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IBP 96
Chloe squeezed my hand tightly and spoke.
“Coco, my baby.”
“Yeah, yeah?”
“Can sister go somewhere for a little bit?”
As I listened to her, I thought it over carefully.
I was a bit sad that our happy walk was coming to an end.
But...
“Mm-hmm. If it's something important, you have to go!”
Because I am a puppy who always cheers for sister's happiness.
'And, it's Brother Caligone. There's no way he'd do anything bad to my sister.'
However, sister squeezed my hand firmly and let out a small sigh.
A low whisper, almost like a whine, followed.
“I don't want to leave our Coco behind.”
Sister has separation anxiety...
But I am a mature puppy.
I looked at Grand Duke Rivera once, then at my sister, and whispered softly.
“But sister, it's something you absolutely have to do, right?”
“Mhm. That's right.”
“Then you should do it. You told me that adults have to do things they don't want to do.”
I remembered her saying that while heading to work back when she was an honorary teacher at the Academy.
When I answered bravely, sister looked at me with affection and said,
“My baby, you've really grown up so much...”
Then, Grand Duke Rivera, who was watching us, whispered lowly.
“Shall we head out now, Lady?”
The hand he offered as an escort was an added bonus.
Sister kindly whispered for me to return to the mansion, assigning several maids to stay by my side.
As I watched the two of them walk away, my ears twitched like a puppy's.
'But this is really, really suspicious! I smell a huge conspiracy brewing!'
And...
'Grand Duke Rivera seems very interested in my sister?'
A puppy's sense of smell was telling me so.
I couldn't bring myself to return to my annex for a while, sniffing the air, until I was led away by the maids and ended up eating countless desserts.
And then, with a loud snore, I fell fast asleep...
* * *
The moment she entered the drawing room of the Haeguk mansion, Chloe took out the bead.
“I assume this is what you want to talk about? I've been keeping it with me.”
“Getting straight to the point without even a greeting, Lady?”
“Is there any need for an introduction between us? It would just be a waste of time.”
Grand Duke Rivera looked at Chloe and sat leisurely on the sofa.
“Well, it seems there isn't any for now.”
“That's why I'm going to use my detection ability on the bead, right now.”
The corners of Chloe's mouth curled up in a twisted smile.
Sitting opposite him, she slowly lowered her hand over the fragment of the bead.
Simultaneously, a faint darkness clouded over the bead.
Through her detection ability, she could vaguely discern what had happened to this bead.
“After killing an animal that was on the verge of becoming a spirit beast, they stored that animal's power inside this.”
She assumed the same method was used when Coco was killed.
The thought made Chloe grit her teeth.
“But that power has now shattered and vanished. I'm not sure where that vanished power went.”
Grand Duke Rivera looked at the bead with an intrigued gaze.
“It's possible they are using this bead to absorb power.”
“It's difficult to grasp the full functionality of the bead. I can only vaguely see whose power was contained within it and who created the bead.”
“Then the one who created this bead is Gillen Amadeus, and the one who used it was Dahlia Melomande.”
However, the fatal flaw of the detection ability was that it was difficult to turn into evidence.
Since it relied solely on her testimony.
Knowing this, the two fell into a brief silence.
“Then I shall investigate further. So that this bead can be used as evidence.”
Chloe narrowed her eyes.
“Sounds good. I'll use Dahlia as bait to catch Gillen Amadeus. If I push Dahlia into a corner, a desperate Gillen will crawl out.”
Chloe's gaze turned quite cold.
At that, Grand Duke Rivera smirked, looking amused.
“Your atmosphere is quite different from when you were with Lady Coco.”
“...”
Just as Chloe raised an eyebrow at his cryptic remark—
“I didn't mean it maliciously. I just think it's a good look.”
Chloe clearly noticed the subtle change in Grand Duke Rivera's expression. However, she had far too much to do to respond to that interest.
Chloe whispered coldly.
“I've already planned the board to dispose of Dahlia Melomande, so leave that part to me.”
“My advice may not be particularly necessary, but since we must also catch Marquess Amadeus, I hope you act rationally.”
“I am aware. That he is even more despicable, petty, and trashy.”
Chloe lightly tapped the table.
A deep darkness spread from her fingertips, and soon, a sealed envelope appeared.
It was a magic tool that facilitated private conversations between two people.
“Now, let us begin.”
* * *
After the hunting competition, the <kapple carnival>, ended.
Dahlia did not know how she had returned to the Melomande mansion. Perhaps the shock of collapsing had been too great, as her memories were jumbled and fragmented.
Consequently, she had completely forgotten that Chloe had obtained the bead.
Meanwhile, her father, who knew nothing, was different. He rushed to her side with a bright expression as soon as she woke up.
“The Grand Duke Rivera's household brought you back after you collapsed by the lakeside. Dahlia, what happened? Could it be that the Grand Duke looks upon you fondly...?”
“...Excuse me? Grand Duke Rivera, toward me?”
“Yes. He brought you back very politely... I heard you collapsed by the lake? It seems you've been overworking yourself.”
Dahlia bit her lip without answering her father.
Since that day, using overwork as an excuse, she had stayed shut inside the mansion for two days.
Dahlia was anxious, restless, and terrified.
It didn't seem like Chloe had gone berserk.
No articles had been published about an incident at the Dragon's Lake.
There had been no contact whatsoever from her fiancé, Marquess Gillen Amadeus.
Not even a single person had insulted Dahlia.
After spending several days trembling with anxiety and digging into social circles for rumors, she realized that none of the rumors she feared existed.
'Right, even if Chloe said something, who would believe her?'
Even if rumors spread among a few, she could simply manipulate people's way of thinking with her <distortion> ability.
Eventually, Dahlia's mind grew at ease.
'Perhaps I should start attending social parties again.'
She picked one of the invitations to a social party.
As she always did, she planned to brag about her fiancé, make other young ladies play the supporting role, and introduce new business items.
However...
'Damn it, why is Chloe at this party?'
Since it was a small-scale party, she was certain Chloe wouldn't attend.
Dressed in an elegant, pitch-black gown, Chloe was engaged in a graceful tea conversation with other young ladies.
'She definitely went berserk, didn't she?'
Yet, she was acting perfectly normal, as if nothing had happened.
And that fact began to eat away at the depths of her heart.
'What is it? Does she know, or does she not? Or does she have no memory, just like me? How is she alive? When did the berserk state stop?'
Just as her heart shriveled under all sorts of agonizing thoughts.
Chloe stared intently at her, her lips twisting into a smirk.
“Ah. Come to think of it, Lady Dahlia has arrived. It's been a while since you've attended a gathering, hasn't it?”
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