As the pitch-black night passed and the blue dawn approached, Erich remained motionless, not having slept a wink.
Finally, he spoke softly.
“How long are you going to stay there?”
Rustle—.
Just then, a figure emerged from the dewy bushes.
It was Janet.
She bowed her head, then opened her mouth.
“Guarding the madam is my duty. And Your Grace is currently watching her.”
In her gaze directed at him, there was a defiant hint of vigilance.
‘Well, that’s why I entrusted Cornelia’s protection to her.’
Strangely, Janet had been circling around Cornelia, even volunteering to be her guard.
Out of curiosity, he had asked her what the reason was, to which she replied,
<The madam is my…>
At that moment, Janet broke out of his thoughts.
“Frankly, I’m not comfortable with your presence here.”
Despite being her subordinate, she had now completely become a loyal servant to Cornelia.
Erich let out a hollow laugh.
‘Right, one thing is certain: you’re not someone who would harm Cornelia.’
Then he replied blankly.
“I’m just keeping my promise to her. So, don’t worry about me.”
With that, Janet sighed and looked at Erich, asking a question.
“Your Grace, then… why aren’t you reprimanding me? I chose to disappear with the madam without reporting to you.”
In response, Erich spoke in a calm voice.
“You fulfilled the duty I assigned to you.”
During that time, Erich had resigned himself to the thought that she might be dead, and while continuing the search, he had subconsciously considered it meaningless.
And it was Janet who had stayed by Cornelia’s side throughout that long period of futile searching.
That’s why Erich couldn’t reprimand Janet.
Instead…
“Thank you. For keeping her safe all this time.”
Janet widened her eyes and replied curtly to his unexpected gratitude.
“It’s almost time for the madam to wake up. Please leave before you attract unnecessary trouble.”
Even with her openly treating him like a criminal and trying to drive him away, Erich had no retort.
‘It’s true that I did wrong.’
He slightly furrowed his brow and got up.
At that moment, Janet said,
“Try not to be seen by the madam, and stay close to young master Demian. That way, the madam will find you less bothersome.”
At her advice, he let out a hollow laugh and replied.
“Sure.”
12: The Return of the Wicked Woman
Morning dawned.
I used the potion again to change my hair to blonde and prepared to leave for the capital.
‘Alright. If I change my hair color and wear a veiled hat, it should be fine.’
Just as I stepped out of the room to have breakfast, Demian came running toward me on his short legs.
“Mom, you’re taking me with you, right?”
“Of course.”
“Wow! I’m going to the capital too!”
Seeing my child bouncing around like an excited squirrel made me let out a deep sigh.
‘He has no idea how dangerous this is, yet he’s so happy.’
For a moment, I noticed a tall figure lurking behind Demian. My face stiffened involuntarily.
‘Oh right, that person is here too.’
Even if we hurried to the capital, it would still take three days.
Though we wouldn’t be in the same carriage, there would be many moments where I would have to face that person as a companion.
‘Moreover, it means Demian will also be spending a lot of time with that person.’
Realizing this made my head start to throb.
At that moment, I heard,
“Madam, we are ready to depart.”
Nodding at the butler’s words, I replied,
“Alright, we’ll leave after breakfast.”
Finishing my words, I hurriedly headed to the dining room with Demian.
Fortunately, Erich only watched us from a distance and did not follow.
‘I should make sure to pack motion sickness medication and headache medicine after the meal.’
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
BANG!
“Why is there no news? I distinctly remember you saying you went to eliminate the child.”
At Reinhardt’s fierce question, his aide flinched and adjusted his glasses.
“Well, I sent a letter to Evan, but there has been no response. Moreover, I’ve lost contact with the other spies I planted in the territory as well.”
“What did that bastard I placed next to Cornelia say?”
“He’s out of contact, too.”
Reinhardt gritted his teeth.
‘Erich Lennon Blant must have figured something out.’
At that moment, the aide sighed and said,
“Still, I have one piece of news. The men hired by Marquis Arzen attempted to target the carriage of Her Highness the Princess, but they failed.”
