When making the second deal with Elodie, Bacter deliberately explained to her exactly what he was aiming for.

“Duchess, manipulate and marry Louis Clovis.”

“Marriage is a flimsy institution. It has too many holes to completely bind a person.”

“Unfortunately, I have no intention of leaving even the slightest possibility.”

At first glance, it seemed like he was giving Elodie an order to “marry Louis,” but the essence of this conversation lay elsewhere.

Bacter revealed that he desired Odette, and that’s why he commanded Elodie to marry Louis to restrain him. Although it seemed like there wasn’t much deviation from the initial requirements, he subtly leaked different information.

He even overtly exposed the reversed positions while aggressively making the proposal.

Frightened and blinded by vanity, Elodie forgot that this was deliberately extended bait and immediately took it.

“Th-then, does Your Highness know about the Fourth Princess? That you’re a person who does such things underhandedly…”

Knowing that Odette was on her mind, Bacter attempted to threaten her using Odette. Of course, Bacter skillfully cut it off, and Elodie acted as if she had eased her stance, concluding the deal.

However, Bacter knew very well that Elodie wouldn’t easily accept the reality that had been presented to her.

Because Elodie was a woman who had tried to approach Bacter several times in the nonexistent past.

Truly a woman like the embodiment of vanity and greed.

“I liked that part of you. Humans won’t move without desire, and humans overflowing with desire can’t control themselves for a moment.”

And since desire is clear, actions are easy to read.

So from the beginning, Bacter gave Elodie very good things.

The afterglow of Erteman, the luxurious and extravagant things that could be obtained through that.

And perhaps even the faint hope of becoming the Duchess of Erteman and enjoying all these things for a lifetime.

After blinding her with those things, Bacter took them all away in an instant.

Instead, he offered compensation far inferior to what he had initially given her.

If he had expelled her with all that, she might have been able to give up on her greed with difficulty.

Bacter acted as if he had shown a little tolerance, making sure Elodie couldn’t easily abandon her faint hope.

Naturally, he expected Elodie not to settle for this reward.

“Considering your obsession and desire, I thought you would find the next goal.”

A person who could threaten or intimidate Bacter using the cards he held.

And for such a person, there was an obvious candidate.

“Louie Clovis. There’s no one else if you’re looking for someone to visit.”
In other words, Bacter never expected Elodie to faithfully manipulate Louis as he commanded.

Of course, this wasn’t the outcome Bacter had hoped for.

He wanted Elodie to go to Louis and reveal what he had given her.

Then Louis would astutely realize that Bacter was trying to separate him from Odette.

‘Louis Clovis reaching out to Elodie Montuare and attempting to strike behind my back.’

That was the picture Bacter desired.

The problem arose when Louis began recovering his memories faster than Bacter anticipated, introducing variables.

Instead of socializing as before, Louis met with scholars to investigate his own condition.

Finally, he seemed to have accessed some truth, that is, ‘memories of the past.’

‘I was truly surprised when we met at the palace.’

Louis seemed to overlap completely with his past self for a moment.

However, upon closer observation, Louis seemed not to have fully regained his memories.

In many ways, it was fortunate.

If Louis had fully remembered, Bacter would have sought ways to kill him as quickly as possible.

However, it was too early to be relieved.

Given the circumstances, it wouldn’t take a very long time for Louis to fully recover his memories.

So, while Bacter kept an eye on Louis’s actions from behind, ensuring that Louis couldn’t approach Odette, everything seemed to be going smoothly.

Naturally, the reason for infiltrating the Grand Ball was also on the same line of thought, and Elodie, as expected, showed signs of creating a slush fund for Bacter.

In summary, everything seemed to be going smoothly, at least until today before this incident erupted.

“After setting the stage for pulling in Louis Clovis, suddenly, he grabbed hands with Blake.”

Even without asking, it was obvious that Elodie wasn’t the one who initiated the situation.

Initially, Elodie wouldn’t have conceived the idea of pulling in Blake, and the ways for her to meet Blake were limited.

So, the situation narrowed down to one possibility.

Louis refused to cooperate with Elodie, and Blake, who noticed something, approached Elodie.

But Bacter had something else he wanted to know.

“Elodie Montuare.”

“Yes, um, yes…”

“Tell me everything about the condition of the Louis Clovis you met, what he said to you. The only reason I’m keeping you alive right now is that.”

Whether Louis had truly recovered all his memories or not.

???? ???? ????

Step by step.