After My Dead Ending

28.

 

‘The kidnapped member of McFoy was threatened by a group of fanatics and was spared when he promised to become a heretic before he died. He then agreed to give his vast fortune to the heretics who believed in Alpo.’

 

For those who desired provocative stories, the rumor above was finally completed to their taste.

 

The nobles chatted somewhat cautiously, thinking it might be better to be careful. The imagination of the common people was truly astonishing, and unfortunately, the McFoy family wasn’t idle enough to monitor the low-quality tabloids floating among them.

 

The rumor that had become a fact before anyone could stop it spread throughout the continent once again. As it spread, there were slight variations, but the main themes remained the same.

 

The unfortunate fate of the kidnapped heiress. The Lord McFoy surviving by dedicating money to heresy. This time, the McFoy family had lost everything, even the remnants of their honor!

 

Announcing her return alive was in line with Aisa’s intentions. However, the rapid spread of such rumors was not her doing, but ironically, people talking about it voluntarily was more effective than spending money to spread the rumor. They discussed the McFoy family freely and treated her as someone who had lost everything – innocence, honor, finally!

 

If there weren’t these two, what would the Empire be like? Especially among the nobles, there was an underlying custom emphasizing premarital chastity in women that still lingered. Of course, this influence existed among the common people too.

 

Pretending to be awake, they would say, ‘Who cares about such things these days? It’s about freely dating and then getting married!’ But in reality, they were not so confident.

 

When such suspicious rumors circulated, the nobles considered it a probe, and in the case of women, there was a high chance of trouble on the path of marriage.

 

The world was still like this. So, sticky love affairs were enjoyed in secret, and it had become the modern manners of the nobles to act like they hadn’t seen or heard anything.

 

It was only a joke that the lord of the McFoy family might have been a pirate’s mistress, and the rumor could not really hurt the owner of McFoy.

 

The actual kidnapping and the dramatic return of Lady McFoy after just two weeks.

 

The sensational material gave weight to people’s imagination. Those whose lives lacked excitement eagerly gossiped about the unusually high-level scandal they had encountered.

 

Each lightly spoken word was like a blade. Lord McFoy’s close aides and followers were angered by the relentless onslaught of accusations against their liege. Even though the events were untrue, they were turning into reality, tarnishing the reputation of the lord’s family, which was infuriating.

 

Yet, no matter how much McFoy wanted, they couldn’t convince those who only believed what they wanted to believe. They saw the misfortune that even a wealthy noblewoman could endure as an intriguing story to entertain themselves with.

 

As baseless rumors spread and as they usually do, McFoy remained strangely quiet.

 

Sir Dogman couldn’t contain himself this time, vowing to kill them all. Everyone struggled to restrain the aging knight. However, Lord McFoy chose to ignore the insults and left for her estate to attend to her own affairs.

 

And so, a month passed since Lord McFoy’s return.

 

During this time, Lord McFoy was incredibly busy—destroying a whole family, punishing those who violated contracts under the false assumption of her death, and issuing bounties for those with strong influence.

 

The spreading rumors, worse in quality than usual, couldn’t be prioritized for that reason.

 

Looking up after a long time, Erica briefly gazed at her master with eyes so dark that they could be compared to the black markings under her eyes. Of course, there was no difference in the marks under Erica’s eyes.

 

“…”

 

In Erica’s eyes, Aisa seemed more obsessive than usual. She appeared somewhat anxious.

 

The situation was urgent. Eliminating an entire family required speed and precision, with no room for mistakes.

 

Unfortunately, according to the latest reports from informants planted in the Holy City and Diazi, there had been no progress with Nyx’s case. Nyx remained sealed, and while he was in a state of instability that wouldn’t be surprising if suddenly unsealed, there had been no significant change.

 

They had scoured the entire continent like this, yet they still hadn’t found someone who could completely seal Nyx and turn him to dust. Handling this matter was unusually challenging. What was somewhat fortunate was that the rumors about Lord McFoy suddenly gaining power hadn’t spread.

 

However, apart from that, it seemed there was another reason for the lord’s restlessness. Erica, who had served Aisa for ten years, was saying so with conviction. The lady was uneasy.

 

‘Although it’s true that she’s being obsessive, it wasn’t to this extent… Why is she acting like she’s been given an exact date of her death?’

 

Erica, who had clearly defined Aisa’s state, frowned slightly.

 

“My lady, please take it easy. You might end up exhausted.”

 

Finally unable to hold back, Erica spoke. Aisa’s hand, which had been holding a pen, halted abruptly, in response to the words she expected to be ignored.

 

“…Crazy. There’s also that option. I could die that way.”

 

Muttering a nonsensical remark, Aisa glared fiercely at the documents she had been working on, then put down the pen with force. Erica looked at her master as if she were looking at a mad person.

 

* * *

 

“Finally gone mad… Indeed, I’ll summon Lord Yan again.”

 

Surprisingly, instead of asking if she had gone mad, Erica, who rarely stood up to her master, said she would call the physician. Even though I wasn’t particularly lenient in temperament, my attendants all seemed to respond with an underlying seriousness.

 

“…My head isn’t hurt.”

 

“You were hit on the head with an iron rod right in front of me and collapsed. It’s clear that there was a problem with your head at that moment, my lady.”

 

Erica’s expression was completely serious, without a hint of playfulness. She seemed convinced that I had completely lost my mind.

 

“You say you gained power. Can’t you recover on your own? If you want to avoid exhaustion, take a break and go for a walk. Otherwise, your muscles, already weakened, will deteriorate even more.”

 

“It’s not about my power. It doesn’t work as I wish. As for a walk, forget it.”

 

“Even immense power seems rather useless. Anyway, when Lady Seymour arrives, she’ll faint at the sight of you in your current state.”

