Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"Miss Brown, I don't think it's necessary for you to say her name."

Shard stopped her:

"It was that time she went to Regent's Park for an event. I know you turned around, trying to deliberately avoid potential sight, but she recognized you just from your back, so I came here."

This shows the psychological trauma that the Princess with the light golden hair suffered from that event eight years ago.

The panic and despair on Miss Brown's face did not lessen, she pressed her lips together:

"She still remembers me?"

Shard nodded slightly, his eyes surveying the small kitchen, his own kitchen in the upstairs room 1 was at least three times the size of this:

"Yes, she feels sorry about what happened back then. After you 'burned yourself to death' in your apartment in Velindale City, she was even more saddened. I think if she hadn't always been thinking about you, she couldn't have identified you just by a silhouette."

Shard spoke frankly:

"Miss Brown, I am merely the person she sent to investigate you. But in reality, I haven't told her that you are with MI6. She still thinks you are just an ordinary maid."

Shard rested one hand on the table, standing very casually:

"The only one who knows your secret is me."

He said this, glancing again at the gun on the table:

"And what Her Highness will find out depends entirely on what I choose to tell."

"What do you want from me? Gold pounds? Secrets from MI6? Or my body?"

Miss Brown bit her lip as she asked, not expecting Shard to shake his head:

"I don't want to threaten you with 'Miss Brown, you also don't want your image in Her Highness's heart to be destroyed'. What I want is for Her Highness to accept all this with the best mood, instead of finding out that the maid she's felt guilty about for eight years turns out to be a big liar."

His goal wasn't to earn rewards from any of the parties, and naturally not to expose the other side.

Miss Brown gave him a long look:

"Sir, what is your relationship with Her Highness?"

Shard, of course, would not answer:

"I won't arrange for you to meet her. However, you need to write a letter, and I won't interfere with its content. I will deliver your letter to Her Highness. After that, whether you leave immediately or wait to see if Her Highness wants to meet you, that is your business."

He took out paper and pen from his pocket:

"Start writing now."

Then he picked up the red cabbage:

"I'll help you make the meal, so your uncle doesn't get suspicious."

Seeing Shard pick up the kitchen knife, Miss Brown glanced again at the revolver left on the table, ultimately not daring to take risks.

She hesitated for a moment, shyly reminding:

"It's best to wash the vegetables before cutting them... it could cause stomach problems."

Shard hoped that Mr. Brown could accept the uniquely flavored red cabbage scrambled eggs for lunch today.

When Miss Brown was writing that letter, she hesitated for a long time and even shed tears while writing in Shard's notebook. From this, it seemed that MI6's decision to have her retire immediately after that mission was correct. A qualified undercover should not develop feelings for their target, but evidently, this lady in pursuit of knowledge and art was overly sensitive.

By the time Shard finished making the dish, at least visually appealing, Miss Brown had completed two-thirds of her letter.

Shard waited a little longer until he received the folded piece of paper. He glanced at it in front of Miss Brown and raised an eyebrow:

"I anticipated you wouldn't hide much, but I didn't expect you to tell everything."

She openly disclosed everything, including being an undercover agent with MI6 and how she secured freedom through another faked death.

"Keeping those matters hidden is meaningless, sir. Since you can investigate me, others can too."

Miss Brown stood by the table with the steaming dish and said:

"I will not run away. My family, my fiancé, and my studies are all here. If Her Highness wishes to see me, I can go meet her anytime."

Shard shook his head, unable to say more. In his view, if he had not known everything in advance, this could have been another tragedy where no one would have been happy. The worst part about this tragedy is that Shard couldn't even find anyone truly at fault in this matter.

"You also better be careful. Since Her Highness could discover you, someone else might too. I just can't fathom why you would choose to return to Tobesk."

He took the letter and prepared to leave.

"People need something to pursue; my pursuit is knowledge and art."

Miss Brown softly said, watching Shard retrieve the revolver:

"Wish Her Highness... all the best on my behalf."

Without even having lunch, Shard took a carriage directly from Noel Street to the Canary Estate, where he met with Princess Margaret, who had just finished her morning appointments.

Because it wasn't Shard's first visit, the servants were not surprised by his hurried arrival. He waited in the study for a while before the slightly weary Princess Margaret came in:

"She is indeed still alive."

