“Yes…?!”
When Clarisse asked with an expression of disbelief, Brielle held out a letter and showed it to her.
It was written exactly as Brielle had said.
“Look, I knew it would be like this. I must have a biological mother, but she can’t be looking for me.”
She neatly folded her letter and put it in her arms, then turned to Maximilian.
“Now, is it okay if I go see my mother right away?”
“Let’s go together.”
“Don’t do that. We can’t let Clarisse eat dinner alone when she returns from the weekend. More than that, I don’t want Duke to see me showing off to my mother.”
“I…understand.”
As he nodded, Brielle looked all around at the people who had gathered for her.
“Thank you, everyone, for waiting with us. I used to despise getting these tests, but now that I’ve confirmed it, I feel better. Should we all go to our respective positions now?”
Everyone nodded in silence at her words and left Clarisse’s room.
In this situation, everyone must have been in trouble because they didn’t know whether to comfort Brielle or tell her that everything was fine.
“Clarisse.”
Finally, she looked back at Clarisse.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t have dinner with you. Instead, I’ll return at night, so please tell me everything that happened at the monastery, okay?”
“Okay… That, Madam, are you okay?”
“Of course. I knew it would be like this in the first place. I’m so happy to hear the answer I was hoping for.”
She smiled brightly and left Clarisse’s room with Maximilian.
Clarisse sighed and looked out her window for a long time when she was left alone in her room.
In the darkened garden, Brielle was seen rushing to get into a carriage.
From the way she walked, it looked like she was excited to tell Mrs. Woods about the results.
“So…it’s not true.”
Clarisse muttered bitterly, feeling somewhat disappointed.
But as she watched the carriage move farther away, she quickly thought of another question.
“…But is it really true?”
* * *
Clarisse took a large booklet containing reproductions of famous paintings from the bookshelf.
After that, she took out the brooch from her bag and kissed it lightly. (At that moment, Mallang jumped up and got angry, saying, ‘I told you to ignore other stones’ requests!’ and then crawled under the blanket. )
[Cici?]
As expected, the gem was looking for Cici again this time.
[Bbabam! The mineral that will find Cici with me is sparkling moss…!]
“Be quiet or I will withdraw from the Cici Expedition.”
[…Really?]
“Mhm, really.”
The gem, who became sullen, briefly said, ‘Cici…’ but quickly became silent.
“Thank you for being quiet. Actually, I wanted to ask you something.”
[Is it something about Cici?]
“Mhm.”
[I know everything about Cici! Cici is my friend.]
“Now, look here.”
Clarisse showed the gem the famous painting book she had brought. It was a portrait of a silver-haired woman.
“Is it Cici?”
[It’s not?]
“…No?”
[Cici has blue eyes like me.]
“Aha.”
Apparently, gems distinguish people by color.
Clarisse turned a few more pages and opened the portrait of a woman with silver hair and blue eyes.
“Is this Cici?”
[It’s not?]
“Why?”
[The atmosphere is very different.]
“….”
[I feel great when I’m with Cici! Clari also saw Cici!]
“You know, if the person you saw earlier in the study…is not Cici. What do you think?”
Clarisse asked the question cautiously, worried that the gem might get hurt.
The gem, who muttered for a moment, answered.
[But it’s true that she’s Cici?]
“….”
Somehow, Clarisse couldn’t say anything back, so she just sighed.
After all, it might be wrong to try to track something down by only listening to the guesses of an immature gem.
Moreover, the fact that she wasn’t Cici meant that wizards had confirmed it.
But how could Clarice, who was at best a test taker, doubt their conclusions?
‘Besides, what the gem is saying is just insisting.’
No matter how much she thought about it, the prediction that Brielle might be Cici seemed wrong.
Although she felt a little sorry for the gem.
Since it was almost time for dinner, Clarice took the brooch and left the room.
Fortunately, the brooch didn’t make any more noise. It seemed to care about what Clarisse had said—that she would leave the expedition if it made a fuss.
The reason she bothered to take this with her was because she needed the Duke’s permission.
