened after I returned to my room.”
According to Barnabas, Adam’s dead body was discovered in the woods that evening.
The time of discovery was in the records made by the Royal Capital Guard. The military dog of a soldier on patrol had kicked up a fuss, prompting the soldier to venture off his usual route, which led to the discovery.
The door to the adjoining room was still closed, blocking the chatter and bickering of the princesses. The drawing room felt strangely quiet and cold.
“Lord Riddhe, if you are investigating Adam’s case, please tell me,” Barnabas pleaded, the regret of six years without an answer plaguing him. “Who is that person Adam was referring to? And why did he kill him?”