In the end, they all came down to one thing.

Furthermore, Ivana learned something new from Madame Louai the day before, when she went to the dressing shop to prepare her autumn clothes. The princess should be very slim and thin according to her body size, but the rumor was so different that it was surprising.

"Certainly, at that age, growth is different. She grew up that way in a year. It's just amazing how she healed from the disease. Furthermore, the princess was warned that she should never wear blue clothes to hide her pale complexion, but they say that she is good at wearing such a line of clothing these days. I guess her tastes have changed after she got healthy."

Ivana recalled Madam's words and urged the man in front of her to report in haste.

"It was difficult to infiltrate the castle of the Duke because Marquis Rhodius, a close aide to Prince Killian, was there. I heard that they have had a close inspection on people who go to and from the castle for some time."

"Has the surveillance suddenly become thorough?"

"That was what they said. Since it is just before Princess Kiellini is about to take over the post perfectly, they seem to be trying to prepare for something unpleasant."

"Did they say that because of Sir Raven, the second cousin, who was mentioned as a successor? The princess is the one who will marry Prince Killian anyway. She can't take over the Duchy. Even if it were to pa.s.s on to the child of the princess, Sir Raven would rule the family of the Duke until the Duchy was handed over to the child."

Ivana thought it was strange, but asked if he had found out more because it was not important.

"There was nothing special. However, I heard there happened that a number of people working as attendants had been fired. It was around the time that rumors went around that the princess had regained her health. There was a short dispatch from the main house in the capital after the sudden layoff."

"Ma.s.s dismissal? Was that around the debut of the princess?"

"Yes. The people in the territory were afraid that something was going to happen when the attendants were suddenly laid off and the Duke came back to Tilia with a sudden illness."

Ivana asked about the Duke's illness, as something was suspicious, but nothing was revealed. "Do they know what disease the Duke has? What is a healthy guy doing there, confining himself at the mansion?"

"It's only known that he is so sick that he can't even move. The innkeeper's daughter, who sometimes goes to work in the castle of the Duke, says the Duke is invisible, and Sir Caden manages all matters great and small."

"Sir Caden? What kind of acquaintance did he have with the Duke? There can't be any connection between Count Caden and Duke Kiellini."

When Ivana tilted her head and questioned him, the man handed her the notebook he had composed about the investigation. "As soon as I returned to the capital, I investigated Sir Caden, who was given full power over the Tilia Territory. Sir Caden's step-grandmother was Baroness Maribel Grayson, the director of the Eileen Theater. I think it was because she's famous for her close relations.h.i.+p with high-ranking aristocrats."

The man's report shook the teacup Ivana was holding. As the startled Poche took the teacup from her hand, a shout erupted from Ivana's mouth, "Maribel! You are like a fox! I see. I never had the wrong idea!"

Ivana kept muttering mysterious words in excitement, ordered the man to leave, and told Poche to call the butler.

"Butler, is the situation at the Imperial Castle the same?"

"Yes, ma'am, I'm afraid you won't be allowed to visit until the epidemic is out."

Ivana agonized for a moment. It was still a guess. 'Would it be better to talk after being a little more sure?' Now the whole continent was in disarray because of the epidemic, and she could not meet even her father Duke Dudley easily.

"Yes, there's no hurry for a rat in a trap anyway. I'll have to think about how to reveal this. In the meantime, just be happy on the spot. I'll be pulling you down to the bottom..." she hissed to herself.

----------------------

17. Crisis

Under the orders of Prince Killian, temporary treatment centers for infectious disease were set up in all the regions and the capital of Austern. At the same time, the seal that had been imposed on the local Magic Square was released.

On the first day of the clinic's opening, Julietta was ready to go out after she was able to manage herself to some extent. She still had a pale face, but wore a modest dark gray dress and pressed an undecorated hat over her braided hair.

"Where are you going?"

Maribel had been to the estate of the Duke of Kiellini in Vicern, and had found that all the crops growing on the vast land were metum. Having completed her mission safely, Maribel had moved her residence to the Kiellini mansion. She was now in the process of finding the spy who was among the attendants in the mansion with Mrs. Raban.

"I'm going to the clinic."

Killian was to begin distributing the antidote for the fake epidemic called the "Blue Blood Disease" in the capital today.

Maribel ordered her maid to bring her hat and asked, "Why are you going to the clinic?"