“What? Then Cornelia…?”
“They say she has returned to the territory.”
In that instant, Reinhardt could no longer contain his anger and violently threw a vase.
Crash!
“Damn it! What the hell is going on? You useless fools!”
He still couldn’t forget the image of Cornelia in a pure white wedding dress, walking hand in hand with another man.
“That woman is mine. She is the one I, Reinhardt Adolf Tarrant, have considered mine since childhood!”
Young Cornelia was the most beautiful and noble woman Reinhardt had ever seen.
He had always been convinced that he was the one who truly belonged by her side.
That’s why he had tarnished her value in order to ensure that no one else dared to covet her.
When people referred to her as the royal family’s mutant and looked down on her, the noble families concerned about their reputation would hesitate to discuss marriage with her.
Those who dared to harbor feelings for her either faced despair or saw their families destroyed.
As expected, the nobles developed an unwritten rule not to get involved with the unlucky princess after seeing the young noblemen who had feelings for Cornelia face misfortune.
But the one who had taken away his carefully nurtured black swan was the fake Duke Blant.
That was the reason.
He used Evan to instill false hope in the Grand Madam that she could find the real Duke Blant. That way she would refrain the fake from creating unnecessary heirs.
He kept whispering to the emperor as he watched the two people who had no successor.
He urged the Emperor to keep an eye on the Duke Blant, as the increasing number of knights indicated that he surely had other intentions.
The fact that there were no children between the princess and the duke clearly showed that their intentions were impure.
As the rift between the royal family and the duke’s family deepened, he planned to make the princess’s divorce a hot topic.
The plan was perfect until Cornelia became pregnant without anyone knowing.
Is this how it feels to see a bastard eat the dessert you’d saved right in front of your eyes?
He had lost her first to someone else right before his eyes.
“But how dare you let that rascal go to my woman!”
Perhaps Cornelia and Duke Blant had already met.
And just like before, he might be lusting after Cornelia’s body and planting his filthy seed in her.
The thought made Reinhardt feel as if he might go mad.
‘Once was enough for my woman to be defiled.’
Finally, Reinhardt opened his eyes ominously and spoke.
“Kill the bastard, now…”
That’s when it happened.
At that moment, one of Reinhardt’s subordinates rushed into the office, urgently reporting.
“There’s news! The princess is heading to the capital with Duke Blant.”
With the timely news, Reinhardt regained his composure.
‘Yes, I need to make sure they separate somehow. To do that…’
Even if it means putting Cornelia in a difficult position.
‘Still, I don’t need to play the villain myself.’
Reinhardt commanded his aide in a cold voice.
“Inform Marquis Arzen. I will allow him to re-enter the capital.”
Then, with a sly smile, Reinhardt continued.
“Tell him to go to Lacne and meet Countess Herde.”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
I saw the siblings, appointed as butler and housekeeper, bowing their heads.
“We will take good care of the mansion.”
“Please travel with peace of mind.”
At first, they were quite inexperienced, but after four years together, I now felt that they would really take good care of this mansion.
“Take good care of the mansion. Adams, Rachel.”
I was about to get into the carriage with Demian.
“Demian, let me help you up.”
At that moment, someone lifted Demian and placed him in the carriage.
“Sardin, hold my hand.”
I instinctively reached out, thinking it was Sardin, but upon confirming the figure, my expression hardened.
‘No, why is this person here?’
The one extending his hand to me was Erich.
“Please, take my hand.”
Ignoring his outstretched hand, I climbed into the carriage.
Bam!
Then I slammed the door shut.
‘What an annoying guy. What right do you have…’
At that moment, a knock sounded from outside the carriage.
I tried to ignore it without looking that way, but it kept coming, so I flung the carriage door open and shouted.
“Go away!”
However, I soon found myself wearing a bewildered expression.
“Madam, is it… unpleasant for you to ride in the carriage with me?”
Janet looked at me with a puzzled expression.
