Let's Woo the Mother and Daughter of the Duke's Family
Let's Woo the Mother and Daughter of the Duke's Family
"If you provide a useful answer, at the very least, you will be allowed to keep your life."
"Understood."
I desperately ignored the cold sweat trickling down my back from the tension and calmly steadied my breathing.
Every word I utter from now on.
Every minute change in my expression will determine whether my head stays on my shoulders or rolls on the floor.
'Alright, you've made it this far.'
Yes, in times like this, I must remain even calmer and perfectly utilize the settings of the original novel.
What is the reason that transmigrators and returners always survive in novels?
It's the overwhelming difference in the amount of information!
If I use that well, I can handle everything.
I immediately brought the major settings and episodes of the original novel to mind.
In the middle of the novel, the Cheinders family, which carries that trashy lineage of Duchess Mirea's ex-husband, commits another massive blunder.
They make disgusting advances toward the original female lead, Sereniel, and end up properly touching the sore spot of the Margrave of the West.
In the end, the Cheinders family is wiped out overnight by the Margrave's ruthless subjugation, but the real problem happened afterward.
Duchess Mirea, who had been thoroughly preparing for revenge to tear apart with her own hands those who had humiliated her for so long.
She turned the arrow of her rage toward the Margrave who had snatched away her prey.
Furthermore, Rihel, who already considered Sereniel an eyesore for being a commoner who monopolized the Crown Prince's love and lived a life brighter than anyone else, gladly joined her mother's rage.
Of course, at first, the Margrave also continued to acknowledge his mistake, and the Imperial family personally stepped in to mediate between the two pillar families.
However... despite the persistent mediation and dissuasion of the Imperial family, the mother and daughter of the Denius Duchy.
These two villainesses, who had gone beyond losing their minds to being completely insane, ultimately declared war on the Margrave of the West.
And because they shared borders with numerous kingdoms, the army of Count Valetier, which had been training harder than anyone else, crushed the Duchy's knights far too easily.
The Margrave, who was already in a foul mood because of the constant meddling with Sereniel, simply executed the two mother and daughter.
What? You ask what happens to the southern part of the Rodpen Empire when a Duchess is executed overnight?
Surprisingly, the Imperial family had already found a very, very distant relative of Denius before the war broke out in earnest.
Thanks to that, the succession of the Dukedom also ended cleanly without any issues due to the Imperial family's intervention, and that was how the biggest episode of the mid-part ended.
'⋯ I have to use that well.'
Yes, what if I could stop the beginning of that massive catastrophe and win their favor all at once?
What if I were to play the card that the Margrave used to destroy the Cheinders family here and now, before anyone else?
'Okay, I can do this.'
Having finished my thoughts, I carefully opened my mouth.
"Cross-breeding and black magic, which are taboo on the continent. And large-scale iron mine development without the Imperial family's permission."
"What did you say...."
"These are the atrocities that the Cheinders family has been secretly committing behind the scenes, avoiding the eyes of the Empire. If you find this evidence and release it to the world, even if they are the leaders of the aristocratic faction, the Imperial family will have no choice but to remain silent, having lost any justification to protect them. Then, Duchess-nim, you will be able to finish your revenge cleanly."
Upon hearing my calm explanation, Mirea's red eyes flashed with interest for a moment.
But that reaction was only for a brief second.
The Duchess's snow-white brow furrowed as she stared intently at my face.
And soon, an enormous amount of cold-infused mana began to pour out from her body, a 6th-circle mage.
"For a lowly commoner, how can you speak with such certainty about things in the deep mire that even the Imperial intelligence department hasn't grasped?"
The pressure intensified as if she wouldn't even allow me to breathe.
For a moment, I hesitated, wondering if I should offer an apology before it was too late, as if she were about to cut off my windpipe right then and there.
'Remember... if I fail here, I'm a dead man anyway.'
I stiffened my neck somehow and did not avoid her murderous gaze until the end.
Seeing me like that, the Duchess also showed a hint of being slightly taken aback.
"And even if that shallow information of yours is true, what on earth does it have to do with the contents of that cheeky letter? Saying you understand my pain, that you will look after me by my side. Wouldn't it have been a wiser choice to survive by just writing down that precious information from the start?"
Then, she slowly rose from her seat and approached right in front of my nose.
Her eyes, which seemed to hold red blood, flickered even more viciously due to her killing intent.
"And what is the reason for showing such filthy feelings of affection even to my only daughter? Did you think you could dare to toy with the two mother and daughter of Denius and still come out of this intact?"
Such an obvious interrogation.
But I had been waiting for this very moment.
I hadn't expected her to just swallow the information from the start anyway.
So, to make her trust me to that extent, I first had to use my honey-coated tongue and acting skills, which were the only things I could boast about.
I once again performed the Imperial etiquette, slowly bowing my upper body, and carefully placed my right hand over my left chest.
"First of all, the reason I showed feelings of affection to you, Duchess-nim, is that I did not want the overwhelming emotions I felt upon seeing you for the first time to be disparaged as a mere information transaction."
"What did you say?"
"First, the thing I wanted to tell you most is that being deceived by that damn trash of a Cheinders was never your fault, Duchess-nim. Those hellish nights when you had to be violated while drugged without knowing anything, and even the insulting gazes that the Young Lady-nim had to endure in the shadows of high society because of that. Not a single one of them is your fault."
I took a step closer and looked into her wavering red eyes as if to bore right into them.
⋯ They really look like rubies.
"I did not come here to cowardly beg for my life, hiding behind the flimsy shield of information. When the whole world called you a cruel villainess without blood or tears, I saw the tender wounds hidden behind that exterior. I only wanted to sincerely kiss those wounds and willingly share your heavy burden."
