She sat by the bed and kindly recited his roguish past that she knew.

As the story of the past lengthened, Craig’s brow furrowed deeply.

“Good heavens. It’s a real mess, isn’t it?”

“Oh, and I heard this from someone else, but there’s a rumor that you already had an illegitimate child when you were fifteen…”

“That’s enough for today.”

“But there are still interesting parts left.”

“Forget it. Listening further will only dirty my ears.”

It’s an excessively scathing expression to describe his own past.

Upon closer inspection, beads of cold sweat had formed on Craig’s forehead.

Only then did she remember that it had been just a day since this man woke up from a long coma.

“You seem tired. Rest. I’ll be going now.”

“Wait.”

Cordelia, who was about to leave the room, stopped at his call and turned around.

“I have a… favor to ask.”

“A favor?”

Craig said with an awkward face. He seemed unnatural, as if it was the first time he had ever used the word ‘favor’.

“It’s simple. Just deliver one letter.”

“What kind of letter?”

“You don’t need to know the contents, just do as I say.”

Despite being in a position to ask for a favor, his attitude was still overbearing. Naturally, it was offensive.

‘Really, throwing divorce papers at me earlier, and now asking for a favor?’

Cordelia snorted with her arms on her hips.

“Oh, really? Then I don’t need to consider your circumstances either. Do it yourself.”

“What? How dare you.”

At Cordelia’s sarcasm, he flushed as if he had been insulted. It was just amusing how he acted as if he had never been refused before.

“I guess you don’t know because your head is blank, but if you want to send a letter, call a servant. You have the strength to pull the bell rope, don’t you?”

“Since I opened my eyes, no one except the servants has asked after me. I suppose it means they have no business with someone who might lose his title as Count at any moment. But in the meantime, if a Count who’s become an idiot sends a letter to someone? Even I would intercept it midway and check the contents.”

“…Didn’t you think I might intercept that letter?”

“Judging by how you rushed in with divorce papers as soon as your husband woke up, it seems you don’t have any power in this household and are just desperate to get out of here.”

He replied nonchalantly. The judgment was so accurate that Cordelia was momentarily at a loss for words.

At this point, she even had a reasonable suspicion that someone else might be wearing Craig’s skin.

Suddenly, the documents in her hand caught her eye. With nothing to lose, Cordelia decided to test him.

“Then I’ll deliver the letter if you sign this.”

Cordelia took out the divorce confirmation and showed it to him. Craig let out a scornful laugh.

“A divorce for one letter? Don’t you think that’s not a fair trade?”

“If you don’t like it, forget it.”

Either way, he’s the one who needs something. Cordelia got up from her seat without hesitation.

As expected, Craig stopped her after a few steps.

“You seem awfully eager to divorce me.”

“Can I be honest?”

“As you wish.”

“You’re right. I married into the Abrams family for money, and the past year of marriage has been hell for me.”

“…”

“You don’t even know who I am, and you don’t have any feelings left for me. Can’t you just let me go?”

Having failed to deceive him moderately, it was now time to appeal to emotions. Cordelia looked at him with desperation.

Craig was silent for a while before reaching out to take the document.

“Let’s do this.”

“Do what?”

“If you deliver the letter, I’ll write the first letter of my name.”

“Just the first letter?”

Craig’s name consists of five letters in the Ersche alphabet.

This means she would have to do his favor four more times after this.

“I think I’m being quite generous here.”

“…Alright.”

Cordelia nodded reluctantly. It was better than leaving with nothing at all.

“But no unreasonable requests. Only within the limits of what I can do.”

“Of course.”

Fearing his mind might change, she hurriedly brought a quill pen.

Craig wrote the first letter in the signature space without a word. Cordelia received the document and blinked at the signature.

“Huh? The handwriting is different from before.”

It was completely different from the writing on the marriage vow when they got married. She remembered it clearly because it was so messy, but suddenly the handwriting had become elegant.

“I guess we really weren’t on good terms. This is my original handwriting.”

Craig said shamelessly. Cordelia tilted her head but had no particular objection to agree with.

After all, that was the first and last time she had closely looked at his handwriting.

He took out a folded piece of paper from his bosom. It was neither in an envelope nor sealed.

“What about the seal?”

“No need.”

“Well, if you say so. By the way, who should I send it to?”

“You don’t need to know that.”

“Then how am I supposed to send it?”

Perhaps because of his curt way of speaking, the amnesiac Craig was even more unpleasant than before. When she asked irritably, he shrugged lightly.

“Just do as I say.”

* * *

“Huff, what, let, huff.”

Only after reaching the tower did Cordelia remove the thick cloak covering her body.

She was out of breath from climbing the high stairs. Only after completely calming her pounding heart did she take in her surroundings.

