North x Northwest

heard something very strange.

“No.
Obviously… she should be in Sesbron, right?”

“Sesbron?”

“In Mireille’s duchy.”

“What happened? And why did you say ‘obviously’…”

The first sergeant, who followed Edgar inside, intervened.

“Ah, about Officer Liloa.
As far as I know, she’s been missing for over a year now.
According to some people in Sesbron, she was supposed to head to Malisuro for recuperation, but her carriage was attacked by bandits.
She got dragged away and disappeared without a trace.
Strangely, there was no ransom demand… It’s said that they took the woman alive, but there were no signs of her ever returning.”

“…”

“I have always wondered about what happened.
After all, wasn’t she a stunning woman? Nobody speaks openly about it, but everybody knows, it’s almost like an open secret.
That’s why even the duke’s family claimed to be on the lookout for her.
There was no body, therefore no burial, but there’s no definitive answer as to whether she is dead or alive.
It’s believed to be in a state of ambiguity… There was a lot of gossip about her at that time…”

“That’s nonsense.
She’s from the Karabinae.
I’m sure she knew how to defend herself with a gun.”

The sergeant shrugged.

“Well, she was still a woman.”

“…”

End of side story 2 – Edgar’s Chapter 1: The Forest

 ***

Side story 2 – Edgar’s Chapter 2: The book of inferiority

Edgar glanced at the letter with the rose-patterned seal in the hand of his butler.
It appeared to be an invitation from a certain noble house.
Social circles, not only within Sesbron but all over the empire, knew that the Marquess of Roahn seldomly attended social events.
It was also quite common for their invitations to be rudely turned down by the Marquess by ignoring them.
Edgar was known to behave differently around Imperial Clairaut officials, however, those who were unrelated to the military could only see him at official occasions that the admiral was required to attend.

In any case, there was no way the servants within the Retiro estate weren’t aware of the admiral’s opinion on the public.
Nonetheless, Butler Grits appeared in Edgar’s study, holding an invitation.
This prompted Edgar to question the circumstances of this event.

“What is it?”

“This is not an invitation to a mere social gathering.”

“From whom?”

Grits raised his glasses and double-checked the sender.

“It’s from the Duke of Mireille.”

Edgar, who had fixed his eyes on his book again, looked up.
He reached out his hand, and Grits handed the letter, surprised by this unprecedented gesture.

Edgar tore off the duke’s rose seal.

[ “Dear Marquess of Roahn, Admiral of the Mondovi Peninsula, Edgar Eichendorff-Retiro.
I know a story that will please you, as you’re someone who admires history and is inquisitive about other human beings.
Your close friend, the Duke of Mireille, Rene Mireille.” ]

***

An hour had passed since he started staring at the letter.
Mireille didn’t elaborate on the specific purpose of the meeting, making it no different from an invitation to a social gathering. 

‘However, in comparison to when he first opened his salon and the invitation was basically an advertisement for his collection of ancient relics, this one is too concise, and it could compel one to come and see.’

It was possible that Mireille has some idea about Edgar’s eccentricities and seeing the minimal card he had sent, he was probably taking his chances.

‘It worked.’

Edgar suddenly became curious about Mireille. 

‘I have never spoken to the Duke, nor have I seen him properly, but even so, there must be something about this unforeseen rush.
Mireille is a clever businessman, and wasting time and manpower is something that he would never do.’ 

Edgar thought that Mireille had something certain.

‘It’s definitely something interesting…’

He slightly smiled when unusual and absurd thoughts passed his mind.
He wasn’t sure if ‘interesting’ was the correct word, but Liloa was the first thing that came to him.

‘Of course, she’s not someone who can be described as merely ‘interesting’…’

Edgar attempted to articulate what he had in mind for Liloa but failed.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t find the right word to describe her.

‘I’m sure that even if Mireille died and came back to life, he wouldn’t see her as such.’

Edgar held Liloa in high regard, but it was a connection that she never knew.

‘Liloa.
Liloa Mireille*.’

 – – – – – 

Footnote:

* Married or engaged: We have already corrected ourselves about the marital status between Lil and the Duke.
And to be honest, we don’t clearly know at this point in the novel if they were merely engaged or indeed married.
So for now we like to keep that option open and will inform you if we have a definite answer.