Chapter 6
There were so many of them that I couldn’t help but wonder if Daniel would really be of any help.
Maybe I should’ve called for help from the Capital Guard instead? I was just debating that when I realized something surprising—Daniel’s swordsmanship was even more impressive than Linus’s.
“Was Daniel always that good with a sword?”
When I asked Edward, he looked at me as if I’d said something absurd.
One of the greatest mysteries of my life was how such capable people—Edward my aide, Angela my secretary, and Daniel my knight—had all ended up working under me.
Sure, I’d recruited them myself, but still, they were remarkable.
“Sir Daniel was once a member of the Royal Guard, my lady. His swordsmanship is practically guaranteed.”
Even so, how strong was a Royal Guard supposed to be, really? Someone like me wouldn’t know.
I’d never had the chance to see Daniel fight like this before. My subordinates always held back in front of me.
Linus, of course, was known even in the original story as one of the most skilled swordsmen in the Empire, so his prowess wasn’t surprising.
I watched the two men standing back to back, their movements so swift they were practically flying.
“It’s like watching a movie.”
“A… movie, my lady?”
“There’s such a thing.”
Edward shrugged, utterly lost.
Before we could exchange another word, the fight was already over.
From a distance, Daniel and Linus were flicking the blood from their swords.
I worried that Linus might have been hurt, but thankfully, there wasn’t a scratch on him.
Good. Linus couldn’t afford to be injured.
Because of the poison running through his veins, any wound he sustained could harm everyone around him as well.
Despite his skill, he had no real power. That’s why he was treated as a discarded prince—hounded and hunted by those who wanted him gone.
“Are you all right?”
Edward and I approached Daniel, and I feigned surprise when I looked at Linus.
“Oh my, isn’t this Prince Arnold?”
The look on Linus’s face practically read, You again?
Unfortunately, I wanted to say the same thing. What were the odds of running into him like this again?
“These assassins—were they sent by the Count?”
“If they were, would I have sent my knight to help you? I’d barely have enough men to protect myself.”
Linus pressed his lips together, clearly unconvinced.
I crouched down beside the fallen assassins, examining them.
“They’re not from the Ordo Assassins, are they?”
Edward adjusted his glasses, scrutinizing the corpses and jotting down notes.
As expected of my meticulous aide.
“The Count already dismantled the Assassin Guild Union, my lady. Any guild left in the capital wouldn’t dare target His Highness. They’re too terrified.”
At Edward’s words, Linus gave me a long, unreadable look.
I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but there was something curious in his eyes.
Crossing my arms, I met his gaze coolly, the way Count Edyut herself would, and asked,
“Do you have anyone in mind? Personally, I suspect your uncle.”
Honestly, the only one who’d do something like this was Viscount Winstein.
Crown Prince Heinrich and the Empress didn’t even consider Linus a rival yet—after all, he didn’t have a heart.
He’d been officially acknowledged as a royal, but since he lived outside the palace, they treated him like a ghost. Out of sight, out of mind.
Why, then, was he being hunted by his own uncle, the Viscount?
“I know who’s behind it,” Linus said calmly, his voice soft as a petal. “But I’m only watching for now.”
So it was Winstein.
“Are you certain you have no connection to my uncle, Count Edyut?”
He looked at me with suspicion. Clearly, he thought I was conspiring with Winstein to have him killed.
Well, the real Count Edyut had tried to assassinate him once.
But Winstein wouldn’t gain anything from killing Linus. So why was he doing this?
The situation was extremely uncomfortable.
If Winstein truly was plotting Linus’s death, I could already guess who he’d frame for it—
Me, of course.
Might as well protect Linus myself at this rate.
“No, I don’t,” I said. “The past can’t be erased with an apology, but…”
I looked up at Linus with as much composure as I could muster.
“At least now, I can say I have no interest in Your Highness.”
Of course, that was a lie.
Every time I thought of Linus’s heart, my own heart pounded like crazy.
But I kept my expression serene, even managing a lazy smile.
Linus, however, clearly didn’t believe me.
“Then why do you keep following me around, Count?”
“No, seriously, it’s just a coincidence—”
“Don’t insult me with talk of coincidences. That word doesn’t suit Count Edyut.”
