‘Who on earth could have orchestrated this incident.’

Arasila tapped her fingers on the desk, lost in thought.

In fact, the first ones she suspected were the Vandermir ducal family.

She had strongly suspected that they might have instigated Claire to pin a dirty scandal on Demian.

It was entirely possible that they had done so out of frustration from the failed attack in the West.

However.

‘I don’t think they would have chosen a method that would stir up the ducal family’s private matters like this.’

Unintentionally, Demian’s illegitimate child scandal had dragged out the Vandermir ducal family’s past affairs and brought them into the spotlight.

The fact that the duke had a son, Oscar, with another woman while married to his first duchess was a fatal weakness for their family.

To put it bluntly, although Oscar’s status was now settled, there were certainly people who would feel somewhat uncomfortable with the fact that his birth itself started as an illegitimate child.

No matter how much they wanted to divorce Demian and Arasila, they wouldn’t use a method that would remind many people of their own flaws.

‘If it’s not the Vandermir ducal family, who and for what purpose impersonated Demian?’

Did they prepare this from the beginning with the intention of tarnishing his reputation?

If so, is it also related to the mastermind behind the attack incident?

Or, perhaps, did they not intend for things to escalate this much?

If it was done on an individual level, it could be that someone who looked similar to Demian pretended to be him for personal gain, resulting in this disaster.

‘…But could there be someone who looks like Demian? It seems difficult to mistake someone else for him in the first place.’

He was the owner of such a dazzling appearance.

One of the most handsome men in the entire continent, and even Arasila had never seen someone this good-looking in her life.

Moreover, he had distinctive external features like rare sparkling silver hair and golden eyes.

So to mistake someone for him, even in a half-asleep state, they would need to have at least some common physical traits with Demian.

Like being quite tall, or having silver hair or golden eyes……

“My lady, a letter has arrived.”

At that moment, Audrey’s voice snapped Arasila out of her deepening thoughts.

Arasila received the letter from her.

The sender was Roberto.

It contained news that Mia, the actress who was said to be Claire’s close friend, had returned, as heard from the owner of the Flair Theater.

Arasila immediately stood up to go meet Mia.

Although it was already after sunset, she couldn’t wait until tomorrow.

“My lady, are you going out now? Since it’s late evening, perhaps tomorrow would be…”

“It’s alright, Audrey. I’m the strongest mage who has even defeated top-tier magical beasts.”

Despite Audrey’s attempts to dissuade her, Arasila slipped out of the house alone, wrapped in a robe.

Now that it had been publicly reported, there was no need to hide her identity anymore, but she didn’t want to unnecessarily draw people’s attention.

She quietly went to Mia’s house and knocked on the door.

Then, a woman with cat-like sharp eyes and a rather pretty appearance revealed herself.

“Who is it?”

To the bewildered woman, Arasila pulled back her robe to reveal her face and smiled gently.

“Hello, Mia. I’m Arasila Vandermir.”

“…!”

Mia’s eyes widened.

Although she might not have recognized Arasila’s face, she seemed to know her name well.

Arasila caught the door that was reflexively trying to close and spoke to Mia in a kind voice.

“Could we talk for a moment?”

Mia reluctantly let Arasila into the house with a frightened face.

Although it was her friend who had committed the wrong, Mia’s hands trembled as she brought out tea.

Arasila quietly observed Mia without touching the cup. Unable to bear the pressure, Mia spoke first.

“Have you come to see me because of Claire?”

“That’s right.”

Mia’s face instantly turned pale. She spoke hurriedly.

“Claire really didn’t know she was meeting Lord Vandermir. Please forgive her just this once, my lady! She even started to suspect that he might not be the real Lord Vandermir. Of course, he turned out to be…”

Clearly close friends with Claire, Mia was afraid that she might receive a severe punishment.

Arasila narrowed her eyes, focusing on Mia’s last words.

Although Mia had said this to emphasize how unintentional her friend’s actions were, from Arasila’s perspective, it sounded quite suspicious.

