Chapter 121

This was a situation where I had no choice but to refuse right off the bat.

Swallowing back tears, I barely managed to open my mouth.

“Aren’t we still a bit far from that kind of relationship?”

“What?”

Noah’s pupils shook wildly. The panic was written all over his face.

Thinking he had committed a blunder by rushing me, he immediately apologized.

“Ah… I’m sorry, Belita. I-I thought you felt the same way… I guess I was mistaken. Please forget what I said earlier. Let’s just go back to normal starting tomorrow.”

That’s a steep drop.

Finishing his words, Noah looked as though he was about to turn away resolutely, but the brief flash in his eyes was still brimming with lingering attachment.

His first few paces were long and purposeful, but they gradually slowed down.

When Noah had distanced himself by about ten steps, I called out to him.

“Instead…!”

…??

“Instead, how about a fake relationship? Even if we just pretend to date, it should be enough for the Duchess to dispel her suspicions.”

“……”

“And well, even though we aren’t quite at that kind of stage yet… I figure as we fake-date, we might naturally grow as close as that…”

His startled, widened eyes captured Belita’s face. The smile that followed shortly after was not a bad sign.

“Do you hate it?”

“Hate it? No way! T-that’s fine too!”

Did my silver tongue actually work out?

The affection that had plummeted was fully restored in a snap.

“All’s well that ends well, right?”

I smiled brightly and nodded.

There had been a minor crisis, but phase one of the plan was cleared with this!

‘Ah…’

Though I thought that with such bravado, a sudden wave of reality shock was unavoidable.

Twisting it into a fake relationship offered some small comfort, at least.

If we had actually started dating for real according to the initial plan, I would have felt twice as disgusted as I did right now.

The urge to smash everything and quit crept up bit by bit.

However, that simply wouldn’t do.

I had to hurry and return to my original body so I could go back to my cruddy-yet-livable job and my relatively harmonious family.

‘Pull yourself together.’

Slap!

The sound of my hands striking both cheeks echoed through the bathroom.

Cupping cold water in the basin and plunging my face into it, I felt a fraction of the distracting thoughts melt away.

Towel-drying my damp bangs, I pulled the secret message out of my pocket with hands thoroughly wiped clean of water.

It hadn’t been delivered to Evan due to unexpected events, but in hindsight, it worked out for the better.

It meant I could add in the newly uncovered facts.

The fact that the Duke had brought home an illegitimate child, causing massive friction with the Duchess.

And the possibility that the Duchess might have murdered that illegitimate child.

‘I got lucky.’

This was not the kind of information a rookie spy like me should have been able to uncover so easily.

Influenced by affection and the trait, I had forced him to confess a secret he never would have blurted out on his own.

‘Since the trait triggered twice, after all.’

Noah had said that Robert bringing home the illegitimate child happened not long after Noah entered the mansion.

The age gap between Jeffrey and the protagonist was a mere five or six years.

Since it happened when they were so young, it would be difficult for Jeffrey to know much about matters concerning Robert, who had left the family.

And Robert wasn’t a fool; he surely wouldn’t have handled such a critical matter carelessly.

I could worry a little less about accidentally arousing suspicion by redundantly reporting information that Jeffrey and his faction already openly knew.

‘If I didn’t want to do that, I suppose I could’ve just reported that I hadn’t found anything yet, though…’

Isn’t a student who puts in the effort to write something down—however pathetic—usually looked upon more favorably than a student who leaves the answer sheet completely blank?

Avoidance is never a good strategy.

Even if I scribble down just anything, Jeffrey will sort out what’s useful and what’s not on his own.

Ding!

[ Mo Je-won: How’s it going? ]

I briefly explained the progress up to this point to Mo Je-won.

[ Mo Je-won: Whoa, that’s insane. Hereis’s dad was such a soap opera drama character. Besides, how do you kill a kid no matter what? The Duchess isn’t in her right mind either. ]
[ Mo Je-won: Then shouldn’t you suspend the operation? ]
[ Me: Why? ]
[ Mo Je-won: Surely the game didn’t give you a quest to marry a child’s father who’s a pervert, right? ]
[ Me: So the villain is fine? ]
[ Mo Je-won: Isn’t he? Who knows, maybe he’s a villain with a tragic backstory or something. ]

‘Useless as always.’

