The Return of Lilietta - Chapter 45

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 45

The man remained silent. He only stared at the photograph with piercing eyes. Ethan buried himself in the sofa and continued speaking.

“Her name is Hanna. Her status is the exclusive maid of the Raskail Princess. I saw her shoot down a wyvern I released with magic gunmanship. But… even after watching her closely for nearly three weeks, there’s no sign of her memories returning. I don’t know if the return process just takes a long time, or if I saw wrong, damn it.”

“…You said you saw magic gunmanship?”

“That’s what I’m wondering if I saw wrong. Maybe it was some other magic and my eyes were playing tricks on me so I mistook it for magic gunmanship… It’s been quite a while since I properly saw magic gunmanship, probably.”

“It’s been longer than you think.”

“Ah, right, anyway I can’t figure it out alone. I really can’t. I keep staying by her side watching for her memories to return, but this is like damn torture by hope… But I can’t just grab someone who might be Rita and interrogate her, damn it, I’m telling you this because I feel like I’ll go crazy if I keep waiting like this.”

The man didn’t respond to Ethan’s rambling. He just stared at the photograph as if trying to bore a hole through it.

Soon he slowly put the photograph down.

“I’ll meet her myself.”

“How are you going to meet her? If the captain goes to a ducal house to meet a mere maid, it would be damn interesting to see what kind of scandal would break out.”

“If she’s Raskail’s maid…”

The man rested his chin on his hand and continued expressionlessly.

“The Raskail Princess’s debutante ball. I’ll have to attend there.”

“The ball? How are you going to meet a maid at a ball?”

“It’s the same manor, so I can run into her by chance.”

“By chance? How?”

“That’s what you need to plan from now on.”

“Damn it.”

“But what about the Princess?”

“Huh?”

“Isn’t the Princess a returnee?”

“I don’t know, they say she has amnesia? When someone who might be Rita is right in front of me, do you think I’d notice such things?”

“…”

“We’ve been searching for four years and there hasn’t been a single returnee besides us. The Raskail Princess was probably kidnapped or something. At this point, we’re the only ones who returned. Maybe Rita too…”

The man silently stared at Ethan. Ethan flinched and stiffened, then roughly ran his hands through his hair.

“No, I haven’t given up, I haven’t. If I had really given up, would I have found this girl named Hanna? I have to find Rita. Rita must have returned. She would have… This time it’s the right answer, right? Right, Captain?”

Ethan covered his face with the hands that had been running through his hair, then buried himself in the sofa and slumped down.

“Ah, having hope makes me go even crazier… Damn Rita Pascal, did you think we’d be grateful if you died like that… Really damn it, just try returning…”

Moisture seeped into his muttering voice. The man watched him quietly, then refilled the empty glass. At the sound of wine filling the glass, Ethan opened his eyes halfway and snatched it up, downing it.

While he continued drinking, the man actually stopped and put down the glass he had been drinking from. He buried himself deep in the sofa and remained motionless with his hand resting on his lips.

Ethan, who had nearly emptied a bottle by himself, staggered to his feet. As he moved with unfocused eyes, he suddenly looked at the man who had been frozen in the same position for a while and said casually.

“This bastard’s hands are shaking again.”

“…”

“No wonder he brought out alcohol he doesn’t even drink well. Hey, how long has it been since you slept?”

“Three days.”

“That’s not long this time, damn it, no wait, you mean the last time you slept was three days ago, right? How much did you sleep? When did you sleep before that?”

“…”

“You should just drink more, Captain. Then at least you’d sleep well.”

“…”

“If you’re not planning to die before finding Rita, take it easy, you crazy bastard.”

Ethan, who had spat out curses, leaped over the balcony. After he left, the man reached for the half-finished glass of alcohol.

His outstretched hand trembled uncontrollably. Eventually the glass shattered in his grip. Blood mixed with wine dripped from his palm where glass shards were embedded.

The man looked down at his mangled hand without any change in expression, then let it drop.

In truth, it had been a long time since he could fall asleep even after drinking.

