“Where is Josette going when she’s not attending the party!”
The Duke was yelling at the servants.
(It’s unusual for Father to be this angry. He must be that worried about Josette.)
It was very rare to see the usually gentle Duke with such an expression.
“We’ve split up to search, sir. We’ve deployed people within the castle, the estate, and even in town, just in case, but we haven’t found any good information yet.”
The butler reported the current situation on behalf of the servants, but they were still without any useful leads.
“Elnet, you were supposed to be with Josette. Do you have any idea where she might be?”
“That…”
Two full days had passed since Josette disappeared. Today, a celebration event for commoners was being held at the castle. Due to security concerns, the search within the castle was restricted, but with the Queen’s arrangement, the search within the castle grounds, though scaled down, was continuing. Within the Duke’s family, the Duke, Elnet, and others had been busy as organizers of a party for upper and middle aristocrats for the past few days. The first part of the party had just concluded, and a discussion about the search for the missing Josette was taking place in the Duke’s office. Evarist was also present, in addition to the Duke and Elnet. The Duke and Evarist had to move on to attend the subsequent celebration event. Elnet, who remained at the mansion, and the unseen Josette were scheduled to cooperate in preparing for the party to be held at the Duke’s residence later. This meeting was taking place during that brief window of time.
“What is it? Is there something you can’t tell me?”
Elnet couldn’t answer the Duke’s question. If she were to speak, she would have to reveal Gordon’s illness, which was supposed to be a secret. Even if they were her parents, since they didn’t have any information about the illness, Elnet couldn’t speak it herself.
“It’s fine. We have our next engagement, so we must go. We’ll leave the party preparations to you, Elnet, though I know it’s a burden.”
“Yes. Understood.”
As the time for their next appointment was approaching, the Duke didn’t press Elnet further and left the room with Evarist.
“Sigh. Where in the world could Josette have gone? I want to go look for her, but if I leave too, the preparations will fall behind. I just have to trust she’ll return and focus on getting ready.”
Elnet, with no other choice, began preparing for the Duke’s family-hosted party that was to follow.
“Elnet, have you found Josette?”
“No, we haven’t received any information yet.”
“I see… However, we have our duties as the Duke’s family. Elnet, I’m asking a lot of you to cover for Josette’s absence, but please do your best.”
“Yes, Father.”
After finishing the ceremony, the Duke rushed back and immediately went to Elnet to ask if there had been any progress in the search for Josette. However, upon learning that no useful information had been obtained, he looked dejected. Then, the Duke’s family party began, with Josette still absent.
“Thank you all for attending our Duke’s family-hosted New Year’s party today. We have prepared a modest spread of dishes, so please enjoy your conversations to your heart’s content…”
The Duke stood on the dais and addressed the gathered middle aristocrats. When he finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted throughout the venue. The Duke’s family’s party hall was spacious, and many participants, dressed in their party costumes, were in attendance. The purpose of this party was primarily to foster interaction between the Duke’s family members and middle aristocrats. Naturally, the Duke, Evarist, his other siblings, and Elnet were surrounded by attendees who were eagerly trying to make their acquaintance.
“Lady Elnet. You look beautiful today as well. Is that perhaps a dress from the recently rumored Akane Workshop?”
“Yes. I had it newly made for this occasion.”
It seemed that the fact that the Queen and the Saintess had worn dresses from Akane Workshop at the year-end and New Year’s parties held at the castle had reached the ears of the middle aristocrats who weren’t present at the time. Various women attending the party showed interest and approached Elnet, who, acting with the elegance befitting an aristocratic young lady, politely attended to each of them.
“Phew, I’m tired. It’s not just because it’s been a while since I’ve attended, but there are just too many people talking to me compared to before!”
A considerable amount of time had passed since the party began, and Elnet returned to her private waiting room for a brief break. She then dove onto the sofa, still in her dress, and lay down.
“This is truly a dress made by Rachel. Even lying down like this, it doesn’t lose its shape, and there isn’t a single wrinkle.”
Normally, one would take off their dress before lying down, but the party dresses made by Rachel were designed with such situations in mind. They were made with shape-memory fabric that would flexibly adapt when lying down and return to its original form when standing up. Elnet couldn’t understand how it was structured, but she found this feature extremely convenient.
“Speaking of which…”
Elnet remembered the existence of something that was left in her detached building. Then, she sprang up from the sofa.
“I’m going to my detached building for a moment.”
“Oh? Yes. Have a good day, young lady.”
Elnet informed the attendant who was waiting in her room and headed for her detached building, still in her party costume.
(I believe Josette also left something in her detached building before heading to the castle. Perhaps I can get in touch with her.)
Elnet ran with a fervent wish.
“Young lady, welcome…”
“I just need to go to my room for a moment.”
Elnet arrived at her detached building, passed by her personal attendant who greeted her, and headed towards her own room.
“Found it.”
On the desk in Elnet’s room, her smartphone, still connected to a mobile battery, was placed there. Picking it up, Elnet immediately checked the screen.
“One missed call… from Marie? Could Josette be at Kent’s house?”
Marie’s Bakery was closed today, so the most likely place Marie would be was at Kent’s house, which she used as her residence. Since Josette frequented Kent’s house, there was a high probability she would be there, Elnet thought. She immediately decided to call Marie.
“Hello, Marie here.”
Marie answered the phone promptly. Through the call, Elnet learned that Marie was at Marie’s Bakery and that besides Marie, Kent, Rachel, Emily, Al, and Hanako were all there. Josette was not present, but Elnet received shocking news from Kent over the phone.
“Hey, prepare a carriage immediately. We’re leaving right away.”
“Yes, understood.”
Elnet requested that the attendant arrange for a carriage. Upon hearing this, the attendant hurriedly ran out of the detached building and headed for the stables.
(Why do Kent and his companions know about that? I have no choice but to go and see for myself!)
Kent and his companions already knew that Gordon had collapsed. Furthermore, they seemed to have something in mind about the matter and were preparing to act. To confirm this, Elnet boarded the carriage that had been prepared.
“To Marie’s Bakery, please. As quickly as possible!”
The Duke’s family always had a carriage on standby for emergencies. Not wanting to waste time changing, Elnet, still in her party dress, boarded the carriage and hurried to Marie’s Bakery.
This concludes the story from Elnet’s perspective. The next installment will return to the protagonist Kent’s point of view.