I shouldn’t let myself get swayed anymore by Mo Je-won’s reed-like mind.

I needed to act according to my own convictions. Shouldn’t I live up to my name (So-shin meaning conviction)?

Above all, changing my goal now of all times? I wouldn’t do that even just out of regret for all the suffering I’ve gone through so far!

[ Mo Je-won: And you said Belita was Jeffrey’s spy. That means they have the highest relevance. ]

That was true. In fact, they were the very next target I had thought of first.

Considering the connection to Belita, Jeffrey was by far the most plausible candidate right after the protagonist.

Though, having been backstabbed by the system once, I couldn’t even trust my own judgment anymore.

Besides, since I had already gone and kept Robert alive, it was already way too far gone to target Jeffrey.

Sticking with Robert for this lifetime—or perhaps holding out hope for the next—was probably the most rational choice.

[ Mo Je-won: Phew, do whatever you want. I don’t understand the system’s mind or yours~. ]

If he didn’t understand, I wish he’d just shut up.

[ Mo Je-won: Shut up, you say~ I’m just worrying about you because you might be stressed! ]

Worry, my foot. Suddenly caught a whim, considering how the person I treated like spam at first was acting like this.

Mo Je-won’s frequency of contact was quite high.

[ Mo Je-won: You know what? Bang Bang Five is making a comeback this time! It’s their first new song in a whopping ten years. I’ve been a fan of Bang Bang Five since I was super little, and this desperate wait is finally paying of— ]
[ Mo Je-won: Hey hey. I had some stocks I stashed away before, and they suddenly shot up so I sold them the second I broke even? But they’re rising more than you can imagine! I’m seriously in tears… ]

That’s right. Mo Je-won kept sending these mundane messages day after day.

‘Being obsessed with replies is a bit annoying, though.’

Still, the snippets of worldly news he occasionally shared brought me the hope that I was still connected to the outside world, cut off as I was.

“Um, Belita. You’ve returned just in time.”

Entering the servants’ lounge for the shift change while looking at Mo Je-won’s chat, I saw Villero smoothing out the wrinkles of his clothes.

“Sir Carlo has visited. Go help with the preparations.”

Villero finished telling me to iron my clothes even more neatly than usual before stepping out of the lounge.

I slightly warmed the iron prepared in the corner of the stove with its heat, ironed my apron, and hurriedly followed after Villero.

Besides, to think Carlo had come. An illegitimate child of the Rubel ducal household who was in cahoots with Jeffrey.

He was also an unforgettable figure since I had resourcefully harvested materials from Carlo’s laboratory.

‘He’s somewhat of a capture candidate, too.’

Why on earth was he here?

“Ahem.”

No sooner had our shifts changed than Noah stepped up beside me.

Ever since that day, Noah had been hovering around me at all hours.

Just how much did he want to show off that we were dating?

It was cringeworthy stuff, but… well, I suppose I must have acted just as clueless during my first relationship.

I’ll just view it as cute. Above all, Robert seemed to find it pleasing, as his affection kept rising continuously.

Which meant the fake relationship was proving quite useful.

Screech—!

About ten minutes after waiting in front of Robert’s office, a looking-exhausted and hollow-eyed Robert pushed the door open and stepped out.

“So, Carlo isn’t here yet?”

“They say he’ll be arriving shortly.”

“Let’s head over ahead of time. Getting cooped up in the office all day is exhausting.”

“Understood.”

“Ah, before that, let me change into some comfortable clothes. It’s silly to stand on ceremony when it’s just family, after all.”

“I will prepare them.”

I relayed Robert’s intentions to the wardrobe maid.

The maid scowled without a word—she probably wanted to save face for the sake of the ducal household’s prestige since an outside guest was visiting.

After much deliberation, the maid handed me a light long-sleeved shirt and loose brown slacks. It seemed to be the result of trying to balance comfort and formality at the same time.

Following Robert, who had changed into the attire I delivered with Noah’s help, we headed toward the drawing room.

In the drawing room, a man with a typical scholarly aura sat cross-legged with an air of refinement, sipping tea. He was completely different from the flashy Oscar, but his eyes and nose were similar enough that it was hard to deny they were blood relatives.

