Time of the Blind Beast - Chapter 45

In corresponding with his subordinate in place of Ezekiel, Rose had come to know a little about Captain Montcalm. Montcalm was a long-standing comrade from the time Ezekiel had first enlisted, the most trusted of his subordinates, and currently acting as the temporary commander of the ‘King’s Army’ during Ezekiel’s seclusion. Additionally, Montcalm served as an intermediary, relaying Ezekiel’s orders to the troops and compiling their reports into letters.

“…It seems the couple who fled the Valdemaira estate had a daughter. Your guess was correct, Major.”

He was still diligently tracking her whereabouts.

Rose read Montcalm’s letter with a steady gaze. Humans truly are creatures of adaptation. At first, she used to tremble and hold her breath, fearing her identity might be revealed at any moment through Montcalm’s letters, and that fear had often drawn suspicion. But now, she had become accustomed to this inescapable dread.

“It was long ago, so not many neighbors remembered. But someone did recall hearing that the daughter had been sent to a girls’ boarding school. She was their only child, so it seems they raised her with particular care despite modest means. However, as is often the case with boarding schools, she left home at a young age, so no one remembers her adult face. Still, people said she must have grown up beautiful. She was a lovely child with good features. More importantly, the description of the woman we are pursuing matches closely with that daughter.”

So Ezekiel wouldn’t notice, Rose bit the inside of her cheek to maintain a calm expression. Perhaps she bit too hard, as a faint taste of blood spread in her mouth.

“Brown hair, hazel eyes, a beautiful young woman just past adolescence…”

It was still fine. She had expected at least this much to be uncovered.

“So the parents, needing money, committed theft, and the daughter negotiated with the man to clean up the mess.”

Ezekiel remained unfazed. Since it was the result of instructions he had given in anticipation, he was calm.

Rose read the letter more slowly than her usual scanning pace.

“Apparently, the name was likely a nickname, something like Liz or Lissy.”

A name that could be shortened to Liz or Lissy could be any number of common names. It wasn’t particularly valuable information.

“Liz, Lisa, Lissy, Lizzie. All common nicknames for women.”

“As for the school, one neighbor remembered giving the girl a winter blanket in exchange for making padded clothes, so they assumed the school must have been in the cold north. I don’t know how many girls’ schools there are in the north, but since you’re there, it might be worth starting the search with nearby schools.”

But if all this information were pieced together… would it still be okay?

Rose reviewed the clues Montcalm had found one by one:

A young woman who attended a northern girls’ boarding school,

With a nickname like Liz or Lissy,

Brown hair and hazel eyes, late teens to early twenties.

Laid out together, the search narrowed significantly. This could be dangerous.

“The only school I know near here is the one you attended—Milena Girls’ School. Could she be an alumna of yours?”

Ezekiel, unaware of Rose’s anxiety, casually tossed out the unnerving possibility. It was a joke to him, but to Rose, it was the truth. She couldn’t bring herself to laugh.

“Rose, anyone come to mind among your peers?”

“Ah… I’m not sure.”

She quickly changed her answer from “no” to “I’m not sure.” Denying too clearly from the start might seem suspicious.

“I don’t know very well. It’s probably another school.”

“How many students are usually enrolled? Around a hundred?”

He was clearly from Claris—his expectations were high. Schools with a hundred students were rare even across the entire country of Astrie. That might be possible in densely populated, well-funded places like Claris. But most regional schools operated with anywhere from a handful to a few dozen students at most.

“No, much fewer. About thirty. That’s just the currently enrolled number.”

“Then everyone probably knows each other’s faces.”

Rose quickly caught on to what Ezekiel was aiming at. He was using her to investigate Milena Girls’ School.

“…Most of them.”

“If someone who spent years at that school says they don’t recognize that description, then she’s probably not from Milena Girls’ School. It’s not like that’s the only girls’ school in the North.”

Ezekiel very easily accepted her lie. Knowing the reason for his unshakable trust made Rose’s chest ache.

“Lately, I’ve been wondering… what exactly is a human being?”

The man who had had far too much time for introspection brought up a fundamental question.

“There are people like you, Rose, who don’t forget past bonds and rush to help upon hearing about me, and then there are people like her, who don’t hesitate to harm others. It’s fascinating. You and she have similar names, yet your paths couldn’t be more different.”[1]

[1] In Korean, the names “Liz” (리즈) and “Rose” (로즈) are phonetically similar—they both begin with the consonant ‘ㄹ’ (rieul) and end with ‘즈’ (jeu).

And every time Ezekiel struck with remarks like this, Rose was torn—should she be grateful that he couldn’t see her face, or despair over it?

If he ever found out that the woman who had run to him at the news of his condition and the woman who had once tried to kill him were one and the same… how utterly revolted would he be?

“People have many sides. How could anyone fully understand what’s inside?”

Even she couldn’t comprehend her own contradictions. These days, she was constantly realizing how reckless she had been to come seeking forgiveness of her own accord.

Rose lowered her gaze to the letter. “There’s still more news. I’ll continue reading.”

By the way, Major, has the person writing your letters changed from Madam Serva to someone else? The handwriting is lovely and seems like that of a young woman. I didn’t think you’d have anyone other than Madam Serva by your side. Who is she?

As if her heart weren’t already shrinking in fear, Captain Montcalm had to go and pose a deeply uncomfortable question.

Rose quickly skipped over that part. She didn’t want to remind Ezekiel of anything that might spark curiosity about her identity.

“The real issue is that there are signs of unrest in Davis. Apparently, they’ve gotten wind of rumors suggesting something’s wrong with your personal condition. Well, we did cause them plenty of trouble, so it’s not surprising. But some are saying that, due to the symbolic importance of our company, it’s not good to leave the commander’s position vacant for too long. No one knows how the Valdemaira family intends to explain your absence. Of course, none of us want a new commander. So we’re planning to visit you soon to discuss what comes next. Please advise us on when would be a good time…”

Even before finishing the sentence, Rose looked up at Ezekiel’s face.

Visit? Here? To see him?

Montcalm had played a central role among the soldiers who scoured Astrie in search of her and her family.

The shock was as jarring as the day she’d heard Akenaus had tried to rush down to Derosa in a rage after hearing she’d been threatened by soldiers from the 37th Regiment.

Back then, she had thought that if Akenaus showed up, he’d recognize her instantly, and a bloodbath would follow.

So if Montcalm showed up…

A soldier who had spent all that time investigating young women with similar features wouldn’t fail to take notice of a mysterious woman closely linked to his superior. Even Merlot, the Valdemaira errand man, had secretly gathered gossip just because she was near Ezekiel.

Montcalm would be far more persistent and suspicious. He would scrutinize her every move.

“Would you mind removing your headscarf?”

Or perhaps he would start by asking the simplest way to confirm her identity.

It was only natural. Other than Akenaus and Ezekiel, no one knew the woman’s appearance better than Montcalm. If, driven by his military professionalism, he insisted on verifying the identities of all the young women working in the mansion, Ezekiel would find nothing strange in the request.

And Montcalm, with his sharp eyes, would not misjudge colors like Madam Serva. It wouldn’t take long for him to expose the lies that had reassured Ezekiel.

At least with Akenaus, she had the excuse of invoking the main estate’s authority to fend him off. But there would be no justifiable reason to block Montcalm’s visit.

“Montcalm is coming?”

Ezekiel, brightening at the thought of seeing his subordinate again, made Rose feel a creeping chill.

She wasn’t ready.

This was far too soon.