Chapter – 04
Why?
Why is Alias appearing here now?
Rachel tried to examine Alias’s face under his hood, but it was useless. He wore a black eye patch that concealed his eyes and the color of his irises.
Alias. The father of the female protagonist Dolorasa in the original novel, and the alias of Duke Sian Aisa Dikarsniak, the empire’s only grand duke.
Rachel decided to revise her plan to extract information from her source.
Alias was the father of her future son-in-law’s girlfriend, which made him Rachel’s prospective in-law. She couldn’t just let him pass by like this without talking to him first.
Alias tilted his head.
“Countess? Is there a problem?”
“I’m sorry. I was startled for a moment because you share a name with someone I know. It seems this conversation will take some time, so could you wait in another parlor? I’ll finish what I was talking about and come to you immediately.”
“Then you must pay me for the time I spend waiting.”
“Of course.”
Alias left the room without hesitation.
Rachel thought, For someone so wealthy in the empire, he’s meticulous about calculating fees! If I hadn’t known, I might have been fooled by his acting.
Her body was restless with the desire to talk to Alias, but first, she had to finish dealing with Marsha.
Calming herself, Rachel spoke slowly.
“Now that the intruder is gone, shall we continue our conversation?”
“M-Ma’am…”
“I clearly gave Marsha a chance, but she threw it away herself. Don’t take it too hard; there’s no mercy for her.”
Rachel joined her hands calmly and delivered the punishment she had prepared.
“First, from this moment on, Marsha is no longer a nurse for the Ellosa family. All privileges she had as a household servant are revoked. The support money sent to her family is also cut off.”
“If you cut that off, my family—!”
“Don’t interrupt me. I’m not done yet. Return all the clothes and items you’ve been given. If any items listed in the ledger are damaged or missing, you will compensate for them.”
Marsha’s head dropped weakly to the floor.
Rachel thought, It’s still early, but if I start this harshly now, it could be problematic.
“Return everything you’ve secretly stolen. And if anything is missing, you’ll pay for it. I’ll charge for the use of any tableware that disappeared, as well as for the amount of food taken during gatherings.”
“I… I don’t have that kind of money…”
“Also, return any wages you unfairly collected while absent. I will claim compensation for the mental stress caused to Graham and me due to your lies and negligence. Graham is too kind and might speak badly about you, though.”
After letting out a torrent of words, Rachel exhaled deeply.
“I’ll calculate the amounts and deadlines and send them to Marsha’s family in the countryside. Since Marsha is gone, her family will bear the burden, so don’t think about running away.”
“Wah… sob sob.”
Marsha finally broke down in tears.
Rachel watched the elderly nurse of her son scrape the floor with her hands. For a moment, she turned away.
She actually still had more punishments to impose, but seeing her cry made her hesitate to deliver the last one.
Originally, I was planning to spread rumors that she was kicked out for theft, but I can’t bring myself to do that. Besides, she won’t be able to work as a nurse again anyway.
Still, the financial punishments alone would be enough to make Marsha suffer, so Rachel decided to stop there.
Rachel headed to the other parlor where Alias was waiting.
When she opened the door, Alias turned toward her. Despite hiding his face with the hood and eye patch, he somehow oriented himself correctly.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“That’s alright. As I said, I’ll charge you for the time spent waiting.”
“Do as you wish.”
A chair was placed by the sunny window, but Alias deliberately stayed in the shadows.
Rachel also stepped into the shade instead of sitting down. Alias seemed to follow her gaze as if he could see.
“As you may have heard, I have something I want to acquire. Normally, I should have come to the guild, but my husband and butler were overly protective, so I had to trouble you by coming here.”
“That’s fine.”
“Before I formally explain the details of my request, may I say something first?”
“If you pay for the extra time, of course.”
Rachel gave a respectful bow to Alias, clad in a black cloak and eye patch.
“Your Excellency, Sian Aisa Dikarsniak, Grand Duke.”
“What…”
Alias stiffened in surprise.
“I’m not sure what you mean. I am Alias, an information agent of the guild.”
