IRGS 06

Chapter 6

“Should I tell him or not…? It’s just a nickname anyway… it should be fine… right…?”

Still drifting in and out of sleep, I mumbled incoherently.

“Bambi…”

To be precise, he wasn’t exactly my bodyguard—he was the head of the assassination guild I hired.

“Bambi…?”

“Yeees…”

He was arrogant, impossible to read, and completely self-willed, but in the end, he had protected me right up until my death.

But not anymore. Next time we met, I was going to tell him to stop things like assassinating my younger sibling…

As we neared my house, I gradually came back to my senses. If I got caught entering the mansion looking like this, Father might beat me senseless. Rubbing my eyes, I spoke weakly.

“Um… could you stop near the back gate? I need to crawl in through the dog hole.”

“The dog hole?”

“Well, do you think the marquis would’ve given me permission to go out looking like this?”

“That may be true… but how exactly do you plan to get a horse through a dog hole?”

Ah. Right. I still had Thunder Root.

When I looked back, Thunder Root was trudging pitifully behind the carriage horse.

“Hmm… could you keep Thunder Root for me? I’ll come pick him up later.”

The man didn’t answer, but I chose to interpret his silence positively.

Soon, the carriage stopped near the back entrance of our townhouse—the Bartoli family townhouse.

The man jumped down first, then helped me dismount. My injured foot still throbbed, but I pretended not to notice.

“Thank you for today, Young Duke Glentino.”

“Go home and quietly get some sleep.”

Seriously, the way he talked.

Pouting, I waved a hand dismissively. Still, he had helped me.

I turned and headed toward the back of the townhouse, pushing through the bushes in search of the dog hole I wouldn’t discover until years later in my previous life.

While I rooted around like a mole, the man spoke behind me.

“You should rest tomorrow.”

“Yeees—”

Why was he still here?

“You’ll regret it.”

“Yeees. Have a safe trip home—”

At that moment, I had no idea.

I didn’t know the man stood there watching over me until I safely crawled through the dog hole, crept upstairs, and reached my room—because he was worried I’d get caught and scolded by the marquis.

Nor did I know that I would soon see the object hidden inside the paper bag he carried.

Or that Owen ta Glentino could ride a horse perfectly well even without a saddle.

Even without the man’s warning, I couldn’t get out of bed the next day. I’d overexerted myself and come down with a fever.

Because of that, I failed to check the letter that arrived first thing in the morning. Naturally, it was from my younger sister, Leoni.

To Sophia,

I heard your true feelings loud and clear.
You really are such a wonderful older sister to me. You always leave me little lessons to learn from.

This lesson was: Never trust the words of an enemy.

You should remember the lesson you taught me before.

If someone hurts you, pay them back double.

—Leoni

I also failed to hear that one of the horses had escaped from the stables during the night, leaving the stable hand heartbroken.

Then, when I finally got out of bed the following day, I heard the news that my fiancé had died.

Arnold ta Glentino.

The second son of the ducal house. A mediocre man with mediocre abilities, mediocre looks, and a slight inferiority complex.

And me—I was the eldest daughter of the prestigious House Bartoli and the cousin of the imperial family through my mother, the Empire’s First Princess.

Arnold’s background was slightly lacking for someone who would become my fiancé. But that inadequacy stemmed not from his family, but from his own personal qualities, so I accepted the engagement without much thought.

When was that again?

Probably around the time it became almost certain that my younger sister would establish a favorable relationship with the Crown Prince.

I found the marriage market of high society tiresome, and I was sick of hearing Father nag me, so I simply picked a man who was neither too lacking nor too exceptional, placed him in the position of fiancé, and ignored him afterward.

And I knew Arnold was cheating on me too.

I had been quietly gathering evidence, planning to break off the engagement the moment he became any more arrogant.

Yet now—

That Arnold had died while secretly traveling with his mistress.

And, by sheer coincidence, he died in the exact same carriage accident I had tried to disguise as Leoni’s cause of death two nights ago.

“……”

Arnold had died in my previous life too.

The cause of death had been the same back then as well.

But it happened much later.

At the time, it had been Leoni’s revenge for another assassination attempt of mine. So until then, I had assumed he’d survive just fine on his own.

I knew why Arnold’s death had come sooner this time.

‘Because Leoni felt betrayed by me. Unlike before.’

As I sat blankly on the bed, something fluffy suddenly leaped into my lap.

