“Duke, congratulations on your succession to the dukedom. Here, Rachel, what are you doing? Hurry and offer your congratulations to the Duke.”
“…….”
After silently meeting his gaze for a moment,
Rachel slowly lowered her head.
“Congratulations on your succession, Duke.”
“…….”
The corners of her parents’ mouths trembled. They were probably dissatisfied, but for Rachel, even this was the best she could do.
Nathan stared down at her for a while before opening his mouth. By then, the surrounding nobles were watching them with great interest.
“I didn’t expect you to come in person. Are you resuming your activities outside the estate now?”
“Yes. His Majesty sent me a handwritten letter saying that I had secluded myself long enough.”
“His Majesty?”
A brief murmur spread through the crowd. He, too, raised one eyebrow slightly before nodding.
“I see. Thank you for the congratulations. I don’t know how sincere you are, but I’ll accept them, my lady.”
“…….”
That was the end of it.
Rachel lowered her gaze. There was a strange glint in the eyes of the nobles surrounding them, and she could almost hear her parents grinding their teeth.
I told them it would be better not to come.
……It was only natural.
Before long, rumors would spread that the Ingraves, who were secretly said to be his benefactors, were not being treated particularly well by the Valencias.
Come to think of it, was that actually fortunate?
They might mock her subtly, but at least they would not associate the Valencias with her.
For Rachel, it was actually a satisfactory situation.
He soon began exchanging greetings with other nobles. Her mother, who had been pushed back, quietly whispered through clenched teeth.
“Did you see? This is the situation we’re in now. And yet you’re really saying you want to marry into another family? A viscount’s or a baron’s family, at that?”
“…….”
Rachel said nothing.
Her father approached a moment later and whispered with a stiff expression.
“I believe you understand the situation now. There’s nothing we can do at the moment, so try again a little later.”
“…….”
Rachel did not answer this either.
Now that she understood the situation, she was even more determined to marry and leave as quickly as possible.
Before even her reputation disappeared.
Before that man’s patience ran out.
……To a place where she could live a peaceful and comfortable life, even to the point of boredom.
As she had said before, tonight’s imperial ball would be the decisive moment.
All the marriage candidates she had selected would be attending.
‘I don’t care.’
The only thing she hoped for was that Nathan Valencia would not realize her ability.
That was all.
***
Even while exchanging greetings among the nobles, Nathan kept his senses alert.
A short distance away,
Rachel Ingrave was talking with her parents.
“I’ll be going now.”
“Already? Once things quiet down a little, you could approach the Duke—”
“There won’t be anything good about being publicly humiliated twice, Mother.”
“…….”
The Marchioness of Ingrave fell silent. She turned to the Marquis and said,
“Father, I’ll quietly approach him at the imperial ball. I think it would be better for me to go back now and prepare for the ball. What do you think?”
“……Very well.”
In the end, the Marquis of Ingrave gave his permission.
She turned around. Her platinum-blonde hair, curled into thick waves, swayed as though leaving trails of light behind her.
Soon, the carriage door shut with a click.
Only after Rachel had completely left did Nathan turn his gaze toward the main entrance.
She had probably been dragged here by the Marquis and Marchioness of Ingrave, but she still seemed to have no intention of revealing what she was hiding.
‘Apparently, she can still endure this much pressure.’
Just what was she hiding that she was willing to go this far?
On top of that, what the Marchioness had said earlier continued to bother him.
—Did you see? This is the situation we’re in now. And yet you’re really saying you want to marry into another family? A viscount’s or a baron’s family, at that?
“…….”
“Duke?”
“……It’s nothing.”
For the time being, Nathan focused on attending to the guests.
He had already assigned someone to keep an eye on Rachel Ingrave, and more importantly, if he made a mistake here, her period of education would only become longer.
Nathan would learn the meaning behind the Marchioness of Ingrave’s words a little later, at the imperial ball that was held that very night.
***
After returning to the Ingrave estate, Rachel immediately began preparing for the imperial ball.
It was not because she wanted to look good for Nathan Valencia, as she had told her parents earlier.
Still, this would be the first time she formally met the marriage candidates she had chosen, so she wanted to make a good impression, even if only slightly.
“Please take care of me.”
“Don’t worry, my lady.”
