Chapter 128…
The more she read, the less the strange arrangement of words made sense. Who were these people whose names were written here, and what were these “accidents” listed beside them?
Unknown names and the accident descriptions next to them filled the entire first page of the notebook. Cynthia, frowning, moved her hand and flipped to the next page.
<Fund Transfer Records>
Count Liu: 3,000,000 Mint
Merchant Lord Ord: 250,000 Mint
Marquis Harold: 780,000 Mint
…….
What is this now?
Cynthia looked even more puzzled at the unfamiliar amounts of money.
It was definitely Elizabeth Bailey’s notebook… but none of the names written here had ever been mentioned in the original story.
They didn’t seem to be characters from the reverse harem at all… So what on earth had she written? Still confused, Cynthia flipped to the next page.
<Sirius Eastern: Castletown’s Shadow>
What is this supposed to be?
This time, only a single line was written across the wide page. Could… could Elizabeth have been writing some kind of novel?
“This isn’t helpful at all.”
Muttering quietly, Cynthia grabbed the notebook and rapidly flipped toward the back. From its worn exterior, she had expected it to contain important information, but surprisingly, most of the pages were empty.
“Hm? She barely used it?”
Aside from the first few pages filled with cryptic information, nearly everything else was blank.
Had she been completely mistaken? She thought it was a diary—but it didn’t seem like that either…
“Should I ask Violet to look for anything else…?”
She murmured to herself as she continued flipping. Then, upon reaching the very last page, Cynthia suddenly froze.
“……”
Her crimson eyes locked onto the small line written at the very bottom.
<I don’t want to die.>
“Hmmm…”
Sitting on a bench in the garden, Cynthia stared blankly at the flowers filling the grounds.
At her feet, blue and white blossoms swayed gently in the breeze. She lowered her hand and lightly brushed their tender petals.
She wasn’t allowed to leave the Lumanov Grand Duchy’s estate for the time being, but thanks to the massive garden, she didn’t particularly miss the outside world.
Besides, this place was quiet—perfect for organizing her thoughts. Cynthia, whose mind had been preoccupied with Elizabeth Bailey lately, found herself visiting this spot often.
“She didn’t want to die…?”
Looking down, Cynthia murmured.
Why would something like that be written?
She had assumed Elizabeth found this place utterly unbearable… but perhaps she actually had a strong will to live?
The more Cynthia learned about her, the more she realized Elizabeth was not quite the same character portrayed in the original story.
What kind of person was Elizabeth? She had thought she was just a noble lady who indulged in pleasure and frivolity, but it seemed she was a far more complex individual…
Perhaps because she had seen Elizabeth’s past through the black orb and felt their circumstances were similar, Cynthia wanted to know more about her—and she was deeply curious about the final choice Elizabeth had made.
Surely Elizabeth had left in search of happiness… right?
“And those records…”
Cynthia thought back to the suspicious accident logs and fund transfers written in the notebook. If her guess was correct, they were undoubtedly linked to the Bailey family.
They must have been records of the Baileys’ shady business dealings…
Could Elizabeth have been investigating the Baileys’ wrongdoing? Then how was Cynthia supposed to uncover more about them?
“Young Lady.”
Lost in deep thought, she suddenly heard someone speak to her.
Snapped back to reality, Cynthia lifted her head toward the voice. The speaker was a large, gentle-looking gardener in his fifties, with soft gray beard and a thick apron tied around him.
“Hmm? Gardener?”
As far as she knew, he had tended to the Lumanov gardens since his youth.
His warm, grandfatherly impression made Cynthia smile immediately as she asked,
“What brings you here?”
“You’ve been coming here quite often lately. Do you like this place?”
At his question, Cynthia glanced around.
This section of the garden, accessible by crossing an arched bridge over a pond, was filled with blue and white flowers. Tession had disliked it at first because it reminded him of his mother, but after several walks with Cynthia, he had gradually opened up to it—something she found quietly satisfying.
“Oh, yes! Thanks to your beautiful work, I enjoy coming here.”
“You flatter me.”
The gardener smiled gently.
After hesitating briefly, he fiddled with his worn apron and continued,
“I was thinking… since the season is changing, I might plant new flowers here. I wondered if you had any favorites. I’m sorry if I interrupted your thoughts.”
“Oh, not at all! You weren’t interrupting. But I don’t know much about flowers… You can just do as you usually do, can’t you?”
How kind—he even asked for her opinion!
Cynthia, who knew little about flowers, was about to answer casually but quickly changed her mind.
Maybe she should put in some effort…? He had asked her specifically—it would feel rude to dismiss it completely. After some hesitation, she said,
“How about making it… more colorful?”
“Colorful, you say? I’ll keep that in mind.”
The gardener nodded and pulled out a small notebook from his apron pocket, jotting something down.
As they gazed at the garden together, he spoke again,
“The manor is unusually empty today. His Grace stepped out for work, and the servants all went out to see something interesting.”
“Something interesting? Where did they go?”
“You know the biggest jewelry shop in the capital? They made a contract with a new merchant guild. Apparently, the guild brought back a huge batch of newly mined gemstones and displayed them there, so everyone ran off to see.”
A new merchant guild…
“By any chance, is the guild called Re-Temper?”
“Hm, my memory’s fuzzy, but I think that was the name.”
Ugh… So the very guild the Baileys wrested away from Tession had begun operations.
Cynthia kicked the ground in frustration. She felt irritated, thinking she had fattened the Baileys’ pockets by returning a merchant guild she technically didn’t need to.
After lightly kicking the dirt, she raised her head again.
“But gardener, aren’t you going to go take a look?”
“I’m not fond of that guild.”
“Why not?”
At her question, the gardener’s brows furrowed instantly.
“Because the jewelry shop signed an exclusive contract with them. My old friend’s guild lost their long-time trade partner because of it.”
“An exclusive contract?”
Why? That made no sense.
If they were dealing with gemstones from a newly discovered mine, supply would be unstable and unpredictable. Why would the shop tie itself exclusively to such a guild?
“Well, I can understand the shop owner to a degree. If they refused, they might’ve faced retaliation or disadvantage.”
Retaliation? Disadvantage?
Was that how the Baileys expanded their business? Cynthia suddenly understood why people in the capital dreaded getting involved with the Bailey family.
“Does that happen often?”
“It does—when it comes to certain families.”
The gardener sighed and dropped his shoulders.
“But what can commoners like us do? We just avoid catching the eye of those nasty nobles and do as we’re told, or run the other way.”
“Run the other way…?”
“Many people got hurt after getting tangled with that family. It’s mostly rumors, of course…”
The gardener looked around cautiously and lowered his voice. He covered his mouth with a large hand and whispered,
“They say some people who displeased that family were killed.”
“K–Killed?!”
Cynthia raised her voice in shock.
“Shh! They say the deaths were disguised as accidents. But as far as I know, those are just rumors. It’s just a warning to stay out of that family’s business. Still, I’m truly relieved His Grace broke off his engagement with the Bailey girl!”
Cynthia blinked at the joking gardener.
People who crossed the Bailey family… could die?
At that moment, a chilling thought flashed through her mind.
<I don’t want to die.>
No way… Could it be…?