The brooch was not only a private property that Clarisse couldn’t have, but it was also an item belonging to Grezekaia.
If the Duke didn’t give permission, she had no choice but to return it to the Marchioness.
There was no one in the dining room yet. Clarisse didn’t enter first, instead waiting for the Duke.
As she was pacing around for a bit, she soon felt someone coming down the stairs.
Clarisse held the brooch in one hand and looked in the direction where Maximilian was coming.
She took a step forward so that she could talk to him about the brooch before dinner, if that was possible.
[Wow, it’s Max!]
“Mhm?”
Clarisse quickly looked down at her hands.
The brooch, who had been quiet until now, seemed so excited that it started screaming again.
[Wow! Max has grown bigger! He’s huge!]
“Max…?”
Clarisse knew that name.
Isn’t this the name of the friend who measured Cici’s height at the Marquis’s mansion?
‘That was… the Duke?’
Max, Maximilian.
It didn’t seem like a very impossible name.
[Max! Didn’t you bring your younger brother today?]
Since it was true that the Duke had a younger brother, Clarisse thought it necessary to verify this fact.
Whether Max is really Maximilian.
If that’s really the case, she thought that she might be able to trust the words of the gem—that Cici is Brielle at least.
“Duke.”
As he got closer, Clarisse took a few steps forward and bowed.
“I was waiting because I had something to tell you.”
“I expected that to be the case.”
It seems he heard about where Clarisse went today.
“I went to the Marquis of Curno’s mansion.”
Clarisse explained in detail how she had been invited to her home.
“How is Madam?”
“She’s very sad, as it should be.”
“…I guess so.”
Maximilian nodded with a slightly heavy expression.
“And, Madam gave me this. Even though I revealed that I am a sinner…”
Clarisse held out the brooch in her hands.
“She said it was something passed down in the family. As the Duke knows, Madam’s origins are…”
When Clarisse hesitated for a moment because she might say the name of the country, Maximilian readily said it for her.
“Grezekaia. She comes from a family with ties to the royal family.”
“Yes, that’s right. So I thought I couldn’t own this especially.”
“Yes, the only thing you can own from Grezekaia is Mallang.”
“I always remember it.”
“…And this.”
He quietly looked down at the brooch. It was his gaze that somehow made her feel warm.
“She was simply expressing her gratitude for your deep kindness.”
“Yes”
“She is the Marchioness of Saphers. She is now acting as the Marquis. It is an item handed down from her hand, so it would be absurd to simply attribute it to Grezekaia.”
There don’t seem to be any misunderstandings.
Clarisse thought so but just nodded quietly, understanding Maximilian’s feelings.
He may have been trying to convince himself to give the brooch to Clarisse.
“So you can have it if you want.”
“…Duke.”
“If this continues, we’ll be late for dinner. Let’s go in.”
At his urging, Clarisse finally made her way to the dining room alongside him.
Clarisse glanced up at Maximilian while holding the brooch.
Did this Duke, who is so large that he deserves the word “giant,” really have a time when he was called by the cute nickname “Max” and had his height measured against a wall?
Clarisse felt a little strange as she remembered the height markings of Max, who was much shorter than her.
For some reason, she had the feeling that this person must have been this perfect and big since he was born.
“That, Duke.”
When Clarisse called him, Maximilian himself pulled out her chair.
“Hmm?”
“I don’t know if it’s okay for me to ask this. Actually, I saw something in the Marquis.”
“What…is it?”
He went back and sat down across from her.
“There was a mark left on the wall where a child had measured their height.”
It was clearly visible that the corners of his pursed lips were trembling awkwardly.
Although she wasn’t sure, Clarisse felt like he was in some kind of pain, so she couldn’t say anything more.
“Ah…”
“I’m sorry,” she said as she struggled to swallow the question.
He said.
“If you’re asking about the mark that says Max…”
That was also an accurate answer to the question Clarisse tried to ask.
“Yeah.”
He returned to his expressionless face and nodded his head.
“It was me.”
[It’s really Max.]
That gem shows off at the same time.
