Translator: Nox

Chapter 3

"Your Grace, it's a misunderstanding! How dare we lie to you? Look! The young miss is truly in poor condition!"

"That's right! We checked multiple times, and she seemed completely lifeless!"

Fearing they'd be accused of deceiving the duke, the maids explained with all their might.

'That's right. That's right. You're doing great.'

Meanwhile, I put on an all-out performance beside them.

During this brief bought time, I secretly observed Aristina's father.

Karnel Rosen, the Duke.

True to his status as the empire's top celebrity in high society, he was simply referred to as "Duke Karnel."

Blond hair, red eyes, pale complexion, and white hands. He looked like a vampire untouched by time, but he was undoubtedly human.

There was something about Aristina's father that evoked a fantasy novel protagonist. Something like <Surviving as the Frail Heir of an Imperial Noble House>.

Born frail as the only legitimate eldest son, he faced threats from all the collateral branches, ruthlessly eliminating his enemies to become the family head.

He ascended as the absolute ruler of the empire's venerable Rosen Ducal House.

He married his one true love, who had stood by him through all hardships... only for the genre to shift to <I Became the Villainess's Father>.

Duke Karnel loved his wife so deeply that even after her death, no one dared mention remarriage... but he wasn't exactly a great father.

Still, he did try in his own way to control the runaway carriage called his "daughter," which had no brakes.

But the daughter, living as if there were no tomorrow, finally went too far out of jealousy and caused a massive scandal.

The attempted poisoning of the future Crown Princess.

It was only natural for the duke to lose his mind. He assembled his entire staff and held emergency meetings from dawn till dusk, but naturally, nothing came of it.

In short, he was in a situation where he had to watch a nuclear bomb drop on his head without moving a muscle.

So how furious would he be? Anyone could see that touching the duke now meant death. The only option was to grovel flat.

Well, groveling was my specialty. If I wanted, I could flatten myself so much I'd blend into the floor.

But wait... thinking about it, didn't I have one advantageous weapon?

'I can remove that nuclear bomb hanging over the duke!'

I smirked inwardly with satisfaction.

At this point, everyone believed Aristina was guilty without a doubt.

But I alone knew the truth: his daughter was innocent!

Yes. That's where to start. Clear the false accusation and restore my position in this house. For that, I needed "that" first, right?

'The suspicious evidence Aristina had obtained belatedly. She kept it hidden here.'

It was such a memorable scene that I remembered it clearly.

"It hurts! I can't breathe!"

Pretending to claw at my body, I fumbled in the hidden inner pocket deep within my dress.

Sure enough, there was a small velvet pouch. I could feel the outline of a small, round metal object through the soft fabric.

'It's safe.'

The moment my fingertips touched it, the memory of Aristina obtaining it flashed vividly.

Not long after being confined to the annex study.

Aristina was venting her frustration by punching cushions when she overheard the gardeners talking outside the window.

"The culprit who tried to poison Duchess Hyperion must be our young miss, right?"

"What nonsense? Who else could it be?"

"Well, I obviously think it was our young miss too, but there's one thing that's been bothering me."

"What’s that?"

"Shh! Just between us. Before the tea party that day, the new gardener was missing, so I went looking in the greenhouse. And there, I overheard Duchess Hyperion having a suspicious conversation with someone."

"What? Don't lie. Make sense."

"No, really! Duchess Hyperion seemed extremely flustered and told the other person, 'This is a secret just between us two.' The other replied 'Yes.' Then the two disappeared right away. It was so weird I thought I hallucinated, but when I checked the spot, I found this. Isn't this Duchess Hyperion's?"

"Huh? No way!"

Aristina listened spellbound and jumped up.

"You two! Come here right now!"

She berated the terrified gardeners and quickly got the item they found in the greenhouse.

It was a ring. Engraved with Serene's initials 'S. A. H.' and the Hyperion Ducal House crest, a birthstone ring.

A ring she hadn't taken off since her 18th birthday was rolling alone on the floor of someone else's greenhouse. Stained with unidentified bloodstains.

Hmm?

Aristina's eyes widened.

"I need to tell Father right away..."

"Eek! Spare us! We don't know anything! We've never seen that ring before!"

The gardeners fled in terror, even scaling the fence.

Aristina was too stunned to notice.

If Serene was poisoned despite her doing nothing, someone must have tampered in between...

'Could it be Serene herself?'

She had always insisted on the <Serene Black Curtain Theory>, but that was just baseless slander. She was just trying to smear her flawless rival.

'But did I hit the mark for real?'

Aristina tried to report it before Serene could discover the ring's whereabouts, but she was murdered before succeeding.

Originally, the ring would have vanished into the darkness with her body forever...

But thanks to my possession, there was another chance to raise questions.

'I need to tell everyone about this!'

I snapped my eyes open.

Just then, the family physician approached.

"Young miss, let me check your pulse."

"No, I'm fine."

I pushed him away and sat up.

"Father, how is Serene doing now?"

"Hm?"

Duke Karnel's cold face showed a faint change.

Asking about Serene's well-being—had she repented a little? Or something like that.

