Chapter 77: What Margaret Took

As the meeting ended, those who had stayed in Berg for the compensation negotiations began leaving the castle one by one.

The first to depart was Pope Melvin. He said he always attends meetings between the Beast Kingdom Moirai and the Brillante Empire.

When I told him about my discovery – that transferring holy power required not physical contact but a physical medium – Melvin was greatly surprised.

“This is a completely new concept. Well done, Your Eminence.”

“Right?”

“Your consideration for the beastmen seems to have brought about an unprecedented miracle.”

“Well, not that much…”

Like before, the Pope is praising me too much.

“I have a good feeling about this.”

Melvin smiled at me kindly. I responded with a smile of my own.

“Yes, I hope it goes well.”

“I’ll head back first and contact my acquaintance who made the holy power absorption agent.”

“Yes, Your Holiness. I’ll wait for your contact.”

“Well then.”

Pope Melvin gave me a slight bow from beyond the carriage window.

“Take care.”

“Yes, Xavier. I hope to see a second child next time we meet.”

“Hey.”

“…Oh my.”

Just when I thought he was acting properly papal, here he goes again.

Leaving us flustered, Melvin departed with a grin on his face. As the white temple carriage gradually disappeared from view, Xavier muttered,

“Should I just cut ties with him?”

“Not yet.”

“Yeah. I’m joking.”

“Hehe, I know.”

Only after the dust kicked up by the carriage had completely settled did Xavier ask me,

“Shall we head back too?”

Though I felt sorry for my bum that would have to endure the carriage again, I felt better thinking about being able to rest at home.

“But.”

Xavier suddenly turned his head. His eyes were sharp as he surveyed the surroundings. I followed his lead and looked around in all directions.

“They’re not here.”

“No, they’re not.”

We looked at each other and nodded simultaneously. The Beast Kingdom delegates must have left earlier, as their carriages weren’t at the waiting area.

“Phew.”

“Whew.”

As if our sighs were a signal, we patted each other’s backs.

Neither Xavier nor I could let go of our suspicions until the moment we boarded the carriage. We were concerned about Crown Prince Lucas’s declaration that he would follow us to the Duke’s residence.

Unless he’s crazy, he wouldn’t really follow us to the Duke’s residence, right?

The carriage carrying Xavier and me traveled for five full days before arriving at the Duke’s residence.

*

“Oh my, my back! My tailbone! My bottom!”

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“Yes.”

Maya worriedly asked as she placed a hot compress on my bottom.

Born as a modern person, I had only experienced asphalt roads for 23 years. The pain from these uneven roads was unbearable.

“Ouch. I can’t sit straight.”

“Does it hurt that much?”

“It hurts so much.”

Four small hot compresses were placed on my bottom. Rosetta, who was standing beside Maya passing hot compresses from a basket, said,

“It would be nice if the madam could kiss her own bottom. Heh.”

“What?”

When I turned my upper body to ask, Rosetta blinked and looked at me with a ‘what?’ expression.

She was standing there holding a basket with new hot compresses to replace the cooling ones.

“I was just joking. Haha, isn’t it funny?”

As Rosetta tried to awkwardly laugh it off, Maya’s eyes narrowed sharply as she rose from where she sat on the bed.

“Rosetta, how dare you speak to Madam that way?”

“What’s wrong? It’s true, isn’t it? Since she’s a aaintess, I thought it might help heal her sore bottom if she did that?”

Looking at Rosetta’s face, which showed not a hint of malice as she questioned back, I was dumbfounded.

“Ahaha, a joke, I see.”

“Yes, isn’t it funny?”

As I forced a laugh while looking at Rosetta’s pretty smiling face, Maya stomped her feet in frustration.

“What’s funny about that? My lady!”

“Right.”

Though it seems unlikely, it feels like she’s somehow taking jabs at me.

Seeing my smile fade, Rosetta seemed to realize her comment had gone too far and immediately apologized.

“I’m sorry, my lady. I went too far, didn’t I?”

“Yes. That wasn’t very pleasant.”

“Hehe. Oh my, my mouth ran away with me.”

Rosetta backed away a few steps and left the bedroom, saying she needed to get new hot compresses.

That’s definitely running away, right?

“My lady, Rosetta has been acting strange since returning from Berg.”

I had been feeling the same unease as Maya. Lately, there was something different about Rosetta, a kind of dissonance I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

‘Wasn’t everything settled after she apologized about the incident with Lulu?’

Still, I couldn’t just confront her about it, so I decided to observe the situation a bit longer.