"......."
An absurd, forced emotional appeal.
It was a cringeworthy line that could have come from a third-rate street play, but perhaps she was lost for words due to the sudden flirting.
Or maybe she was so dumbfounded that she thought, 'Fine, let's see how far you can go.'
Seeing the Duchess, who had begun to listen to my words quietly, I pressed deep, desperate longing and yearning into my voice.
"Did you ask why I conveyed the same feelings to the Young Lady-nim? It is because the Young Lady-nim is also a part of the most precious world that you, Duchess-nim, have tried to protect with your whole life. Your wounds, your rage, even your noble bloodline. It was a vow made by this lowly man, risking his life, to embrace and protect all of that with my one remaining arm."
"...."
The distance where our breaths could touch.
When I finally took one more step, to the point where our lips would touch, it was the Duchess who backed away first.
Of course, I had no intention of letting her go, so I also took one more step forward.
"... Ugh!"
"You may use me as a useful chess piece for your revenge and discard me. If my blood and flesh can become a red carpet to brighten your path, Duchess-nim, I will gladly be stepped on and torn apart."
"⋯."
With that final word, only the sound of the clock's second hand and Mirea Denius's breathing lingered inside the quiet office.
Mirea was unable to take her eyes off my face, her lips slightly parted.
I could see the tips of her red lips, and her porcelain-white cheeks, trembling ever so slightly.
I could also see, for the first time, an unfamiliar emotion of bewilderment and confusion flickering within her red eyes, which had been like an impregnable fortress.
Perhaps it was a blind and reckless display of affection that she had never heard even once in her life.
And it was a direct pitch that came in deep, gently caressing the miserable bottom that she had wanted to hide the most.
Even the Duchess, who had been through all sorts of trials and tribulations, seemed to have forgotten how to manage her expression.
Eventually, the Duchess parted her lips, trembling with great difficulty, and spat out a single word.
"... That's, that's enough for now. Stop there, and get out."
Mirea, as if determined never to let the man in front of her see her expression.
She hurriedly turned her gaze out the window and took another step back.
"I will allow you to stay in the Ducal castle until it is confirmed whether the information you spouted is true. Have a maid guide you and just shove yourself into an empty guest room."
It was an eviction order that she thought she had delivered as viciously as possible, but the desperation to escape this situation immediately was clearly felt within it.
I cheered inwardly and bowed my head once again, politely, leaving behind a very persistent and explicit gaze.
"I will do as you command. However, if you ever feel lonely in the deep of night in this vast castle, please do not hesitate to call for me."
And before I completely left the office, to drive the wedge in until the end, I whispered sweetly toward her over my shoulder.
"I am always ready to hold both of you beautiful ladies of Denius firmly in my arms, so please do not worry in the slightest."
Bang.
With that, I closed the door without hesitation.
Mirea Denius's office, where a storm had just passed, lingering with shame, embarrassment, and a very slight hint of excitement.
Left alone, she kept staring blankly in the direction of the closed door even after the mysterious man had left.
How much time had passed?
Mirea's snow-white fingers, which had been frozen as if someone had stopped time, began to tremble little by little.
A corner of her heart felt strangely ticklish.
At the unfamiliar sensation she had never experienced in her entire life, Mirea subconsciously placed her hand over her chest.
Through the thick dress fabric, her heartbeat, which was a little faster and weaker than usual, was transmitted through her palm.
That wasn't all.
She could feel both of her cheeks burning with an emotion she was feeling for the first time.
Shame, embarrassment, and a very faint flutter that she didn't even want to admit to herself.
'What... am I doing right now.'
The bottom of her emotions, which had been frozen solid for decades.
The flirtatious banter of a commoner man whose name she didn't even properly know had stirred it all up at once.
There was no one in the world who would poke at her shortcomings so explicitly and tenderly.
On top of that, that crazy talk about wanting to embrace both mother and daughter confidently, as if there was nothing to be ashamed of, even though it was vulgar.
"......."
Mirea bit her lip hard and very slowly steadied her ragged breathing.
For now, it was not the time to be played by the seductive tongue that remained like an afterimage.
If the bait that man threw was true.
It was a golden opportunity to completely trample the Cheinders family, which she had been preparing for a long time but had left alone because she couldn't find the perfect justification.
She whipped her head around and picked up the dark purple communication orb placed in a corner of the desk.
As she injected mana, a blue light flickered inside the communication orb, and the voice of Bernhardt, her direct Special Operations Commander, flowed out.
[Did you call for me?]
"Select an elite team immediately and head to the Marquis territory."
[Are you talking about the Cheinders?]
"Yes. Search the Baltar Mountain Range that spans the north of the Cheinders Marquis territory as if you were looking for lice."
The Baltar Mountain Range.
Originally owned by the Rodpen Imperial family, but due to the rugged terrain and harsh environment, monsters swarmed it, so they gave up on development, and it was now half-abandoned land.
"Thoroughly check if there are any suspicious movements by those Cheinders bastards, especially for traces of illegal iron mine development that avoided the eyes of the Empire, and report back."
[I will obey your command.]
With that clean answer, the blue light faded, and the communication cut off abruptly.
Mirea leaned her body against the guest sofa in one corner of the office and let out a long sigh.
"Hoo...."
No matter how much she tried to erase it with other thoughts, the man's gaze that burned like a flame and his voice that stickily lingered around her ears would not be erased and echoed.
That was why, for the first time in her life, Mirea prayed very desperately.
'Please... let everything he said just be a shallow lie.'
If that arrogant tongue he had wagged so brilliantly was real... instead of killing that man, she might... end up tying him to her side forever.