The Secretary of the Northern Grand Duchess Has Run Away

Chapter 47: Securing a Big Shot (7)

“What do you mean by that?”

I asked, trying hard to keep a composed expression.

At that, Bennet let out a deep breath and spoke frankly.

“I haven’t sung a single note since I was chased out of the capital.”

He looked out at the empty seats.

Thinking of the crowds that would fill that space in just a few days.

“Rumors spread that I helped not only children but also spies escape, and since then, I’ve been tormented by endless suspicion and contempt.”

Bennet instinctively rubbed his forehead calmly.

There was a scar there, left untreated in time, now a permanent mark.

“Shamefully, ever since then, just being around a crowd makes this damned body start to break down.”

The great singer raised one hand.

His fingers trembled like those of someone who hadn’t slept in days.

“I came here trusting your words, hoping maybe… just maybe…”

Bennet barely managed to grab his trembling hand with the other.

But even his most vital instrument—his voice—shook pitifully.

“Looks like I’m still afraid of the public, Roger.”

Social anxiety.

There had been a reason he wore his hat so low when he first attended the charity party.

Ever since being cast out of the capital, he had been slowly withering under harsh criticism and threats.

“Even if Her Majesty the Empress forgave me, I still feel like everyone secretly curses my name.”

With a bitter expression, Bennet gently closed his eyes.

Then, slowly opening them, he looked at me wistfully.

“The doctor and the coachwoman who cared for me today…”

The middle-aged gentleman fiddled with the sleeve of his suit.

“Even the tailor and barber who dressed me up so finely…”

He seemed quite free now, but even just ten years ago, being accused of espionage was practically a death sentence.

Looking at the article from five years later that reported his murder…

It might be only natural that Bennet had developed this kind of fear.

He’s in worse shape than I thought.

“Do you know when a singer feels their life has truly ended?”

I couldn’t answer his question easily.

Instead, I quietly listened to the words of the great singer.

“It’s when they realize no one misses them anymore.”

Was it the light reflecting off his eyes?

Or perhaps emotions long buried, finally welling up inside him?

Bennet’s eyes shimmered like rippling water.

“……”

I silently watched that glow.

Then, with a serious expression, I asked him again,

“Are you saying there isn’t a single person in this world who misses you?”

An orphan, divorced from his wife.

Shunned even by those around him due to suspicion of espionage—Bennet.

“That’s right.”

But still—

I looked at him again with eyes full of conviction.

“I don’t think that’s true.”

“…?”

Bennet slightly parted his lips at my firm tone.

Then, with eyes where every wrinkle had smoothed out, he asked,

“What do you mean by that, Roger?”

Even in the face of the great singer’s question, I continued to stare at the empty seats.

Then I spoke up with a bold voice.

“Because there are still many people who miss you, Sir Bennet.”

The middle-aged singer furrowed his brow and tilted his head.

But soon, he seemed to understand the meaning behind my words.

“…?”

I gestured gracefully toward the audience seats.

At that moment, a dark silhouette appeared in one of the side aisles.

“Isn’t that the young healer who treated me in the carriage earlier?”

“Yes, that’s right. Sir Bennet.”

The man with the beautiful smile raised the corner of his lips in a gentle grin.

Between his black hair, his blue eyes glimmered softly.

“And ten years ago, he was one of the refugee children you helped escape from the Empire.”

Bennet couldn’t say a word upon hearing the healer’s identity.

He simply stared blankly at the healer’s face in the distance.

“What…?”

“It’s been a long time, sir.”

Perhaps it was because he’d lost sight in one eye.

Bennet didn’t recognize him immediately.

“That can’t be… The children must have returned to the kingdom beyond the Northern mountain range.”

Bennet had once seen those children—abandoned in ruins, separated from their parents.

Later, in his published journal, he had written:

That he, too, had no one to rely on, just like those refugee children.

His parents had died, and even his wife had only ever tried to use him.

Living in such a reality, he said he had felt a deep connection with those refugee children.

“The splendid capital looked cheerful, yet sad.”

A voice, clear as the night sky, rang out from afar.

Then, following the healer, a woman appeared, singing the next line.

The tailor who had prepared Bennet’s suit.

“The river flowing through the city was beautiful, but it felt lonely.”

Then came the barber who had personally groomed him.

And the female coachwoman who had driven the carriage.

“Because everyone was smiling, I had no choice but to smile along.”

Soon, four young people—just turned twenty—came down to the very front row of the audience.

They looked up at Bennet, who stood there in a daze, and revealed their identities.

“Hello, Uncle Bennet.”

The singer of the century couldn’t respond easily to their greeting.