“She’s always been straightforward. Let’s not be too hard on her.”

“Yes.”

Though she answered simply, Maya promised me several times afterward that she would keep a close eye on Rosetta, clearly dissatisfied.

I watched the direction Rosetta had left with mixed feelings of disappointment and concern.

*

“Heh.”

Xavier covered his twitching lips with the back of his hand holding the quill.

‘I prefer staying by my husband’s side.’

Those were Yuria’s words in front of the Crown Prince.

The more he dwelled on them, the sweeter they became. His tongue felt sweet, his thoughts were sweet, and his lips melted into a smile.

“Heheh.”

Rexton, who was helping organize overdue documents in the Duke’s office, looked up in surprise at Xavier.

“What’s wrong? Your face is red – have you caught a cold?”

Receiving that look, Xavier cleared his throat.

“Ahem. It’s nothing.”

Though he tried to maintain a cold expression, his lips spread into another pleased smile. He was absolutely delighted by how Yuria had taken his hand and left in front of the Crown Prince.

Rexton, who couldn’t understand his feelings, tilted his head and returned to focusing on organizing documents.

After some time had passed, Rexton called out to Xavier.

“Your Grace, Albert has arrived.”

“Ah, yes.”

Coming to his senses, Xavier saw Butler Albert standing at attention in front of his desk.

“Your Grace, I’ve come to report about the maid Margaret.”

“Go ahead.”

Xavier crossed his arms after placing his quill in its stand.

“After having our informants investigate for several days before your return, we found that Margaret was not from the slums.”

“As I suspected.”

It was all his fault. Trusting Jude too much and letting her into the house was clearly a mistake. Because of that, he almost died and nearly lost Yuria.

Xavier asked Albert self-reproachfully:

“And?”

“Though there’s evidence she changed her identity multiple times, we couldn’t determine her exact identity. However, we secured several witness testimonies of her frequenting Count Willem’s residence.”

“Margaret isn’t her real name either, I assume.”

“Yes. Her age is correct at 16, and she’s apparently skilled in assassination, poisoning, information gathering, recruitment, and infiltration. It seems she has extensive experience as a spy. Our informant barely obtained this information through underground channels.”

“She must have had quite a time while I was away.”

Xavier’s lips twisted into a bitter smile.

“So, is anything missing?”

Albert pushed up his monocle, took a breath, and answered.

“Well… nothing is.”

“Albert, I’m not in the mood for jokes.”

“The precious treasures in the Duke’s vault, your office documents, even down to the silver dishes and spoons – everything is still there.”

Xavier opened and closed his mouth at Albert’s firm response.

With this trip, the Duke’s residence had been left with only two-thirds of its usual staff, as the ducal couple and many servants were away. It would have been the perfect opportunity for a spy who infiltrated to steal something.

Judging by Albert’s serious expression, it seemed to be the truth…

Xavier furrowed his brow.

“No way.”

Xavier quickly infused black aura into the bottom drawer of his desk and opened it. After checking inside, the wrinkles on his forehead relaxed.

The contract marriage documents with Yuria were still there, exactly as before.

‘Thank goodness.’

It was a safe-like drawer that only responded to his aura. No matter how skilled the spy, they couldn’t have touched it. Still, his heart had skipped a beat despite knowing this.

Albert’s report continued,

“Though we questioned her, she maintains her innocence. We searched her room but found no evidence, so it will be difficult to establish a connection with General Jude.”

“We have suspicions but no proof.”

“Yes. She even has an excellent reputation among the kitchen staff. We checked the food purchase records submitted by Chef John, and there’s no record of buying henbane.”

Xavier’s teal eyes sank deep in thought as he considered someone.

“For now, keep her detained as long as possible. I’ll question her myself.”

“Yes, Your Grace. I’ll make preparations.”

Bang bang bang!

Just then, the office door shook with an unceremonious loud noise.

“Your Grace!”

At that voice, Albert turned pale and bowed deeply to Xavier.

“I apologize. It’s one of the boys I’m training… I told him to go to the underground prison…”

“It’s fine. Open the door quickly.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Rexton, who was standing near the door, turned the handle and opened it. As soon as the door opened, a young servant with a pale face stumbled into the office as if about to fall forward.

“Your Grace!”

“How dare you show such disrespect to His Grace!”

Though Albert scolded the servant harshly, Xavier gestured to stop him.

“It’s alright, speak.”

“Th-th-the spy, Margaret.”

“Margaret?”

“She’s disappeared!”