The Reason for Marriage

Iveca raised her eyes and looked at Reina silently. Reina, unsure of how to interpret this look, took a cautious step back. The tension was only slightly arrayed by Sid re-entering the room, though when he stopped to examine what was happening the wall rebuilt itself.

Iveca spoke softly. “I like His Highness… Daniel… a lot. Even if he has this other person in his heart, even if he is not being honest with me.” She laughed sadly. “But the more I pretend I don’t know, the more I feel like something in my heart keeps breaking. Because everyone else knows what I’m pretending not to know. I don’t think this kind of life will last long like this.”

Reina frowned slightly. Then slowly, she raised her hand and grabbed Iveca’s arm lightly.

“My Queen, if you’re having a hard time…”

“Reina.”

“Yes.”

Iveca’s expression seemed rather sad, so Reina held her breath slightly.

“I like Reina and Sid. You two, I mean.”

“My Queen?”

“When I am with you two, I feel like I am with colleagues from the Bureau of Investigation that I can’t even remember. If I had been a good person in the Bureau of Investigation, there would be no way I would have erased my memories and moved away, but more and more often lately, I have wondered if I wasn’t actually a completely bad person…”

“Queen, what are you saying?” Reina’s look of confusion matched her tone.

“So… I thought about pretending not to know, but…” Iveca slowly pulled Reina’s hand off her, holding her arm. Then she took the dagger from the inside of her uniform and aimed it at Reina’s neck. Sid and Reina’s eyes lit up with shock.

In her head, Iveca recited the tenets of the Bureau.

One must place the prosperity and the well-being of the Amethan Kingdom as a top priority.
One must be loyal to King Amethan and protect him with all your might.
One shall not be blinded by personal safety and trust the judgment of the organization.
One must cherish their colleagues; protect and trust each other even in the face of death.
One must always take care of their own about the secrets they have to keep.

The words swam in her head, the last memory of her time at the Bureau lingering in her mind. She tried to stay calm. Even if her current actions were a bit impulsive, she could not pretend she did not know forever.

Today, she had rejected Ewill and Anriq’s advice and kicked them out. She was now pointing a dagger at Reina and Sid, who had been together for several days and even had a conversation about almost everything. And inside, she thought about herself and Daniel. Everything they had been through, and everything that was waiting for them. Were games of line ball worth what she was doing?

Iveca shook her head. She loved Daniel. The Great Constitution must be completed.

Realizing that she might die at Reina and Sid’s hands if she waited much longer, Iveca spoke in a low voice.

“I know that the first attack was undertaken by the Bureau of Investigation.”

And, as always, the beginning of everything went back to the Bureau of Investigation.

***

Iveca graduated from college as soon as she came of age, and immediately applied to the Bureau of Investigation. She knew full well that her observational skills and excellent martial arts skills would shine in the Bureau of Investigation. It was the accommodation she was most looking forward to.

However, on the day she joined the Bureau with the intention of severing ties with the Esselburn bloodline for good, she had to face Wiles, the Chief Investigator of the Bureau of Investigation.

“A woman of the Esselburn noble family? And only eighteen?” Wiles laughed as if it was ridiculous. “Why the hell did you come to the Bureau of Investigation? No one from a noble family has ever been hired to an affiliated organization.”

Wiles frowned as he looked into Iveca’s frightened eyes. In fact, if she was a daughter of a noble family, he was not allowed to speak informally to his heart’s content as a commoner. But anyway, he could not use honorifics to new college graduates. That was a matter of principle.

“Because… I want to come.”

Wiles stared blankly at her report card. She was in the first place in physical arts…. And the rest of the subjects were not bad. Wiles sighed, looking at her intimidated face, and took her to the Bureau of Investigation Chief Officer, Lucas. Lucas was equally perplexed. He knew that the Count’s daughter went to college, but he really did not know that she was intending to join the Bureau of Investigation.

“Iveca der Esselburn.”

“…Yes.”

“I only have one question, really.” Lucas looked at Iveca with his serious eyes. “Are you a woman from the Esselburn family, or an employee of the Bureau of Investigation?”

“I am an employee of the Bureau of Investigation.” Iveca answered without any hesitation at all. “I really want to live as an ordinary investigator.”

Lucas swept his beard at the desperate answer. It was impossible to turn back because she had already pledged. The wheels turned in his head. The story behind the third daughter of the Esselburn family was the most well-known secret in the kingdom; he couldn’t have missed it. Everyone admitted that she was born because of the Countess’s infidelity, so she did not really appear on the outside of her estate. And yet, here she was.

“Iveca.”

