Cordelia’s face turned bright red in an instant. She swung her pillow and chased Leonard out of the room. He grumbled that she had told him not to go but was now changing her words, before finally leaving the room.

A little while later, Leila entered carrying a basin filled with warm water.

“Are you awake? How are you feeling?”

“When did the Master come to my room?”

At Cordelia’s question, Leila awkwardly rolled her eyes around before answering.

“Umm. Well. He was here when I came in the morning.”

“If he’s going to visit a sick person, he should come during the day, why… Ah, nevermind. I want to take a bath.”

“Are your feet alright?”

“Feet? Oh, come to think of it, they don’t hurt anymore?”

When she lifted the blanket to check, the swelling had noticeably decreased compared to yesterday. The fever that had been warming her head and internal organs had also disappeared without a trace. Leila placed her hand on Cordelia’s forehead and rejoiced.

“No fever either. That’s such a relief.”

“Yes. Perhaps the Master…”

She stopped mid-sentence as she recalled what she had thought was a dream last night. From crying and clinging to him not to leave, to forcibly hugging him while sleeping.

The most embarrassing of all was the fact that she hadn’t washed for several days due to being sick.

“Oh? Your face is turning red. Is the fever coming back?”

“No, it’s just… Anyway, can you draw me a bath?”

“Yes. I’ll prepare it. Please wait a moment.”

* * *

Daily life had returned.

Cordelia was as happy as if she had gained the whole world just from that. They ate meals together and occasionally had magic lessons as if nothing had happened.

Her legs had improved a lot, and now she could move on her own without support.

Leonard was still busy, leaving somewhere in the morning and returning late in the evening, but he made sure to have at least one meal a day with Cordelia.

“Master. You said you’d go down to Wilias when things are wrapped up here, right?”

“That’s right. Why?”

“Before that, could I go to Abrams? To see Craig.”

The servant was sufficiently far away, but just in case, Cordelia lowered her voice as much as possible.

“We can’t keep him frozen forever. I think we need to give him a proper funeral.”

“Ah. Come to think of it, you had a husband, didn’t you?”

“That’s harsh. You stayed at my husband’s place for three months, you know.”

“Hmph. What do you mean ‘stayed’? So? What do you plan to do?”

Leonard waved his hand, dismissing the servants standing around to the outside of the dining room. Only then could Cordelia continue speaking in her normal voice.

“That’s the biggest problem. After all, when a husband dies during a trip, the wife is usually the first suspicious person, right?”

“I suppose so.”

“So I’ve been thinking, how about dropping him from somewhere high up with lots of people around in broad daylight, like the castle walls? Or getting hit by a carriage. I think it would be better to have as many witnesses as possible.”

“You’re still saying frightening things so nonchalantly.”

Leonard let out a hollow laugh as he scooped up a spoonful of scrambled eggs and put it in his mouth.

“Come on, this is cute compared to the sins Craig committed against me when he was alive.”

“Sins against you? What happened?”

“Didn’t I tell you? That man brought his mistresses into the bedroom even on our wedding night. When I refused, he sneered at me, calling me a wooden log of a woman, and then kicked me out of the room. I was sent away on my first night, and you can’t imagine how much abuse I endured after that.”

She can laugh about it now, but back then, Cordelia spent every night crying.

Her husband ignored Cordelia as if she were a ghost, Helena treated her like a money-sucking parasite, and her father-in-law, who was the Count of Abrams at the time, nagged her every day to hurry up and have a child.

“If he hadn’t died, I might have put some poisonous mushrooms in Craig’s food, you know?”

Cordelia said with a seemingly carefree laugh.

At her explanation, Leonard muttered ominously.

“…We should crush his head under the carriage wheels.”

“Ah, no! If his face is ruined, it’ll be difficult to identify him. Hmm. Then shall we go with him getting hit hard by a carriage? I guess falling from the castle walls might look like suicide. An accidental death would be cleaner without raising questions.”

“That would be better. If there are many witnesses, they won’t be suspicious.”

“Yes. So, about that. Please teach me puppetry.”

“Puppetry?”

Leonard put down his spoon and furrowed one eyebrow.

“Yes. Baron said I need to know that to control Craig’s body.”

“When were you planning to learn that? It takes at least a year of practicing puppetry to move joints smoothly.”

“A year?”

She had thought it was just a matter of moving objects, but it seemed to be a more complex and difficult magic than expected. Cordelia was a bit flustered as her plan hit a snag.

“Th-then what should we do? Should I hug Craig and jump in front of a carriage? I can use a barrier spell…”

“Don’t say such nonsense. Baron knows puppetry, so take him with you when you go.”

