In fact, Kling had already made the same request to him. On the night he returned from Roshan, Eckart met Kling at the parlor of his palace, which was not far from his study. There, Kling earnestly asked him to exclude his daughter from this political strife. But he refused his request, clearly knowing Kling’s intentions because he thought his daughter was a useful card in his political scheme. To put Kling on the forefront of the chessboard, he couldn’t free her from his control.

“I voluntarily took this role by myself. You and I knew that we would be faced with this kind of danger, didn’t we?”

“Marianne, it is up to me to determine the use of my hostage.”

“I know. That’s why I’m telling you now. Please don’t forget what you originally expected of me.”

Marianne replied firmly.

“Apart from your decision on my destiny, I myself do not want to chicken out from this fight. Come to think of it, almost nothing has changed. We only knew that they were eviler than we thought.”

“..”

“You are the ruler of Aslan, the agent of our main god Airius, and the true owner of the nine gems. But that doesn’t mean you can decide my fate on your own. Even Airius, our main god, probably couldn’t do that.”

Like just woven silk, his smooth fingers held her wrists quietly but firmly. Soon his heartbeat could be felt on his palm, which was irregular and uneasy.

“I promise you. I will give you back everything. Although my father made the mistake of betraying you, he won’t repeat the same mistake in the future. Let me persuade my father sooner or later. If he has anything to return to you, I’ll persuade him to do so..”

At that moment, Eckart felt a strange sense of incongruity in her words.

What Duke Kling pleaded with him in his study was that he would offer everything if he could hide Marianne in a safe place. Obviously he had already laid down all the weapons he had.

But before he could try to think a little more, she carefully let go of his hand.

Pretending to be casual, he squeezed and opened his numb hands slowly.

Whenever he felt her warmth and then lost it, he badly wanted it back, no matter how often or how long he felt it. He found it harder to endure when he thought he might have her more than when he believed he should not have her. He felt his reason and patience that he had been holding onto tenaciously were shattered by a mountain of waves.

“Lord Kloud is very concerned about your health. If you don’t want to eat, please do. I was asked to eat with you today, but I couldn’t keep my promise. I’m sorry, please convey my regrets to him.”

“..Got it.”

“By the way, please have Dr. Ostashu treat the cut on your palm. If the wound gets infected too, who knows if Duke Kloud might have to feed you.”

Marianne laughed faintly, cracking a joke. But Eckart didn’t even feign a smile.

“I’ll rest in the mansion for a few days. I’ve got something to think about alone..Of course, you won’t have to worry about me. I swear by the name of the nine gods and my mother. So, please understand me even if I don’t contact you.”

“.. Okay.”

“Thank you. I think I need new clothes to return home, so could you have Cordelli come here?”

Marianne stepped back as if she was done.

Eckart stepped back for a moment and then suddenly turned back.

“Marianne.” But that was it.

His face, which had some forced smile on it until a little while ago, seemed exhausted.

But he tried his best to look okay. At the same time, he felt sorry for her. He was aware she didn’t feel okay even though she said she was alright, but nobody including himself could comfort her. He had experienced the same thing in the past.

“..Take care then,” he said. Then he turned around and left the room. He did not look back twice. If he met her eyes once more, he felt like he would hug her without standing it anymore.

* * *

The sky after the storm was supposed to be clear without a cloud. It was like that in the capital for the past several days.

What happened in the emperor’s study that day did not leak to the outside world. How fortunate!

Curtis could fulfill Eckart’s order without doing anything bad. Although several moles he planted in some places were busy collecting intelligence tips without any break, that was nothing special, given their routine daily work.

The Elior Mansion was as calm as ever. As always, Duke Kling went to the palace early in the morning and left late. Sometimes he worked all through the night, taking care of lots of work at the palace office. When his vacation was over, Colin returned and helped him, confirming to him daily that there was nothing to worry about.

But what concerned them was some exaggerated rumors about Marianne’s safety. As temporary chief maid Mrs. Charlotte announced she would not accept any visitors for the time being and Marianne’s prearranged schedules were all cancelled, some busybodies began to spread gossip about her. Even in normal times where there was nothing particular, they generated all kinds of rumors and gossip, which started small, but soon blew up into something different from the truth.

When this kind of thing repeatedly came out of the Elior Mansion staff, the social circles in the capital were disappointed and lost interest. Some speculated there must be something else in Marianne’s long silence, but no more gossip came out about it.

Ironically, Ober played some role in dissipating such rumors and gossip. He didn’t want people to have unnecessary suspicions of Marianne because he believed that any secrets about her should be used as his weapon.

Of course, unlike most aristocrats, Eckart could get real-time briefing on the status of Marianne while he was staying in the main palace. So, any intelligence about her which didn’t leak to the outside ended up coming into his ears. According to the report by the deputy chamberlain, fortunately, Marianne no longer thought of hurting herself.

She spent four days in her bedroom without leaving it. Although she slept like an animal in hibernation, she also did some activities in the room. She ate a bit less than before, but she didn’t skip meals. Yesterday she allegedly reviewed her schedules for the next week and chose one for rescheduling in person.

Obviously, she didn’t want to slack off while staying in the room, although even that was a bit too much for her at this point.

It would have been much better for her if he or she had some more time to reflect on some pending issues. Among them, Marianne was troubled with the tragedy of the duchess, while Eckart was distressed by the past promises that Kling had made.

But their hesitation soon became a good target for the enemy. While Marianne stayed put in the mansion, Mrs. Chester opened salons to meet people, while Ober also had secret meetings with important figures in the capital, including Baronet Artroom.

Eckart and Marianne knew that they could not afford to do that.

“Your Majesty, you have a message from the temple. They say it’s real. Yes, real!” said Jed, shaking the jewelry box he took from Curtis. He seemed satisfied.

The first thing Eckart did through Curtis after sending Marianne back home was to determine the authenticity of the ring returned by Duke Kling. There were many famous jewelers and skillful craftsmen in the capital, but after deep pondering, he sent a messenger to Roshan.

The recipient of the ring was Cardinal Helena.

“The cardinal said she could guarantee that the ring is genuine. The gold mixed with the type of silver mined only from Roshan is certain, and the method of engraving the jewelry and the letters engraved inside the ring are the same as those that used in the temple. So, there is little chance that this ring is a fake. Of course, you never know. There might be a 1% chance that it might be a fake.”

Kimmel rings, used at engagements in the royal family, were all made under strict procedures and supervision at the temple. If the chief priest of the temple could guarantee it, there was no need for doubt.

At last, the basis of his trust in Kling was completed at 100%.

“Got it, Jed.” Eckhart responded shortly and reached out to Jed.

Smiling brightly, he handed the jewelry box with the ring to Eckart.

He opened the lid of the jewelry box with one hand and placed it on the desk.

Sunlight from behind turned through the sapphire and turned into blue flash.

“Congratulations.”

“..”

“Well, one of your worries went away, so please pretend to be happy! I also apologize for what happened last time.”

“..”

Eckart only stared at the sapphire ring instead of replying to him.