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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: A Conspiracy Uncovered
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Ryan recalled the servant boy he had seen at the Etoile estate.
Silver hair and blue eyes. Skin so pale it hardly seemed human, and an otherworldly air.
This perfectly matched the impression he’d had when he first saw Darcy.
*‘So they’re letting mages into their homes these days.’*
Ryan scoffed.
He hadn't tried to kill him simply out of bloodlust. It was because the boy was a mage.
His aversion to mages had only intensified since meeting Darcy.
His perception of mages had already been poor due to Kies's influence, but after meeting Darcy, a mage himself, he had come to despise them entirely.
*‘The timing was poor.’*
If only Darcy hadn't been there, he would have finished it right away, but things hadn't gone as planned.
*‘It must be due to a lack of real combat experience.’*
Ryan completely rationalized the clear power gap between himself and Darcy.
In any case, he had delivered the magic stones and spoken with Marso, so he had achieved his original purpose for visiting the estate.
She hadn't seemed pleased, but now that she was re-entering high society, they couldn't avoid running into each other.
*‘There are still opportunities.’*
The House of Etoile would soon be in peril, and he planned to help Marso as if out of sheer generosity.
*‘First, I need to deliver the magic stones to the Epekel estate.’*
Today was the day to supply the Epekel estate with magic stones, as per their contract.
He had originally planned to go himself, but after his exchange with Darcy, he had changed his mind.
An obsession had taken root—he had to achieve a perfect victory, one that would crush Darcy's arrogance.
He was already short on time to prepare. Still, someone needed to visit the Epekel estate, so he called for Leticia, thinking he might as well check in on her after so long.
“Your Highness.”
“It’s been a while.”
Just then, Leticia greeted him after loading the magic stones. The two of them sat facing each other inside the carriage.
“Have you been well? I heard you found the mages’ new hideout.”
“I can’t tell you the exact location. But yes, I plan to raid it.”
“Please be careful. …Oh, I heard you paid a visit to Lady Marso today.”
The topic of Marso naturally seeped into the conversation.
“Has word already spread that quickly?”
“I am your information network, Your Highness.”
Leticia trusted the Ryan she knew.
She believed he wouldn't bother Marso any longer. Hadn't rumors already spread through high society acknowledging how much she had changed?
“That’s right.”
But Ryan’s reply was far too casual. His answer left her speechless.
“…Why would you do that?”
“Because I can.”
Leticia began to doubt whether the man before her was truly the savior who had once saved her life.
“Right. Leticia, there’s a mage in the Etoile estate.”
“A mage?”
“Yes, a young boy. I don’t know how they got him, but it didn’t seem legal. Use this information when you spread the rumors this time.”
“…Isn’t it already enough?”
To ruin Marquis Etoile and seize his mines, they were going to deliberately spread malicious rumors about Marso.
And Leticia, as the master of a merchant guild that ruled the back alleys, was supposed to give those rumors legs.
“Is there anything to be gained by spreading such rumors?”
“It will destabilize their current position. I hear she’s trying to gather forces for the Second Prince.”
A prince who didn’t hesitate to crush anyone who wasn’t one of his own. There was a time when she had found his ruthlessness reassuring.
*‘But Lady Marso…’*
Isn’t this case different?
Leticia posed the question. The Prince Ryan before her now was different from the one she knew.
*‘Has he changed, or is this his true nature?’*
Leticia knew that the deal between Ryan and Marquis Epekel revolved around magic stones.
She also knew it had been arranged by exploiting the Marquis’s weakness.
There are lines a person shouldn't cross. She had believed Ryan respected those lines.
But lately, Ryan was like a beast that had abandoned its humanity.
Why had he changed so much?
*‘No, am I the one who has changed, not the Prince?’*
Perhaps from being with Marso, from watching how hard she had worked and how much she had changed over the past year, she had been influenced.
Even after discovering she was a spy, Marso hadn't openly used it as a weakness; she had simply sent her away. That act weighed on Leticia's mind.
She didn't deserve to be treated this way. Neither did the House of Etoile.
Hadn't she said she couldn't change anyone's mind?
Now, she had to say that premise was wrong.
At the very least, Leticia’s perception of Marso had completely changed. Both her thoughts and actions toward Marso.
Anyone can change.
Marso Etoile had truly changed.
