“There was a reason. It wasn’t that I abandoned her—”
“Even so, you should have come at least while Mother was still alive. Or when I was still a minor.”
Nathan, who had continued speaking somewhat harshly, paused to catch his breath. For a moment, he caught sight of the Duke’s trembling hand.
“But the Duke never came to see me even once until I became an adult.”
“…….”
“You and I are still strangers, Duke. It’s been that way for nineteen years, so I don’t think there will be any problem with continuing like this from now on.”
When he raised his gaze, he saw the Duke’s dazed face.
But did any of this matter anymore?
Nathan was just about to rise from his seat after rubbing his tired face.
“……Then what about a deal?”
A weighty voice stopped him.
The weak appearance from moments ago was nowhere to be seen.
Duke Valencia, now bearing the countenance befitting one of the most prominent nobles in the Empire, was staring at him.
“Your mother broke off our engagement after being caught up in a scheme. My original fiancée was Alisa, your mother, but my current wife became pregnant with another man’s child and made false claims, causing our engagement to be broken off. She claimed that the child was mine.”
“……!”
“The details are written here.”
The Duke held out an unnamed report. Nathan, who had been silent, stared sharply at the Duke.
“Why was this only revealed after twenty years?”
“There was someone very clever. That young lady informed me.”
A young lady?
For a moment, Nathan recalled the young lady he had seen when he entered this mansion.
He wanted to believe it was merely speculation.
But his instincts told him that she was the one who had uncovered this very incident.
“But that isn’t what’s important right now.”
The low voice brought Nathan back to his senses. Crossing his legs, the Duke continued.
“Their judgment will be handed down soon. They dared to deceive the House of Valencia for over twenty years and interfered with the sealing of the Great Monster, nearly burning down the capital. A trial will be held to hold them accountable for their crimes.”
“…….”
“Don’t you want to have a say in their punishment? The backing of the woman who was once my wife is not insignificant. If things continue as they are, she may get away without receiving the punishment she deserves.”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
Nathan clenched his teeth. Even after only meeting him briefly, he knew that the Duke before him would never simply overlook such a thing.
But then.
The Duke raised one corner of his mouth.
“Why are you so certain? What if I happen to make a mistake? I’m getting old, after all.”
“…….”
The young hand, still without a single wrinkle, once again extended the report toward him.
“Read it. Read it and make your own judgment. Even then, if you still refuse to enter the House of Valencia until the very end.”
“…….”
“……I will do my best to help you avoid becoming part of Valencia.”
“Your Grace.”
The startled aide called out, but he could not continue speaking. Once again, red eyes and scarlet eyes collided in the air.
Clenching his teeth, Nathan roughly rubbed his face before picking up the report in front of him.
“……If anything you just said is a lie, you’ll have to be prepared for the consequences.”
“Don’t worry. I have no desire to make an enemy of a swordsman whose level is said to be equivalent to thousands of knights.”
“…….”
Nathan turned around and left the study without another word. The place he headed to immediately was the Red Hawk Mercenary Corps headquarters.
Bang!
The sudden opening of the door startled the commander, Vale. After confirming who it was, he breathed a sigh of relief.
“Captain? Did something happen—”
“Find out everything about Duke Valencia’s broken engagement from twenty years ago. Right now.”
“……What?”
It was foolish to simply believe the information one was given. Cross-checking was essential.
And—
“Find out about this woman, too.”
Nathan handed the commander the name he had committed to memory.
“Rachel Ingrave.”
Just as he had suspected.
It was the name of the young lady who had been revealed to be the first person to provide information related to this incident.
Two days later, after completing his investigation not only into the story surrounding Duke Valencia’s broken engagement but also into Rachel Ingrave, Nathan moved immediately after spending a day in seclusion.
The letter he sent was not to the House of Valencia, but to the Marquess House of Ingrave.
The recipient was Rachel Ingrave.
「……Would it be possible to meet?」
It was a letter that would come as a bolt from the blue to Rachel.
***
After meeting Duke Valencia, Rachel remained shut inside the Ingrave estate.
