Even if left alone, Aisha Labelyn might have been able to resolve it just as she had in the 「Record」 from that side. But if things became twisted and she failed to do so, a war could break out.
If war broke out, Rachel might not be able to marry as she wished. She could end up being held by her family and sold off instead.
Rather than running away when that happened, it was better to put in a little effort now. After all, what Rachel wanted was a prosperous and peaceful life as a noble.
Besides, wasn’t the current Aisha Labelyn merely an apprentice mage, not a great mage?
It was better to deal with variables in advance. Although she had already experienced regression once,
there was no guarantee that she would be able to regress again if things went wrong.
‘The best thing would be for nothing to happen.’
Rachel quietly prayed inwardly as she watched the Imperial Palace drawing closer.
Please, let nothing happen until I become independent from the Ingraves.
Meanwhile, contrary to Rachel’s wishes, the assassins prepared by the Borza Kingdom were in the midst of preparing to infiltrate the Imperial Palace.
The Imperial Palace of Olsher was protected by all sorts of magic and abilities, so it would be impossible even to begin executing their plan without first disabling the barriers.
Fortunately, they had found someone who could take care of that.
He was an even more suspicious person because, strangely enough, he had not accepted a single penny. But the Borza Kingdom had no other choice, so they had chosen him.
“Is that person still not here? Surely he didn’t run away?”
One minute before the appointed time.
The man who appeared to be the leader among the hundreds of men in black clicked his tongue with his arms crossed.
Then, a voice filled with amusement came from behind his shoulder.
“He’s not even late yet. Why do you look so dissatisfied?”
“……!”
Someone whose face was completely concealed by a deeply pulled-down hood—and apparently by some other means as well—was standing silently behind him.
“……You’ve come.”
This was the person who had approached them, claiming that he would help them attack the Emperor of Olsher.
Of course, they had accepted his offer because the magical abilities he had displayed, even at a glance, were extraordinarily impressive.
“Yeah. Should I start right away?”
He placed his hand against the outer wall of the Imperial Palace and asked.
The leader of the men in black nodded.
“Yes.”
Whoosh—
In an instant, all the wind stopped.
Then, an immense amount of magical power burst forth without a sound and began nullifying every barrier surrounding the Imperial Palace.
“……!”
It was an utterly astonishing sight.
It was as though even the air itself was under his control.
It seemed as though all the mana in the world was resonating with him.
Only a great mage could perform such a miracle.
Eventually, after quietly opening a hole large enough for a single person to pass through, the man removed his hand from the wall.
When his pitch-black face turned toward them, every one of the men in black flinched.
“Well, go on in. Good luck. Go cause as much havoc as you like.”
“……Just who are you—”
“You remember the condition was that you wouldn’t ask about my identity, right?”
That was the condition he had imposed instead of taking payment.
‘You will not try to learn my identity.’
Remembering it, the leader of the men in black swallowed dryly.
“In any case, we thank you for your cooperation.”
“Just go inside. I can’t keep this up for long.”
“……Then.”
Hundreds of men in black climbed over the castle wall.
Their destination would be the garden of Emerald Palace, where the Imperial Ball was being held tonight.
Soon, after silently restoring the barrier around the Imperial Palace, the man smiled.
“Ah, I feel a little sorry for Aisha. But well, she’s only my unrequited love. She’ll understand, right?”
After erasing every trace of magical power that had been altered so that his identity could not be determined, he disappeared.
A short while later, four Imperial Knights on patrol passed through the area, but none of them sensed anything unusual.
***
The Imperial Ball, which Rachel was attending for the first time in a long while, was not much different from the one in her memories.
True to its name, Emerald Palace had a vast garden cultivated with lush greenery, and at its center stood a softly jade-colored palace surrounding a lake.
Magical lamps illuminated the surroundings as brightly as daylight, beautifully revealing the palace grounds.
“…….”
“Come along, Rachel.”
“Yes.”
After gazing at the garden for a moment, Rachel soon followed her parents toward the entrance of the palace.
The gazes of the nobles who noticed her were anything but ordinary.
