Episode 58

Chris simply looked on in silence, his gaze deep and unreadable.

Marshall, still smirking, met my eyes and continued.

“What? Does it seem like an unreasonable request?”

“……”

“You did say to tell you what I want, Lady Reinhardt.”

It wasn’t that the request was excessive; the problem was that it was something I couldn’t handle on my own.

‘I thought they’d settle for some monetary compensation.’

Based on their association with Seth, I thought I had a rough estimate of this mercenary group’s caliber.

‘I assumed that a suitable payment would smooth things over.’

Now it seemed that only the two who had teamed up with Seth were exceptions.

Chris finally spoke on my behalf.

“There are limits on how many private soldiers we can take in the North.”

“We understand that.”

“Especially when it involves absorbing a mercenary group that’s being disbanded.”

“I believe there are still positions open. The North has a chronic shortage of soldiers. Just consider us an emergency conscription of mercenaries.”

“Even so, why would we take in outsiders? Especially those who were involved in a noble’s murder plot.”

Marshall answered calmly, meeting Chris’s gaze.

“A murder plot. That’s quite familiar.”

Her voice carried a hint of bitterness.

“We’ve been through too much to be shaken by accusations like that.”

A strong Northern accent slipped into Marshall’s words for a moment. I furrowed my brow slightly, and Chris looked at her with quiet intensity.

“So, you’re originally from the North?”

“Originally, yes. But we’ve been wandering, changing our names and erasing our pasts until we ended up here, doing whatever work we could as mercenaries in the capital.”

Marshall sighed as she spoke, her gaze growing more intense as she looked at me.

“Perhaps it was fate—the way those idiots acted recklessly, went after you, and ended up crossing us. Or maybe it was just the way things were meant to flow.”

“Flow?”

“Our old folks used to say that sometimes an unseen hand guides people to certain places.”

With a shrug, Marshall looked over at Chris.

“Most of the people here, apart from the two fools who caused trouble, were wrongfully blamed and discharged from their duties, or are family members of those affected. My father, who’s now dead, was one of them.”

“What responsibilities are you talking about?”

“…The incident from 18 years ago.”

Chris and I both froze at the same time.

The atmosphere turned heavy. I glanced at Chris, sensing a chill in the air.

…If it was a major incident in the North 18 years ago, only one came to mind.

‘The monster attack that took the life of the previous Grand Duke of Elzerian.’

A monster that shouldn’t have been there attacked the previous Grand Duke, killing him.

There were many unanswered questions. Not only was it odd for a monster to be there at that season and place, but the previous Grand Duke himself was a seasoned swordsman with battlefield experience. It was clear that something more sinister was at play.

Yet the nobles in the capital and the imperial family dismissed it, claiming that the Grand Duke had become complacent from not going to the battlefield for so long.

It was a disparaging assessment that downplayed the Grand Duke and belittled the Northern defenses.

‘And the one who spread that narrative most eagerly was Duke Reinhardt.’

Realizing this, I noticed a few mercenaries giving me hostile glances. It also made sense why Marshall hadn’t shown me much respect.

I forced a bitter smile and lightly patted Chris’s hand, signaling that I’d leave the rest to him.

‘At least, if this is a Northern matter…’

The choice lay with Chris, not me.

Sensing my touch, Chris finally spoke.

“You were involved in that?”

“My father and brother served under the former Grand Duke.”

At her words, a few mercenaries instinctively adjusted their swords in the distinct Northern style. They were older men.

“We were originally low-ranking knights of the North.”

Despite the painful past, Marshall’s tone was calm, almost emotionless.

“When the previous Grand Duke was killed… the imperial family pinned the blame on the Northern knights.”

“Of course. That was convenient for the imperial family as well.”

“Since we failed to protect our lord, we accepted the accusations without much protest. We left the North and began wandering.”

Marshall looked directly at Chris, her gaze clear.

“If there’s a way to return to the North, I don’t mind the terms. Whether as mercenaries or in any other role.”

Chris hesitated briefly.

I understood his reluctance.

If these mercenaries were connected to that incident, it wouldn’t be easy to integrate them into the Northern army. So I spoke up in his place.

“For now…”

“For now? What are you suggesting, Lady Reinhardt?”

Marshall’s tone was still sharp with hostility, but I ignored it and continued.

“They can start as guards at the annex where I’m staying.”

