“Mother, did you tell Father that I wish to marry Jared Murphy?”
“I did. However, your father has no intention of removing Lord Murphy as Olivier’s fiancé.”
In a room within the Alway Ducal Family’s mansion, Emilia and Cornelia, mother and daughter, met in secret, keeping the servants away.
Seated on the sofa, facing each other, the mother and daughter bore a striking resemblance, both possessing great beauty. Anyone could predict that Cornelia would age into a woman as lovely as Emilia. However, their resemblance wasn’t limited to their appearance.
They shared a somewhat cold aura and eyes that seemed to look down on others. While the mother and daughter typically maintained a pleasant facade, they secretly held contempt for those around them.
Their interests aligned perfectly, and they were in constant cooperation. Emilia, as a mother, wished for her daughter’s happiness, but she trusted Cornelia more than her son, who only seemed to curry favor with their father. More importantly, Emilia, who enjoyed manipulating others from behind the scenes, saw Cornelia as a valuable pawn.
Emilia couldn’t act openly, but she excelled at orchestrating schemes by skillfully utilizing those under her command. The mother possessed power and wealth, while the daughter complemented her mother’s shortcomings, ensuring a good relationship between them.
The subject of their conversation was Jared Murphy.
Emilia desired Jared. The reason was simple: she wanted to snatch Olivier’s fiancé away from her. That was all.
Initially, she planned to pity Jared, who was unlucky enough to be chosen as the fiancé of Olivier, whom she disliked. She intended to use the students to spread rumors, making him declare that he could no longer be Olivier’s fiancé. However, Jared didn’t yield. On the contrary, he remained unfazed.
For Emilia, who had always been at the forefront of spreading malicious rumors about Olivier, Jared’s reaction was a significant shock.
Simultaneously, she grew to dislike him.
The fact that a man unaffected by rumors was Olivier’s fiancé, not hers, was bothersome. So, she incited students driven by greed, but she couldn’t even gauge his true capabilities. Thus, yielding to impulse, she threatened the incited students to harm Jared, though she doubted they would succeed.
Emilia became intrigued by Jared. She investigated him, her interest deepening, and before she knew it, she desired him.
They were the same age, and with no bad rumors surrounding her, she felt she was more suited for Jared.
Though he would never admit it, Emilia, like Olivier, had a similar sentiment: she wouldn’t mind if Jared ceased to be a noble.
As long as Emilia was a member of the Ducal Family, if Jared married her, he would naturally join the private forces of the Alway Ducal Family. Then, they would have no worries about sustenance. If things went well, there was even a possibility she could request an aristocratic title from her father.
She believed their future would be bright if they helped her mother, who was striving to make her older brother the next head of the family, succeed.
However, for that to happen, Olivier was an unbearable obstacle.
“How did that spinster Olivier manage to win over Lord Jared?”
“Perhaps, like her mother, she acts differently in front of men. Though, any woman will try to please the man she loves.”
“Does Father truly have no intention of giving Lord Jared to me? If he wishes to bring him into the family, I believe I am just as suitable.”
“Perhaps your father wants Lord Murphy to escort Hannelore and the others.”
“In that case, it’s not your fault, Mother.”
Emilia was aware that her mother had repeatedly attempted to take Hannelore’s life by sending assassins.
However, she also felt her mother’s approach was naive, relying solely on adventurers hired with money.
She knew that Trane, who had served Olivier and the others for some time, was defeating all the assassins, and she wanted to do something about her mother’s sloppy execution. If Emilia were to kill Olivier, she wouldn’t want to dirty her own hands, but she would kill him herself.
It would be the most efficient method, and she wouldn’t have to worry about anyone holding her weaknesses against her.
However, even if Olivier was an obstacle for Emilia, she didn’t wish to kill him. She would be grateful if he died, but she had no desire to dirty her own hands for Olivier.
Her mother had cornered Olivier so much that, from an outsider’s perspective, Olivier sacrificing everything for Hannelore appeared comical, and that was enough for Emilia to refrain from taking direct action.
When her trusted father moved them, mother and daughter, to the villa, not only Emilia and Cornelia but also the other consorts must have thought, “Serves you right.”
However, that was all. Olivier and the others seemed to be enjoying themselves more than when they were in the mansion, and the assassins her mother sent were proving useless.
Emilia spread malicious rumors to sabotage Olivier, who was working hard to protect her mother. Not satisfied with that, she spread amusing gossip about Olivier, who refused every fiancé chosen by her father. The rest was easy, as the surrounding people fanned the flames, and she enjoyed it.