Once the incident surfaced, attention would inevitably turn toward her side as well.
At times like this, the best course of action was to do nothing and remain still.
Since she intended to quickly find a suitable marriage and leave the family after the broken engagement, it would also be better if this issue died down as soon as possible.
Thanks to this, her parents gradually began giving her strange looks while she stayed in her room.
That letter arrived.
The Red Hawk insignia.
It was a letter from Nathan, the Mercenary King.
‘Why would this man……?’
Putting off even the breakfast-cum-lunch that had just arrived, Rachel opened the letter first. Its contents were brief.
「To Lady Rachel Ingrave.
Greetings, Lady. I am Nathan, the Mercenary King.
There is something I would like to discuss with you regarding the incident you reported. Would it be possible to meet?
Anywhere is fine with me.
I look forward to your reply.
From Nathan, the Mercenary King.」
“…….”
Unexpected, if anything. There were not many people who knew about her involvement at present, aside from Duke Valencia.
‘Did the Duke tell him?’
She did not know what this man wanted to say.
The broken engagement had not yet been made official. Rachel wanted to eliminate any possible variables as much as possible.
“Becky, a pen and some stationery.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Rachel immediately wrote a reply on the stationery Becky brought her.
The meeting place would be the Red Hawk Mercenary Corps headquarters.
It was somewhere that would not attract too much attention even if a noble family’s carriage came and went. Besides, they would take care of keeping things quiet on their end.
「Tomorrow at 2 p.m. I will come to the Red Hawk Mercenary Corps.」
A reply to the brief letter came back quickly.
「Very well. I’ll see you then.」
“…….”
Her discomfort toward him remained unchanged.
Still, if she wanted to successfully live her new life, there was no helping it for now.
‘I suppose I should look into the ability after all.’
She would have liked to go to the family archives immediately, but her parents were still a concern. If they happened to discover that she had awakened the ability, they would be the first ones to do whatever they could to keep her under their control.
Moreover, as the first ability user to emerge in hundreds of years, they might try to confine her to the family.
“……I hate that.”
It was better than the Valencia estate.
But that did not mean the Ingrave estate was a pleasant place either. It would be nice if she could marry quickly and move somewhere else.
“My lady.”
Becky, who had quietly disappeared at some point, placed a tray on the table. It was a freshly prepared meal.
A steaming beef and mushroom stew, a salad served with cheese and fruit, roasted vegetables, and pasta generously filled with seafood.
Rachel’s face immediately brightened.
“Thank you, Becky.”
“Think nothing of it.”
Rachel resumed the meal she had forgotten about. As always, warm food tasted wonderful.
The next day.
Rachel left the Ingrave estate dressed appropriately for a casual outing. She tucked her conspicuous platinum-blonde hair beneath a hat and kept her makeup light and modest.
She also chose only small, simple pieces of jewelry that would not draw attention. It was the most casual outfit she had worn since regressing.
Just as she was about to get into the carriage.
Sensing a gaze, she raised her head and caught a glimpse of a familiar figure by the second-floor window. It was her mother, the Marchioness of Ingrave.
“…….”
“…….”
Rachel silently turned her head away. It seemed her parents’ patience had finally reached its limit.
Perhaps tomorrow.
Or, at the latest, the day after, they might come looking for her.
That was why today’s meeting was important. Whatever the reason, she still had not heard anything from the House of Valencia.
“I’ll be leaving now.”
“Yes.”
The carriage carrying Rachel left through the main gate. As she gazed at the scenery that had become somewhat familiar, she recalled what she knew about the Red Hawk Mercenary Corps.
The Red Hawk Mercenary Corps.
It was founded by Nathan, the Mercenary King, and was an elite mercenary corps consisting of fewer than twenty members.
Every member was a mercenary with the skills of a knight or higher, possessing either a Gold Badge or Platinum Badge.
They were skilled not only in territorial and national warfare, but also in espionage, disruption, infiltration, and surprise attacks, making their fees extraordinarily expensive.
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