His lips trembled slightly, as if he were in deep shock.

“Thanks to you, we all made it safely back to our homeland.”

The young healer gently introduced them with a warm gesture.

“This is Lily—she’s now the most popular tailor in the kingdom. Recently, she’s been in charge of the royal family’s dresses.”

“I always dreamed of tailoring your stage costumes when I grew up… and now I’ve made that dream come true.”

The black-haired woman placed a hand over her chest and greeted him with elegance.

“And this dependable friend is now a royal barber. He quit recently and opened a big shop in the capital.”

“I came as soon as I heard the news.”

The barber scratched his cheek with an awkward expression.

Even though his business had just started, he came straight here to see Bennet.

“This quiet coachwoman is actually a knight of the kingdom. She was too shy to admit it, so she pretended to be a coachwoman—”

“Enough, Ian.”

The woman with her hair tied in a ponytail pulled her hat down low.

Then, in a small voice, she murmured,

“I missed you, Sir Bennet.”

The healer called Ian finally revealed his identity.

“And I’m Ian. Do you remember me…?”

Bennet swallowed hard at the children's question.

Then, with his one good eye, he stared intently at him and spoke.

“Yes, Ian Timothy… You said you wanted to become a doctor and heal the victims of war!”

At last, the middle-aged gentleman recognized them all.

His voice began to tremble more and more.

“Do you recognize us now?”

“Of course I do!!”

Bennet’s knees seemed to give way, and his body wavered.

I quickly supported him as I stood beside him.

Now adults, the children pulled out flower bouquets they had hidden in the empty seats.

Then, they stepped humbly onto the stage and stood before the man who had saved them.

“We’re truly sorry it took us so long to come thank you.”

“No, it’s all right. But… how did you get all the way here…?”

Bennet asked as he accepted the bouquet, overwhelmed.

Tears of joy formed softly at the corners of his eyes.

“The hotel owner here told us.”

“He said you were going through a hard time in the Empire.”

The children of the kingdom turned to me as they spoke.

With expressions full of deep gratitude,

“I’m sorry. It took time to track down where the children lived.”

“No, just being able to see you again like this… is a miracle…!!”

Bennet shook his head, saying it didn’t matter at all.

Then the tears gathered at his eyes began to fall one by one.

“So this is the stage you were talking about, Roger…”

The singer of the century looked at me with an expression full of emotion.

I answered him calmly, as I once had in my days as Chief Secretary.

“Yes, it is.”

A quiet smile formed at the corner of my lips.

Then I added, in a sincere voice,

“The world may have turned its back on you, but the lives you saved have been waiting for you like this.”

Bennet looked around at the children gazing at him with such heartfelt expressions.

Then, with his roughened hand, he covered his face, trying to suppress the emotions rising in his chest.

“Just like you helped them ten years ago, they want to help you now.”

All the lights in the grand concert hall, Erian Hall, shone down on the stage.

Standing in that brilliant light, Bennet slowly looked around at the children, now grown into fine young adults.

With his one remaining eye.

“But… are you the only ones who came today?”

Ian and Lily smiled meaningfully at his question.

Bennet, growing more curious, asked again with urgency on his face.

“What about Mika…? She made it back safely too, didn’t she?”

Since I had prepared this stage, I answered on their behalf.

“She’ll be arriving shortly.”

I looked toward the corridor we had entered through.

And, as I thought of the woman who would soon appear there, the corners of my mouth lifted.

“She was quite a difficult guest to bring here.”

The others nodded subtly in agreement.

Seeing them all like that, Bennet could only wear a puzzled expression.

“Well then, shall we get back to rehearsal now?”

I clasped my hands together lightly and looked at the singer of the century.

Then, I made my request again, with a firm voice.

“Sir Bennet Tolkien. Would you sing for us once more?”

Ten years ago, he had won the Golden Lion Music Award three years in a row—a legendary musician.

He gazed at the faces of the young people standing beside him, one by one, with his single eye.

Their blue eyes, like reflections of the moon.

“For the ‘greatest stage’ that will mark your magnificent return.”

Bennet stood up with the help of the young adults supporting him.

Then, he looked at the badge I held out, enchanted with sound amplification magic.

“……”

He reached out and boldly took the badge from my hand.

But—

“You still don’t quite understand.”

Bennet closed my palm around the badge again, declining it.

As if to say that his voice itself was magic.

“I don’t need things like that when I sing.”

He confidently adjusted the collar of his suit.

Then, with green eyes sparkling with renewed life, he said,

“Let’s begin, Roger.”

「――――――.」

The sun had set.

Once dark and silent, not a single building lit, Old Luton now blazed brighter than ever.

