“Walter. It looks like someone sent you a gift.”
Franz said during a long-awaited dinner.
Even though she knew it wasn’t her gift, Edith couldn’t help but prick up her ears.
╭══════
Wishing the Little Duke of Lexion all the best.
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╭══════
God bless the Little Duke’s sword.
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She knew that recently, the noble ladies of the aristocratic faction had been sending him gifts under the pretext of the tournament.
In fact, it was natural to hope that Walter, attending as a representative of the aristocratic faction, would win, but the cheering message cards on every gift emitted a sensual fragrance as if perfume had been sprayed on them.
Those noble ladies were clearly expressing their affection.
Immediately after the banquet welcoming him into the duchy, gifts arrived only from families with whom Lexion had ties, but after an artist published his portrait in a newspaper, gifts poured in from all over.
『 I haven’t even chosen a gift yet.』
Franz, seeing that Edith’s expression was a little stiff, tensed up.
The nagging words of his daughters, who had been brainwashing him, automatically played in his mind.
⋙“You must keep a reasonable distance and be polite. She has already been affected by Lexion’s magic once, so she will be afraid of you, Father.”⋘
⋙“If you don’t treat Edith kindly, your relationship with your soon-to-be-born great-grandchild may also become strained, won’t it?”⋘
⋙“Also, don’t even talk to her about having a second baby since the first baby is yet to be born, Father.”⋘
Franz quickly added an explanation so as not to dismay his future granddaughter-in-law and the unborn baby.
“If it’s gifts from the ladies, don’t worry. I’ve appropriately replied on behalf of the family, as requested earlier, but this gift is a bit unusual.”
Walter, who had been enjoying watching Edith’s nervousness with amusement, turned his gaze to his grandfather.
“What kind of gift is it that you even say that?”
“Someone wrote your name on a card and sent you a sword.”
“Is it sent by the enemy?”
“Not at all. It was already a suspiciously high-quality sword, so the mages of Lexion inspected it, and nothing was detected.”
“An expensive sword, huh.”
If their intention was to gain his favor like the other ladies, they would have revealed who the gift was from. Otherwise, they would send a specialty from their territory to stimulate interest and at the same time provide information about who sent it.
However, it was difficult to guess the intention of sending a card with only his name and a sword.
“There are people who just want to give gifts anyway.”
Walter casually brushed it off, as if receiving anonymous gifts was a familiar occurrence.
Edith slowly avoided his blatant gaze and opened her mouth as if she remembered something.
“Maybe it was sent from your biological father’s side? Lady Leah mentioned that your father was quite interested in martial arts.”
“Considering the talk about the welcoming banquet has spread quite far, that could be the reason.”
Walter thought there was some truth in Edith’s words. While he didn’t have any memories of his biological father, his father might have been aware of his existence.
However, a dark shadow appeared on the Duke’s face.
“Biological father? His son has returned, and instead of joining the banquet, he sends a cheap sword without revealing his identity?”
Walter chuckled at the Duke’s changing attitude as if he was flipping his palm.
“I thought you said just a moment ago that the sword was of a surprisingly high quality.”
However, Franz firmly stated as if he could not accept this matter.
“Walter. Just imagine, if your child, who will be born sometime next year, is a girl, and some bastard dares to have a baby with your daughter and doesn’t even bother showing his face.”
“…”
Just the brief imagination made Walter’s blood run cold. If it’s a daughter, she would resemble Edith a lot. How dare he?
He glanced at Edith’s slightly protruding belly, his face as dark as Franz’s.
“If a man dares to secretly touch another’s precious daughter, he’s probably putting his life on the line, so…”
“That kind of man wouldn’t mind being tied with a leather strap and hung at the city gate.”
Franz and Walter shot contemptuous glances at the imaginary thief. Edith burst out laughing as she looked at them, who looked strangely alike.
“We don’t even know if the child is a boy or a girl yet. Of course, from the Duke’s point of view, you will not be happy with Walter’s father, but I think Lady Leah said that she loves him.”
When his daughter’s name was mentioned, Franz softened slightly.
“I’m so happy to occasionally hear stories about my daughter thanks to M’lady… If anything comes to mind in the future, I hope you’ll tell me.”
Edith smiled. It was surprising how much the Duke’s attitude had changed as if he were a different person from when they first met.
“I will do so, Your Grace.”