"Thanks to the best medical team working day and night, she's recovered enough to move around without issue. Lucky, isn't it."

"Yes, truly fortunate. Then we can interrogate her in detail."

"...?"

"Everyone in this country has lost their minds. Just because I've been called a villainess, they skip basic investigation and slap on false charges. Does that make sense? The real culprit exploited that psychology! The truth might be hiding in a surprisingly simple place!"

I confidently held out the pouch as I spoke.

"This is the evidence. Dig into this, and something will surely come up. Here, I've kept it safe!"

A dramatic reversal. The unexpected savior's appearance. The room buzzing like a stirred beehive.

That's what I expected.

'...?'

My expectations missed completely.

"Alright, let's return and resume the meeting."

Duke Karnel turned away as if he hadn't heard a word. His aides followed indifferently, like a dog barking somewhere.

"Wait, excuse me."

I waved the pouch.

"Hello? Your daughter found important information! Before the tea party that day, Serene secretly met someone in our greenhouse...!"

The duke's eyes flashed.

Finally a reaction? But...

"Silence!"

Duke Karnel barked menacingly.

"I thought you'd been quietly repenting as I ordered for a while, but as expected, you've regressed to harassing Serene like before?"

"No, I really have evidence! Give me a trial before sending me to the guillotine! Let me raise suspicions!"

I pleaded desperately, but no one cared. As if I had a "Do Not Feed" sign.

The woe of the boy who cried wolf. Aristina had fabricated and lied so much for her own gain.

They had reached their limit of indulgence, so now they ignored anything I said outright.

"I don't even have time to get angry anymore. Lock her up again!"

I flinched at Duke Karnel's ruthless command.

"No! Please, anything but locking me here...!"

"If you hate it that much, that's exactly the right punishment for you."

My father turned and left, and the guards moved to shut the study door.

If that's how it was, I had a way too.

I quickly shouted to the maids.

"Everyone, come in!"

The murderer struck when Aristina was alone.

Even confined to the study, it'd be relatively safe with people around.

"Work here. Do anything."

"Pardon? Ah, yes."

For now, the immediate fire was out.

What now?

"Haaa..."

Recalling Duke Karnel's icy response made me sigh. The fortress was too impregnable; I couldn't breach it.

No matter how I struggled, was Aristina's ending already set? Guillotine or murder?

Imagining the horrific end made my mind hazy and throat dry.

'Let's at least drink some cold water and clear my head.'

There was no cold water on the desk, but there was a champagne bottle in an ice bucket. I poured a glass from the dew-covered bottle.

'Come to think of it...'

I wanted to pour one for the soul of the pathetically murdered Aristina too.

I filled another glass with champagne, pushed it aside, and muttered under my breath.

"Duchess, got nothing? A secret loyal retainer for times like this. A knight who swore fealty. Someone I bestowed a favor on in the past. Or someone whose weakness I hold... Nothing like that?"

No, of course not.

"How can your master have lived like there was no tomorrow and still have absolutely nothing?"

As I vented to the ornate mannequins by the desk.

Suddenly, a click! sounded diagonally across, and a brilliant glow burst forth.

"Huh? Why did the young miss's jewelry box open by itself?"

"That's weird?"

Through the startled maids backing away, I saw the dazzling jewelry inside.

A large teardrop diamond in the center, surrounded by 48 small diamonds, with a chain of connected pearls instead of metal links.

Aurora's Star revealed itself.

"We didn't touch it! Really! You have to enter the password yourself to open it anyway...!"

The maids paled and made excuses.

The jewelry box opening on its own was truly strange.

'Did it open because I was whining about having nothing? Telling me I do have this?'

Amazed, I approached the jewelry box.

"What was the password? Ah... My head hurts from collapsing earlier; I can't remember."

"Yes, it's your birthday."

"My birthday... Ah, my head!"

"October 31st."

Hm? Our birthdays are the same? What a weird connection. Good thing it's not confusing.

I entered '1031' and took out the necklace.

Such an expensive necklace would surely make a great survival item. And thinking about it, there was more.

'Right. Yeah.'

I turned my gaze to the ornate mannequins displayed in the study. These had just been delivered from the wardrobe right before Aristina's confinement.

"It's too much to lock me up without even trying on the new clothes!"

Annoyed by his daughter's rebellion, her father had them thrown in entirely: "Just toss those in too!"

Mannequins in glamorous dresses. And this Aurora's Star. I had to find a way to survive with these.

My brain started spinning again.

'The ducal house won't listen to me at all. They ignore the ring. Outsiders will pretend not to see out of fear, like those gardeners. But...'

There was one person who might be interested. Someone who valued truth over imperial involvement.

Meeting him would be extremely difficult. But thinking well, there was a way for me to meet and talk to him alone.

It was right there in his last line to Aristina.

"Duchess, do this again, and it's a holy trial!"

Yes. Holy trial.

A trial is still a meeting place. Even as judge and defendant, we could talk.

Well, a holy trial was far more terrifying than a regular one. Depending on the judge's ruling and jury vote, it could even mean burning at the stake.

'Everyone would call me crazy for inviting a holy trial...'

But if I endured the madman label and survived, wouldn't that be my victory?