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I arrived in the Archduke's carriage in front of Clare's palace.
As soon as the driver left, I quickly boarded the public carriage I had arranged in advance.
Fortunately, the Pardee family's lands were not far from the capital.
Finally, I reached the Marchioness of Bardi.
“Well, as long as I don't look like Archduchess Richard, it's okay.”
First, I stopped at a small clothing store and bought some comfortable clothes and shoes.
After I changed my clothes and tied my hair into a ponytail, I looked in the mirror and looked like any normal common girl.
I put on a long black robe that I had bought in case of any emergency, and then quickly left.
“Let's see.
The person I want to meet is probably here...”
I wandered into an alley a short distance from the main street of the Marchesia of Bardi.
Finally, I stopped in front of a shabby place.
“Found it!”
One of the most important information contained in Victor's report is a list of the names of the servants who worked in the Bardi Palace.
This was a bar run by someone who was able to provide me with some important information.
"Hello!"
As soon as I entered, the handsome owner welcomed me loudly.
Inside, a small group of customers, who seemed to be regulars, were sitting in small groups, chatting.
'The best place to get information is a pub.'
I sat at the counter where the owner was overseeing the bar, looking over his shoulder into the kitchen.
In the kitchen, a middle-aged woman, presumably the owner's wife, was diligently preparing snacks and other dishes.
The owner soon came to take my order.
“Would you like to order?”
“One of the biggest beers, and snacks from here to here.
Everything, please.”
“All this?”
His eyes widened.
It was not surprising, most of the customers of this place were middle-aged, working class.
Naturally, everyone was sipping their strong drinks, with a small snack in the middle of the table.
Suddenly, a customer with a huge appetite appeared, ordering everything on the menu.
I smiled.
“I'm very hungry.”
“Haha!
You have a big stomach, miss?”
As he spoke, the owner's mouth widened with joy.
It was as if he had made all the sales for the day.
I chewed the dried peanuts that were served first, and placed the gossip magazine I had bought at the kiosk on the table.
Then, like a young woman immersed in social chatter, I read articles about the imperial family and muttered out loud.
“How wonderful are the palace residents?
They say that the imperial family has a diamond-like aura surrounding them.
I really want to see that for once.”
“Hahaha, diamond-like aura?”
The owner placed a plate of hot dogs in front of me and laughed heartily.
I exclaimed secretly, turning my innocent gaze to the man who had fallen into the trap.
“Yes!
I have only lived in the countryside, so I have never seen the imperial family.
Don’t you think Her Majesty the Empress would shine brightly?”
"Not at all!
They're just like us.
Just humans."
“Hey, how do you know that the imperial family is just like us?
You haven’t seen one yourself...”
I laughed, as if I was advising him not to brag.
Then the owner looked arrogant, as if he was telling me not to talk nonsense.
“Well, I have served Her Majesty with my life.
My dear, haven't I?”
"He's right.
My husband and I worked at the Bardi Palace ten years ago.
I was a kitchen maid, and he was a stable keeper."
The woman who was preparing delicious fried chicken from the kitchen laughed.
I made a noise as the fish reached the hook.
“Oh my God!
So you saw Her Majesty the Empress in person?
Did you see His Highness the Crown Prince?”
“I served Her Majesty the Empress until I married His Majesty the Emperor, so I have not seen His Highness the Crown Prince.
But I know His Highness the Crown Princess’s father very well.”
The arrogant owner began to show off his connections.
Then a man sitting at the other table suddenly interrupted him.
“Devon Hayden, do you know him?
I played cards with him a few times.”
"Wow!
You're really amazing!
I'm so curious to know their stories...but there's a lot of food and drink here.
Can you please tell me the story while you share my food?"
I pointed to the plate of potatoes stacked on the table and smiled brightly.
After a moment.
In the small tavern, a feast was in full swing, attended by tavern owners and guests alike.
They were busy telling stories of their youth.
Most of them worked in the house of the Marquis of Bardi.
“We might be the only ones in this town who know Devon Hayden.”
“I think it was 26 or 27 years ago...