Even if they couldn’t have a completely comfortable relationship, Edith thought it would be okay to let her guard down as long as the Duke made an effort to protect her.
“But for the time being, it would be better to focus on resolving the baby’s magic problem rather than finding my father.”
Walter did have curiosity about his father, but it wasn’t a priority over the child between him and Edith.
Franz nodded as if approving of his grandson’s decision.
“Seeing as he can’t confidently reveal his identity, he must be a worthless man who’s afraid of Lexion’s retaliation. It would be better not to worry about that sword and go to the tournament wielding our family heirloom sword that has been passed down from generation to generation.”
Edith had to hold back another laugh as she watched Franz secretly express his wish for Walter to compete wielding the family heirloom sword.
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Even as Walter was steadily preparing to participate in the tournament, Viscountess Carter did not stop distributing vulgar newsletters.
Although Lexion raided several printing companies that first printed the newsletter, Viscountess Carter denied any involvement, saying it had nothing to do with her.
『 Is it because she still has a lot of money left over from the money Elizabeth gave her?』
Edith, who was organizing the materials she had collected in the study of the detached building, read the newsletter with indifferent eyes.
[While no one can clearly identify the source of the money that Edith Fortrion spends on luxury extravagance, some cannot help but suspect that it may be the taxes from the people of the territory.]
[She’s an anonymous lady with the Duke of Lexion on her back who intends to stand at the center of those who are planning to betray the Imperial Family and plot against the regime.]
Edith did not feel any pain or heartbreak while reading them. Her life had been too tumultuous for a few lines of criticism to shake her.
『 It seems like she deliberately didn’t include direct accusations to avoid receiving severe punishment.』
However, it was clear that Viscountess Carter and Elizabeth were looking down on her as if she were a pushover, and since everything she needed was gathered, there was no need to wait any longer.
As she was fiddling with the letter she received from Helen, someone knocked on the door.
“I heard you were looking for it, M’lady.”
Cassius, summoned to the study of the detached building, respectfully bowed his head to Edith. Seeing the spread newsletter on the desk, he seemed to know why she had called him.
“I apologize. Those spreading the newsletter are pretending to be a youth group supporting the Imperial Consort Dowager, so it is difficult to conduct a complete investigation. I will do my best to respond as quickly as possible.”
“No need to apologize. Thanks to your quick response, it seems that the bad rumors haven’t spread widely. We can’t suppress a youth group with excessive force either.”
Edith’s voice did not waver or tremble in the slightest. Her attitude actually made Cassius nervous.
『 She is just like Walter; they’re certainly decisive when it comes to attacking.』
It was like that when Edith broke down Sophia’s pregnancy scheme in time and sent her to a convent.
And just as he predicted, Edith revealed several images that Helen had sent along with her letter.
Cassius could instantly recognize what the images were. However, he couldn’t determine when Edith had contacted Helen to request these drawings.
“This is the carriage that Nicholas Fortrion was riding in when he was attacked.”
“The sword marks left on this carriage matched the shape of the sword used by Gerturk’s assassins.”
In fact, Edith already knew the answer and was merely solving the problem.
⋙“If I had thought that the death of the Viscount would make things easier, I would have rushed the attack and killed Nicholas Fortrion long ago.”⋘
This was because she had overheard the conversation between Elizabeth and Aizen in the secret passageway of the Fortrion manor. The two of them clearly stated that they were the ones who attacked the carriage Nicholas was in.
“Some time ago, Gerturk’s assassins were discovered in Lexion Manor. In addition, since Helen and I are in contact with Lexion, there could be plausibility even if one were to suggest that the assassins of Gerturk, upon seeing the remaining traces of their curved sword marks on the carriage that Nicholas Fortrion was riding in, attempted to eliminate us at the last moment.”
Understanding her intentions, Cassius immediately bowed his head.
『 If it is discovered that Elizabeth participated in the assassination of the Viscount, all her inherited property will be confiscated.』
Additionally, she would be stripped of her title as Viscountess. There was a strong possibility that she, like Sophia, would end up in a convent.
“A logical argument can be crafted as needed, so you don’t have to worry. It’s also well-known to everyone who has been in society for a long time that Elizabeth has a deep connection with Count Gerturk.”
Edith, who knew well how capable Cassius was, smiled lightly.
“Then, I’ll leave it to you. It would be good to start by taking away the money she used to attack me.”
❀.°• ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ •°.❀
