Chapter 54
***
When she whimpered softly, he sucked the water out of the corner of her eye and teased her.
"Being a countess and eating such street snacks makes your tears so sweet."
Luckily, the man didn’t seem to have heard about the candy store. Inwardly relieved, he whispered in Louise's ear.
"If you want something to eat, tell the chef, street food is messy."
"..................I will."
Caius joked, grinning from ear to ear.
"A healthy body is fundamental to service, so what if you get sick."
Her body felt heavy with relaxation. Louise closed her eyes at the sound of his voice.
When she awoke, the man was gone.
She took a glass of water and drank the medicine. She swallowed the tiny, poisonous pills with tears in her eyes.
Unlike the man's words, her tears were not sweet, but bitter in her mouth.
***
A week later, Louise was traveling for the first time in her life.
Pauline, riding in the carriage beside her, blushed and whispered.
"It is the best fortune of my life to be your maid."
One could only hope that Caius's plans would all work out as he hoped, lest Pauline, who knew nothing, be put in danger.
In truth, as much as Louise realized the danger of the job, she wanted to leave her maid behind, but Caius would not allow it.
He said that a noblewoman would never travel to another city a day's journey away without her maid, and that if things went wrong, the hired men of Burg would be in trouble regardless of the trip.
The insensitive man seemed unconcerned as he said this.
He wasn't wrong, of course, but Louise had to listen to him. The servants of a nobleman's mansion were mostly bound to their masters.
Soon, the winter wind had penetrated the carriage.
"Come closer, Pauline."
They huddled together against the cold.
Caius had ridden his own horse with Michael, so Pauline and Louise were the only ones in the carriage.
Louise spread her warm fur wide to cover Pauline's legs as she sat beside her.
"Madame," she said, "but Nas is famously colder than Burg, so is the water really hot?"
She asked, excited since they hadn't traveled halfway yet. Louise smiled broadly.
"From what I understand, yes. The ground is incredibly hot underneath, and the hot springs don't cool down easily, even in winter."
"..."
It was a good thing Pauline was there, if only to make the task ahead less nerve-wracking.
Louise fidgeted with the pearl dangling from her neck.
At last, she would fulfill her mother's wishes. For the prince who should have been a crown prince.
***
"Thank you for traveling so far, Count Theobald Kraftra of Nas, and this is my wife, Caroline."
Caius shook the hand offered by the Count firmly.
"Caius von Burg. This is my wife, Louise Henriette Ermoli."
At the mention of Ermoli's name, he could feel the Count stir. Caius added leisurely.
"Thank you very much for inviting us."
Caius was in his twenties, with black hair and golden eyes.
Ermoli wore a large drop pearl around her neck.
For Count Nas, a mature politician, those two things would have been sufficient explanation.
Although Albrecht's pearl was not a publicly known treasure, it was not unknown even among the highest nobility.
Therefore, the question of why the treasure was not in sight was often asked among the nobility.
It was not unreasonable to speculate that the current Emperor, Karl, had lost possession of the treasure during his reign.
But the Count hadn't expected to find the pearl here, either.
He squinted his eyes and pondered something for a long moment, as if wandering into the long past, and then, without even trying to lift his frown, he asked slowly,
“… I heard that you were adopted by the former Count of Burg. With all due respect, could you tell me when you were adopted?”
The tone, however, had shifted to one of stiff respect. Caius wasted no time in answering.
"Twenty years ago, when I was seven years old."
Countess Nas gasped and sucked in a breath.
There was a rumor that had recently spread like a plague through noble society.
Twenty years ago, the rumor that the Emperor's blood had died was false. Wilhelm's son had survived, grown to manhood, and would soon come to reclaim Hyreth.
Aside from the Emperor, he was the only Heidenberg to bear the mark of the line.
Count Nas put a firm hand on his wife's shoulder to steady her.
At the time of Emperor Karl's ascension to the throne, the noble society of Hyreth had lost many friends.
The Marquis of Ermoli, who had forfeited his estates and titles, and Countesses Boyna, who were no longer related.
All of them had once been close friends of the couple. It may be that the Count of Nas had survived only because of a little luck and a lot of cowardice.
So it was not surprising that they were disturbed to see Ermoli with the pearl and a young man who looked like the Emperor but was actually adopted 20 years ago.
Count Nas seemed at a loss for words. It was a few moments, and the hired men were standing in a row, watching.
He finally pulled the corners of his mouth into a smile.
"You must have been through a lot."
Caius acknowledged with his eyes only, then slowly turned to look at Louise.
Her normally neatly coiffed blond hair was a bit disheveled from the long carriage ride.
He grabbed a lock of Louise's flowing blond hair and tucked it behind her ear, then turned back to Theobald.
"This person made it bearable.”
As if Caius's intentions had been met, Countess Nas turned to Louise, her eyes already watering.
"Come on in."
The Countess extended her hand to Louise first.
She was a woman from her mother's side of the family, and she would most likely remember her mother. Louise clasped Caroline's hand nervously.
"Welcome home, you’ve traveled a long way."
Caroline's tone was anything but encouraging as she patted the back of Louise's hand.
"Thank you so much for welcoming me."
With that, Louise bowed and followed Caroline. Pauline, carrying a large suitcase, followed quietly behind the ladies.
***
Deep in the night, at the Nas mansion.
Only after Theobald had sent the ladies to bed did he have Caius alone.
After a moment of silence, Theobald rose from his seat and slowly dropped to one knee in front of Caius.
"Greetings, Prince Caius Albrecht von Heidenberg, the last light of Hyreth."
Caius nodded slightly, and Theobald's head bowed deeper.
"Your Majesty, if you will forgive me for not staying where I am supposed to be, I'm afraid I'm not quite where I should be..................."
A deep chuckle scattered over Theobald's head.
"That's enough, Count. How many years have passed, and I never expected to be so welcome."
It was true. The political positions of centrist nobles vary greatly depending on the time, place, and object in front of them.
It was hard to know who was an enemy and who was an ally until you've been there, so they were always cautious. In the case of Count Nas, it had been a long time since he had been a chieftain.
Caius had actually stationed soldiers nearby, though he didn't tell Louise in detail for fear of frightening her and making her nervous. It was a journey whose outcome was equally uncertain.
But a single tear pooled in Theobald's wrinkled eye as he realized that things were going well.
"No, sire, halfway is another name for cowardice, and even though the Marquis and Marquise knew they would be walking in the line of fire with you, they were so desperate to protect their child.................."
"That's in the past, what's important is what's to come."
Theobald looked up only at Caius's subtle addition.
"You have no idea how much I've regretted it over the years. Nas will not stand back any longer."
His dark brown eyes flashed with an unprecedented determination as he rose to his feet.
"You must have heard the cries of your people. How could you not have come when you were alive?"
Twenty years had passed with nothing but rumors.
Enough time for those who would have sought him at first to give up and forget.
Caius looked away from Theobald, who spoke with a hint of resentment.
"Albrecht's pearl."
Then he gave him a reason.
***
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