“Walter, don’t be foolish, please… you can’t save me.”

The more Walter pondered her words, the more curious he became about what crazy things she could do to save the lady trapped in a mansion, under threat from assassins.

After proving her wrong by breaking into the Fortrion mansion soon, yes, it would be good to confine her this time.

He would have to ask her just how wretched she felt, to the point she thought she deserved to be thrown out, and torment her until she gave the desired answer.

Walter closed his eyes slowly, constantly thinking about what to do with the woman who had expelled him. As his eyelids closed, the memory of a teary-eyed Edith made his head throb.

The temple knights arrived at the mansion as soon as they received the request and showed respect to Sophia.

“You must come with us for a moment, Lady.”

“We need to clarify the truth to restore your honor.”

“… ”

Sophia couldn’t possibly resist the knights who had swarmed around her.

Falsifying lineage or exploiting life was one of the things the temple would never tolerate.

“There’s also a matter concerning the repair of the dam downstream we’d like to discuss.”

Being blinded by greed to the point of sacrificing others didn’t seem to be God’s will. The temple knights took Sophia and some of her close aides to the temple.

For a lady of a house as grand as a lord’s, being taken for an investigation itself was quite disgraceful.

Edith watched as the carriage of the temple knights carrying Sophia disappeared and felt relieved inside.

‘I hope they scrutinize her for a long time.’

Temple knights usually conducted intense investigations, and usually wouldn’t send suspects home unless it was regular sleeping hours.

Moreover, with a thorough investigation including accomplices, it was virtually impossible for Sophia to wield power in the mansion anymore.

‘With Sophia sinking, now Elizabeth is rising.’
Still, compared to when tightly held by Sophia, it was a better situation as Elizabeth wouldn’t send a man to impregnate me.

‘As long as it’s not discovered that Walter is involved, Elizabeth won’t directly harm me.’

Since the day he was sent out of the mansion, Edith felt as if half her heart had been hollowed out. The pain was not from losing the assistance she had received from him.

If only she could hear that he had safely arrived at the mercenary group.

After the sun had set and it turned dark, Edith moved to a secluded garden.

Benjamin, who had appeared during the funeral to deliver a note, was waiting for her there.

Smiling upon seeing him, Edith thought how fortunate it was to meet Benjamin before the people Elizabeth had summoned to harm Walter could arrive.

However, her smile seemed fragile and uneasy to Benjamin.

“Edith. What’s going on?”

A close friend indeed senses emotional changes. Edith spoke in a small voice, her smile awkward.

“Just. Walter left the mansion.”

“He left the mansion? But isn’t he the stablekeeper kidnapped by Lord Portrion?”

It was Benjamin who had been uncovering the kidnapping case committed by the Lord in the past few days. He had come to inform Edith about what he had found out today.

Given the circumstances, he was convinced that the stablekeeper locked up in the castle was Walter, and he couldn’t help but be puzzled that the man who should be confined had left the mansion.

“I sent him away.”

If only he didn’t know why she answered with such a sad face.

Pushing aside the questions that arose in his mind, Benjamin continued speaking.

“If the Lord is dead and that man has already escaped the mansion, is the kidnapping case I’ve been investigating now useless?”

“No. I still want to know why Lord Portrion kidnapped Walter.”

Edith paused for a moment, contemplating whether to tell Benjamin that Elizabeth was trying to kill him.

She decided not to.

Given her current situation of being trapped here even when assassins that Elizabeth would bring were about to intrude, she didn’t want to cause any more worry.

She didn’t want to add another burden to Benjamin, who was already helping her sufficiently.

Benjamin looked at her resolute face for a moment and then continued.

“Lord Portrion indeed kidnapped the illegitimate child of a prominent family, as expected.”

“Of course…”

The nobles of the Empire valued bloodlines, so it was often the case to kidnap people like illegitimate children who couldn’t claim a position but had inherited the lineage.

Edith had considered this when she first heard that Walter had been kidnapped and confined. However, the thought soon turned into a question, and she hadn’t been able to dig deep due to lack of information.

“But Portrion has a quite large territory, and there’s no family around to check them, right?”

Puzzled by her question, Benjamin hesitated.

“See, it seems like the stablekeeper’s mother is from a family so grand that even the House of Portrion couldn’t look up to them.”

What kind of family could Walter’s mother be from that Benjamin was so hesitant? Edith, who had been puzzled, could understand his actions after hearing the following words.

“You’ve heard of the Lexsion Duchy, haven’t you?”