SWRD 18

Chapter 18

Escape funds? I’ve secured more than enough. It’s not like I need enough to live on for the rest of my life—just enough to run away. Thirty thousand demars should be plenty.

Even if that highway robber—yes, that’s how he was described in the original novel—Dailey, takes a ten thousand demar handling fee, it’s still fine. Twenty thousand demars is more than enough.

Physical condition? Improving day by day. That thing about Bella having much lower than average stamina? That’s in the past now. At this point, she’s just slightly below average.

“Everything’s going smoothly. Perfect.”

…Though I really shouldn’t have said that.

One day, while spring was still in the air—

Bella received a blackmail letter.

Chapter 2. Possessor, You Dreamed a Futile Dream.

This makes no sense.

‘My Daughter Is a Lady’ is a romance fantasy, not an adventure novel. Sure, Elisa goes on an adventure at the beginning of the story, but only briefly.

But now, the “Did I get them?” trope is showing up here…?!

Looking at the letter in front of me, I felt just like the protagonist of an adventure story, staring down at a fallen enemy after a fierce battle and muttering “Did I get them?”—only for the enemy to come back to life.

[I know your secret.]

“…I’m going to lose it.”

I recalled the moment the letter arrived.

It was earlier today, after lunch.

I was enjoying dessert in the drawing room when Enpi came to find me.

“Uh, my lady. A letter has arrived for you…”

Enpi hesitated instead of handing the letter over immediately. I soon understood why.

“You don’t know who sent it?”

“Yes. There’s no sender written on it. The courier also said he doesn’t remember the person who gave it to him very well. From what little he can recall, the person didn’t stand out much…”

“Give it to me.”

I took the sender-less letter from Enpi and examined it.

I ran my fingers over the sealed envelope but didn’t feel anything suspicious. No box-cutter-like object inside.

Well, of course not. Letters with razor blades usually say things like “Break up with my brother,” and I don’t have a boyfriend to break up with.

“There might be a sender written inside. I’ll read it.”

“You’re not going to burn it?”

“It’s fine.”

At most, it’s probably just a chain letter, right? I sent Enpi out of the drawing room and casually opened the letter.

…Which I really shouldn’t have done.

Actually, no.

In hindsight, maybe it was the right decision.

If I had burned it without checking, things might have gone even worse.

“What the heck is this?”

At first, the letter pulled from the envelope was blank.

Seeing the empty paper, I briefly wondered if it was a chain letter asking me to copy and send it to someone else.

Then, a scene from a movie I saw flashed through my mind.

In the movie, the characters exchanged secret messages that looked blank at first glance. But there was a simple way to reveal the contents.

Conveniently, there was a candle on the table. I reached for it.

I carefully heated the letter over the candle, making sure it didn’t burn.

Ta-da! The blank letter turned into a threatening note!

“Who the heck sent this…?”

I don’t know who it is, but…

One thing’s clear. This damn blackmailer has zero regard for noble ladies.

[I also have proof of your secret.
If you don’t want that evidence delivered to the Crowthorne family and the royal capital,
you must come alone to the place written below at the designated date and time.
The date is…]

The letter summoned “Bella” for a meeting two days from now.

And the time—

“How am I supposed to sneak out alone at five in the morning?!”

Unbelievable. I clutched my throbbing head.

Does the blackmailer really have proof of Bella’s true identity?

Who knows?

If they’re bluffing and I ignore their demand, but they really do send evidence to Crowthorne and the royal family…

It’s all over.

Crowthorne is one thing, but the royal family definitely won’t let this slide.

They’ll do everything in their power to punish Bella.

Maybe if the Crowthorne family fully defended Bella, the royal family wouldn’t be able to touch her…

But would Crowthorne even have a reason to protect Bella?

If they did, I wouldn’t have had to prepare to flee in the first place.

Once it’s revealed that Bella is not Elisa Crowthorne, neither the Duke nor Ethan will have any use for her.

There’s no way I’m getting dragged to an execution site. I won’t just accelerate Bella’s downfall.

I paused before knocking on the Duke’s study door.

Bella’s downfall…

Wait—did Bella also receive a blackmail letter in the original story?

She must’ve resolved it somehow if her identity only got revealed after Elisa returned.

I thought about how Bella might have handled this situation… but gave up. No use guessing.

I need to act based on my plan.

“Father, it’s Elisa. I have something I want to discuss with you. May I come in?”

Permission came shortly from the other side of the door.

Since there were no guards, I opened the door myself and stepped into the study.

“What is it?”

“Sorry to disturb you when you’re busy. It’s just—I’d like to ask your permission for something.”

“Permission?”

“I’d like to spend the night at Viscount Carmel’s estate tomorrow, if that’s okay.”

“…Did you have ties with Viscount Carmel?”

“His eldest daughter, Miss Roa Carmel, was kind enough to send me an invitation.”

(I had actually written to her first, asking to be invited, but I left that part out.)

“You know, she’s the same age as me. I’d really like to become friends with her.”

“Hm…”

“Please, Father. I don’t really have any friends.”

The Duke’s sky-blue eyes wavered. I’d thrown that out there on a whim, but it seemed to be true.

“…Ahem. You’ll return after one night?”

“I will.”

“Alright.”

I didn’t sigh with relief—I just gave a small smile. But inside, I was thinking:

I’m saved.

I left the study and walked through the hallway, reviewing the plan I’d stayed up all night to devise.

Sneaking out of the Duke’s estate at dawn is impossible.

So, I’ll have to sneak out from somewhere else.

As long as I can get Roa Carmel to cooperate, I should be able to escape from the Carmel estate.

Then, I’ll meet the blackmailer at the agreed location, and after that…

My steps slowed, then quickened again. First things first—time to catch up on some sleep.

“My lady! It’s such an honor to finally meet you.”

Roa Carmel was waiting to greet me even before I arrived at the estate. I glanced slightly downward—she was shorter than Bella.

“I’m glad to meet you too, Roa.”

“Oh my, you called me Roa! I like that. Please keep calling me that.”

She cheerfully led me into the estate herself.

Everything was going as planned…

“Everyone’s waiting for you in the banquet hall!”

…Everyone? Banquet hall?

What’s she talking about? I stopped walking in surprise.

Roa noticed I wasn’t following and turned around.

“We prepared a party to welcome you, my lady! We invited lots of guests, too.”

“…We only exchanged letters yesterday. All this in one day?”

“We all worked very hard, you know.”

With bouncy steps, Roa closed the distance between us. She took my hand with her gloved one.

“Come on, let’s go to the party!”

And just like that, I used up all my energy for the day. Time to shut down—

Wait, no. I can’t.

I snapped myself out of it and set the champagne glass down on a nearby table.

The clock in the banquet hall had just struck 3 a.m. There was no more time to waste.

“Roa.”

I approached Roa Carmel, who was—despite her small frame—devouring an entire table of finger foods.

Hm. That table’s already been cleaned out.

“I’d like to talk with you for a moment.”

“Talk? Sure!”

“Not here, though. Somewhere no one can interrupt us.”