Approaching Dread
The Duke, who had been smiling all the while, set down his fork and turned to the Duchess.
“Where did you go today?”
“Pardon? Nowhere. I rested yesterday and today as well. Has something happened?”
“Hmm… The House of Nobles convened yesterday, but I was absent. According to Count Esolt, who attended, something quite serious occurred in the Sionel territory. The tale was so shocking that it was hard to believe, yet today His Highness the Crown Prince summoned everyone who had gathered yesterday and drove the point home.”
Clink.
The slice of orange Dot had speared on her fork slipped and fell back onto her plate.
She had sensed something amiss because of the incident with Lument, but the thought that the terrifying truth would reach her ears now struck her with full force.
From the moment she heard the word “Sionel”…
“What happened?”
When the Duchess asked innocently, the Duke’s gaze shifted toward Dot.
Tsk, tsk.
His second son had returned in glory as a knight, yet she could not even greet him warmly. Claiming she had no appetite, she had the maid bring cake first and then merely picked at it. He had given her everything she wanted—money, dresses, outings—yet why was she like this? She had no manners, none at all.
As time passed, she showed fewer and fewer redeeming qualities, but perhaps she would change dramatically one day, just like their Morris. People needed to be observed over a long period.
The Duke deliberately pretended not to notice Dot’s faults and shook his head.
“It is far too grim a tale to discuss over a meal. In any case, it will become common gossip wherever one goes starting tomorrow, so if you are curious, you may ask anyone.”
“The Sionel territory…? Ah! I see.”
“Hm?”
The Klein Duchess lightly tapped her fingers together instead of clapping.
“Why, Sir Ron Banit, of course. He said his hometown is the Sionel territory. I heard that young lady Barbara Gahel is leaving for Sionel soon to marry.”
The Duke tilted his head.
“Was Sir Banit not already married?”
“No, not him—his uncle. I cannot recall the name, but the age difference is said to be over forty years.”
“Tsk, tsk. As a second wife?”
“Something like that. Everyone was whispering behind her back that the Sionel territory is barren and difficult to live in. They said it seemed the groom’s side received money instead of a dowry.”
“……”
In noble families, the dowry sent with a daughter was both a weapon and a shield to protect her. The thought that she had even given that up was shocking and pitiful.
“Before she leaves, I was thinking of holding a simple embroidery gathering or tea party to give her a suitable gift. The Duchess of Duran said that once she goes there, it will be nearly impossible for her to return to the capital in her lifetime.”
“Do as you see fit. Give her a little more, so long as no one speaks ill of it.”
“Understood.”
The Duchess, who had long forgotten the muddy carriage incident, felt deeply sorry for Barbara, who was being sent to the most remote countryside imaginable.
Even among border regions, the eastern Logia where Cassel had been stationed at least had decent supplies and proper roads. Sionel was on an entirely different level. How unfortunate.
Dot, whose heart had been pounding with anxiety, clung to the Duchess’s side the following day.
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Of course.”
Dot tried her best to smile prettily.
Capia, who had been secretly hiding in the Righteous Workers Guild, was still officially considered absent from the capital.
If she moved again and her whereabouts were discovered, it would be disastrous. Yet there was no guarantee that simply crouching in hiding would improve the situation.
If things go as I expect… Ah, I am so afraid. Still, I must know!
Dot resolved that if her body caught fire, she would roll and tumble until her last breath, dragging anyone she could down with her.
The Klein Duchess glanced up toward the upper floor where Morris’s bedroom lay and gently admonished her.
“Tiana, I know you were deeply hurt by Morris’s appearance. You never even received an apology afterward. Yes, you must have felt very wronged.”
“I am fine. My joy lies in the fact that my second brother has returned as a splendid knight. I have forgotten everything.”
At the young lady’s rare display of affection, the Duchess beamed.
“Hoho, yes. That is the right way to think.”
“Mother, are you going out today?”
“Hm?”
Only then did the Duchess realize that her beloved daughter wished to accompany her on an outing, and she fell into thought.
Her husband had clearly called it “a grim matter” yesterday.
I would rather she not know if possible.
She herself understood the struggles and history hidden behind the glamorous name of high society, but her daughter did not.
Though the girl had endured her share of hardships, high society was an entirely different world. It was better for her to learn of unpleasant things as late as possible.
When the Klein Duchess showed clear reluctance, Dot spoke carefully.
“I have been unwell lately and have not shown my face to the ladies who have been so kind to me. I will only offer brief greetings and then stay in the background, so please feel free to converse at ease. I feel ashamed for having hidden away because of my illness, and I would like to go with you.”
“Oh, what are you saying? You have done nothing wrong. It was my fault for being absent when the Saintess arrived.”
At the mention of the Saintess, Dot’s lips twitched with a spasm, and she lightly touched them with her fingers. Without doing so, she could not have endured.
Thus, Dot finally managed to join the outing and, through eavesdropping, learned everything that had happened.
Insane…!
She would have to dig a pit, lure Giltron into it, and shove him down!
Even when she had unexpectedly encountered the Saintess inside the guild, she had suspected something, but to think the details of her request had been completely exposed to the Saintess’s side.
