CHAPTER 100
I lightly tapped Lewis and whispered into his ear.
"Shouldn't we be recording that with a video stone?"
Lewis whispered back into my ear.
"Video stones can't turn invisible. They were made that way to prevent abuse."
True. If something that can be recorded could be invisible, it would definitely be a problem.
Since they were the only customers, their conversation was clearly audible.
Philip was the one who started.
"Tell me more about what you reported last time."
Tom replied hesitantly.
"I still haven't figured it out. Exactly what you mentioned last time..."
"Didn't you say the Marquis goes to the Duke's residence frequently?"
"That's... the Marquis and Miss Yaniels usually stay in the parlor. It's rare for them to be in the garden like last time..."
They're talking about us!
I listened to the conversation with a slightly tense feeling.
So it was Philip who sent Tom. No wonder nothing happened when I rejected the overture last time.
They were quietly doing this?
The most surprising thing was what Philip said a little later.
"So, you still don't know what that noise means?"
Noise? They knew about that too?
I turned to look at Lewis with wide eyes.
Lewis was frowning, looking at them.
Meanwhile, their conversation continued.
"None of the servants admitted to knowing about the noise."
After all, aside from the members of the Croft family and me, no one knows.
Even if Lewis told them there was noise, the servants wouldn't be able to fathom what it meant.
Their conversation didn't go much longer.
Other than talking about the noise, Tom didn't have much information to relay about us.
"Report to me immediately if you find any useful information. That's what I gave it to you for."
"Yes. I will report any unusual findings immediately."
Tom probably won't be able to report back...
Looking at Lewis' expression, his fate seemed obvious.
Now that Lewis knew, it was all over.
Seeing Philip leave the shop, Lewis and I also stepped outside.
At that moment, Sir Shuster asked Philip.
"Will you return to the palace immediately?"
"No. Is there anything urgent?"
"The Count of Redmond is meeting with His Majesty the Emperor right now."
Redmond?
"The Count mentioned that he hoped to meet you as well."
"If I don't go, they'll understand I have other matters. Besides, hasn't the purpose of meeting Miss Yaniels been fulfilled? I met Miss Yaniels, so that's enough."
Me? Because he met me, there's no need to meet Miss Redmond anymore?
Philip walked out of the alley nonchalantly, as if nothing had happened.
At that moment, Lewis took my hand again.
Simultaneously, the place changed.
We were back. In the Duke's parlor.
Ah, now I can talk comfortably.
"He wasn't planning to get engaged to the Countess of Redmond, was he?"
I spoke in a low voice, even though we were the only ones in the parlor, worried someone might hear us.
"Though he acted like they were in a special relationship, it turns out he was just pretending."
"It seems he needed a reason to attend Miss Redmond's birthday party to meet you."
"He's really a bad person."
How could he use someone's feelings like that!
Miss Redmond liked him so much.
Thinking of her face made my heart ache.
"The Crown Prince appearing on the street wasn't just a simple incognito outing."
Lewis spoke with a sneer.
He was right. Even though the Crown Prince saw Tom before he entered the mansion on 40th Street.
Anyway, Philip's outing wasn't just to observe the citizens of the empire.
"But why did the Crown Prince have to go so far to meet me?"
That day, Philip didn't do anything particularly suspicious.
"If he said his business was done, then there must have been something... But nothing happened that day, right?"
He didn't try to persuade me to be closer to him like last time!
What on earth?
Seeing my confusion, Lewis spoke.
"What that servant mentioned earlier. My symptoms."
"What?"
"How they found out, I don't know, but they knew I had those symptoms. When I saw the Crown Prince earlier, it seemed he had already been informed."
"Ah..."
I think I understand what he was trying to say.
"The Crown Prince greeted me by kissing the back of my hand."
There was physical contact in the process!
"If that servant spied on us, they would have seen that our contact stops the noise. Even if they don't understand what the noise is."
"That makes sense."
How could this be?
"Even so, the Crown Prince wouldn't have felt anything. He wouldn't be able to tell if the servant's words were true or not."
Lewis speculated with a crooked smile.
