Chapter 22
[Lucy Hesley, 23 years old]
It was the person she saw earlier that morning. As expected, they belonged to House Forne, not House Rosent.
The youngest child of the Hesley Viscount family, who once served as an attendant at House Aros. While checking through the list again, she found another familiar name.
[Demis Luther, 26 years old]
Lucy Hesley… Demis Luther…
“…Both names sound familiar.”
She had definitely heard those names before. Repeating them several times, she tried to recall from memory.
Ah, that’s right. She remembered now. They had won the hunting competition held at the upcoming Ollabi Festival in a few months.
Demis Luther, once a guard of House Hesley, had supposedly led his house to victory, though Lucy Hesley, who also participated, wasn’t lacking in skill.
She hadn’t been able to attend the festival, so she had heard the news from Lorei.
But it was strange. Lorei had never once hired attendants trained in martial arts.
Nor had any such individuals ever entered the castle as attendants.
Why did these two come to the castle? No—more importantly, why were there so many people from House Aros listed on a roster that should’ve been filled with people sent by House Roash?
She already knew Lucion was from House Aros, but she hadn’t realized there were so many others until today. Why?
‘Sometimes I feel like everyone in this castle acts as Lorei’s eyes and ears.’
Eyes and ears—that thought came to her suddenly.
Could it be…
“Did someone plant these attendants here to act as spies for them?”
Who? And for what purpose?
Thinking of who might do such a thing, only one name came to her lips.
“Holton von Seviche.”
It wasn’t likely that he sent people into the castle under his own name, so of course he would’ve used another family’s—was that House Aros?
But there was one problem. House Aros and House Seviche were known to be on poor terms. The Count of Aros was known to be pro-castle.
There was no way House Aros would join hands with House Seviche.
“…Then again, maybe they’re friendly behind the scenes.”
The two-faced nature of nobles was something she’d heard about to the point of disgust. Pretending to be friendly in public while mocking each other in private—she’d heard too many such stories. Ever since she came of age, Lorei had been feeding her endless tales of political dealings.
If that was the case, then it made sense. Houses that normally wouldn’t send attendants had started moving.
The reason Holton planted eyes and ears in the castle was obvious. He was trying to gather intelligence on the castle—on the lord’s weaknesses or secrets.
She didn’t know why she was thinking this way in this life, but several things had happened that didn’t align with what she previously knew.
Sofia gave a bitter smile and murmured as she slid the roster into the desk drawer.
“They’ll find out.”
That Sofia Bennie was still alive and breathing.
Many attendants had seen her, and Holton visited Forne Castle once a month.
And tomorrow was the day of his visit. As long as he was in the castle, she couldn’t move freely, and she wouldn’t be able to stop the attendants he planted from reporting back to him.
While she was stuck in place, Holton would easily be able to contact Lucy and the others who were in Forne Castle.
But there was no reason to panic. Even if Holton learned that Sofia Bennie was alive, there was nothing he could do.
There was no benefit to spreading the news that Sofia Bennie was alive—and even if he tried, he couldn’t prove it.
No matter how loudly he claimed that Sofia was alive, it would end up as nothing more than an unverified rumor. Because there was no evidence.
With no way to prove her existence, people would simply dismiss the rumors, and they’d die off naturally.
Holton couldn’t do anything. Not unless he could prove she was alive.
No—there was one thing he could do.
“Revenge.”
Now that he knew she was alive, all that pent-up rage of his would fixate squarely on her.
Holton never liked Sofia, even when Chase was alive.
He thought the adopted Bennie from Langcell would one day take Chase’s place. So of course, he didn’t like the child who came into the castle alongside her.
Then Chase was imprisoned in the tower.
Just because she wasn’t of noble blood and not from a promising family, she was accused of an assassination attempt and locked away in the tall tower.
He lost his daughter because of that incident. And those who should’ve received his wrath died too.
Left alone to stew in his anger for months, even years, he then learned that one of them hadn’t died.
‘He’s not the kind of man to let such easy prey go.’
The target was still just a 12-year-old child—unprotected by tall castle walls. Like a small rabbit isolated on a wide, open plain.
“This is the first time Holton has felt threatened.”
A completely unexpected variable in this life—something that never occurred in her previous one.
To remain wary of the attendants who might reveal their true colors behind smiling faces, Sofia repeated the names from House Aros she had memorized from earlier.
Bendis Azle. Jin Petterson. Lucion…
“Ah, Sion.”
As she casually recalled the names, she remembered one important fact she had forgotten.
Lucion—he had come from House Aros.
Thanks to Holton’s visit to the castle, Sofia had stayed indoors for a week, resting instead of roaming the gardens. As a result, her condition had improved significantly.
With Holton gone and her body feeling lighter, she stepped out onto the terrace for some fresh air after breakfast.
Lorei had scolded her recently for snacking too much, so she only had tea—not a fully satisfying tea table, but still a nice way to pass time.
“Thanks for the list.”
“It was nothing,” Lucion replied, shrugging with a smile.
It was the first time she’d seen him in a week. Since she planned to stay in her room anyway, she had told him to prioritize his backlog of tasks.
So now, she was expressing her belated gratitude.
As she pressed the last sugar cube into her tea with a spoon, she began to speak.
“There were a lot of people from House Aros among the newcomers.”
“Eight in total—it’s quite a lot. Not as many as House Roash, though.”
“They were all so different. I wondered how they were selected.”
“Oh, I picked them all myself. I’m pretty close with Count Aros. He often asks me for favors like this.”
“Tell me more. I’ll consider it today’s dessert.”
Lucion wasn’t sure why she was suddenly curious about it, but he didn’t mind and began to explain.
“I really like to travel. One day, while I was on the road, a carrier pigeon arrived.”
“…Huh? The sender knew where you were?”
“Nope.”
Then how did it find him? That bird sure was clever…
‘Dear Lucion.’
‘I need you. Come here immediately.’
With not a shred of politeness, the letter included only an address: the Aros Count’s estate. Given who had sent it, Lucion didn’t hesitate and headed straight there.
Upon arrival, he was handed a stack of documents containing personal profiles of many individuals.
“What the…”
“Five.”
“Huh?”
“Pick five. People who haven’t trained in swordsmanship—even as a hobby—but who are capable of working as servants or attendants.”
It was a sudden assignment, but not unusual coming from her.
“These are the five I’ve selected.”
“Good work. Now, include these two and observe how clever they are.”
“Observe…?”
“We don’t need anyone too dumb or too smart.”
It was a rather unreasonable request, but Lucion had received worse while by her side.
At least this time it wasn’t too difficult. Luckily, everyone on the list was moderately clever and manageable.
Especially the two added later—it was obvious she had chosen them herself. They were just the right mix of smart and simple. She probably meant to use them as a baseline for comparison.
Once the selection was finalized, Lucion learned what the list was for.
It was for selecting those to be sent as attendants to House Roberti.
“But I thought we were sending eight. There are only seven on this list?”
“There are eight.”
Confused, Lucion tilted his head, and she gestured toward the documents with her pen.
He flipped to the last page—and found his own name and personal details listed.
“What is this supposed to be?”
“I never make moves without thinking. Just trust me.”
As always, she didn’t explain what she was doing or what she intended. All he got was a letter for someone and a brief sheet of instructions for what to do at Roberti Castle.
“You do understand you’re the most trustworthy and clever of the eight, right?”
“Of course.”
And that was how he came to the castle.
