🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 8.
“Hoho, I had no idea you had such skill in horseback riding, my lady. I’m quite impressed.”
“To be praised by Sir Pellet is an honor.”
I smiled at the loyal knight of our family.
“Everyone, take the day off. My business will probably take two or three days.”
After taking some rest in the morning, I immediately called for the butler.
The butlers at our capital residence and our estate are different, but both are loyal to our family.
“Marck, bring me the account books.”
However, those who work under them are not always the same.
Some do their jobs half-heartedly, and some even infiltrate noble families on purpose.
Such people sometimes forge the ledgers or create double books to fabricate corruption within the family.
Around this time, someone steals part of the ledger and later delivers it to the Crown Prince.
That becomes one of the main reasons our family gets entangled in treason charges—and this incident happens first.
“Here, here. This part doesn’t add up.”
Reviewing the account books had originally been my father’s order to Marck, but since he hadn’t noticed the discrepancies, I had no choice but to point them out myself.
“My… this is my mistake. I’ll look into the cause immediately, my lady.”
“This matter isn’t just your fault, Marck. So don’t blame yourself too much.”
I already knew who the culprit was, but I purposely ordered Marck to identify the person who forged the ledger.
“Make sure that person doesn’t take anything belonging to our family out of here.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Understanding that I meant for him to uncover who was leaking internal information, the butler’s eyes sharpened.
“By the way, my lady, is your throat unwell?”
“No? Why do you ask, Marck?”
“You kept touching your neck. I wondered if you might have caught a cold.”
“…I usually wear a necklace, but I didn’t today. My neck feels bare.”
“I see. Then I’ll go double-check the ledgers.”
Bowing deeply, Marck left the room, and I murmured quietly.
It’s only because, in my previous life, the Crown Prince swung his sword at me over this matter.
After confirming the ledgers, I moved on to my next task.
“Sir Josh, please assign me a few knights. I need to go somewhere. Marck, bring along the family’s gem appraiser and accountant, Sola.”
Sir Josh was the commander of our estate’s knight order.
“We’re going to Mount Westy in the east. We’ll depart tomorrow morning, so make the preparations.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Both men obeyed without question, allowing me to head to my destination without trouble.
Mount Westy contained a gem mine that produced blue diamonds. My father was unaware of this and sold the land to the Ichel family—but in the original timeline, Merina discovered the mine.
I had taken my anger out on Merina for that, but if I discovered it first this time, there would be no problem.
“Sola, Jewel—you’ll ride the carriage. But we’ll have to climb the mountain, so be prepared.”
Besides, I knew this wouldn’t be the last time I’d have to buy information related to the Blue Bird. Such information was expensive, so I needed a large amount of personal funds.
If I found the mine, Father would put me in charge of it, giving me the capital I needed to buy intel.
“My lady, how in the world did you know there was a mine here? No, calling it a ‘mine’ doesn’t even do it justice—these gems are practically growing out of the ground!”
When we arrived, even the gem appraiser and craftsman Jewel, as well as Sir Josh and Sola, were stunned.
At the deepest part of the cave, raw blue diamond ore was gleaming in plain sight.
“I happened to read a book about geology and realized our territory might have a mine. When I looked further into it, I figured it’d be something like this.”
“My lady, I knew you were talented, but this is remarkable.”
“You’re excellent at horsemanship and even knowledgeable in geology—surely you’ll be the next—”
“—No, Sir Josh.”
I smiled, cutting him off.
Everything I did was for my family—and for Calvin.
As long as no new unforeseen events occurred, I’d die an ordinary death without being accused of treason. Then the marquisate would naturally pass to my younger brother.
“Jewel, Sola—calculate the value of these gems and the mine. Sir Josh, post extra guards here, just in case.”
“Yes, my lady.”
We’d need more workers for full-scale development, but Father would handle that once I reported it to him.
“Good work, Marck. I’ll return to the capital today.”
“My lady, perhaps you should rest and go tomorrow.”
