Chapter 345 : ???? Years Old (3)

On the evening of the day Lady Miren of the Padrima Ducal House came for her interview.

“Here it is, Brother.”

Alon received a book from Nangwon.

It was an old-looking book with a black cover.

Quietly accepting it, Alon expressed his thanks.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing, Brother. I couldn’t even find the original copy.”

Watching Nangwon scratch his head with a sheepish smile, Alon shook his head.

If not for him, he wouldn’t have found even the smallest clue, let alone the Jewel of the Closed-Eyed One.

“No, if you hadn’t acted, I wouldn’t even have found this book.”

“To think Brother values me this much, it makes me truly happy.”

As Alon expressed his gratitude again, Nangwon’s eyes glistened with emotion, and he showed a bright smile.

“You’ll probably want to check the book’s contents, so I’ll be on my way.”

“Already leaving?”

“Yes, I have a few things to take care of.”

Things to take care of?

Alon almost asked but held back, simply nodding.

Aside from his unusual reversed eyes, Nangwon had the appearance of a boy, but he was the leader of an information guild.

He surely had much work to handle.

“Understood.”

“Please call for me anytime you need assistance!”

With an emotional expression still on his face, Nangwon left.

Watching him go, Alon felt something strange behind his own expressionless face.

‘Was my thanks really that moving to him?’

That thought crossed his mind.

He decided he ought to offer words of gratitude more often, lightly shaking his head.

Then he opened the book in his hand and began reading.

After a while.

“My lord, what are you doing?”

At Evan’s voice, Alon turned his gaze.

“Reading.”

“Ah, is that it? The Jewel of the Closed-Eyed One, right?”

“How do you know?”

“I heard Nangwon was supposed to deliver it today. So, did you find anything out?”

At Evan’s question, Alon finished the last remaining page and closed the book.

“I did, but it’s a bit unclear.”

“In what way?”

Alon looked at the book.

Though quite thick, there weren’t many legible sections.

Most of the pages had yellowed, making them unreadable.

But that didn’t matter much.

The information he sought was inside.

The problem was the jewel’s location.

“The Jewel of the Closed-Eyed One was entrusted to his closest friend.”

“His friend?”

The friend of the Closed-Eyed One.

“I think I understand why my lord finds this troubling.”

“Don’t you?”

“Yes.”

After some thought, Evan spoke again.

“The Closed-Eyed One, he sided with Sin, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Then if it was his friend… could it also be Sin?”

Alon let out a thoughtful hum.

He had gained some useful information, but it was difficult to dig out more.

Still, he decided to shake off the negative feeling.

At the very least, he had a lead now.

He had a direction to pursue in searching for the jewel.

“The friend of the Closed-Eyed One…”

Alon murmured quietly.

***

The next day.

“Phew—”

Having worked nonstop from morning until past noon in his office, Alexion finally finished his tasks and let out a deep sigh.

He pulled out the evaluation sheet he had tucked into his drawer.

It was the assessment of Lady Miren of the Padrima Ducal House, whom he had interviewed the day before.

“Hmm~”

Alexion stroked his chin.

Unlike some of the previous interview sheets where his own opinions weren’t properly reflected, this one was honest and uneven.

Although the scores weren’t consistent, Miren still reached the level Alexion had expected.

In other words, she was now among the candidates the marquis himself might choose as a partner.

Yes, at least by the numbers.

Alexion recalled Miren during the interview.

Her every gesture, hand, and step radiated noble grace.

Her manner of speaking was refined.

Her knowledge was also impressive, even considering her status as the duke’s daughter.

“There was nothing in the interview itself to deduct points for.”

Yet Alexion’s face betrayed displeasure.

And the reason was the rumors.

‘The things people say about her aren’t very good.’

Of course, from his position, he could have simply ignored them.

After all, his orders were only to conduct the evaluation.

But once he was given a task, he never handled it carelessly.

...

Of course, there were interviewees he couldn’t properly evaluate, but those were matters of survival.

“Ahem—”

In any case.

Alexion discreetly asked the guild to look into Miren’s background.

And astonishingly, the information guild provided results in less than a single day.

“No, not even a full day.”

He had made the request the previous night.

By dawn, the report was in his hands.

Meaning it had taken only a few hours.

“The information guild is always fast, but… not this fast.”

Even if they already had data on hand, the guild usually took about a day before releasing information.

