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Chapter 5
“Espin!”
I heard someone shout my name loudly from outside the drawing room, and then the door burst open.
Red hair, black eyes. A woman with sharp, catlike upturned eyes and a fierce impression.
It was the villainess Flaria from the novel.
She threw the door open menacingly and strode toward me, clearly angry.
‘What the— Is she coming to hit me?’
In the novel, Flaria always slapped the female lead, so I squeezed my eyes shut in fear.
“Why did it take you so long to contact me?!”
Flaria opened her arms wide and suddenly pulled me into a tight hug.
“Ah— Flaria. I’m sorry.”
“Were you busy? Do you know how bored I was?”
As I struggled in the arms of the taller Flaria, Haren, who had followed her in, stopped her.
“Let go of Espin. She’s having a hard time.”
“I’m just so happy to see her.”
“That’s still not okay. You’re bothering her.”
Haren took Flaria by the shoulders and pulled her away, then stood in front of me.
“Espin, it’s been a while.”
“Yeah. Haren, it really has.”
I happily took his outstretched hand and shook it up and down.
‘So this is Haren Ameron.’
He was Flaria’s older brother by a year, the heir to the Ducal House of Ameron, and the brother of the novel’s villainess.
They had originally been close siblings, but when Flaria’s misdeeds worsened, he eventually sided with Chloe.
But that didn’t matter right now. What mattered was that he was still Espin’s friend—and that he worked in the Imperial Knights.
In this world, the Imperial Knights were both the prosecution and the police.
Led by Grand Duke Holt, one of the male leads of the novel, the Imperial Knights were a terrifying presence.
And the vice-captain of that order, Grand Duke Holt’s right-hand man, was Haren Ameron.
The man standing right in front of me.
“Espin, I’m hurt.”
Flaria sat down and stuck out her lips in a pout.
‘She’s kind of different from the novel.’
Judging by her sulky tone, Flaria felt quite different from the image I remembered. She didn’t seem like the villainess who committed all sorts of evils out of jealousy toward the female lead. If anything, she looked cute with her lips pushed out like that.
“What are you upset about?”
“What do you mean? What happened to you? Not a single message—do you know it’s been a whole month? A whole month without hearing from you.”
“Ah, well…”
I stopped mid-sentence and lowered my head, then wrapped my arms around myself as if trembling in fear.
“Did something happen? Why are you acting like this? Did that countess bully you again?”
Flaria immediately approached me with a worried expression, her earlier sulking gone.
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then what is it…?”
“Did something happen, Espin?”
With even Haren asking in a concerned tone, I slowly opened my mouth.
“Well… there’s someone who’s been following me lately, so I haven’t been able to go outside. I feel like I’m being watched all the time.”
“What? Who is it?!”
Flaria’s large eyes widened even more.
“And that person keeps sending me strange letters. Saying I’m his lover, and that we promised each other a future.”
“How dare he set his sights on you! What kind of bastard is he?!”
Flaria rolled up her sleeves as if she were about to go beat him up immediately.
“Sit down, Flaria. Espin, actually, I saw someone suspicious on my way here.”
“A suspicious person?”
“Yeah. There was a guy hanging around this estate on horseback. He looked shady, so I remembered him…”
‘As expected of Haren. I knew I could count on you.’
He hadn’t become vice-captain of the Knights just because of his family background.
With his sharp observational skills, I had deliberately invited them at the time Sebastian would leave, hoping Haren might notice him.
“Do you happen to still have one of the letters he sent you?”
‘Yes. Perfect, Haren.’
He asked exactly the question I wanted.
“No. I was too scared to keep them, so I burned them.”
Knock, knock.
The head butler knocked and entered at just the right moment.
“My lady, the letter…”
At the time I had instructed, he presented a single letter.
I deliberately made my hands tremble as I opened it.
“Another letter came.”
“Give it to me.”
Flaria snatched the letter from my hand and read it with bulging eyes.
“My beloved Espin. I am always watching you. Our love will be eternal. Sebastian.”
“Give it here, Flaria.”
