Episode 26

“What do you think?”

“Pardon?”

Chris paused for a moment, confirming that no one else was around.

Marie, who had been following him, slowly stopped.

“As a Northern, I’m asking for your opinion.”

“What do you mean…?”

Marie flinched and asked. Chris tried to maintain a calm demeanor to avoid scaring her. He found it disheartening that he seemed to have a knack for unintentionally frightening women.

Just seeing Mindia Reinhardt frequently avoiding speaking made him feel that way.

‘I’ve never been concerned about the intimidation I impose on others.’

Why, all of a sudden, was it bothering him so much?

He didn’t want to scare her, nor did he want her to speak evasively. Surprisingly to himself, he didn’t want to upset her.

A sigh almost escaped him. Chris suppressed the feeling by pressing his temples. He asked Marie again.

“I asked how you judge her… Mindia.”

Her name felt awkward in his mouth. Chris swallowed it as if he were chewing it finely.

“You’ve watched her for a long time, haven’t you?”

Chris looked down at Marie.

Marie had worked at the Duke’s mansion for at least over a year. The amount of information she could gather from the inside and outside would be different. She must have seen and heard more than he knew.

After a moment of thought, Marie answered calmly.

“She seems different from what I thought.”

“Different?”

“Until recently, she wasn’t like that.”

Marie made a face as if she was recalling memories and continued.

“She was capricious, often cruel to the servants, quick to anger, and…”

Marie hesitated, seemingly unsure how to continue, but then she forced an answer.

“The other servants and maids often called Lady Mindia stupid.”

“…..”

“And they said they really disliked her. That she was arrogant for a fake.”

“Did you agree with that assessment?”

“…To be honest, yes.”

Then she quickly added.

“Until recently.”

The social circles’ opinions were not much different.

Chris didn’t particularly enjoy attending social events, but as a member of the Grand Duke’s family, he paid some attention.

Thus, he was well aware of the reputation of Mindia Reinhardt in those circles.

She was known to be foolish, a troublemaker, eager for any attention, easily irritable, and often malicious.

She was said to show interest in any man, seeking affection, and behaving like a lapdog of the Duke’s family.

Now he knew.

‘…It could have all been an act.’

There was a significant gap between the reputation he knew and the Mindia Reinhardt he was alone with.

‘Just like when we first met, and even now.’

In front of others, Mindia Reinhardt acted as if she was seeking affection from him, behaving as she was known, but when alone, she could coldly calculate the pros and cons.

She was acutely aware of how others evaluated her and even tried to use that to her advantage.

‘Because it’s detestable.’

Thinking of how Mindia said that made his throat feel parched. His fist clenched involuntarily.

Chris remembered Mindia’s small hand, which had grabbed his several times. So small that it seemed he could hold both her hands in one of his.

That wasn’t all.

‘Let’s start with the Oracle.’

‘Right. I know someone who can set you free. The Grand Duke’s mistress.’

Seeing her today, she seemed very competent as an informant.

‘Like someone who has been waiting for this day.’

Honestly, Chris Elzerian, as the Grand Duke, would have immediately appointed her as an informant to monitor the Duke’s family just based on that.

He had spent a long time as a soldier in the North. Although he had studied to some extent, he was weak in schemes compared to the capital’s nobles.

‘…So I didn’t notice the poison.’

Chris smirked bitterly.

‘At this rate, I’ll just be following the same path as the previous Grand Duke… as my mother did.’

After that incident, he tried to be cautious and made continuous efforts, but the North had already lost its power once. After losing the Magwang Stone mine, their financial resources dwindled, and monster invasions were still frequent.

The knights and talents around the Grand Duke were similar. Most were exceptionally skilled in military matters but were vulnerable to the plots of nobles like the Duke.

‘She is needed.’

People like Mindia Reinhardt were always desperately needed for him.

Thinking that, he deliberately suppressed her voice, which often echoed in his dreams, and the unknown longing he felt when he thought of Mindia.