“Yes…?!”
When Clarisse asked with an expression of disbelief, Brielle held out a letter and showed it to her.
It was written exactly as Brielle had said.
“Look, I knew it would be like this. I must have a biological mother, but she can’t be looking for me.”
She neatly folded her letter and put it in her arms, then turned to Maximilian.
“Now, is it okay if I go see my mother right away?”
“Let’s go together.”
“Don’t do that. We can’t let Clarisse eat dinner alone when she returns from the weekend. More than that, I don’t want Duke to see me showing off to my mother.”
“I…understand.”
As he nodded, Brielle looked all around at the people who had gathered for her.
“Thank you, everyone, for waiting with us. I used to despise getting these tests, but now that I’ve confirmed it, I feel better. Should we all go to our respective positions now?”
Everyone nodded in silence at her words and left Clarisse’s room.
In this situation, everyone must have been in trouble because they didn’t know whether to comfort Brielle or tell her that everything was fine.
“Clarisse.”
Finally, she looked back at Clarisse.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t have dinner with you. Instead, I’ll return at night, so please tell me everything that happened at the monastery, okay?”
“Okay… That, Madam, are you okay?”
“Of course. I knew it would be like this in the first place. I’m so happy to hear the answer I was hoping for.”
She smiled brightly and left Clarisse’s room with Maximilian.
Clarisse sighed and looked out her window for a long time when she was left alone in her room.
In the darkened garden, Brielle was seen rushing to get into a carriage.
From the way she walked, it looked like she was excited to tell Mrs. Woods about the results.
“So…it’s not true.”
Clarisse muttered bitterly, feeling somewhat disappointed.
But as she watched the carriage move farther away, she quickly thought of another question.
“…But is it really true?”
* * *
Clarisse took a large booklet containing reproductions of famous paintings from the bookshelf.
After that, she took out the brooch from her bag and kissed it lightly. (At that moment, Mallang jumped up and got angry, saying, ‘I told you to ignore other stones’ requests!’ and then crawled under the blanket. )
[Cici?]
As expected, the gem was looking for Cici again this time.
[Bbabam! The mineral that will find Cici with me is sparkling moss…!]
“Be quiet or I will withdraw from the Cici Expedition.”
[…Really?]
“Mhm, really.”
The gem, who became sullen, briefly said, ‘Cici…’ but quickly became silent.
“Thank you for being quiet. Actually, I wanted to ask you something.”
[Is it something about Cici?]
“Mhm.”
[I know everything about Cici! Cici is my friend.]
“Now, look here.”
Clarisse showed the gem the famous painting book she had brought. It was a portrait of a silver-haired woman.
“Is it Cici?”
[It’s not?]
“…No?”
[Cici has blue eyes like me.]
“Aha.”
Apparently, gems distinguish people by color.
Clarisse turned a few more pages and opened the portrait of a woman with silver hair and blue eyes.
“Is this Cici?”
[It’s not?]
“Why?”
[The atmosphere is very different.]
“….”
[I feel great when I’m with Cici! Clari also saw Cici!]
“You know, if the person you saw earlier in the study…is not Cici. What do you think?”
Clarisse asked the question cautiously, worried that the gem might get hurt.
The gem, who muttered for a moment, answered.
[But it’s true that she’s Cici?]
“….”
Somehow, Clarisse couldn’t say anything back, so she just sighed.
After all, it might be wrong to try to track something down by only listening to the guesses of an immature gem.
Moreover, the fact that she wasn’t Cici meant that wizards had confirmed it.
But how could Clarice, who was at best a test taker, doubt their conclusions?
‘Besides, what the gem is saying is just insisting.’
No matter how much she thought about it, the prediction that Brielle might be Cici seemed wrong.
Although she felt a little sorry for the gem.
Since it was almost time for dinner, Clarice took the brooch and left the room.
Fortunately, the brooch didn’t make any more noise. It seemed to care about what Clarisse had said—that she would leave the expedition if it made a fuss.
The reason she bothered to take this with her was because she needed the Duke’s permission.