—Until Jared Murphy appeared.
After his arrival, Olivier gained a trustworthy ally. While Cornelia didn’t realize it, Emilia saw through it: her father had also begun to communicate with Olivier through Jared.
Emilia was convinced that if it weren’t for Jared, Olivier and the others would return to their previous state.
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason; Emilia’s own desire for Jared was a significant factor.
“I admit I planned to get rid of Hannelore, but I bear no responsibility for Lord Murphy. I have informed your father of your feelings for Lord Murphy, so if you want him, pursue him legitimately.”
“Is Father alright with that?”
“He reluctantly agreed. If you pursue him legitimately, he has no objections. However, if you take any step outside of legitimate pursuit, Emilia—you are finished.”
“In that case, why don’t you quickly eliminate those troublesome father and daughter? If only Olivier were gone, Lord Jared would be mine.”
Against Emilia’s accusations, Cornelia could only offer a bitter smile, unable to retort.
“Mother?”
Concerned by her mother’s unusual calmness, she asked, feeling a slight unease, as her mother would usually have a tantrum.
“It’s unlikely, but has something happened?”
“—Yes, something has happened. Jared Murphy, whom you are so fixated on, repelled the assassins I sent!”
Emilia herself was surprised. She had never imagined that Jared would already be entangled in Olivier’s affairs. It had only been less than two weeks since he became her fiancé, and she hadn’t anticipated him being so deeply involved.
Emilia now clearly understood why her father didn’t want to remove Jared as Olivier’s fiancé. And Olivier, too, would not let go of Jared.
She abandoned all her carefully planned strategies in her mind. To obtain Jared, she conceded that perhaps the legitimate approach was the only way, as her mother had said. Still, that seemed enjoyable. For Emilia, who had never experienced romance, striving to obtain someone was itself a form of aspiration. If she could fulfill that, it was worth the effort.
“Mother, instead of hiring adventurers, why don’t you hire assassins? Adventurers willing to take on assassinations are, after all, second-rate. They will eventually betray you.”
“That’s why I hired Waalthe! But they failed three times! As if that wasn’t enough, the man who confidently declared he would kill Hannelore was defeated by Jared Murphy and captured by Father! If he talks, it’s all over!”
“—You used Waalthe? I thought it was just a rumor.”
“Less than a rumor! They claim to be the best on the continent, yet they were defeated by a mere Court Mage Candidate!”
“Will they talk if interrogated? I thought an assassination organization wouldn’t easily divulge information?”
“Yes, for now, they don’t seem to be saying anything. Even so, I can’t silence them. I haven’t heard from Waalthe either, and if this continues, Father might find out everything!”
Watching her mother shriek hysterically, Emilia calmly considered the situation.
While her mother had suffered a painful failure, the opponent was a professional, and whether they would talk was still unknown. She considered that gaining Jared as an ally might facilitate matters, but knowing his background, she doubted he would side with them.
Even if she obtained Jared through legitimate means, it would be the same. Rather, she might be condemned for cornering Olivier and Hannelore. She disliked that prospect.
Furthermore, she resentfully thought that Olivier would interfere.
To Emilia, Olivier had always been an obstacle. While Olivier might not know it, being compared to the capable Olivier was unbearable for Emilia.
When she entered Weathered Royal Academy, Olivier had already graduated as valedictorian, and her father told her, “Do your best like Olivier.” Emilia thought Olivier had nothing to do with her admission, but she suppressed the urge to say it.
Olivier received preferential treatment from their father. She understood his affection, as Olivier was born from a marriage of love with Hannelore, but the special treatment was excessive. Emilia wasn’t the only one dissatisfied.
If her father hadn’t shown special preference to Olivier and Hannelore, her mother wouldn’t have targeted Hannelore. Considering this, she found it amusing that everything was a consequence of her father’s own doing.
However, she didn’t want to destroy herself in the process of destroying Olivier.
As she desperately racked her brain for a good solution, a gust of wind blew into the room, which had been sealed to prevent overheard conversations.
“—Excuse me.”
In the blink of an eye, a woman appeared in the room.
Startled by the sudden occurrence, the mother and daughter leaped from the sofa. However, the woman, clad in red, did nothing in particular and spoke calmly.
“I am Roza Lowen, dispatched from Waalthe. If you still wish to continue your commission, I, the daughter of Wahash, the leader of Waalthe, will see it to completion.”
