Chapter 24

"Unsuitable for me...?"

No matter how I think about it, I'm the one who is unsuitable for Rufus. Gerald kept his hand on my cheek and nodded with a smile.

"That's right. You are the most beautiful and precious person of all."

...How do I appear in Gerald's beautiful eyes? Being called precious is too much for me. I'm definitely being overestimated.

His palm, which had slid down my cheek, now touched my neck. His fingertips were surprisingly cold, sending a shiver down my spine.

"...I'm not that amazing."

"No, you are."

But it seems he really thinks that about me. He looks at me as if I'm something dazzling.

"We should go to the baron and baroness soon."

Feeling uneasy, I tried to change the subject and started walking, pulling Gerald's arm.

But when he smiled and said, "I'm happy," I became even more flustered.

"Are they the baron and baroness?"

As we continued walking through the venue, confused, Gerald pointed to a couple who looked kind.

From the way they were warmly greeting the people who came to greet them, they seemed to be the baron and baroness, the hosts.

Trying to act as natural as possible, I greeted them. Despite our notorious reputation, they were surprisingly friendly and kind, and it was clear from a brief conversation that they were wonderful people.

The conversation flowed better than I expected, and I decided to ask about Eliza right away.

"Um, what was Lady Eliza like as a child?"

"That girl hasn't changed much from when she was young."

"Yeah, most of her habits from childhood are still with her."

"...Is that so?"

From what I heard, all her catchphrases were from when she was a child, even from over ten years ago, long before we were taken over.

"Do you often talk about those days?"

"Yes, she often talks about those days, saying she wants to go back to her childhood."

We continued to listen to various stories and then thanked them before leaving. We looked at each other.

"Is this Eliza not involved...?"

"From what we heard, it seems that way."

"...But the baroness has a habit of tucking her hair behind her ear when she laughs, just like Eliza, who was always with me."

Is this a coincidence? But it seems that the Eliza here has memories from before the switch.

Gerald also looked puzzled.

"Since they went to the extent of casting a binding spell, they must be determined not to give up their current life and won't easily slip up. I'll investigate from a different angle."

"We need to hurry for Norman's sake..."

"Yeah, I'll do my best, so don't worry."

Gerald gently patted my head. He is, as always, incredibly sweet and kind. If I hadn't heard Neil's story, I would have completely relied on him.

...In the end, we left the venue without finding any evidence about Eliza, and the mystery only deepened.

◇◇◇

"......It's over."

"Actually, nothing even started."

Holding a bottle of high-proof whiskey, Rufus was slumped on the table, clearly very drunk.

Despite leaving Eliza Haines' birthday party early, I found myself being clung to by Rufus and drinking with him in the usual room of the marquis's house.

This is the first time we've drunk here since the day he broke off his engagement.

"Anyway, I no longer trust your declaration of non-involvement. What do you think I'm doing by getting involved?"

"My body just moves on its own."

Rufus lifted his head and covered his eyes with one hand.

"...That's too cunning. She was too cute."

She was wearing the ring he gave her, saying she liked it, was happy, and would treasure it. I can understand why he got carried away.

But his attempt to stop her at that place was a bad move. If the marquis hears about it, he might hit him again.

After a deep sigh, Rufus poured another glass of wine, the number of which I couldn't count, and drank it in one go.

"Most of all, I was definitely misunderstood."

"Of course."

Our conversation was completely out of sync.

She must have taken it as Rufus saying he doesn't want to be involved with her anymore.

"I just wanted to say that I don't want a relationship where we only talk occasionally... but because of him..."

"Blaming others isn't good."

"He" refers to Gerald Findlay, who interrupted our conversation. It was obvious from his attitude that he likes Sadie Arclight.

Rufus, with tears in his eyes, kept muttering things like "I want to disappear," "But he said he wanted to talk to me," "I'm happy," "I'm sad." His emotions were all over the place.

"...Are they lovers?"

"What?"

"I saw them looking at each other and touching cheeks."

Indeed, after that, they seemed unusually intimate. Although I couldn't see Sadie Arclight's expression, from the side, they looked like a couple.

Seeing this, Rufus had a terrible expression, as if he had just witnessed his entire family being slaughtered.

"If they were really lovers, I don't think she would wear a ring given by you, even if it's a magical item."

Hearing this, Rufus's eyes lit up like a fish in water. Where did the calm and composed man, who is always unreadable, go?

"...Today, I was reminded how much I love her, to the point of hating it."

During the party, beautifully dressed young ladies kept coming to Rufus and talking to him. Even Eliza, the guest of honor, seemed to treat him specially.

Yet, he ignored all the young ladies and kept staring at Sadie Arclight, to the point where it was only a matter of time before others noticed his intense gaze.

"I'm going to the temple tomorrow."

"For what?"

"To investigate what Sadie talked about. There should be various documents there that can only be found in that place."

As a member of the Langridge family, who are devout temple followers, he can enter the temple's library. After saying this, he hugged the empty bottle and fell asleep like a puppet with its strings cut.

After covering him with a jacket as usual, I, feeling a bit tipsy and sleepy, lay down on the sofa and closed my eyes.

--The next morning, the butler rushed into the room and woke us up, informing us of the Pope's death.