Purple Heart (13)

Judith watched Alicia’s lips move soundlessly and continued.

“For accuracy, I broke it down—headstrap, browband, throatlatch, cheekpieces, bit bar, bit rings, and reins. Only the reins carried a scent. And only along a span about a hand wide where they join the throatlatch. It sat a little away from the horse’s throatlatch and far from the part a person holds, so you wouldn’t notice while it was on the horse. Quite artful, isn’t it?”

It truly was.

Whoever had done it was cautious and meticulous.

The enemy.

Alicia thought about the enemy.

Since returning from hell, she had not avoided fights that came to her, but she also had not gone looking to start them.

She had kept an eye on those who might become enemies, or with whom relations might sour, but at this early stage she did not move against anyone.

She had no leisure to.

After becoming nineteen again, there had been too much to do.

She had annulled the disastrous betrothal looming right before her.

She had busied herself regaining the power she once had.

She had struggled to handle the ties entangled with her new betrothal.

She had laid groundwork for the distant future, though none of it was of use right now.

Anyone could be an enemy.

A person’s heart was unknowable—today’s friend could be tomorrow’s foe.

Who could it be?

Who would profit by chaining Alicia to Rain, or by throwing her into trouble through her father’s death?

There were far too many.

The six houses that had planned to marry the Grand Duke of Tessen and, because of Alicia’s unexpected betrothal, lost that match.

From among them, Baron Greitz had threatened her—and she had paid him back.

Count Combat had set the Lilizet Villa on fire. All the messengers he sent had been dealt with.

Greitz, Heronimo, Strahl, Morrow, Kopf, Combat.

Greitz had ceased moving, and Heronimo and Morrow had abandoned the bid to become Grand Duchess.

Strahl, Kopf, and Combat were watching the situation and preparing.

It would not be strange if any of them had decided to act.

The power and wealth that came with being Grand Duchess of Tessen were immense.

Nor were they the only enemies.

Viviana Manners, who had picked a foolish fight with Alicia and lost much because of it.

The Marchioness of Belz and the Young Marquis of Belz, who had begun to be edged out of the royal orbit because of Alicia’s rise.

Cynthia and Angela, who had tried to humiliate Alicia and had been humiliated instead.

Concubines who wished to topple Alicia, who stood with the Empress.

And the Emperor.

Those in the palace would stab a friend in the back for power’s sake—or to balance power.

These were people who would ally with an enemy for power; they could easily order an attack to crush House Rain’s sudden emergence in high society.

Many of them had the strength to do so.

“Have you learned anything about the scent?”

“My apologies. I had many perfumers smell it, but beyond saying the scent was strong, they had no clear opinion. I’ll keep gathering information until it dissipates entirely.”

Judith apologized, stricken.

“The scent…”

“The opponent is quite underhanded. A fragrance leaves no trace once time has passed.”

Alicia nodded.

“I’ll look into the scent. Anything else?”

“I found no suspicious behavior or links among the Marquess’s knights and attendants. But—you will look into the scent yourself, my lady?”

Alicia nodded to Judith’s question.

“I have someone I can trust. I’ll contact you when I learn more. When shall we meet again?”

“Will you see this person tomorrow?”

“I’m going right now.”

“Then it’s best we meet here again when you return, my lady. You may have orders to give.”

“See you later.”

They tidied their cups and stood.

Alicia slipped the fragrant reins into her pouch; Judith took the comparison set and left the conservatory.

Daisy watched Alicia with eyes that wavered in worry—like one staring at a hopeless walking accident.

“Are you not getting out?”

They were seated in a carriage.

On the box, Juan surveyed the little Luo Castle perched near a sheer cliff.

He was disguised as a coachman, but his tall, clean-cut build made the disguise nearly pointless.

Five minutes had passed since the carriage stopped.

Without avoiding the stares of the guards beyond, Juan rapped on the carriage wall.

Not far from House Rain stood Castle Luo, the McMahon Earl’s villa within Rain.

The Earl, come to keep vigil over a dear friend’s last days, planned to stay for a time.

With him had come his eldest son, Albert McMahon.

“Must you really do this, my lady?”

Daisy looked at Alicia as if she were the worst of women, sneaking off to see a lover.

Even if Alicia caused trouble, it would be Alicia’s fault—yet Daisy fretted as though she herself were committing a grave sin.

“You can stay here.”

Alicia spoke the outrageous line with calm.

“I’ll go.”

Daisy finally stepped down and approached the guards.

Even though removing her hooded cloak might expose her to danger, she kept her face thoroughly hidden.

Her exchange with the guards was brief.

“Go ahead. Sir Juan, we’ll be right back.”

Daisy’s look begged Juan to come inside if they were late.

“Take your time.”

Juan turned the team so they could depart as soon as the women returned.

