My whole body tensed.
‘There’s no way more blood’s coming out of here, is there?’
Thankfully, I wasn’t coughing up any more blood.
‘…This should be enough…’
John was looking at me with a stern face.
‘I don’t think so.’
Feeling wronged, I said to the trees.
-Why now of all times!
-Is something wrong? Why is the child suddenly getting angry?
-Yeah, wouldn’t it be good for you if the curse were to weaken?
-John was right in front of you. We’ve just created this strange misunderstanding.
The trees then slowly backed away.
-No. We… were just doing our best to make you better.
-Okay. It seems urgent, so we’ll be going now.
-Well, you can handle the explanation. We believe the child will do well!
John bent his knees slightly to meet my gaze as I sat in the examination room chair.
His red eyes held a complex and nuanced emotion.
‘I pretended to be sick, but… .’
I didn’t know the curse would suddenly weaken and I’d vomit blood!
“…You’ve been holding it in all this time, haven’t you?”
“Huh?”
“You’ve been hurting ever since you were manipulated by the Duke and Duchess of Hettel?”
John took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the corners of my mouth.
John didn’t ask why I suddenly vomited blood.
“I’m sorry. I was watching you the whole time, but I didn’t notice.”
…I wasn’t in pain, so I couldn’t have.
“I didn’t know I was in this state either, so how could John have? Don’t blame yourself.”
“This isn’t self-reproach.”
“Huh?”
“This is a reflection on my incompetence.”
John lowered his long eyelashes and clenched his teeth. He seemed extremely angry with himself.
“You said you’d show me what you’d prepared, but you missed the most important part.”
“…”
“Of all people, I am.”
John’s eyes twisted as if enduring pain.
“Why do you keep making such a pained expression?”
I stared blankly into those jewel-like red eyes.
“Am I important to you?”
The question I’d been avoiding suddenly surfaced.
“Why?”
You kept me as your wife just to get revenge on me.
“… Don’t think about anything else, Estelle.”
People only considered the superficial.
No one considered the true ‘Estelle.’ That’s why I became a fake.
John was no different. He was the man who targeted me, the ‘adopted child of Libertan,’ for revenge.
“The more you think about it, the more difficult it becomes for you.”
John was truly amazing.
I thought I’d given up on expecting anything from anyone. Why not from John?
“Please don’t let me expect anything.”
My toes tightened in my shoes. I racked my brain and asked.
“How long have you known about Count Hettel?”
“Quite a while ago.”
John answered surprisingly readily.
“Because you never know when it might be useful.”
“Then, was there a reason you were so certain you sent the document?”
“Hmm. The reason I knew it was your wife is because I knew everything about Count Hettel. But there was one thing I didn’t know about: the Libertan document.”
The one and only variable.
“So, of course, the document had to come from your wife. The only variable I didn’t know was your wife. Of course, I still don’t know how she came into possession of it.”
“Did you originally have all the noble families under your control?”
“That would be great, but of course that’s impossible. The reason I’ve been keeping track of Count Hettel this time is simple.”
“…”
“The fall of Count Hettel was predetermined.”
I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
“The fall of Duchess Blanchett was also predetermined.”
Of course, that included my own downfall.
“I kept them alive because they were useful, but when they became useless, I abandoned them.”
John told me about the fate of Count Hettel, who had dared to slander me.
The Hettel family’s name would be erased, all their assets would be confiscated, Count and Lady Hettel would serve their crimes in prison, and their daughters would become commoners, penniless.
Hearing that story, I felt uneasy. It felt as if their future was my own.
“John’s true nature hasn’t changed.”
A mastermind who doesn’t hesitate to use any means necessary for revenge.
A cold-blooded man who judges people based on their usefulness and uses them as tools.
“And I, too… would lose my value if I weren’t a target of revenge.”
But at the same time, this action was for my own good.
“The fact that the Count’s family has lost their usefulness is also because they’re ultimately trying to harm me.”
He still cares for me.
Just the fact that he so readily told me everything was enough.
“I really don’t know.”
Fear that one day, when I’ve become useless, he might cruelly kill me and abandon me.
Gratitude for using his power to take revenge on my behalf, completely for my sake.
Two feelings coexisted.
At that moment, John tucked a stray strand of my hair behind his ear.
“I know full well that your wife is hiding something from me.”
It seemed pointless to try to hide it.
“…It’s not that I don’t want to tell John.”
“Yeah, you have your own circumstances, I suppose.”
“Ha, but!”
I failed to dispel the dark shadows.
But I decided to take the biggest gamble I could.
“If John asks, I’ll answer everything I can honestly.”
John’s sharp eyes narrowed as if searching me.
“No. There’s no need. I can’t pressure you when you’re not feeling well.”
This will go through?
“I had a headache trying to squeeze an excuse into the Libertan document…”
It worked, but why does it feel even more complicated? I don’t know anymore.
“If you want to hide it, hide it. You can keep hiding it and pretend you don’t know anything.”