He was so firm that I couldn’t help feeling awkward.
Well, considering how the real Edyut Countess once tried to kill him, his distrust made sense.
I scratched my cheek and shrugged helplessly.
“Who knows? Why don’t you guess, Your Highness?”
Whatever I said, he wouldn’t believe me anyway, so I left him with that cryptic line.
As Linus frowned in thought, I offered a polite farewell.
“I’m quite busy, so I’ll be going now.”
Not long after that, a letter arrived from the Marquisate of Ash.
“Ed, I got a letter from the Ash—uh, I mean, the Ashes family. They’re asking to break off the engagement.”
“It’s Ash, not Ashes, my lady. And yes, I mentioned the Marquis’s proposal for annulment before. Since you didn’t respond, they must’ve sent another letter.”
Edward gave me a pained look, correcting me as usual.
So “Ash,” not “Ashes.” Same difference.
“Wait—did you say before that Lord Ash wanted to break off our engagement? When? Are you sure you told me?”
Edward gave me that here we go again expression, then pulled open a drawer and handed me a letter bearing the Ash family crest.
Now that I thought about it, I vaguely remembered him mentioning something about the Ash family back when we were talking about assassins.
Feeling sheepish, I shut my mouth. Edward just sighed and shrugged.
I skimmed the brief letter—it was a formal request for annulment.
According to Count Edyut’s memories, the two had only met once, despite being engaged.
My fiancé, Grey, was the heir to the Ash Marquisate and the vice-captain of the Imperial Knights. He was handsome, capable, and noble—practically flawless.
And far too aware of it.
I knew from gossip that despite being engaged, he’d been romantically involved with countless women.
“What do you intend to do, my lady?” Edward asked, watching me closely.
Without a word, I tossed the letter straight into the trash.
Trash belongs in the trash.
Edward exhaled in visible relief.
“Prepare the annulment paperwork.”
I said calmly, flipping through the Edyut family’s financial records and uncapping my quill.
Edward answered cheerfully, “Understood.”
As I watched drops of ink fall onto the paper and spread like black veins, I called out again.
“Ed, you gathered all the evidence, right?”
He turned, pale and exhausted from our three sleepless nights of work.
With a nod, he opened a locked drawer, took out a thick stack of papers, and laid them neatly on my desk—then looked up at me with puppy-like eagerness for praise.
“This is a witness statement saying he was seen kissing Lady Dublena, this is a hotel ledger showing he spent the night with Lady Elvard, and here’s a list of women claiming to be his lovers. Oh, and these are petitions from ladies begging the Count to punish him.”
Punish? I wasn’t some avenging saint.
Edward looked utterly disgusted with Grey’s debauchery, but honestly, I wasn’t angry.
After all, it wasn’t me who was engaged to him—it was the real Count Edyut.
And since I’d been in her body for a year and never once seen his face, I felt no attachment whatsoever.
In fact, I was almost glad. Breaking off the engagement meant I could squeeze a hefty compensation out of the Ash family.
Who needs men when you have money?
“Well, I suppose the wait was worth it. For him to be the one to call it off first—utterly hopeless.”
“Exactly. He’s like non-recyclable trash—you can’t fix him, you just throw him out. Shame it takes this much paperwork.”
Still, the thought of the payout made the hassle bearable.
Edward nodded vigorously in agreement.
I now understood why the real Edyut Countess had gotten engaged to Grey in the first place.
She had no relatives—her parents were dead, and she had no siblings. When she inherited the title, she’d been a young girl with no allies.
Many nobles opposed her, and she had to prove herself in court.
The Ash family had been the only ones to support her.
The previous Marquis Ash had been her father’s closest friend, which probably explained the alliance.
Of course, the Marquis hadn’t done it for free—he’d milked her for every coin she had.
“I already paid off everything the Ash family demanded for backing me in the imperial court. So now, we’re really done.”
“It’s Ash, my lady. You’ll slip up someday if you keep calling them that.”
“Even if I do, no one would dare correct me.”
Because I’m the district’s resident lunatic.
“And besides, the Marchioness of Ash always calls me ‘the Witch Countess.’ If I show them any leniency, it’s only out of respect for the old Marquis.”
Edward quietly stacked up the evidence again, nodding in agreement.
