TCTR 30

Chapter 30

It happened in an instant.

The man wearing the white mask beside me clenched his fist tightly.

‘Come in.’

But I called “him” faster than the man could throw his punch.

“Blame yourself for your recklessness!”

The heavy fist flying toward me seemed to move in slow motion.

“Kistchel.”

My loyal subordinate.

In the blink of an eye, Kistchel stood in front of me.

Two black artifacts, perfectly suited for this situation, resonated in unison.

“You called a bit late, Master.”

“Argh!”

The man who had thrown the punch at me was already rolling on the floor.

Kistchel, his dark navy hair tousled, stood confidently before me.

“Please give me the order to sweep away those who dared to disrespect my master.”

What followed was swift and decisive.

The duke’s knights Kistchel had brought took complete control of the hall.

‘That was easy.’

Sighing, I knelt down and removed the mask of the man groveling on the floor.

“Oh… Was he a count?”

I put the mask back on.

I’d just pulled off a random mask, and it turned out to be a count.

The social scene was going to be shaken up after this, and that made me smile in satisfaction.

“Don’t look at me like that. You all brought this upon yourselves.”

Unless something else unexpected happened, this would be the end of it.

As I checked the unmasked faces amidst the chaos, I noticed quite a few well-known nobles.

But the bodyguards they’d secretly brought weren’t strong enough to stand against Ilia’s knights.

‘So the ones who dealt with Ilia’s subordinates were the emperor’s dogs, huh.’

As I pressed my face with my hand to ease the tension, I was about to approach the captured people when—

“Please spare us! You, you can save us, can’t you?!”

“Please, we beg you!”

“…?”

The fleeing nobles suddenly started clinging to someone en masse.

What?

Pablo?

Or maybe the emperor’s hound?

Who else could they be clinging to like that?

Kistchel, clearly surprised, turned his head sharply.

I followed his gaze.

And in front of him…

There stood a man in a white half-mask marked with a beautiful golden sigil.

Amid the chaos, he sat alone, one leg crossed over the other, smirking.

The moment he opened his mouth—

“My lady never fails to surprise me in new ways.”

Just like me earlier, his brown hair began to slowly shift to gold, as if reclaiming its true color.

Uncrossing his legs, he brushed aside those clinging to him and began walking toward me.

“…Esh?”

“When you suddenly disappeared, I started thinking. Where could you have gone?”

Even amid the chaos, he looked as relaxed as someone enjoying tea by a summer lakeside.

“Thankfully, it seems I wasn’t wrong.”

His large hand touching my cheek felt dangerous.

“You don’t need to look at me like that. I’m not interested in this kind of thing.”

As he removed his mask, his sculpted face was revealed.

“What you should be doing now is praising me—for stepping into a place like this to find you.”

Upon seeing his face, the others swarmed like wild animals.

“Your Highness, please spare us!”

“We were wrong!”

“This place is clearly—”

Shhh.

Ashidwa brought his long index finger to his lips, and the gesture silenced everyone instantly.

This place is clearly… what?

“Don’t worry. I’ll act just as you want me to.”

You know that better than anyone, don’t you?

His affectionate voice slithered into my ears like a snake.

The arm wrapping around my waist was soft.

“I won’t forgive those who brought you here… or those who tried to hurt you, Ina.”

I couldn’t figure him out.

Even though he was a man shackled to me, desperately craving my love.

“I’m merciful to only one person in this world—you.”

I understood nothing about him.

Still, the only thing I could do now was seek help to bring this situation to an end.

“Then… can you give me the right to execute them on the spot?”

I placed my hand over Ashidwa’s.

“That royal privilege—use it for me.”

Ashidwa’s eyes softened as he responded,

“If you want it.”

✦ ✦ ✦

“Esh, can you bring the others here?”

Without complaint, Ashidwa gathered the people for me while my own subordinates were busy handling the aftermath.

Trying to soothe my exhausted body, I sat down and rubbed my forehead, then looked up as Ashidwa approached with the rescued nobles.

“Follow my knights. They’ll escort you home.”

It seemed the reality finally hit them—some began to cry, while others bowed excessively, expressing their gratitude.

I looked at them and gave a bitter smile.

“Hic, thank you. Truly, thank you.”

When one of them tried to throw themselves at me in gratitude, Ashidwa stepped in, so I hurriedly accepted the person into my arms instead.

“Thank you, Duke.”

“I made a promise, didn’t I?”

Though it was a hassle, I had achieved everything I came here for today.

“Mertiel never breaks a promise.”

With that, I invoked the name of my family once more and began sending the people off.

But some remained, not leaving, and I tilted my head in confusion.

“You all…?”

When I looked at them curiously, a woman, who appeared to be the older sister of the pair that had been standing behind me earlier, spoke up with determination.

“The truth is… we have nowhere to go.”

Ah, right—that problem.

They were too old to be sent to an orphanage, and if I just let them go, they’d become vagrants.

I looked down at them.

“Hm…”

I swallowed hard.

What should I do?

I did have a good solution in mind.

But I didn’t deliberate long.

“In that case, follow me.”

“…What?”

“I happen to be looking for workers at the ducal estate.”

Even after I said it plainly, the siblings still didn’t seem to understand, so I helped them to their feet.

“Oh, I should introduce myself first.”

There was a perfect role for them.

“I’m Inerra Mertiel. Your future employer.”

Of course, whether they accepted it or not was entirely up to them.

✦ ✦ ✦

Back at the mansion, I spoke to Miya, who was drying my hair.

“Kistchel will be a bit busier going forward, so he won’t have time to take care of the new hires. Could you take over for him?”

As I said this, I looked over at Kistchel.

He’d already washed up, but his face looked quite exhausted.

“You’ll do well, right?”

“Of course! Since the duke entrusted me with this, I’ll do my best.”

Her enthusiasm was pleasing to see.

After she finished cleaning up, I sent her off.

Then I slumped next to Kistchel.

“You worked hard.”

“Honestly, taking care of Lady Ilia’s worries was harder than the ambush itself.”

He draped a shawl over my shoulders, on top of my robe.

He even prepared some warm tea.

“She wanted to come too, but she injured her arm.”

“I had a feeling she might’ve. Did she get treatment?”

“She said she’d take care of it herself.”

As I wrote a letter to Ilia, I said,

“Oh, Kistchel, let’s prepare to return to the duchy.”

“Perfect timing. I’ll start right away.”

I hummed and stretched out my hand.

“Did you send off the crown prince properly?”

Kistchel asked for my hand, and when I gave it to him, he sprinkled some perfume on it.

“Ah, yeah. I sent him off well.”

I paused as the name Ashidwa popped into my head again.

There had been something off about his behavior earlier.

But I couldn’t quite put my finger on what.

So I chose to stay silent.

“Kistchel, come to think of it, I met Pablo Herka at that place.”

His expression immediately darkened.

“That imperial hound?”

“Yeah.”

I gave a brief explanation of what had happened with him.

Pablo Herka.

Even just saying that name left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“I’m going to bed.”

To clear my mind of it, I chose to sleep.

He wasn’t someone I needed to worry about in the first place.

The only reason his presence bothered me now was because of the filthy entanglements from before the regression.

As Kistchel turned off the lights and left the room, I closed my eyes.