*‘I have to stop my master.’*
As she stepped down with her arms full of magic stone boxes, servants, as if they had been waiting, carried the boxes inside.
Leticia stared at the Epekel estate before her, but inwardly, she was thinking of the House of Etoile.
*‘I’ll give it a try.’*
She decided to go to Marso. She would prevent her downfall, even if it meant revealing the information she knew.
That was the way to help Ryan.
Honestly, she didn't know if Marso would believe her…
But Leticia decided to trust the Marso she had witnessed so far.
Leticia, cloaked, deliberately lingered as she entered the mansion.
The path leading to the back door was inconspicuous and devoid of servants, but Leticia knew that Kaysen would escort Reshuan, then linger to gaze at her window before leaving.
She knew that Kaysen, the Captain of the Knights, supported Darcy, the Second Prince.
If information reached Darcy through Kaysen, and Marso learned of it, there would be a higher chance she would believe Leticia later.
Thus, Leticia intentionally revealed herself.
However, Kaysen, the Captain of the Knights, wasn't the only one who spotted the two of them talking with Ryan that day.
Reshuan had seen them as well.
***
It was past midnight, and the mansion was silent.
Normally, Reshuan would have been asleep, but she was awake due to her recent worries about Marquis Epekel.
*‘Grandfather has been looking so tired lately.’*
Seeing the marquis doze off during breakfast every morning made her worry about his health.
She had noticed the light in his study was still on, even late into the evening, and was on her way up with some rosemary tea she had brewed.
She had only intended to give some to Kaysen, who had been helping with her training recently, on the way…
*‘Who is that?’*
She hid behind a wall in the hallway. The unknown, cloaked figure seemed to know the mansion well.
*‘An assassin?’*
“Lady Reshuan, what are you doing here?”
Just then, Kaysen, who had spotted her, approached.
Reshuan brought a finger to her lips and shushed him. Kaysen reflexively fell silent.
The two began to follow Leticia.
Leticia, sensing their presence behind her, left the door to the study slightly ajar when she entered.
By the time the two, following from a distance, could overhear the conversation between Marquis Epekel and Leticia, it was already well underway.
“…Marquis Etoile’s reputation will hit rock bottom.”
“Yes. The fact that only the Etoile mines are still maintaining similar yields will be perfect proof.”
*‘…What is this about?’*
Reshuan froze on the spot.
“This is the end for the House of Etoile.”
“I am satisfied.”
“Tell Prince Ryan not to forget our contract.”
“How could he?”
Reshuan tried to hide her pounding heart and let out a shaky breath.
She couldn't believe the words of her grandfather, a man who had prided himself on living a life of integrity.
“…Lady Reshuan.”
“Be quiet, Kaysen. I have to wait.”
Kaysen flinched at her unusually firm tone.
Reshuan took a deep breath.
She didn't know the exact details, but it was clear her grandfather was plotting to bring down the House of Etoile.
It seemed Ryan was involved as well.
Reshuan let out a hollow laugh.
*‘I thought you acknowledged that Lady Marso had changed.’*
She felt betrayed by Marquis Epekel and Ryan. Hadn't Ryan just spoken with her a short while ago?
She had trusted them.
But that trust was now shattered.
*‘Reshuan, we will never leave your side.’*
The memory of her parents, who had passed away despite those words, resurfaced like a nightmare.
Reshuan leaned blankly against the wall, listening to the rest of the conversation.
“I trust you’ll take proper care of the magic stones.”
Hearing Marquis Epekel emphasize the magic stone mines, she laughed in despair. She silently waited for the intruder—her grandfather’s accomplice—to leave the room.
Reshuan bit her lip, clenching her fists to stop her hands from trembling.
She had spent her whole life avoiding such conflicts. These kinds of conversations made her uncomfortable, afraid.
“Kaysen, you can go back first. I need to talk to my grandfather.”
But she realized she couldn't keep living like that.
“Is that really necessary?”
“…It’s something I have to face.”
She had avoided the problem, and her relationship with Marso had deteriorated to an extreme. She didn't want to repeat the same mistake.
Moreover, the person in question was her only family. Because she cherished and loved him, she had to stop him.
Entering the study, Reshuan found the marquis still looking over his documents.
“There’s still more to discus—no, Reshuan.”
The marquis, who had looked up expecting to see Leticia, was dumbfounded.
