Chapter 156
‘I’d like to keep going and shake things up a bit more, but…’
But she had asked him for a favor, so he needed to report on that first.
“My lady. I’ve got the information you requested.”
“Oh! About the abandoned mines?”
“Yes. I actually found out something rather interesting.”
Cassius stroked his chin, recalling what he’d learned.
“A lot of these mines are off-limits now, so people can’t get close. But apparently, there were some incidents there in the past.”
“Incidents?”
“Yeah, not exactly rampages like with Duke Troys, but there were reports of skin diseases or respiratory illnesses and the like.”
Of course, illnesses like that weren’t uncommon near mining regions. The side effects of the Empire’s rapid expansion had cropped up throughout history in various places.
But… once you start forming a hypothesis, even the smallest details start to look like clues.
Click. Right on cue, Cassius snapped his fingers and a tray appeared, lined with several glass vials.
“Anyway, I brought some samples. You can check the details yourself, my lady.”
“Thanks.”
Cassius watched Eugenie grow serious, propping his chin on his interlaced hands with a captivating smile.
“By the way, did you know one of the abandoned mines is on Napier land?”
“…Ah.”
“Were you aware?”
“Sort of.”
Eugenie replied awkwardly. There was an abandoned mine in Napier territory, true enough. But she hadn’t asked Magnus Napier about it earlier, and there was a reason for that.
‘What if things get awkward again?’
They’d only just managed to get back on civil terms after a tense standoff. If she pressed the wrong button now, she’d probably end up being shut out again. And with Napier, there was no way to predict his reaction.
‘What kind of lady pries into another person’s property? Not very proper, Norton. Rather displeasing.’
‘What is it? Even after I gave you the hero’s million-diamond dress, now you want my abandoned mine too?’
‘Eugenie Norton. The ‘abandoned’ in ‘abandoned mine’ means there’s nothing left to dig up. What exactly are you hoping to find, with that limited vocabulary? Rather irritating.’
Ugh, no matter how she imagined it, all the possible responses were negative.
‘No, it’s not that I’m afraid of being ignored. I’m just annoyed, that’s all.’
In the end, it was roundabout, but she managed to get the information from Cassius instead.
‘And based on what I’ve just heard, maybe the reason he won’t undress anymore is because of a skin condition.’
That was a sensitive topic, regardless of gender, so she could understand why Napier kept his mouth shut.
“Ahem. So, what did you find out?”
“Nothing at all.”
“…Huh?”
But Cassius shattered her expectations. He spread his arms for emphasis.
“There aren’t any records of illnesses before or after the closure. Even when people asked around, nothing came up.”
“….”
“That’s even more suspicious, don’t you think? With the other places, at least people could recall something if you pressed them.”
At that, Eugenie was able to guess the rest.
“The Napier family erased all the records.”
“Exactly. And there’s only one reason why they’d do that.”
Cassius twirled his fork through a cherry tomato.
“Because their family was the only one affected.”
“Right. If it had been any bigger, no matter how powerful the landowning noble was, someone would’ve talked for the right price…”
That settled it.
‘Looks like I’ll just have to ask him directly tonight.’
As dinner wrapped up, Eugenie glanced back at Elaine. Seeing her shake her head, Eugenie knew Cassius hadn’t lied.
‘And as for Napier…’
She thought she’d bought herself some time after that tryst in the pavilion, but Elaine shook her head.
‘I think I’ll need to watch him a little longer. He’s still ambiguous.
Back in her room, she was just about to finally tidy up her hair for the first time in ages when that thought made her uneasy. She really hoped Magnus hadn’t lied to her, whatever the truth turned out to be.
‘But if it’s not Napier…’
Before she could even finish the thought, there was a polite knock on the door.
Her ‘husbands’ never knocked like this.
“…Who could it be?”
The person waiting outside was someone she recognized—the attendant assigned to Carter by the temple.
“Excuse me, Lady Eugenie.”
“Oh, it’s fine. What brings you here at this hour?”
“Sir Carter has injured his back. He asks if you could come take a look.”
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