He searched his clothes and pulled out a small medicine bottle. He chewed and swallowed the pills that a senior who knew his condition had made, telling him to take them carefully only when he really couldn’t bear it, without any water, then collapsed on the sofa.

Blood dripped from the hand hanging over the armrest. As the medicine took effect, the pain from the glass shards gradually became dull. Just before sleep after three days, the man thought with hazily unfocused eyes.

‘…She really does resemble her.’

This was the first time the possibility was this high.

‘If it’s not her this time either…’

The thought didn’t continue as he was swallowed by death-like sleep.

* * *

April 17th, 1770, evening.

The sun set and twilight fell. Faster than stars appeared in the sky, lights rose on the ground. Countless luxurious carriages arrived among those lights. Footmen frantically greeted such carriages and guided the guests.

The Raskail Princess’s debutante ball was about to begin.

Ethan, Raskail’s new footman, saw a particularly large black carriage entering through the main gate of the Creme Dome. He could see a crowned black dragon painted on the side of the carriage. The dragon’s golden eyes, rendered in actual gems, glittered in the lamplight.

It was the carriage carrying the most noble guest at this banquet. Not a footman but the butler himself ran out to greet the carriage. Ethan stared at the black-haired man getting out of the carriage.

A face so composed it was hard to believe he had been trembling. A smile he deliberately made softer, well aware of his strong and intimidating impression.

When he packaged his innate sense of oppression and unhinged mental state so well, on the surface he was just an incredibly handsome unmarried Crown Prince.

He could see the ladies getting out of carriages making a fuss over him. The gentlemen’s reactions weren’t much different.

Beyond those nobles, Ethan met eyes like a beast’s yellow gaze and nodded slightly.

It meant the preparations to make maid Hanna accidentally encounter him were complete.

* * *

Lillieta was as nervous as when entering the territory of an unfamiliar magical beast.

‘I managed to pull it off somehow.’

Over the past few days, she had practiced waltzing, mobilizing everyone from Anton to the family knights she wasn’t yet familiar with.

Just as she had thought of Luca while looking at Anton, finding similarities between the knights and her Beacon colleagues or family members and associating them helped.

‘The Crown Prince is the same. Whether it’s build, hair color, voice… anything. I just need to find similarities with someone I know and focus on that.’

Then even if the Crown Prince accidentally stepped on her foot, she wouldn’t strike his throat with her hand blade.

After dancing just the first dance, she could refuse all other dances with the excuse of being tired and just smile and exchange greetings.

Since it was famous that the Raskail Princess had been very weak as a child, no one would insist on continuing to ask her to dance when she said she was tired.

‘Just get through the first dance, just the first dance.’

“Miss, you look so, so beautiful! Look!”

Hanna, excited to the fullest, held up a mirror in front of her after finishing her preparations. Rita finally properly checked her appearance and honestly admired it.

‘I’m even prettier when dressed up.’

Since Lillieta had offered no opinions, the Countess’s opinions were actively reflected in her debutante dress. The Countess, who thought of her only daughter as an angel or fairy, decided on the concept of an iris fairy for the debutante dress.

The resulting dress layered various shades of purple from light to dark in flowing fabrics like flower petals, scattered small gems like dewdrops at the edges, and was secured at the waist with strings woven with pearls.

Her long blonde hair was left flowing down, decorated with iris-shaped pins made of amethyst, with diamond necklace and earrings, and white lace gloves instead of bracelets.

When she emerged from the room perfectly dressed, the eyes of her waiting family widened.

“Wow… that’s cheating, it’s cheating.”

“You’ll be this year’s best debutante.”

Richard let out a hollow laugh and Leonhardt muttered contentedly. The Countess was crying tears of joy, and the Duke was also biting his lips with reddened eyes.

Her heart, which had been tense as if facing battle, gradually relaxed at the sight of such family members. People who would trust her no matter what happened, people who would protect her even if she made mistakes.

Her family.

Soon the Duke approached Rita and offered his arm.

“Would you give your father the honor of escorting you, our daughter?”

“Gladly.”

Lillieta smiled and placed her hand on her father’s arm.

It was time to enter the Creme Dome.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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