The brooch was not only a private property that Clarisse couldn’t have, but it was also an item belonging to Grezekaia.
If the Duke didn’t give permission, she had no choice but to return it to the Marchioness.
There was no one in the dining room yet. Clarisse didn’t enter first, instead waiting for the Duke.
As she was pacing around for a bit, she soon felt someone coming down the stairs.
Clarisse held the brooch in one hand and looked in the direction where Maximilian was coming.
She took a step forward so that she could talk to him about the brooch before dinner, if that was possible.
[Wow, it’s Max!]
“Mhm?”
Clarisse quickly looked down at her hands.
The brooch, who had been quiet until now, seemed so excited that it started screaming again.
[Wow! Max has grown bigger! He’s huge!]
“Max…?”
Clarisse knew that name.
Isn’t this the name of the friend who measured Cici’s height at the Marquis’s mansion?
‘That was… the Duke?’
Max, Maximilian.
It didn’t seem like a very impossible name.
[Max! Didn’t you bring your younger brother today?]
Since it was true that the Duke had a younger brother, Clarisse thought it necessary to verify this fact.
Whether Max is really Maximilian.
If that’s really the case, she thought that she might be able to trust the words of the gem—that Cici is Brielle at least.
“Duke.”
As he got closer, Clarisse took a few steps forward and bowed.
“I was waiting because I had something to tell you.”
“I expected that to be the case.”
It seems he heard about where Clarisse went today.
“I went to the Marquis of Curno’s mansion.”
Clarisse explained in detail how she had been invited to her home.
“How is Madam?”
“She’s very sad, as it should be.”
“…I guess so.”
Maximilian nodded with a slightly heavy expression.
“And, Madam gave me this. Even though I revealed that I am a sinner…”
Clarisse held out the brooch in her hands.
“She said it was something passed down in the family. As the Duke knows, Madam’s origins are…”
When Clarisse hesitated for a moment because she might say the name of the country, Maximilian readily said it for her.
“Grezekaia. She comes from a family with ties to the royal family.”
“Yes, that’s right. So I thought I couldn’t own this especially.”
“Yes, the only thing you can own from Grezekaia is Mallang.”
“I always remember it.”
“…And this.”
He quietly looked down at the brooch. It was his gaze that somehow made her feel warm.
“She was simply expressing her gratitude for your deep kindness.”
“Yes”
“She is the Marchioness of Saphers. She is now acting as the Marquis. It is an item handed down from her hand, so it would be absurd to simply attribute it to Grezekaia.”
There don’t seem to be any misunderstandings.
Clarisse thought so but just nodded quietly, understanding Maximilian’s feelings.
He may have been trying to convince himself to give the brooch to Clarisse.
“So you can have it if you want.”
“…Duke.”
“If this continues, we’ll be late for dinner. Let’s go in.”
At his urging, Clarisse finally made her way to the dining room alongside him.
Clarisse glanced up at Maximilian while holding the brooch.
Did this Duke, who is so large that he deserves the word “giant,” really have a time when he was called by the cute nickname “Max” and had his height measured against a wall?
Clarisse felt a little strange as she remembered the height markings of Max, who was much shorter than her.
For some reason, she had the feeling that this person must have been this perfect and big since he was born.
“That, Duke.”
When Clarisse called him, Maximilian himself pulled out her chair.
“Hmm?”
“I don’t know if it’s okay for me to ask this. Actually, I saw something in the Marquis.”
“What…is it?”
He went back and sat down across from her.
“There was a mark left on the wall where a child had measured their height.”
It was clearly visible that the corners of his pursed lips were trembling awkwardly.
Although she wasn’t sure, Clarisse felt like he was in some kind of pain, so she couldn’t say anything more.
“Ah…”
“I’m sorry,” she said as she struggled to swallow the question.
He said.
“If you’re asking about the mark that says Max…”
That was also an accurate answer to the question Clarisse tried to ask.
“Yeah.”
He returned to his expressionless face and nodded his head.
“It was me.”
[It’s really Max.]
That gem shows off at the same time.