Shard stood up and said, then handed the letter to the Princess. The latter took it instinctively before hesitantly asking:

"What is still alive?"

"The maid you asked me to find."

Shard pointed to the letter:

"I have found her, and this is the letter she wrote to you. If you wish to see her after reading the letter, I can take you to her directly."

The Princess with long pale golden hair finally realized, subconsciously tightening her grip on the letter, her eyes widening slightly as she looked at Shard:

"She... is still alive? But how is that possible? The fire back then... what happened here?"

Although she entrusted Shard with the investigation, she didn't expect such an astonishing answer, and besides, Shard's investigation speed was incredibly fast.

"The answers you seek are in the letter. Perhaps... the truth is slightly different from what you imagined, but at least, according to the part of the truth I obtained from her, you didn't commit an irrevocable mistake back then."

He seated himself back on the short sofa, watching as Princess Margaret sat beside him on the long sofa, then unfolded the letter paper.

How expressive one's face could be was something Shard had never explored. But at least this time, he did see the rich expressions on Princess Margaret's face, a girl accustomed to seeing all sorts of things.

Even though it was only three pages of content, she took a full twenty minutes to finish reading it. To Shard, Margaret Anjou had always been a strong-willed and extremely confident girl, but this time, he witnessed the Princess's hesitation, indecision, rage, relief, followed by extremely complex expressions.

The letter paper was already crumpled, the Princess's beautiful eyes turned to Shard:

"You also read the letter?"

"Yes, I needed to ensure she wasn't lying."

The Princess pressed her lips:

"So, I was deceived for eight years?"

"But at least you no longer have to worry about those cabbages."

Shard said, looking at her, knowing that Her Highness the Princess needed some psychological guidance at the moment:

"At least one long-standing concern of yours is gone."

"But I was deceived for eight years."

She repeated, staring at the letter in her hand.

"Margaret Anjou."

Shard called out the Princess's name, and as she looked up at him, he stared closely into her eyes:

"Then tell me, be honest. When you found out that Miss Bella Brown was still alive and well, weren't you immensely relieved in your heart?"

She wanted to avoid Shard's gaze, but the moment their eyes met, it felt as if some force was holding her gaze firmly. Shard hadn't learned any form of "Enchantment Spell," but the eyes are the windows to the soul, and the power stemming from a strong soul naturally drew Princess Margaret's gaze.

She bit her lip:

"Yes, to be honest, I indeed felt a sense of relief.

"Because no one lost their life due to your picky eating and willfulness."

Upon hearing Shard mention "picky eating," the Princess blushed a bit, thinking the maid had informed Shard of that matter:

"Yes, no life was lost due to my willfulness, and I am indeed glad... oh, but I was truly deceived by a fraud for eight years. She was with the MI6 after all..."

"I won't defend Miss Brown; her disloyalty as your maid happened, and you have the right to deal with her."

Shard said, just as he was about to ask how to handle Miss Brown, the Princess questioned him:

"This matter is tangled with MI6, Shard, aren't you surprised? Although Circle Sorcerers have seen stranger things, this is still MI6."

"But Miss Brown has retired, she's no longer an agent."

Shard said seriously:

"Besides, I've promised you something, and I will see it through; MI6 is not an obstacle to fulfilling your commission. Look, although I haven't found that Female Sorcerer you mentioned, I've at least found the maid."

For a moment, Margaret Anjou hesitated to look at Shard's smiling face:

"I know you're trying to comfort me, so I don't get upset about all this. Oh, knight, I'm the second Princess of Carsonrick, I'm stronger than you think... you're right, she's alive, and although I was deceived, I didn't make any mistakes."

"You've stood at the moral high ground, in this matter, you're the complete victim, and you can disdain anyone involved in this and use your actions to punish her."

Shard said, and finally, the Princess showed a smile, a slight curve at the corners of her mouth, clearly contrasting with the fine white down on her red lips and corners:

"Shard, no need to persuade me further; I've adjusted my emotions."

She looked at the letter beside her:

"Anyway, the matter from eight years ago has finally come to an end."

"Life is full of stories, and looking at it from a positive perspective, at least this story doesn't have a bad ending, does it?"

Shard concluded with a final statement.