“Wait, now that I think about it, wasn’t the wedding between you and that man supposed to take place in about three weeks? Haven’t you broken off the engagement yet?”
“The Duke said he would proceed once the Mercenary King entered the House of Valencia. I suppose he wants to deal with everything all at once, but it should be resolved now. You’re going to enter the family soon, aren’t you?”
“…….”
“……Am I wrong?”
Was there still some unresolved question?
Rachel quietly looked up at him. The man who had been meeting her gaze turned his eyes to the side.
“……I will enter. I did hesitate, but I think finishing this matter with my own hands is more important than anything else.”
“…….”
His expression looked a little bitter just now. Or was it her imagination?
But this, too, was not something Rachel needed to concern herself with.
In any case, he was going to enter the family, so that was enough. Rachel set down her teacup and rose from her seat. A questioning gaze followed her.
“My lady?”
“I think I should be going now. If there’s anything you’re still wondering about, send me a letter. I’ll answer you.”
“…….”
After a brief silence, the man rose from his seat as well.
“I’ll see you to the carriage.”
“……Thank you.”
Rachel stared at the hand he offered for a moment before placing her fingertips upon it.
Perhaps because she had also been escorted by Paris before.
It was a little uncomfortable, but it did not make her stomach churn. She simply felt slightly uneasy.
The roughness of his skin, different in nature from that of knights, felt unfamiliar against her fingers.
Click-
When the door opened, the gazes of Becky, the escorting knights, and the mercenaries standing on either side poured toward them.
“You’re out, my lady.”
“Yes, let’s go.”
Walking alongside him, they made their way to the carriage waiting at the entrance of the building. The man helped Rachel into the carriage, then hesitated for a moment before asking.
“Will I be able to see you again?”
“……!”
All sorts of gazes poured down around them before silently scattering away. Rachel, who had widened her eyes in surprise, gave him a smile as beautiful as a painting.
“I told you I wanted to keep my distance from Valencia. Now that you’re a son of Valencia as well, please keep your distance from me. I’m asking you.”
“……!”
She released his hand and climbed into the carriage. Becky quickly followed and sat down. Sir Hoffman, the captain of the escort, closed the door and spoke.
“We’ll be leaving now.”
“Yes.”
Although she could feel his gaze, Rachel did not turn toward the window.
Soon, the carriage began to move. Rachel dropped the smile she had been wearing out of courtesy. It was such a strange feeling.
To hear such words from someone who had once been the wife of her enemy.
“……‘Will I be able to see you again?’”
She had never imagined she would hear something like that.
Still, drawing a clear line between them this time was an unexpected gain. She did not know whether he would become Duke of Valencia as quickly as he had before.
“Still, if he has a conscience, he’ll listen.”
“…….”
Becky, who had been quietly watching her mistress, spoke.
“My lady, since we’re already out, how about having a meal somewhere before we go home?”
“……Should we?”
Once she returned this time, she had no idea when she would be able to go out again.
Rachel happily nodded.
Meanwhile, the Mercenary King, Nathan, was already staring at the closed palisade gate. The Ingrave family carriage had been gone without a trace for quite some time.
The mercenaries standing behind him were engaged in a fierce exchange of glances.
‘What just happened?’
‘Did our captain just get rejected?’
‘Rejected? She was the young lady who told him the truth. He only asked if they could be friends, and then that young lady—’
“Quiet.”
“……!”
The darting eyes and moving lips that had been all over the place immediately fell silent. After rubbing his face once, Nathan turned around.
In any case, he had come to his senses now.
He did not even know why he had said such a thing.
“……I’ve confirmed that she has no ulterior motives, so that’s enough. We leave for Valencia immediately.”
“Yes!”
The mercenaries immediately scattered and gathered the luggage they had prepared in advance. From clothes and weapons to armor and valuables, they were already fully prepared to move their base.