That man, Carlo, sprang up the moment Robert entered and greeted him by bowing his waist a full ninety degrees.

“Brother. It’s been a while.”

“Yeah.”

It was an excessively stiff and formal greeting for brothers. There wasn’t a trace of family-specific warmth and intimacy to be found.

“I apologize for not coming to see you sooner.”

“Never mind that, take a seat.”

The atmosphere was strangely rigid, but Villero and Noah looked used to it.

“We’re both busy, so this is just about not wasting time needlessly.”

“Yes.”

Noah took a position outside the drawing room doors while Villero stood guard inside, and I set out tea and refreshments on the table while reading the currents of air between the two.

Unlike Robert, who sat upright with his head held high and his back comfortably leaned against the sofa, Carlo sat straight with his gaze lowered.

Part of it was the age gap, but his background as an illegitimate child had probably forged this kind of attitude.

‘Why does he look kind of nervous, though?’

Not Carlo, but Robert, I mean.

Robert was fidgeting with his sweat-dampened hands, looking quite jittery.

‘It feels like he’s deliberately trying to act tough.’

“As discussed, I’ll get straight to the point. Take a look at this, please.”

The moment I finished setting out all the refreshments and stood up from my seat, Carlo pulled a thick stack of papers out of his briefcase and handed them to Robert.

“You only need to look at the parts where I’ve drawn separate lines.”

“Mm. Right. Thanks.”

As Robert read through the documents, he couldn’t help but grin foolishly, and by the time he reached the end of the papers, the corners of his mouth were practically hooked up to his ears. I tried my best to steal a glance from the corner of my eye, but unfortunately, the angle made it impossible.

“Ahem! Now that I’ve inherited the title, overseeing things is certainly much more convenient.”

“That’s because there were many things Elder Brother Vincent refused to allow. There’s nothing holding us back anymore.”

“Right. I won’t have to listen to Count Flois’s tiresome whining anymore, either.”

“Congratulations, Brother.”

“Nonsense. Everything is thanks to His Majesty the Emperor’s arrangement.”

“I only wish I could be of more help to you, Brother…”

“This is plenty. I’ll handle everything else on my own, so you should wash your hands of this.”

…At a glance, it sounded like an affectionate conversation, but when you listened to it while inferring the hidden meanings underneath, there were one or two parts that grew deeply suggestive.

Robert trying to push forward with things Vincent never permitted.

The sign that there was tacit approval from the Emperor.

Above all, the meticulousness of receiving Carlo’s help while still drawing a clear boundary.

Didn’t it smell a bit fishy behind the scenes?

Yet, if it was that kind of conversation, why wouldn’t they dismiss the servants first?

‘Do they think it doesn’t matter even if word leaks out?’

It sounded like rather intimate business belonging to the ducal family, at that.

I surely wasn’t interpreting an ordinary conversation with too much malice.

‘Is it because, to nobles, servants don’t even count as ears that listen?’

Well, it was true that with the master of the mansion changing this time, employment contracts had to be renewed, and quite a watertight confidentiality oath had been added.
They must have trusted that and acted this way.

“Ah, come to think of it, about your laboratory. I left it as it is because you asked me not to touch it, but we can’t just leave it in disarray forever. At least let us have it cleaned up.”

“Haha, my apologies, but might I leave it alone just a little longer? There are many dangerous items, so I believe I should handle it myself. I’ll clear it up as soon as possible. And…”

For some reason, Carlo’s gaze—if only for a fleeting second—drifted toward me.

“Above all, it’s not like there won’t be someone needed for it in the first place, after all.”

“…Understood.”

Afterward, they exchanged a few more remarks before parting ways.

“Belita, see him out.”

Me? The words almost popped right out of my mouth, but I couldn’t cross that line. I smiled politely and pulled out the thin coat Carlo had worn from the wardrobe beside the drawing room to help him put it on.

Then I took the lead and guided Carlo all the way to the main entrance.

‘Though I wonder if he even needed a guide.’

Honestly, Carlo, having grown up here, probably knew the layout of this place better than I did.

While I was grumbling internally about what a pathetic irony this was, it happened.

“Belita. To have already gotten this close to my brother. You must be doing well.”

Carlo broke the ice and spoke to me.