By now, rumors about the strange relationship between the Valencia and Ingrave families must have spread far and wide.
On top of that, this was the first public appearance of Rachel Ingrave since her broken engagement with the fake duke, after she had once been called the Jewel of Olsher.
A waiting attendant accepted their invitation.
“The Marquis House of Ingrave has arrived.”
It was not much of an announcement, but the eyes of the nobles who had already entered immediately turned toward the entrance.
Most of them were people Rachel knew quite well.
They had been at the succession ceremony that afternoon, at the Great Hall that day, and among those who had turned their backs on her.
“I’ll go over there.”
“All right.”
Rachel parted from the Marquis and Marchioness of Ingrave and headed toward the group of unmarried young ladies.
An enthusiastic welcome immediately poured forth.
“Oh my, Lady! It’s been such a long time.”
“How long has it been? I was so disappointed that all we could do was exchange letters.”
“Welcome, Lady Rachel. I heard that His Majesty sent you a handwritten invitation himself. So I thought there was no way you wouldn’t come tonight.”
“I heard you also attended the succession ceremony hosted by the Valencia family. How impressive.”
“…….”
She remembered having been genuinely close with some of them.
But when the fake duke incident had happened, had any of them taken her side?
Or even sent her so much as a single letter?
Rachel smiled as beautifully as if it had been drawn onto her face.
“Thank you all for welcoming me. I wanted to see all of you too.”
“Oh my, Lady Rachel.”
“That’s so touching. Shall we hold a tea party tomorrow? We can spend some pleasant time together and catch up on everything we’ve missed.”
“Lady Muelle, that’s such a wonderful idea. What do you think, Lady Rachel?”
It was while the seemingly warm and friendly conversation was going on that—
“You’re still as beautiful as ever, my lady. Is that why the Duke of Valencia is considering marrying a lady who was once engaged to the fake duke?”
“…….”
Silence descended for a moment at the voice that came from behind.
Rachel turned toward the young lady who had made the remark.
Lady Aile Torza, daughter of the Marquis of Torza.
So many things had happened since then that Rachel’s memory of her was somewhat hazy, but she remembered that Aile had subtly picked fights with her ever since their debutante.
Then, after Rachel had earned the reputation of being the Jewel of Olsher and became engaged to Paris Valencia, Aile seemed to have quietly distanced herself.
But today, she approached Rachel again and started talking to her.
Perhaps it was because Rachel’s engagement had been broken and she had heard that Rachel was now on bad terms with the Valencias, the family that was supposedly indebted to her.
“…….”
Come to think of it—
‘There were a few people who were smiling at the Great Hall that day, too.’
As Rachel stared at her, Lady Torza narrowed her eyes.
“W-What? Did I say something I shouldn’t have?”
Rachel smiled.
“No. I was just curious how you came to know so much about something I haven’t even properly heard about yet. Did someone tell you that the Duke of Valencia is considering an engagement with me?”
“That’s—”
“The Marquis of Torza? The Marchioness of Torza? Or perhaps one of the friends you’re close to?”
Rachel’s gaze swept over the young ladies standing behind Lady Torza.
The young lady, who had seemed slightly intimidated, bristled and continued.
“What’s the big deal that you have to interrogate me like this—”
“I’m just surprised that you know about something that hasn’t even been announced yet. If it’s really true—”
Unlike her smiling lips, her cold, sky-blue eyes were fixed precisely on Aile Torza.
“I think it would be a good idea to find out who leaked the information. I’m sure the Duke of Valencia would be pleased.”
“……!”
Once again, a chilly and subtle silence descended around them.
That was when—
“Hello, Lady Ingrave.”
At the fresh, lively voice, the crowd surrounding Rachel instantly split to either side.
Click, click—
“…….”
Rachel briefly looked at the person approaching her.
Pink hair that looked as though it had been made from flower petals.
Fresh orange-colored eyes.
The woman smiled beautifully and softly as always, without the sense of incongruity Rachel had felt earlier that day.
Yet somehow, she reminded Rachel of a moment from before her regression.
It was when Rachel had been dragged out of her room and moved to a separate building in the north, a place that was practically a prison.
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