Odalisque - Chapter 104

It was after discovering Camille’s fifth alias that they learned the Rodaise sisters had disguised themselves as men during their escape. Camille had used his fifth alias to buy men’s clothing in the sisters’ sizes.

They had thought it was just a change of clothes, but it turned out to be a much more serious escape plan. That realization only fueled Dimus’ anger further. It was as if he could see her putting all her effort into escaping his grasp.

“We haven’t received any significant reports from Arburn yet.”

Arburn was the destination of the train ticket Camille had secured for the sisters. As soon as they found the ticket, they contacted Arburn and sent a description of Liv, but there was still no useful information.

Dimus pressed his fingers against his temples in silence.

“Which stations on the route to Arburn have we checked so far?”

“We’ve just received a report that they’ve reached Elke. It’s a city with a lot of drifters passing through, so it’s taking some time. Plus, the high-profile clientele of the casino makes it difficult for the police to do much.”

Charles, who was reporting, suddenly stopped. He swallowed nervously, carefully choosing his words as he observed Dimus’ sharp expression.

“Also, it seems the eldest son of Viscount Karin is currently in Elke.”

Dimus’ eyes, already dark, seemed to turn into pure ice. His lips remained tightly shut, but his jawline betrayed how hard he was clenching his teeth.

“Should we assign someone to watch him, just in case…”

“I never thought my subordinates would believe the nonsense of a madwoman who says, ‘The mistress, longing for a man she was close to years ago, abandoned the Marquis and ran away.'”

Charles nodded, his face pale. The thought of the “madwoman” Dimus mentioned sent shivers down his spine.

Luzia, who had spread the false rumors and been caught, was now paying the price for her actions. She had called it “a harmless prank,” but considering how enraged Dimus had been upon discovering the prank, Charles knew he had to tread very carefully.

“Of course, I don’t believe it.”

“Good. Then there’s no need to waste manpower on that,” Dimus replied coldly, biting down on a cigar before angrily smashing it onto the desk.

Liv had worked as a live-in tutor for the Karin family a few years ago, and the public reason for her dismissal was that she had attempted to seduce the eldest son. However, that was the Karin’s side of the story, and in Dimus’ view, it was quite the opposite.

At least, that was what Dimus had concluded. But how could he be sure?

Liv Rodaise had played him and escaped. How could he be certain that she hadn’t harbored secret feelings for the unknown son of Viscount Karin?

She had deceived him so easily.

The thought of her gazing affectionately at anyone else twisted his insides. If the eldest son of Viscount Karin were in front of him now, Dimus would crush him like that cigar.

“…Don’t assign anyone to watch him, but keep track of his movements regularly.”

“Yes, sir.”

It had been less than a week since Liv had disappeared, but each day felt like a year to Dimus.

He thought he could catch her the very next day, but there were too many pairs of “sisters” traveling on trains. And it was only later that they realized they should have been looking for brothers instead of sisters.

Even then, it wasn’t certain that Liv had gone to Arburn. If she hadn’t, it meant she had disembarked at one of the stations on the Arburn line. With no way to determine the exact station, they had to search them one by one, an impractical approach.

It was too inefficient. Without a proper lead, aimlessly chasing would only lead to failure.

Dimus pressed his temples and muttered to himself, “Money, medicine, gun.”

After turning Liv’s house upside down, he discovered that she had taken only those three things with her. Initially, Dimus had assumed that she wouldn’t get far with just those.

“…Money, medicine, gun…”

Dimus repeated the three words over and over, narrowing his eyes.

Liv wasn’t foolish; she would try to move as far away from Buerno as possible. But she wouldn’t be able to hide in a quiet rural area.

Because she wasn’t alone.

“Corida Rodaise.”

A city where she could settle with her not-yet-fully-recovered sister, Corida, who needed new medicines currently being distributed.

The first condition for a new place to settle would be a city large enough to have access to those new medicines.

But was that the only condition?

Dimus recalled the moment when Liv’s attitude had changed—the day she had cried bitterly with a pale face.

“In matters regarding Corida’s future, you shouldn’t have excluded me.”

With her beloved younger sister’s health improving, it was natural that Liv would have plans and considerations for her future. In the past, when she had been focused on just keeping her sister alive, there had been no room for such thoughts. But now things were different. Corida’s condition had improved, and as long as she took her medicine, she could live like anyone else.

“How many schools in Beren accept commoners?”

“Pardon?”

“Find out.”

Charles hesitated for a moment, seemingly trying to understand Dimus’ intention, then nodded and left.

Watching Charles’ back, Adolf called out to Dimus with a sigh.

“Marquis…”

“What about Eleonore?”

“…They’re still cautious. It seems they haven’t fully grasped the situation either.”

“Idiots. Perhaps I should show them what happens when you trust Malte.”

Dimus had never cared who they allied with. All of this chaos had stemmed from Eleonore joining forces with Malte, trying to move in line with international politics, but Dimus spoke as if it were purely the result of Camille Eleonore’s personal misjudgment.

Adolf, his gaze heavy with concern, cautiously spoke up, “Are you planning to take serious action?”

“Serious action?”

“If they find out what you have, everything they’ve built so far will become meaningless.”

“What kind of life have they had that they’d even notice, stuck in this backwater?”

Adolf had no response to that bitter retort and closed his mouth. Dimus waved at him irritably.

Once he’d sent both aides away, Dimus was left alone in his office, lost in thought. The last place he had seen Liv was here. Naturally, the image of Liv from that day came to mind.

She had clung to him unexpectedly, her composed face spouting sweet words with ease—it had been strange.

If she had been an enemy spy trying to take his life, he would have willingly offered his neck to her. For someone who had survived enemy territory, that would have been a fatal mistake.

He shouldn’t have allowed her to act that way from the start. He shouldn’t have just watched, assuming she understood her place.

He should have shown her that it was up to Dimus alone to decide whether their relationship would continue or end.

Could she have done the same to Camille to gain his help?

They’d only had a short time alone together, not nearly long enough to do anything significant, but for someone like that weakling Camille, even a moment was more than enough.

And there were many ways to get what you wanted without going all the way. Dimus himself had taught her that there were easy and quick ways to satisfy a man’s desire without taking off her clothes.

His thoughts spiraled out of control.

“Damn it.”

The curse slipped from his lips as he imagined Liv kneeling before Camille, embracing his neck, whispering softly in her fragile voice, or even just standing before another man, blushing as she had in front of him.

If she had stood like that before another man, or if she planned to in the future…

Gritting his teeth, Dimus glared at the desk in front of him. No matter how much he repeated that he’d soon catch her, his rage refused to subside.

In the end, he stood up violently. He marched out of his office, heading for the underground exhibition room—the place he always went to calm his mind.