“Lady, it’s been a while. Do you remember me? From the Cromwell viscountcy…”
“How can your hair be so beautiful? It’s a treasure of the North. Could you possibly share your secret…”
Typically, followers are expected to flock around the daughter of a duke’s household.
Followers signify the nobility’s influence. While managing them can be a nuisance, their presence is beneficial in some ways.
Luciana would usually respond indifferently or lightly, but not this time.
“Oh my, you don’t look well. Is something the matter?”
“There isn’t.”
Her usually blunt demeanor came off even colder, quickly dampening the mood among her followers.
“I’m tired. Stop crowding around me and leave.”
“Ah, haha. Understood. Then we’ll take our leave here…”
Whether out of genuine admiration or to cling to the duke’s prestige.
Their intentions varied, but they were nobles engaged in politics, adept at gauging their master’s moods.
One by one, starting with a young lady from a viscountcy who had imprudently approached, they began to distance themselves from Luciana.
Except for one.
“…Liza, why are you still here?”
Did she think she was an exception?
Luciana’s gaze turned icy.
Even if they were close friends, this was something she had to bear alone.
‘Besides, Liza is Hans’s fiancée. It’s better she doesn’t know.’
“If you’re going to leave…”
“What are you talking about? I’ve just finished the investigation you asked for.”
Elizabeth’s response silenced Luciana.
‘She did ask her to look into the identity of Frost Mane that day.’
Suspecting Hans and now armed with additional information.
“Here, information on Frost Mane obtained from the Thieves’ Guild. It cost a pretty penny.”
Hesitantly, a rolled-up document was handed over.
If Hans Byron’s name was mentioned, it would confirm everything.
What was once a mere assumption in Camilla’s household would become reality.
She hesitated to untie the string around the paper, not wanting to believe that Hans could betray her.
“Should I say it’s expected of the Thieves’ Guild? At first, I thought it was absurd, but they do have their reasons. It’ll help with the tracking once you read it.”
Elizabeth’s comment, as if she had already seen the contents, made Luciana involuntarily look at her.
“Liza, you’ve seen this and have no thoughts?”
“…Huh? What do you mean?”
Impossible.
If it were as Camilla suspected, Elizabeth, as the fiancée, would be even more distressed.
Yet, her reaction was the epitome of calmness, with a face full of curiosity.
The contents implied that the situation had nothing to do with him.
“…Liza, thank you.”
A slight curve added to Luciana’s icy gaze gave her the courage to undo the string.
‘The sheer peace that comes from knowing he wasn’t involved feels almost like a lie.’
It was indeed strange. Perhaps this was the first time she had felt so shaken at the thought of her own confidant possibly betraying her.
She, the master, should have been the first to recognize and trust that he wouldn’t do such a thing.
It was nothing but shameful.
“…What! It’s something friends should naturally do for each other.”
Elizabeth, meeting her gaze, warmly clasped her hands. The warmth felt genuinely comforting.
Thinking about it…
‘In the past, like everyone else, she would have cautiously stepped back.’
The thought that they had grown closer struck her anew. Not retreating behind the psychological barriers of status, she brought exactly the information Luciana had wanted.
“I’ll pay the commission.”
“No need. It was expensive, but not unmanageably so. Just read it.”
Urged by Elizabeth, Luciana unfolded the document with a wry smile.
[Regarding the Identity of Frost Mane]
[There are many speculations about Frost Mane. Some suggest, based on recent cooperation with the Sand Moles, that he might be from the West.]
The very beginning of the text made her frown involuntarily.
The same speculation that had made Camilla suspicious of her.
‘No, it’s too early to conclude. There’s still much left in the document.’
Moreover, if this was it, Elizabeth, a noble, wouldn’t have easily handed over a document placing her fiancé under suspicion. She would have somehow remedied the situation first.
As expected, another opinion followed immediately.
[A more plausible theory exists: Frost Mane is a demon.]
…A demon?”
It was a completely unexpected term.
Her gaze naturally moved down to check the next part.
[The speculation that Frost Mane is a demon started with a request from Duke Speda.]
[The content of the request, conveyed through the steward, was to investigate a vampire named Bathory and a thief known as Frost Mane.]
[The steward also added a directive to consider the possibility that Frost Mane might be an unknown type of demon.]
An equally unexpected name appeared. Demons, humanity’s enemy, constantly causing friction with the North where they bordered.
Frost Mane, belonging to their kind?
Especially when the request came from her father, her suspicions only grew.
[Investigations suggest a potential link to a minority demon race known as doppelgängers.]
[Doppelgängers, having no physical form but shadows, can change into any appearance. This matches testimonies that Frost Mane disguised himself as a noble during the heist at the count’s estate.]
-This was similar during the auction house theft. Disguised as one of the guards, he was moving the stolen goods when he was caught by her.
[Furthermore, it was confirmed that the vampire Bathory was also a demon expelled from the power structures of the Evildon Empire to the North.]
[From this, a hypothesis could be formed that the doppelgänger infiltrated the North to assassinate the vampire.]
[The intense battle marks found in the cave where the demon attack occurred support this claim.]
‘Intense battle marks, huh.’
At that time, she was unable to use her powers effectively and was defeated by that vampire.
If that’s the case, then this too is convincing. She hadn’t even been able to create those battle marks.
