The devil laughed as if what happened was ridiculous.
“What on earth is that cookie, anyway?”
“Value is a relative law. What are you going to do with a mere cookie as payment?”
“That’s nonsense…”
John gave the devil a cold smile.
“The negotiations are terminated.”
“Hey—!”
The devil tried to seize John. But there was no clause in their contract that would allow either side to bind the other at will. The devil’s form vanished. On the altar where the source of chaos had disappeared, a pale glow bloomed.
“The devil demanded the cookie Este gave.”
There is a secret with Este. Perhaps there’s more than just a time limit…
A sharp headache suddenly surged, and John clenched his teeth.
“I feel like I’ve forgotten something.”
Having confirmed that the banquet time was before, John sought Blanchet’s secret interrogation room.
The secret interrogation room is where those deemed guilty by Blanchet’s internal punishments are kept. Of course, there were also Libertan’s servants who hadn’t been dragged off for treason.
“Get up.”
John woke the prisoner hanging on the wall.
“Br- Duke Blanchet…?”
This prisoner was the duke’s most trusted attendant who had served Este.
“I have questions about Este.”
“Este? The one who was adopted by Libertan…”
“Yes. The Este you looked after.” John asked stiffly.
“There were faint scars on Este’s body. You allowed injuries to occur on your mistress’s body, didn’t you?”
“Were there scars?”
The prisoner’s eyes grew hazy, and his speech became slurred.
“Ah, the scar. Was that some absurd scar that tormented the servant who came with you?”
“Speak clearly.”
“Scar… Este, madam, caused trouble for the household with minor wounds and “naughtiness.””
John’s rough hand squeezed the prisoner’s throat.
“Minor wounds, and scars? After all that trouble, would there be scars?”
“It’s true! The treatment was… deliberately prevented! Este caused wounds whenever she stood to be at a disadvantage!”
The prisoner thrashed, shouting.
“To make us feel guilty before the master and mistress! That’s why everyone had to listen to Este!”
With a crash, John slammed the prisoner’s head against the wall, pinning him.
“Watch your mouth.”
“Poor master, mistress, and our lady. How could such a fake…?”
“Our lady?”
John carefully examined the prisoner’s eyes. They were unfocused and hazy.
“…Yes, our lovely Este-rah. That fake lady took everything from our lady.”
“So, how did the fake take it all?”
John pressed with a firm, gentle tone.
“If you tell the truth, you’ll be of great help to Este.”
“That’s…”
But the prisoner gave no meaningful testimony. Over time, his stories became inconsistent. The one consistent statement was that Este had been beloved in Libertan’s house, but caused mischief and tormented people. Yet they did their best to love Este anyway.
“The real Este stole the place of our dear Este!”
“Shut your mouth.”
John silenced the prisoner by plugging his mouth with his ear. It wasn’t just this one prisoner.
John frowned.
“The other prisoners’ statements and our spy’s statements are similar too.”
Though one might expect at least one would differ, none did. Logically, this could be true.
“Really, was that scar also Este and your misdeeds?”
Everyone accused Este.
“How strange.”
The John of old would have judged according to their assessments because it was reasonable given the people and circumstances of the time.
John looked up at the darkening sky after coming out of the secret prison.
“I look more real than you do.”
Libertan’s execution day drew near. Only two more days remained before Libertan’s execution. He wouldn’t be allowed to pass easily, and he’d be dragged out to the scaffold and made to suffer, though—
“Is this really going to be okay?”
John clenched his fists.
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
I stood still and looked at Erich.
“To be meaningful, the wound must be deeper.”
Honestly, Erich’s sadness was not my concern.
“I feel strange.”
A little girl overlapped with Erich’s image, hiding a bleeding hand.
The younger me in Libertan who denied the abuse, the younger Este who believed her faults caused her suffering.
“Even a saint would have scars that matter?”
So I spoke out.
Even if everyone denied it, scars remain as scars. As long as I remember, those pains and moments of endurance won’t disappear.
Then, suddenly, a beautiful blue rose bloomed among the bushes.
The Eden Rose.
“I wasn’t even paying attention to a flower right now.”
I didn’t know why Eden Rose bloomed so suddenly.
-My child, you did it! Excellent!
-Yes. That’s enough to use the power of a fairy.
