The Messenger Pigeon

Samantha began to recount the entire story to Lloyd.

Why the Duke had kidnapped her, what he had asked in the basement, and why she had no choice but to steal Dalia's belongings, among other things.

She shared everything she knew, one detail at a time.

Lloyd, who had been silently listening, replied.

"So, the reason you stole the Duchess's belongings was to help her."

"Yes. How could I stand by when they were threatening to kill the child in her womb? I hoped the mistress might trust me... So, I was preparing for any possible outcome, but it turned out to be a trap."

Thinking about it now, even entrusting her with the vault key seemed to have been part of the trap.

Otherwise, there was no way they would have entrusted her with the key while suspecting her of infidelity.

Asking for the aquamarine necklace might have been a ploy to confirm it was missing and catch her in the act.

Samantha shuddered as she realized that everything had been orchestrated by the Duke.

Wasn't he like a predator hiding in the bushes, waiting for the right moment to pounce?

As she thought of this, she grew even more worried about Dalia, who was left alone in the mansion.

"We need to tell the mistress about this immediately. Otherwise, something terrible might..."

"It's too late. The Duchess is already confined to the tower."

"What do you mean…!"

As if he had just realized why the Duke had done such a thing, Lloyd added calmly.

"It's probably for the reason you mentioned. The Duke believes the Duchess is carrying another man's child and confined her to the tower until he decides what to do."

He twisted his lips as if in disbelief.

"Regardless of the truth, confining her for bearing another man's child is ironic, considering he said he'd kill her if she bore his child..."

"What should we do about the mistress now...?"

As Samantha, now understanding the mansion's situation through Lloyd's words, worried about Dalia with tearful eyes, it happened.

The door suddenly burst open, and a presence was felt. Startled, the two turned around.

"Rose?"

It was Rose Hertz. She approached the two with a calm expression as if she had heard the entire story.

"Then let's go and bring the Duchess."

Before Lloyd could ask how much of the story Rose had overheard, he questioned her following statement.

"…Bring her? What do you mean by that?"

"Lloyd, you know how terrifying the Duke of Seiyer is. He's not someone who would overlook his wife's infidelity. Just look—he's already locked the pregnant Duchess in the tower."

She was right. Even if he suspected his wife of infidelity, locking her in a tower was an extreme measure.

"The Duke will never forgive the Duchess for being pregnant. So, before he can act, let's bring her here and help her escape."

"Are you saying we should smuggle the Duchess out of the capital?"

In response to Lloyd, Rose slowly nodded.

"Whether it's the capital or the empire itself… she'll go somewhere the Duke can't reach."

Samantha, listening to their conversation, suddenly interjected.

"I agree that we need to bring the mistress. I'll go with her wherever she escapes to. But, Lady Hertz, why are you trying to help my mistress?"

Her eyes were filled with suspicion.

"I owe the Duchess a great deal."

Yet Rose, instead of being offended by the maid's doubt, smiled gently as if to assure her.

"So, leave this matter to me."

"I have a plan."

The confidence in Rose's words left them with no choice but to trust her.

* * *

"Haa…"

Dalia, curled up on the bed, let out a heavy sigh. How many days had it been since she began living in the tower?

The window was so small that she could barely stick her face out, only able to distinguish day from night.

The only solace was that the room, once filthy enough to make her hesitant to step inside, was now clean.

Thanks to the maids' efforts, it couldn't compare to her usual room but had become livable for the time being.

"How much longer will I have to stay here?"

Since being confined here, she had repeatedly tried to talk to Clayton, but she had no chance to meet him.

Fortunately, the order to withhold water seemed to have been rescinded, as meals had been delivered regularly since the day after her confinement.

However, the maids delivering her meals had been replaced with unfamiliar faces.

It was as if they had been ordered not to speak a word to her; they ignored her requests to deliver letters as well.

The only relief was that they would bring her items she requested.

Using the paper and pen the maids brought her, she wrote letters, but none had been delivered to Clayton.

"I need to either see him face-to-face or exchange letters for this to be resolved…!"

Would it hurt to listen to me just once? Frustrated and resentful toward Clayton, Dalia clutched her head.

Suddenly, the sound of fluttering wings reached her ears.

Curious about the unexpected noise, Dalia looked up and saw an unusually white pigeon.

"What's a pigeon doing here?"

She thought it might have stopped by for a rest while flying through the sky and quietly observed it. However—

'There's something on its leg.'

A wooden cylinder was attached to the pigeon's leg. Instinctively sensing this wasn't ordinary, Dalia stood up and extended her hand toward the bird.

As if it had been waiting for her, the pigeon calmly allowed her to handle it.

Thanks to the bird's compliance, Dalia easily removed the cylinder from its leg and quickly opened it.

"This is…"

As expected, inside the cylinder was a small, tightly rolled piece of paper.

"A carrier pigeon message."

Though she had never seen one before, she had heard of pigeons being trained for secret communication.

Who could have sent it?

After staring at the paper for a moment, Dalia unrolled it slowly, revealing neat, densely written text.

"What? He's coming to get me at midnight in four days…?"

It was surprising enough that Lloyd had sent her a message via carrier pigeon, but now he was planning to come and get her.

As Dalia pondered the meaning of the letter, she suddenly lifted her head.

"Does he expect me to run away?"

From what she could piece together, Lloyd seemed to be planning to sneak in and take her away from the mansion.

But this wasn't what Dalia wanted.

'What was the point of enduring all this suffering until now!'

This was unacceptable.

If she had intended to run away, she would have left long ago with some leverage.

"This could all be resolved if I just talk to the Duke once!"

If she told Clayton everything she hadn't been able to and revealed the family secrets she knew, the misunderstanding would be cleared.

The problem was that it wasn't easy to do so…

"What should I do?"

As she anxiously bit her nails, unable to decide, an idea suddenly struck her, brightening her face.

'That's it. I'll ask Lloyd to deliver my message to the Duke for me.'

There were minor issues involving Lloyd, but if he requested a meeting, the Duke likely wouldn't refuse.

'Even if he refuses the meeting, Lloyd could send the letter to the Duke on my behalf.'

He could deliver her message to Clayton more easily than she could, given she hadn't even been able to see him or send a letter.

Feeling a sudden sense of hope, Dalia beamed with a bright smile.

This was her chance—a chance to resolve all the misunderstandings!

With that thought, Dalia grabbed a piece of paper lying nearby and began to write on it.

She wrote for quite some time.

Once the letter was complete, she rolled it up and placed it back into the small cylinder attached to the pigeon's leg.

"I'm counting on you."

She petted the bird a few times before releasing it into the sky.

She hoped that Lloyd would deliver her words to the Duke as written in the letter.