Love Letter From The Future-Chapter 369: Bread and Dagger (67)

Yurdina Castle was shrouded in silence.

It was because two devastating pieces of news had arrived back-to-back.

One was the news of the disappearance of Ian Percus, the hero of the continent. The other was the obituary of the loyal knight who had long supported the Yurdina family.

Alex was dead.

He had been a Northerner through and through—boisterous in temperament, brave in the face of battle and meticulous enough to remember the names of even the lowest-ranking soldiers.

It was hard to find anyone who didn’t hold him in high regard in Yurdina City..

It was the death of such a beloved old knight.

It was only natural for the castle to be steeped in gloom. And, for some of the Yurdina family’s high-ranking officials, even more shocking news had reached their ears.

Ian Percus had betrayed humanity.

Delphine silently downed her glass of wine. Normally, the fragrant aroma of the fine wine would have teased her senses but at this moment, she felt nothing at all.

While the others were still grappling with the mental scars they sustained, the Saintess was tasked with handling the investigation report.

It goes without saying for Seria, but even Emma had locked herself in her room ever since that day. Rumour has it that, from time to time, the sound of her hiccupping through suppressed sobs could be heard.

And the Princess?

No one knew where she was or what she was doing— whether she was holed up in her chambers, wandering aimlessly or gnawing at her nails.

Surely, she must have been doing something.

Even the Saintess was barely holding herself together. She had no room left to worry about others.

She couldn’t possibly care what some immature little girl was up to as she wandered about.

Even so, the Saintess found herself wondering.

How would Delphine Yurdina react when she heard the news?

The Saintess already knew the relationship between Ian and Delphine was complicated. It had started as a hostile rivalry, evolved into a partnership and eventually turned into a close friendship.

Recently, there were even rumors of a budding romance between them.

Delphine Yurdina, a woman as pristine as white jade, seemingly incapable of shedding a single drop of blood, even if stabbed.

Does she even have tears to shed?

The answer came sooner than expected.

“And?”

“...Huh?”

It was an excessively indifferent response.

The Saintess, who had been carefully observing Delphine’s expression, couldn’t help but feel bewildered.

Regardless Delphine continued, swirling the wine in her glass as she spoke.

“Here’s what I think, Saintess...In the end, he vanished without a trace, leaving behind nothing but corpses. Not to mention, even the cause of their death is unclear.”

“Sir Alex’s cause of death seems relatively clear, though...”

“But the real question is the cause of death for the soldier who supposedly left that final testimony.”

Hmmm, even as she hummed in thought and lowered her gaze in contemplation, there was an allure to her.

She seemed like a creature born to captivate men. Though the Saintess received many proposals herself, she could never exude such intoxicating allure.

Her very existence was seductive.

It was easy to understand why Ian would fall for her. Unlike the Saintess, ignorant of matters of romance, Delphine clearly seemed skilled in the art of seduction.

That fact had truly bothered her in the past.

But now, it wasn’t even laughable anymore.

After all, without Ian, it was all meaningless anyway.

In fact, at this point, she didn’t care if he had an affair—she spent days desperately praying for him to just come back.

And yet, just like always, God gave her no sign whatsoever.

The Saintess winced slightly as a sharp pain throbbed through her clenched teeth.

Meanwhile, Delphine remained as composed as ever. Sipping her wine, she continued to elaborate on her reasoning.

“Why must it be like this? If the culprit had acted alone, the causes of death would naturally align.”

“What if the elves provided assistance?”

Delphine didn’t deny the possibility.

She merely nodded thoughtfully, adding yet another question.

“Conversely, it could have been a scheme by the elves to sow discord.”

Of all the hypotheses proposed so far, this one came closest to the truth.

But the Saintess let out a bitter smile and shook her head.

The women were desperate.

As long as there was even the slightest chance that Ian hadn’t betrayed humanity, they clung to that hope with everything they had.

Even so, there was a reason they couldn’t easily dismiss the final words left by the soldier.

“Sister Yurdina, Ian has lost his memory.”

The Saintess’s calm voice was heavy with sorrow.

Delphine didn’t respond.

The only sound that filled the air was the quiet trickle of wine being poured into her empty glass.

“And Ian was the one who killed Sir Alex. The wounds on the corpse make it undeniable. It means he’s already chosen to side with the elves... So then why would the elves go out of their way to fake the soldiers’ deaths?”

“To ensure he doesn’t change his mind and return?”

“That’s a stretch.”

The Saintess’s response came with a bitter smile.

If the messenger’s report was to be believed, the elves in the village were relatively weak. It seemed unlikely that anyone in such a place had the skills to deceive Ian’s eyes.