There was no doubt. They had pretended to carry out her request while thoroughly searching the northern part of the Sionel territory and found her traces.
They had hidden not only Lument but her entire family somewhere, set the fire to put her at ease, and made her waste time in vain!
Dot felt like pounding the ground in frustration.
She had prided herself on carrying out the task so discreetly and meticulously, yet from the very beginning she had been dancing in the palm of the Saintess’s hand.
“Hah…!”
Dot reached that point in her thoughts and suddenly arrived at a terrifying conjecture.
“What is the matter?”
“Ah, it is nothing.”
Dot forced herself to appear calm, but her pupils trembled violently.
Could it be… that the Saintess already knew about this matter in the same way in the past? Yes. If I think about it that way, everything fits! The only difference is… that I revealed myself as the young lady to the world and killed Morgana shortly afterward, so the Saintess had not yet come to the capital. That is the only difference… Wait.
Dot’s thoughts turned to the ruby pendant as well.
In this life, she had not stolen that precious item from Morgana. Yet no one in the ducal residence had ever asked why she did not have the pendant, not even to this day.
The young lady narrowed her eyes and searched her memories.
When Morgana had instinctively realized she was the lost daughter of the ducal house in the past, Dot had forged both items.
If Morgana had said, “The silk robe and ruby pendant I wore as a child are missing,” it would have been disastrous.
She had taken the silk robe for several days and had replicas made at the dressmaker’s, but the ruby pendant had been too expensive for the jeweler to forge properly, so she had only managed a crude imitation.
She had even heard that replicating the gold chain was unexpectedly difficult compared to the genuine ruby gemstone.
Still, the fool Morgana had been oblivious and never noticed…
In any case, she still remembered that when she presented the two items, it was the silk robe that had made the Duchess faint.
The necklace had been glossed over afterward, so she was not sure.
What happened? Is the ruby pendant not a family heirloom but a gift the Saintess gave to Morgana?
“We have arrived.”
“You worked hard today, Tiana.”
“Yes…”
Just before the carriage door opened, Dot was seized by the urge to ask the Duchess for every detail. Though her heart burned to know, her position was far too precarious to risk it.
Ah… I should have asked in my previous life. Back then I had already stolen both items, so I could not feel at ease until the day I killed Morgana. Why can I never live a single day in joy and must always tremble in fear? It is unfair.
If only she could turn back time once more, she would not make any mistakes then.
Dot truly wanted to pound the ground.
If another chance were given, she would handle everything perfectly.
She would wait for Morgana to return from the monastery, strangle her to death, be recognized as the young lady, and then set the monastery ablaze to kill everyone inside.
The Saintess? Capia?
Even if I live a third life, she will keep her mouth shut and verify me as the young lady just to use me again. I will wait for the moment she lets her guard down. Yes… I can do it.
Perhaps because the current situation was so horrific, thoughts of escaping reality kept surfacing.
Yet in the end, she had to overcome this with her own strength!
She… could not possibly fail, could she?
They said even a cornered rat would bite a cat.
Just watch.
That day, contrary to her resolute thoughts, Dot was tormented by a horrific nightmare.
“Save me!”
Trapped inside the burning mansion of Count Caris, Dot thrashed about. Beside her lay the charred corpses of her family, reduced to lumps of charcoal, and she was the only one still alive.
The Saintess’s soldiers surrounded the burning house, murmuring among themselves.
“Is it over?”
“I heard a small scream from inside. Just leave it.”
“If the flames grow too strong, someone might come to put them out.”
“The Sionel territory is not that kind of place. Whether others live or die, as long as they can stuff potatoes down their own throats, that is enough, is it not? Everyone will pretend not to know.”
“Hahaha. That is true.”
“We are fortunate to live near the capital. We will never have to deal with such terrifying residents in our lifetime.”
“Hahahaha!”
No! No, stop. Please… Save me!
Soaked in sweat, Dot’s eyes flew open.
Her body ached as though weighed down by a thousand pounds from the nightmare.
“Nooo…”
Dot groaned in agony.
Since becoming the young lady, she had scarcely enjoyed a single good day.
Even the one day that should have been the happiest—her debutante ball, escorted by Crown Prince Silas—had been ruined by the two young ladies.
Ah, in this wretched state, my greatest ally is the Klein Duchess. But… if she learns the truth, she will surely tear me apart. And what about Morris, who became a knight? I hate how everything has changed from when they were all heading toward ruin in my previous life!
Dot knew there was only one method left.
She had to silence the Saintess—who had seen through every truth and perhaps even possessed memories of the past—and locate her family, whom the Holy Temple had hidden away, to “deal with them for certain.”
Including Lument, whom the Duke had taken somewhere.
Even if this is a trap, I cannot retreat. This is my only path to survival.
Giltron and the Righteous Workers Guild could no longer be trusted.
She would go to the Dark Guild!
She would stake her life on completing a major job and demand enormous compensation in return. After all, there was no turning back now, was there?
Giltron was nothing more than a pawn of the Dark Guild. She would speak directly with their upper echelons.
Dot rubbed her reddened eyes and waited only for the day when both the Duke and Duchess would leave the mansion. Even then, she was terrified that word might arrive of the Saintess returning to the capital.