♡ TL: Khadija SK
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“Who told you about these two people? If you have another informant besides me, do you want me to leave?”
Hans said this with a serious expression, but both of them knew he didn’t mean it.
Theodore knew that Hans would never leave his side, not because he trusted Hans, but because he was the only one who could fulfill his wishes.
“As you ordered, I investigated the matter. I followed the gamekeeper, and he was going in and out of the gambling den.”
Hans searched through the papers he had left in the corner of the carriage and began his report, which was about the investigation into Theodore’s gamekeeper.
“He has a lot of gambling debts. When you’re not hunting, Your Highness, it seems he spends his time with gamblers.”
“I go hunting once or twice a month, which means he’s there almost every day.”
Hans detailed the amount of debt the gamekeeper had accumulated recently and his secret associations.
Theodore smiled slyly as he listened to the messy details.
Theodore didn’t care whether the old man in the hunting grounds was gambling and ruining his life. The issue wasn’t the gamekeeper’s personal life.
“He’s been stealing and selling your belongings, Your Highness. I found some of your weapons at a nearby pawn shop.”
Theodore closed his eyes.
Hans’ words and Annette’s words intertwined in his mind.
“One of those who have access to your horse, Your Highness, will betray you later and sell important information about you.”
Annette had said that there were people around Theodore who needed to be removed.
Of course, there would be traitors among those involved in political interests, so Theodore thought she would name a high-ranking noble. However, Annette pointed to a shabby character he could never have imagined.
Theodore thought her words were ridiculous, yet he doubted their truth and ordered an investigation into Annette’s claims.
As someone who looked after horses, he naturally thought of the stable, but his search was in vain.
Theodore felt somewhat relieved to learn that there was nothing wrong with the stable master, but it would have been interesting if Annette had been proven right.
He wanted to stop the investigation, but suddenly realized there was someone else who took care of his horse.
The person who tended to the horses as they ate and slept in the hunting grounds.
The person Annette had spoken of was the gamekeeper.
The old man had been wasting his life away in a gambling house, neglecting his original duties.
If he had merely neglected his work, it would have been enough to get rid of him. However, Annette had said he would play an important role in the future.
Theodore was harsher and more ruthless than usual when he hunted, so he occasionally acted as a friendly, good-natured person with the old man and spoke to him privately.
He was someone who would become a nuisance if he turned into an enemy.
The result of the test was Annette’s victory.
Gambling could lead to financial troubles, and if the gamekeeper spoke among a group of chatterers, you would never know what information he might unintentionally divulge.
The seemingly trivial fact that his horse liked wet hay could turn into a life-threatening piece of information if it reached an assassin’s ears.
Preparing for such an event, Theodore, of course, took care of the people around him, but he couldn’t reach the hunting grounds.
It was a mistake to overlook the fact that enemies could be found everywhere you go.
Annette sharply pointed this out and spoke about the gamekeeper.
“How did you know what this old man was doing outside the hunting grounds?”
“Because I found a useful pawn. A small pawn who can even see the future.”
Hans tilted his head in confusion, still not understanding.
“Handle the old man cleanly.”
“Yes, understood. And the next thing you mentioned…”
Hans didn’t read the document this time but handed it over to Theodore.
“Do you really want to bring him to the palace?”
The document contained a brief resume of a certain individual.
It had trivial information, just the name, place of origin, and the fact that he held a low-level position in the upper part of the current province.
“He’s just a rural obsessive. He doesn’t know how to do anything, and his relationships with women are messy.”
“Do you mean that this person really exists?”
“What do you mean? Did you tell me to find someone who might not exist?”
Hans was puzzled and looked again at the papers in Theodore’s hands.
According to what his master had said earlier, this meant that Hans had been busy searching for traces of someone who might not even exist in this world.
Hans frowned and showed his frustration.
“Why are you acting like this? Even I’m a little scared now.”
“Hans.”
“Yes.”
Hans swallowed nervously and responded, wondering what was wrong.
It was the first time Theodore had called him so calmly like this.
“You’re getting a fourfold increase in your weekly salary.”
“Excuse me?”
Hans was expecting harsh words, but instead, warmer ones resonated in the space.
“Is this a severance package? After all, it seems you’ve really found someone else besides me. You once told me you’d dismiss me when my usefulness ended, but I didn’t expect you’d let me go this quickly.”
“Where do you think you’re escaping to? There’s still a long way to go before I give you a severance package.”
