Annette Daum— no, Annette Paggio was flustered.
She had never dreamed that Liz Murphy’s father would be the head of the continent’s most infamous assassination organization, an organization she had only heard of in rumors.
She was undoubtedly found out. Her plan to seize control of the Daum Barony according to her family’s orders, so that her son could inherit the title and she could become the matriarch— it was all known.
She had married him in the first place on her father’s orders. While it sounded good to say it was to strengthen their faction, she was merely a pawn in a political marriage. She had heard that love could blossom after marriage, but her husband, Johan Daum, already had someone he cared for: Liz.
Liz was an obstacle to her happiness. Not just Liz, but Karina Daum, who had become a consort before her, was also an obstacle.
She couldn’t stand being below a mere baroness, so she decided to join her father’s ambitions.
She rejoiced when Liz died, but Annette had no sons. She hadn’t expected her grieving husband to be motivated to make more children, so Annette made a plan.
She already knew her father intended to kill everyone once he took over the Daum Barony, so she had an affair with a man who had been her tutor and whom she had longed for since before her marriage. And through him, she conceived Rex.
She pretended to comfort her husband and slept with him to avoid suspicion, but she hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly.
Because Jared attracts so much attention, it’s not often mentioned, but Rex also lacks talent with a sword. Of course. His father’s family is one of scholars, relatives of a viscountcy. He would never hold a sword. Fortunately, Jared is to marry an older woman from a ducal family and will receive a prestigious position and title as a Court Mage to gain status, but she couldn’t care less. Royk is an obstacle to Rex inheriting the family title, but since she holds the trump card that Karina poisoned Liz, she can handle it. Moreover, she wants him to inherit the title of the prestigious, long-standing Daum Barony’s main family, not the heir of some newly formed noble family.
As she pondered this, Rex announced he would marry Rena Daum. She wondered what he was thinking, as he had been chasing Rena’s younger sister, Yeny, until now. Rena, even in Annette’s eyes, was cheeky, and clearly had feelings for Jared. Annette opposed the marriage, but… now that Yeny had become Jared’s consort, she rationalized that by forming a marital alliance with Rena, he would naturally become the heir to the main family. Thus, with some reluctance, she approved.
Things were going well. Yes, things were going well.
She should have been happy soon. She already hated marrying into a barony when she was born into a viscountcy, and she couldn’t bear to have it all ruined.
After Johan and Jared subtly threatened her, implying they had concrete evidence, she told her son and daughter it was a misunderstanding and sent Rena home.
Then, taking her son and daughter with her, she returned to her parents’ home and begged her father to protect her. However, her father’s response was hesitant.
“There’s no way we can fight a Court Mage, however much of a noble he is! Even if I mobilize all my private soldiers, they are Court Mages, and there’s even a risk of being charged with a crime!”
“Johan thinks Jared lacks talent with a sword, so there’s no way he can become a Court Mage. It’s thanks to Lady Olivier’s connections.”
“…Indeed, if he’s to marry that ill-tempered spinster, he should receive compensation of that magnitude— then, the sooner the better.”
“Can’t we get help from the Skinner Marquis Family? They were the ones who initially sought our cooperation.”
That’s right. It was all just one part of a carefully planned scheme by the Skinner Marquis Family to take down the Alway Ducal Family. The head of the Skinner Marquis Family is one of the Knights’ Commanders, overseeing the protection of the capital city, which falls under the Alway Ducal Family’s purview. While the commander of the Knights is collectively the supreme commander, the next highest position is that of a Knight Commander. He had long been displeased by the Knights being under the Alway Ducal Family’s control. Strictly speaking, the capital city’s protection and the Knights are collaborative, with no hierarchical difference, but the Alway family is a Duke, after all. It was inevitable that a sense of hierarchy would emerge. The Skinner Marquis, who had contributed to the Knights for generations, harbored animosity towards the Duke Alway and, shockingly, plotted to snatch the duty of protecting the capital city from him. As part of this plan, he decided to utilize the Paggio Viscountcy, which harbored ambitions to seize control of the Daum Barony, whose head, Niklas Daum, was considered an advisor to the Duke Alway. He planned to gradually strip power from the Ducal Family.