 

Erica gave a wry look at my stubbornness and shrugged her shoulders. When I glared at her, she pretended to be busy with the documents.

 

Fainting, huh… The formidable Lady Seymour will undoubtedly scold me just like when I was a little girl, the moment she lays eyes on me.

 

“I did mention it in advance, didn’t I? Huh, then tell me if you’re going to rest or not.”

 

“No rest.”

 

I resisted with a stern look, but Erica boldly disregarded my words and spoke firmly.

 

“The rumors surrounding you, my lady, are rather concerning.”

 

“For a day or two?”

 

“Please take this seriously. Even if it’s not as bad as Kiso, it’s an urgent matter, my lady. Not just Kiso, but McFoy is also being labeled as heretical. If left unchecked, it’s obvious that it will affect Romdak as well.”

 

“Well, everyone’s imagination is certainly exceptional. Are they all so bored? Do they need me to make their lives interesting?”

 

“These rumors this time are particularly bad in quality. Please address them to some extent, especially the heresy rumors.”

 

“No need to worry. So start with Kiso. The rumors about heresy can wait for later.”

 

Surprisingly, committing this wasn’t complicated. Originally, it was a time-consuming process. Capturing the elusive Kiso and transferring the ownership of Kiso’s mine to the secret imperial holdings were still ongoing tasks.

 

“My lady, then—”

 

Erica paused for a moment.

 

“…Will you leave the inquisition as it is? The inquisition will ultimately affect your engagement as well. Morph can use this as an excuse to delay the marriage and cause a commotion.”

 

Erica, with a face that seemed like her pride had been wounded, added after a pause.

 

“…Philip Morph wouldn’t even dare to mention breaking off the engagement. What can someone who can’t do anything even if rumors spread that there’s a child between Kano and me do now?”

 

I answered, recalling Kano who had grudgingly boarded the ship to Nectar after throwing a fit about not wanting to go.

 

Kano and a child… When I first heard that, I was taken aback. It was one of those absurd rumors.

 

“Well, because the nobles are blabbering about it without any evidence. This time, the inquisition has a significant weight because you, my lady, were actually kidnapped for a period of time. Many of the crimes committed by the fanatical cult are in that direction as well.”

 

“…Nonsense.”

 

“Yes, nonsense. Anyway, wouldn’t it be better to address this to some extent before Young Lord returns to his estate?”

 

Archie, who had been stationed in the countryside without understanding a word of English, was suddenly just two months away from arriving. The limit of his young patience was likely to be reached soon. But Aunt Pauline, with her full house and bustling affairs, had no time to spare for the delicate emotions of a teenage boy.

 

“Ignore the inquisition as usual. No matter what explanation I give, people will believe what they want to believe. Is it just once or twice? Besides, Archie can’t be summoned to his estate right now. The Kiso situation isn’t settled yet. What can Archie do by coming here now? Leave him there for another month. Pauline will handle it well.”

 

“…”

 

Harry Pauline is the commander of the McFoy Second Knights, who protect the heir to the McFoy family. He’s a typical handsome man with blond hair and blue eyes, renowned as the most handsome man in McFoy.

 

Harry, who assumed command of the McFoy Second Knights at a young age, was famous for his background as well. He was adopted by Sir Dogman from commoners as an orphan. Dogman was concerned about how delicate he seemed, but Harry’s talent greatly exceeded his concerns.

 

Just like Sir Dogman, Harry left the family when he retired, but then returned with Dogman. Currently, he held a leadership position at a young age.

 

While this was an unconventional decision prompted by a shortage of personnel, even without that factor, Pauline was well-suited for various reasons.

 

“…Yes, another month.”

 

But what’s with this prolonged silence? Uncharacteristically slow in her response, I squinted my eyes at Erica.

 

“What’s up? Why the hesitant response? Are they protesting because they couldn’t leave work?”

 

“No, that’s not it. You haven’t been able to leave work for a day or two, right? More importantly, it’s about Norma Diazi.”

 

Her serious expression and the way she turned her words made me suspicious for a moment, but my doubts were quickly forgotten due to the sudden mention of Norma Diazi.

 

“Well, what is it?”

 

This time, I gave a suspicious reaction. Erica didn’t hide the expression of ‘What’s going on with you?’ on her face.

 

“What is it? Was there something truly going on with him?”

 

“It’s nothing major. Just a personal matter. Why, well, why?”

 

“…It’s nothing.”

 

For some reason, Erica shrugged her shoulders as if she wasn’t particularly curious about my outburst and said, “Norma Diazi returned to Diazi’s estate. As soon as he met with the McFoy Third Knights in Katam, he headed straight to Diazi’s estate, and the Third Knights have already returned to McFoy from today.”

 

“…”

 

“Though it was kept highly confidential on the Diazi side, rumors are already circulating. Norma Diazi was alive and he came back.”

 

‘He went home, huh? After acting so aloof.’

 

Contrary to Norma’s fears, there’s probably no need to worry about the relationship between the Diazi brothers. It’s likely to be something like a tearful reunion between Nicholas and Ophelia in <Ophelia and the Night>, you know, like those in romantic stories.

 

“While others might speculate that he returned alive due to witchcraft or heresy, we might hear stories about miracles instead. Should we continue to investigate?”

 

Erica retorted without giving a direct answer, seemingly quite frustrated by this whole situation.

 

“Don’t bother people, and only report when there’s a significant change.”

 

“Understood.”

 

Some are treating his return as a witchcraft event, while others are considering it a miracle.

 

I found myself chuckling involuntarily. At the same time, I remembered Norma Diazi, who used to gaze at people like an abandoned puppy.

 

For some reason, my mood sank. I couldn’t quite grasp the reason.