The Villainess Who Hid Her Identity, Everyone Misunderstood Her
Episode 10
Three days earlier.
“…It seems a rat has slipped in.”
“…Pardon?”
At Duke Rosenthal’s abrupt remark, Joshua furrowed his brow.
“It’s rather embarrassing that I only noticed this now. Perhaps I should consider relinquishing my ducal title.”
“…Is this related to His Highness the Crown Prince?”
“Most likely.”
The Duke handed Joshua the documents he had been reading.
Joshua skimmed through them and nodded.
“Jonas Kramer… originally from a vassal house serving the Count Kreutz family.”
The Kreutz Count family was one of the major noble houses supporting the Crown Prince.
It was reasonable to suspect them.
“It is certainly suspicious, but this alone…”
“Yes. That is why we must verify it. Can you make a trip to Lorelai yourself?”
“You mean the Conrad Mine issue? But that matter should be settled by tomorrow afternoon.”
“This morning, someone placed this document on my desk.”
The Duke handed him another paper.
After reading it, Joshua narrowed his eyes.
“This… isn’t it incorrectly recorded?”
“Perhaps. Or it may be a forged document.”
“Then…”
“It may all be coincidence—that Jonas is the one handling this transaction, and that he comes from a Kreutz vassal house tied to the Crown Prince faction.”
“…But you believe it is worth verifying.”
Joshua nodded.
The Duke had always been that kind of man—relentless in confirming the truth whenever something felt off.
Still, there was no harm in checking.
“I have a bad feeling about this. The moment I saw this document, I ordered Kilian to return as well. We cannot tell how deeply this infiltration runs—we must also listen to reports from within the territory.”
“You already believe it’s confirmed? But Jonas has served the family for so long—”
“Did you know Evelyn’s engagement was arranged ten years ago? Well, it was broken off now, of course.”
“…!”
Joshua’s eyes widened.
It was too unsettling to dismiss as coincidence.
Realizing the seriousness, he looked back down at the documents.
“Form a special audit team for the Conrad Mine. Departure in three days. Only those we can trust.”
“But if Jonas himself is under suspicion, who exactly are we supposed to call…”
“Those who are firmly within your faction. Or those whose parents have served as vassals since earlier generations.”
“…Understood.”
Joshua replied with a hardened expression.
“And what do you intend to do once Jonas is confirmed to be a spy?”
“You can’t eliminate all the rats by simply cutting off the head. I will think of a method. Your priority is to confirm the truth about the Conrad Mine.”
“Yes, sir.”
Joshua nodded carefully. He couldn’t shake the feeling that a massive storm was approaching the ducal house.
Something far greater than anything they had faced before was about to descend.
As he hurried out of the office, he turned back.
“Oh, by the way, what about the Second Prince? If Jonas is a spy, then the rumors about him might also be false, correct?”
The Duke frowned, searching his memory.
He recalled Jonas’s words from when they had adjusted the schedule for meeting the Second Prince.
—
—His Highness the Second Prince is suffering severe aftereffects from the war. Even if you meet him, you may not receive the answers you hope for.
—When I met him before, he seemed fine.
—Rumors say physicians and priests still frequently visit the Prince’s Palace. It may be best to reconsider…
—…Very well. I will think about it.
—
Had those words been lies meant to prevent him from meeting the Second Prince?
The Duke slowly nodded.
“That may be the case. It might be better to meet the Second Prince sooner rather than later.”
“…Yes, then I shall take my leave.”
A few days later, Kilian arrived in the capital.
Duke Rosenthal had been overwhelmed reviewing everything Jonas had handled over the years.
Even with Joshua’s help, secretly verifying everything was no easy task.
Ironically, just as they were preparing to go to the Conrad Mine to confirm Jonas’s identity as a spy, evidence had already surfaced.
The problem was that Jonas had placed many people within the family.
“At this rate… removing them all will not be easy.”
Should he be relieved they discovered it now…?
But his worries were unexpectedly interrupted.
“Father!”
“…Evelyn.”
When he raised his head, he saw shimmering blue eyes.
“I want a blue diamond!”
“…What?”
* * *
What I did wasn’t complicated.
I merely provided the trigger that allowed the Duke to flush out the traitors.
—
—…Blue diamond?
—Yes! I heard everything. There’s a mine—Con… Conrit? Conrot? The Conrad Mine. They say there are blue diamonds there. Those are more valuable than gold, right? If I have one, my beauty will shine even brighter.
—Are you talking about the Conrad Mine?
—Ah, yes!
—Evelyn… who did you hear that from?
—
Blue diamonds that shine like azure stars.
It wasn’t a lie that they were found in the Conrad Mine. In fact, it would later be revealed that the mine produced not ordinary diamonds, but blue diamonds.
That was precisely why the Conrad Mine held limitless potential.
A literal goldmine.
The Crown Prince already knew that such rare gems existed there.
So any spies within the ducal house who had reported this to the Crown Prince would know it earlier than anyone else.
That was how I set the bait to expose them.
—
—Oh, Father, really. How would I remember such a name? I just overheard Jonas talking with someone.
—…!
—
Fortunately, the Duke understood my intention. The next day, rumors spread that blue diamonds had been discovered in the Conrad Mine.
And once secrecy was broken, it became easy to identify those who panicked and acted suspiciously.
While the Duke was busy rooting out spies, I was already thinking about the next step.
Preventing Ludwig from falling for the Saint in the future would not be easy.
Then the most direct and certain method was… to stop Ludwig from becoming Emperor.
In other words—introduce another candidate!
“No matter how I think about it… I’ll have to use the Second Prince.”
Of course, this was something the Duke had already attempted and failed countless times in previous cycles.
But this time was different. We would eliminate all of the Crown Prince’s hidden agents within the ducal house.
I grabbed an old robe and left my room.
This time, I pulled the hood down low enough to cover my eyes completely. I was determined not to reveal my face.
This mission required even greater caution.
Although I knew about it from the original story, it was a place I had never been able to use since possessing Evelyn.
Ding!
[※Warning: Unauthorized Zone—“Twilight” entered.]
[If your identity is exposed, all quests will immediately fail and Fame -1,000.]
[Title <Righteous Undercover Agent (Growth Type)> effect: Reduced recognition applied.]
[Current disguise: Low-ranking maid / Disguise stability: 82%]
…
An information broker.
Yes! I had long been dying to come here!
The crown jewel of fantasy novels—an information broker!
My heart pounded so loudly I thought it might jump out of my chest, but I calmly entered the old tavern and took a seat.
After a moment, a staff member approached.
“May I take your order?”
“Yes. One glass of Crimson Sunset… very rich. The taste right before the sun disappears.”
“……”
His eyes instantly darkened as he scanned me sharply.
As expected, I was being suspected.
It made sense—why would a young girl alone enter a place like this?
He was likely trying to determine where the passphrase had been leaked from.
In this world, that level of realism was strangely consistent.
So I came up with a plan.
Clink.
Swoosh.
I poured a handful of gold coins onto the table.
People at nearby tables glanced over.
“….”
Oh? Still not enough?
Thud.
I placed the entire money pouch on the table.
That made me feel lighter already.
If this still didn’t work, I was about to—
“Understood. I will prepare it immediately.”
There was nothing money couldn’t solve.
