More than anything, it was a mercenary corps famous for being impossible to bribe or persuade, as it consisted solely of people who were fiercely loyal to the Mercenary King.
From what she had heard, they too seemed to have followed the Mercenary King into the House of Valencia.
“…….”
Rachel deliberately chose not to recall the faces of those who had stood behind him before her regression.
Soon, the carriage that had gone beyond the outer wall came to a stop in front of a tall wooden palisade. An unfamiliar mercenary stood at the entrance, where there was no signboard hanging. Sir Hoffman drove the carriage forward.
“We have an appointment.”
“Ah.”
The mercenary checked the crest on the carriage and opened the palisade gate.
“Please come in.”
Sir Hoffman remained calm, but Rachel could sense that the escorting knights were either nervous or slightly excited.
Well, wasn’t this the place where a swordsman of a level said to exist in only three people throughout the entire Empire resided?
This was also Rachel’s first time entering the nest of the Red Hawk Mercenary Corps.
“…….”
Resting her chin on her hand, she gazed at the scenery slowly coming into view. Contrary to the tension she had felt because of the tall palisade, the inside was surprisingly ordinary.
There was a wide open space, and various weapons hung along a wall on one side.
Beyond it, instead of a garden, she could see a field filled with all sorts of unidentified crops.
It was only when they reached the very end that a proper three-story building finally came into view, and it seemed to be where the mercenaries lived.
The carriage stopped in front of the three-story building, where people had come out to greet them. Soon, the door opened.
“My lady.”
“…….”
Sir Hoffman extended his hand. Rachel took a moment to steady her breathing before taking it.
Since she had already sensed the man’s presence through the window, she had no reason to hesitate.
Tap-
She stepped down from the carriage and raised her gaze.
The man, whom she had to tilt her head back fully to look up at, still had the same free-spirited appearance he had possessed before her regression, unlike the last time she had seen him.
Messy black hair. Slightly sharp blood-red eyes.
‘……Does he look a little haggard?’
She thought so for a moment, but it was not something she needed to concern herself with. The man, who had been meeting her gaze for a moment, lowered his head.
“Welcome, Lady Ingrave. Thank you for accepting my sudden invitation.”
“Not at all. Rather, I consider it an honor to have received an invitation from the Mercenary King.”
The greeting came out more smoothly than expected. When he stepped aside, the mercenaries standing behind him split apart to either side.
“Please come inside. I have prepared some refreshments.”
“……Yes.”
Being this close to this man might require a little mental preparation.
Still, Rachel calmly followed him. The place the Mercenary King led her to was a reception room on the second floor.
Small but clear glass windows.
The elegant sofa and solid-wood table in the center made it seem like a room used when receiving commissions from nobles. Rachel paused briefly at the entrance and looked back at Becky and the escorting knights.
“Wait here. Becky, you too.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“…….”
After a moment of silence, Sir Hoffman stood against one wall together with the escorting knights. The meaning was obvious.
When Nathan gestured to his subordinates, they too stood against the opposite wall.
Still holding the doorknob, he turned back toward Rachel.
“Please come in.”
“……Yes.”
As she entered, the door clicked shut. Rachel flinched for a moment, but soon moved to one of the sofas and sat down as though nothing had happened.
The man rattled around for a moment at the table against one wall before bringing over an assortment of dainty refreshments that seemed completely out of place with him.
“They don’t know about that yet, it seems.”
“…….”
Her fingers tensed at the unexpected voice, but.
‘Still better than Valencia.’
After clearly comparing which situation held the advantage, Rachel desperately kept her expression under control.
Besides, she had a purpose for coming here today.
“The maid may know roughly what happened, but as far as the Marquess House is concerned, I am the only one who knows.”
“I see.”
“What is it you wanted to say? From what I hear, you haven’t entered the House of Valencia yet.”
“…….”
He pushed a steaming teacup toward her and spoke.
“I heard it from Duke Valencia. He said you discovered the truth while investigating your fiancé. And in the process, you learned of my existence—”
Thud. A thick file was placed on the table.
“I also don’t understand why you revealed my existence when simply proving that he was a fraud would have been enough to break off the engagement.”
“…….”
“On top of that, I found it confusing that, despite investigating so thoroughly, you don’t seem to want much in return. Is what you truly want merely compensation for the broken engagement, for your parents not to use you to grow closer to Valencia, and to see that man one more time once his punishment has been decided?”
In other words, he seemed suspicious because he could not understand what she was thinking.
Rachel simply had not wanted to become deeply entangled with Valencia.
But from an outsider’s perspective, her requests must have seemed too modest, while her intentions remained impossible to read.
“Is it difficult to answer?”
For a moment, his eyes flashed like red crystals.
“……No.”
Rachel was relieved, careful not to let it show. Judging from his reaction, it did not seem to be anything too serious.
When she raised her head and met his gaze, he quietly stared at her. She instinctively felt uncomfortable, but kept her expression composed as she spoke.
“Actually, anything related to the Mercenary King was not something I had considered. I wanted to break off the engagement quickly, and I only told the Duke because I thought that if he knew there was another true heir, Valencia might be able to act more swiftly.”
“……For something like that, you seem to have collected nearly every piece of evidence with remarkable persistence.”
“Every time I dug deeper, something else kept coming up. To be honest, it was frightening. That’s why I wanted to distance myself from Valencia. I realized that getting involved with a ducal family meant experiencing frightening things like this, and I even thought it might be better to simply marry the son of a decent count’s family. ……Of course, my parents may think differently.”
“…….”
Rachel deliberately lowered her gaze. He had probably recalled that one sentence from her final remark.
-I think it would also be good if my parents couldn’t use me to maintain their connection with Valencia.
“Since you know about the request I made to the Duke, I suppose it’s easy for me to explain why I made such a request. My parents might try to keep involving me with Valencia.”
“…….”
“Anyway, I don’t want anything more than this. So you can rest assured.”
After finishing, she smiled, her eyes curving gently. She wanted to appear as harmless as possible.
Has she done all right?
The man flinched for an instant before quietly rubbing his face. Even then, his gaze remained fixed on her, though there was something complicated in his eyes.
“Then why did you say you wanted to see that bastard—no. Why did you say you wanted to see him again?”
“Because I have something to ask him.”
She answered instinctively, but.
Yes, she had something she wanted to ask Paris. According to 「Records」, when Paris was fourteen, he already knew about her birth.
He must have known that her birth would eventually be exposed, and yet why.
“……I think I have the right to ask him. Why he did it.”
Perhaps she needed one final sense of closure. In any case, Rachel had also been confined until the sentence of imprisonment was handed down.
Paris had escaped and was executed as soon as he was captured, so the last time she had seen him was that night when the sealing ritual had failed.
“…….”
Rachel clasped both hands together. Her fingertips, cold and numb, felt as though she were pressing ice against ice. Just as she was about to shiver, he emptied the tea that had gone cold and pushed a freshly warmed teacup toward her.
Their gazes met.
“……Does that answer your question?”
She asked as she wrapped her hands around the teacup, and saw the man before her slowly nod.
“Yes, that’s enough.”
At that moment, Rachel instinctively knew. His doubts had been resolved.
And she had a feeling that before long, this man would enter the House of Valencia. Rachel smiled.
“That’s a relief. I wonder if I’ll finally be able to break off the engagement soon.”
For a moment, the man who had been staring intently at her belatedly hardened his expression.
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