"All he can do is believe that what the servant said is true."
He was right.
No one but Lewis could truly realize what happens with contact, could they?
"No matter how much they search, they won't know what my symptoms are. Because no one else in this world has these symptoms."
He was referring to his father, who seemed to have had similar symptoms.
I looked out the window.
Tom would be back soon, right?
* * *
After meeting Tom, Philip didn't return to the palace immediately.
His purpose for coming out in an inconspicuous attire was already accomplished.
Even so, Philip wandered around the streets a bit more, moving to another area beyond 40th Street.
Returning to the palace right away would undoubtedly result in annoying matters.
'Everyone seems to be thoroughly misunderstanding because of that friendly gesture towards Miss Redmond last time.'
Even putting the Count and his daughter aside, it was bewildering that even the Empress thought the same.
'If there's a lady the Crown Prince fancies, speak up without hesitation. We'll prepare for the engagement immediately.'
Though a strategic marriage would be more beneficial, a marriage with someone he likes is also fine.
That was the Emperor and Empress's thought.
The Empress's interest in Charlotte, who had rejected Philip's heart, was for that reason.
"I plan to tell Mother. That I have no special feelings for Miss Redmond."
With that last thought, Philip erased the matter of Miss Redmond from his mind.
Soon after, he recalled the conversation he had with Madden.
'It seems the Marquis hears some noise only he can hear. Do you know anything about it?'
'That's not within the realm of magic. If the Marquis alone hears it, it must be a mental issue.'
Madden always answered that he didn't know whenever asked.
Naturally, trust in him was decreasing.
Even so, it was frustrating that the representative of the palace magicians was like this.
So Philip pondered the reason alone.
And now, thinking back, there was one thing that struck him.
"Could it be the effect of a curse?"
"Are you referring to the curse placed by Lord Madden?"
"Yes. Didn't we say it was strange that the Marquis was too well after the curse? Maybe the curse is manifesting as hallucinations."
Even Madden, who placed the curse, seemed not to think it related to the curse.
"Croft still doesn't know about the spy. So, once he brings back more information, we'll uncover it gradually."
Philip was optimistic.
Unaware that Lewis had already noticed the spy's presence.
* * *
After conversing with Lewis in the parlor for a while, we went to find the Duke.
'I think we should inform the Duke about what happened today.'
Since there was a spy in the Duke's residence, it seemed only right to tell him.
When we went to the study together, the Duke looked at us with curious eyes.
"What brings you both here? Coming together, no less."
"There is a spy among the servants in the Duke's residence."
Lewis answered first.
The Duke's face hardened a bit at the definite statement, rather than a suspicion.
"A spy?"
I nodded and added.
"Yes. They were among the new servants we recently hired."
"Who sent the spy?"
"The Crown Prince."
"The Crown Prince?"
The Duke's eyes widened slightly.
"I don't recall doing anything to earn such animosity. Why?"
Lewis answered nonchalantly.
"Because he and I don't get along. It seems he wanted to find out my weaknesses."
"It's true you don't get along..."
The Duke seemed aware of their delicate relationship.
"It could be seen as trying to check the power of the Duke's family, but it seems more like a personal issue with you."
The Duke looked at Lewis, shaking his head.
"Given how he treats this place like his own home, it's not surprising he planted a spy here."
"You're accepting it too quickly."
Lewis's disgruntled retort was brushed off by the Duke.
"Selina and I confirmed it. Selina mentioned that the new servant seemed suspicious."
"You've confirmed it..."
The Duke's gaze shifted to me after hearing Lewis's explanation.
There was warmth in his eyes.
"You've done well. Finding the spy."
"Haha..."
It just happened that way.
I laughed awkwardly.
"So, who is the spy?"
The Duke, who admitted he wasn't meticulous with the servants' details, asked with a somewhat hardened face.
I provided the Duke with all the information I knew about Tom.
"So, he's out on an errand right now?"
The Duke murmured after hearing the whole story.
Thus, Lewis now knew Tom was the spy, and the Duke knew as well.
Now Tom's fate was sealed...
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