Seeing Sardin’s puzzled expression, I thought to myself.
‘Well, it was easy to figure out if I thought about it.’
Throughout the journey here, Erich hadn’t said a word to me.
However, I had already sensed something strange from his attitude the day before.
It started when I heard that he was in prison under the pretext of having killed Parakel, even though he hadn’t.
And…
<Yes, his presence in the security HQ is by his own will. He is voluntarily here to draw out the perpetrator of this incident.>
At those words, I instinctively realized that Sardin hadn’t betrayed me.
And I also understood that there must be a reason for this absurd play.
But it annoyed me that he hadn’t said anything to me and had kept everything hidden until now.
‘Thinking about it, there are quite a few strange points.’
He claimed to have been conscripted and then captured as a prisoner of war, but there were no signs of overwork on his body.
Moreover, even though they said he was given meat in the arena, Sardin always seemed to favor the high-quality cuts rather than the cheap ones.
‘I had thought his face had a strangely noble look so I thought he would be nice to take around, but it turns out he really is a noble.’
Although he wasn’t well-versed in imperial etiquette, he always stood tall and straight.
I was an idiot for not noticing at this point.
“It’s all written on your face.”
My blunt remark made Sardin’s expression even stranger.
His expression was so foolish that I couldn’t help but smile.
“So, if you’re sorry, live by my side and pay your debt. As my guard.”
The mask of the cold spy Sardin had been wearing shattered.
He collapsed and then spoke with his head bowed low.
“I… was wrong.”
He soon began to cry like a child, sobbing.
“Master, I made a mistake. I won’t do it again.”
I just looked down at him silently.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I had done the right thing.
Still, since I wasn’t getting a headache, it seemed at least my mind was at ease.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
“The princess has left the duke’s residence.”
Upon hearing this news, Reinhardt was overjoyed.
‘She must be heartbroken, right? I should go and comfort that cute girl…’
However, before he could finish his thoughts, he had to grimace at the words that followed from his aide.
“However, it is reported that he was accompanied by Erich Blant.”
The cold reality hit him like a slap in the face, and his mind sharpened.
‘Right, that damned bastard is still around.’
Of course, there was no need to rush.
After the state meeting, Erich Blant would naturally drift away from Cornelia.
Yet, anger kept boiling inside him.
The image of Cornelia happily smiling while holding that guy’s hand on their wedding day flashed in his mind.
‘This time, I won’t let it happen. Absolutely not.’
For a moment, his fierce expression softened, then he spoke.
“I will go to the security HQ.”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
I was able to hear from Sardin about everything that had happened, including Reinhardt’s true intentions.
‘He was trying to marry me to become emperor… what a crazy bastard.’
Aside from the chills running down my spine, I could understand why he wants to marry me. It would allow him to easily seize the throne.
However, the vile things he had done were absolutely inexcusable.
‘How dare he try to touch my child and those around me?’
I will try to catch him off guard using the candle during the state meeting, but that alone wouldn’t be enough.
‘Right, there’s no direct evidence that he passed the candle to the attendant. Moreover, there’s no decisive proof that he orchestrated all of this.’
At that moment, Sardin spoke up.
“Still, since we’ve set a trap, he’ll be caught soon enough.”
I recalled the ridiculous plan I had heard from Sardin.
<Reinhardt has been using the mercenary guild to handle dirty work all this time. Whenever a plan went awry, he would always cut off the tail. But if this plan succeeds, at least we can grab his ankle.>
Not a tail, but an ankle—those words held significant meaning.
Cutting off a tail wouldn’t be a major blow, but cutting off an ankle would seriously harm Reinhardt.
I slowly nodded.
“Right, I’ll be counting on you this time.”
“However, you’ll need to coordinate with me as well.”
At Sardin’s words, I recalled his requests.
First, I shouldn’t mind whatever he said.
Second, I should appropriately support his acting.
“Of course, I won’t be as good as that cunning spy who fooled me for over ten years.”
It was meant as a joke, but seeing Sardin’s face harden, it seemed to hit too close to home.
Soon, he began banging his head against the iron pillar.
Bang!
“What, what are you doing?”
“I’ve committed a grave sin. I should give my life immediately…”
I spoke urgently.
“Stop that! It was a joke! So don’t harm yourself!”
