Chapter 108
***
The air in the parlor froze in an instant. Stunned by the unexpected sound, Isabelle stood frozen like a statue, unable to utter a word. She had been staring intently at Blair, but now she shifted her gaze slightly upward to look at Edmund. A flicker of shock passed through Isabelle’s eyes as she looked back and forth between the two standing side by side.
“How dare you....”
A suppressed voice escaped from between her trembling lips.
“You lowly upstarts, how dare you—how dare you touch our family, my Rufus…”
Isabelle’s face, which had been flushed red with rage, turned pale in an instant. The change was so sudden that Blair flinched. In that instant, broad shoulders moved in front of her, blocking Blair’s view.
“Stop it.”
A low, deep voice cut through the tense air in an instant. Edmund skillfully positioned himself to block Blair, preventing the two women from even making eye contact, and continued.
“I won’t listen to another word you have to say. If you don’t see the need to reveal Rufus’s whereabouts, then there’s nothing I can do.”
“…”
“I’ll have to find out for myself.”
Edmund turned on his heel and grabbed Blair’s hand.
“Let’s go.”
Following him, half-forced, Blair glanced back over her shoulder. Isabelle stood there with a strange, vacant expression, as if all thought and emotion had been erased from her face; her eyes were unfocused, as if she were facing an unbelievable reality. The image of her standing there, left all alone, lingered in her mind for a long time.
***
Immediately afterward, the family’s senior officials were summoned to the conference room. Among them were the legal counsel, the treasurer in charge of accounting, senior servants including the butler, and even the captain of the guard who would oversee the search for Rufus. The mansion’s conference room, rarely used, was bustling with activity for once.
“It would be best to find him within a week, at the very least.”
The treasurer, who managed the Liberte family’s finances and administrative affairs, said as he pored over his documents. He was racking his brain to minimize unnecessary losses.
“There are only ten days left until the date the Rorschach delegation is scheduled to arrive to escort the eldest young master. Since we have prepared the protocol, we must find him within a week to minimize the financial impact.”
“We’ll have to deploy as many search personnel as possible. Where might the young master be hiding?”
When the captain of the guard asked, the maid who had served Rufus most closely hesitated before offering her opinion.
“He rarely went out... so even within Eldenvale, I’m not sure where he might have gone...”
“Hmm, then is it likely he’s at Borsa?”
“I have absolutely no idea about Borsa. He did attend school there, but he dropped out partway through, and hardly anyone visits him there...”
“He’s in Borsa.”
Edmund, who had been tapping his fingers on the table, blurted it out. Everyone seated around the table turned their heads in unison. Blair, who had been holding her breath, also looked at him with a voice full of conviction.
“It’s a vast area, so tracking him is difficult, and since it’s a transportation hub, he can move easily anywhere. While there are many districts in the capital controlled by Liberte, that could also work to Rufus’s advantage.”
Feeling their eyes on him, Edmund raised his head slightly.
“But it’s pointless to judge based on Rufus. The person we need to focus on right now isn’t Rufus—it’s Mother.”
“Do you mean the Lady of the House, who has returned to the mansion?”
“Mother is the one who smuggled Rufus out in the first place, and the acquaintances who might lend him a hideout are likely part of her network. Remember that Rufus can do almost nothing on his own.”
“….”
“Investigate Mother’s background and track her movements. Then Rufus will come out on his own.”
Blair, who had been listening quietly, suddenly felt a dull ache in her abdomen and shifted in her seat. She thought it was just a momentary discomfort, but as the subtle pain persisted, she gripped the armrest of her chair. She had assumed he was focused on the meeting, but Edmund, who had sensed the change with uncanny precision, placed his hand on the back of hers.
“Are you all right?”
“Ah… yes. It’s just a little…”
“We’ll take a brief break from the meeting.”
Edmund made the announcement to the executives, who looked concerned, and gently tugged at Blair’s wrist. She was slightly taken aback by his tender touch, but unable to resist, she slowly stood up.
