Chapter 17
“Someone came from the Orpheo Grand Duchy?”
Could it be that they discovered my secret contact?
“Yes. His name is Russ Marty.”
The only human in the demon-infested Grand Duke’s castle had come to visit my estate.
Because I had something weighing on my conscience, anxiety crept in, and I quickly headed to the reception room where he was waiting.
After knocking and opening the door, I saw Daisy stiffly refilling a teacup. The tension was written all over her face.
“Mr. Russ Marty?”
With brown hair and glasses, he looked as tired as ever, with dark shadows under his eyes.
“Good day, Miss Diel.”
Seeing him, I spoke with an apologetic expression.
“I’m sorry, but I’ll get straight to the point. The trial is coming up soon.”
My heart pounded. If Killian—known for his sharp information network—had learned of my secret movements, things would become very troublesome.
“His Highness the Grand Duke sent me here.”
“…His Highness?”
Russ Marty adjusted his glasses and nodded.
“To be precise, His Highness predicted that the trial schedule would be moved up and sent me in advance.”
Normally, a lawsuit submitted to the imperial court takes about a month. But there was no way Duke Adelheit would allow that much time.
He’ll apply external pressure.
The sooner the trial began, the more the odds tilted in Duke Adelheit’s favor—because it reduced the time I had to gather evidence.
So it was obvious he would do whatever it took to push for an earlier date.
“…Then, does that mean you’ll help me prepare for the trial?”
“That’s correct.”
Russ Marty confirmed it. In the original story, he had stood out as highly capable when it came to handling work, so his help was extremely good news.
Whew… So he doesn’t know what I’ve done.
Letting out a deep sigh of relief inwardly, I still couldn’t accept immediately.
“But I’ve already received so much help from His Highness. Won’t this be too much for you as well?”
“I’m fine. It’s His Highness’s consideration, so you may accept it comfortably.”
“Alright. His Highness will probably feel more at ease being able to observe the trial preparations from the side as well.”
If I stubbornly sent him back, perceptive Killian might grow suspicious of me.
Objectively speaking, with our shortage of manpower, this was a fortunate development.
“Would you prefer to use a separate office? Or share one? It might be easier to work together at first. Please choose whatever is comfortable.”
And so, a few days passed since Russ Marty came to the Evan Estate.
Daisy and I watched his work with sparkling eyes.
“This is incredible…”
“Really…”
The mountain of financial documents piled up like a mountain disappeared rapidly whenever they landed on his desk.
Now I understand why a human like Russ Marty was hired in a castle full of demons.
His administrative skills were outstanding.
While focused on his work, he glanced at us and cleared his throat.
“Ahem.”
“Are you thirsty?”
“Seems like it. Could you bring some water quickly?”
Daisy promptly brought him a cup of warm water.
“Thank you so much. Preparing for the trial must already be exhausting, and yet you’re helping with our work too.”
At Daisy’s words, Russ Marty awkwardly replied, “It’s nothing,” while drinking the water. I added,
“If there’s anything you want to drink or eat, just let me know. I’ll prepare it.”
“Thank you… If I may…”
Russ Marty glanced at us and trailed off. Henry, who was organizing documents beside him, whispered to me:
“It seems Sir Russ Marty feels burdened by our attention.”
Ah. I finally realized why he had been acting awkwardly. As soon as I heard that, I quickly grabbed Daisy’s arm and dragged her back to my desk.
We absolutely must not disturb him!
Right now, we needed to create an environment where this capable aide could focus entirely on his work.
From the outside, it might look like we were exploiting someone else’s assistant for labor—but that was absolutely a misunderstanding.
As the business expanded, we couldn’t hire enough staff, and the workload had become overwhelming.
After learning of our situation, Russ Marty had gradually started helping out—and that’s how things ended up like this.
“So, once the trial is over, will you return to the Grand Duchy?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
For the first time, such a simple affirmative answer felt deeply disappointing.
I discreetly watched Russ Marty working diligently and swallowed.
