‘Aha! You can’t make your mother worry, is that it?’

No matter how she felt, she couldn’t show the cold wind blowing in front of her mother-in-law. So she gathered her bountiful hair and gave him my neck. The person who didn’t want to be touched even when putting on a wedding ring, this time, for some reason, put on a necklace normally. But she didn’t miss it and felt his hand tremble a little.

‘Looks like he’s holding back things he doesn’t like.’

She asked, pretending to be shy, deliberately trying to upset him further.

“How is it, Killian?”

If anyone saw it, they would look like a newlywed couple pouring sesame seeds, but Killian was probably going to die. He still looked at her and covered his mouth with his hand, but she could see he was biting his molars. He looked around her face, neck and necklace for a long time before finally answering.

“It’s fine.”

“Really?”

He frowned slightly between his brows and nodded as he spoke to the jeweler.

“Give me the bill for this necklace.”

“Oh, Killian! It is the first gift to the bride!”

The Duchess happily held her hands together. She must have been quite worried about the relationship between her and Killian. She was still smiling as she watched him just nod his head without answering. In fact, unlike when she came here, she was in a pretty good mood now.

‘He will hate his wife to death, but have to reassure his mother, and he will be very annoyed? My! It’s a pain.’

In front of Killian, who had to buy a present for his wife he didn’t like, Cliff proudly presented all the remaining jewels to Rize.

“Cliff! What will Edith do if you buy it all for Lize…!”

The Duchess bruised Cliff, but everyone was in the same room anyway, so she politely shook her hand.

“No, Mother! It wasn’t that I didn’t want to buy anything else, she just really liked this necklace.”

Killian was sarcastic, but she meant it when she said he liked the necklace. Of course, if she had acquired a large jewel, her slush fund safe would have been full, but famous jewels were at risk of being stepped on when sold later. Besides, this was just enough to be worn as an accessory for everyday wear. But somehow she heard that, and Killian’s gaze turned to her.

So she said with a brighter smile.

“Thanks for the gift, Killian. I will cherish it.”

The little ruby on her neck twitched greatly. She stopped teasing him that much because she didn’t feel like provoking him any more. Anyway, even though the flow of the episode was different, the result was the same. She received only one small necklace that Lise and Killian reluctantly bought for her.

‘I’m a bit worried about this.’

No matter what she did, this story wouldn’t change…?

* * *

For a while, she lived a peaceful life. There were quite a few things to worry about, but anyway, Killian didn’t quarrel now, and helping the Duchess with her work and building trust went smoothly. But incidents always happen by surprise.

“This is a letter addressed to you, my lady.”

As always, Anna picked out the letters addressed to her and handed them over. Most of them were party invitations, but just how much of a ‘party animal’ Edith had been in the past, invitations came in several times a day.

‘In the original story, you didn’t miss out on this party and went out and spread malicious rumors about Lise, didn’t you? Ugh, the original story is strong.’

Even if they had kept secretly slandering Lise, Killian or Cliff would have found the originator, but since they spread it in so many places… No, maybe Edit of the original did this on purpose. She hoped that Killian would notice that she was so angry and sad.

‘You must have wished for it, Edith.’

Anyway, by not going to the party, she completely sealed off any dead flags. She wished she could have finished checking the letter by tossing a bundle of invitations to the party today as kindling, but she froze as she passed the invitations with cloudy eyes.

‘Count Rigelhoff…!’

It was a letter from Count Rigelhoff, who had been quiet for a while. She roughly guessed that Anna would inform Duke Ludwig of this fact.

‘Have you even opened the letter?’

Apparently, the sealing was clean, but the envelopes could be exchanged as much as they liked, and the handwriting could be copied too. She chewed her lips, opened the envelope, and began to read a letter that wasn’t going to be very welcome.

⌠Dear Edith.

It’s already been three months since you got married. Haven’t you had a bad day?

