CHAPTER 22
“U-um… Duke, do you have any other requests?”
I asked quietly as I held Rath Arahan’s hand and stepped down from the carriage.
Arahan, who had been wearing a faint smile, simply shook his head and gently patted my head.
He isn’t the type to engage in casual physical contact like this, though…
It really did feel like he was after something.
“No. Nothing at all. More importantly, thank you for your hard work.”
“…Ah… yes. It’s all thanks to you, Duke.”
Even as I said that, I could feel Karlcia’s gaze boring into my back. It was sharp enough to sting.
“U-um… aren’t we supposed to be seeing the Emperor…?”
I asked carefully.
Arahan looked at me as if genuinely confused, then tilted his head slightly, as though my concern itself was strange.
His eyes clearly said, Why should I care about that man?
“No. I came to see you, young lady. As for the Emperor, he’s an Emperor. He’ll manage to return on his own. After all, he’s surrounded by Imperial Palace knights.”
Well… that was true.
But since when did he start acting this polite?
Arahan wasn’t the kind of man who would show kindness to Elizabeth Arlesia without a reason. Unless he wanted something in return.
Or… was he still feeling guilty for throwing me into the noble faction’s ball as bait?
While I was lost in thought, Karlcia—who had been glaring daggers from behind—spoke in a low, heavy voice.
“Rath. What exactly are you doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“Ha… never mind. Anyway, young lady. I’ll contact you again.”
“……”
It looked like Karlcia had more to say to Arahan, but he abandoned the thought, waved his hand once, and climbed into his carriage.
Afterward, Arahan let out a deep sigh and finally spoke.
“Contact you again, huh. Have you already grown close to him?”
“It’s not like that… it’s just that Marquis Soboron asked to meet again… haha… and now I’ve become the Emperor’s partner.”
I should have been happy, considering I was Elizabeth.
But how was I supposed to hide this overwhelming sense of disbelief?
I couldn’t even torment Osborne Luciela properly…!
And now I was becoming the Emperor’s partner again.
At this rate, I might get my neck chopped off before I ever reach the villainess’s ending—simply because I can’t stand the Emperor anymore!
“…Really?”
Just as I was about to answer, I noticed Arahan’s expression harden.
I tilted my head.
That look… he seems upset. Am I imagining things?
Still, Arahan wouldn’t get angry because of me.
Maybe he was just frustrated because this added more work to his plate.
“By the way,” he said suddenly, “that hair color suits you.”
“Oh—ash brown?”
“…Ash br—what?”
Ah. Right. Maybe that color didn’t exist here.
“Well… brown. Just brown. Thank you for saying it suits me.”
I almost slipped.
Elizabeth had never had brown hair.
“I’ll take care of this matter with the Emperor properly.”
“…? Ah… I’d appreciate that.”
“Please go inside now. As much as I would like to escort you to your room, it would only invite unnecessary gossip. I’ll take my leave.”
Arahan bowed briefly, as if offering a silent courtesy, then turned back toward the direction of the Emperor’s carriage.
“…Isn’t it more that you don’t want trouble, rather than me?”
Gossip had always followed Elizabeth like a shadow.
She was used to it.
The one who truly suffered from it was Arahan.
And yet, his words today carried more concern for Elizabeth’s suffering than his own.
Something had changed.
Arahan, who should have been showing kindness to Osborne, was now being kind to Elizabeth.
Was this bait? Some kind of test?
“…Sigh. Anyway, setting that aside, I stepped on Osborne Luciela’s foot today. Tomorrow, there’ll probably be massive rumors reaching the Emperor or the newspapers.”
Perfect. Just as planned.
And indeed, my prediction came true.
By the next day, the story had twisted wildly.
A nameless noblewoman had stepped on Osborne Luciela’s foot—and slapped her.
I never slapped her, but the tale had grown its own legs.
The witness interviewed was Lady Marizen, though her name was left out.
Well, since her name wasn’t mentioned, the Emperor wouldn’t immediately recognize her.
Still, he might fly into a rage and drag Lady Marizen in for questioning.
