“Laverion Duke? Were you all together, including Lady, no, the wife of the Little Duke of Creighton and the Little Duke of Creighton?”

Blake looked at me and the three people alternately with a puzzled expression.

“Lord Warren, it’s been a while.”

While Blake was still confused, Kaern greeted him.

“Oh, it’s been a while. Duke Laverion.”

“This is the first time I’ve formally greeted you. I’m Adelia Creighton.”

“Little Duke’s wife. Nice to meet you.”

“Calyx Creighton.”

“I’m Blake Warren.”

Blake exchanged greetings with the three people.

Then, he looked at me again, asking with his eyes what was going on.

“For now, everyone, come over here and have a seat.”

The three people took their seats on the sofa.

Kaern naturally took a place next to me.

Looking at him, I briefly explained the conversation I had with Blake.

“The person who sent me the letter wasn’t you, Duke.”

“As expected.”

Adelia responded as if she had expected it.

“Then, can anyone guess who it might be?”

“She said only one person knew that the Duke would save Asdel for me. It’s Empress.”

Since the conclusion we deduced was also the Empress, this was not a surprising thing.

“Did all three of you know?”

“Yes. I will explain to the Duke from now on why we knew.”

I looked at Kaern with a gaze asking for approval.
As he nodded, I told Blake everything, from the events at the temple to the incident with the dead and the hunting competition, including Kaern’s words.

When the story, which turned out to be longer than expected, came to an end, Blake looked at us with eyes of disbelief.

“So, are all these events related to the poison of that flower?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And all the evidence points to the Empress behind it?”

“Yes.”

Blake reviewed what I had said, seeking confirmation.

“How could this… Why would the Empress…”

While expressing his confusion with a facial expression that clearly indicated he couldn’t comprehend, he was visibly perplexed.

“We have to reveal that now. And if, as we suspect, the Empress is the culprit, we need to catch her somehow.”

With my final words, Blake fell into deep thought and remained silent.

We waited quietly until he spoke again.

After some time had passed, his expression improved significantly, as if he had organized his thoughts in his mind. However, still harboring some unanswered curiosity, he directed another question to me.

“But why did you tell me all this?”

“There’s only one reason. If it’s certain that you have no alliance with the Empress, we need you because we’re going to need the Duke.”

“I am not. How can I be involved in rescuing Engae…”
“Yes. I’ve already confirmed the sincerity of the Duke. That’s why I spoke so candidly.”

“Warren Duke.”

Kaern, who had been silent throughout, interjected into the conversation and addressed Blake.

“What are your thoughts? Will you join us in finding the culprit?”

“I…”

Blake hesitated in his response, glancing at me. While I couldn’t precisely discern his thoughts from the way he looked at me, I had a sense of what his gaze might imply.

“I owe a great debt to Her Excellency Rosentia. Therefore, I willingly participate.”

As expected, Blake answered that he would join us.

Late into the night, Blake returned to his own house. We, too, took a carriage back to the Duke’s residence.

Perhaps due to the multitude of conversations today, fatigue quickly overwhelmed me as soon as we arrived.

“Herena.”

So, as I entered my room to rest, Kaern called out to me.

“Are you very tired?”

“Oh, no. Do you have something to tell me?”

“It seems like you have something to tell me.”

“Oh, yes.”

I hadn’t shared the conversation I had with Blake earlier.

Kaern was asking about that.

“If you’re very tired, we can talk about it tomorrow.”

As he said that, he swept his hand across my eyes.

Startled by the unexpected contact, I instinctively took a step back and nearly stumbled backward.
However, thanks to him grabbing my waist, I fortunately didn’t fall.

“Thank you.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes. I’m fine.”

I felt a sudden wave of fatigue due to the recent incident.

So, I went to the reception room with him and confided everything about Blake.

Kaern’s expression, after hearing the story, wasn’t particularly pleasant.

But as he didn’t say anything specific about it, we concluded the conversation, and I returned to my room.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Time passed swiftly again.

Lately, we had been diligently collecting information and regularly gathering to plan a trap for the Empress.

Suddenly, the thought of learning horseback riding occurred to me.

Considering the previous incident when I went to Urensia, being able to ride a horse freely opened up many possibilities.

However, since I couldn’t ride properly, my travel options were quite limited, restricted to carriages.

So, when I mentioned the idea of learning horseback riding, Kaern volunteered to teach me.

As the weather was perfect for riding today, I decided to start learning horseback riding from Kaern.

After changing into riding attire, when I was about to open the door, Kaern was standing in front of it.

“Kaern?”

“Let’s go down together.”

“Okay.”

Wearing a black riding outfit today, he looked incredibly stylish.

Thus, as we stepped outside the mansion, two black horses were waiting in front of us.
“This horse is yours to ride.”

“Wow, it’s cool. The fur is so soft.”

I cautiously stroked the horse as I had learned in the academy, attempting to communicate.

The horse seemed to accept my touch.

“What’s this horse’s name?”

“It doesn’t have one yet. You can name it.”

“Me?”

“Now that it’s your horse.”

“Really?”

His words about it being my horse looked impressive to anyone.

“No, I’m fine with just riding it when learning horseback riding.”

“I want to give it to you as a gift, so please accept it.”

“But…”

“The horse seems to really like you.”

I also felt it; the horse seemed to like me a lot.

Even now, it was nuzzling against me, showing affection.

“Hey, you’re pretty.”

This time, I patted around the horse’s head.

I couldn’t help but appreciate the friendly horse that also seemed to like me.

“Thank you. I’ll ride it well from now on.”

So, in the end, I received the horse as a gift, pretending to be reluctantly accepting it.

Later, Kaern supported me, helping me easily get on the horse.

Being on a horse after a long time was a bit intimidating, but at the same time, it was fun.

Especially with Kaern teaching me well, my interest in horseback riding grew.

For the next few days, I planned to practice in the indoor riding arena within the mansion before venturing outside for more serious riding.
Today, I thought I could ride even better tomorrow because I rode with great enthusiasm. However, that was my significant mistake. The next day, the moment I tried to get up from bed, I couldn’t move at all due to tremendous muscle pain. “Ugh…” It hurts. Too painful. Horseback riding was undoubtedly a full-body exercise. Every part of my body ached as if someone had struck me, and the most painful area among them was my thighs. Leaning against the headboard, I sat on the bed, tapping my legs and praying for the muscle pain to subside even a little. However, once the muscle pain set in, it wasn’t going to disappear so easily. ‘Should I do it again today?’ Although the pain was so intense that my motivation momentarily wavered, I pulled myself together. I didn’t want to become someone who couldn’t overcome even a bit of hardship.
So, I tried to slowly get up from the bed, attempting to walk forward one step at a time, but eventually, I ended up hesitating and sitting back down. Not today. I was convinced that I couldn’t possibly ride today, so I was about to call Amy to convey this to Kaern. Right at that moment, I heard the timely sound of knocking on the door. Assuming it was Amy, I told the person to come in without even asking who it was. However, the person who entered my room was not Amy; it was Kaern himself.