Upon a little contemplation, there were many aspects that could induce discomfort.
In truth, even a strand of hair would have been sufficient for blackmailing Odette.
Just that would be enough to make Odette sufficiently uneasy and anxious.
Even possessing just Ellie’s existence would have made blackmailing Odette not that difficult.
“But Blake had prepared a lot.”
The chessboard and the story about Cedric.
These were practically unnecessary details.
Especially considering that Blake, through today’s conversation, had revealed himself to be the instigator behind the issues throughout the empire.
Blake had shown a bit of his hand to blackmail Odette, not for persuasion or excessive threats.
“How kind I’m being now, isn’t it evident?”
This part.
“This was the clue.”
Blake was adding excessive explanations to tell lies, a hint that he was lying.
After all, Odette had no idea about Ellie’s current situation.
So, Blake cleverly set the stage through the chessboard, induced confusion in Odette with the hair in the envelope, and only then brought up the story about Cedric.
“He’s even revealing a bit of his strategy.”
Only the truth can truly deceive people.
People tend to believe that if someone is telling the truth, their words must be true. So, mixing in some plausible truth can camouflage lies.
Moreover, using Cedric could amplify Odette’s anxiety, and the potential damage from revealing this level of strategy was acceptable.
This way, by confusing Odette with truth and falsehood, Blake could agitate her into falling into the trap of anxiety and confusion.
Although her stomach still churned as if she might vomit at any moment due to anxiety, her mind had become clear in an instant.
“If this hypothesis is correct…”
There was only one piece of information that Blake might be concealing.
Odette tightly clenched her hand and, locking eyes with Blake, spoke.
“Blake.”
“Speak.”
“The promise to save Ellie, is it a lie?”
Odette’s words seemed unexpected, and Blake’s expression stiffened.
However, he immediately smirked and responded.
“I know you see me in a bad light, but this is going too far. Even if you think that way, breaking a promise is—”
“No.”
Odette’s firm voice cut off Blake’s words.
From the beginning, there was only one plausible truth that Blake could be concealing.
The sole premise for all these situations to be constructed.
“You don’t have Ellie with you.”
This was precisely Blake’s lie.
Sound effect Squeak.
Between the gloved fingers, the held candle was extinguished, making a rebellious noise.
“Is this the last time?”
Erftman Duchy’s butler, Philip, checked the rooms he had extinguished, making sure there were no rooms left with the lights on.
Although he habitually checked, Philip naturally knew that he hadn’t missed any rooms.
Extinguishing the Duchy was something he had been doing for decades, even before becoming Erftman’s butler after his father.
“Now, I’m at the age where I could let someone else do it.”
Having done it for so long, not extinguishing Erftman Duchy at the end of the day made it feel incomplete.
Thus, Philip vaguely speculated that he would probably be in charge of extinguishing Erftman Duchy until he handed over the position to his child. Older people tend to dislike change as they age.
“No, but I still don’t hate change.”
The old butler, reconsidering his stubbornness, chuckled inwardly and took care of the lantern.
The cause of his laughter was the new lady of Erftman Duchy.
For some time now, the 4th Princess Odette, who had been causing a commotion by associating with his master, Walter, had become his owner.
Erftman Duchy, which had been without a lady for a long time, welcomed her as the prospective lady with the same feelings.
However, even while welcoming Odette, there was no lack of anxiety and worry.
“She’s a princess, so I thought she might be a troublesome person.”
Philip himself had been dedicated to Erftman for a long time, coming from a prestigious family that had served Erftman for generations. Regardless of who became the new lady of Erftman, he had a sincere intention to serve her.
However, other servants did not share the same respect.
So, among the servants, there was a subtle tendency to expect and at the same time dismiss the new lady.
” They say the new lady is a princess. I wonder if she’ll like this.”
” Don’t mess around and end up getting slapped. Who knows?”
” I heard from my cousin working in the palace that the nobles are very picky. The 3rd Princess sometimes smashes her room for no reason. What if the 4th Princess is like that?”
” What can we do? I can’t bear that sight. What if she asks us to do something like that? We might have to walk around the mansion barefoot.”
Fear or reluctance, the direction varied, but summarized, it was similar.
“Control, control.”
The servants of Erftman were mostly people who had worked here for more than a decade.
Naturally, their attachment to each other was strong, and it was awkward for them to replace each other now.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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