My beloved fox, Popo.

“Popo, the fiancé who gave you to me has died.”

Clueless as ever, Popo simply rubbed against me affectionately.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

“Lady Sophia, the Marquis has arrived.”

“!”

My body instantly stiffened.

I set Popo down, hurriedly straightened my clothes, draped a light shawl over myself, and said, “Come in.”

Creak—

The door opened, and Father entered.

Those eyes.

Eyes looking at me as if I were pathetic.

Eyes filled with contempt, as though staring at something disgusting.

Whenever those eyes were on me, I couldn’t raise my head properly. Even when I’d done nothing wrong, I always shrank back instinctively.

And this time, I actually had done something wrong.

Not that Father knew about it.

The sharp-faced marquis glared at me.

“You spent all of yesterday lying in bed too. How pathetic.”

Yesterday I’d really been sick. I’d only just regained enough strength to stand.

“Stop behaving lazily and go show your face at the funeral.”

“Yes… Father.”

No.

I had never once lived lazily.

I’d endured brutal imperial consort training, studied everything I desired with all my effort, and always lived with discipline.

Yet even under such unfair accusations, all I could do was force out a meek response.

“Must I explain even this much to you? Your sister Leoni already went this morning.”

Ha. That vicious girl.

So after killing him, she’d already gone to pay her respects.

Then again, going early when there were few people around was probably more convenient. Besides, she likely didn’t want to run into me either.

My foot throbbed painfully. I hadn’t properly treated the wound yesterday.

I deliberately shifted my weight onto the uninjured foot.

Seeing me act obediently, the marquis stared at me for a moment longer before finally leaving the room.

Only then did all the strength leave my body, and I collapsed where I stood.

‘It’s okay. At least he didn’t hit me today.’

When Father punished me, he did so with chilling precision, slapping me several times in an orderly manner. He never once lost control of himself.

That only made it worse.

I wasn’t an animal that needed to be beaten into obedience.

“Popo.”

At my quiet call, the lovely white fox emerged from beneath the bed and ran over, acting cute.

Once, when Father was hitting me, Popo had tried to shield me and ended up getting struck badly.

Since then, Popo bared his teeth fearfully at every man he saw.

‘You ended up with the wrong owner too.’

After petting Popo for a while, I abruptly stood and rang the bell for my maids.

Soon several personal attendants knocked and entered.

Among them was Bessie, who wore a sympathetic expression. She clearly knew Father had visited.

Pretending ignorance, Bessie asked,

“How may we assist you, my lady?”

“I have to attend my fiancé’s funeral. Help me prepare.”

The funeral was held in the spacious garden in front of the Glentino ducal family townhouse.

This was the funeral of the Empire’s only ducal house. Countless nobles had gathered to show their faces.

The flowers decorating the garden were lavish. White standing tables were arranged throughout the lawn so mourners could share light refreshments and quiet conversation.

Women in black dresses with veiled hats and men in tailored black suits moved throughout the grounds.

It was a typical imperial funeral scene.

Though honestly, for the funeral of merely the duke’s second son, it seemed strangely solemn and grand.

I soon learned why.

This was a joint funeral for Duke Glentino and his second son.

‘But the duke’s funeral originally happened much later…’

And back then, Arnold had still been alive.

Things had changed again.

Walking beside me, Bessie glanced over worriedly.

“Lady Sophia, is walking really alright? Your foot still hasn’t healed.”

“It hurts.”

“Ah!”

“But I still have to show my face here. I’ll follow shortly, so go wait by the carriage first.”

“But…”

“If you insist, then at least prepare fresh bandages for me.”

After I repeatedly urged her, Bessie finally hesitated and left.

And with that, I was finally free to look around comfortably.

Even though my fiancé had been the second son of House Glentino, I had never once visited this townhouse before.

Arnold had never invited me.

People recognized my face. Some whispered among themselves, while others seemed to be calculating the right moment to approach me.

‘Maybe I came when there were too many people.’

To escape their gazes, I slipped toward the back of the garden.

Though I had fled there in avoidance, the Glentino garden truly was magnificent. Many kinds of flowers bloomed together, yet somehow the arrangement felt harmonious rather than chaotic.

I paused for a moment and crouched down to admire a rose blooming nearby.

Then—

From somewhere, I heard the rapid sound of footsteps.

Tap tap tap tap—

Small strides.

Light footsteps.

A child’s footsteps.