ITMWG 112

Chapter 112…

Between Paper and Flowers.

“The Vine family’s doctor died suddenly in an accident. That date was the day before the trial.”

“It seems that the doctor was taken care of in case things go bad.”

Altair felt his heart sink upon hearing Blan’s report.

He had hoped there was somewhat possibility for a cure, but hearing that the doctor had really disappeared made his head dizzy for a moment.

Of course, Altair was not despair.

He could search the entire world to find a way.

He might not be able to find a solution in the end, but he would never let such a thought discourage him when he had not even started. That was Altair’s way.

“It’s a shame that we lost the easiest way, but there’s nothing we can do. First, let’s ask around for people who are said to have expertise in detoxification.”

“Yes. I will. Aren’t you going to try to interrogate Marquis Vine?”

“It’s obvious that he’ll try to make a deal, and I can’t trust what he says. He might give me poison instead antidote. I can’t let Nadia drink something so dangerous.”

How could possibly negotiate with someone who pushed his own niece into this situation?

Negotiations were usually done with someone who could be trusted.

“Uh… If…”

“Stop.”

When Blan, who received the order, hesitated and opened his mouth instead of leaving right away, Altair raised his hand to stop him.

“I know what you’re going to say, but I don’t really want to hear it.”

“You shouldn’t just shut me up. This is a serious matter, so shouldn’t we come up with a plan? The reason you married Madame in the first place was to have a successor… ”

“So? If the problem isn’t solved, you want me to abandon my wife?”

Blan jumped at the sharp gaze.

“I-I can’t tell you to abandon her! But the future of Aylesford is important, and…”

Blan, who seemed to be unable to organise his thoughts, eventually kept his mouth shut and roughly ruffled his hair.

“Why did such a troublesome thing happen to the kind-hearted madame!”

“Move your body instead of complaining. Will lamenting solve the problem?”

“That’s not it, but what can I do when I’m so angry? How can the lord be so calm…”

Blan knew that he was the type to coolly resolve the situation, but even in this situation, it was surprising that he could remain so calm.

However, after seeing Altair quietly lowering his gaze, his thoughts changed.

“I look calm to you?”

Even though he only said a few words, the air in the room instantly became heavy.

He was desperately trying to act calm, but in reality, he was more shaken than anyone else.

“… I made a slip of the tongue. You must be the most tensed.”

“Not as much as Nadia though. Anyway, move. Find a way. I have no intention of giving up on my wife or Aylesford just like this.”

“Yes!”

Blan took a deep breath and went outside.

The corner of Altair’s mouth twitched at the sight of him jumping out the window instead of the door, but soon regained his expressionless face.

He didn’t feel like smiling at all.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

“Are you in there?”

The voice was familiar, with a calm tone that omitted a lot of manners. It was Leon.

“… Come in.”

Leon came in with the same calm face as when he had informed Nadia of her infertility and stood in front of Altair.

“I just visited the madame. But…”

Leon, trailing off, handed Altair a postcard.

Altair quickly accepted it because it had Nadia’s handwriting engraved on it, which was familiar at first glance.

The elegant postcard made of paper with dried flower petals had a cold content, unlike its warm texture.

[My mind is complicated because of this, so I need a break. I can’t promise anything, but I’ll come back when I’m better. Nadia.]

Altair clenched his fists at Nadia’s message, which didn’t reveal where she was going or when she would return.

Leon observed Altair, who was reading the short postcard with his mouth tightly shut, for a long time, and then said bluntly.

“Your wife might not come back at this rate.”

At the casual remark, Altair’s gaze turned to Leon.

A chill ran down his spine at the sharp gaze, but Leon tried his best to maintain his composure and shrugged his shoulders.

“She knows her duties as a noblewoman better than anyone else. She might be thinking of leaving for good, since she can’t give birth to a successor. From your perspective, you can get rid of her without much eff-… Ugh!”

Leon did not get to finish his words.

It was because Altair had grabbed Leon’s neck with one hand and pushed him against the wall.

Altair, who had reacted calmly to any criticism he had received, responded violently for the first time, and Leon was somewhat surprised, his eyes widening.

The man’s gaze was so fierce that it seemed as if he could snap his neck at any moment, which made him even more shocked.

“You should know better what you should and shouldn’t say, Doctor.”

“Was it something I shouldn’t say?”

However, Leon was not easily discouraged. If he had been that type of person, he would never have thought of coming to Aylesford in the first place.

“Why are you angry at me? You should be angry at yourself for not trusting your wife.”

“…”

Altair’s eyes shook at the firm criticism, and the strength in his grip on Leon’s neck slowly disappeared.

Leon pushed Altair’s hand away and sighed softly at the sight of Altair lowering his head, while straightening his clothes that had been crumpled in the commotion.

“Now that the patient is gone, there is no reason for me to stay here. I will go back now.”