“What do you mean she suspected he might not be Demian?”

“Ah, that… Actually, Claire tried to find Lord Vandermir a few times after she found out about the pregnancy.”

But she couldn’t easily approach Demian and just watched from afar, then came back and said strange things to Mia.

That she was confused about whether the person she met was really Lord Vandermir.

When Mia asked for details about this, Claire evaded the answer and never mentioned anything similar again.

“Maybe she was shocked about having an illegitimate child with a noble and wanted to deny reality, or perhaps it was her first time seeing the lord in broad daylight and felt unfamiliar. She seemed a bit uncertain.”

“Then how did Claire become sure it was Demian again?”

“Umm, I’m not sure. But I know because I’ve seen Lord Vandermir before. Although I couldn’t see his face clearly, I saw his beautiful silver hair with my own eyes.”

Mia earnestly defended her friend. The more Arasila listened to her words, the more her expression became enigmatic.

Certainly, the silver hair possessed by Duke Vandermir and his two sons was not a color easily seen.

‘But hair can be easily changed with dye.’

There was something else that truly couldn’t be changed. To confirm this, Arasila opened her mouth.

“What about the eyes?”

“Pardon?”

“Did you see his eyes too? What color were they?”

“Uh…”

Flustered by the sharp question, Mia desperately tried to recall.

When she had accidentally seen Demian coming out of the inn near the house with Claire, she had coincidentally made eye contact with him.

Demian’s eyes at that time… she couldn’t really remember.

Unlike his hair which boasted a distinct presence even in the darkness, his eyes were ordinary.

“It was too dark to see properly.”

“Still, try to think carefully. Your answer will determine whether I accept Claire or not.”

Hearing that her friend’s future depended on her answer, Mia clenched her fists tightly.

While Demian was known to almost everyone in noble society, it was different for commoners.

They had no points of contact to even brush shoulders with him, and the occasional portraits in newspapers were in black and white, so they didn’t know his exact appearance.

Therefore, Mia couldn’t even think of lying and could only speak exactly as she had seen.

“I think it was a somewhat dark color… Almost close to black.”

This was Mia’s answer after a long pause. Arasila merely raised an eyebrow, showing no other reaction.

“Is there anything else Claire said about Demian?”

“…If I tell you everything like this, you won’t harm Claire, will you, my lady?”

Suddenly, Mia asked with an anxious face. Arasila nodded firmly.

“I never harm the weak.”

Even if Claire had really conceived Demian’s child, it would be the same.

Arasila had no intention whatsoever of harming Claire just because she felt betrayed by Demian.

“I might wreck Demian, but what’s the point in touching a pregnant woman.”

Frankly speaking, why would she do such a despicable thing when divorce would suffice?

Feeling the sincerity in her answer, Mia spoke with relief.

“The lord didn’t take Claire seriously from the beginning. The reason nobles like him approach commoner actresses like us is usually similar.”

A bitter smile appeared on Mia’s lips.

They were just looking for a one-night stand or someone to play with for amusement.

Of course, there was no sincerity or respect for the other person in that relationship.

Only Claire foolishly gave her heart to him.

And since all they did was spend the night together, the longest and most detailed explanation she gave about Demian was about how he was in bed.

“She said he felt rather inadequate than expected… Wh-which, well, everyone feels differently!”

Mia hurriedly tried to smooth over her words, looking cautious.

However, Arasila, who had never spent the night with Demian, couldn’t know whether he was actually inadequate or not.

Ahem. She let out an unnecessarily loud cough and nodded at Mia as if telling her to say more.

Then, rolling her eyes, Mia opened her mouth as if she had remembered something.

“Ah, she also said that the lord’s taste seemed to be women with puppy-like gentle faces but voluptuous bodies.”

“Really?”

“Yes, so she said it was really lucky that she approached him first. If she hadn’t, he might have been taken by other girls who looked similar.”

Hmm, Arasila, who didn’t know much about Demian’s taste in women, just nodded her head.

