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Chapter 09
The Truth of That Day
“…I’m so sleepy.”
I let out a big yawn while checking the precious treasures I had stashed in my bag. If I can’t sneak out again tomorrow morning, it’ll be the third failed attempt.
“Who knew leaving the house would be so difficult.”
My gaze drifted to the cookies on top of my bag.
Before I realized it, my fingers twitched as if to reach for one.
“No, no, I have to save them.”
Earlier, I had subtly tried to poke Delma to get another cookie, but Delma, unaware that I hadn’t had a single cookie for the past couple of days, shook her head firmly, saying there was no way.
“If Sofia finds out, I’ll get in trouble!”
Sofia was kind, but when it came to rules, she was strict. Asking her for an extra cookie would have been useless. Taking bread from meals separately would have been too obvious—Sofia and Delma might suspect me.
I forced myself to resist eating a cookie and securely locked my bag.
“Also… I accidentally spoke informally to the Duke.”
It really wasn’t intentional. I had been trying hard to follow Sofia’s guidance and adjust my speech.
“You may speak informally to us. After all, the young lady is the only daughter of the Duke’s family.”
Ever since hearing that, I had been consciously trying to adjust my tone. But that day, when I ran into the Duke, I was so flustered that I forgot to speak politely.
“But… he didn’t seem upset.”
Maybe because I had given him a cookie? He hadn’t said much about it, so I just continued speaking casually.
“…Could it be because of the cookie?”
In the original story, the Duke supposedly didn’t like sweets, but seeing this, it seemed he liked cookies after all.
“Chocolate cookies are delicious, after all.”
Prepared for any possible trouble, I had secured my cookies and fell into deep thought again.
“When can I leave the house without running into the Duke?”
I couldn’t track his schedule, so I kept bumping into him every morning. Frustrated, I finally stood up abruptly.
“I’ll have to ask someone else.”
“Where are you going, Young Lady?”
Sofia, tidying up toys beside me, asked. I turned to her.
“Sofia, do you know what time the Duke leaves tomorrow?”
“The Duke? I’m not sure.”
Sofia paused and shrugged.
“I don’t really know that either. Why do you ask?”
Before I could answer, she continued, as if she already understood.
“Are you planning to see him off again tomorrow morning?”
I was startled. How did she know? Did my expression give it away? Sofia chuckled softly.
“People say you always go to see the Duke off early in the morning. And somehow he always comes out exactly on time to greet you.”
I felt so wronged that this had become a rumor. I hadn’t planned to match his schedule; it wasn’t intentional. But from Sofia’s perspective, I must have seemed dutiful.
“What made you think that? I think the Duke must have liked it too.”
Her words made me recall the Duke’s reaction.
‘That Duke?’
I carefully retraced my memory. The Duke’s expression wasn’t exactly… pleased.
“…He was smirking, wasn’t he?”
I pouted.
Of course, unlike the Duke, other people clearly showed they liked me every time we met. It was a bit overwhelming from my perspective, though.
Anyway, I couldn’t tell Sofia that.
I let out a deep sigh without realizing it.
“Running away from home is really difficult.”
That night, the mansion was shrouded in thick shadows, so dark that even the moonlight didn’t penetrate.
Caius was already in bed, alert to strange footsteps in the hallway.
There were two sets, not one. What was unusual was that one seemed experienced, while the other didn’t even try to conceal their presence.
The door opened silently. Caius immediately got up as he sensed hostility.
“Damn it!”
The intruder hesitated and stepped back. Regaining his balance, he aimed at the Duke’s neck. But the dagger he swung quickly cut only through empty air.
Caius, stepping back to dodge, watched the intruder with an expressionless gaze. The intruder had a masked face and brown eyes. A stranger.
Caius struck at the intruder’s arm with the sword he carried, not the neck as expected.
As expected, the intruder hadn’t anticipated this. Blood trickled from his right arm.
It wasn’t a deep wound. The assassin hesitated briefly, then lunged at Caius.
Caius deflected the dagger with his own sword. At that moment, he sensed another presence by the door—the second of the two he had first noticed.
This one didn’t seem like a skilled assassin. There was no sense of danger.
It was worth being cautious, but this was insignificant. Caius didn’t even look toward the door.
He twisted his sword toward the first intruder while the second one approached the door.
“Gasp!”
A youthful voice cried out, and Caius immediately turned.
‘Why is that child…’
The assassin’s blade aimed perfectly for his heart.
“No!”
The child screamed.
That night, the Duke’s mansion was brightly lit. People rushed to the room after hearing the commotion.