“Then what’s the matter? Is it really so easy for my weekly pay to suddenly increase like this, after I’ve tried countless times to persuade you for even a slight raise and failed?”
Hans had been asking for a raise for a long time, but Theodore never listened to him.
His statement wasn’t entirely honest, as Hans was already receiving plenty of money. However, Hans wondered what had finally changed Theodore’s mind after years of stubbornness.
“Annette told me to be kind to you.”
“Lady Annette?”
“From now on, address her as the Grand Duchess. She’s the one who raised your salary.”
Annette had told Theodore who he should dismiss, who he should hire, and who he should keep.
The fact that he had to let go of the gamekeeper was certain, and he had a feeling that the new talent he sought would be excellent.
The third piece of information was valuable, incredibly so, but not enough to warrant uncovering it through a deal with Annette.
“Be kind to Mr. Hans. He will not betray you, even to the end.”
The third person Annette referred to was Hans.
Theodore knew well that Hans would never leave his side, but he wasn’t entirely sure of that. If there was ever an issue, he would have doubted him without hesitation.
However, it was different if someone else confirmed this belief.
Annette’s words were simple, but they removed one of the most confusing variables from Theodore’s future.
Since he decided to handle the matters of the two people at the forefront—the gamekeeper and the new talent he would hire—he also had to treat Hans appropriately, as Annette suggested.
Therefore, Theodore decided to do what he thought was best: increase Hans’ salary.
“The Grand Duchess took care of your wallet, but do you still oppose Annette being in the palace?”
“I’ll admit she’s beautiful, but she’s not the type worth using the Emperor’s Pendant for.”
Fortunately, Hans returned to his senses and complained.
Annette, who he looked at emotionally, began to appear as a decent person. But Annette, seen rationally, was still a bad deal.
Theodore had used the previous Emperor’s Pendant to make Annette the Grand Duchess. He had given up for her the greatest weapon he should have kept hidden, a weapon far more significant than all the titles.
No matter how much Hans thought about it, Annette wasn’t worth giving up Theodore’s effective weapon to fight the Emperor in order to protect her.
His master had thought the same until recently, but something had changed his mind.
“The dead are the past, but that woman is the future.”
“Do you really trust her?”
“Do you think she’s trustworthy?”
Hans had visited the villa instead of Theodore to check on Annette, and after speaking with her, he significantly changed his mind.
Honestly, Annette seemed entirely different from the person Hans had heard about.
She didn’t feel like an aristocratic woman but rather a more elegant and refined woman.
It was hard for him to see her as a member of a central family, full of arrogance and unrequited love for the Crown Prince, as was known in social circles.
Hans provided a brief summary of his lengthy observations of Annette.
“Of course, I don’t think so. I know she’s not an ordinary person. And I forgot to mention this, but…”
Shortly after giving Annette a somewhat generous evaluation, Hans once again delved into the thoughts that burdened his mind.
It was because Annette’s behavior was utterly unexpected.
“At one moment, she shows greater grace than Your Highness in handling things… but at another moment, I start questioning her intelligence for doing the right thing.”
“For example?”
Hans said it with an expression that indicated he didn’t want to mention the topic because it was too embarrassing.
“Lady Annette… no, I mean Her Highness the Grand Duchess, doesn’t know how to read.”
“What?”
Theodore was rarely genuinely surprised.
“I can’t believe it either. It’s impossible that a young lady from the Marquess of Chiringen family can’t read.”
Hans was frustrated because there was no way to express the sadness he felt.
What kind of marquess’s daughter can’t read a line from a book? The level of education for women might be low, but not knowing how to write was an entirely different problem.
The two men remained silent for a moment.
Theodore suppressed his mind, which was ridiculously confused, and asked another question.
“Aside from that, what other issues are there?”
“None. She eats well, sleeps well, and behaves well.”
“That’s unique.”
“Pardon?”
Hans looked at Theodore’s expression to gauge what he meant.
“It’s the strangest thing—she manages to live without getting into any trouble.”
Annette seemed like the type who would cause issues if she rebelled too much or complained constantly, yet she controlled her emotions and waited for Theodore’s decisions with an easygoing demeanor.
In their current situation, Theodore became more hesitant whenever Annette remained calm without any resistance.
Is she really behaving well?
The investigation was over, so it was time to go see the Grand Duchess and find answers to these new questions.
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