“I knew it.”
Helene let out a hollow laugh as she looked at the photo.
Buying gifts, following her to volunteer work, spiriting Anna away, doing things he never used to do.
“Anna? Who’s that?”
When she had mentioned Anna before, he hadn’t even remembered the name, and she had thought it was just a pretense.
But to think she was actually someone he didn’t care about at all.
If Cynthia had the Duke spirit Anna away and take care of her, all the pieces fit.
Helene tightened her slightly loosened lips.
‘I don’t know if it’s revenge for the scandal or if she’s after the Duchess’s position.’
How dare a maid not know her place and try to steal her position in the end.
‘Did the Duke know Cynthia was a maid and still fall for it?’
Helene’s lips twisted with wounded pride.
She wanted to repay this shame and humiliation somehow.
“If you find the Diem gold mine, you won’t have to be bound by the Duke’s family’s power anymore. I’ll help you.”
She recalled Capitano’s words.
Although he was in dire straits because of the organization’s debt, she believed it had nothing to do with Capitano, who continued to help her.
“Yes, if it’s revealed that Diem, not Nox, is the real one.”
She believed that the one who found the valuable legacy was the one who deserved to inherit the throne.
After becoming independent, she planned to expose Cynthia’s identity and the Duke’s dirty private life.
“The perpetual snow can collapse and cause an avalanche. We oppose the gold mine project because of that danger.”
She didn’t hear the dangers the Diem residents were talking about.
She had already commissioned Capitano, given them a pittance, and kicked them out.
Just then, a maid announced the Duke’s return.
The Duke didn’t seem to know that she had embezzled money from the merchant guild to commission the work. She hesitated whether to use this photo as a weakness, then pulled her lips and shook her head.
Considering his brazen attitude, he was likely to have the servants secretly dispose of it.
“But Brigadier General will react differently to this photo.”
“They say Brigadier General has been buying her flowers and jewelry every day lately, haven’t they?”
In the end, Masera del Vicente must have come to cherish Cynthia.
* * *
Currently, I was embarking on a new operation.
‘I’ve been too weak all this time.’
I was in a very difficult situation because of Masera, who had been bulldozing his way in lately.
So I tried my best to push him away. I also had a little bit of a desire to retaliate by returning Masera’s prickly attitude from the past.
But none of my attacks worked on him, who was like an iron fortress.
“It’s not like I bought it to eat with you, okay?”
“If that’s the case, it’s my favorite cake, and there are two forks.”
He was such a formidable opponent that he even used my ‘selective listening’ technique.
Indeed, a brilliant strategist.
From now on, I would have to arm myself with even more cynicism and cold sneers and act haughty.
With that in mind, I sat facing Masera in the garden greenhouse.
I couldn’t refuse the offer to eat the ‘dessert made by the patissier who won first place at the Francia Dessert Competition.’
“Don’t keep calling me out when you’re busy. It’s not a very important matter.”
I said, imitating Masera’s indifferent tone and expression from the past.
He nodded, watching my quick hands take the dessert.
“Then take care of the important business first. However, I can’t guarantee how much dessert will be left.”
“No, no. No matter how trivial it is, you have to finish what you started.”
I shook my head vigorously.
After a long observation, I knew that man never left food behind.
In fact, nothing was as important as a skilled patissier’s dessert.
‘To offer me such a precious thing, he’s such an adorable man.’
“Would you like a strawberry?”
Not only that, but he also readily gave up the strawberry on top of the cake.
“Then I have no choice but to eat it… Oh, what is this taste? The price is worth two meals, but it’s on a different level than the cake with bruised strawberries that looks like it’s been beaten up?”
In the end, my iron wall mode was broken.
I belatedly put on a serious face, but when I saw him raising one corner of his mouth in a mocking smile, I felt an extreme sense of defeat.
Just then, the butler approached and handed Masera a letter.
As he unfolded the letter and read it, his expression gradually hardened, and he stood up from his seat.
“Please, eat first.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
I watched him leave quickly, then looked back at the dessert.
‘To give this up and leave, is it that serious?’
* * *
A few days later, the Duke hurriedly went out, looking pale.
He held a newspaper in one hand.
「High-ranking official of the Intelligence Bureau revealed to be involved in solicitation and destruction of evidence…….