Anyone who had used them would know that.

So this speed was shocking.

“And to send this much information…?”

Alexion lifted the remaining stack of papers from the drawer.

Dozens of pages, all filled with rumors about Lady Miren.

And they were not the pleasant kind.

“Hmm~”

Of course, he knew rumors weren’t always true.

But this information was gathered by the guild itself.

And his request had been specifically for rumors based on fact.

The guild was known to strictly follow the client’s requirements.

Meaning, the information in his hands was very likely true.

Because of that.

‘I can’t possibly allow someone like her to be the marquis’s partner. But still, she passed the interview… Should I deliver these documents along with the report to the marquis?’

Just as Alexion was wrestling with that thought.

“?”

“Lord Alexion?”

“That young lady you interviewed yesterday has requested to see you.”

“You mean Lady Miren?”

“Yes.”

“Understood. Where is she?”

“She is in the reception room.”

“Very well, I shall go.”

Puzzled by the secretary’s words, he tilted his head, then rose and made his way to the reception room.

There, he met Lady Miren.

…

A visibly withered lady.

The drastic change, after only a single day, startled him for a moment.

But Alexion quickly bowed in greeting.

“Greetings, Lady Miren. Did you sleep well?”

It was a simple courtesy.

Yet once again, he felt something strange.

Because no reply came back.

Lifting his head in confusion, he realized she had kept her gaze down from the very beginning.

…

After finishing his unanswered greeting.

“…sorry…”

He caught the faintest murmur.

So soft that one might miss it without focus.

“Pardon?”

Bewildered, Alexion stepped closer, setting aside courtesy.

And then—

“I’m sorry I’m sorry I didn’t mean it I didn’t mean to I’m sorry for blasphemy I’m sorry for blasphemy I’m sorry for blasphemy I’m sorry I’m sorry ahhh—!”

“Wha—!”

Her voice grew louder.

And then, like someone driven mad with fear, Lady Miren bolted out of the reception room.

Alexion froze in shock, staring blankly at the wide-open door.

“…What… was that?”

Hours later, after calming his pounding heart.

“…She wishes to withdraw as a candidate?”

“Yes. Her maid delivered the message.”

“Did something happen at the villa yesterday?”

The secretary had suddenly reported this.

Alexion asked, suspicious.

“As we mentioned yesterday, my lord, she dismissed our staff because she said she felt uncomfortable. So we cannot know the details.”

“Right…”

There was no clue in the secretary’s answer.

Naturally, his doubts remained.

From Alexion’s perspective, having a troublesome candidate remove herself wasn’t necessarily bad.

But the real question was why Lady Miren had suddenly fallen into such a state and made such a decision.

After tilting his head several times, Alexion suddenly turned his gaze.

…

There he saw familiar faces—Sili, Yutia, and Rine walking by.

They sensed his gaze and looked up briefly, smiling softly.

Just a pure smile.

Nothing more.

They soon bowed their heads and disappeared.

That was the end of it.

And yet—

Somehow, Alexion felt he now understood why Lady Miren had withdrawn.

Cold sweat trickled down his back.

***

Three weeks later.

The Palatio Marquisate still had many guests.

Yutia Bloodia remained under the pretense of church construction.

Seolrang stayed under the pretense of a holiday.

Others each had their own reasons for lingering.

Because of that, at least in the beginning, something noisy happened every other day.

For example, Seolrang being dragged off somewhere by Yutia.

Or a crimson moon suddenly rising over the marquisate at night.

Or Alon’s statue inexplicably becoming more ornate as time passed.

But by now, such disturbances were treated almost as daily routine.

Meanwhile, the Marquis’s partner selection also came to an end.

Having gathered a total of ten candidates, Alexion said,

“So this is it?”

“Yes. I’ll give a brief explanation now.”

At last, he handed the interview sheets to Alon and cleared his throat.

The sheets didn’t yet include his own opinions, but he had intended to add some notes.

So Alexion was just about to begin speaking carefully prepared words—

“…!”

But he found himself speechless.

The reason—

“Hic—”

Behind the window, with the marquis’s back to them, countless eyes were fixed squarely on Alexion.

Their expressions were not hostile.

They were all smiling.

…

The problem was, only their mouths were smiling.

At that moment, while quietly skimming through the sheets, the marquis spoke his first words.

“…… eight?”

And so.

The selection of Alon’s partner began.