I know it’s hard to adapt to that house, but now the time has come to plan work. I heard that you are helping the Duchess with her work and accessing the Duke’s documents. If there are any documents about weapons belonging to the duchy, steal them away. If it is difficult to steal, it is good to write a summary of the contents and send it…⌡

Even after that, the contents continued for a long time, but he wanted one thing from her. Stealing weapons-related documents. Of course, the letter was written in a special ink and had to be read by heating it in a candlelight. She could read the true contents of the letter because she had Edith’s memory, but to others, it would look like a letter written by an loving father worrying about his daughter’s well-being.

‘Anyway, how did you know that I was managing the Duke’s documents?’

That meant that there was a spy from the Rigelhoffs in this family as well. It was because there was no way Duke Ludwig would have bragged about it outside.

‘What… There must be a spy from the Ludwig family in the Rigelhoff family too, so is it a blood wave?’

She was a bit nervous when she first saw the letter, but she was no longer living on a leash with Count Rigelhoff. So she immediately took out a letter and wrote a reply.

⌠Respected father.

(Long and long greetings omitted)

When I came to see for myself, the Duke of Ludwig is so solid and powerful. It’s beyond imagination. If you try to destroy them, you will have to prepare for extinction. Besides, isn’t there nothing wrong with the Ludwig family in the first place?

Their title is the will and authority of His Majesty the Emperor, so why do you hate the Ludwig family? Besides, there is no justification for Archduke Langston to become emperor. If this continues, he will be accused of treason. Therefore, I think it is desirable to give up and develop Rigelhoffman’s strengths more with the protection of the Ludwig family.

Then I’ll cut it short.⌡

It was written in special ink, as Count Rigelhoff had done, so as not to appear too halfhearted.

‘Even though Count Rigelhoff wouldn’t be able to give up his ambition to this extent…’

It was enough for her if the Count gave up on her. He was portrayed screaming and gnashing his teeth for being betrayed, but that didn’t bother her too much. 

It was one day when I was anxiously awaiting the reaction from the Rigelhoffs after sending the letter.

“Miss. His Excellency the Duke is looking for you.”

“Huh? His Excellency the Duke?”

It was sudden and strange. Duke Ludwig was so busy with the affairs of the imperial palace and the Duke’s family that it was hard to even see his face. But why was he looking for her…

‘Somehow I feel uncomfortable…’

The fact that another knight besides Anna came to pick her up also fueled her anxiety. But with no reason or way to escape, she adjusted her dressing well and followed Anna.

In the Duke’s office, not only the Duke but also the Duchess, Cliff, and Killian were seated.

“I heard you called, Your Excellency.”

“That’s right. Sit there.”

The heavy air seemed to press down from above. It seemed that something big had happened.

The Duke and Cliff’s expressions were heavy, the Duchess looked nervous, and Killian… He was pale.

“Edith.”

The silent Duke called her.

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

“I will ask straight forward. Did you leak the Duke’s documents to the outside world?”

“Pardon? Me?”

The Duke was looking at her with frightened eyes without answering. It was as if he was convinced that she had leaked the documents. She was a little embarrassed, so she didn’t even notice her mouth opening, so she looked at him face to face and came to her senses.

“No! I never did.”

“Is that so? Do you swear on your father’s honor?”

“I swear by my father, as well as by my honor and my life.”

The Duke’s eyes narrowed at her angry expression.

“Then you just threw your father and your honor to the ground.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

The Duke tossed some papers in his hand in front of her.

“Isn’t this the document you organized?”

She picked up the paper he threw and looked it over. It was a document related to purchasing weapons and armor that she had organized a while ago.

“Yes. It is correct that I arranged it.”

“I heard you even organized the contents by drawing a table?”

“Yes, it is. At the time, I was with the Duchess and Rise together, so they would know.”

“Yes, it is. Everyone remembers…”

There was a faint sneer on the Duke’s lips.

“It’s true, Edith. The documents are fake.”

“…yes?”

“Everything written there is fake.”

It was absurd. No, yes, let’s pretend it’s fake. So what?

“There must be a reason why you ordered me to file fake documents. I just did what I was told to do. I’m not sure what the hell is the problem.”

“Edith Rigelhoff!”

The Duke screamed as if he couldn’t stand it any longer. She was surprised by his booming voice, but even more surprised that he still called her “Riegelhoff.”

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