Joint Headquarters, “Will thoroughly investigate the background”」
Looking at the official’s name, it was the person involved in the fake note incident.
It was only a matter of time before the fact that the Duke’s family was behind it was revealed.
“I thought he was just going to let it go.”
It was Masera, who had become a prominent figure but had been quietly living without exerting his influence.
If he was determined to use the authority of the military, it would be troublesome in many ways.
I couldn’t understand why he was stirring up something that was little more than a happening now.
The Duke organized his complicated thoughts and headed straight for the official residence.
After waiting for a long time in the drawing room, he was able to meet Masera.
“The official in the newspaper is my relative’s son-in-law, so this investigation is troublesome in many ways. Anyway, you and I are brothers-in-law, aren’t we?”
At the Duke’s words, Masera, who was sitting upright, raised his head slightly to face him. His sharply tailored uniform and restrained eyes gave off a cool sense of distance.
He had always disliked him, who had a way of overwhelming others despite being a commoner boy soldier, but now the atmosphere seemed a little different.
The deceptive ease, as if he knew everything but was quietly watching, had disappeared.
“Do you think I don’t know anything, or that even if I do, I can’t do anything?”
At Masera’s low voice, the Duke frowned.
He was reminded of the incident when he had been isolated in a blizzard in the past and had arbitrarily ordered a ‘march’ with the idea of annihilating the military unit to save supplies.
‘Masera, who was the commander, ended up taking the blame, but he didn’t say anything.’
But thanks to his reputation as a war hero, he wasn’t affected much, and was even praised as a wise strategy.
The Duke’s gaze went to the black gloves on his hands.
Seeing the gloves he wore during interrogations made him feel like he was being interrogated.
“What are you trying to say?”
“I’m letting you know that I’ve been turning a blind eye because it wasn’t something I needed to worry about. It doesn’t affect me in any way whether you spread rumors or tarnish my reputation.”
The Duke’s fingers, which had been resting on his lap, twitched.
Masera raised his chin and continued calmly.
“I don’t have a hobby of supplementing people who are wrong from the start.”
“Then why are you questioning me now?”
“It’s simple. Because it started to bother me.”
Masera, who was pulling his gloves taut, glared fiercely.
“I’m talking about the things your wife, the Duchess, is doing behind the scenes.”
“What did my wife do?”
It was a question to test him, even though he already knew.
“You must know, Duke. I overlooked the scandal because she’s my wife’s sister, but she’s been crossing the line more and more.”
“Why do you care about the reputation of the royal family you hate so much? You don’t even have affection for the Princess.”
He hadn’t cared about it all this time. Why now?
Masera tilted his sharp chin and smiled loosely.
“Who says I don’t have affection?”
At that, the Duke felt like he had been hit in the head with a stone.
At first, he had hoped that Masera would be hurt by falling for the fake Princess’s innocence, but when that actually happened, he felt displeasure and jealousy at the same time.
But that feeling was only temporary.
“Whether I hold you accountable or let it go is entirely up to me. Just like I’ve always done.”
Masera placed a photo on the table.
The Duke, seeing the photo taken with Cynthia, was flustered and widened his eyes.
“I highly doubt the intelligence of someone who uses the same method twice.”
At Masera’s sarcastic tone, the Duke calmly defended himself.
“This is just a minor misunderstanding.”
“I know. I don’t care if you bring gifts, wag your tail and chase after her, my wife isn’t interested. So it’s not something I need to worry about.”
Masera’s lips curled up as he saw the Duke’s face distort.
“I’m talking about the Duchess’s problem of threatening people with these photos and demanding money.”
A tense silence stretched out.
Masera picked up the cold teacup and opened his mouth.
“The Duchess isn’t the only one who can secretly assign people.”
“How dare you monitor the Duchess of the high-ranking Rukanosa?”
“Then what are you going to do about it?”
At Masera’s calm question, the Duke stood up in anger.
“No matter how heroic you are, touching the Duke’s family is…….”
“Currently, the Duchess is under international surveillance.”
“What?”
Masera quietly put down the teacup and curved his lips.
“Because there are signs that the Rukanosa Duchy’s funds have flowed into an illegal arms trafficking organization.”