She needed to know something to either refute or agree, but she knew nothing.

Was this the limit of a contract marriage?

After that, no useful information came from Mia.

After exchanging brief greetings and leaving Mia’s house, Arasila walked down the street with a thoughtful face.

Although hair could be changed with dye, if the eyes seen in the darkness were a dark color, it definitely wasn’t Demian.

She had seen several times how Demian’s eyes, which looked as if they were made of molten pure gold, emitted a clear light even in any darkness.

Arasila thought about who the black-eyed man impersonating Demian could be.

However, there were too many people with dark-colored eyes to narrow it down.

Before she knew it, she had arrived at the square and sat down in front of the fountain.

Perhaps because it was late, there weren’t many people on the street.

As she was staring blankly ahead with her chin resting on her hand after taking off her robe hood, it happened.

“Senior? What are you doing here?”

A familiar voice reached her ears. When she turned her head, there stood Rudy in comfortable casual clothes.

“Rudy, why are you here?”

“My house is near here. I ran out of bread to eat tomorrow morning, so I came out to buy some urgently. Why are you in this neighborhood, senior?”

“I had some business.”

“Ah, I see. But it’s dangerous to be here at night. This area, in particular, gets very dark after sunset, so accidents are frequent.”

Rudy said with a worried face.

There were many tall buildings around the square, so the shadows cast in the alleys were particularly deep.

Today, the faint light from the large full moon was dimly illuminating the surroundings, but if the weather got even a little bad, it would be difficult to see a hand in front of your face.

“Recently, I heard that someone was attacked by a thug in front of that alley over there and had all their money stolen. They must have been seriously injured because they still can’t move around.”

“Really? Was the culprit caught?”

“No. They say it was an especially cloudy day without a trace of moonlight, so they couldn’t see the thug’s face properly. So they can’t even specify a suspect.”

Rudy sighed deeply and shook his head.

Of course, the senior in front of him didn’t need such worries, but he was warning her just in case.

Then, remembering the victims’ testimonies, he added in a regretful voice.

“Originally, when it’s dark, people’s appearances can look a bit distorted, right?”

“That’s true…”

Arasila suddenly stared intently at Rudy’s face immersed in the darkness of the evening street.

He had blonde hair with a slight brown tinge and brown eyes.

But now, in the darkness, Rudy’s eyes were… almost black.

A lightning-like realization struck Arasila’s head.

In fact, it was closer to certainty than realization.

She felt sure she knew who the culprit was among those she had been suspecting.

There was only one person around Demian who had the same silver hair and brown eyes, was quite tall, and had a handsome enough appearance to be mistaken at a glance.

Oscar Vandermir.

He liked women so much that he even flirted with Arasila on the wedding day, and Demian had warned him several times for pursuing women.

In many ways, there was a very high possibility that he was the man impersonating Demian that Claire had mentioned.

The problem was how to prove it.

As Arasila’s face became serious, Rudy tilted his head.

“Senior, are you alright? Your expression…”

“Oh, oh, I’m fine, Rudy. Thank you for your help.”

“Huh? What did I help with…?”

Rudy, who had only spoken to his senior sitting like a statue by the fountain, was bewildered.

Arasila just smiled and patted her junior’s shoulder without saying much.

Her face looked quite refreshed, so Rudy didn’t say anything more and remained quiet.

After parting with him and returning home, Arasila conducted two investigations to identify the true father.

The first was to determine when someone using Demian’s name to meet women had first appeared.

As a result, she discovered that not just this time, but for quite a long time, Demian’s name had been circulating among the 4th Street area and theater actors.

However, since Demian was a promising knight from the Vandermir ducal family, the women involved with him couldn’t freely speak his name.

Next, she investigated Oscar’s whereabouts to match the times when women met Demian.

And she learned a fact she had never known before.

Oscar, who usually stayed in the ducal territory, had come up to the capital at precisely those times.

Even more surprising was that he was in the capital at this very moment.