“Thank you, Elizabeth. It just so happened that I was thinking of moving to my husband’s hometown and needed some money.”
Elizabeth used to meet her often. Her eyes caught the sight of a woman counting the gold coins in a small pouch.
Her name is Karin. They met a long time ago at a tavern in a shopping district and occasionally drank together.
It was just that Elizabeth and Karin were both deeply interested in gossiping about nobles and social circles, but they could not be called friends, so Karin knew nothing about her pregnancy and childbirth.
The reason Elizabeth is meeting Karin, whom she had lost contact with after heading to Fortrion to act as a spy, is because she had received information that one of Karin’s friends was working as a maid for Count Gerturk’s family.
However, the information Elizabeth found out after paying a reward only brought nothing but immense pain.
『 Elise… Elise is being sold to that filthy baron.』
⋙“As you investigated, I am with child, Elizabeth. But your child, who was adopted by the Count and the Countess Gerturk, will soon be sold to the pedophile Baron Humphrey. Just to give the Gerturk a mere mine or something.”⋘
The story about the mine that Edith told her was something she couldn’t confirm.
However, Edith’s claim that Elise would soon become the wife of Baron Humphrey remained true no matter how many times she checked it.
Elizabeth could barely keep her eyes from heating up with anger and the trembling of her body.
Karin asked, shrugging her shoulders at her strange reaction.
“However, is the information about Count Gerturk’s daughter marrying Baron Humphrey really worth this much money? I thought you would know about it as well, considering Gilbert has been pushing it forward and also you being his lover and all.”
“…”
Elizabeth couldn’t help but grit her teeth when she heard that Gilbert was the mastermind.
“It’s not unusual for nobles to engage in strategic marriages for the sake of their families. Of course, Baron Humphrey doesn’t have any nephews to speak of, so the daughter is effectively being sold to an old perverted baron.”
Elizabeth choked up but managed to suppress her desire to say that the child was her daughter.
“If you’ve got the money, go. And never speak a word about this matter.”
Karin was offended by her harsh attitude, but after realizing that Elizabeth’s expression was unusual, she left the manor.
After she was gone, Elizabeth took a deep breath, as if she was going to pass out at any moment. Even though she threw everything within her reach, her anger did not subside.
⋙“In the meantime, I will raise our Elise well in the county. I guess I’ll have to convince people that she’s my distant relative.”⋘
“Gilbert, how could you…”
She glared fiercely with bloodshot eyes. Gilbert Gerturk. The man who used to be her everything was now betraying her in such a way.
Thinking about how he had come up with various excuses to keep her from meeting Elise made her blood boil.
Elizabeth found it funny that after years of spying for him, she didn’t even realize her daughter was being sold.
Elizabeth clenched her fist and dug her nails into her palm, drawing blood. As her heart raced, rage spread through her body like molten lava.
She had devoted several years of her life to them, unaware that she was being deceived. She didn’t think she would be able to close her eyes even in death until she saw the Gerturks, who had been playing with her for so long, having their necks broken.
『 To bring down those inhumans who are worse than dogs, I can’t do it alone.』
Elizabeth clutched her knees, her gaze cold and determined. With the newfound goal of seeking revenge on them and saving her daughter, her mind was clearer than ever before.
『 I can’t do it alone. But if it’s Edith….』
She already knew to whom she had to leak information if she wanted to bring down the cunning Gerturks.
──────────✿◦•
“Viscountess Carter has been quiet these days. The vulgar schemes aimed at M’lady have also abruptly stopped.”
Vivian said as if she felt refreshed inside.
Every time Edith read a newsletter that claimed she had seduced the Viscount to get a share of his inheritance, or that her mother was a lowly person who did similar work, she felt heartbroken. But now, it seemed like the old pain was fading away.
“Bringing up Baroness Lowell… that was really crossing the line.”
When Vivian, remembering her mother’s character, got angry, Edith smiled as if she felt relieved.
“Exactly. Is there anyone else who is as sincere as my mother?”
“People who didn’t know when to keep their mouths shut just because M’lady received a brooch wasted their time. Even those journalists who used to write ridiculous novels for newspapers are changing their attitude as if they had never done such things before.”
The machinations to undermine Edith ceased precisely around New Year’s ball.
This was because Edith, who had been walking in the garden with the Little Duke of Lexion for a while, had the brooch awarded by the Emperor to the winner of the swordsmanship tournament pinned to her chest.
It was clear evidence that the Little Duke had knelt down and proposed to her. It was also a declaration that he did not care about the fact that she had already been called the lady of another family.
Furthermore, it meant that she was no longer the benefactor who had saved the Little Duke of Lexion but was now under the protection as the Duke’s future granddaughter-in-law.
Therefore, Vivian believed that the interference schemes against Edith had ceased because of Walter’s proposal.
