I Start with a Bad Hand!

“How many years has it been since you last returned to the Empire?”

“…Quite a long time.”

“It must have been difficult to reach your position in a foreign land,”

“Well, there were some ups and downs.”

Godwin never answered at length, regardless of the question. Unless asked specifically, she never provided detailed answers, and even when pressed, she often let the answers slip through her fingers. Her attitude made Roxanne uneasy. Despite her indifferent gaze, her tone was surprisingly gentle…. Roxanne glanced at her aunt furtively.

In fact, Roxanne had something else she wanted to ask Godwin.

‘Why Godwin?’

Godwin wasn’t her mother’s maiden name…. Thinking that, Roxanne quickly concluded it must be her husband’s surname.

“Um, Mrs. Godwin,”

However, Godwin’s expression changed slightly at that. She looked at Roxanne for a moment, then composed herself and maintained her usual expression.

“There’s no need to call me Mrs. I have no husband, so that title is unnecessary.”

“Oh! I… I’m sorry. Then, Aunt, what brings you to the academy…”

Roxanne felt her neck flush with embarrassment as she asked. Godwin paused for a moment before answering.

“I’m looking for someone.”

“Someone… at the academy?”

Godwin responded with a vague smile. After wetting her lips with tea and remaining silent for a while, Roxanne’s aunt changed the subject.

“Do you know the girl who won the hunting competition this time?”

“The hunting competition…?”

“Her name is Beatrice… Degoph, I believe.”

Degoph. The same surname as that girl.

‘Then the winner of this hunting competition… could it be?’

A sudden intuition pierced Roxanne’s heart. She hadn’t paid much attention to the winner of the hunting competition. She had been with Elius until the end of the event when it got dark, and Cedric hadn’t mentioned anything upon returning from the award ceremony.

‘…But how could I have been completely unaware? I participated in the hunting competition too, yet I don’t even know the winner’s name.’

In hindsight, it was as if someone had completely blocked the information. Roxanne had heard nothing about the winner. Of course, during the autumn festival, there were many other activities besides the hunting competition, so she hadn’t been particularly concerned. But still…

An inexplicable premonition made her heart pound, and her chest felt a little heavy. Roxanne unconsciously clutched her chest. Unable to bear the silence, Roxanne was about to part her lips to speak when it happened.

“She must be around the same age as the lady. If that’s the case, she would be at the academy…”

“There is no such student.”

Cedric, who had been sitting quietly next to her, cut off Godwin’s words before he could finish. Roxanne closed her lips that had been on the verge of moving. She hadn’t lied. Strictly speaking, neither had Cedric. Nevertheless, to hide her trembling anxiety, Roxanne concealed her hands under the table. Godwin was staring intently at Roxanne’s appearance.

“…I see.”

“President.”

Godwin’s secretary, who had approached at some point, whispered something in his ear. Listening without any change in expression, Godwin nodded and motioned for his secretary to leave first. Roxanne watched blankly as he soon gathered his things without hesitation.

“Let’s get up. It was nice meeting you.”

Not even 20 minutes had passed since the maid brought out the tea.

“Why is your aunt’s surname Godwin? Your mother’s surname wasn’t Godwin before she got married.”

In the heavy atmosphere, Roxanne forced a smile and asked Cedric. Cedric answered with a somewhat troubled expression.

“…Godwin is our grandmother’s maiden name.”

This was something Roxanne hadn’t known either.

Consumed by inexplicable emotions, Roxanne couldn’t respond to Cedric’s call for a long time.

***

Godwin lightly pressed her temples to relieve a throbbing migraine. Meeting those family members was always unpleasant.

“They look too much like the Duke.”

Even though the children weren’t at fault, the undeniable discomfort surged every time he faced those faces, even at his age. There was nothing about them that didn’t remind him of Rosamund. All three children resembled the Duke, indicating that the bloodline was indeed strong.