Or worse—
He might interrogate Osborne directly.
“…Sigh. I’m exhausted. Even dying according to the book is hard.”
The ball that never existed in the original story.
Arahan’s sudden shift in attitude.
Everything was veering off course.
Still, I knew how it had to end. I knew what kind of evil deeds Elizabeth Arlesia was destined to commit.
I could manage it.
I had to.
================================================
After Arahan left Elizabeth behind, Karlcia Senil Morc, who had been sitting quietly in the carriage, stared down at his hand.
Elizabeth’s hand—he had expected it to be cold.
But it was warm.
And more than that, the faint tremor he’d felt earlier was unmistakable.
Nervousness.
A hesitation born of uncertainty—of wondering whether she was doing things correctly.
At first, it amused him.
Arahan had said she had changed, but Karlcia hadn’t believed it.
That was why he had watched her closely throughout the ball—not Osborne, who had danced the first dance with him.
As expected, the moment Osborne appeared, Elizabeth’s eyes lit up.
So he deliberately blocked her view.
He expected dissatisfaction.
Instead, she smoothly dismantled Marquis Soboron’s suspicions with quick thinking.
Elizabeth Arlesia had always been synonymous with luxury and indulgence.
Even as a child, she had stood out—radiant, adorned in jewels, never blending into the background.
She hadn’t changed as she grew.
Or so he thought.
“…She was definitely trembling.”
What shocked him most was how flawlessly she had handled everything.
It was a noble faction’s ball. He had expected open gossip, thinly veiled hostility.
He would have been relieved if she simply didn’t cause a scene.
But she endured it all.
Even while being openly maligned, she smiled.
Has she truly changed? If so… then why?
Karlcia convinced himself that it was still an act.
That the tremor had been part of her performance.
Because if this was truly the Elizabeth he knew, then she would behave exactly like this.
Stepping out of the shabby carriage and into the Imperial Palace carriage, Karlcia’s golden eyes drifted toward the Arlesia mansion.
“What do you mean by ‘Marquis Soboron asked to meet her again’?”
At some point, Arahan had joined him after escorting Elizabeth inside.
“She did well.”
“…?”
“She memorized the list of nobles. She even prepared jewelry that the Marchioness would like. When did she learn such things?”
“…Huh? I only explained your relationship to her.”
“…What?”
Karlcia blinked.
He had assumed Arahan had guided her.
But she had done it all herself.
“Has she really changed?”
“It seems so.”
“……”
Karlcia sighed, lowering his gaze.
It was better not to think about it.
Every time he did, his head throbbed.
That red—no, that red.
The same red he had seen countless times on battlefields.
The blood associated with her refused to fade from his memory.
It made him want to reject her even more.
A dull headache pressed down on him, and he blamed Elizabeth for it.
“So, what now?”
“I’ve gathered the information. According to the nobles, the Luciela family has aligned with the aristocratic faction.”
“You predicted they’d claim moderation from the start.”
“Yes. But I needed proof.”
“What about Marquis Belua? As co-host, he should have appeared.”
“He didn’t.”
That alone was abnormal.
The ball had been co-hosted by Marquis Soboron and Marquis Belua.
The absence of the aristocratic faction’s leader was telling.
“Then…”
“I obtained the information through Soboron.”
Arahan rubbed his head, already sensing the workload ahead.
Karlcia felt the same.
Their objectives had been clear: monitor the Luciela family, and uncover the contraband trade the aristocrats were hiding.
Thanks to Elizabeth, he had already learned the location of the transaction.
“It seems the exchange will take place at the charity event hosted by the Marchioness.”
“…Are you planning to act immediately?”
Karlcia only smiled and looked out the window.
“No. I want to confirm one thing first.”
“…What?”
“Whether she has truly changed.”
With Elizabeth still lingering in his thoughts, Karlcia walked deeper into the Imperial Palace—toward his own quarters.
“No matter how much she changes, Lady Elizabeth Arlesia is still Elizabeth Arlesia.”
“A villain drowned in luxury and indulgence.”
“And the Emperor faction’s hidden card.”
“That is all she is.”