“Ah! That would work.”

Fortunately, the solution was close at hand. Cordelia’s face brightened.

“Let’s decide on getting hit by a carriage as the cause of death for now… I should send a letter to Abrams in advance. It might look strange if we suddenly send news of his death.”

The two put their heads together and planned how to best kill Cordelia’s husband.

“While you’re sending letters, we should also create some traces of his whereabouts before coming to Yebo Delim.”

“Traces?”

“It might seem strange if he suddenly appears in Yebo Delim and gets hit by a carriage right away. If we create a trail of him staying in other villages, disguising a man with a similar build as the Count of Abrams, it’ll seem more natural.”

“Oh. Master, it seems you’ve had some experience killing people.”

Cordelia blurted out in pure admiration. She hadn’t even thought of that, but thanks to his suggestion, there would be no room for suspicion.

They also decided to go scout out the location where Craig would die.

“Master. Are you free today?”

“Why? You want to go together?”

“Yes. I don’t know the capital’s geography well. Ah, if you’re busy, I can just take Baron or Beluce with me.”

He’s extremely busy. Leonard was so busy these days that even having three bodies wouldn’t be enough.

He was monitoring Embly’s movements and gathering evidence, persuading other members of the council who were not keen on the trial, and considering the backlog of duties as the head of the Atilei family, every minute and second was precious.

“Not really. I don’t have much of a schedule today anyway.”

“Oh, really? That’s great. I feel at ease when I’m with you, Master.”

She smiled freshly. Leonard stared at Cordelia’s face for a moment before abruptly turning his head and standing up.

“I’ll go ahead. Let me know when you’re ready.”

“Yes!”

After he left the dining room, Cordelia asked a servant for paper and a pen. She wrote something on a note and handed it back to the servant.

“Could you deliver this to the townhouse in Elfenbaum right away?”

“Yes. Who should I say it’s for?”

“Give it to Lydia Elfenbaum. As quickly as possible.”

* * *

“Give me your hand.”

“Ah, it’s okay. I can walk on my own now.”

“Don’t stumble and whine later. Give me your hand.”

He forcibly took her hand and placed it on his arm.

They arrived at a fairly bustling main street. It was large enough for two carriages to pass side by side, and there were many people walking about. Cordelia carefully surveyed the street.

“We can have Beluce drive the carriage. Where should it start from? It would be strange if it suddenly dashed out, right?”

“Who would even notice? Everyone’s busy with their own business.”

“Shall we go this way? Or here?”

“Just do it anywhere. What’s the difference?”

“Aish, we need to find the most natural optimal location. Isn’t there a high-accident area or something like that around here?”

Cordelia dragged her grumbling master around, looking here and there. Her eyes quickly scanned the road.

In fact, what Cordelia was looking for wasn’t the optimal place for Craig’s official death.

“Oh my, is that Lydia?”

“What?”

“It really is. It’s Lydia.”

Somehow it sounded quite awkward to her own ears, but not enough to realize that this chance encounter was not by chance. Cordelia walked towards Lydia, looking twice as happy as usual.

Lydia recognized Cordelia and greeted her first.

“Cordelia. What a coincidence to see you here.”

“Indeed. What a coincidence.”

Fortunately, Lydia was more skilled at acting than Cordelia. She naturally spoke to Leo.

“Leo came along too. What brings you here?”

“I was sightseeing the capital with Master. Wow, since we’ve met like this by chance, shall we sit somewhere quiet and chat?”

“That would be lovely.”

As if they had planned it, the conversation between Cordelia and Lydia flowed without a hitch. There was no room for Leonard’s opinion in their exchange.

“Wait, what’s going on with you two?”

“Huh? Wh-what do you mean? What about us?”

Cordelia, feeling guilty, looked at Leonard with her eyes as wide as possible.

“When did you become so close? How many times have you even met?”

“When I was at home with my injured foot, I exchanged letters with Lydia. We also went to a dessert shop together, ahem, ahem.”

Remembering what had happened on the day they went to that dessert shop, Cordelia cleared her throat unnecessarily in the middle of speaking.

“So Lydia was the one you’ve been sending letters to almost every day lately.”

“That’s right. Moreover, ahem. Lydia and I are friends. Friends.”

Cordelia’s eyes sparkled particularly when she said the word ‘friends’.

“Master, you might not know since you don’t have friends, but when friends meet on the street, they usually sit down somewhere like a cafe and chat.”

“Oh, is that so? Then you two friends go ahead and do that to your heart’s content. I’m busy.”

As Leonard acted as if he was about to leave right away, Cordelia clung to his arm with desperate eyes.