However, soon after Vivian left, Walter entered Edith’s room, replacing her. He was aware of the truth.
“Elizabeth does care about her child, judging by the way she cut off the flow of money to those who tried to undermine you when she found out the Count and Countess had sold her daughter.”
Walter was one of the few people who knew about Edith’s conversation with Elizabeth.
While considering using the information gathered so far, when he asked her to involve Cassius, even though he complied with her request, there was an uneasy feeling. But Edith knew how to use the cards she had.
『 Although our little one may not know a lot yet, it should inherit its mother’s intelligence, at the very least.』
Walter, embracing her from behind, gently caressed her now visible belly as he spoke.
“M’lady, I heard that the guest you were waiting for requested a private meeting, so I thought I’d let you know.”
Edith immediately realized that the guest Walter was referring to was Elizabeth. It was definitely a good sign that she came to her and asked for a private meeting.
“Let’s go together, Walter.”
“Are you planning to meet her directly?”
When he asked that, she nodded with a meaningful expression on her face.
“We need to have a conversation first… I think it would be a waste to pass up a situation where someone who knows the Gerturks well needs us.”
Edith left her room in her comfortable clothes. If it had been in the past, she would have spent a considerable amount of time deciding which dress would best conceal the growing belly before meeting Elizabeth.
However, Edith was well aware that the situation had changed.
『 Elizabeth won’t be able to tell the Gerturks even if she’s convinced I’m pregnant.』
As Edith anticipated, Elizabeth couldn’t even sit in the designated drawing room and was pacing around anxiously.
She must not have slept well for several days, and her lovely red hair was a mess, but her eyes looked more desperate than ever.
“… Greetings, Little Duke of Lexion and Lady Edith.”
Elizabeth spoke up on her own initiative before any request was made. She paid little attention to Edith’s pregnant belly or to Walter’s clothes that were appropriate for his status.
In Elizabeth’s current situation, she has only one way to save her daughter and take revenge on the Gerturks. She knew that all she could do was empower those who could actually bring them down.
『 Except for the Imperial Family, the only family that can control the Imperial Consort Patricia and the entire House Gerturk is Lexion.』
That was why she came to the Lexion Manor late at night to avoid the eyes of the Gerturks. It was no exaggeration to say that her daughter’s fate depended on this meeting.
“Firstly, I would like to apologize for my past disrespectful behavior.”
Elizabeth bowed deeply and began to confess her sins. She mentioned everything, from her attempts to have Walter killed by using Aizen at Fortrion Manor to her involvement in financing the newsletters that slandered Edith. She made sure to leave out no details as she apologized.
Edith, with an impassive expression, listened to Elizabeth’s trembling words.
“Thank you for apologizing.”
The reason she spoke in an unenthusiastic voice as if she could leave the room at any moment, was that she had learned something from Walter’s previous negotiations with Franz.
『 If I act like I don’t want anything from her, Elizabeth will agonize.』
In the end, didn’t Franz Lexion grant everything his grandson wanted?
Her judgment was proven correct as Elizabeth knelt down on the cold floor, bowing deeply.
“Edith, what you said was right.”
“…”
“My daughter… Gilbert’s child, whom I gave birth to, is about to be sold to Baron Humphrey. I’ll do anything to protect my child.”
Elizabeth, with a trembling voice, lowered her head to the ground as she presented the bag that she had brought, just as a servant would offer something to their master.
“So, please, just once, give me a chance. Only you can save my child and seek revenge against Gerturk.”
“But you tried to kill me every time you got the chance.”
Although Walter said it as if it wasn’t funny, he accepted the bag that Elizabeth held out. Edith, aware that Elizabeth might be irritating, had judged that there was more to gain through her, so she had no intention of rushing things.
What was in the bag were letters and a picture frame. As Walter was fiddling with the letter with the House Gerturk’s crest stamped on it, Elizabeth quickly added.
“Those letters were sent by Gilbert when I was in Fortrion.”
“…!”
“The Imperial Consort Patricia’s name is mentioned several times, so they may be useful in the future. Also…”
Elizabeth’s voice cracked in desperation. Edith spoke up when she saw that Elizabeth looked more haggard than before.
“Elizabeth, you were the one who tried to harm us. Just because you found out about your daughter’s situation, I can’t easily trust what you say.”
“Ah…”
When the expected rejection came out, Elizabeth felt like she was plummeting down. Without Lexion’s help, there was practically no way to take Elise away.
Edith waited a moment for Elizabeth to feel the despair, looking pale, before speaking.
“But actions might be more trustworthy.”
“What?”
Elizabeth looked at Edith’s face, trying to deduce the meaning.
“We need a spy who knows the Imperial Consort’s faction well.”
Edith now had the same expression on her face as when she revealed Sophia’s pregnancy scheme in front of Fortrion’s lawyers.
❀.°• ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ •°.❀