Haren took the letter from Flaria’s hand just as she was about to tear it apart.
“Ugh! Who does this Sebastian bastard think he is? I’ve never even heard of him. If I catch him, I’ll XXX his XXXXX, that XXXX!”
Flaria beat the sofa cushions violently as she spewed curses.
‘This is strange.’
The novel did say she was hot-tempered, but she hadn’t been this openly expressive.
Still grumbling like a foul-mouthed old lady, Flaria continued fuming.
Haren, clearly used to this side of her, ignored it.
“Espin, don’t worry too much. I’ll catch this stalker. For now, I’ll keep the letter—we’ll need it as evidence.”
“Okay. Please do. Thank you, Haren.”
Thank you for moving exactly the way I wanted, Haren. Flaria too.
I looked at them with genuine gratitude in my eyes.
The next day, early in the morning.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on my door.
“Oh? Did the money finally arrive?”
When I opened it, a black bag was sitting there.
After checking my surroundings, I took the bag inside and opened it with excitement.
Inside were one hundred banknotes of one hundred Ritas each.
I took the money out and carefully hid it in my room.
“Alright, shall we move on to the next plan?”
I rang the bell to call a maid, and as if she’d been waiting, Jane entered the room.
“You called for me?”
“I need to go somewhere far away, so help me get ready.”
“Yes.”
“Hmm… I should wear something inconspicuous.”
“Yes, that would be best.”
Jane nodded in agreement, as if she were sharing Sebastian’s plan. She showed no awareness that her actions openly marked her as his accomplice.
“Today’s outing is a secret, understood? Don’t tell anyone.”
Jane nodded.
There was anticipation in her eyes.
“My lady, we’ve arrived.”
The oldest carriage of the Leon Count’s household stopped at the entrance of the gate terminal.
It was a terminal filled with gates leading from the imperial capital to other regions.
In modern terms, it was like a bus station—except that gate usage was strictly regulated, and you needed a ticket to enter.
‘But noble families with annual contracts can enter without tickets.’
Having already investigated many things through the head butler, I stepped down from the carriage with a confident smile.
“I’ll be back in four hours. Wait here.”
“Yes, my lady. Please be careful.”
The driver’s gaze followed me even after our exchange ended.
“Phew… I guess I’ll at least pretend to go inside.”
I had no intention of actually using a gate. What I needed was a fake alibi—to fool Sebastian into believing that “Espin used a gate.”
From Sebastian’s perspective, he’d given me a large sum of money, so he would definitely check whether I went to the gate. The one acting as his eyes was probably the carriage driver, Charles.
‘I can just kill time in the terminal and come back.’
That alone should be enough to deceive Sebastian.
Scamming someone isn’t as hard as I thought.
I walked confidently into the gate terminal. No one stopped me, even though I didn’t show a ticket.
At least, that’s what I thought.
“Espin!”
Someone called out and stopped me. When I turned around, Haren was standing there.
“Haren…?”
“Espin. What are you doing at the gate terminal?”
“Huh? Why are you here, Haren?”
‘Of all people, why Haren?’
I never once imagined I’d run into someone I knew here—especially Haren.
Then I noticed what he was wearing.
‘Come to think of it… that looks like a Knights’ uniform.’
A neat black uniform adorned with gold accents.
It was the same uniform I’d seen in the novel.
‘Then don’t tell me… the Imperial Knights are here?’
Like a guilty conscience reacting on its own, my heart began to race.
“I’m here on Knights’ business. What about you? Did you come alone?”
The moment he mentioned the Knights, my heart started pounding even faster.
‘Calm down. I haven’t done anything wrong. Not yet…’
All I did was get back the money Espin had been given. That’s not a crime.
I took a steady breath, reassuring myself.
‘But if it’s the Knights… could that man be here too?’
With a bad feeling, I looked past Haren—and saw a man standing behind him.
A man a head taller than everyone else, black hair neatly swept back, with the cold face of a northern grand duke that screamed male lead at a glance.
The walking embodiment of the prosecutor’s office and police in this world.
Grand Duke Travis Holt.