Alicia and Daisy entered Castle Luo under a guard’s guidance.

He handed them off to a maid with pronounced cheekbones and withdrew.

The maid led them toward an enormous glass garden.

“…”

Alicia had lately spent much time in the Maze Garden’s glasshouse.

Seeing this glass garden, Daisy shot Alicia a meaningful, sharp look.

It’s not like that.

Alicia offered no explanation.

The maid who had gone into the glass garden took them not into the conservatory but into a library inside the manor.

Though Daisy wished Alicia wouldn’t, Alicia removed her hood and revealed her face once they were indoors.

Albert McMahon’s villa library was bare.

Most shelves were empty.

The five books present all bore spines illustrated with beautiful trees or leaves.

Books often bore such drawings, but Albert McMahon’s were all about plants, hence the motif.

Click—the door opened, and Albert entered.

“Young master.”

At the maid’s call, Albert glanced at the guest, Alicia.

Though he had come because a caller had arrived late at night, his discomfort was obvious.

“My apologies for calling at such an hour, Sir Albert.”

“N-no, Lady Alicia.”

“I came because I have something to ask, Sir Albert.”

At Alicia’s words, Albert glanced aside awkwardly, then looked to the maid.

“Leave us. See that no one approaches.”

“Yes.”

The maid withdrew demurely.

Daisy stood beside Alicia pretending to know nothing.

Alicia let her be.

Albert went to the tea table and offered Alicia a seat.

“Is it urgent?”

He kept his eyes on the table.

“Yes.”

From within her cloak, Alicia took a stout pouch and produced the reins at once.

Albert looked puzzled, while Daisy realized, flustered, how wrong her assumptions had been.

“I’ve heard you’re very learned in botany, Sir Albert.”

“A-ah, not that much…”

“And that you know how to extract fragrance from leaves, fruit, and stems. Could you tell me about the scent coming from these reins?”

Before he could wave it off, Alicia dropped the heart of it.

“A scent?”

Shy and ready to deny everything he could not name, Albert pricked up at the word “scent.”

There was no reason for a floral fragrance on reins.

Leather, perhaps—but flowers?

Alicia pushed the reins toward him in request.

Albert leaned to the strongest spot and flared his nostrils.

Quite unlike a polished earl’s son, he sniffed again and again.

His expression clouded oddly as he inhaled.

With a decisiveness not seen in his usual reserved manner, he kept testing the smell.

The more he checked, the grimmer his face grew.

“Forgive me, Lady Alicia. May I snip a tiny sample for testing?”

“Yes.”

When it came to plants, Albert had no hesitation.

He drew from a desk drawer a large, sharp-tipped pair of shears that looked able to cut a branch clean, and a shallow clear dish.

He inspected the strongest area once more.

Confirming the scent, he knit his brows and carefully shaved a sliver from the surface.

The unusual shears clicked.

He truly cut only a tiny piece, as promised.

He smelled the sample in the dish again, then covered it.

About to speak, he spotted Daisy standing behind Alicia and hesitated.

“Please go on.”

Alicia noticed his glance.

“…Lady Alicia, you likely suspected as much when you came to me, but there is an enemy inside House Rain. The scent left on the reins is the concentrate of ‘Arno Tauts Water.’ Put simply, it’s a kind of perfume. If a lady’s perfume is, say, one cup of essence to four or five cups of water, then Arno Tauts Water is pure essence with no dilution.”

He explained the concentration and looked to see if she understood.

“Is it dangerous?”

Alicia asked cautiously.

“Perfume is almost never dangerous. But Arno Tauts is… very dangerous. From spring into summer, it must not be sprayed outdoors by people, nor anywhere people are close by.”

Albert looked worried that his words might not be understood.

“Something like that…”

Alicia murmured, voice dim.

“To understand Arno Tauts Water, you must first know the Aengkeo flower. Even the royal house brings out only four or five blossoms for important rites. The Aengkeo flower symbolizes immortality and miracle—because it blooms so rarely.”

Aengkeo.

At the word, Alicia and Daisy fell silent.

Alicia’s expression vanished.

Daisy’s eyes shook like a storm-tossed sea.

“For an Aengkeo tree to bloom, the conditions must be special. The flowers open in summer, but the rest of the year must be cool and dry. Thus, those blessed with near-miraculous fortune may see flowers even in the mild days of midwinter. Horticulture has advanced enough that people learned to hand-pollinate many plants, but the Aengkeo is difficult. Because blooms are rare, the trees are exceedingly scarce—and priced like the flowers. Only natural pollination works; artificial attempts often ruin the blossom. Arno Tauts Water is a fragrance formulated to draw bees to the Aengkeo flower. It is incomparably stronger than ordinary perfumes. And…”

There were places where the miraculous Aengkeo bloomed more readily.

Here, in Rain.