“No. Hans, you seem shocked, so someone else should go. There, Neil. You go.”
“Yes, Miss.”
A boy with a slightly overgrown, youthful face stepped forward quickly and received information about the Duke’s whereabouts from the butler. Hans approached Levania with a serious expression.
“No, it’s right for me to go! The Duke will be shocked by this…”
“Father won’t be shocked by this. Frankly, he never had much interest in Albert to begin with.”
It was Levania who was pressured due to being the future successor and fiancée. Maxim only showed interest in his lover, Hans.
Hans looked at Levania with a bitten tongue expression.
“That’s not true, Miss. It’s just that the Duke didn’t express it, but he cherished our young master a lot.”
“Our young master? How dare you call a swindler like him our young master?”
As Levania sharply retorted, Hans was taken aback. It was a mistake he wouldn’t make normally, but given the circumstances, the words slipped out wrongly.
“Oh, no, Miss! I misspoke… Besides, there’s still no evidence, right? What will you do if it turns out Albert Young Master is innocent when the truth comes out?”
“Innocent? Someone left that letter to frame Albert?”
“Yes. That could be possible.”
Hans, unaware that Bell had received a letter directly from Albert, spoke brazenly. Hearing this, Bell flushed red with anger.
“What are you saying! I’ve seen Albert youn… no! How many people have seen receiving a letter directly from that scoundrel! Even I ran away without a word, terrified, why are you trying to stick up for him as if he were your own son!”
Although Bell’s words were unintentional, they were the truth. Levania watched as Hans’s face quickly turned blue. Hans regained his composure and yelled frantically.
“What are you saying! That’s talking about how devoted Albert Young Master has been in this household! You’ve also said you hope Albert Young Master becomes the Duke soon!”
At that, Bell’s face turned red to the tips of her ears.
“That was when we didn’t know he was a swindler! It sounds strange now! Why is he still a young master? Could it be that Hans has some relationship with that swindler?”
“Who are you accusing of being a swindler!”
As Hans got angry, Neil had already left the mansion to call the Duke. Hans was at a loss for what to do, seeing Levania’s anger.
“Miss, Albert… he was cherished. There must be some misunderstanding! There’s still no evidence…”
“We’ll know if we investigate methodically. Until now, there was no investigation because Father vouched for Albert’s birth, but now that he claims this, can we do nothing? Albert should leave our family just with these suspicions alone.”
“You can’t do that!”
Despite Hans’s angry face, he felt Levania’s gaze and quickly looked away. Levania was amazed that she had been unaware of such blatant favoritism until now.
It was fortunate that memories from a past life came to mind. She had to protect the dignity of the ducal estate. Levania looked around at her guards and some of the servants in the living room.
“Search Albert’s room and find evidence related to him. Any traces from the past will do. Bring everything to me.”
“Oh, Miss!”
Levania’s gaze froze even colder at Hans’s bewildered voice. It was disgusting to try to pin her son on herself, especially beyond being simply a commoner, to the point of pretending to be her son in her father’s official role.
“Miss! You shouldn’t act so recklessly! What if the Duke returns and decides to punish you…”
“Butler. It seems Hans is forgetting his place today.”
Levania’s spirit was irritated by Hans’s confident assertion that the Duke would support him without a single doubt.
“Help the one Father cherishes to stay sober in his room. Be careful not to cause any harm.”
“Understood, Miss.”
The butler had also harbored a dislike for Hans for a long time. It wasn’t just Bell who doubted the relationship between Albert and Hans. The butler regarded Albert as Hans’s hidden lover.
“What?! Miss!”
The look in his eyes, as if asking for help, was repulsive. Hans, who had always looked at Levania with admiration during her lessons, now came to mind, making her feel nauseous.
Levania had thought he regarded her with such eyes because of her young age, but it turned out he had sent such gazes thinking she would become his future daughter-in-law!
“Take him away.”
Strong footmen grabbed Hans’s arms from both sides. Hans seemed to be resisting in anger, but his strength was insignificant. He had never developed his muscles because he maintained a delicate body to Maxim’s liking.
‘Maybe I should just kill Albert on this ocKasion…’
It was the Emperor Kasion’s fault that the Duke had become like this, but Albert also had the sin of deceiving the Duke and Levania.
The biggest sin was Maxim, who listened to Hans’s words.
‘Is that man really worth it?’
Even though he was born from a relationship with a woman Maxim didn’t love, she was still a daughter born of his true blood. Maxim had never considered Levania’s position while granting Hans’s requests. The despicable Hans planned to reveal the truth to Levania when she married Albert and bore her first child, and then he would act as a father figure.