“I have much to do. I should get back to the capital quickly. Thank you for your concern, Marck.”
Before my regression, I had barely ordered any dresses, planning to attend the bare minimum of parties this season.
But after returning, I needed to attend as many as possible, so I placed a massive order at the salon. To visit the salon and the jeweler, I had to head back today.
Aside from a short nap at night, I rode nonstop for the capital, arriving around noon.
“His Lordship is at the palace, and Her Ladyship went to the Maritni Marquis’ luncheon.”
So Mother was visiting Lady Stella.
“My lady, you returned so quickly! Her Ladyship said it would take a week, but you’re back in just four days!”
“I did hurry a bit. Anyway, Cassie, please prepare bathwater. I need to wash and go to the salon.”
“My lady, your eyes look like a rabbit’s—you really should rest.”
“I’m fine, Cassie.”
I’d lived through busier days than this.
If I didn’t alter even a small part of the story, I always ended up dying around the same time—and that meant less than a year left.
Please, this time… I never want to return to this moment again.
I urged Cassie to hurry, washed, and headed to the salon. In the carriage, I dozed off for a bit.
“My lady, my lady!”
“Hm? We’ve arrived already?”
“No, but there’s a fire up ahead, so we need to take a detour.”
Rubbing my eyes, I looked out the window and quickly realized I knew the place.
“Stop the carriage!”
“My lady!”
As soon as the carriage halted, I dashed down the familiar alleyway.
Just as I feared—the building where the information guild was located was engulfed in flames.
“What on earth…?”
In a few days, I was supposed to receive intel about the Blue Bird, but the guild had been destroyed.
“Move! Make way!”
A fire squad soon arrived to extinguish the blaze. Worried they might question me, I quickly climbed back into the carriage.
“Let’s go to the salon.”
The exact building that housed the information guild was burning. Perhaps someone displeased with the guild’s dealings had set it ablaze.
I only knew the location of the information guild, Spider’s Web, because of my previous life. Normally, people could never find it.
The Spider’s Web operated so secretly that ordinary nobles couldn’t even approach it.
“Phew…”
“My lady, that was frightening! The flames were enormous.”
“It was, Cassie. Let’s stop by a café later and have something cold to drink.”
Knowing that meant I’d treat her to something sweet, Cassie smiled brightly.
When we arrived at the salon, I turned to one of the knights accompanying me.
“Lady Mary, find out the cause of the fire—whether there were any casualties or survivors.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Let’s go, Cassie.”
Since it was the social season, the famous Madame’s salon in the capital was already full of clients.
“Oh my, my lady! What a surprise—no notice at all!”
“It’s been a while, Madame Anthe. I came to try on the dress I ordered earlier. I’m in a bit of a hurry—can I see it right away?”
“Oh, dear! The fitting rooms are full with appointments right now. Could you wait a bit, my lady?”
I nodded lightly.
“Then please, come this way.”
Madame Anthe led me to the lounge reserved for special guests.
“Huh?”
Suddenly, my feet wouldn’t move—like they were bound to the floor.
“Madame, I think I’m stuck on something. I can’t move.”
“My lady, there’s nothing on the floor.”
Cassie bent down to inspect my dress.
“She’s right, my lady—there’s nothing. Why can’t you move?”
“My apologies, I was in a hurry.”
A clear, melodic male voice cut through the murmur of ladies’ chatter.
A man with blue hair, whom I hadn’t noticed entering the salon, stood smiling at me—but I had no idea who he was.
In all my lifetimes, and even in the noble registry, there was no man like this.
“Lord Bernstein!”
A lady in the salon called out to him, solving my confusion.
“Sir Silla Bernstein, right?”
“He’s the Tower Master, isn’t he?”
The Tower Master?
At that, I couldn’t help but look straight at the man.
The Tower Master—a figure mentioned in the original story, but whose gender was never even described, and who had no connection to Merina whatsoever.
To see someone who had never appeared in any of my lives… meant that this world was starting to twist in a way it never had before.
For the first time in a very long while, my heart was racing.