At that, Sardin stopped banging his head.
Seeing the blood flowing from his forehead made me flinch.
‘This is why jokes should be made with caution. I should avoid mentioning anything about spies in front of this guy from now on.’
Then Sardin said,
“I was also… joking.”
Given his appearance, there was no credibility to his words.
“Are you okay? You’re bleeding.”
Sardin casually wiped his forehead and replied,
“This way, it’ll add credibility to the claim that I attacked you like a madman after taking the poison. So you’ll need to act as if I betrayed you.”
Honestly, I wondered if this would work, but it was worth a shot.
“Alright, let’s give it a try.”
When I made that promise, Sardin said.
“And I know you resent the Duke. But as I mentioned earlier, he genuinely…”
At the mention of Erich, I firmly interrupted,
“That’s something I’ll handle myself. You take care of yourself. If you get any injuries besides that wound on your forehead, I won’t let it slide.”
Sardin sighed and nodded.
“Understood. Please take care of yourself as well.”
After hearing his farewell, I left the prison with a grim expression.
When I reached the entrance, I saw Erich standing there like a gatekeeper.
Suddenly, Sardin’s words came to mind.
<When my identity was revealed, I thought I was going to die. But the Duke said that if I wanted to die, I should ask for your forgiveness first.>
If Erich had accused Sardin of being a spy without giving him a chance, I would have been too consumed by thoughts of betrayal to even consider talking to Sardin.
However, Erich made Sardin apologize to me and used him as bait to draw Reinhardt out, thereby creating an opportunity for me to forgive him.
‘Why on earth are you… doing this for me?’
He must know that I had expressed my intention to divorce. The chances of us reconciling are nearly nonexistent.
Yet, even in this situation, he was helping with matters that he didn’t need to.
It was as if he was concerned about my feelings getting hurt.
‘What on earth is your motive for treating me like this?’
As I looked at him with a confused gaze, his blue eyes slowly focused on me.
“Have you finished your conversation?”
“Uh, thanks to you. Thank you.”
As I gave a brief response of gratitude, Erich wore a faint smile.
“I was just doing what was expected.”
His words stirred something within me, but I turned my gaze away and said to him,
“You didn’t even do such expected things before.”
I glared at his now stiff face and continued,
“Speak honestly, Erich Lennon Blant. Why are you being so kind to me?”
With a sigh, Erich opened his mouth.
“That’s because I…”
At that moment, a distant voice of Sardin shouting could be heard.
“You wicked princess of Schwanhild!”
“……”
“Though I couldn’t kill you today, you will definitely pay for treating me like a slave all this time!”
Hearing those words made me grit my teeth.
‘He told me it was an act, so it must be my imagination that I sense some personal feelings behind it, right?’
Just then, someone approaching the security headquarters caught my eye.
“Reinhardt.”
I saw his face, which wore a worried expression at my call.
“Your Highness.”
Now I had to manage my expression, but the anger and disgust surging to the top of my head were incomparable to when I had been insulted by Sardin.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Reinhardt stifled a laugh as he looked at Cornelia’s face, filled with rage.
‘It seems the shock was significant, given her poor expression.’
Now was the time to offer comfort to her, who must have been heartbroken.
“Your Highness, I’ve heard the news. I can only imagine how distressed you must be…”
Just as Reinhardt was about to approach her, someone blocked his way.
“Duke Blant.”
“What brings the Archduke to the security headquarters?”
Erich’s eyes, filled with suspicion, resembled a wild beast warning not to invade its territory.
However, Reinhardt did not back down and confidently replied,
“Of course, I’m concerned about Her Highness. I am a ‘companion’ walking the same path as her.”
Emphasizing the word “companion” deliberately made Erich’s gaze even sharper.
But Reinhardt remained triumphant.
‘If I’m not mistaken, they were just arguing a moment ago.’
Although he couldn’t hear the details, the atmosphere between them was certainly tense, so Reinhardt was confident she would take his side in this fight.
As expected, Cornelia’s voice was heard.
“Reinhardt, thank you for your concern. You truly are a good person.”
Reinhardt waved his hand and tried to be humble.
“No, I’m just…”
But his face twisted.
This was because he saw Cornelia linking her arm with Erich’s.
Thank you so much 🤍