The trees seemed to cheer as if at a festival. Erich, shocked by the Eden Rose, shed a single tear.
“…I’m sorry.”
Erich, who was crying with red eyes, seemed as pure as a water fairy.
“I want to apologize for all the rudeness I showed to my mistress, for always declaring and pushing her around.”
Then he knelt to the ground in repentance.
“I’m sorry. Even if I apologize like this, I cannot change the past, but I still apologize.”
I hadn’t asked for this kind of repentance.
“You don’t have to apologize to me.”
But I did not accept his apology. I couldn’t tell what exactly Erich was apologizing for. Accepting an apology for something I wasn’t sure about could cause more trouble.
“Honestly, the baron’s previous words weren’t entirely wrong.”
“No, I…”
“It’s not about discounting the baron’s feelings.”
As the wind rose, the rose bushes behind him rustled. I brushed my long hair behind my ear and smiled.
“But that doesn’t mean I’m not the daughter of Libertan. Being Mrs. Blanchet is not erasing my past.”
“Madam…”
“The baron was simply doing his job. When outsiders come, we need guards and people who can keep others in check.”
Erich’s face twisted with sadness.
“So don’t blame yourself. I’m fine.”
Erich, meeting my eyes, showed the wounded hands.
“Madam. There was a scar I obtained from the past when I was abandoned by the owner I served.”
Fortunately, the bleeding had stopped. But the hand was so deeply wounded that it looked terrible.
“Now it’s gone, but thanks to you, I can endure without this scar.”
“Ah…”
“I want to carry this scar for you.”
Erich, kneeling with one knee, offered his hand to me as a knight would.
“Would you allow me to pledge my loyalty to you?”
Erich extended his hand to me.
“Are you sure you won’t regret the choice you just made about the baron?”
No matter how much I looked, he seemed to have been swayed far more by my words than would be reasonable to expect. People often regret quick decisions.
“Please think it over a bit more. And as long as you serve John, isn’t it the same for me, that I should also be someone you serve?”
“That’s not so. My resolve is firm.”
Erich wore a faint smile.
“Even if it means betraying my master, I will follow your will. Even if this choice is wrong, even if it’s dishonorable, I want to devote all of me to you.”
The Erich smiling looked completely different from the Erich I knew.
“The mood also seems different.”
His blue eyes glittered with sincerity. I slowly placed my hand on Erich’s.
“Very well.”
My scarred, burned hand stood out against his white, soft hand.
“My lady.”
Erich, without hesitation, kissed the back of my hand and swore as a knight.
“To you, my heart, and an eternal oath.”
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
Liandro was completely broken.
As the price for assaulting Blanchet’s Duke’s mansion, he had damaged his legs and arms.
Luckily, Count Pelsis had summoned a healer from the Viscount’s mansion, so he was told to recover after a few weeks.
But the doubt in his mind grew deeper.
Liandro looked out the window as if he were seeing someone and murmured.
“…Why do you reject me?”
Liandro is Este’s only knight who can save her.
“I would even lay down my life for you.”
Este was more wicked than the Libertan couple. Only Liandro would be willing to risk his life for such a villain who would sacrifice anything for Este.
“You tried to take responsibility even for the villain, didn’t you?”
Of course, the situation was difficult. John, with the devil’s approval for their wedding contract, showed the contract in court.
But Liandro wouldn’t be swayed by such tricks. Even if they pretended to be married for now, John would certainly betray Este, simply because Este is Libertan’s daughter.
“If that isn’t the case, there’s no reason to execute the Duke and Duchess.”
Their mother, the Countess Pelsis, looked on the despondent Liandro with pity.
The once-vital royal knight Liandro lay in bed, his wounds healed, but he showed no sign of getting up.
“Oh, my poor son, why is this still happening? Is it really because of that woman?”
Countess Pelsis told him about Este’s stories in the social circle.
“That woman buys dresses from every dress shop, robs jewelers, and indulges in luxury without caring about anyone.”
“…Is that true?”
“Yes! Perhaps she arranged this to destroy the Hettel family by wanting excess to such a degree!”
Liandro widened his eyes.
The Countess, seeing her son react to Este’s stories, grew more upset and spoke more.
“A close noblewoman whispered that the woman envied all other women and even tried to monopolize the Totalita’s prime ministers.”