A commoner marrying a noblewoman.
It was a plan to manipulate the Duke’s hidden father, who was the husband of the Duchess, by threatening him for a lifetime with that fact.
When Hans learned that the engagement between the Emperor and Levania had been decided, he thought about dismantling it.
Since Levania, who was of noble birth, would have been vulnerable to that, he thought he would be highly valued and protected.
But when the situation changed, he thought differently.
Whether it was Levania or the heir to the ducal estate, it was Albert, so he could do the same thing by marrying Albert to another high-ranking noblewoman.
When he remembered that, Levania’s shoulders shook with anger. It was difficult for her to forgive her father for putting her in this situation.
‘To make Hans powerless… First, I need to retrieve the money he has hidden!’
The Duke was not inclined to prosecute Hans for stealing. So, even though Maxim knew, he let it go. Despite already receiving a large allowance from Maxim, Hans did not stop embezzling money.
If everything were revealed, it would be money to live on if he fled with Albert. Moreover, in case things went wrong, it was also money to hire assassins.
There was a large sum of money in the place where Hans was staying now, but there was an even larger amount hidden somewhere else.
‘Where did he hide it?’
Given Hans’s character, he probably wouldn’t trust others. So, there was a high probability that he had hidden the money somewhere only he knew.
The best option would be to kill Hans, but… It didn’t seem right to kill the man Maxim loved, who was also the father of Albert.
‘Ugh, anyway, both Hans and Father… I wish they’d disappear!’
Even in her past life, her parents had been irritating, but Maxim seemed even more unbearable. The only consolation was that all the Duke’s employees were on Levania’s side.
Regardless of who became the heir to the ducal estate, as Levania would be the Duchess, all the employees followed Levania’s orders. Among them were some who hoped that Levania, who was fair, would become the heir to the ducal estate.
“…Butler, assure me that I’m not the only one who’s suspicious.”
The butler knew everything about Albert and Hans’s relationship, but Levania just said that much for now. The butler, who served Maxim, knew everything but had served the ducal estate for generations. If he knew the truth about Albert, he was also someone who would be angry with Levania.
“Do you have any suspicions, Miss?”
“Many.”
If only it could be so. But Levania planned to leave the Empire and start a new life after becoming the Emperor’s concubine. Then Maxim would call in another candidate for heir. As the successor, there would be not a drop of Wendel blood in him.
But still… even if it was only up to there, it would be good. However, Levania trembled with anger at the thought of her father, who had put her in this situation.
‘To make Hans powerless… First, I need to retrieve the money he has hidden!’
* * *
Around the time the butler finished discussing, the sound of knocking on the reception room’s door came. It was a message that the carriage carrying the Duke had arrived at the mansion. Levania glanced at the butler.
“Make sure what I said is taken seriously.”
“Worry not, Miss.”
Levania had instructed the butler to choose someone observant and agile, suitable for covert operations, to monitor Hans. Despite Hans being cunning, he was not skilled in swordsmanship or martial arts. On the other hand, the Duke had soldiers.
The plan was to pick someone skilled at surveillance among the soldiers and monitor what Hans was up to. If it were Hans, he would secretly track Albert and try to meet him. He would try to persuade him.
To track the Swordmaster Albert, a mercenary with considerable skills was needed. To hire such high-level mercenaries, a huge amount of money was needed. Since he would want to pretend as if he had no relation with Albert, he wouldn’t take money from the safe in his room.
So, there was a possibility that he had secured the money from elsewhere, perhaps from the funds hidden elsewhere or embezzled from the Duke. Levania tried to uncover it.
“Come in.”
When Levania allowed it, the footman opened the door and bowed.
“The Duke has returned.”
Upon hearing that Maxim had arrived, Levania felt uneasy. Despite being manipulated by Hans, Maxim was the master of this house. He was weak only to Hans.
In the original work, there were many male-male couples for some reason.
Levania hurriedly went out to the entrance. A man with a dignified demeanor and a beard was walking toward the mansion’s door.
“I heard the news. Is it true that Albert left only a letter behind?”
“Yes, Bell.”
“Yes, yes, Miss….”
Bell, tense, approached Maxim and handed him Albert’s letter. It was the letter Hans had tried to snatch and tear apart. Maxim received the letter with an indifferent face, read it, and tore it apart on the spot.
“Oh, no….”
Bell, as well as other footmen, looked at Maxim with surprised faces. Levania wasn’t surprised because she had somewhat predicted Maxim’s actions.