“That means the premise is different, isn’t it?”
If Frost Mane is a demon, then naturally, Hans Byron is out of the suspects’ list.
After all, Hans Byron was a noble with a confirmed identity. At least, the fact that he was human could not be denied.
Moreover, hadn’t he risked his life for her more than once?
‘It was unnecessary worry. A failure as a master.’
Luciana’s expression, which had briefly lightened, became heavy again.
How much effort had Hans put into preparing for her birthday celebration?
Even she, who had observed from the side, knew.
To doubt him, let alone believe in him, based on a few words.
“I should apologize.”
Starting with how she coldly dismissed him a moment ago, and for many other reasons.
“La, Lady!”
In the midst of this, someone hurriedly approached Luciana.
“…What’s the matter?”
She looked displeased at the son of the Benifer baronial family, who was serving as a servant here.
A person still remaining a page due to his insufficient conduct.
Moreover, his behavior now was quite rude. To cause a commotion during a social gathering.
A page who approached the master without being called, without proper manners, could not be seen favorably.
The privilege of acting upon guessing the master’s will is reserved only for personal pages.
A task only Hans Byron could undertake.
However, the urgent words he blurted out made Luciana forget his rudeness and step forward.
“Ha, Hans! Hans has been arrested by the lady of the Roberk ducal family!”
“Lead me to that place immediately.”
‘It wasn’t this page who acted rashly, but them.’
To dare challenge the authority of the North while being a guest was unacceptable.
Her gaze, colder than the chill she had shown to Hans and her followers earlier, dropped to absolute zero as it lingered at the end of the corridor.
***
“It would be good to at least know the charges before being arrested.”
At the page’s insolent demeanor, Camilla’s eyes narrowed involuntarily.
“A criminal, yet so lively with words.”
“A criminal? I am a first-class citizen who diligently pays taxes and fulfills the duties of nobility.”
“I’ve seen many like you.”
Camilla’s gaze sharpened.
Hans, mocking while wearing mana-suppressing handcuffs, did not seem like a captured criminal at all,
But she knew these types well.
Those who mistakenly believe they would be absolutely acquitted.
Those confident they haven’t left any evidence.
“Unfortunately, you’ve met the wrong opponent.”
Camilla smiled broadly at him, her smile filled with leisurely scorn.
If one commits a crime, one must face the punishment.
That was her only creed.
Catching and punishing a squirming rat was her favorite moment. Naturally, status, age, or gender did not matter to Camilla. Even if it was a page from the Speda, the most powerful family in the North.
“Huh. Is that all you have to say, unjustly detaining an innocent person?”
“Say whatever you want.”
She answered indifferently, looking at the door and eagerly awaiting the executioner. Like a fish caught and flapping around. To Camilla, Hans was just that at the moment.
‘I wonder when that confident voice and attitude will plunge into despair.’
A faint heat rose on her calm face. Luciana seemed ready to execute him, probably when the knife falls on that neck. She was looking forward to seeing him, who she believed had completely deceived her master, face the justice he deserved.
The anticipation was tantalizing.
“I will formally protest.”
“With what power? You, just a minor noble from a pitiful baronial family?”
“But my connections are different.”
Speda ducal family, Frontal earldom… He mentioned the significant families entwined with him.
“That could very well poison your succession battle.”
“Really? As if they would help you, even after seeing this evidence?”
Camilla explained one by one, as a last act of mercy, the suspicious elements she had mentioned to Luciana.
The audacious page narrowed his eyes.
“Isn’t all this circumstantial evidence? You’re arresting me based on mere assumptions?”
Of course, there were logical flaws in his words.
“This alone is enough reason for me to arrest you for interrogation as a prime suspect.”
Camilla mocked the man before her with a broad smile. Originally, she hadn’t planned this, but it seemed necessary to make him fully realize his situation to break that arrogant gaze.
“You should have been more careful with your room.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you’re here, how did you plan to hide the mask left so carelessly unprotected in your room?”
‘Ah, what a pity.’
She had hoped for a pale-faced reaction, but, regrettably, he simply closed his eyes quietly.
“Roberk!”
“Just in time, your precious master has arrived.”
Technically, it was the toy she had been toying with at will, but the pity she felt for Luciana would come later. Now was the time for punishment to take precedence. Still, given the public setting, some pleasantries were necessary.
“Lady Speda, arresting your personal page is not a challenge to you or the Speda ducal family’s authority. It’s merely about a criminal…”
“No.”
The hesitant Luciana from the morning was nowhere to be found.
“Release him now.”
“Oh? You’re choosing to harbor a traitor?”
“There was never any betrayal to begin with. We were the ones who misunderstood.”
Suddenly, Camilla was startled by the chilling intent she felt down her spine.
“Lady Speda…?”
“I won’t say it twice.”
Society rumors said so, didn’t they? Among the nobles of their age, there was no one in the North who could win against the Northern gem in a fight. Although the rumors had somewhat died down after a defeat in a tournament, Camilla realized at this moment that those rumors weren’t entirely unfounded.
If she faced her, she would almost certainly lose.
“Release Hans now.”
Camilla swallowed dryly at the sight of Luciana, who had already drawn her sword, her hostility clear.
Something was going terribly wrong.
Cliche Novel 