He left here suddenly.
I haven't seen him since.”
Overcome with the ecstasy of the drinks I had bought, and extremely conceited by my compliments, they began to gossip about trivial details about the Empress and Baron Haydn.
"Devon Hayden, that bastard.
He wasn't that talented, but he was a pretty smart guy, wasn't he?"
“That's right.
I was very surprised when I heard that he later became the Emperor's son-in-law.”
“He used to do odd jobs with us at the Marquis’ house.”
It was not important information, but Baron Haydn was a handsome young man and well known in this neighbourhood.
It seems that Vivian's striking beauty was inherited from her father.
“Despite his handsomeness, his behavior was a bit rude, wasn't it?”
On the other hand, Baron Haydn clearly did not have a good reputation.
He was not popular, neither in the Marchioness of Bardi nor in the Kingdom of Grace.
This means that he has a lot of enemies.
“That proud face was in a sorry state when he was sent away.”
“It's still a banned name in Bardi Palace, isn't it?”
After patiently listening to their boasts and stories, I finally got the information I wanted.
I blinked, as if urging them to answer, and asked.
"Why?
What happened?"
“Actually, no one knows what happened.
But I heard that the former Marquis was so angry that all the servants in the palace trembled.”
“According to a maid who overheard them talking as she passed by, it seems he stole something very important.”
I sipped my beer in silence, listening intently to their conversation.
'What is this important thing that the Baron stole?'
Baron Haydn, practically banished from the Marchioness of Bardi, settled in the capital, began working as a blacksmith, and apparently married.
Of course, all of this happened before Vivian was born, so it's not mentioned in the novel.
“On the day of the Crown Prince’s wedding, cold winds were blowing in Bardi Palace.”
“It's natural for them to be offended.
Isn't it as if he married one of the workers who once served them!”
Now that I heard that, I understood why the Empress was against Vivian and Lawrence's marriage.
No one wants his submissive servant's daughter as his daughter-in-law.
‘Perhaps the Empress got rid of her son-in-law, Baron Haydn, because she could no longer stand his bad reputation.’
The Baron was in such a state of ecstasy that he even obtained exclusive trade rights with the Kingdom of Grace.
It was very likely that she was very upset with him.
‘Anyway, the Empress and the Bardi family have strong motives to kill Baron Hayden.
They seem to have a grudge against him for some reason.'
It seemed like I had all the information I could extract from them.
I looked out the window, the sun had set and it was dark.
Then, for a moment, a dark shadow flashed behind the window.
“……!”
The hair on my neck stiffened.
If it is a customer, he will open the door and walk in, and passers-by will have no reason to wait at the door.
'Are they spying on this store?'
I looked around quickly.
The drunk men had lost interest in me.
I'd better leave. نهضتُ بهدوءٍ من على الطاولة الصاخبة وارتديتُ رداءي بسرعة.
Then I placed a generous amount of gold coins on the table, more than enough to pay for my meal, and quietly headed toward the back door.
“Just in case...”
Before I opened the door and left, I secretly put a decorative stone from the store shelf in my pocket.
It can be used as a weapon in case of emergency.
Then I walked slowly into the alley, darkness descending upon me.
'There's someone.'
With all my senses alert, and thanks to the shadow I had seen earlier, I felt a presence.
It was a feeling I had always felt in my past life.
A feeling of anxiety, as if someone is following me.
“But apparently they felt that someone was investigating the family so they sent people.”
My hair stood up as I remembered Victor's previous words.
I hastened my steps and grabbed the circular stone with one hand, inside my robe.
My palms quickly became moist.
Finally, when I felt someone approaching.
“Hey, wait.”
A faint voice called out to me and a hand grabbed me by the shoulder.
The moment I turned around from the force of the person who pulled me, I raised my other arm, which was holding the stone, with all my strength, and struck him violently.
Bang!
With a thud, I confirmed who was holding me, and my body froze in place, still holding the stone.
“Your happiness...?”
I frowned.
“Ah!”
I finally screamed when I saw blood pouring from the Archduke's forehead.