~Chapter 103~
Leah buried her face in Johann’s chest and sobbed hard.
“You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?”
Johann gave Samuel a look to wait a moment, then gently patted Leah’s back.
‘…His hand feels so warm and kind… it’s making me cry even more.’
She didn’t know how long she cried.
Eventually, the tears that seemed like they’d never stop finally began to fade.
“Leah, you feeling a bit better now?”
“…Yeah.”
Ever since her memories came back, she’d been constantly uneasy.
But after crying her heart out, she felt lighter.
‘Just knowing that someone missed me — missed “Alicia” — gives me strength.’
It was strange.
“Sorry I couldn’t stay with you longer. I’ll finish up as soon as I can and come back.”
She wanted to keep him here a little longer.
Even though she didn’t return his feelings… she still wanted him close. How selfish.
“…It’s fine. Seems like something urgent, so go ahead.”
Leah forced a smile.
“…You don’t have to fake a smile with me.”
How did he know it was fake?
She felt embarrassed.
“Don’t think about anything. Just rest.”
“Okay.”
He lightly touched her face once, then left with Samuel.
Suddenly, the room felt empty.
“I didn’t expect you to recognize me right away just from the jewelry box.”
Sure, her eyes were unique, but her hair color was common enough.
‘We hadn’t even played together for a full year back then, when we met as the crown prince’s playmates.’
And that shy boy from back then turned out to be Johann.
‘Back then, he was smaller than me… kind of cute. Now he’s so much bigger, with such a different look in his eyes.’
‘For us to meet again, forgetting everything about each other, and then fall in love…’
“…That’s quite a fate.”
Leah lay down on the soft bed.
Her eyes were puffy from crying, and now sleepiness was hitting her hard.
“……Mom! Mom!”
She woke up from a light nap at the sound of Raphaella’s voice.
“…Mm, Rafi?”
“Mom, are you okay?”
Raphaella’s eyes were filled with tears as she checked her mother’s face.
“Mhm, I’m fine, Rafi.”
Leah sat up and put her daughter on her lap.
“No, you’re not. Your cheeks are red.”
“Really? Maybe they’re just puffy from a nap?”
Leah lied smoothly.
“…Hmm.”
Raphaella squinted and studied Leah’s cheek.
“It’s true, Rafi.”
Leah pulled her into a tight hug to hide her cheek.
“Hey! I’m gonna check for real!”
Raphaella wriggled in protest.
“Helen, where were you with Rafi just now?”
“When I heard Her Highness the Princess had arrived, I took Lady Veronica and the young lady to hide for a while.”
Helen also looked worried.
“Good job. Thank you, Helen.”
“Not at all, Lady Leah. It’s my duty.”
By then, Raphaella had squirmed out of her mother’s arms.
“…Mom, I’m gonna look at your face!”
“Rafi, I’m really tired. Can we both take a nap first and check after?”
Leah yawned widely and lay back down, making sure to rest on her left side to hide her cheek.
“You need a nap too, right?”
“…Well, yeah, but—”
“Haaa… I’m so tired.”
Raphaella climbed onto the bed next to her.
“Okay. But you have to show me properly when you wake up.”
“Of course.”
It wasn’t a bad hit, so the swelling would go down quickly.
If she woke before Raphaella, she could ice it and avoid suspicion.
‘To tell him the empress is using dark magic, I’d have to tell him I’ve gone back in time… but would he believe me?’
Right now, she was too tired to think.
She fell asleep holding Raphaella.
Helen quietly tucked the blanket in and drew the curtains before leaving the room.
“Your Grace, while we were looking for the princess’s spy in the mansion, we also found one belonging to the empress.”
Samuel followed behind Johan as he explained.
After sending the princess away, the Blumhardt knights searched the servants’ quarters, convinced someone had been leaking information to her.
Surprisingly, they found the empress’s spy before the princess’s.
She was a kitchen maid named Gerda, hired only recently.
“Lucky break,” Johann said.
“How’d you catch her?”
“When she saw the knights searching rooms, she tried to pack her things and escape. Her roommate caught her and raised the alarm.”
“The empress planted someone that sloppy?”
“With the increased security and strict ID checks here lately, it’s been hard for her to sneak people in. So she probably just shoved in whoever she could find.”
The maid wasn’t chosen for loyalty but simply because she met the conditions.
She’d been hired by one of the empress’s informants, tempted by an offer to have all her debts erased.
“The princess’s and empress’s spies didn’t even know about each other, so each thought they’d been caught themselves.”
“And the princess’s spy?”
“A stablehand we just hired. Still young—barely an adult.”
“I remember him looking young.”
“When questioned, he admitted he had no backstory—he just wanted the money.”
“Hardly even worth calling a spy,” Johan muttered.
“Where are they now?”
“Locked in the underground cells.”
Samuel led him down with a torch.
“Deal with the princess’s spy as you see fit,” Johann ordered.
“Yes, sir.”
Their footsteps echoed heavily on the cold stone.
Johann followed Samuel to the cell holding the empress’s spy.
Inside, a woman with messy hair was shivering.
“You’re the empress’s spy?”
“…Your Grace, I swear I haven’t done anything!” she cried the moment she saw him.
“I know. A new spy wouldn’t have had time to act.”
“Yes, exactly.”
Gerda nodded rapidly.
“So… if you let me live…” She crawled forward to grab the bars.
“If I let you live, what can you do for me?” Johann asked in a low voice.
“I… I can do anything.”
“You say that after trying to run the moment things got risky?” He smirked coldly.
“That’s because the order was too difficult…”
“What order?”
“……Well…”
Gerda swallowed hard.
“I really didn’t have the courage to do it, so I kept hoping the chance would never come.”
“Tell me.” His voice was icy.
“…The order was… to poison you and your fiancée when the chance came.”
She squeezed her eyes shut.
“…Poison, huh.”
“It’s true, I’m quick with my hands—I’ve stolen and cheated at cards before.”
‘So that’s why the empress hired her in such a rush—because she’s quick with her hands,’ Johann thought.
“But I swear on my late parents’ graves, I’ve never killed anyone.”
She seemed to be telling the truth, though he’d have to investigate.
“Please believe me, Your Grace.” She knelt on the cold floor.
“What poison?”
“I don’t know what it is, but I hid it under a floorboard beneath the bed.”
“Go get it,” Johann ordered a nearby knight.
“…But why should I trust you with any job when you confessed so easily?”
“I didn’t know it was about killing people when I agreed. I just wanted my debts cleared…” she said, biting her lip.
“And I only found out today that it was the empress who ordered it.”
She said she’d been shocked when the knights interrogating her mentioned the empress.
“That’s why I told you everything—because I want to be forgiven.”
“…”
Could he trust her?
“…If you let me live, I’ll do anything except hurt people. I’d rather run forever than become a murderer—that’s why I tried to escape.”
She really did seem like she couldn’t kill someone.
“…It’s the truth, Your Grace!”
The knight returned, holding a small bottle.
“There it is, sir.”
The bottle sloshed with enough poison for more than two people.
Johann had a good idea of what it was.
He dripped a bit onto the end of the iron bars.
Gerda and the knight flinched back as it sizzled and ate through the metal.
‘…Demon poison.’
The empress clearly wanted them dead in one blow.
She was so desperate, she’d even used an incompetent spy.
Johann’s teeth clenched tight.