The dark tower was not easy to identify objects in due to the lack of light. If she hadn’t brought a lantern, she would have been in trouble.

“He just said to throw it, right?”

Cordelia hesitated for a moment, leaning against the castle wall.

The conversation she had with Craig during the day flashed through her mind.

‘Tonight, climb to the highest tower of the castle and throw the letter.’

‘What? You mean just drop it on the ground?’

‘I’m not saying to throw it away, nevermind. Just do as I say.’

It was an incomprehensible request. She confirmed that there was no one around.

He deliberately didn’t seal it, so it’s okay to look, right?

However, the contents of the letter she peeked at were written in a cipher she couldn’t understand.

“What on earth is this?”

At this point, she became suspicious.

From the suspicion that he might be pretending to have forgotten rather than actually having amnesia, to the fundamental question of whether he really was Craig, doubts arose in her mind.

A person who doesn’t even know his own name sends an encrypted letter to someone as soon as he wakes up?

She strongly suspected that he was hiding something. However, while she had mental suspicions, there was no physical evidence.

“Should I really throw it?”

The method of delivery seemed grotesque, but it wasn’t hers anyway.

Cordelia put aside her brief hesitation and threw the letter into the air. Naturally, the paper fluttered and fell downwards.

That’s when it happened.

At some point, flames arose from the letter that had left her hand, and it began to form a shape on its own.

The blurry form gradually revealed a clear appearance.

“That’s!”

Cordelia was startled and stretched her body out of the tower. Moments later, the silver form scattered like stardust and disappeared without a trace.

It was only for a few seconds, but the silver form was clearly a sentence she knew well.

“White Snake…”

It was the emblem of the White Snake Atilei, the most powerful among the sacred eight families.

And within the family, only the head of the house can use that emblem.

“Why is Atilei here? Did Craig have connections with that family?”

Her head became complicated.

Her unconscious husband came back from the brink of death and now uses magic that draws the Atilei emblem?

Even a street dog wouldn’t believe such a story.

“White Snake… It’s the White Snake.”

Perhaps to an ordinary person, what just happened would have been just a flash of light.

If it weren’t for her special ‘ability’, even Cordelia wouldn’t have noticed.

‘Come to think of it, his personality, attitude, and way of speaking are all strange.’

The White Snake Atilei and Craig Abrams.

Two seemingly unrelated things were tied together with a single link.

There was clearly something she didn’t know, but she couldn’t tell what it was.

Cordelia stared at the sky where the illusion of the White Snake had disappeared for a long time before coming down from the tower.

* * *

“Is all this true?”

“Yes. Everyone’s keeping quiet about it, but it seems the head of the family really did die.”

The next day, Cordelia ordered Emily to find out news about the White Snake Atilei.

The news the maid brought a few days later was unexpected.

“The cause of death?”

“Officially, they’re saying it was an accidental death, but it seems no one believes it.”

Well, we’re talking about the head of the Atilei family, rumored to be a powerful magician. Anyone would be suspicious of such a person dying in an accident. Emily added in a low voice.

“Actually, there’s a widespread rumor that the second son killed him to become the head of the family.”

“Hmm?”

“They say he’s already requested the succession of the title to the council. Even though they haven’t even held the funeral for the head of the family yet.”

The council is a gathering of powerful nobles of the time and the highest decision-making body. It also holds trials when there are disputes between nobles that cannot be resolved privately, and recognizes the succession of noble titles.

Hearing Emily’s words, her eyes quietly gleamed. Cordelia handed Emily a pouch of coins.

“Good work. From now on, if there’s any new information about Atilei, let me know immediately.”

“Thank you, young madam.”

Emily bowed and left the room.

Cordelia sat at the tea table, tapping her fingers on the tabletop.

Even though she was quite naive about worldly affairs, even she had heard rumors about the current head of Atilei.

The most powerful iron-blooded magician in this country, Ersche.

Leonard Atilei.

Born with the strongest magical power in Atilei history, Leonard showed his genius from a young age and became the head of the family early.

Such a man dies in a succession dispute, and Craig, who came back from the dead, uses the Atilei emblem?

No matter how much she thought about it, there was only one rational conclusion.

‘The person in Craig’s body now is Leonard Atilei.’

The question of ‘how’ remains, but Leonard is a great magician. It wouldn’t be surprising if he could use one or two mysterious spells that she doesn’t know well.

“I’ll know if I check.”

If Cordelia’s thoughts are correct, she could advance her escape plan much faster than she had planned.

She couldn’t sit still in her chair and paced around the desk. Her heart was pounding heavily.

While trying to suppress her excited feelings, she attempted to judge the situation rationally.

The real Leonard might be in Craig’s body, but on the other hand, that letter could have been just a coincidence.

She decided to find out more before going to see Craig.