“……What? No. It’s fine, Your Grace. I’m already grateful for treating my arm, I can’t accept a ride in your carriage as well. And if I were to be seen getting out of your carriage in front of the mansion, it would raise suspicions with my uncle or Danae.”

“There’s no need to decline. It’s not like my carriage will have any major issues from taking on two more ladies.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“My carriage doesn’t have any family emblems or markings. So no one would suspect that I’m the owner of that carriage.”

Hearing the Duke’s unexpected offer, I declined in confusion.

But my resolve wavered at the Duke’s continued persuasion. In truth, I was worried about sending Annie alone to call for a carriage, and I wasn’t even sure if there would be a coachman available at the guild at this hour to drive us.

After pondering for a moment, I finally said to the Duke with an awkward expression:

“…Then, if you don’t mind, I’ll gratefully accept your kind offer.”

“Good. Let’s go to my carriage together then.”

At my response, the Duke nodded slightly and extended his hand to me. It seemed he intended to escort me to the carriage.

I shook my head to indicate it wasn’t necessary.

“Ah, please go ahead to the carriage. I’ll find Annie and bring her along.”

“…Alright. Once you find your maid, come straight to the front gate of the mansion. I’ll have the carriage ready there.”

The Duke withdrew the hand he had extended to me, then turned and left the garden. I went up to the balcony and re-entered the ballroom.

[This is the timeline separator]

A few minutes later.

Returning to the ballroom, I met Annie who had been looking for me, and went out to the garden with her.

Elliot and his carriage were already there, ready to depart. After confirming that his servant had helped Annie and me into the carriage, the Duke mounted the horse leading the carriage. Soon, the carriage sped off, arriving at a road a short distance from Duke Yusten’s mansion.

After nodding my thanks to Elliot’s servant who opened the door for me, I approached him on his horse.

“Thank you for escorting us to the mansion, Duke Haven.”

“Don’t mention it. Please return safely to the mansion, Lady Christine Yusten.”

He and I exchanged formal greetings.

It was risky to engage in intimate conversation, as Duke Yusten’s or Danae’s ears might be listening.

Soon the Duke signaled to the coachman, and the carriage departed down the dark avenue.

Instead of heading straight to the mansion, I paused briefly to survey the surroundings. Fortunately, I didn’t sense any eyes watching me. After breathing a sigh of relief, I headed for the back entrance of the mansion.

Then Annie, who had been looking eager to speak since boarding the Duke’s carriage, followed me and said:

“Oh, my lady! That was Duke Haven, wasn’t it? How did he know you were in trouble without a carriage to return and offer to help? Hm?”

“…Well. He said he saw me lingering alone outside late at night, so he thought I might not have a carriage to return and offered to give me a ride?”

I answered vaguely as I headed towards the mansion. Annie chased after me, chattering excitedly.

“Really? The Duke Haven who’s rumored to never give ladies any opportunity? He must have had some ulterior motive for giving you a ride in his carriage. …Ah! That’s right, last time you had me deliver a letter to the Duke! Could it be that the Duke has developed some feelings for you since then?”

“Annie. Stop talking nonsense. It’s not like that.”

“But, my lady. My intuition is telling me so. Even though I may not look it, my intuition about matters between men and women has never been wrong…!”

“I said stop it, Annie.”

I cut off Annie’s words sharply. Then I looked at her sternly and said:

“Didn’t I tell you that no one else should know about that except you? Don’t you realize how much trouble I’d be in if someone were to overhear?”

“…I’m sorry, my lady.”

“Be more careful from now on. And the fact that I returned home in the Duke’s carriage today should also remain known only to you and me. Understand?”

“…Yes, my lady. I’m sorry. I was thoughtless.”

When I gave her a stern warning, Annie hung her head with a dejected look.

I turned around and hurried towards the back entrance.

[This is the timeline separator]

Having safely returned to my quarters, I had breakfast with the Duke the next day.

When Duke Yusten asked how things went, I reported, “There was a bit of friction between Danae and Viscount Miles’ daughter, but afterwards I stayed behind alone in the ballroom and desperately tried to smooth things over before returning.”

Fortunately, Duke Yusten believed those words at face value. I made the excuse that I was quite tired from that incident and remained in my bedroom.

Duke Yusten didn’t bother me, and Danae, who was thoroughly angered, didn’t come looking for me either. Thanks to that, I was able to rest freely without worrying about others, and think about plans to ruin them in the future.

