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Chapter 31
In the quiet room, only the child’s colorful, rhythmic breathing could be heard.
Dias, staring blankly at his sleeping child, lifted his gaze to look out the window.
“Could something have happened in the forest?”
It had been quiet recently, but for a year after the portal to the demon realm was closed, those sent by the Emperor had been rummaging through the forest.
Searching for places where the barrier had weakened among the demon realm’s portals scattered across the Empire.
Not out of concern for humans, as Vivian had learned from history books…
But to obtain the Demon King’s heart by entering the demon realm.
Unlike humans, who can only become wizards if chosen, demons are a strong race capable of handling mana naturally.
And the heart of the king of that race, the Demon King, was said to be a condensed mass of incredible mana.
The Emperor, who had a deep inferiority complex toward the Second Prince, Leofried, could not let go of his obsession with power, even after Leofried’s death… No, rather, even more so after his death.
“I thought he’d given up when the portal to the demon realm closed.”
It seemed that obsession was still ongoing.
Dias rose from his seat and approached the calendar on the wall.
The first thing he noticed were the words Vivian had decorated in vivid colors with pink, yellow, and other crayons.
<★☆★Summer Festival☆★☆>
The coldness in his eyes until just a moment ago melted into a wry smile the moment he saw the words.
It seemed he was genuinely looking forward to the festival.
Dias stared for a moment at the neat handwriting, reminiscent of his daughter, before flipping to the last page of the calendar.
On the final page, there were dates he had recorded separately.
These marked the days he had gone to the forest once each season.
Of course, Vivian only thought of those days as “the days Dad goes to meet a friend.”
The last recorded date was in March, just a few days before Duke Edelweiss came down to this place.
“…It’s time to go check.”
There was a chilling tone in his low voice, and the menace in his golden eyes could not be hidden by his glasses.
He looked entirely different from when he interacted with Vivian.
After glancing back and forth between the forest and the calendar for a moment, he removed his glasses and left the room.
“Mom, when will we finally kick him out?”
Lately, this was Sally’s daily question.
“Just wait a little longer. Mom will find the right opportunity…”
“So when exactly? You always say ‘wait’! At this rate, that girl will end up marrying Rahel—”
“Sally!”
Margaret gasped and quickly covered Sally’s mouth.
It was the hallway, and though everyone else was asleep, no one should mention Rahel’s secret here.
Even if the maids heard, it wouldn’t be a big problem, but if Owen or Kalts heard…
‘It wouldn’t end with a simple warning.’
Kalts had warned everyone—not even telling his own daughter, Sally—that Rahel was actually a boy.
Margaret hurriedly led Sally into the two girls’ rooms.
“Didn’t I tell you not to talk about that outside?”
“B-but I got angry and couldn’t help it…”
“I told you not to tell anyone, right? Not the lady, not the Duke.”
“Y-yes…”
“If anyone else hears that secret, we’ll both be dead. Understand?”
Sally swallowed nervously as Margaret glared at her with a threatening expression.
She remembered the mistake she had completely forgotten over the past few months.
[How a young lady could become your husband.]
When they had first arrived at this villa, an inspector sent by the Emperor had discovered Rahel’s secret, but she hadn’t told her mother.
She had been scared of being scolded.
Yet contrary to her mother’s warnings, neither she nor her mother had faced any trouble over the past few months.
“They said the Duke came to the countryside because he was worried, since he had been the Emperor’s tutor.”
So nothing bad would happen.
Sally nodded, thinking that way, without mentioning her mistake.
Margaret finally exhaled and rose from kneeling to meet Sally’s height.
“Go to sleep. I’ll go see the young lady.”
Leaving Sally behind, she headed for Rahel’s room.
A maid appeared in front of her.
“Nanny.”
“What is it?”
“This… a man asked me to deliver this.”
The maid handed her a small note.
Margaret narrowed her eyes as she examined it.
No one in this village would have had personal contact with her.
“Who?”
“When I went out earlier, I met a man in front of the inn. He said to give this to you.”
Margaret eyed the note suspiciously but took it.
The maid, having completed her task, bowed lightly and left.
‘It’s probably some troublemaker trying to play a prank.’
Occasionally, some ruffians would try to bother her when she went out.
‘Anyway, it’s probably just some lewd message. Maybe I should just throw it away.’
Margaret hesitated for a moment near a nearby trash can before opening the note.
It was mere curiosity, with no expectations.
“…!”
But the moment she read its contents, her pupils began to tremble uncontrollably.
The note read:
“Those who hide the son of a traitor shall be punished with forced labor.”
‘Someone knows Rahel is a boy.’
And… they also knew that she herself knew the secret.
Margaret immediately asked the maid about the man’s appearance and rushed to the village inn.
Perhaps due to the upcoming festival, the inn was busy with guests from all over, even at this late hour.
Margaret spotted the innkeeper and urgently asked:
“Innkeeper. A man of this height, with a scar on his left cheek—where is he now?”
“Ah, that man? Someone said he’d be coming, and he arrived just in time.”
The innkeeper, as if waiting for her, revealed the room number.
“The farthest room on the left, third floor.”
Margaret quickly went up, carefully adjusted the hood of her robe, and knocked on the door.
Knock-knock—
Before she could knock again, a man’s voice called from inside:
“Come in.”
Swallowing nervously, Margaret entered the room.
Inside were the man matching the description and another familiar face beside him.
Margaret’s eyes wavered uncontrollably at the sight of him.
“How has life in the countryside been?”
It was one of the Emperor’s inspectors who had visited the villa a few months ago.
Seeing him, the color drained from Margaret’s face, and despair shadowed her expression.
‘The Emperor knows Rahel’s secret.’
Her despair was not for Rahel’s sake.
‘Sally’s words were all true…’
In truth, the note could have been ignored as someone merely testing her, but she had come all the way here because of the warning at the end of the note:
“If you don’t come to the inn, the Duke will also find out that your daughter has revealed the young lady’s secret.”
Seeing that warning, Margaret rushed to ask Sally if she had ever revealed Rahel’s secret to anyone.
Terrified, the child admitted her mistake, forcing Margaret to come here.
Feeling as though the ground beneath her had vanished, she fell to her knees.
“P-please spare me!”
“……”
“I did not dare to deceive His Majesty! I just wanted to raise the daughter of a widowed girl properly…”
But unlike the frightened Margaret, the inspector replied nonchalantly.
“I didn’t call you here to hear that emotional speech.”
He gestured to the seat across from him.
“Sit.”
Hesitating briefly, Margaret obeyed, sitting opposite him.
Her palms were sweaty. It felt like standing before a tiger.
The inspector got straight to the point.
“His Majesty wishes to handle this matter quietly.”
Quietly.
The word made Margaret’s hands tremble.
She prayed that the “handling” did not include her or Sally.
The inspector, seeming to enjoy the superiority in the situation, intentionally paused to observe Margaret’s fearful reaction before speaking:
“The young lady who went to the countryside with her grandfather will die in an accident.”