“Probably an alias.”
“….”
Alias, or rather Sian, scanned Rachel’s presence and slowly spoke, his voice sharp.
“How did you know?”
Rachel’s approach worked.
She replied calmly with the lie she had prepared.
“It wasn’t difficult. Though you thoroughly concealed your eyes and hair, that actually made me suspicious.”
It wasn’t unusual for guild agents to conceal themselves while carrying out covert missions.
But hiding even the eyes and hair, like Sian, was rare. Collecting information without seeing is not something just anyone can do.
“You’re saying you deduced that I am the Grand Duke just from that?”
“You didn’t hide your voice either. Though you don’t appear often in public, your voice is unforgettable once heard.”
It was a meaningful deduction, but still not entirely convincing. Human hearing, unlike smell, isn’t usually sensitive enough to pick out such details.
Rachel added one final point.
“And there was a reason for Your Excellency to be here.”
This was the most certain reason.
It was also the decisive reason why Theodore, who had fallen for Jane in the original, and Graham, who lost his title and wealth, had to live as mercenaries.
“You know the noble council suspects my husband, Theodore Ellosa, of rebellion. And you frequently conduct secret inspections on behalf of the council. With this much, isn’t it reasonable to deduce my situation?”
Indeed.
Sian was publicly known to represent the noble council and occasionally conduct secret inspections, though it was unknown that he did so under the name Alias.
The problem was:
“How did you know the council suspects Theodore’s rebellion? That’s something only the highest nobles would know.”
“Theodore often roams the estate at night, sneaking through dark alleys. The family’s finances have suspicious holes. Even I would suspect rebellion under such circumstances.”
Sian’s eyes narrowed under the eye patch.
Everything Rachel said was true—from Sian’s identity to the suspicion of rebellion.
Last year, the council had received reports that Theodore Ellosa’s behavior was suspicious. The council wondered if he might be preparing a rebellion.
Sian had followed Theodore, but found no trace of rebellion—only evidence of an affair.
The problem was that the timid emperor refused to dismiss his suspicions. Sian had no choice but to continue surveillance.
Today, news came that a guild agent was at the Ellosa estate, so Sian had merely dropped by after being urged by the council. He intended to just take the job and leave.
But to his surprise, Rachel had already seen through his identity. She had also deduced the council’s suspicions.
During the investigation of Theodore, Rachel had shown herself to be neither naïve nor ignorant. In other words, she had been oblivious to her husband’s affair all these years, whether by innocence or by foolishness.
Yet Rachel…
When Sian remained silent, Rachel spoke persuasively.
“Theodore is only secretly seeing his mistress, hiding from my and others’ eyes. The money the family siphoned likely went to her, not the army. I can help you gather evidence.”
To be unaware of her husband’s affair and still act this way…
What kind of woman is this?
Sian had never had his investigation fail so completely. His curiosity was piqued.
Sian challenged Rachel.
“Ridiculous. Are you trying to hide your husband’s rebellion? I won’t believe a word you say.”
“Exactly. I want you to investigate until your doubts are cleared. Until you are certain it’s not rebellion but an affair.”
This was… unexpected.
Sian waited quietly, and Rachel continued.
“There’s a small shop on Rotten Street with pale yellow flowers painted on it. Go down the alley to its right, pass two buildings, and you’ll find a red-roofed two-story house. Watch that house. You’ll see exactly what Theodore is doing.”
That was Jane’s house. Rachel knew every detail—not just suspecting her husband’s affair, but the full context.
“Inspect that house. Once you’re convinced it’s not rebellion but an affair, come back to me.”
“…You expect compensation?”
“No.”
Rachel finally let herself smile, unable to contain it.
“I want the undeniable evidence of the affair you’ve gathered. I want to divorce Theodore safely and for good.”
Using Sian in this way allowed her to obtain evidence without Theodore’s suspicion. And it also gave her an excuse to see him again.
From Rachel’s perspective, it was a perfect plan: divorce and a potential future in-law.
All that was left was for Sian to agree.
Sian’s lips beneath the eye patch moved slightly.
