THIEM 10

Chapter 10

Three days earlier.

“…It seems a rat has slipped in.”

“…Pardon?”

At the sudden remark from Duke Rosenthal, Joshua frowned slightly.

“To think I only noticed now. It’s almost embarrassing enough to make me return my title as duke.”

“…Is this related to His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“Most likely.”

The duke handed Joshua the document he had been reading.

Joshua skimmed through it and nodded.

“Jonas Kramer… originally from a vassal family serving Count Kreutz.”

The Kreutz Count family was one of the major houses supporting the Crown Prince.

It was certainly suspicious.

“It does seem questionable, but this alone…”

“Exactly. Which is why we need confirmation. Can you go to Lorelai yourself?”

“You mean the Conrad Mine? But that matter should be settled by tomorrow afternoon.”

“This document was placed on my desk by someone this morning.”

The duke handed over another paper.

After reading it, Joshua narrowed his eyes.

“This is… could it simply be mislabeled?”

“Perhaps. There’s also a high chance it’s forged.”

“Then…”

“It may all be coincidence. The fact that Jonas is in charge of this deal, and the fact that he comes from the Crown Prince faction’s Kreutz household.”

“…But you believe it’s worth investigating.”

Joshua nodded.

The duke had always been that sort of man. If something bothered him even slightly, he would stubbornly pursue the truth no matter what.

And honestly, there was no harm in checking.

“I have a bad feeling about this. The moment I found the document, I ordered Killian to return as well. We have no idea how deeply they’ve infiltrated us, so we’ll need information from within the territory too.”

“You’re already assuming the worst? But Jonas has served this family for a very long time—”

“Did you know Evelynn’s engagement was arranged ten years ago? Though it’s broken off now.”

“…!”

Joshua’s eyes widened.

It felt far too unpleasant to dismiss as mere coincidence.

Only then did he fully grasp the seriousness of the situation and turn back to the documents.

“Form a special inspection team for the Conrad Mine. They leave in three days. Only people we can trust.”

“But if even Jonas is under suspicion, I don’t know who we can possibly trust…”

“Bring those firmly within your own line, or people whose parents and grandparents served this family as retainers.”

“…Understood.”

Joshua answered with a hardened expression.

“And if it’s confirmed that Jonas is a spy… what do you intend to do afterward?”

“Simply cutting off the head won’t eliminate all the rats. I’ll think of a method myself. Your priority is determining the truth about the Conrad Mine.”

“Yes, sir.”

Joshua nodded cautiously.

Instinctively, he could not shake the feeling that an enormous upheaval was about to strike the family.

A massive wave, unlike anything he had felt before, would soon descend upon them.

As he hurriedly exited the office, he suddenly stopped and turned back.

“Ah, speaking of which—what about the Second Prince? If Jonas truly is a spy, then the rumors surrounding him could also be false, couldn’t they?”

The duke frowned as he recalled something.

A conversation with Jonas resurfaced in his memory from when they had been arranging a meeting with the Second Prince.

—His Highness the Second Prince still suffers terribly from the aftermath of the war. Even if you meet him, there’s a high chance you won’t receive the answers you seek.

—But he seemed fine the last time I saw him.

—Rumors say healers and priests still frequently visit the prince’s palace. Perhaps you should reconsider for now…

—…Very well. I’ll think on it.

Had that response merely been a lie meant to prevent him from meeting the Second Prince?

Recalling Jonas’s words, the duke slowly nodded.

“That may be the case. It might actually be better to meet the Second Prince as soon as possible.”

“…Yes, then I shall take my leave.”

And a few days later, Killian arrived in the capital.

Meanwhile, Duke Rosenthal felt like his head would split apart as he reviewed every single task Jonas had handled over the years.

Joshua assisted him, but investigating everything in secret without alerting others was no easy feat.

Ironically, they had planned to visit the Conrad Mine to confirm whether Jonas was a spy—yet evidence surfaced before they even left.

