Chapter 3
Episode 03
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The night Krua Alroze came to occupy the guest room of the Argenta mansion.
"Did you confirm?"
Dielo asked the person who had entered the room without a sound.
The woman lowered her head.
She was dressed as a head maid, but her swift movements made it clear that she was trained.
"Yes. The name of His Highness between the shoulder blades on the back of her neck was definitely an elaborately engraved fake. As you said, the traces have faded compared to when we checked before, and it seems they will disappear over time."
—Rustle.
Dielo Argenta, who had been handling Argenta's affairs, quietly put down his quill.
The Argenta informant who entered the room in succession also gave a useful answer.
"I looked into it, and as you said, even the informant in the Alloze ducal family said that the ducal family was too quiet for Krua Alroze to have awakened as a Pero."
Alloze and Argenta are close to being enemies. Even though she is a daughter born out of wedlock, if Krua had truly awakened as Dielo's own Pero, there would have been an uproar.
Unless Duke Alloze was secretly plotting something with only his closest aides.
Krua Alroze was really a fake Pero, just as she said.
He suddenly recalled the daytime.
'Duke Dielo Argenta.'
Krua Alroze with her purplish-blue hair, who had called him that.
She had a different atmosphere than when he had seen her before their marriage was promised.
He had only heard rumors that she was an impulsive, emotional person, but in her eyes, he saw the future sparkling.
The eyes of someone who sees and prepares for the future.
"She's hiding her true self..."
He tapped the desk.
Duke Alloze is a man who sees everything, including his relatives, as cards in his hand, so it was a wise choice for Krua Alroze to hide her true self.
He thought of Krua's appearance as she confidently proposed a deal in front of him.
Throughout the conversation, Krua Alroze showed her open hands as if to reassure him.
As if trying to reassure a frightened herbivore.
Without knowing who the fragile herbivore was.
"A deal with the enemy..."
He examined the letter from Duke Alloze that Krua had brought with her.
The marriage conditions written with arrogant words, considering that he was sending a fake Pero, were ridiculous.
[First, 20% of the revenue from the main mines and farmlands of the Argenta territory must be paid to the Alloze ducal family as Krua, the Duchess of Argenta's, maintenance fee.]
It was unknown why the Duchess's maintenance fee was going to the Alloze ducal family.
[Allow Alloze to deploy 100 more knights to Tilla Pass between Argenta and Alloze, where monsters have been flocking recently.]
Tilla Pass was a major strategic point between the two families.
If a war broke out between the families, the family that occupied this high ground would have an overwhelming advantage.
And that Tilla Pass was now owned by the Argenta family.
That meant handing it over.
[Also, could you please arrange for Krua to visit the Alloze ducal family at least once a month?]
The reason written below was ridiculous.
[The relationship between Argenta and Alloze has not been good in the past, so I am worried about sending my pretty daughter so suddenly.]
"Too pretty a daughter."
Sending such a daughter as a discarded card to enemy territory?
Dielo, who was looking at the threatening letter, recited the sentence and chuckled.
It was a dry laugh, completely different from the warm smile he had when he faced Krua Alroze earlier.
—Click.
When he pulled the bell cord, the maid, who had already left her seat, quietly entered again.
Her footsteps were light, as expected of someone who was not an ordinary person.
"Pielle."
"Yes."
Dielo gestured to the maid who bowed her head.
"You must personally attend to the woman who will become the Duchess. And..."
He pressed the family seal firmly on the reply he would send to Duke Alloze and sealed the letter.
"Give Alloze what they want."
Since they gave him a bride who was so interesting that he couldn't refuse.
He laughed silently.
Soon, preparations for a luxurious wedding began.
Now that Argenta had found a Pero, there was no reason to postpone it, so the progress was fast.
The wedding expenses were 50% from Argenta and 50% from Alloze.
On the surface, it was an equal deal, but the reality was different.
Unlike the wedding expenses, which only had to be paid once, the rights and interests that Alloze was taking away under the pretext of this marriage were enormous.
Of course, that was only a temporary expense.
"Anyway, once our Lord awakens, those things will come back, so..."
That's how important a Pero was, and the Argenta people regarded the various rights and interests they were handing over to Alloze as just lending them for a while.
But even so, it was only natural that Argenta's servants did not have a good impression of Alloze.
In addition, perhaps because of Argenta's atmosphere, which was particularly exclusive to outsiders, unnecessary quarrels came in.
"I would like to order a dress to be used for the wedding in advance. If you choose four of these drafts, I will tell them to make it."
Perhaps because rumors had spread that Argenta's various rights and interests were being handed over, Argenta's servants did not look kindly on me.
Of course, I had no intention of yielding to such people.
Anyway, I'm the mistress here while I'm here, and even though I'm leaving soon, I should be comfortable, right?
"All of them."
I answered without even looking at the seven-colored rainbow drafts.
The maid had a dumbfounded expression.
"Yes?"
"People usually change their clothes five times when they get married."
I stared straight at the maid.
"But how can there be only four dresses? Are you telling me to wear the dress I wore again? At a luxurious wedding attended by all the families who know Alloze and Argenta? Besides."
I pointed outside.
"How do you know what the weather will be like that day and only prepare four dresses? At least there should be spares."
Argenta's weather is famous for being capricious.
It was a place where the weather was sunny with no dark clouds in the morning, but suddenly it rained.
Thanks to that, Krua Alroze only had four dresses made and had trouble.
But there was no reason for me to do that.
"...I understand."
"And prepare at least three necklaces, shoes, and earrings to match the dress."
Anyway, this level of spending won't even show that I've used the budget, right?
