Episode 80

ChatGPT said:
As soon as I heard those words, my expression hardened.

Marshal continued in a measured tone.

“They say he got into a drunken brawl with other mercenaries and was beaten to death.”

“……”

“He was beaten so badly that even the watcher we assigned to him didn’t recognize him. They only confirmed his identity through the belongings found on him.”

“That’s strange.”

“What is?”

“I wouldn’t have gone out drinking at a time like this.”

“Mercenaries make stupid choices all the time.”

“But you wouldn’t have recruited a fool like that, would you?”

Marshal raised an eyebrow, her expression shifting to something amused.

“…Fair enough. Even though they made plenty of mistakes at the end, that one wasn’t the kind of man to get himself killed by drinking carelessly in the open.”

She downed her tea like it was liquor before continuing.

“And it’s not just him. Anyone with sense would know better. They all know they could be eliminated at any moment to cover up evidence.”

“Which is why I only released one. The other was kept back to serve as a witness later.”

“Do you know what’s even more suspicious?”

“Other than the fact that his face was unrecognizable?”

Marshal smirked, setting down her teacup.

“The mercenaries who beat him to death? They were foreigners.”

“…That’s unusual.”

“When the city watch arrived, they had already fled to their country’s embassy.”

“They ran to an extraterritorial zone.”

“Thing is, the dead man was from the same kingdom as them. He wandered around and ended up joining a mercenary group formed by Northern Imperials, but still—”

“Mercenary groups are full of people with ambiguous origins.”

With that, this incident wasn’t officially a case of foreigners killing an Imperial.

It was just a brawl between foreigners—something minor, something for their own country to deal with.

“The killers will cross the border and disappear soon.”

Marshal shrugged. I furrowed my brow.

“The Duke’s household likely orchestrated this to bury the hunting festival incident.”

“Of course.”

“So, which country are they from?”

“Ulrico.”

I let out a slow sigh.

Ulrico. Again.

After my meeting with Asad, that name had come up once more. And then, like a bolt of lightning, I remembered—

There’s another Ulricoan in my circle.

…Lady Ellie.

I recalled the information I had about my nanny, Lady Ellie—that she was from a foreign baron’s family.

Back then, I hadn’t wanted to think too deeply about which country she was from.

Perhaps it was my own defense mechanism—just like how I had avoided thinking about the times my husband had hit me in my past life.

Lady Ellie had confessed to me once before.

‘…I only did what my family told me to. They just said to seduce a noble. That’s all I was supposed to do. I never even got any useful information.’

And now, that confession felt heavier than ever.

‘She was sent to seduce the Duke and extract information about the Empire… but she never actually succeeded.’

Instead, her cover had been blown, and she had ended up trapped under the Duke’s control.

Maybe, just maybe…

‘Lady Ellie might have been used.’

Perhaps Ulrico had sent her to test the Duke, only for her to end up completely ensnared by him.

Or maybe the Duke, realizing Ulrico’s interest, had cut Lady Ellie out entirely and started dealing with Ulrico’s forces himself.

The more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

Seth had hired two mercenaries to kill me. One of them was now dead under suspicious circumstances.

He had been drinking, supposedly got into a fight, and was coincidentally beaten to death by foreign mercenaries.

His face had been mutilated beyond recognition, and the culprits had conveniently fled to an embassy before anyone could apprehend them.

And now, even the Duke’s nanny turned out to be from that very same foreign nation.

“The Duke may be working with Ulrico.”

Marshal, who had been lazily biting into a cookie, paused and gave me a sharp look.

“Are you sure about that? If a noble is caught colluding with a foreign power in times like these, it’s treason.”

The Empire was not as dominant as it had been in the past. Recently, it had even lost power struggles against rising neighboring kingdoms.

I didn’t know what the Empire looked like after the Crown Prince became Emperor in the original story, but…

‘Actually, that makes this make even more sense.’

I had always wondered why Duke Reinhardt had betrayed the Imperial family.

‘He was the most prominent pro-Imperial noble. If he had just stayed loyal, he would’ve kept all his wealth and power.’

But if he had been working with a rising foreign power, his motivations became clearer.

“I wouldn’t say I’m certain. It’s more of a gut feeling.”

Ulrico was a kingdom that ran on manpower rather than resources, famous for its mercenaries and soldiers.

Imperial nobles had restrictions on the number of personal troops they could keep.

‘But foreign mercenaries don’t count toward that limit.’

Few Imperial nobles hired foreign mercenaries. The Empire wasn’t at war, and their own knights and mercenary guilds were considered superior.

