RALMH 69

Chapter 69

“It won’t be anything bad. At least, that’s what I know.”

Cain wore a thoughtful expression, as if carefully choosing his words.

“Today, I came to deliver a message from my lord.”

“What did he say?”

“About the matter you asked of him yesterday—he thinks he’s found a way. He asked that you come to him at once.”

It was a vague message, perhaps because he feared someone might be listening.

“Right now?”

“Yes. He said there may be no other chance than now.”

He must mean that this might be the only chance to meet Vivian.

Her already anxious heart began to beat even faster.

“Where? How?”

“You’ll understand once you get in the carriage. We plan to move quickly, before anyone on that side notices.”

“Then… my grandmother…”

“I’ll explain things properly to the lady dowager.”

That meant he would make up a suitable excuse for her.

She didn’t like the idea of lying, but for now she had no choice.

Betty quickly followed Cain outside. The waiting carriage did not bear the crest of the ducal house.

It was an ordinary carriage, the kind you might see anywhere on the street, completely unmarked.

“Thank you.”

With Cain’s help, Betty climbed into the carriage. Just before closing the door, he added:

“When the carriage stops, get out and enter the building in front of you. Go up the stairs and open the second door—you’ll find the person you wish to see.”

Betty repeated his instructions to herself: the stairs, the second door.

The moment the door shut, the carriage immediately set off.

‘The young lady will be all right, won’t she?’

She should be fine. Hadn’t Sir Cain said as much? According to him, nothing had happened.

Still, unease gnawed at her.

At the same time, countless words she hadn’t managed to say before leaving the ducal house crowded her mind. She couldn’t organize what she should say to Vivian once they met.

She had vague thoughts about what she wanted to say, but with everything happening so suddenly—

“We’ve arrived.”

Startled by the sudden voice, Betty realized the carriage had already stopped.

Whatever instructions the coachman had been given, he never looked back. Even as Betty stepped down, he sat silently, facing forward.

Betty gave him a quick glance before turning her attention to her surroundings.

‘This place… feels familiar.’

She had been dropped off in a back alley. No one else was around, but the building before her struck her as oddly familiar.

When she opened the old door and stepped inside, she realized where she was.

It was the back entrance to a dress shop she had occasionally visited with Vivian. The storefront was always so dazzlingly decorated, she had never imagined the rear would be this bleak and silent.

Perhaps people were deliberately keeping away because of an unspoken agreement.

She climbed the creaking stairs and came upon several doors. She knew if she opened the wrong one, she might end up facing a complete stranger.

‘The second door, the second door…’

One step, then another. She reached the door quickly.

No sound came from within. She couldn’t tell if anyone was inside.

Betty grasped the handle, drew a deep breath, and opened the door.

“…My lady.”

A red-haired figure, back turned toward her, turned around. It was Vivian.

Her face lit up with joy in an instant.

“Betty! You made it. The duke suddenly sent word, so I came, half wondering if it was really true…”

“Are you all right? How have you been?”

Vivian immediately launched into her usual chatter, no different from before. That reassured Betty somewhat, though she still had to ask after her well-being.

“I’m fine. Nothing’s changed. Except that you’re not here. And that the new maid assigned to me makes it painfully obvious she’s here to spy on me.”

“Spy on you?”

Betty glanced around, but saw no maid. Normally, the maid should have followed Vivian inside.

“She kept nagging me about being useless, so I told her to just wait in the carriage.”

“Then… that’s a relief.”

Silence hung between them for a moment. Betty decided to ask the question that weighed on her the most.

“My lady, why did you only send me out of the ducal house?”

“Because the ducal house isn’t safe for you. If you think about what I plan to do, the ducal house will grow more dangerous both inside and out. I didn’t want you to be caught up in it.”

“What do you plan to do?”

“I’m going to strip the Sharte family of their authority and power, piece by piece. As much as I can. Until eventually, they can no longer withstand it and collapse.”

Vivian must have formed a plan in the meantime. She looked far more certain than when Betty had last seen her.

“I’ve already secured one crucial piece of evidence. The duke will reveal it at the right time.”

Vivian wore a cold smile Betty had never seen before. Yet it only made Betty worry more for her.

“If the Sharte family collapses, won’t you fall with them?”

“Let it collapse. I don’t want that cursed name anymore.”

Vivian bit her lip hard, then suddenly spoke, gripping Betty’s hand tightly.

“Betty, my real mother… she’s dead. Long ago. Felix Sharte bragged about it to me. Said it was the duke—my father—who ordered it, to erase all traces.”

Her voice trembled mercilessly as she asked, “How could he?” Tears welled in her eyes.

“He told me I had nowhere else to go, so I shouldn’t entertain foolish thoughts. That I should just prepare to become the old king’s queen. He said it like he was being kind.”

Vivian finally broke. After everything she had endured without crying, she sank to the floor and sobbed like a child.

Betty sat down with her, gently patting her shoulder.

Vivian must have held onto some hope that she might find her real mother. That she might have at least one true family member somewhere.

Now that hope had been cruelly crushed. Betty couldn’t imagine that pain, but she could understand the loneliness of feeling utterly alone in the world.

“So I will never forgive the Sharte family, Betty. They stole my mother, treated me as nothing but a tool—I won’t let them be.”

“My lady…”

“If I’m only going to live a half-life as that king’s queen, I’d rather do as I please here.”

The resolve in her tear-streaked eyes was so fierce that Betty couldn’t even think to object.

“And don’t worry about me. I’ve made a solid agreement with the duke’s informant. If anything happens, he promised to get me out safely.”

Vivian knew well that it was thanks to her former maid, sitting right before her, that her safety had been secured so quickly and firmly.

Even if Betty herself didn’t realize it.

‘Just the fact that the duke arranged today’s meeting so carefully…’

The duke’s informant had said he would keep contact to a minimum. Yet he had reached out specifically to tell her she could meet Betty if she went out today. That Betty wanted to see her.

If not for Betty, Vivian wouldn’t have been able to negotiate with the duke at all, much less cooperate with him.

So Vivian no longer expected Betty to help her. What she had already done was more than enough.

From here on, it was Vivian Sharte’s fight.

But Betty, with a determined look, said firmly:

“…I’ll help too. In any way I can. The Sharte family will keep targeting Prowell—that’s certain.”

Sharte was Prowell’s enemy.

And Betty was now a Prowell herself. It was only natural to join in weakening the Sharte family’s power.

‘And I also…’

She didn’t want to see the Duke of Sharte, or especially Felix Sharte, live openly and proudly any longer.

If they had committed crimes, they deserved to pay the price.

Even the attempt on the Marquis of Prowell’s life hadn’t given her pause. If left unchecked, they would surely go on committing even worse deeds.

“Sharte targeting Prowell? What happened? And how are you involved? Betty, don’t meddle in this.”

Ah, that was right—Vivian still didn’t know the most important truth.

Few people did, and those who did had done their best to keep it secret.

So Betty began at the very beginning, telling her a long story.