Grand Duke Estin was deep in thought, staring out the window at the garden.
He didnât appear to be aware that Lucas and I had just knocked on and entered the office.
Under the peculiar pressure of the office, my shoulders trembled.
The serious look Lucas had when he ran to call me earlier made me shrink even more.
I cast a quick glance at Lucasâ way, but all he did was shrug.
I quickly turned my head to see if I had recently done anything wrong, but I hadnât.
But the heavy silence made me look like a sinner for no reason. I wiggled my hands as I stood there.
Grand Duke Estin, Lucas and I in the office were all silent.
I was tempted to ask him why he called, but I didnât want to disturb Grand Duke Estin at this time.
âMary Conler.â
Grand Duke Estin called my name after a brief period of silence.
I couldnât see his face because he didnât turn around, but there was an unidentified complication in his voice calling my name.
I carefully answered his call. After I responded, however, he fell silent once more.
I patiently awaited him to begin telling the story.
Grand Duke Estin finally turned around and looked at me after gazing at the garden. He came over to me.
âThe Marquis of Bourne wrote a letter.â
Marquis Bourne is Astinaâs father.
Why would the father of Astina contact Grand Duke Estin?
Given that you called me, I can assume that the letter was in some way related to me. It might be a story involving Astina.
What did it say that made the Grand Duke Estinâs expression not so good?
I cocked my head.
Grand Duke Estin began to tell an unbelievable story.
âI heard that Lady Astina was almost abducted.â
âW-what?â
I was so shocked that my voice trembled.
Astina shouldnât be abducted right now for any reason.
Astina has been kidnapped a few times as the female protagonist in the original work, but not right now.
âThankfully, the criminal was apprehended.â
Grand Duke Estinâs statement that the offender had been identified made me sigh with relief.
She wasnât forced to suffer from an unknown as I was thanks to their ability to apprehend the criminal.
Since you yourself use the word âfortunately,â Iâm sure itâs a relief, but why is Grand Duke Estinâs expression so bad? Not in a bad way, though.
The person who attempted to kidnap her is who I was interested in finding out about. Iâm sure thereâs a reason for that to happen.
Rex, who later turned evil in the original, kidnapped Astina, but before thatâŚ
âThe criminal admitted that Mary Conler gave the order for the abduction.â
Yes, Mary Conler did make an attempt to kidnap her.
No, itâs me?
Me? Me?
âNo way!â
From behind, Lucas, who was only listening, rose to speak.
It appears that I heard it correctly based on the way Lucas is acting right now.
How could something occur that I didnât even cause?
And in the original, Mary Conler initiated the kidnapping of Astina much later than it is now.
âWhy would Miss Mary want to kidnap Lady Astina? Thereâs no reason for that. Doesnât the Grand Duke know better that Miss Mary is not the one to do that?â
Grand Duke Estin brushed his hair roughly in response to Lucasâ words, looked at me, and bit his lip hard.
Itâs not meâŚâŚ I also need to persuade Grand Duke Estin, but my lips arenât easily removed.
The scenes I saw in my dream flashed by in a flurry. Even I canât believe myself. I tightly shut my eyes.
ââŚâŚThe Marquis of Borneau will soon come to hear the truth.â
âMiss, are you all right?â
The words left me in awe. Standing behind me, Lucas quickly caught me.
âGo back and rest for now.â
ââŚâŚ.â
âIâll go with you.â
I couldnât stand straight, so Lucas gave me a hug. I put my head on Lucasâ shoulder and relaxed my entire body.
While I stared at him helplessly, Grand Duke Estin softly patted me on the back and said to me in a firm voice that sounded purposeful.
âDonât worry, I trust you.â
Astinaâs sobbing leaked out of the blanket.
Yohan, who sat on the bed and looked at his younger sister covered in a blanket, sighed quietly.
He felt sorry for his only sister.
It must have been a big shock that she was almost kidnapped and that her most trusted friend was the one who ordered the kidnapping.
Yohan couldnât fathom the feeling of being betrayed.
âAstina, stop crying.â
Yohan hurried back to the mansion after learning what had happened to Astina at the academy.
His mother was in shock, and his father was unable to stay in the mansion to learn the details of the situation.
Astina wasnât in good shape. She must have been more nervous given that their parents were unstable in addition to the shock she already felt.
Yohan has been looking after Astina for about a week now.
When her dependable older brother arrived, Astina also appeared to defuse a little. She couldnât, however, recover so quickly.
Astina sometimes cries like this under the blanket. Yohan could then only console her in this way.
Every day, Astina and her maid stroll along the path that leads to the forest behind the mansion.
A masked man attacked Astina and the maid as they were routinely walking along the path.
The maid attempted to drag Astinaâs wrist before fainting after a man who appeared silently from behind covered her mouth with a handkerchief.
Thanks to the Borneau family knights who showed up in response to Astinaâs scream, the kidnapping was thankfully only attempted, and the criminal was also apprehended. Itâs been a problem since then.
Brian, who resided in the same orphanage as Astina and Mary, was the perpetrator of the attempted abduction of Astina.
Brian admitted during questioning that Mary had asked him to track down and abduct Astina.
âNo way!â
Astina screamed as she emerged from the blanket. Her gorgeous blonde hair was a complete mess.
How much of a shock is that to her, a child who doesnât like to flaunt her messy appearance even to her family?
âBrian is not a kid who hangs out with Mary, so is Brian trying to get Mary into trouble? Mary and Brian were enemies.â
Without saying anything, Yohan gave Astina a hug and stroked her back.
Astina made a good point. But circumstances were telling that Mary was the culprit.
The Mary of today is entirely different from the Mary of the past. Additionally, a lot has changed in what Mary can give to Brian.
Astina was aware of all of these facts but persisted in her attitude.
âAstina, you must have courage.â
Mary was only introduced to Yohan briefly, and she didnât seem like the kind of youngster who would do such a thing.
However, he was unable to reassure Astina that Mary was not to blame and that there had simply been a misunderstanding, despite what she had claimed.
âBecause the world you know may not be everything.â
Astina was kind and overly trusting of others. Everyone, in her opinion, was as good as she was.
Astina had a very positive opinion of Mary.
âBut Mary really isnât that kind of kid.â
Even Astina, who was speaking, was reluctant to accept the truth.
What if Mary did this because she genuinely despised me?
In truth, when Mary and I first met, she didnât really like me.
Mary just started being friendly with me.
Mary said at the time that I was too quick to forgive.
Did I? Should I have suspected Mary when she abruptly apologized?
Astina hated herself more and more as she thought about these things. She felt awful about doubting Mary. Everything was ambiguous.
âDid you cry it all?
After some time, Yohan gently looked at Astina while holding her in his arms.
Astinaâs cute face was a mess, perhaps because she had cried so much. Even though the situation wasnât pleasant, Yohan laughed.
Yohan stroked Astinaâs cheek, which had recently lost its chubbiness due to her lack of eating.
His mother made a lot of efforts to make her eat more.
âYouâre ugly.
âAm I ugly?â
Astina stopped crying after a while, perhaps because she had calmed down a bit, and her voice became lighter. But she was unable to hide her puzzled eyes.
âThe whole truth will soon be revealed.â
âI suppose soâ
âSo letâs eat first.â
Astina nodded at Yohanâs words, knowing that whatever misunderstanding existed, the truth would be revealed.
Lawrence Borneau, their father, is currently traveling to the Grand Duchy of Conler with evidence.