But for someone like Duke Reinhardt, who couldn’t afford to be seen recruiting domestically, hiring from outside the Empire made things much easier.

‘If Aria and the Crown Prince hadn’t worked out, maybe the Duke planned to install a new Emperor with foreign backing.’

And somewhere along the way, he had been caught preparing for treason.

Thinking about it like this, the Crown Prince’s actions in my past life made even less sense.

He had known about the Duke’s betrayal, yet he had pinned the crime on me.

‘That lunatic would sell the Empire itself for the woman he loves.’

And that man had become Emperor?

In the original story, none of this had been revealed, so the Crown Prince had simply been painted as a devoted lover, a good man.

Now that I knew the truth, I couldn’t help but scowl.

“For now, let’s keep this between us.”

“Fine. Like you said, I’ll be leaving for the North soon. The affairs of the capital are in your hands.”

“If you see any suspicious movements in the North, let me know.”

“I’ll report to His Grace first, then come to you.”

She was part of the Northern army now. It made sense that she would inform her direct superior—Chris—first.

I had no reason to argue.

After seeing Marshal off, I barely managed to suppress a sigh.

“Marie.”

Marie entered at that moment, ready to clear the tea and refreshments. I called her over.

“Yes, my lady?”

“There’s something I need you to do. I know I’ve been piling work onto you lately, and I’m sorry….”

Lately, I had been relying on her for nearly all communication with the Grand Duke’s household.

Chris had assured me it was fine, but I still cared about how the North perceived me.

Marie simply beamed and answered cheerfully.

“No worries! This is exactly what I’m here for.”

“…Thank you.”

“As always, it’s a shame. If only the people of the North trusted you a little more.”

“At least the Grand Duke’s household greets me from time to time.”

“That’s a good sign. Oh, and the real estate and mines you recommended for investment—everything is progressing smoothly.”

I had fed Chris all the valuable information I knew from the original story.

‘I haven’t found anything to replace the lost mana ore mine in the North yet…’

But just knowing when and where it would appear was enough.

I nodded in approval.

“That’s good to hear. You’ve done well, Marie. Thank you.”

“Are you sending me to deliver more information this time?”

“No. This errand is for the Duke’s estate.”

Marie stiffened slightly.

After a brief moment of hesitation, I stood and walked to the writing desk in the corner of the sitting room. Taking a quill and parchment, I scribbled something quickly, let the ink dry, and folded the note before handing it to her.

“Deliver this to Lady Ellie.”

“…Lady Ellie?”

“Yes. Right now.”

Marie’s expression was confused.

Of course, she knew Lady Ellie was the Duke’s mistress.

But she had no idea she was also a foreign spy.

I had no intention of explaining that to her. Instead, I simply smiled.

“You’ll understand once you deliver it.”

“…Understood.”

“Don’t enter the Duke’s estate openly. Go in secret. I have a few servants stationed at the back entrance—they’ll let you in.”

Marie gave a firm nod before slipping away.

From the window, I watched her hurry out of the annex, her hood drawn over her head.

‘I have no idea how this will play out.’

I had deliberately kept the message short.

The choice was ultimately Lady Ellie’s to make.

Of course, I could have threatened her. I had enough leverage to force her to cooperate.

‘But I’ll save that for later.’

Ever since I had walked out of the temple, my hand in Chris’s, I found myself hesitating to wield fear and intimidation as freely as I once had.

I didn’t care if people saw me as a villainess.

But if my actions led to Chris being judged the same way… that was different.

“…You weren’t supposed to waver, Mindia.”

I had sworn to be ruthless.

And I still could be.

If necessary, I would put on my coldest mask and push anyone into a corner—
Even if the person in that corner was myself.

But right now, with the sensation of Chris’s hand still lingering on mine…

I unconsciously brought my hand to my chest, cradling it as if to hold onto that fleeting warmth.

That was when I saw it.

“…What?”

Outside the window, an unusual sight unfolded.

Several figures were approaching the annex entrance.

Knights and guards from the Reinhardt estate.

As they reached the front door, the entire annex burst into chaos.

“What is the meaning of this?!”

“Step aside!”

“My lady!”

The maids I had taken from the Duke’s estate screamed in alarm.

“Do you intend to defy Duke Reinhardt?!”

At the knight’s bellow, the servants hesitated.

I remained silent, calmly watching the knights.

‘Did I slip up somewhere?’

I had never left the Duke an opening before.

Had Marie been caught?

I was still assessing the situation when one of the knights stepped forward.

“Lady Mindia.”

“……”

“By order of the young duke, you are to be detained under suspicion of attempted murder against Lady Aria.”