The Lady from Lanier
Helmut had stayed at Lutgarth Castle for a little over three weeks. The vassals, who had brought him difficult problems, were hardly happy to welcome him, and Theodore had conveyed his desire for him to leave in a roundabout way, his face heavy as he explained that he could not provide answers during the mourning period. However, Helmut, whose greatest strengths were his confidence and shamelessness, didn't pay it much mind.
His task was not to return with an answer regarding the succession ceremony, but to find out about Lady Peril and her daughter.
Helmut himself hadn't achieved much. The vassals were all excessively tight-lipped, and in truth, they didn't seem to know much either. All he had been able to discover was that Olivia Peril had left the castle as soon as the funeral ended, and that she had barely said goodbye to anyone.
The one who had gathered information was Rowan, who had followed him as his groom. He was a cheerful, handsome man with thick brown hair and green eyes, and he had captured the eyes of every maid in the castle within three days of arriving.
Rowan had a talent for making his schemes look like anything but. The maids quickly opened their hearts to him as he loitered in paths the masters didn't frequent, looking for work to help with.
Helmut received his report.
“So, you’re saying that maid, Mary, left with her?”
“They say she was the only lady’s maid she had. I don’t think it’s strange that she only took Mary. What is strange is that Mary left later.”
“Left later…”
“If she had gone to recuperate because she was ill, a lady’s maid to look after her would naturally have gone with her. But they say Mary stopped by her own home before following her. No one heard from Mary where they were going. Perhaps her family might have heard.”
“I can’t send someone to dig that up right away. The butler might know, but I can’t interrogate him either.”
“Yes, sir.”
“What do you think?”
“I believe there is a high possibility she was imprisoned.”
Rowan answered calmly.
“I heard Olivia Peril did not agree to the marriage. With such vast wealth at stake, the Count of Lutgarth wouldn't have been able to accept that. It would be most convenient to imprison her somewhere and then hold a formal marriage.”
“You or I would have done that. But Theodore Lutgarth?”
When Helmut asked back, implying that couldn't be the case, Rowan hesitated and couldn't answer.
“And Theodore’s current state is too awkward for it to be a simple imprisonment. He looks unstable somehow. Could she have run away?”
“To avoid the marriage with the Count? That sounds like a romance novel.”
“You can become a millionaire without marrying him. There might have been another man.”
“I understand what you mean. I should look into the Marquis of Asensio’s side for that.”
“The Marquis is tight-lipped. I’ve already probed him several times, but he just keeps dodging, saying he’s only supervising the lawyer’s work as the executor of the will.”
Helmut said, lost in thought. Then again, that wasn't the important part. What he was trying to find out wasn't the inheritance issue of the Lutgarth family, but the identity of Olivia Peril.
‘If Ezekiel’s thoughts are correct, there is another possibility. He spirited her away to protect Olivia Peril.’
He felt that was an action more befitting of Theodore. But for that to be the case, Theodore reacted too noticeably to the topic of Olivia.
If Olivia Peril were truly an Imperial Princess, and Theodore had hidden her to protect her, his attitude should have been much more rational and calm.
Ezekiel, who received this opinion in a long letter, wrote out an order indifferently. It was to be sent to the Schwab intelligence organization.
Find the current whereabouts of Olivia Peril.
Helmut had reported that the possibility of her being an Imperial Princess was low, but he hadn't reduced the suspicion to zero.
If so, it was better to find her. It was the same even if she couldn't do anything.
‘I will use this as an opportunity to drag out all the Royalists and slaughter them.’
The Emperor was a justification in himself just by being alive, and the power of the Klaus Duchy, the family of the late Empress, was not yet completely dead. Although they were holding their breath, the existence of forces opposing him was bothersome.
His father had said that touching Peril would only be scratching an itch and causing a sore, but Ezekiel could not leave this situation alone. He had never been able to tolerate those who defied him.
Let alone the dust bunnies loitering on the path to the throne. They deserved to be cleaned out entirely. Olivia Peril would surely become a useful cleaning tool.
He received the first report ten days later.
Final destination, the Duchy of Lanier. Current whereabouts unknown.
He had lost the trail.
5. Lady Laila
It was four months later that a new trend began in the capital.
“An opera in a salon?”
“It’s not a full-scale production. It seems to be a small piece where two or three performers sing three or four songs. But Baroness Bruno’s daughter played the lead role there.”
“Oh my. A lady acting as an actress.”
“It’s not like she put on makeup or stood on a stage to be a spectacle. It’s not a big deal to sing one or two songs in a salon.”
“Baroness Bruno’s daughter sings well, after all.”
“That’s true. But the ones who played the counterparts were Sir Bülow and Sir Werner.”
This was a story that couldn't help but be exciting. This was because both Sir Bülow and Sir Werner were men who had proposed to Baroness Bruno’s daughter. Furthermore, the content of that small opera was a light love triangle.
There were many who found it amusing, but there were also many who thought poorly of it.
“Who brought such a vulgar game?”
“You know that distant relative staying at the Andex Count’s house? The one who said she came from the Duchy of Lanier, Lady Laila.”
“Lady, my foot. To a woman who devises such vulgar games.”
“I heard she owns a theater troupe. It’s not something a lady should do.”
However, whether they liked her or hated her, everyone agreed on one thing.
“She is a great beauty.”
“There’s a reason she’s become the talk of high society so quickly.”
They said her black hair, which reached her back, was like the goddess of the night, and her turquoise eyes were like starlight. Her skin was as white as snow, and her wrists, revealed beneath long sleeves, were slender.
She was a stunning beauty, cultured, and had no lack of manners. Moreover, since she knew how to create and popularize games that others couldn't easily think of, it didn't take long for her to emerge as the hottest topic in high society.
People who wanted to meet her left mountains of business cards in the lobby of the Andex Count’s house, men filled the living room with love letters and gifts every day, and women dyed their hair black.
Anyone who wanted to make their social gatherings lively wanted to invite her, and even those who disliked her did not refuse her visits.
And there were those who couldn't stand it.
“Just how beautiful is that woman called Lady Laila for all this fuss?”
Princess Roella muttered, her lips twisted. One of the maids, who was gently waving a large fan to cool her, said:
“It must be the men with vulgar tastes.”
“Then that means the majority of men in the world have vulgar tastes.”
Roella replied sarcastically. The maids continued in a light tone, smiling as if it were nothing.
“Most people haven't even seen that woman, Lady Laila, in person. It must have become a kind of trend or competition. Who gets to get their hands on her.”
“Don’t pay attention to such a lowly woman. She calls herself a lady, but we don’t even know what she was doing in the Duchy of Lanier.”
“She said she was a distant relative of the Countess of Andex, but they’ve barely been in contact, so I can’t even guarantee it’s true. You never know. Seeing as there are rumors she was an actress, she might be acting desperately, betting her life on it right now.”
But those words could not calm Princess Roella’s irritation. No matter what, it was true that Lady Laila was receiving more attention from people in high society than Princess Roella right now.
So, the maid who was fanning her brought out an effective word that always worked well.
“And what does it matter what that woman’s reputation is? The Duke of Schwab wouldn't even give a glance to such a woman.”