“……”
Although it was faint.
Rachel remembered the occasions when the steward would be the one to speak to her first.
She stopped in her tracks and turned around. The steward hesitated for a moment before adding,
“……Today marks the third day since you last came down to the dining hall. The young master is worried about you.”
“……”
Ilya Ingrave.
Her only younger brother was currently thirteen years old.
Though he had become somewhat taciturn after entering the knight academy, he had always loved and followed his older sister.
Their relationship had remained unchanged even after Rachel married.
‘……Though the ending was different.’
Rachel asked casually,
“Did you hear anything from Mother?”
“……I heard that you were tired from being busy with the wedding preparations. So I was told you would be eating separately in your room—”
“So you did hear.”
I have no intention of going down to the dining hall, Steward. I understand your loyalty to my brother, but—”
Her spotless sky-blue eyes stared coldly at him.
“I would rather not receive any more excessive advice from you. What do you think?”
“……!”
Startled by her cold gaze, so different from before, the steward hurriedly lowered his head.
“I overstepped my bounds. Please forgive me, my lady.”
“Good. I hope there won’t be a second time.”
Unlike before, Rachel had no intention of listening to the steward’s advice regarding her brother anymore.
The same went for her parents.
‘It’s a place I’ll be leaving soon anyway.’
Rachel walked past the steward and was about to head upstairs when—
At the top of the stairs leading to the second floor.
She noticed a small figure staring at her with wide eyes and stopped in her tracks.
It was thirteen-year-old Ilya.
His round cheeks still retained their baby fat, and his eyes were blue.
His blond hair, which she had once found adorable.
“……”
“……”
Click—
Rachel simply walked past her brother and went straight up to her room. Neither of them exchanged a word.
She immediately took a bath and then ate the plentiful dinner the steward had presumably prepared with extra care.
Although there was a strange uneasiness in one corner of her heart, Rachel dismissed it as her imagination and suddenly remembered something she had forgotten.
“Becky, is the Mercenary King still away from the capital?”
Becky, who was serving her meal by her side, nodded.
“Yes. Three months ago, he accepted His Majesty the Emperor’s request and joined the escort of the national trade caravan. He should be returning to the capital around now.”
Because of this incident, the Valencia family would be unable to avoid a serious blow to its reputation.
They would probably try to minimize the fallout by eliminating the false heir and dramatically revealing the existence of the true son.
If so, the duke would begin moving in earnest once the Mercenary King returned.
Until then, he would likely gather evidence and investigate the Mercenary King’s past to determine whether he truly was his biological son.
Cutting off a tender piece of steak and putting it into her mouth, Rachel instructed Becky,
“Find out exactly when the Mercenary King will return.”
“Yes, my lady.”
By the time Rachel finished her meal and was preparing for bed, Becky had found out the date of the Mercenary King’s return.
Exactly three days from now.
It was enough time for the Duke of Valencia to collect all the evidence Rachel had told him about and finish investigating the Mercenary King’s movements.
Three days later.
As expected, Rachel received a summons from the Duke of Valencia.
If anything was surprising, it was that a knight had come personally rather than sending a letter.
“Today?”
“Yes, my lady.”
The knight from the Valencia family bowed politely as he delivered the message.
“He said that things would become very busy from this point onward, so it might be quite some time before he could see you again.”
“……”
He wasn’t wrong.
There would be the aftermath of the broken engagement, the annulment of the marriage, and the need to deal with the Savanio ducal family, the duchess’s maternal family.
And today was also the day the Mercenary King returned.
Rachel was a little taken aback.
But considering what would happen afterward, there could not be a better time than today.
“I’ll get ready right away.”
“Thank you for understanding, my lady.”
After sending the knight away, Rachel immediately prepared to leave.
She put on a calm green dress and wore earrings and a necklace made of diamonds and emeralds.
Her makeup was kept light.
She wore slightly elevated white shoes, while her hair was curled voluminously and left flowing down.
After quickly finishing her preparations, Rachel went downstairs with the knight from the Valencia family, who was still waiting.
A Valencia carriage was waiting in front of the entrance.
“The Duke sent it for you.”
“……”
After a brief hesitation.
Rachel decided not to refuse the duke’s goodwill and climbed into the Valencia carriage.
‘This is the last time.’
Thinking that made even this familiar carriage bearable.
Seeing Rachel’s pale complexion, Becky asked worriedly,
“Are you all right, my lady?”
“I’m fine.”
It was only temporary.
It would get better once she got out of the carriage.
“……”
No.
Once she got out, she would be at the Valencia estate, so she had no idea what might happen.
Just as Rachel opened the window, the carriage gradually slowed, and a Valencia knight approached with a troubled expression before bowing.
“The national trade caravan has returned, so one of the central roads has been closed. We expect a delay of about ten minutes. Will that be all right, my lady?”
“That’s fine.”
Her stomach had not been feeling particularly well anyway.
It might not be so bad to simply open the window and wait quietly for a while.
“Thank you for your understanding.”
The Valencia knight withdrew, while Sir Hoffman, the captain of her escort who had approached just in case, briefly looked at her through the carriage window.
“……”
“……”
Rachel met his gaze without showing any reaction.
Soon, his gaze moved away.
Sir Hoffman had not asked anything, but he seemed to have noticed that her complexion was not good.
‘He really is quick to notice things.’
For now, was that more of a disadvantage than an advantage?
Rachel was silently weighing the situation when cheers gradually began to rise.
The national trade caravan had appeared.
Beneath the Olshire Empire’s flag held high in the sky.
Behind mounted riders clad in gleaming armor came a massive carriage, followed by nobles.
Behind them stretched an endless line of wagons, drawing loud cheers from the crowd.
Beside the enormous carriage, where the gazes of nobles and knights were gathered, he stood.
His black hair was left completely free.
Eyes of blood-red crimson.
“Ah.”
The Mercenary King, Nathan.
Rachel had never imagined she would encounter him like this.
She stared blankly at him through the carriage window.
He did not have the polished appearance she had seen in the emperor’s throne room at the end of her previous life.
His face was filled with ruggedness, his hair unkempt.
His clothes were loose and carefree.
“……”
That made him somewhat less uncomfortable to look at.
But it did not make her uneasiness disappear.
Whether he had intended to or not, he was a man who had played a part in destroying Rachel’s life before her regression.
A man whose very existence would restore the honor of the Valencia family.
A man who would have had an enormous influence on Rachel being imprisoned so quickly.
Rationally, she knew that none of this was his fault.
But—
“……”
She still did not want to see him.
Just as she was turning her gaze away, the man, who had been frowning, suddenly turned toward her.
“……!”
His gaze immediately pierced through her.
That fierce look instantly brought back the memory of the throne room.
He had stood beside the emperor with an indifferent expression.
Yet his eyes had shone with a chilling light.
“Duke. Do you have anything you wish to say for the last time? You won’t have another chance to see each other after this.”
What had he answered when the emperor asked him that?
“Nothing.”
“……”
“As Your Majesty said, she is someone I will never have to see again. It would be a waste of time.”
When they briefly faced each other after Paris had been executed, he had repeated the very words Rachel herself had once spoken.
“Don’t waste your time. Go. I hope we never have to meet again.”
His gaze had shone as though telling her to clearly witness the consequences of her choice.
And after Rachel was imprisoned, she learned that sometimes, being alive could be more painful than death itself.
Comments (0)