“…And His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, too. Why does this one woman make our mother so sad?”
But Liandro no longer listened to his mother.
“John Blanchet-!”
Enraged, Liandro struck the bed’s handle, snapping it. His blue eyes flashed with fierce malice.
“How much more is she going to force others to sin?”
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
News that Eden Rose had bloomed sent Blanchet’s Duke into a frenzy.
John also, after finishing dinner, went out to the garden to confirm Eden Rose.
“…It’s really Eden Rose. How could Eden Rose be blooming?”
“I don’t know either. Was it luck?”
Betty danced with joy at the bloom of Eden Rose.
“Look at this! No matter what anyone says, the Lady is the true Blanchet’s Duchess.”
“That much?”
“Of course. Eden Rose is the symbol of the Blanchet family. It’s the only place it blooms.”
That’s why the attendants sheltered me more. But that wasn’t what mattered to me.
I looked at the back of my hand and spoke to the tree.
“Honestly, I don’t know how Eden Rose bloomed. It wasn’t a conscious use of power…”
-Do not worry. It being successful in one go is the important part.
-Right. Now, take care of Eden Rose and keep practicing the fairy power.
“…Won’t something else happen all of a sudden?”
The trees were silent for a moment.
-The fairy’s power is the power of miracles, but surely not all at once.
-Yes. Do not worry about what hasn’t happened yet. You worry too much.
If something extraordinary happens, I’ll deal with it then.
‘I must continue my task.’
Today, I would finally open the vault of Baron Fenula.
‘I must also check the jewel related to the fairy told by the tree at the auction.’
To have an escape route, there were many things to do, and it would be hard to hide them all from John, who would see through everything. Betty alone wouldn’t be enough to fool the whole mansion.
But Erich solved that problem.
“Madam. I have prepared every possible exit.”
Honestly, even though Erich had pledged loyalty, I hadn’t expected him to do this for me. And he had one thing to say at that time:
“So, what do you need from me now?”
Without even asking why I was leaving, Erich prepared everything.
“Just please return within six hours. I have prepared a reason in case you’re caught, but…”
“Thank you, Lord Erich.”
When we called each other by the agreed title, Erich awkwardly rubbed his eyes and spoke.
“You’re welcome. I’m just glad I can be of help, Madam.”
Thus I and Betty went to the Imperial Bank to check the vault.
And in the vault there was.
“You really used a lot, didn’t you? Even I wouldn’t quit.”
“…I’m used to this much. In a sense, you’re remarkable, Baron.”
There were incredibly huge gold coins!
“This should be enough for an escape fund.”
Because Baron Fenula himself was an escapee, the vault could be opened by anyone with a key.
Therefore I could easily exchange the coins for banknotes and go to the auction house.
Time was tight, but it seemed I could achieve all my planned exits.
“What about that jewel? I wonder how much it’s worth.”
To avoid being found by John, I wore a mask and sat down, waiting for the auction to begin.
Betty left to check the order of the auction.
That moment, someone looked at me with a dazed gaze.
“No, why is he there—”
The other person recognized me as well and approached with long strides.
“Lady Este.”
Liandro, with a solemn face, grabbed my wrist as I tried to turn away.
“How did you know?”
Neither the Crown Prince nor anyone else could tell how someone could recognize me even when I hid my face. Is my stomach so weak?
Liandro asked in a sad voice.
“What crime did you intend to commit at this auction—”
At that moment, a blue eye pierced my bracelet. It was a bracelet John had given me.
“The rumors were all true.”
Liandro snapped my bracelet with a dangerous tug.
“Have you not realized you’ve fallen into decadence and pleasure, Lady? Where will this end? Pull yourself together!”
Liandro’s blue eyes grew soft, regretting him speaking harshly.
“There is a path to salvation even now. Take my hand and get out of here—”
“No.”
I firmly rejected Liandro’s hand.
“Do not touch my body so casually.”
“This is to take responsibility for you—”
“Then why do you insist you’ll take responsibility for me?”
Liandro tried to seize and shatter me, to drag me away.
“Lord Liandro Pelsis.”
I met his blue eyes squarely and smiled faintly.
“Perhaps you should wake from your illusion a bit.”
Snap-!
~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~
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!!