Nathan took the sword Vale, the commander, handed him and fastened it to his waist. He normally never parted with his sword, but today he had specifically left it in the commander’s care.
……In the end, it had been unnecessary consideration since the young lady did not seem particularly afraid of him.
‘……Perhaps it wasn’t completely unnecessary?’
Her body, which seemed unusually tense.
The slight discomfort and uneasiness he occasionally sensed from her might have been even worse if he had been
carrying his sword.
She did not seem to have noticed.
Those who had reached a certain realm inevitably saw things others could not, even without consciously trying.
“……She really did smile just once.”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing.”
Nathan pulled on the cloak Vale handed him and took hold of the reins. An officer named Rue, who had been lingering nearby for some time, looked at him with a strange expression.
“What is it?”
“……Nothing, sir.”
The mercenaries lined up. Their expressions had become calm and composed.
He departed for the House of Valencia. It was time to make those who had deceived him and his mother pay the price.
That evening.
The Duchess of Valencia, her personal escort knight Wayne, and Paris Valencia were imprisoned. Duke Valencia submitted a petition to the Emperor detailing every fraud and atrocity committed by the Duchess of Valencia.
He also demanded enormous compensation from the Savanio ducal family, the Duchess of Valencia’s family.
He requested the annulment of his marriage to the Duke of Savanio’s daughter as well. At the same time, he revealed the existence of his true biological son, who had recently been entered into the family registry. The capital was thrown into chaos.
It was a change that occurred approximately ten days after Rachel’s regression.
***
Thanks to the Duchess of Valencia’s marriage fraud and bloodline fraud being exposed overnight and sweeping through the entire capital, the Marquess House of Ingrave was in an uproar.
There were less than three weeks left until Rachel’s marriage to Paris Valencia, yet they were saying that the young man was not actually the biological son of the Duke of Valencia, and that his true son had appeared.
While Duke Valencia and Duke Savanio had been summoned to the Imperial Palace from dawn.
The desperate Marquess and Marchioness of Ingrave headed straight to Rachel’s room. Rachel, wearing only a robe over her nightclothes and still half-asleep, stepped into the sitting room.
“What’s going on so early in the morning?”
“Rachel!”
Her mother’s face, after waiting for so long, was flushed red.
“Oh, my goodness! Do you even know what’s happening right now? And how can you still be sleeping until now—”
As Rachel sat down on the sofa opposite her, she casually said,
“That Paris is the son of a knight who used to be a slave?”
“……!”
Oh, perhaps this much had not been made public yet?
But it probably did not matter. Rather, things would be easier to control if it reached this point.
After looking at her parents’ eyes, which had widened as though they were about to pop out, Rachel turned her gaze toward Becky.
“Becky, please bring some tea.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Y-you, tea, at a time like this……!”
“Madam.”
The one who stopped the Marchioness from scolding Rachel after finally coming to her senses was the Marquess, who had remained silent until then.
Pale blond hair. Light sky-blue eyes.
“…….”
It had been almost several months since she had last seen her father. At times, she remembered how he had acted like the head of a high-ranking noble family, and at others, how he had awkwardly patted her shoulder with his clumsy yet gentle touch.
But the memory that stood out more vividly was their final meeting.
-They say Paris was a cuckoo.
It had been one week since Paris fled and Rachel had been confined to her room, unable to go anywhere.
Rachel had stared blankly at her parents, who had suddenly appeared. After closing the door and barely making it past the entrance, her parents seemed to have little interest in their daughter, who was sitting on the floor.
-Your trial will be held soon. The new Duke of Valencia may personally cut off your head. If you’re lucky, perhaps it will end with you being imprisoned.
In cold voices.
As her parents spoke expressionlessly about what would happen in the future, Rachel clenched both fists tightly.
-……You’re talking as if this has absolutely nothing to do with either of you.
-Of course. You’re not even a member of the House of Ingrave anymore, are you? What do we have to do with you?
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