“Yes.”

“What would you do If I entrusted you with collecting information from the noble family?”

“I don’t go to any social gatherings…”

“With such a naïve attitude, nothing would be possible. You would have to push yourself hard. Can you do that?”

“Yes,” replied Iveca, “I’ll do whatever you ask me to do.”

Lucas narrowed his eyes and spoke slowly.

“In the Bureau of Investigation, the Count’s maiden is too conspicuous, and we often need to move in secret. If your status gets in the way, it’s a hindrance that will ruin everything before it has even begun.”

Iveca frowned and looked at Lucas with her anxious eyes. Even in college, she could not make friends because she was a count’s daughter. There were no commoners who dared to talk to the high-ranking nobles of the capital first. She was so much younger than her classmates, and she also lacked the confidence to reach out to other people first.

So, she, who was always alone, was afraid that she would be kicked out of the Bureau of Investigation because of her false countess’ name. Still, she had already made an oath, so she would not be rejected at any cost, Lucas said with a grin as he tried to comfort her.

“Among the secrets left by the Queen Evena, there is an ancient magic that can change appearance. I usually use it for short-term infiltration, but in your case, it would be better to create a completely different life.”

Iveca looked at Lucas with her puzzled eyes. Evena, the Queen from 100-years ago, who rebuilt the ethics of the affiliated organization and blessed them with her own ancient magic, left many of them at the hands of the Bureau of Investigation. The secret was only shared only by the Bureau of Investigation, and neither the public nor the royal family knew it.

“You have to live a different life now. There is no Iveca der Esselburn, the noble daughter of a Countess, but an ordinary investigation officer whose appearance and even profession have changed. Everyone who has known you will not be able to recognize you.”

“Ah.”

Magical power is like the air that inhabits the human body, so if you use it skillfully, it’s not impossible to change your appearance a little. There were also open rumors that people from the Bureau of Investigation would change their appearance when interrogating.

But she never thought of becoming a completely different person. Indeed, it would quite be disturbing for the public to know that the people of the Bureau of Investigation could change their appearance to their heart’s content. Lucas spoke in a low voice as if he had heard her mind.

“You know, the secrets of the Bureau of Investigation and its ancient magic are unknown to the royal family as well. Even if you can notice it to some extent, you can’t ask openly. You can act like a nobleman much more naturally than ordinary people who don’t know much about culture classes or aristocratic life, so you’re a great person to be put into a new type of disguise. Are you ready to live with a new personality?”

“Yes.” Iveca nodded her head with her determined look. Ironically, she has never had any regrets about herself until now. Rather, she felt relieved.

“Then, let’s create a personality. Able to get along well with nobles.” Lucas smiled. “Body and eyes, you can’t change them. But the features themselves stand out a little bit now. Other than that, it’s up to you. Oh, of course, you should use an alias. Should you use my last name? It’s a fallen noble, but it’s a quite known castle. What’s your name?”

Lucas’s last name was Jean. Iveca hesitated for a moment and replied.

“Name… is… Eve…”

“Eve Jean, that’s not bad. Is it from Queen Eve?”

In fact, it was a nickname that Anriq used to call her, but Iveca just nodded silently. Eve was quite common for the name of a woman because Queen Eve was so famous in Amethan.

“There’s a training period before you go into action, but why not try changing it from now on for convenience?”

“It’s great for me.” Iveca blinked her eyes and nodded. Lucas smirked at Iveca, who had a completely bright expression on his face, unlike when she entered before.

“You should change the color of your hair. Is there any color you want in particular?”

“…Blonde.”

“Oh, it’s dangerous to have blondes that sparkle like royalty. Because it stands out. You need to give it up even if you will look pretty with it.”

“No.” She shook her head. Then with hesitation, she added. “Like our sisters… It’s a light, normal blonde.”

Lucas did not say anything further.

From that day on, Iveca lived as an ‘Eve Jean’. Eve Jean was a cute-looking woman with curly blonde hair and purple eyes.

She was educated one way or another with a completely different appearance from the other. Her physical skill, which was her original specialty, was further perfected by close lectures from her seniors. After she was recognized for throwing her dagger more accurately than anyone else, the training to use all kinds of memorization continued.

“I’m weak in close combat, but I’m perfect for assassination.”

No matter how good she was at something, Iveca, who had never been interested in her tutors, gradually began to be known in the Bureau of Investigation office. What she was good at, what she was bad at, and how she could become an irreplaceable talent by taking advantage of her own strengths.

Gradually, she began to look more natural in the Bureau of Investigation. It was the first time that she felt she belonged.