While Caius was distracted by the child, the intruder took advantage of the first and last opportunity and escaped.
Glaring at the dark window where the intruder had disappeared, Caius ordered in a chilling tone:
“Chase them.”
The knights immediately rushed out.
“After the poison, now an assassin too?”
Filen, entering the room, felt as if his mind had gone blank. And their master had let an assassin escape? Could the assassin really be that skilled?
Filen thought of one possibility and quietly asked Caius.
“Master, you let the assassin go on purpose, didn’t you? To find out who’s behind this?”
Caius’s eyebrows twitched briefly.
“…Yes.”
‘Of course.’
Filen understood immediately. His master wouldn’t have let the assassin escape otherwise.
Caius bent down, holding the child who had just entered the room.
“Ah!”
Startled, the child squealed, and Caius loosened his grip slightly, though he didn’t fully let go. He had seen the child reach for a dagger on the floor.
‘What trouble is this child going to cause next?’
Squinting, Caius pulled the child closer. The child struggled.
“Alright! I won’t touch it!”
Filen hurriedly moved the dagger away from the child.
“Young Lady, you can’t handle that! It’s dangerous!”
“I know! But holding the handle should be fine, right?”
“It’s dangerous for you, especially because the blade is coated in poison.”
“Poison?”
“Yes, very, very dangerous poison. If it seeps into a wound… the flesh won’t heal and will rot alive…”
“Filen, aren’t you busy?”
Caius cut off the explanation with a cold gaze. Filen wisely fell silent and pretended to tidy the room.
Ignoring Filen, Caius interrogated the child.
“Who said you could come in here?”
“Me? Um… well…”
The child tried to make excuses, and his expression grew colder as his response slowed.
At that moment, an older attendant rushed into the room.
“Duke, I’ve arrived!”
Caius’s attention faltered. The child slipped from his grasp.
He watched the child with narrowed eyes. The hallway had been dangerous, but thankfully the child had not been targeted by the assassin.
Caius’s anger surged, feeling a chill in his fingertips.
‘What was that child doing alone in the hallway that night?’
He intended to question the child immediately.
At that moment, seeing Sofia arrive, the child ran to her.
“Young Lady!”
“Sofia!”
The child clutched her clothes, shoulders trembling. Caius hesitated, unable to speak the words he intended.
Normally, he would have questioned the child. Being outside his room at that hour was suspicious.
“Should we… bring the Young Lady back?”
A nearby servant quickly asked. But the words stuck in Caius’s throat.
He sighed, glancing at the child in Sofia’s arms.
“No, tell them to take her to her room.”
That night, I couldn’t sleep a single moment.
Sofia and Delma probably thought I was scared. They stayed by my side all night, repeatedly reassuring me.
“You’re fine now, Young Lady. It’s okay now.”
But I really was fine. The assassin hadn’t threatened me directly or caused harm.
The only issue was that my young body had shaken involuntarily, causing my lips to tremble.
Unable to sleep, I kept thinking about what I had seen that night.
The reason I had ventured into the hallway alone in the dark was to execute my plan to leave the house.
Since every morning had ended in failure, I thought I’d try at night.
But in the hallway, I noticed a suspicious figure.
Assuming it was one of the household staff, I waited for them to finish their errand, only to see them draw a sword from their coat.
I followed the suspicious person secretly to confirm my suspicions.
If I was right…
‘They were aiming for the Duke.’
The suspicious figure stopped in front of the Duke’s door.
‘After the poison, now an assassin?’
And then I even heard Filen’s words. I recalled the scene I had witnessed before—the Duke killing a servant a few days ago.
‘The Duke didn’t actually kill the servant back then.’
I had oversimplified things, assuming the villainous Duke killed someone on a whim.
‘That day too, the Duke didn’t kill a servant.’
I remembered an incident from the original story.
‘The one the Duke killed that day was…’
Someone lightly knocked on the door. Filen appeared.
“Master has ordered that the Young Lady be brought here.”
Sofia and Delma didn’t want to let me go, but they couldn’t disobey the Duke’s command.
It was inevitable that I would face him eventually. I calmly organized my thoughts and followed Filen to the Duke’s room.
This room was different from the one the Duke usually stayed in. Perhaps he changed rooms after the previous assassination attempt.
As soon as I entered, a chill ran down my spine.
The Duke raised his gaze.
“Sit there.”
His sharp eyes softened slightly. The cold atmosphere in the room also seemed to ease.
I hurried to the sofa he indicated.
“So…”
The Duke approached me.
“Why were you in the hallway alone last night?”
The moment had come. I swallowed nervously without realizing it.