The maids’ hands, fired up with enthusiasm, moved busily.
If Rachel had looked as dazzling as a jewel when she attended the succession ceremony, this time, her appearance had more elegance and a sense of refined simplicity.
Her platinum-blonde hair, reaching down to her waist, was given abundant curls and swept to one side.
Around her neck was a diamond choker, the gems embedded in it like stars.
Her dress had been carefully arranged so that its thin, delicate lace and pleated decorations flowed softly across the fabric. Her makeup, with just the right amount of color, further accentuated her pale, well-defined features.
After putting on slightly high-heeled shoes, Rachel stood before the mirror and examined her reflection.
“Good. I’m off.”
“Have a safe trip, my lady.”
The maids, except Becky, who would be accompanying her, bowed their heads.
Holding the invitation personally written and sent by the Emperor in one hand, Rachel headed downstairs.
Her parents and younger sibling were already waiting in front of the entrance.
Of course, Illya was still a minor and had only come out to see her off.
The Marquis and Marchioness of Ingrave smiled with satisfaction when they saw her.
“You look beautiful. This time, the Duke won’t be able to turn you away.”
“…….”
Rachel would be satisfied as long as her first meeting with the marriage candidates went successfully.
Illya carefully lowered her head.
“Have a good time, Sister.”
“……Yes.”
Rachel answered stiffly before leaving the estate.
A carriage was waiting outside.
This time, her father sat across from her while her mother sat beside her, and the carriage set off.
Before long, all sorts of advice and instructions came pouring at her from both sides.
“When you arrive, go find the Duke of Valencia first.”
“Be affectionate with him. Whatever he says, smile and be patient.”
“Make sure to assert your contribution. No matter how shameless the Duke of Valencia may be, it will be difficult for him to completely ignore you. Wasn’t the issue with his bloodline rather significant?”
“……Don’t worry. I’ll handle it myself.”
Rachel silently turned her gaze toward the window.
Although she was making appropriate excuses, being in a carriage with her parents was still exhausting.
‘When I come back, I should come separately—’
“……!”
At that moment, Rachel’s eyes widened.
The flag of a kingdom that had no reason to be here right now was passing along the main road ahead.
“Father. Did the Borza Kingdom attend this imperial ball?”
“Hm? Ah, yes. It’s been three years. I heard His Majesty personally sent the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs to deliver the invitation. Apparently, they decided to come this time.”
“…….”
That couldn’t be.
As far as Rachel remembered, the Borza Kingdom had never visited Olsher at this point in time.
And there was a reason for that.
Although no one knew it yet,
for several years, the northern region had been secretly embezzling the subsidies being sent to the Borza Kingdom.
On top of that, they had raised the prices of food and lumber while threatening the kingdom by claiming that it was the will of His Majesty the Emperor and the Empire.
As a result, the kingdom’s attitude toward Olsher was heading toward its worst point.
It had all accumulated until, in the future, 「Record」 would even state that an assassination attempt against the Emperor of the Olsher Empire had originated from the Borza Kingdom.
But that incident was supposed to happen five years later.
After Aisha Labelyn uncovered the fake duke incident, Nathan Valencia became the new duke.
……It was supposed to be an anomaly that would occur at the imperial ball held after Rachel had been confined.
“Ah.”
Suddenly, she realized that the current situation was similar to that time.
The timing was five years earlier, but still.
The fake duke incident had been resolved, and Nathan Valencia had become the new duke, hadn’t he?
On top of that, an imperial ball was now being held to commemorate him.
……And the Borza Kingdom, which had not even made an appearance at this time before, was attending as well.
“…….”
A chill ran through Rachel as she clasped her fingertips together.
「Record」 only contains the anomalies of the past, present, and future from the period in which the regression ability user lived.
From Rachel’s perspective, since she had twisted the present, she had no choice but to think that 「Record」 had become practically useless.
But when she thought about it, she had only changed one anomaly.
It was entirely possible that another anomaly had shifted slightly and was now occurring, or that its timing had simply been brought forward.
‘Then could Borza attempt to assassinate the Emperor five years earlier?’
Three years had passed since the northern region began playing tricks between Borza and Olsher.
……If she couldn’t be certain, she had to find out.
Comments (0)