“Well, even if someone has no memories, their basic personality wouldn’t change much.”

“And you say he didn’t recognize your face?”

“That’s right.”

“But he knows how the estate’s funds are flowing? Can memories return so selectively?”

Helena’s observation was quite sharp. Only then did Arnold’s head cool down.

“Hmm. Either his memories haven’t returned at all, or he remembers everything. It has to be one of the two.”

“If all his memories had returned, it’s suspicious that he hasn’t visited his beloved mistress even once.”

“You’re right, sister.”

Helena came to what she thought was the most logical conclusion.

The current Craig is not the Craig she has known for decades. He couldn’t have changed this much.

Unless someone is manipulating him from behind, it doesn’t make sense.

Cordelia Vasquez. Surely that cunning wench must be pulling strings behind the scenes.

“She probably plans to frame me with ridiculous false charges, push me out, and then use Craig as a front to get her hands on the Abrams estate.”

“Ah, no wonder she’s been clinging to Craig ever since he woke up. What a detestable woman.”

“We took in that useless girl who couldn’t even bear a son after a year of marriage.”

Helena continued to spew curses and insults at Cordelia for a while, gritting her teeth.

She suddenly stopped mid-sentence. A brilliant idea had crossed her mind. As the silence lingered, Arnold asked,

“What’s the matter?”

“She’s useless anyway, isn’t she?”

“Well, yes. We only brought her in because of that bloodline, spending a fortune. If it weren’t for that, we could have found a woman with better qualifications.”

“Then we should get rid of her.”

“Pardon?”

“Why keep someone who’s neither useful nor necessary?”

She was never fond of this woman from the start. It was the late former Count who had insisted on bringing in a Vasquez to continue the bloodline.

After getting rid of that troublesome wench, she could finally bring in a woman to her own liking.

Helena smiled faintly. That smile reeked of hot blood. Arnold immediately understood her intentions.

“What method do you think would be best?”

“Try to dig up some dirt on her. We should be able to find something to use against her quickly.”

“I see.”

“Also, since that wench is careless, people wouldn’t find it strange if she fell ill from eating something bad. Don’t you think?”

“Ah.”

Arnold let out a light exclamation.

After all, it’s not uncommon for the castle’s cook to accidentally put something in the food that shouldn’t be there.

“I’ll make the preparations.”

“Good.”

* * *

“Good day to you.”

Cordelia was walking down the corridor, muttering magical formulas, when an unfamiliar voice made her look up. She was startled to recognize the speaker.

“Oh, Baron Lancaster.”

“It’s been a while, Countess. I hope you’ve been well?”

The black-haired man bowed slightly with a gentle smile.

Though he appeared to be just a handsome nobleman, Baron Lancaster owned the largest trading company in the territory.

His control over the finances gave him considerable influence even within the Count’s family, to the extent that even Helena couldn’t treat him carelessly.

“Indeed. I heard you went to the mines in the south. When did you return?”

“Not too long ago.”

Seeing his face, Cordelia recalled that he was nicknamed the young raccoon due to his habitually enigmatic smile.

Normally, he would have ignored Cordelia and passed by without greeting, but for some reason, he was acting friendly and kept striking up conversation.

“I’ve heard that you’ve been spending a lot of time with the Count lately.”

“Well, Craig’s body hasn’t fully recovered yet.”

“So it seems the Count is relying on you a lot. He’s not even letting outsiders into the castle like before.”

Cordelia wasn’t unaware that “outsiders” referred to Craig’s mistress.

However, she just smiled with a face that betrayed nothing. Of course, her inner thoughts were complicated.

‘What’s with this raccoon? Why is he being so clingy today? If I’m late, I’ll get an earful from my teacher.’

“The Count has changed a lot. They say he’s distancing himself from those he used to be close to and keeping someone by his side whom he never sought out before.”

“Is that so? I’m not sure. Craig has always been quite capricious, you know.”

“Is that right? How coincidental.”

She couldn’t ask what was so coincidental. The Baron’s servant quickly approached and whispered something in his ear.

Lancaster’s expression changed. But it was only for a moment, and he quickly resumed his inscrutable smile, saying politely,

“Please forgive my rudeness for leaving first.”

“You’re a busy man, I can’t keep you.”

Cordelia didn’t think much of this incident. Her mind was solely focused on not being late for her meeting with Leonard.

But that day, the world was unusually kind to her.

When she dropped a few pieces of parchment while hurrying, a nearby knight—surprisingly, not a servant but a formal knight—picked them up with a very friendly smile and said,

“Here you are, Countess. You look stunningly beautiful today as well.”

Cordelia received the papers from him with a very dubious expression.

That wasn’t all. When she arrived in front of Leonard’s room, a maid said with an exceptionally kind face,

“Young Mistress, shall I prepare some refreshments?”