As soon as they stepped out of the conference room, leaving the others behind, Edmund gently cupped Blair’s cheeks in his hands.
“I’ll take you to the bedroom so you can rest. I’ll call a doctor right away.”
“Wait a minute, I never said I was sick. You’re overreacting. It’s an important meeting, and you even walked out in the middle of it...”
“Your complexion looks a little different than usual, so you absolutely must see a doctor. There’s no reason to sit there hiding your discomfort.”
Without thinking, Blair turned her head to look at the decorative mirror hanging on the hallway wall. To her, the owner of the body, her complexion looked exactly the same as always. What on earth was different? Since he was a man who enjoyed studying works of art, perhaps he could distinguish the subtle change in color...
“How long has it been since I saw a doctor? What is this...”
Just as Blair was about to continue, she chuckled slightly at the absurdity of the phrase that popped into her head.
“It’s like you’re looking after a baby—you’re being way too overprotective.”
“That’s not entirely wrong. I do have a desire to lay you down in bed and keep you there, unable to move, all day long.”
“…I’m afraid someone might hear us.”
“Then let’s go to the bedroom. Come here.”
Edmund kissed her near her temple and then playfully pulled her by the hand. She let out a soft laugh and had no choice but to follow him.
***
Isabelle had been in a daze for a while after seeing Edmund and Blair in the parlor. It was because the perfect image of the duke and duchess she had long dreamed of seemed to overlap exactly with the two of them.
But she couldn’t just stand there in a daze forever.
She managed to pull herself together, slipped out of the mansion, and headed for Borsa. There, she met with the team of lawyers she had arranged to meet in advance to discuss countermeasures to stop Rufus’s marriage, and afterward, she changed vehicles three times to throw off any tail. She was certain that Edmund had put someone on her tail.
‘How tiresome.’
She didn’t even need to test just how relentless his watchers would be. To shake off their invisible gaze, Isabelle wandered aimlessly through the city center for quite some time, stalling for time. Constantly changing routes meant she spent a long time in the car, and her stamina quickly drained. By the time the night had grown deep, she was on the verge of collapse. It wasn’t until it was so late that no other cars were visible on the road that she finally reached the residence of the Marchioness of Rainworth.
However, waiting for Isabelle there was Rufus, who made no attempt to hide his irritation.
“Mother, why are you only just here?”
Rufus ran out to the entrance and asked in a sulky tone. Isabelle, who hadn’t expected this, felt her heart sink and quickly scanned the interior of the townhouse.
“Did something happen?”
“No, it’s not that.”
Rufus pouted and grumbled.
“I’m just so bored. I’m going crazy sitting here doing nothing in this tiny space. I just want to go out and get some fresh air.”
“…Fresh air?”
“It doesn’t even have to be downtown. I saw a night market nearby on the way here. I just want to check it out for a little while.”
Isabelle was momentarily lost for words. It was almost unnerving how little Rufus seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation. Staring at her immature son, she felt a sudden tightness in her chest, but as always, her desire to understand him prevailed.
She had believed that since he had spent half his life confined to the Duke’s estate, hiding out in Borsa wouldn’t be difficult for him, but it seemed he actually found the situation even more suffocating now. And no wonder—this was not Eldenvale, but the capital, Borsa. It was a city of pleasure, filled with noisy commotion and flamboyant people on all sides. For Rufus, who had always longed for the outside world, it was only natural that his spirits would be high.
“But dear, this is no time to go out.”
“Huh? You go out whenever you want, Mother.”
Isabelle took a deep breath and exhaled, then spoke in a stern tone she would never normally use with Rufus.
“I’m braving the danger to meet with my legal team. As you might have guessed, that man has put a watcher on us. The moment they spot you, they’ll send you straight to Rorschach. Don’t you think it’s best to be careful until your marriage is off?”
She had never before warned her beloved son in such a stern tone. But Rufus paid no heed.
“I’ll just do what I did when I left the mansion. If I cover my face a little, no one will recognize me, right? Please, Mother! I’m begging you.”
***
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