He really is tempting…
But he was already Killian’s aide, and likely receiving a substantial salary in Orpheo.
Such a desirable talent—yet regrettably out of reach.
Still, you never know how things might turn out.
If conflict arose between Killian and Russ Marty… or if he realized he was working in a place full of demons…
Let’s scout Russ Marty to our side!
I clenched my fist and made up my mind.
Wait… would Killian end up hating me for that?
I furrowed my brows in thought. How could I hire Russ Marty without earning Killian’s displeasure?
No good plan came to mind.
Just then, a visitor arrived.
“…The Grand Duke has come?”
“Yes.”
Butler Talia answered. Since I had just been plotting to poach Russ Marty, I felt a pang of guilt as I moved to greet Killian.
Now that I think about it, he did say he’d visit once during the trial preparations.
It seemed today was that day.
“Miss, His Highness said he could come in here—”
Before Talia even finished speaking, I opened the office door—and Killian was standing right in front of it.
Startled, I yelped.
Seeing my reaction, Killian said in a flat tone,
“You look as though you’ve seen a demon.”
“W-What?!”
“I’m joking.”
Damn it.
For an actual demon to joke like that—was he trying to stop my heart?
He was truly something else. Watching my reaction with amusement, he let out a small chuckle and said,
“I came to see how things are progressing.”
Without waiting for my permission, he strode confidently toward my desk.
Then he immediately picked out the relevant trial documents and scanned them with a sharp gaze.
Everyone in the room couldn’t focus on their work and just stared at him.
Soon, he spoke.
“Oh dear. You’ll lose. Should I offer my farewells in advance?”
“……”
“I’d like to speak with you privately. Do you have time?”
After hearing something like that, how could I possibly say no?
As soon as we entered the reception room, what Killian said next felt like a bombshell.
“You want to… go see the Princess?”
“If I’m involved, winning won’t be difficult—but it would be even better if we could gain the Princess’s support.”
“You just said we’d lose.”
“That’s without my help.”
The way he said it came across as arrogant.
Well, he was an arrogant demon to begin with—someone who believed everything was within his grasp.
I had momentarily forgotten behind that gentlemanly mask, but in the original story, his actions were far from gentlemanly.
Even when Edith chose death, he did nothing—just stood by and watched.
If he had even a shred of sympathy, he could have comforted her. But he was the very embodiment of cold indifference.
Is it because he’s a demon?
Maybe demons simply operated on a different emotional spectrum than humans.
That meant even if he acted like an ally now, he could turn into an enemy at any moment. I couldn’t let my guard down.
I can’t let Killian meet the Princess in this situation.
Especially if I got involved too—the situation would become extremely complicated.
If the Princess so much as mentioned that I had contacted her in front of Killian…
I might be judged by Killian Orpheo before the trial even begins.
A three-way meeting was absolutely out of the question.
“That’s absolutely not possible.”
I firmly refused.
A hint of confusion flickered in Killian’s eyes. I quickly wracked my brain for a plausible excuse.
“The cure isn’t even complete yet. I don’t want to give someone false hope.”
“That’s quite different from the confidence you showed when you first brought up the cure to me.”
His gaze grew sharper, as if my answer sounded ordinary.
I spoke calmly.
“Because Your Highness isn’t the one suffering from the illness.”
After that, an awkward silence fell between us.
Killian was the one to break it.
“Very well. Let’s end this discussion here.”
His expression was… somewhat strange. The way he looked at me felt like he was watching something very foolish.
“You’re not about to say ‘who do you think you are worrying about whom,’ are you?”
“Exactly. I didn’t realize Edith could read minds.”
“I’m not that heartless, you know.”
“In situations like this, it would be better if you were.”
He said with a faint smile.
“In that case, I’ll have to prepare something more certain on my end.”
Then he stood up.
“I’ll be on my way.”
“Alright… take care. Shall I see you out?”
“No need.”
He declined lightly and left.
Did he really come all this way just for that?
It felt a bit anticlimactic, but realizing that I had safely gotten past a critical moment, I let out a sigh of relief.