“To guard the Duke’s daughter, a Reinhardt?”

“This way, you’ll avoid suspicion.”

I looked at my still-empty glass and spoke.

“It’s true that nobles typically hire mercenaries in secret, but I have a legitimate reason to publicly hire guards, given what happened at the hunting festival.”

“……”

“No one would think that I’d employ the mercenary group that tried to kill me. This way, you’d avoid immediate suspicion, and…”

I glanced over at Chris.

“People would never expect Northern mercenaries to serve as guards for Lady Reinhardt.”

“So, you’re saying we’d ultimately be serving under you?”

I took a deep breath and continued.

“If I get engaged to His Grace, you could become mercenaries under the Grand Duke’s house.”

Chris looked at me momentarily. I felt a strange thirst rise within me.

It was thanks to Chris’s earlier proposal that I could even make this suggestion.

Originally, I hadn’t intended to leave a mark like an engagement on Chris, and I had planned to keep what I’d learned just now to myself…

‘But if we want to bring these people in, this way is less likely to arouse suspicion.’

If the Grand Duke’s house were to hire mercenaries directly, it would certainly attract the imperial family’s scrutiny and raise doubts. But through me, there were ways to mitigate those issues.

I felt Chris’s gaze still on me as I responded.

“If we go this route, I can help you become a sword of the Grand Duke’s house and hold Reinhardt accountable.”

“And you, a Lady of Reinhardt, would support that?”

“From the beginning, His Grace kept me by his side for this purpose.”

As I spoke, Chris quietly took my hand. Almost unconsciously, I laced my fingers with his.

“Why do you think Sethril Reinhardt wanted to harm me?”

“…….”

“The Duke’s family means less than nothing to me. I joined forces with His Grace to bring them down.”

Marshall looked at our intertwined hands for a moment, then slowly tilted the bottle she was holding, pouring its contents into my glass.

Soon, my glass was filled with the scent of apples. Marshall smiled.

“Not bad.”

* * *

“Damn it!”

Servi muttered a curse he didn’t often use.

A marriage prospect he’d been considering for Seth had replied that they would reconsider.

“Damn fool.”

The incident at the hunting festival might have passed without official consequences, but the gossip in society hadn’t died down.

Servi was certain that Seth had orchestrated something.

He knew his younger brother well.

Greedy, impulsive, with a lack of self-control—a man he would have disciplined long ago if not for being family.

‘At least he seemed to behave around Aria.’

But even Aria had been too gloomy to pay Seth much attention lately.

Especially since the news that Mindia had settled in an annex near the Grand Duke’s residence.

“You already have a bigger prize waiting for you, Crown Prince Your Highness, Aria,” Servi muttered to himself, clicking his tongue. They wouldn’t have had to be so aggravated if it weren’t for that woman, Mindia.

Thinking this, he leaned back against his desk when something slid under the door—a small envelope.

“What?”

He approached the door in surprise.

Opening it, he found no one outside. The envelope was blank.

“……”

Servi slowly opened the envelope.

“Hah.”

A twisted smile spread across his face.

Inside were various contracts, all signed by Seth under the name ‘Sethril Reinhardt.’ There were traces of contact with mercenaries through Oracle, who facilitated these deals.

Most of the documents were trivial, but a few hinted at Seth’s involvement in significant violent incidents through the use of mercenaries.

For example, the case of a young baronial heir who had quarreled with Seth years ago and was later attacked and left disabled, as well as the recent incident at the hunting festival.

“So it was you after all.”

Servi confirmed his suspicions, now certain Seth was behind the incidents he’d doubted. A crooked smile appeared on his face.

At the end of the documents, there was a short note.

[How long will you tolerate a liability? Don’t you want your sister to be happy?]

“Oracle.”

Servi muttered under his breath, gritting his teeth. He recognized the tone—it belonged to the head of Oracle’s guild.

And far away, a figure observing him moved quickly away from the Duke’s mansion.

The shadow weaved through the winding paths, eventually stopping at one of the bustling taverns in the capital.

“The documents from the mercenary group were delivered, my lady.”

“Good. You only gave them a portion, right?”

“As you ordered. You still have the crucial ones. But…”

Marie pulled her hood closer, then asked, “Will this work?”

“It should. He’ll think it’s a warning from Oracle. They’ve been clashing with them quite a bit lately.”

Mindia, wearing a worn hood, nodded in agreement.