Unless they had received some kind of external support.

Even taking the possibility of reinforcements into account, it was hard to imagine why they would need to drive a wedge between Ian and humanity.

After all, Ian had already lost his memory.

Which explains why he sided with the elves. If not, there would have been no reason for him to betray humanity, where all his relationships were rooted.

It was a stalemate.

The more questions they asked, the less clarity they found. And as the logic spiraled further, the conclusions naturally led to the simplest answer.

Ian Percus betrayed humanity.

At this point, that hypothesis seemed the most plausible.

The Saintess offered one last, pitiable smile.

“But I understand how you feel, Sister Yurdina. I believe in Ian too—I believe he wouldn’t betray us... It’s just a bit difficult for me right now. Let’s talk again later.”

After the Saintess departed, Delphine remained silent for a long while.

“Alex...”

She had known him since her childhood.

Delphine’s heart was far from at ease. And to think the person who killed him was Ian Percus.

The very man she once gave her virginity to.

What a ridiculous turn of events.

Despite the loss of a longtime confidant, the person who kept flooding her thoughts was a man she hadn’t even known for a full year.

Is it because of that passionate night we shared?

Perhaps because it was her first time, her body foolishly mistook him for her husband. Even though what Delphine felt wasn’t love.

Yes, that must be it.

No matter how many times she reassured herself, the anxiety wouldn’t go away. After downing several glasses of wine in succession, Delphine finally spoke quietly.

“Rinella... aren’t you going to come out already?”

At her words, a shift was detected in the previously stagnant air.

The blanket on Delphine’s bed, which had been raised in a small mound, began to wriggle. Then, from underneath it, a lovely woman emerged, making a ‘puhwa’ sound.

It was Elsie Rinella.

She must have been hiding under the blanket for quite some time, as beads of sweat dotted her forehead, the way she tugged at her collar to let in some air making it all the more clear.

Delphine let out a scoff before tipping her wine glass again.

“So why were you hiding? Planning on saying something you don’t want others to hear?”

“I—I had my reasons for that!”

Her small fists clenched tightly as she stammered out her rebuttal.

Elsie straightened her rumpled clothes, then hopped down from the bed. A little ‘ahem’ of embarrassment escaped her, betraying her flustered state.

“At the very least, keep this a secret from that Milkbag bitch... She’ll just make everything more troublesome.”

At Elsie’s hesitant expression, Delphine silently swirled her wine glass.

The wine sloshed inside, leaving ripples in its wake.

Her question followed soon after.

“So, what kind of favor has brought you all the way to my bedroom? For the record, I’m not in the habit of entertaining purposeless guests.”

“Give me a guide.”

It was an unexpected request.

But her intent was so obvious that Delphine let out a bitter smile and set her glass down.

“You can’t handle this on your own.”

This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēnovelkiss.com.

“B-But that doesn’t mean I should just sit around and do nothing!”

It was exactly the kind of thing Elsie would say.

Even when told it was impossible, she still demanded a guide. Didn’t she feel bad for the poor guide who’d have to join her? Then again, considering Elsie’s usual personality, it wasn’t surprising.

She had always been that way.

She was always like a flame, unyielding no matter what others said. Perhaps that’s why Delphine always disliked her so much.

Because she never quietly accepted defeat.

Or maybe it was because in Elsie’s relentless resolve, Delphine saw that trembling blonde girl who used to obsess over victory.

Had this been before, Delphine would have flatly refused Elsie’s request.

Wasting resources on something unnecessary wasn’t her style. To be blunt, they didn’t have the manpower to conduct a large-scale search of the coniferous forest.

If a search was to be carried out, they’d have to form a small elite force.

And given the circumstances, it was logical to classify Ian as a potential hostile force. If that were the case, the danger level of this mission would rise exponentially.

Ian Percus was skilled at creating unpredictable variables using his secondary weapon.

Moreover, confronting him in a forest full of natural cover?

It would be the worst-case scenario.

The odds were high it would result in nothing but futile casualties.

And yet, why am I not even voicing a single objection?

After a long silence, she made an impulsive decision.

“...Fine, I’ll assign someone to you.”

“You stingy wench! Our comrade got dragged off to some elf hideout, and you can’t even...What? Y-You’ll assign someone?!”

Elsie had fully expected a rejection.

Thus, she immediately launched the insults she’d been mentally preparing, only to be left dumbfounded when Delphine’s response finally registered.

Naturally, Delphine couldn’t care less how Elsie reacted.

She merely added a condition in her usual composed tone.

“On one condition—I’ll come along as well.”

This was an even more unexpected proposal.