“Oh dear, you should be careful.”
Diana instinctively opened her eyes at the familiar voice.
Swoosh— A gentle breeze tousled the golden hair, shining like midday sunlight. Light blue eyes, so similar yet different from Rebecca’s, curved gently. Ludwig Kadmond, standing with the sun behind him, was smiling down at her.
“Are you alright, Your Highness?”
“…Ah, thank you.”
Upon confirming that it was Ludwig, Diana quickly put on an innocent smile. In contrast, the way she shook off his arm was sharp and resolute. As soon as she freed herself from Ludwig’s arm, Diana took a few steps back.
Ludwig silently looked down at his now empty hand, then raised the corners of his mouth again, looking at her. “I’m glad you’re alright. By the way, I heard you held a tea party today. Did you get lost?”
Diana wanted to leave quickly, not knowing why he kept trying to talk to her. She shook her head with a smiling face and took another step back. “No. And even if I did, I wouldn’t want to trouble you, Marquis.”
“Your Highness.”
“I’ll be going now.”
Ludwig tried to say something as he approached the distance Diana had retreated, but she turned away, pretending not to hear.
“Or.”
However, Diana had to stop at his next words.
“Are you perhaps looking for someone?”
“…”
Diana flinched and stopped. After standing still for a moment, she slowly turned around.
Ludwig took a step forward with a meaningful smile. “If you tell me who you are looking for, I might be able to help.”
“…”
Ludwig smiled seductively, his eyes narrowing. His gentle whisper resonated like a hum in the air.
Diana stared at him silently for a moment, then began to walk again. Ludwig smiled contentedly as she approached, but his smile quickly turned to surprise.
“Wait, how close are you—”
Ludwig was taken aback when Diana didn’t stop walking. As he hesitated and took a step back, she was already right in front of him.
A fair hand reached out towards Ludwig. He closed his eyes tightly without realizing it. But contrary to his thoughts, she merely removed a thin strand of hair from his shoulder and stepped back.
Diana clasped her hands together and smiled softly. Her low voice lingered in his ear. “Marquis Kadmond.”
“…”
“I don’t accept help from those who aren’t close to me.”
“…”
“And you, Marquis, are not close to me.”
At those words, Ludwig opened his eyes. Diana, who had lightly bowed her head, turned away without hesitation. Her light pink hair fluttered behind her.
Ludwig stared blankly at the petal-like color for a moment, then squinted his eyes. She wasn’t just a fool after all…
A few days ago, Ludwig had received a report from Rebecca about Ferand’s strange behavior and had been deep in thought, unable to leave his chair for a long time.
In fact, Second Prince Ferand had often shown dissatisfaction with Rebecca’s orders in the past. But he never dared to oppose his mother to satisfy his own desires. The second concubine had raised him that way. To prioritize Rebecca’s desires over his own. But recently, Ferand’s actions had been unlike him.
Why had he changed? Was someone beside him provoking or inciting him? Then, when did Ferand start behaving strangely? And more importantly, when did their plan begin to go awry?
“…Third Princess Consort.”
It all began when Diana Sudsfield entered the imperial palace.
“…”
In a way, it was a suspicion that bordered on a leap of logic.
It had been confirmed that no significant funds from Viscount Sudsfield had flowed to Kayden. However, the fact remained that Kayden, who had been living almost as a dead man, found vitality and determination because of Diana. That alone was enough for Ludwig to take an interest in Diana.
“…Hmm. I think I might understand why.” Ludwig muttered expressionlessly, recalling the recent events. A mirage of interest flickered in his light blue eyes before fading away.
* * *
Meanwhile, while escaping from Ludwig, Diana kept her hands clasped tightly. She only stopped walking when she was out of Ludwig’s sight.
“Phew…”
She let out a long breath and carefully opened her hands. In them was the hair she had taken from Ludwig’s shoulder. Diana held it up, making sure it didn’t blow away in the wind.
Brown…
The hair that sparkled in the sunlight was a dark brown, just like Cedric Haieren’s.
* * *
It might not have been a coincidence that Cedric Haieren inherited the title of Duke Yelling. That was the conclusion Diana had reached after pondering all night.
Cedric’s change in behavior when no one was watching; the dark brown hair suggesting a meeting with Ludwig; and shortly after Cedric ascended to the title of Duke Yelling before her regression, he began supporting Rebecca. Putting all these pieces together, the conclusion was clear. Fiona Yelling’s death was planned, and the culprit was Rebecca Dunn Bluebell.
Well, if this had been prepared even before I became Rebecca’s maid, there was no reason for her to tell me… Diana smiled bitterly.
Time had revealed many aspects of Rebecca that Diana hadn’t known, despite her confidence in understanding Rebecca better than anyone. The more time passed, the more Diana realized she had only loved what she wanted to see. Clearing away the fog that had been blinding her was fortunate.
The problem is how exactly did Cedric induce Fiona’s suicide?
Before her regression, Duke Yelling had desperately searched for clues after his daughter’s death but found nothing. Without evidence, there was no way to prove Cedric and Rebecca’s conspiracy.
Thus, only one method remained. Eliminate the root cause of all these events. In other words, separate Cedric Haieren from Fiona Yelling. Or more precisely, make Fiona Yelling lose interest in Cedric Haieren.
Anyone could see that Fiona was the one more invested.
At the tea party, Diana had observed both Cedric and Fiona. Fiona was usually adept at hiding her emotions, but whenever she looked at Cedric, her feelings for him were written all over her face. It seemed necessary to make her cut off those feelings or divert them to someone else.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
At that moment, Mizel, disguised as a maid, came in and handed Diana a bundle of documents she had hidden in her bosom.
“This is all the information about Fiona Yelling. Especially detailed descriptions of her preferences.”
“Thank you, Mizel.” Diana got up excitedly.
The first page of the documents contained details about Fiona Yelling’s ideal type.
Prefers dark brown hair, curly hair, handsome people, and people with good physiques…
Cedric Haieren was a flawless figure, at least outwardly. Even if someone claimed he had ulterior motives, it would be fortunate if they weren’t dismissed as slander. Therefore, the best way to prevent Fiona’s death was for her to develop feelings for someone else. Thus, Diana had instructed Mizel to find out Fiona’s ideal type and preferences in detail.
But there’s no way someone who fits this perfectly would exist… Wait?
Diana’s eyes widened as she mentally put together Fiona’s preferences. Dark brown curly hair; well-built. There was exactly one person who fit this description better than Cedric.
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