~Chapter 3~
‘It’s here.’
The document the doctor who assisted the Duchess of Valencia’s childbirth twenty years ago had hidden.
After digging a little more, a bundle of papers about the thickness of a finger joint, neatly wrapped in cloth, appeared. Rachel quickly dug it out and tucked it inside her dress, then began filling the hole again.
She was out of breath from the unfamiliar labor.
The color of the soil was a little different since she had dug it up and filled it again.
“Well, the Duke will check it soon anyway.”
Rachel didn’t worry too much, just pressed down the soil enough and stood up. Her dress was covered in dirt.
As she brushed herself off, Becky, who looked like she was about to cry, came over and straightened Rachel’s dress.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes.”
She tucked the used shovel away and walked back to the knights. Her dress felt a bit heavy.
Sir Hoffman, who watched Rachel for a moment, held back his words. When he held out his hand, it seemed he thought she had fallen.
“Would you like to take my hand?”
“I’m fine.”
He had a keen eye. He noticed almost invisible traces.
‘Will this turn out to be a blessing or a curse?’
Blinking, she left the garden. The servant from the Valencia household, who was slacking off and only just noticed Rachel approaching, was startled.
“Bring the carriage.”
“Yes, understood!”
It was time to go back.
She had found what she needed.
She thought about handing the letter to the butler when he came to see her off, but just then, clang, the front gate opened. Rachel, who turned her head out of habit, stopped for a moment.
The carriage bore the emblem of the Valencia family.
A grand procession of four horses, knights, and nearly twenty attendants.
Thump, thump—
Her heart pounded ominously. The butler, who had come out to see Rachel off, bowed briefly to her, then stood at the front door, tidying his appearance.
The carriage stopped, and Wayne, the Duchess’s personal escort knight, opened the door and held out his hand.
A white hand was placed on top.
Then came the sight of gray hair. A face exuding both arrogance and elegant dignity.
“Welcome, madam.”
The butler bowed deeply. The Duchess of Valencia, now standing on the ground, turned her gaze to Rachel.
“Oh my, Lady Rachel.”
“…Hello, Duchess.”
Rachel barely managed to open her mouth to greet her. Even as all the memories rushed in from having met the butler first and retracing the past, she managed to lift the corners of her mouth.
The woman who had deceived the Valencia family for more than twenty years, acting as the Duchess.
The former Lady Sabannio, who ran away with her lover without a glance back when Paris’s true birth was exposed through the ceremony.
The person who ruined her life was now smiling and walking toward her.
“What brings you here, Lady? I didn’t receive any notice you’d be coming today.”
Rachel lowered her gaze as she glanced at Wayne, the knight who followed like a shadow.
“…I was decorating the ceremony hall and suddenly wanted to look around the Valencia estate. I hope my sudden visit isn’t a bother.”
“Of course not. You’ll soon be the Lady of Valencia. There’s no problem in stopping by for a moment.”
Despite having a nineteen-year-old son, the Duchess’s smooth face still drew a graceful arc.
“If you’re not busy, would you like some tea, Lady?”
“Thank you for the offer, but I think I should see the hall before the inspiration disappears.”
“Ah, I understand that feeling. Then let’s save the invitation for next time.”
With a smile and a nod, the Duchess turned toward the mansion. Rachel bowed her head.
She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, then opened them.
When she lifted her gaze, the butler was standing before her.
“The carriage is ready, my lady.”
“…Thank you. Could you deliver this to the Duke? It’s urgent, so I’d appreciate it if it was delivered today.”
“Of course. I’ll be sure to deliver it.”
Now that it was through the butler, she would get a quick reply.
Escorted by the knight, Rachel got into the carriage. After Becky joined her, the butler closed the door.
“Safe travels, my lady.”
“…”
Rachel didn’t look back. She had been so focused on finding evidence that she hadn’t noticed, but after meeting the Duchess, everything about Valencia made her stomach churn.
