Chapter 27
“I…”
After a long silence, the countess finally spoke.
“I think… it’s a good idea.”
Adelaide’s face lit up.
“Really, Mother?”
The countess took Adelaide’s hand.
“If it’s Clayton, then it should be a place where you can live freely without lacking anything. And with Roem there, you won’t have anything to worry about.”
“Worry about what?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
The countess smiled gently as she answered. Her gaze lingered on Roem and Adelaide, as if she were carefully committing the two of them to memory.
“Mother, why are you looking at us like that?”
Feeling awkward, Roem scratched his chin. The way she looked at him—as if he were still a child—felt strangely unsettling now that he was grown.
At his words, the countess shook her head with a faint smile.
“It’s just… the thought of both of you leaving soon makes me feel a little strange.”
“It’ll only be two or three years at most. And it’s not even that far. Even after we leave for Clayton, we’ll be able to see each other more often than you think. You could visit us too.”
“That’s right, Mother. I’ll write to you often.”
The countess tightened her hold on Adelaide’s hand.
“Yes. I’ll speak to your father as soon as he returns. But remember this—until the day you leave, you must not tell anyone about this. Do you understand?”
“…What? Why? Is there a problem?”
Adelaide couldn’t understand and asked in confusion. But Roem, reading between the lines, immediately understood.
‘I knew it.’
So his suspicions had been correct after all. Instead of Adelaide, Roem answered.
“Yes, Mother. We understand. We’ll make the preparations quietly, without anyone finding out.”
The countess smiled at her son. At the sight of her grown, dependable child, her eyes began to glisten with tears.
After the count returned from his outing, the countess told him of Roem’s plan as well. He was startled at first, but soon nodded in agreement.
“Yes… this may actually be for the best. If they can leave the country, things might turn out more smoothly than we expect.”
The fact that Killian had kept Adelaide by his side for so long had always been the stranger thing.
Out of sight, out of mind, they said. Though they feared incurring the crown prince’s wrath, they couldn’t keep Adelaide trapped like a caged canary forever.
The children had set a timeframe, but the couple was already preparing for the worst. Even if something unjust were to happen to them, their children would already be abroad—able to start anew.
That alone gave them immense relief.
“Throughout history, there have been nobles who left as part of diplomatic missions and chose to settle abroad. If Roem and Adelaide can just stay safe, then whatever happens to me…”
As he said that, the count looked at his wife.
“In that case, wouldn’t it be better for you to leave with Roem as well?”
“No. If I go too, it might draw suspicion. And besides… where would I go, leaving you behind?”
The countess shook her head and gently took his hand.
No one knew what might happen after the children left. But her place would always be by her husband’s side.
* * *
When Elise heard the news, she couldn’t contain her emotions and came straight to the count’s residence. The moment she saw Adelaide, she ran up and threw her arms around her.
“This is wonderful. It’s really wonderful.”
Seeing Elise so genuinely happy for her made Adelaide’s chest tighten with emotion.
“Let’s go to my room, Elise.”
Remembering the countess’s warning to keep it a secret, Adelaide quietly led her inside. Despite this being only their second meeting, the two had already grown remarkably close.
“You mean to tell me I’m your first female friend? That can’t be true.”
Chatting with a girl her own age in her room. It was something small, but something Adelaide had always wanted to experience at least once.
Killi was a good friend. But there were things only a friend of the same gender could share.
At Elise’s surprised reaction, Adelaide blushed faintly as she answered.
“Not the very first… but almost.”
Rose. Her first friend.
They had only met once on that day at the boutique and after Rose left the capital, not a single reply ever came to her letters. By all accounts, it was hardly a friendship at all. And yet, stubbornly, Adelaide still considered her a friend.
Elise’s eyes widened.
“Rose? You mean Rose Romeo?”
“…Elise, you know Rose?”
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