The Paggio Viscountcy, with its shallow history, envied the long-standing history of the Daum Barony since the kingdom’s founding. Their slightly higher aristocratic title only intensified that envy. Initially aligned with the Alway Ducal Family’s faction, they managed to force their son to marry their daughter, but then their son established a new barony. This made it impossible to simply take over. At this juncture, the Skinner Marquis approached the Viscount Paggio, whispering sweet promises of cooperation if he switched factions. As a result, Viscount Paggio secretly switched factions without arousing suspicion and, while also acting as an internal spy, proceeded with the takeover of the Daum Barony.
The Skinner Marquis also saw the Daum Barony as a nuisance. Whether out of obligation or not, the Daum Barony was a loyal vassal of the Alway Ducal Family. No matter how much they tried to poach them, they refused to cooperate. To make matters worse, they even brought in Olivier Alway, a former Court Mage, as Olivier’s main consort. They couldn’t fathom how a barony could achieve such a feat, and it was natural to conclude that it was due to the Duke’s influence.
The Skinner Marquis and Viscount Paggio, whose interests completely aligned, conspired to murder Liz Murphy, threatened Karina Daum, and, upon learning that Jared Murphy, the eldest son of the Daum family, was a candidate for the heir to the Daum Barony, sold him to an illegal facility with the intent to kill him. The plan was for Rex, who was infatuated with Yeny Daum, to marry her, leveraging his Marquis family’s influence and connections— and then the takeover would be successful.
What was unexpected was the return of Jared Murphy, who had been reported missing. They immediately plotted to kill him, but he repelled their attack. Moreover, he began to gain favor with the Mage Association, achieving one undeniable success after another. Since they couldn’t afford to make an enemy of the Mage Association, they gave up on killing him. Fortunately, Jared himself showed no interest in clinging to nobility.
They decided to leave him be, but then he was chosen as Olivier Alway’s fiancé. Viscount Paggio and Marquis Skinner were annoyed that every member of the Daum bloodline was an obstacle. However, as becoming the Duke’s son-in-law was practically decided, they couldn’t act rashly. They hadn’t yet amassed enough power to crush the Ducal Family. They tried to gather support from individual knights, but both Baron Daum and Duke Alway had past affiliations with the Knights, so they couldn’t act impulsively. While they were deliberating, Jared was selected as a candidate for Court Mage and then decided to become one.
Viscount Paggio and Marquis Skinner firmly believed they had gained their status through the Duke’s power. Nevertheless, he was an obstacle. Having him gain power would be problematic. As they pondered this, they received word from Annette that she knew everything. If things continued like this, everything would be exposed, and their plan would collapse. All because of a mistake by a pawn who merely wanted to take over a barony.
The Skinner Marquis’s ambition was not just to crush the Ducal Family. He craved royal blood. He had tried to match his young, talented son with a wild and unmarried princess, but he did not receive a favorable response. What’s more, he was rejected with the absurd reason that the princess had someone she loved. However, he believed that with enough time, it would work out. There was another ducal family, though not an ally, who harbored a desire to weaken the Alway Ducal Family. Portions of the Royal Palace also felt the same. Since the Skinner Marquis knew they desired royal blood, they simply had to wait for those eager to cooperate to act on their own accord— or so they thought.
“Damn you, Daum family!”
Upon receiving word from Viscount Paggio, Marquis Skinner decided to eliminate all those who stood in his way, starting with Jared Murphy. He decided to pin all the blame on Viscount Paggio. That’s why he had kept him around all this time. It was the perfect time for him to repay his favors.
“While you’re at it, kill Olivier Alway too! I want to see the face of Harald Alway weeping after losing his daughter!”