Yet the road, once packed with carriages, was strangely empty.

As if someone had deliberately cleared the space.

Then, two carriages adorned in brilliant gold rolled in.

And escorting them were knights in white uniforms.

Their procession was so grand, it looked as though an entire kingdom had begun to move.

There was no honor guard—this was evening, after all.

Instead, the sidewalks were packed with Nord citizens applauding in place of a military band.

――――――.

Amidst the cheers, the carriages stopped in front of a hotel.

Then, two Swordmasters—one of only twenty in the Empire—stepped down and personally opened the door.

“This is the place.”

A shoe embroidered with beautiful golden gemstones appeared.

The pale top of her foot was wrapped in fine leather that gently stepped onto the red carpet.

“Erian Hotel.”

Descending like falling snowflakes, the Empress stepped out in a gown embedded with diamonds throughout.

‘Yekaterina Ler.’

With golden blonde hair as radiant as sunlight, she silently gazed up at the masterpiece of an old friend.

Then, her eyes met those of the Empire’s Second Prince, who stepped out from the opposite carriage.

“Mother, you seem quite moved.”

“Yes, Leopold. I had only heard the place had closed, so I never got the chance to visit…”

The Empress looked toward Yuria and the hotel staff lined up in the lobby.

With a dignified gaze befitting royalty, she studied their well-trained appearance and spoke.

“I’m truly glad I could come—even like this.”

“Let us head in. I’ll escort you.”

The Imperial Guard entered the lobby first.

Once they had secured a safe perimeter, the two royals proceeded inside the hotel.

“Ah, g-greetings, Your Majesty the Empress, Your Highness the Prince!! I’m Yuria, manager of the Erian Hotel!!”

The red-haired manager barely managed to speak, her voice swelling with emotion.

Just a few months ago, she had stood blankly inside a ghost hotel.

And now, serving royalty—her heart was overwhelmed.

“Nice to meet you, Yuria. The hotel is quite beautiful.”

“Th-thank you so much!!”

True to her reputation as a lover of the arts and a woman of elegance, the Empress was exceedingly kind.

However, the Second Prince accompanying her was quite different.

“Is the owner not here to greet us?”

The second son of the Emperor—renowned as the most capable man in the Empire.

He asked coldly, noting the absence of the hotel proprietor.

“Ah, well… There is a performance scheduled on the top floor today, so he is personally overseeing the stage preparation.”

Most would have frozen under the sharp gaze of the intimidating prince.

But our capable manager reported clearly, even with a trembling voice.

“For the owner to personally check the performance… This truly is a hotel of the arts.”

Yekaterina commented as she looked at the elephant statue standing firmly in the lobby.

Seeing his mother speak favorably, the prince’s stern expression softened.

“Since we’re here, would you care to watch the performance as well, Mother?”

“Hmm. I don’t think I’ll have time, given my schedule. I’ve already seen so many performances lately.”

The Empress shook her head calmly.

To that, the prince let out a faint laugh and asked her again,

“But you were bored by most of them, weren’t you?”

“Well, that may be true, but how could we possibly turn down something the Grand Duke prepared so thoroughly for us?”

Yuria seemed slightly disappointed when the Empress initially said she wouldn’t attend the performance, but she still guided them politely.

Toward the mana-powered lift inside the hotel.

However, they weren’t able to board right away.

There was already a woman ahead of them, standing with a group of knights who guarded her as she waited for her turn.

“Oh my, that’s…”

For the most distinguished woman in the Empire to recognize someone first—

Her son asked with a curious expression,

“Mother, do you know her?”

“Of course. Isn’t that Miss Cindy, the singer from the Kingdom of Ark?”

Not just in the kingdom, but currently the most famous pop singer across the entire continent.

Even in the Empire, she was known for having a massive fanbase. The young woman, just twenty, had also come to the hotel.

“Greetings to Your Majesty the Empress and Your Highness the Prince.”

“I didn’t expect you to be the star of tonight’s performance.”

To this, Cindy bowed her head politely.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but I’m not the star of tonight’s show.”

“…Excuse me?”

The Empress tilted her head slightly at the unexpected answer—that the singer of the century wouldn’t be performing.

“If Miss Cindy isn’t going on stage, then who is?”

“A far greater person than I will be taking the stage tonight.”

The woman in the flowing blue dress smiled gently as she spoke.

Her deep blue eyes resembled a full moon against the night sky.

“For someone like you to say that… Now I’m really curious.”

The Empress, known for her deep love of culture and the arts—

Her golden eyes began to sparkle with growing curiosity.

“Well then, shall we stay for just one song, at least?”