Even though he had almost made up his mind to form an alliance with her, Chris sought Marie’s opinion as if trying to flee.

If the Northern retainer, Marie, denied it, he would reconsider.

He wanted to stay away from Mindia immediately but also wanted to stay close. It was a strange thirst.

But Marie quietly continued, seemingly agreeing with his thoughts.

“Back then, I agreed with others that she was foolish… but now I think differently.”

“Is that so?”

“I’ve been undercover here for over a year, but I didn’t know the nanny was the Duke’s mistress. Now that you mention it… I recall suspicious things. How could I not have known?”

“You don’t need to blame yourself.”

“No. Compared to Lady Mindia, I am indeed incompetent, Your Grace.”

“You don’t need to belittle yourself.”

“That’s because Your Grace is generous with your people.”

Marie shook her head with a bitter smile. Chris did not particularly refute her words.

It was something even Jade often pointed out, that he was too lenient with his people. Jade would often say he was too soft. It was an assessment he did not agree with.

“Although it’s cautious to say…”

Marie whispered quietly.

“I think you should trust her.”

“You think she can be trusted too?”

Chris felt his mouth dry up as he asked. This was the last chance to turn back, the last chance not to take Mindia’s hand.

Marie spoke calmly.

“…At least, regarding what the Duke’s family has done to Lady Mindia.”

At her words, the various scars that covered Mindia’s arms came to his mind. The scars on her thin, white neck as well.

His fist clenched again.

“I have witnessed some of it myself. It was quite severe. So much so that they didn’t even bother to hide it in front of a mere maid like me.”

Those scars were similar to the ones on his body from frequent battles. And the wounds on her face and the marks on her wrists from today.

Seeing those scars made his mind go blank for a moment. Chris shook his head quietly.

‘I’m getting too involved.’

It was hard not to, even knowing that. While Chris was lost in thought, Marie hesitated for a moment.

“If… Lady Mindia decided to change because she was angry about the treatment she received, I would believe it.”

“…..”

“No, I would trust her.”

Thump.

Something in Chris’s heart decided. Something that made him feel he could never go back.

Chris hid his agitation and thought quietly before speaking.

“She certainly does seem competent.”

“Right? Lady Mindia…”

“She’s also smart enough to claim she likes me when she doesn’t.”

‘It’s enough for others to think I’m deeply in love with the Grand Duke. Since I already have that image, you should use it actively. It’s more convenient for both of us.’

Recalling those words strangely calmed his mind.

‘…In the end, it’s just to hide the alliance.’

Even if she was pretending, her eyes seemed to genuinely feel affection towards him.

As if she had been waiting and longing for him for a long time.

Just like the inexplicable longing he felt for her.

“…Your Grace, I think Lady Mindia might really…”

“It doesn’t matter.”

He cut off Marie’s words abruptly. He didn’t want to finalize anything at that moment. The thought that something irreversible might happen gave him a dizzying feeling.

So Chris calmly said to Marie.

“I’ll give you a higher hazard pay.”

“There’s no need for that.”

“No. I want to.”

Chris refused Marie’s refusal. He was, after all, the commander who had sent her into dangerous places, and he knew better than anyone that such soldiers should be given enough comfort and compensation.

Perhaps understanding Chris’s stubbornness, Marie did not refuse further. Chris spoke to Marie again.

“Report immediately if there’s any problem. Don’t worry about your family in the North. I’ll make sure they are well taken care of.”

“Thank you sincerely.”

Marie nodded and walked ahead to open the garden gate.

“…Hic.”

At that moment.

“Hic, sob…”

Chris, whose hearing and vision were more developed than others, heard something. A faint crying sound.

‘A woman?’

Looking over, he saw a pink-haired woman crouched and crying on a hill beyond the garden.

Marie made a confused sound.

“Lady Aria? Why are you here…?”

The next moment, the pink-haired woman who had been burying her face and crying suddenly looked up.

Chris’s eyes met Aria’s.