With such thoughts, Godwin reflected on the purpose of the recent meeting while folding the parasol he had brought.

“Beatrice Degoph.”

She had seen the name in a small newsletter. She had vowed never to hear news from that place again after leaving the Empire. Godwin clicked her tongue briefly. Returning to her hometown, she found it unchanged, which was displeasing. The young girl who had won the autumn hunting festival for the first time since Rosamund—that news had indeed sparked her return to the Empire. However, it was not Beatrice who had ultimately compelled Godwin to come back.

Godwin didn’t bother to give a hint to the eldest son of the Duke’s family, but she was looking for someone else.

“There is no such student.”

When she lightly asked the question, the Duke’s eldest son abruptly interrupted with a hasty response. That was unexpected.

Degoph was not a typical noble surname. Even though she had lived abroad for a long time since leaving the Empire, such knowledge was common sense for Godwin, who had been a noble of the Empire.

“A rare surname to begin with, and considering its meaning, it likely belongs to a family of butchers or, at best, a lower-ranking knightly house. For a girl from such a background to win a hunting festival, there would inevitably be some talk among the arrogant nobles of the Empire.”

Yet, the children of Elexion had denied it so firmly. Not just with a simple “I don’t know,” but with “there is no such person.” The eldest son of the Duke, who usually tried to explain himself with just a word from Godwin, could have at least said he had heard of her once. That very behavior gave Godwin a certain conviction.

“These cheeky kids are lying about something.”

Why go to such lengths to hide this Degoph girl? Godwin thought of the Duke’s children with their silver hair. The bright, piercing silver remained as an afterimage before her eyes.

“Hah.”

Godwin let out a short, mocking laugh as she tightly tied the parasol she had been slowly closing. It didn’t matter anyway.

“I instructed my secretary to look into the academy, so if those kids are really hiding something, it will be revealed soon enough.”

Just as she concluded her thoughts and was about to get into her carriage, a bright voice made her turn around.

“Oh? Hello.”

A student in an academy uniform looked up at her with bright eyes. Raising an eyebrow silently, Godwin saw the student’s reaction change to one of slight embarrassment. The student, now a bit more timid, cautiously asked,

“Aren’t you Dietrich’s mother?”

“…Dietrich?”

“Yes! I’m Agnes Bardi, a friend of Dietrich.”

Godwin looked down at the curly-haired student who couldn’t suppress the grin creeping up her face. Bardi—a surname identical to the most influential trading house in the Thomple Empire. Godwin had met the eldest daughter of that family a few times.

“A younger sibling attending the academy, huh? But who is she mistaking me for?”

It was somewhat cute how transparently happy she looked.

“Dietrich, huh.”

Godwin wasn’t looking for a boy, so the unfamiliar name didn’t pique her interest.

“Agnes, was it? Nice to meet you.”

Her eyes widened at his smooth tone and polite speech. The slight shyness and wariness that had been under her initial friendliness quickly crumbled. How could she reveal herself so easily? Watching her, Godwin smiled slightly and said to the small student before him,

“But I think you have mistaken me for someone else. I don’t have any children, and I haven’t heard the name Dietrich before.”

“Oh? But…”

“Pardon me.”

With a light bow, Godwin took her secretary’s hand and stepped into the carriage. Soon, the coachman increased the speed, leaving the academy behind. Godwin pulled out a neatly tucked envelope from inside her jacket. A letter that had reached him too late, leading her back to the detestable Empire. Godwin brushed the thin paper with his gloved hand. The unmistakable handwriting briefly revealed the sender.

“To my sister,

…Rosamund.”

“Would something have changed if I had received this letter back then?”

But it was useless speculation now. Godwin put on her glasses and took the stack of documents handed to her by his secretary. Her habit of verifying everything personally had brought her from starting alone to her current position.

“Is this the complete list of academy students?”

“Yes, it is.”

There was someone in the Empire that Godwin needed to find, even if he had to search every corner. The starting point was the academy.