Struggling to maintain her fading consciousness, Idel recalled all the information she had inferred about the kidnapper.

Suddenly, she remembered a newspaper article about a recent highprofile noble trial.

⌜Douglas, Baron, stripped of not only his wealth made through slave trading but also his lands and title! The miserable end of a wealthy man who lost everything⌟

The presiding judge of this notorious trial had been Duke Elyos.

‘A wealthy landowner in the eastern region, Baron Douglas…!’

There was no doubt that he was her kidnapper. Realizing the kidnapper’s identity, Idel’s barely held consciousness faded to black.

(This is a time separator.)

“The news you’ve been waiting for has arrived.”

An attendant approached and whispered the news in Katrina’s ear. Upon hearing it, the corners of Katrina’s mouth lifted.

“Well done. Proceed as planned.”

“Yes, understood.”

The attendant left, and Katrina filled her glass with wine from the bottle on the table.

“Is it good news?”

As satisfaction spread across Katrina’s face, Roselin, who had been sharing dinner with her, asked in anticipation. Her twitching hips indicated how anxious she had been.

“Douglas has finally succeeded.”

“Is that really true?”

Joy filled Roselin’s voice as she asked again. She looked as if she might scream in delight.

“Successfully kidnapping the Duchess… he’s a more competent and strategic person than I expected. No wonder he was able to engage in slave trade secretly for over a decade.”

Twirling the stem of her clear wine glass, Katrina grinned satisfactorily. Watching the red whirlpool forming inside the glass, she imagined the Duchess, who must be deeply trapped by now.

‘Making use of Douglas was a good decision.’

Not long ago, Douglas had lost all his property, land, and titles due to a trial where the Duke had been the presiding judge. He had run farms through illegal slave trading.

Among the nobles, the trial and its outcome had been a hot topic. Seeing Douglas, who had been stripped of everything and reduced to a commoner, the nobles had trembled at the Duke’s merciless judgement.

Douglas, who had been operating mainly in the eastern region and was not closely related to Katrina, caught her attention because he had fallen from grace due to the Duke’s decision.

Having lost everything and burning with vengeance against the Duke, it was easy for Katrina to use Douglas like a piece on a chessboard.
Douglas easily fell for the temptation to target the Duchess, who was so cherished by the Duke, since he couldn’t dare touch the Duke himself.

Of course, Katrina had appointed a proxy to execute all these plans. She had instructed that the proxy be disposed of once the plan succeeded, ensuring that she herself would never be implicated should Douglas’s actions be discovered.

The thought of finally being able to remove the bothersome Duchess from his sight was refreshing. Losing the Duchess, whom he had showered with affection, would surely deal a great blow to the Duke.

‘It feels similar to that time.’

As Katrina rolled her red lips like the wine in the glass, she felt a similar emotion to when she had heard the news that Empress Meriel had fallen.

“So where are you going now, sister?”

“You’re asking knowing the answer. After all, you were the one who personally recommended the Duchess’s residence to that slave merchant Douglas, Roselin.”

“Well… because Count Chalé still can’t forget you.”

Roselin blinked her eyelashes and responded in an innocent voice. Katrina snickered at the repugnant sight of the young fox pretending to be naïve.

“Speaking of which… you’re really bad, sister. If you had just obediently married Count Chalé from the beginning, it would’ve been better.”

Just like when she had watched Idel’s misfortune from the front row, Roselin said this with a cunningly crafted expression and a feigned voice of pity.

“If you had, you would’ve been a respectable Countess instead of a subject of Chalé’s debauchery.”

“Let’s toast to the unfortunate Duchess’s miserable fate.”

Katrina and Roselin raised their wine glasses and clinked them together. A tingling ecstasy spread throughout their bodies with the vibration of the clinking glasses. That ecstatic feeling made Roselin shudder.

‘Fair is fair.’

You should’ve lived as if you were dead. Isn’t that right, sister?

Soon, the missing Duchess would fade even from people’s memories, her traces completely vanished.

Furthermore, it was rumored that within the mansion situated in Count Chalé’s territory, there was a secret prison. It was a place where Chalé kept slaves he had secretly acquired.

In that prison, where no one could know and no one could save, imagining Idel spending her life shackled and eventually wasting away made Roselin shiver again with a rising thrill.