The Abandoned Princess, Yet She Is Loved - Chapter 88

After leaving the Imperial Palace, Seri walked for quite a while toward the city. Grace quietly followed behind her, making sure not to be noticed.

 

“……”

 

The place Seri entered was a tavern. Grace waited outside for a moment, then slowly opened the door and looked for Seri. Seri was sitting at a table, gazing out the window. Judging by the way she kept stretching her neck and looking in one direction, she seemed to be waiting for someone.

 

Grace sat in a corner not too far from where Seri was. A pillar stood between her table and Seri’s, partially shielding her from view.

 

A little while later, a man entered and sat across from Seri.

 

“Sorry, I’m a bit late. Did you wait long?”

 

“It’s fine.”

 

A curt voice came from Seri. The man raised his hand, and a bartender approached. After placing an order with a smile, the man turned his gaze directly to Seri as soon as the bartender walked away.

 

“I’m curious how much you’ve found out. Show me.”

 

“Here it is.”

 

Seri took out a scroll she had been carrying in her coat. It was the very paper on which she had written various details about Grace. The man unfolded it and began reading.

 

“She’s rapidly developing the ability to manipulate elements…”

 

“Yes. It’s beyond comparison with the existing Armento. It’s not just my opinion—every instructor involved in her training is amazed.”

 

“So, we still don’t know whether the quantum itself develops rapidly when implanted internally, or if Lady Winstaine is just naturally adept at handling it.”

 

“There’s no way to know that at the moment.”

 

“Even so, the fact that she’s developed healing abilities is astounding. That’s said to be a divine beast’s innate power. Among the Armento, not a single one has the power to heal humans.”

 

Grace strained to catch every word the man said.

 

“If this power can be fully transferred to a human… that would truly be an incredible strength.”

 

“I believe so.”

 

“There’s already talk that the experiment is going well, so this will be a positive report. As always, good work, Seri.”

 

“Not at all. I understand that it’s frustrating we can’t just take that woman and drain all her blood to transfer the divine beast’s power to our lord.”

 

Grace’s chest tightened in horror at Seri’s words. Take me… and drain all my blood?

 

“Exactly. The fact that she’s the Duchess of Winstaine… that’s the real obstacle. If she were to suddenly go missing, the entire palace would be thrown into chaos.”

 

“That’s true. And with all the attention on her lately…”

 

“For now, keep all this strictly confidential. With anyone. Even after our lord comes to power, we don’t plan to spread this information widely.”

 

“Understood.”

 

That was the end of their conversation. Seri and the man stood up and left through the door, going their separate ways.

 

Grace remained seated in the tavern for quite some time after Seri left, lost in thought.

 

She approached me on purpose.

 

Somehow, something had felt off.

 

Unlike Aris, who showed clear affection for Grace, Seri always just played along politely. She never really seemed to feel any true closeness.

 

Grace had thought Seri’s indifference was just her personality, but now it felt more like a forced act—like a false friendship.

 

Still… I thought we were close.

 

A wave of betrayal swept through her. The fact that Seri had been observing her only to report it all to some stranger—that was the real reason she had stayed close.

 

But there was no time to get lost in resentment.

 

I need to find out what their goal is.

 

They were discussing Grace’s power, debating over it, and talking about transferring that power to someone they called “my lord.”

 

She had to find out who that “lord” was, and why they were trying to extract power from a person and transfer it to someone else.

 

The next day, Grace went to meet Duke Eurys Philipon. He looked surprised by her sudden visit, but welcomed her warmly.

 

“What brings you here, Duchess?”

 

“Do you know someone named Seri Abbott? She recently joined the Armento.”

 

“I don’t know her personally. Is she from Panbion?”

 

“Yes, she is. I need to investigate her. Where she came from, why she’s here.”

 

Grace spoke directly and without hesitation.

 

“Why are you suddenly interested in investigating her?”

 

“She came from abroad, and I’ve noticed some things about her that seem suspicious.”

 

“Are you wondering why a foreigner would be in Panbion? Our empire has excellent Armento training techniques, so we often receive foreign trainees.”

 

“It’s not just that. It’s because of something I saw and heard yesterday.”

 

Grace took a deep breath and recounted everything she had seen on the scroll and overheard in the tavern conversation between Seri and the man.

 

“You’re saying this Seri Abbott was reporting on your powers to someone? And that they’re planning to transfer those powers?”

 

“Yes, that’s correct. So I need to know why they’re doing this.”

 

“…Understood. I’ll do my best to find out.”

 

A few days later, Duke Philipon called Grace back.

 

“Duchess, I have the information you asked for.”

 

“Yes, please tell me.”

 

“Did you know that Seri Abbott is from the Bahoton Empire?”

 

“I knew that. But I was more curious about her background—what kind of family she came from, and what her position was in Bahoton.”

 

“She has no family.”

 

“…What?”

 

Grace’s face went blank.

 

“She’s from an orphanage in Bahoton. The only record we have is that she showed potential and was sent abroad for training under government support.”

 

“So… her origin is unknown.”

 

Seri had been deliberately hiding her true identity.

 

“When I was staying with the divine beast in Winstaine territory, I was ambushed by hunters. One of our knights said they were from Bahoton.”

 

She recalled Lisetta mentioning that in passing afterward.

 

So the people who tried to kill the divine beast to steal its power were from Bahoton, and now the ones trying to extract and transfer my abilities are from Bahoton too.

 

“So you’re suggesting that Bahoton is trying to do something with your powers… though we don’t yet know what exactly.”

 

“Yes, that’s right.”

 

“Hmm…”

 

Duke Philipon furrowed his brow. He stayed silent for a while, deep in thought, before finally speaking.

 

“I’ll look into how many Armento from Bahoton have come here and whether anything’s changed since their arrival.”

 

“Thank you, Lord.”

 

Grace bowed her head, full of gratitude and respect.

 

“No need. From what you’ve told me, this is worth keeping an eye on. That comment about draining blood reminded me of Mina, who recently died.”

 

“Yes. That’s why… I’m wondering if it’s all connected.”

 

“Ever since then, I’ve been on high alert, watching for anything suspicious inside Panbion.”

 

“…Yes.”

 

Grace nodded slowly.

 

“So from now on, I’ll be keeping a close watch on Seri Abbott.”

 

“If you notice anything strange or need help, don’t hesitate to tell me.”

 

“I will.”

 

Grace answered with determination in her voice.

 

 

“It’s been a while, Duchess Winstaine.”

 

Rayleigh spoke with a smile that seemed like it had been painted on. Grace was thoroughly uncomfortable but forced herself to maintain a neutral expression.

 

“It has, Your Highness.”

 

“I asked to see you today because I want to clear up the misunderstanding between us. I was worried it may have hurt you.”

 

“I don’t know what could’ve possibly hurt me, Your Highness.”

 

“There’s plenty. You suffered a lot because of the misunderstanding that you tried to poison me.”

 

Grace forced a trembling smile to her lips. Is she trying to provoke me?

 

But Rayleigh wasn’t the one who had directly framed her.

 

She had only heard, through one of Rayleigh’s maids, that Rayleigh tried to seduce Frederick with the promise of releasing Grace from prison while she was imprisoned—because she’d liked Frederick for a long time.

 

“I never truly believed that you tried to kill me. You’re a good person, Duchess. But once things got to that point, there was nothing I could do on my own.”

 

Rayleigh beamed brightly, showing off her perfectly aligned teeth.

 

“So, as an apology… I’d like to offer you anything you want.”