* * *
“Of course.”
That evening, at dinner, I requested Carl to escort me, to which he responded with a bright smile and accepted.
“I’m glad you offered, Dana.”
However, Sandra looked displeased.
“You… retired due to the aftereffects. Are you sure about this?”
“I’m fine, don’t worry.”
“But…”
I could roughly guess what Sandra was feeling. She’s probably afraid I might say something I shouldn’t. I had already said something that made Sandra anxious.
As expected, Sandra didn’t give up and suggested it again. “Don’t go and stay with me. Rumie has gone to the field, and Allice has left for the monastery… I’m alone here, Carl.”
“How about staying at the Rolland estate for a while?”
“What?”
“You wanted to go to the Rolland family, didn’t you? Stay there while you have the chance.” Carl said this without any malice, but Sandra seemed to take it differently and clenched her fists tightly.
They’re going to fight again.
I quietly stood up and left the dining room. Sure enough, as soon as she closed the door, Sandra’s shouting could be heard.
“Are you going to send me alone? Come with me! Let’s leave Windsor and go to the Rolland family together!”
“I told you to stop talking about that, Sandra.”
“What’s so great about being the deputy head? What’s worth clinging to so much?”
“Deputy head? Have you always thought of me as just some man stuck in that position?”
“Yes! You stepped down from being the army commander, blaming the aftereffects, but do you know how ill-suited you look sitting behind a desk!”
Yes, yes, fight on. I hummed a tune as I walked away. But then.
Aftereffects?
What aftereffects?
* * *
That night, Sandra came to visit me.
“Have a safe trip.”
Without any explanation, she abruptly handed a box to me. “May it keep you safe.”
“What is this?”
“A gift.”
A gift? Why suddenly?
When I opened the box, a necklace gleamed inside.
“While you’re with Carl, I hope you won’t chatter unnecessarily.”
Aha. So it’s a bribe.
“Take it back.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry, Aunt,” I whispered in Sandra’s ear. “If you want to silence me, you’ll have to offer something better.”
“…!”
Sandra’s eyes quivered, and her face turned as pale as a sheet of paper in shock.
Was it really that surprising? I chuckled.
“So think carefully, Aunt. What could possibly keep me quiet?”
The previous conversation, where I mentioned Allice’s biological father, seemed to have deeply bothered her. The word ‘biological father’ must have weighed heavily on Sandra’s mind.
“Please leave, Aunt.”
“…”
Sandra didn’t say a word. She just walked out of the room with a face like she was swallowing poison.
Well, I practically just confirmed I know her biggest secret.
She’ll try to silence me no matter what. Since bribery didn’t work just now… She’ll probably prepare to do something harmful to me.
Of course, that’s what I hoped for. The more Sandra tried to harm me, the more her relationship with Carl would be strained.
“Lethe, while I’m away, keep a close eye on Sandra.” I made a special request to my secretary. “She’ll definitely plot something. Don’t miss a thing and investigate thoroughly.”
“…Understood.”
Huh? His response was a beat late? But that was all. My secretary quickly continued with other reports.
“Milady, he’ll be visiting soon.”
“He?”
“Lord Ignis de Windsor.”
At that moment, I let out an involuntary groan. “Ignis de Windsor?”
“Yes.”
I couldn’t close my mouth.
Ignis, that man, is coming. Why all of a sudden?
Ignis was once adopted by the Windsor family. Though he chose to be disowned.
Danae’s grandfather—the previous duke—adopted him, but Ignis himself left the family. However, the grandfather did not allow the disownment. Having been fed, educated, and raised by the Windsor, he believed Ignis shouldn’t abandon the family name. There was even a big lawsuit about it.
After a long legal battle, Ignis succeeded in being disowned from Windsor but failed to completely abandon the family name. The court sided with the Windsor family. They acknowledged his departure from the Windsor family but didn’t allow him to drop the Windsor name. That was the court’s ruling. Thus, a middle name ‘de’, was added, signifying affiliation.