A day and a half passed like that.

I was drinking tea and reading a letter from an informant I had planted in Leonard’s mansion. According to the letter, Leonard’s father, Duke Klein, had been careful with his actions since leaving the prison tower, while looking for an opportunity to regain the Emperor’s trust that he had lost due to the diamond smuggling incident.

I tore the letter into pieces and pushed the fragments into the burning fireplace while thinking.

‘Although His Majesty temporarily excluded Duke Klein from the center of power due to the smuggling incident, if the Duke continues this kind of cautious political behavior while lying low for a while, it’s obvious that He will eventually forgive him and reinstate him. …In any case, Duke Klein is the father-in-law of His beloved son, Prince Louis, and a supporting force for him.’

The Emperor currently wanted to put his eldest son, Prince Louis, on the throne rather than Princess Ella.

In other words, it was safe to assume that unless it was a major wrongdoing, there would be no reason to completely remove Duke Klein, who was a supporting force for such a son, from the political arena.

Of course, the same applied to the House of Yusten. Duke Yusten was also a major support base for Prince Louis.

‘So the options I can choose are largely two. Either make them commit a mistake so big that the Emperor absolutely cannot forgive, or make them appear to be such a weak force that the Emperor judges them not to be a solid support base for Prince Louis.’

I gritted my teeth. No matter how many times I pondered, there was only one way.

‘I need to find evidence proving that my uncle was involved in the deaths of Princess Liz and my father. By doing so, charge the current Duke Yusten with the crime of assassinating the imperial family, prove that he is unfit to inherit the family, and remove him. Then naturally, the Houses of Leonard and Duke Klein will also be greatly shaken. After all, the House of Klein is essentially a family that has grown with the help of our family.’

So until I find that evidence, my identity and purpose must not be revealed.

I steeled myself with that thought.

“My lady, are you here?”

At that moment, after a few knocks, Annie’s voice was heard from outside the door. I turned my head towards the door and answered.

“Yes, Annie. Come in.”

Soon the door opened and Annie entered with a slightly stiff expression. I smiled warmly at her and asked:

“Are you still upset about being scolded by me?”

Annie waved her hands and replied:

“Of course not! It was all because I carelessly ran my mouth!”

“Then that’s fine. I’m sorry for getting angry too. You know that you’re the only person I can trust and rely on in this mansion, right? So I hope that no matter what actions I take, Annie will trust me and follow my words.”

“Of course, my lady. You can trust only me.”

“Yes, I’ll trust you. …But, why were you looking for me? Is something the matter?”

When I asked, Annie let out a short exclamation of “Ah!” and said:

“That’s right. My lady, a letter has arrived for you.”

Then Annie held out a letter to me with nothing written on the outside.

I immediately recognized it as a letter sent by Duke Haven. I promptly opened the envelope and checked the letter.

[As you said, the Viscount accepted the proposal. He says he’ll pass information to me. Also, around this afternoon, the Viscount will send a letter with distorted information to the House of Yusten, so keep that in mind.]

Afterwards, I tore the letter I had finished reading into small pieces and put them into the burning fireplace.

Now all that was left for me was to wait. I quietly smiled, anticipating the events that would unfold and the distressed looks of Duke Yusten, Danae, and Leonard because of it.

[This is the timeline separator]

That afternoon, a letter from Viscount Miles arrived at the Duke’s house. It was just as Duke Haven had forewarned me.

The content of the letter was as follows:

[According to information from my wife’s sources, the Rugl and Yalta tribes plan to cross the Liman Mountains in the southern part of the Empire and invade Alpens Castle in 3 days.]

Of course, that was false information.

But upon receiving the letter, Duke Yusten immediately sent a letter to the House of Klein requesting reinforcements and summoned the knights. And that evening, he agreed to appoint himself as the Commander-in-Chief and Leonard as the Deputy Commander, forming a Yusten-Klein allied force. He reported this fact to the Emperor.

The Emperor was greatly pleased with Duke Yusten’s words, who not only obtained information that even Her direct secret investigators couldn’t uncover, but also boasted that they would prevent the invasion before they could breach the borders using that information.

“If Duke Yusten and Young Duke Klein can do just that, I will bestow great rewards upon you.”

The Emperor also promised to personally send her direct knights as reinforcements for them.

Thus, the allied forces of Yusten, Klein, and the Emperor’s direct knights decided to depart for Alpens Castle the next morning.