Even as Leon turned and left the room, Altair didn’t move at all.

As he walked down the hallway, Leon thought of Altair’s reaction. It was completely different from what he had imagined.

The way he had seemed absentminded while reading the postcard several times was exactly…

He seemed shocked.

Although Leon’s self-imposed image of Altair seemed to have shaken a little, he didn’t completely let his guard down.

He may have reacted that way because he was shocked by the fact that his wife had disappeared, but once he regained his senses, he would definitely kill her in the most rational way.

Just like he had killed his parents in the past.

Nadia tried to convince him that it wasn’t true and that Altair had no reason to do it, but Leon couldn’t easily let go of his suspicions.

His dying father had clearly said that the new lord was the culprit. Those words engraved in his mind were the strongest conviction for Leon.

First, he had infiltrated the enemy’s deepest part, so he would take revenge once he finished developing the important medicine.

However, he kept hearing stories that shook his strong conviction.

But I can’t believe it. It’s not clear… yet.

Even as he thought that, doubts continued to grow in his mind.

He wondered if his thoughts were right.

Altair’s reaction that he had seen with his own two eyes and Nadia’s confidence flashed before his eyes.

For now, I have to cure the Madame.

He knew where to go. It was not Aylesford, but Vine.

While Leon was hurriedly walking after deciding on his destination, Altair, who was left alone in the room, was occupied with serious thoughts.

What confused Altair was the postcard that Nadia had left behind.

The content of the postcard shook him, but his intuition was strangely pointing somewhere else.

It was the texture of the postcard.

The paper is subtly thick.

It didn’t look like much on the outside, but when he touched it, it felt thicker than regular pressed paper.

Of course, it was such a subtle difference that even if someone with a sensitive sense like Altair had touched it, they probably wouldn’t be able to tell easily.

While various thoughts were running through his head, he remembered Nadia picking out the difference in the paper in the courtroom.

Then, along with the thought of  ‘maybe…’, a strange conviction struck him.

Altair stared at the postcard, pondering for a moment, and then began to tear the paper.

When he grabbed the corner of the paper, pulling it off, surprisingly, the layers were easily separated.

It was clear that the postcard had been designed to be separated in this way.

As soon as he realised that, Altair’s movements, which had been cautious, picked up speed.

After peeling off two or three more layers of thin paper, a note smaller than a postcard finally appeared.

It was Nadia’s real message.

Altair’s tension eased and he burst into laughter at the note that began with [Have you found it?]

It was a truly annoying test.

However, if he thought about it from her point of view, he could understand Nadia’s thoughts.

She had a firm belief that Altair would definitely find this note.

She had a belief that Altair would notice this subtle difference in thickness, that Altair would not ignore this subtle difference and would definitely figure it out.

Knowing that belief somehow made him feel secure.

Altair buried his face in the message in his hand as if it were Nadia herself.

The only thing left on the pressed paper was dried flowers, so there should be no scent left, but it seemed to have a faint scent.

Altair took a deep breath, calming his turmoil heart, and slowly began to read the message that followed.

His expression as he read the note was very serious.

[Altair would have found it, I’m certain. No one else has any idea that I left this message, not even Marie. So once you’ve read this note, please act like you didn’t read anything. I hope your acting skills are better than I think they are…….

I think my uncle has planted someone in Viosques, according to Leon’s calculations. I trust his judgment, as he would never lie about a patient’s condition.

That said, I’m leaving the manor for a while to detoxify in a safe place, so please don’t catch him if he leaves the manor, as he’s probably only leaving to heal me.

I don’t know who it is yet, but I intend to find him in the safety of my refuge. Altair, don’t move rashly, or he might realise he’s been spotted and run away. Cain is helping me, so it shouldn’t be too hard].

As soon as the name ‘Cain’ appeared in the message, Altair realised where Nadia had gone.

‘She must have gone to the Marquis of Vine.’

The most dangerous place is also the safest place. Her strategy is to hide in the centre of the enemy’s territory. Not a bad idea.

[I know you’re worried, but please trust me and leave it to me. Altair has always helped me a lot, and I’m always grateful for that, but I want to take care of this with my own hands. That way, when I inherit the Marquis of Vine, and in the future after that… I think I can be honest with everyone.

If you trust me, then don’t step forward. Instead, find out the identity of the person who murdered Leon’s parents. This is something we absolutely have to solve. I implore you.]

The message seemed to have been written in a hurry, and the handwriting became more and more sloppy as it went on.

Knowing Nadia, who always wrote calmly and meticulously, even this trace tickled him.

Since Nadia asked him to trust her in a rare strong tone, he had no choice but to do so. Still,  his anxious heart was already running towards the Marquis estate.

“You…are you trying to kill me…?”

Altair sighed deeply and buried his face in the note again.