“Huh? No, that’s alright.”

“Then please call me anytime if you need anything.”

Cordelia had been in and out of this room dozens of times, but it was the first time a maid had shown such a pleasant face.

‘What’s going on? Why are they suddenly like this?’

By this point, Cordelia felt that something was strange. The unwarranted kindness from people made her suspicious rather than happy.

As soon as Leonard saw Cordelia, he frowned and snapped,

“Do you know what time it is? What have you been doing to arrive just now? I was about to get a crick in my neck.”

“Teacher, you know, people were… No, it’s nothing.”

Cordelia swallowed the words she was about to say and mumbled. On second thought, she couldn’t very well say that it was strange for people to be kind.

He went on a tirade of scolding, but fortunately, when Cordelia presented her homework, he began the lesson.

“I won’t get angry, so tell me honestly.”

“Tell you what?”

However, Leonard already looked thoroughly annoyed. Cordelia remained silent instead of pointing out this fact.

“Why are you so stupid? Is it congenital? Or did you fall from a tree when you were young and hit your head badly…”

“That, that’s too much! I’ll have you know, I was often praised by my tutor when I was young for being smart. The best among all the students they taught.”

“Why were you praised? For knowing how to breathe? Or for learning to walk well?”

“…”

Better not say anything more.

Cordelia was experiencing daily that this man’s standards were endlessly high.

Even if she studied to death and memorized everything taught the day before, she received no praise, only treatment as if it were expected.

Rather, every time she failed to understand something explained once and asked for a repeat explanation, he looked at her as if she were some otherworldly creature.

As if to say, ‘Why can’t you understand this?’

Baron, who arrived late, awkwardly smiled and took Cordelia’s side.

“But she’s already learned how to shape magical energy. This is actually quite excellent progress.”

“So what? She can’t do calculations, so she can’t move on to the next step.”

“Well, that’ll be resolved as she gets used to it.”

Cordelia felt so grateful for the Baron’s defense that she wanted to bow to him.

Although her teacher often teased her by calling her stupid, Cordelia didn’t feel intimidated. Instead, her competitive spirit burned even hotter.

‘Just wait and see. Someday I’ll make you proud to call me your disciple.’

While she was gritting her teeth and making this resolution internally, a maid brought a letter on a silver tray. Cordelia’s face quickly hardened when she saw the name written on the envelope.

Leonard asked casually,

“What’s wrong? Who’s it from?”

“It’s nothing… It’s nothing.”

She smiled awkwardly and shoved the letter into her pocket.

Leonard noticed that the seal on the envelope was that of the Vasquez family, but he didn’t press further. He knew that family was a sore spot that Cordelia wanted to hide.

The lesson only ended after a long time.

Cordelia had to transcribe formulas for five hours straight, memorize over a hundred magical terms, and was given homework to analyze two theses.

She said with sunken eyes,

“When am I supposed to sleep?”

“Sleep is something you do when you’re dead.”

“…”

Cordelia lost the energy to argue and left Leonard’s room, completely exhausted.

After the door was fully closed, Baron said,

“I’m surprised.”

“About what?”

“About Lady Cordelia. Did you know and accept her as your disciple?”

“If I had known, I would have at least checked if her head was made of stone before signing the contract.”

Leonard replied gruffly, but Baron could see clear signs of excitement in his eyes.

“Master, she shaped magical energy just ten days after starting to learn magic. Even the most talented individuals in the Mage Association take months or years to accomplish this.”

“It took me two days.”

“…It’s difficult to compare normal people to you, Master. At this rate, she might really be able to operate a star at twenty-five.”

“Hmph. She still has a long way to go. She still struggles with basic mental arithmetic.”

“Calculations will come quickly once she gets used to it. If she had been proficient in that too after just ten days, I would have doubted whether Lady Cordelia was human.”

Baron shuddered slightly.

At first, he thought Leonard had impulsively taken Cordelia as a disciple, but watching her amazing talent, he couldn’t help but be amazed.

“We might be seeing the emergence of another great mage.”

“Don’t make a fuss. More importantly, what about the council?”

“As expected, Elfenbaum is vehemently opposing. He says he can’t acknowledge a funeral without a body.”

“How touchingly kind of him.”

Despite his sarcastic tone, he was sincere.

There are over twenty nobles in the council. If just half of them agree, the succession of the title can be approved.

So far, led by Elfenbaum, other nobles are not recognizing Maximilian’s succession, but they can’t leave the position of Atilei’s head vacant for long.

“They’ll hold out for three months at most.”

“Yes.”

Baron nodded heavily.

This means that within three months, Leonard must regain his original body and pull down Maximilian.

Leonard clenched his fist. There wasn’t much time left.