I glared at the maid.
The maid seemed a little embarrassed, lowered her head, and retreated silently.
I have no intention of looking easy.
If such childish quarrels come in again, it seemed necessary to discipline the servants.
While a building was being built separately just for the wedding, a banquet was held to announce the marriage of the two families to the central social world of the Empire.
The banquet was naturally hosted today by Dielo Argenta and me, a pair of engaged couples.
The problem was... it was known in the central social world that we were having a sweet love marriage?
The fact about the Pero and the head of the family's ability inheritance was a secret known only to the three families and the Imperial family.
"At today's banquet, Krua Alroze will shine the most."
The head maid, who was adjusting my clothes, said.
"It's been a long time since a marriage has taken place between the three ducal families."
She introduced herself as Pielle and treated me very kindly.
Of course, I knew very well that it was just a formality.
"I guess so."
While answering, I glanced at her.
Pielle.
She was the head maid of this Argenta and the manager of the 'cleaners'.
Cleaners did not simply refer to those who swept and wiped the floor.
To be exact, it meant a group of assassins who cleaned up people.
Literally, people who deal with things that get in the way of Argenta's actions.
In the original work, she, who had sworn to devote her life to Argenta, was a person who did not hesitate to get blood on her hands.
She is smiling so kindly in front of me now, but it means that she is a completely different person from what she looks like.
Even though I only saw the original work halfway through, I knew that fact.
Even if Dielo Argenta could not easily make a decision because of his kind personality, if he was someone who harmed the Argenta family, he could not avoid Pielle's sword.
In the original work, it was Pielle who came to cut off her head after Krua Alroze was revealed to be a fake Pero.
Duke Alloze killed Krua first, so she couldn't do that.
"But Pielle."
The Krua in the original work was afraid of Pielle, but my situation is different.
Does she know? That I'm a fake Pero.
Dielo Argenta and my deal is a secret, but someone in Pielle's position might know.
The fact that I'm a fake Pero.
The way to find out was simple.
"Yes, Krua Alroze."
She didn't call me Madam yet because I wasn't married.
I looked up at the thorough head maid and asked.
"Did Duke Dielo Argenta personally order you to serve me?"
If he had directly attached Pielle to me, it meant that they were already sharing the plan.
Dielo is also an Argenta, so he would know what kind of person Pielle is.
If he had to hide the fact that I was a fake Pero from her, he would not have attached her, who is quick-witted, to me.
"Of course."
Pielle answered immediately to my words.
"He ordered me to devote myself to assisting Krua Alroze from today's banquet until after the wedding."
She said with a faint smile.
I nodded slightly at her words.
Dielo probably attached her, the family's cleaner, to me for the meaning of protection.
"Then please take care of me in the future."
This side means they know my identity.
Pielle bowed her head.
"I look forward to working with you too. Krua Alroze."
It was an answer that came back in a softly relaxed voice, but I know.
Pielle is still wary of me.
It's her job as the family's cleaner to be wary of outsiders until the very end.
"..."
I have no intention of deceiving Argenta, but I couldn't help but feel nervous.
While she was greeting, I looked out beyond the glass installed on the entire front of my room.
Beyond the pure white walls and windows, I could see the sea with beautiful shimmering sunlight spread out widely.
The ocean view was good, but as I expected, that sea was not as beautiful as it looked.
"That's the Endless Sea, right?"
What I was pointing at was that seemingly endless sea.
The Argenta ducal family had been blocking the invasion of monsters for generations in that sea, which was much farther away than it appeared.
The Argenta of Fire, who had been constantly blocking the monsters swimming out of the sea or sticking their heads out between the mud flats, was right here.
"Yes, that's right. It must be your first time seeing it."
Pielle gave me a look and smiled faintly.
"Compared to Alloze's 'Endless Forest', how is it?"
'Endless Forest'.
The place where Alloze blocks monsters.
Just as Argenta blocks monsters from the Endless Sea, the three ducal families surrounding this empire were defending different places.
Perhaps the other family, Kartiel of Wind, is defending the 'Desert Where Everything Crumbles'.
This, along with the power to handle each element, was said to be a promise that had been passed down from ancient times with the Imperial family.
The reason why each family defends a region with a disadvantageous attribute is that the Imperial family's trick was to prevent them from running wild. To make them focus all their attention on blocking the monsters.
So that they cannot run wild even with powerful abilities. To make them focus all their attention on blocking the monsters.
"It's beautiful."
I said sincerely.
The fact that I hadn't seen the forest that Alloze was defending was secondary, I liked the ocean view.
Especially the sea seen from this pure white building was very exotic.
"I heard that Alloze gets tired of water, but that's not the case?"
Pielle smiled slightly. I shrugged my shoulders.
"Why would you get tired of water if you have the ability to handle water?"
I moved my hand.
At first, I was hesitant, but from the moment I possessed it, this ability was already changing to suit me.
Especially when I first used the ability in front of Dielo.
Since then, this ability has felt more familiar.
Thanks to that, I could move the water in the glass in front of me as I pleased.
—Splash!
"!"
It was certain that I had a better ability to handle water than the Krua in the original work.
I was only trying to gather a few small water droplets, but the entire water in the glass was shaking.
Handling water was much more natural than I thought.
I made the water in the glass into a dolphin shape and moved it.
—Splash!
The small dolphin that lightly jumped over the surface of the water disappeared back into the water.
As if it were alive.
All of that process was, strangely, as easy as breathing.
And soon, the banquet began.
As the shocking news of the marriage between Dielo Argenta and Krua Alroze was announced, the social world began to burn hotly.