“These pieces of letter are not evidence. Where is Albert?”
“Are you asking me about the boy who left only a letter and ran away to me?”
Maxim was a tall man with a robust build. With an intimidating gaze, he looked at Levania.
“Because of what you did, persecuting that boy, did Albert run away leaving only such a letter?”
“That boy is a Swordmaster. Even if you assign the four best soldiers among the Duke’s men to me, do you think I can cause him harm?”
“Bad! Do you know that that boy likes you? Do you still covet the position of the Duke’s successor even after knowing that?”
Although Levania had never expressed it, wanting to be the Duke’s successor was a fact known to everyone in the Duke’s household. Even before Albert came, and even after, Levania had never given up hope and had been trying hard.
“…Yes, that’s right. Exactly.”
Maxim said that with a bitter expression, observing Levania’s reaction. It was an expression to gauge how much Levania knew.
What he had done, even a tyrant like the Emperor would be amazed and do, could be reported to his daughter. It was a plan to deceive Wendel’s legitimate successor, Levania, by marrying her off to a commoner and stealing her title.
“Do you dare to accuse me of such shameful acts?”
“I didn’t dare to say such a thing. Hans has been particularly protective of Albert. Even if he sees someone intimate with Albert, he gets furious… Why are you so Lenient in matters related to Albert?”
“You… Do you dare to flip the shame onto me?”
“I didn’t dare say a word like that. Hans is nothing more than a puppet in front of you, Father, who wouldn’t care even if his throat was cut off for siding with Albert… How could I say such things to you, Father, who is worried about the reputation of his servant, fearing an investigation?”
Hans had been a nobleman’s concubine before. Now, most of the high-ranking nobles knew that he was the Duke of Wendel’s concubine. They would just hush it up and pretend not to know.
What would finger-pointing achieve? Even the Emperor Kasion was keeping dozens of concubines.
“I’d rather divorce and let Mother go, then have a love affair.”
Should he uphold the dignity of the nobility even in death, Maxim did not divorce his wife. Zelanka, who married Maxim as a shield against his blushes, was only withering away day by day.
Ironically, Levania did not feel deep affection for Zelanka, but rather resentment. She blamed Levania for all her misfortunes.
Because you weren’t born a son, because you didn’t show the qualifications worthy of the successor… She was inflamed by the fact that everything was blamed on Levania.
If the nanny Maggie hadn’t comforted Levania, she would have gone astray long ago. So she wanted to protect the Duke’s confidants even more.
“Well… Right. That’s right.”
Maxim said so with a sour expression, gauging Levania’s reaction. It was an expression to gauge how much Levania knew.
What he had done, even a tyrant like the Emperor would be amazed and do, could be reported to his daughter. It was a plan to deceive Wendel’s legitimate successor, Levania, by marrying her off to a commoner and stealing her title.
“If we expel Albert just because of that investigation, won’t that increase rumors? Where is Hans? Hans might have liked Albert a lot, so it must be shocking.”
Maxim looked around, fretting. It seemed clear that he wanted to handle the situation and was worried about Hans’s feelings.
“Even in this situation, do you think about your lover?”
Levania’s insides were boiling, but she put on a nonchalant face.
“In that case, instead of spreading rumors, how about sending someone to kill him, Father?”
“What did you say?”
Maxim looked at Levania in astonishment.
“Although Albert is a Swordmaster, we have five Swordmasters among our soldiers. If we send just three of them, we can handle it before the rumors spread.”
“But, Levi… There’s still no evidence. Just believing in one letter from Albert and killing him…”
“Don’t worry about Hans, Father. Can’t we handle it without him knowing? Even if Hans cherishes Albert… he’s just a commoner. It’s better to handle it like this than to wait for the investigation to surface.”
Maxim knew that handling it like that was logical. However, Albert was Hans’s child. Even if they handled it without Hans knowing, Maxim couldn’t predict how Hans would react if Albert died. He might even try to leave…
“Levi. Think about it again. Don’t you think of the affection you had for Albert while growing up?”
The anger she had barely suppressed resurfaced at Maxim’s words. Affection while growing up? Have you ever shown any interest in Albert?!
“I’ve endured that boy, who is less capable than me for the reason of being a man… To deal with rumors about him being a commoner and a fraud, and even though he admitted to it himself, to accept him as a fiancé?”
“That’s…”
“If I do, that man will not be the heir to the Duke of Wendel, so it is my understanding that that man will be given up for adoption, and it will be rumored that I rejected that man for the sake of the Duke’s dignity, so you must hasten the process.”