The butler, who had taken the lead in tormenting her.
The Duchess and Knight Wayne, who were never caught before her regression.
Even the mansion she never wanted to see again.
“We’re departing now.”
At Sir Hoffman’s announcement, the carriage started moving. Rachel fiddled with the bundle hidden under her skirt to calm herself.
When that wasn’t enough, she sought the power she could feel in her heart.
‘It’s alright. I’ll be breaking off the engagement soon.’
After that, she would never look back toward Valencia.
Once she married and left home, her parents wouldn’t be able to meddle with her, and she could say goodbye to everything from the past.
“This time, I need to live well.”
She muttered quietly, gazing out the window. Becky looked at her anxiously.
When Rachel returned home, she had dinner in her room again that night. After sending everyone away, she took out the bundle she had hidden in her nightstand.
The first page of the small stack of papers was the doctor’s confession.
「I betrayed the Valencia family I served. Even if my family’s lives were at stake, even if I was offered any amount of gold, I should not have done it…
·
·
·
I will soon die at the hands of Lady Sabannio. I leave these documents in case her crimes and the truth about her son’s birth are revealed.」
The doctor’s determination could be felt in the way he called the Duchess by her maiden name, Lady Sabannio.
This evidence was something that could originally be obtained through a tip left for his academy friend, Billy.
He told Billy that if anyone ever came looking for him or if something big happened to the Valencia family, he should tell them about this evidence.
-
South end of the doctor’s residence, twenty steps from the wall.
In the end, Aisha Leibling, the archmage and daughter of the Leibling family, got her hands on this evidence according to that tip, and the truth was revealed.
As a result, the real son of the Duke of Valencia appeared, and the Duchess, who had driven out the true mother by faking her pregnancy, as well as the false prince, were both punished.
The punishment even reached the innocent wife of the impostor.
The doctor’s confession was put to proper use.
“…”
Rachel checked the rest of the evidence beneath it. The contents were just as she had heard before her regression.
The shocking revelation that Paris’s real father was the Duchess’s escort knight, Wayne.
A journal written directly by the doctor, recording the actual pregnancy period and the Duchess’s condition, different from what had been reported to the Duke.
Even records of a secret bloodline test conducted on Paris.
“…”
Rachel was lost in thought. It was something so easy to obtain.
‘Why didn’t I know this back then?’
Maybe even she had thought like the Valencia family.
Who would dare commit such fraud against the Valencia family, which even had the “ceremony” for automatic bloodline identification?
This was the result of such arrogance.
That the only heir was actually the son of a slave-born knight.
If, by luck, the Ingrave family’s supernatural power, dormant for hundreds of years, hadn’t awakened…
If she hadn’t met the conditions for it to manifest…
Rachel would have died during her confinement. This regression was a chance born of overlapping luck.
“…”
She lowered her gaze.
She wasn’t sure if something would happen again to trigger her supernatural ability.
Once the engagement was broken, it would be good to investigate <Regression> as well.
It wouldn’t be hard to find records of previous <Regression> awakeners in the family archives.
Knock, knock—
Just then, a knock interrupted her thoughts.
“Miss, it’s Becky.”
“Come in.”
Rachel quickly rewrapped the evidence in the cloth and pushed it to the side, raising her head. Becky, coming in cautiously, was holding two letters.
“These are from the Duke of Valencia and Prince Paris.”
The red wax bore the seal of Valencia.
Rachel picked up only the letter from the Duke.
After a formal greeting, it said he would allow a meeting at noon the next day. The butler must have delivered it promptly.
Rachel nodded and gestured for Becky to bring her stationery and quill.
“Becky, I have to go to the Valencia family at noon tomorrow.”
“Yes. I’ll prepare for it. But…”
Becky, hesitating, placed the other letter down.
Paris Valencia
The name was written in elegant script. Rachel stared at the letter for a while, then slowly broke the seal.
「To my dear fiancée」