In the end, it means he’s still a Windsor.
“Why is he returning suddenly? He fought with Uncle Carl before and said he would never come back.”
Ignis de Windsor was once like a sworn brother to Carl, but they had a big argument years ago. He left, shouting that he’d never set foot in the Windsor estate again. So why is he coming back?
“I’m not sure about that either.”
“Well, I see…”
Who could understand Ignis’s mind? I sighed heavily. That rascal of a man is coming back…
“Then, Milady. Please be careful on your trip to the Kaltusa estate.”
“Ah, yes.”
My secretary finished with a brief farewell and left the room. His unusually dry expression was bothersome.
Is he upset?
In the past, I would have taken him along. Lethe had always accompanied me as an escort and secretary wherever I went. In fact, Sandra could have been assigned someone other than Lethe, as Allice currently has a watcher on her. However,
I should start distancing myself.
Not for her own sake, but for my secretary’s. So that he could live well even after I left this world.
* * *
The next day, I set out for Kaltusa with Carl. The journey took about a week by carriage, but just before we arrived, something unexpected happened.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t go any further.” The coachman declared a strike. “I’m sorry, Milord. I apologize.”
Carl looked extremely troubled. “Hey, we’re just a day away. How can you say you can’t go now?”
“But… it’s Kaltusa.” The coachman firmly stated his decision. “Five thousand people from the Kaltusa estate were contaminated and died. They say ghosts still appear!”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“It’s true! One of my friends entered out of curiosity and never returned!” The coachman trembled with a pale face. “Besides, there are more than a few who’ve seen ghosts. I heard screams myself while passing nearby at night. Screams like someone burning alive.”
“Screams? It was probably a deer.”
“I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I can’t go. Even if I lose my job, I can’t go…”
Inside the carriage, I sighed. What could I do with such a refusal?
“Uncle, let’s go by ourselves.”
Carl looked displeased but didn’t try to hold onto the coachman any longer.
“Well, I’ve never driven a carriage before.” Carl ended up sitting in the coachman’s seat. “Dana, won’t you be scared alone in the carriage?”
“No.”
Scared? Imagining Carl getting all worked up and self-destructing upon reaching Kaltusa is a delightful thought. I swallowed my words and smiled.
“I’ll drive the carriage, so rest inside. We’ll arrive after another day of travel.”
But Carl’s prediction was wrong. The wheel of the carriage driven by the amateur coachman Carl Windsor got stuck in a deep pit.
“Damn it!”
The carriage toppled over with a violent lurch.
“Kyaa!”
With a loud crash, the carriage broke apart. Neigh! When the reins were released, the two horses bolted energetically, resulting in a major disaster.
“Dana!”
Carl didn’t chase the fleeing horses. Instead, he rushed to rescue me from the wrecked carriage.
“Dana! Are you alright?!”
I, pinned under the carriage debris, gasped.
Carl managed to clear the wreckage and pulled me out.
“Uncle.”
Blood trickled from my head.
I looked around with a hollow smile. The dark forest, the broken carriage, the two horses were already gone. My badly injured self and the wretched Carl Windsor, who was anxiously fidgeting.
Could this guy be trying to kill me already?
No way. The five-year guardianship period isn’t over yet. If I die now, he won’t inherit my property. So, this really was an accident?
“Dana, are you okay? Huh?”
Do I look okay, you fool?
I blinked through the pain.
“Dana, huh? Say something. Dana?”
What is this? I was the one plotting to ruin you, guiding you into a trap…
“Uncle.”
“Yes? I’m here!”
“You’re not helpful at all.”
“Huh?”
What’s ‘huh,’ you incompetent fool?
I slowly closed my eyes.
“Dana! No, wake up! Nooo—”
His desperate scream was almost comedic. It’d be quite funny if I died here.
With that thought, I lost my consciousness.
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