Chapter 11
Sally entered the room and asked Rachel, “Have you been reading, Miss?”
Rachel kept her eyes fixed on the book without responding.
Sally’s expression turned sour as she looked at Rachel.
Rachel was generally quiet, but she occasionally chatted with Margret or Sally. until Vivian arrived.
“Now that the nuisance is gone, it’s time to become friends with Rachel again,” Sally thought to herself with a smile of realization, approaching Rachel.
“Miss, it’s not study time now, can’t you take a break? I want to play with dolls,” Sally suggested, but Rachel continued to ignore her, focusing only on the book.
Sally started to feel annoyed by Rachel’s indifference.
The arrow of her anger was aimed not at Rachel, but at Vivian.
“You must be happy now that that troublemaker isn’t here to disturb you, right? Reading was difficult because of her,” Sally brought up Vivian, and Rachel’s gaze shifted from the book to Sally.
Interpreting this as agreement, Sally spoke up in a defiant tone.
“I thought that girl would run away soon. Acting all nice and friendly.”
“But don’t worry, Miss. I will always be by your side—” “Get out, it’s noisy,” Rachel interrupted Sally with a cold voice.
Taken aback by Rachel’s icy tone, Sally hesitated.
Rachel’s blue eyes exuded a chilling coldness.
Overwhelmed by the intimidation, Sally left for the garden, feeling her anger erupt.
“It’s all because of that girl!”
Sally couldn’t contain her frustration and angrily knocked over a nearby flower pot, shattering it.
Mimicking her mother’s words, Sally raged, “How dare that country bumpkin think he can be my husband?”
Margret had told Sally to get along well with Rachel.
“Right now, Miss has her reasons to behave like a girl, but when she grows up, she’ll become a man and marry you.”
“Marry me and Rachel?”
“Yes. So, you have to play with Miss. Understand?”
“Even if I act like this, Rachel will end up marrying me anyway!”
“Little one.”
Just then, while Sally was in a fit of anger, a stranger’s voice was heard nearby. It was a guest sent by the Emperor who had arrived at Edelvine Manor a week ago.
He gently smiled and asked, “Could you tell me more about that story you mentioned earlier?”
“What do you mean by a lady like Lady Rachel becoming your husband?”
The man’s eyes, now ominously lit, contrasted sharply with his earlier gentle smile.
Late at night, Kaltz was going through documents in his study.
Amidst the silence, a knock echoed through the room.
“Your Majesty, may I come in for a moment?”
As Owen entered the study, he delivered the news.
“The inspectors will be returning to the capital tomorrow.”
“So soon?”
Kaltz raised an eyebrow.
‘After coming all this way, I thought they would stay for at least a month.’
The Emperor had sent the inspectors under the guise of checking on the well-being of his mentor who had retired to the countryside, but in reality, it was for surveillance.
He was aware of the fear that perhaps he might conspire with his royal grandson against him.
In such a situation, on the day Rachel’s true identity as a boy is revealed…
‘He will try to kill Rachel.’
Of course, on the surface, Rachel was just an unknown illegitimate child of the late Lady Isabella, so she should be untouchable.
That made it even more dangerous.
They would quietly eliminate anyone from behind.
The Emperor he knew would surely do that.
His timid disciple was someone who would fear and resent anyone superior to him, especially his talented nephew.
The reason for coming down to the distant countryside was also because of this.
As Rachel grew older, it would become increasingly difficult to hide the fact that she was a boy.
Despite expecting that Rachel would not be able to completely avoid surveillance and assigning Vivian to her, he did not expect the surveillance to be intensified so quickly.
‘But withdrawing the surveillance that was sent all the way here so soon.’
He had a bad feeling about it.
[Father, please protect Rahedis… your grandson.]
Suddenly, even as he was dying, the image of his daughter who had only worried about Rahedis, or rather Rachel, came to mind.
Kaltz , who had momentarily drifted from his thoughts, spoke up.
“Strengthen the security at the villa.”
“Yes.”
As they were about to finish the urgent matters, Owen handed him another document this time.
“What’s this?”
“I have gathered information about Vivian Hessen and her father Dias Hessen as you ordered.”
A week ago, after the inspectors arrived.
Kaltz had instructed Owen to investigate Vivian.
‘The timing of the inspectors’ arrival and the girl entering the mansion is too coincidental.’
Although he was the one who had brought Vivian to the mansion, it seemed unlikely that she had any connection to the Emperor.
But upon facing the inspectors, he had a belated realization.
‘Could it be that I brought an ordinary commoner girl into the mansion without any information?’
‘It would be wise to thoroughly investigate now.’
As Kaltz nodded in agreement, Owen began the briefing.
“The family consists of only the father, Dias Hessen, aged 29. He currently runs a bakery in the village.”
Before coming to the village, there was a mysterious incident.
The Count of Edelvine had been living in the village even before purchasing the mansion, so there seemed to be no connection to the Emperor.
It seemed unlikely that the Emperor had planted someone before the Count bought the mansion.
However, there was a possibility that he had acquired people after learning of my arrival.
Kaltz asked Owen, “Did the Emperor’s people contact the girl’s father?”
Owen replied, “On the day of the inspection, knights visited the bakery.
From their conversation, it seems there was no significant outcome.
” Kaltz inquired further, “Anything else?” Owen handed a note to Kaltz and said, “I have something to report.”
The note read ‘Vivi’s’. Kaltz questioned, “What’s this?” Owen recalled the events of that afternoon when the servant handed him the note.
He had then sought out Vivi for an explanation.
Vivi had responded, “Well, I am on the Count’s side!” Remembering her words, Owen unknowingly smiled and said, “She is on your side.”
Kaltz unfolded the note with a puzzled expression.
The note was filled with the child’s distinctive handwriting.
On March 21st, the weather was clear. I returned home after a delicious dinner to find three knights waiting.
One was burly, one was thin, and the one who seemed like the leader was of average build.
They asked about the well-being of the Countess, whether she had used magic, and got angry when I said I hadn’t seen anything.
My father intervened, but they seemed to get angrier. So, before a fight could break out, I chased them away. Kaltz chuckled as he read the report.