John, who had finished fixing my hair, kissed my forehead.
“But don’t run away.”
“…?”
“No matter what secrets you have, never disappear from my side.”
John whispered with a languid smile.
“Even my wife’s death must be mine.”
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
Late at night, Prime Minister Ortega, with all the lights turned off, spoke politely.
“Yes, Your Majesty. As Your Majesty said, we found traces of Libertan in the Hettel family.”
– “Are there any weaknesses in the Imperial family?”
“Unfortunately, the signs in the Hettel family were false.”
The Emperor swallowed hard inside the communication device.
“But it wasn’t a wasted journey. I believe the Libertan documents alone were sufficient.”
– “Isn’t the most important thing missing?”
“And I have learned one important thing.”
Prime Minister Ortega recalled the commotion at the dinner.
Duchess Blanchet suddenly coughed and her complexion darkened. Duke Blanchet seemed more shocked than anyone else at the time.
“Right now, all that matters to me is my wife.”
The original Duke Blanchet would have completely destroyed the Hettel family.
And after taking everything he could from the Hettel family, he would have demanded something from the royal family.
On the grounds of his contribution to capturing a traitor.
But Duke Blanchet was not like that.
He could have certainly demanded it then and there, but he disappeared with his wife.
Thanks to this, the Hettel family’s affairs were resolved by Chancellor Ortega in the name of the royal family.
Of course, since he had swearing oath, all of the Hettel family’s assets would be confiscated by the Duchess Blanchet, but this was uncharacteristic of the cruel Duke Blanchet.
-What was that?
In the shadows, Chancellor Ortega’s dark blue hair appeared black.
“It seems Duke Blanchett has finally developed a weakness.”
Chancellor Ortega’s cool green eyes gleamed.
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
Chancellor Ortega had dealt with Count Hettel’s family, summoning the Imperial Knights.
“I thought I should stay behind, since I’m an important person involved.”
It seems John took care of it himself.
“The mastermind is truly remarkable.”
The fastest route to Duchy Blanchet’s territory was through the Demon Forest. It was so steep that I had originally planned to take a detour.
“Though I think I’m even more anxious after seeing my blood yesterday.”
“It’s the Demon Forest now! Everyone, wake up and move!”
At the mention of the Demon Forest, I opened the carriage window slightly and looked outside.
Unlike the rest of the area, the trees were all black, their branches twisted into terrifying curves.
“Is it really a different place where monsters appear?”
It was certainly a forest that gave off an unpleasant feeling just by looking at it.
“I can’t get a conversation going even when I talk to the nearby trees.”
At that moment, Raymond approached me and said,
“Don’t worry about the monster forest, Madam. I often pass through this path, and I hunt monsters every year.”
“Oh, Sir Raymond.”
“Just in case, the chances of you encountering a monster are slim. I even sent scouts to check.”
Raymond chuckled at me and asked lightly.
“But Madam, why do you call me Sir Raymond? Just call me Raymond.”
“Is that okay?”
“Please speak to me informally, as if you were your master. I want to become close with you, Madam. Is that okay?”
The cheerful Raymond raised the corners of his lips, and a sense of relief lingered within me.
“That’s not it, but…”
“That guy is no good.”
John, who had lined up the group from earlier, suddenly appeared and spoke bluntly with a displeased expression.
“Madam, be careful with that guy. He’s a real wretch.”
“My lord, that’s too much! How dare you say such things.”
“Have you forgotten all about the trouble you caused with gambling and women?”
Raymond immediately cringed.
“…When you have fun, you just have a blast.”
“I don’t mind you having fun like that, but if you start acting strangely around my wife.”
John spoke in a low voice.
“Your life will end that day.”
“T-but you’re the Commander of the Knights and the mistress…”
“If you say one more word, I’ll end your life.”
“My, my lord…?”
“You’ve already done it once.”
As John fiddled with the sword at his waist, Raymond looked at me thoughtfully.
“My, my lord! Please stop me! Does this make any sense?”
“It’s certainly too much to say that just because I said one word. Sir Raymond seems like a good man…”
He was one of the few members of the Blanchett family who didn’t harbor any hostility toward me.
“Even so, he probably holds a grudge against the Libertans.”
Raymond’s face brightened at my words.
“As expected, the angelic Madam, unlike the vicious Lord—”
“I’ll miss you so much. The memories of our conversations with the Lord.”
“Madame?”
Raymond rolled his eyes in confusion.
“I-Isn’t it you were trying to save me, my lord? Still, I’m the Commander of the Blanchet Knights, so please forgive me—”
Raymond was just passing under a winding tree.
Bam!
The tree hit Raymond hard in the head. Raymond, who nearly fell from his horse, cried out in frustration.
“My lord! This is not right!”
I stared at the tree with startled eyes.
~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~
Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉
Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
~~~Next Chapter~~~
Next chapter will be released Tomorrow.
See you then!!