The real problem, however, was that there were far too many people within the family who had secured positions through Jonas’s influence.

‘This is bad. At this rate, it won’t be easy to root them all out.’

Should he at least be thankful they discovered it now…?

Yet unexpectedly, the solution came from an entirely different direction.

“Father!”

“…Evelynn.”

The duke looked up to see sparkling blue eyes staring at him.

“I want a blue diamond!”

“…What?”

* * *

The measure I took wasn’t particularly difficult.

I merely provided the duke with a clue to expose the traitors.

—…A blue diamond?

—Yes. I heard all about it. There are blue diamonds in the Con…? Conlit? Conrot Mine. If they’re more valuable than gold, then surely such diamonds would make my beauty shine even brighter.

—You mean the Conrad Mine?

—Ah, yes! That one!

—…Evelynn, who did you hear that from?

Blue diamonds that shone like blue stars.

The rumor that they were found in the Conrad Mine wasn’t false. Later on, it would indeed be revealed that the mine produced not ordinary diamonds, but blue diamonds.

That was why the Conrad Mine possessed limitless potential.

Quite literally, a gold mine.

The Crown Prince already knew that vast quantities of these incredibly rare gems existed there.

Which meant the spies within the ducal house who had reported the information to him would naturally know it as well.

Using that fact, I created bait to expose the spies.

—Oh my, Father, honestly. How would I remember a name like that? I simply overheard Jonas talking to someone about it.

—…!

Fortunately, the duke understood exactly what I meant.

The very next day, rumors spread that blue diamonds had been discovered in the Conrad Mine.

And once the secret was supposedly exposed, identifying those who panicked and acted suspiciously became easy.

While the duke busied himself rooting out the spies, I moved on to the next step.

Stopping Ludwig from falling for the Saintess in the future would not be easy.

In that case, the most direct and certain method was… preventing Ludwig from becoming emperor in the first place.

By supporting another candidate!

‘No matter how much I think about it, using the Second Prince is the only option.’

Of course, in dozens of previous timelines, the duke had attempted that strategy and failed.

But things were different now.

This time, they would uncover every one of the Crown Prince’s lackeys hidden inside the ducal family.

I grabbed an old robe and left my room.

This time, I pulled the hood low enough to cover even beneath my eyes. I was absolutely determined not to expose my face.

Because where I was heading required even greater caution.

It was a place I had only known from the original story and had never once been able to use since transmigrating into Evelynn’s body.

Ding!

[※ Warning: Unauthorized zone — “Twilight” entered.]

[If identity is exposed, all quests will immediately fail and Fame –1,000]

[Title <Righteous Vigilante (Growth-Type)> grants “Reduced Recognition” effect.]

[Current disguise: Low-ranking maid / Disguise integrity maintained at 82%]

…An information broker district.

Ahhh, I’d been dying to use this place!

The flower of fantasy novels—information brokers!

My heart pounded so hard it felt ready to leap out of my mouth, but I pretended to remain calm as I entered the old tavern and took a seat.

After a short wait, an employee approached me.

“Would you like to order?”

“Yes. Hmm… one glass of Crimson Sunset, very heavy. With the taste of the moment just before the sun disappears.”

“…”

The employee’s gaze instantly sharpened as he scrutinized me.

Just as expected—he was suspicious.

Honestly, a young woman entering an information broker’s den alone made no sense in the first place. Who would possibly welcome that?

He was probably trying to figure out where the password had leaked from.

In that regard, this novel was surprisingly realistic.

Which was why I had devised a clever little solution.

Clink.

Clatter.

I dumped a handful of gold coins onto the table.

I could feel the people at nearby tables glancing over.

“…”

Hm? Not enough?

Slide.

Thunk.

This time, I placed an entire money pouch on the table instead. My body instantly felt lighter.

If even this didn’t work, then I’d just shove gemstones into their mouths—

“Understood. We’ll prepare it immediately.”

There was no such thing as a problem that money couldn’t solve.