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Chapter 104
Lucy immediately stepped outside and headed toward the carriage waiting at the mansion’s entrance.
“Wait until Sir Shan arrives.”
After giving instructions to the coachman, she climbed into the carriage. But the moment she shut the door, she nearly jumped in surprise.
“Dino! Since when have you been in here? You scared me!”
“After working me like a servant, the least you could do is let me ride back comfortably. Dinner ended sooner than I thought, huh?”
Reclining casually with his legs crossed, Dino looked completely at ease.
“Yes, that’s how it turned out. The conversation was… impossible. But did you check on what I asked?”
“Of course, Your Majesty! I personally saw the maid carrying the food slip poison into your dish. And as you asked, I swapped the meals.”
A few days ago, when Dino informed her that the poison had been completed, Lucy had asked him for a few favors.
First, he was to cause a commotion in the mansion before the real dinner began so everyone would leave their seats.
During that gap, Shan would swap Lucy’s dish with Jessica’s. The plan had worked flawlessly.
Even after the uproar had settled, Dino didn’t leave the mansion. Instead, he secretly watched the maids serving food.
And just as he expected, he caught sight of one particular maid acting nervous and slipping something into Lucy’s dish.
“So, how did you manage to swap the food?”
“I saw it with my own eyes, so I just grabbed the maid and threatened her a little.”
The story he told went like this:
Disguised as a servant along with his men, Dino had infiltrated the kitchen and carefully observed both the preparations and the serving maids.
Among them, one maid stood out—restlessly glancing around, clearly anxious.
As he had guessed, she was the one who tried to poison Lucy’s dish. Cornered by Dino’s threats, she ended up serving it to Baron Diallo’s wife instead.
Which meant, according to Dino, that the one who had ingested the poison was the baron’s wife.
“Soon enough, Baron Diallo will learn that his wife has been poisoned. I can’t wait to see how he reacts.”
Lucy muttered as she nodded at Dino’s words.
“But where’s your knight? Haven’t seen him around.”
Dino glanced out the carriage window.
“There was a bit of a quarrel inside. I asked Shan to finish things up. He’ll be out soon.”
“You really are something.”
Dino chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief.
Back home, Lucy sat lost in thought, recalling what Baron Diallo had said.
After learning she was Valencia’s daughter, she had once asked about her father.
“Your father married Valencia, but soon after, the illness he had suffered since childhood worsened, and he passed away.”
That was all the count had said, offering no further explanation.
Back then, my father’s existence wasn’t all that important to me anyway. After all, I’m not really the true Lucy.
Even now, the matter of her father’s identity wasn’t especially important. What irked her was that Baron Diallo had dared to call her a bastard.
So, he thinks he can use that as a weakness against me? Not a chance.
She already had more than enough witnesses to testify against the baron’s crimes.
If she wished, she could put him on trial at any moment. But Lucy had no intention of letting things end so easily.
I don’t know what desperate move the baron will make next. Better to prepare ahead of time.
She opened a drawer and pulled out the magic scroll Master Icarus had given her.
“Didn’t think I’d be using this so soon.”
With a sigh, she tore the scroll.
“……”
But nothing happened.
She had expected the master to appear instantly with a “pop.” Tilting her head in confusion, Lucy frowned.
“What? No reaction? Maybe I should wait a little longer.”
She sat on the sofa in her room, waiting for the master to arrive.
Before long, a thunderous roar shook the ground outside the mansion.
“Wh-what’s going on?!”
Startled, Lucy rushed downstairs.
At the entrance, through the haze of dust, she saw the tall figure of Shan.
“Shan! What happened?”
As she ran closer, she noticed the ground in front of the mansion had been smashed into a crater.
“An intruder. Identify yourself!”
Shan stood at the entrance, sword in hand, facing someone down.
“This is outrageous! I only reached out to knock, and you nearly cut my arm off!”
The stranger pulled down her black hood and shouted.
“Lady Alexia?”
The woman revealed was none other than Alexia, Master of Icarus.
“I came because my client summoned me, and this guy greeted me by swinging a sword!”
“Still barging into people’s homes without permission, I see.”
Shan finally lowered his blade, frowning.
“What on earth is going on, my lady?!”
Anna came running in alarm, and soon the household staff gathered, whispering anxiously.
“It was a misunderstanding. Everyone, return to your duties.”
Lucy quickly dispersed them.
Not long after, Anna scolded Shan furiously once she learned what had happened.
“The mansion’s barely finished, and you’ve already wrecked the front yard! At least check first before swinging that sword! You even attacked outside the shop before without warning!”
“Tsk. A man with nothing but raw instinct.”
Watching, Alexia shook her head with an amused sigh.
“I’m sorry… You must have been startled.”
“It’s my fault for suddenly appearing at the doorstep.”
Lucy apologized as they moved to the parlor.
“You weren’t hurt, were you?”
“If I get injured by some brat’s sword swing, it just means my time has come.”
Alexia laughed heartily, waving it off.
“So then, client! What’s the job you’ve called me for?”
“There’s something I’d like to ask you to investigate personally.”
Lucy spoke cautiously.
“Alright then, tell me freely!”
“It’s… about my real father. Recently I heard that what I know about him may not be the truth.”
“I see, so you’d like me to find out who your biological father really is, correct?”
Lucy nodded. Alexia smiled and pulled out a contract from her robe, handing it over.
Two days later, Lucy once again headed to a party upon hearing Jessica would be attending.
By now, Baron Diallo’s wife should be showing symptoms of poisoning. Her mother is dying, and yet the daughter goes off to enjoy a party…
What an amusing sight this would be.
Lucy muttered quietly to herself.
As expected, the moment she entered the hall, whispers broke out among those who recognized her.
Ignoring their stares, she scanned the room for Jessica.
“My lady?”
A familiar voice called from behind her.
It couldn’t be…
Lucy immediately thought of someone she had been running into far too often lately.
Turning around with a mix of doubt and resignation, she saw, just as she feared, Lucas staring at her in surprise.
“L-Lucas? How are you here again…?”
“Well, well. We meet once more. But tell me, are you attending today as Lady Diallo… or Lady Rayford?”
He whispered quietly, giving her a knowing smile.
“Today, I’m here under the name of Rayford.”
Lucy replied with a small laugh.
