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At dinner that evening, Dana requested that Carl escort her. Carl accepted with a bright smile.
“I’m glad you asked me, Dana.”
However, Sandra looked displeased.
“You… retired due to the aftereffects. Are you really going to be alright?”
“I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”
Dana could roughly guess what was on Sandra’s mind.She’s probably afraid I might say something unnecessary.After all, Dana had once thrown out a remark that unsettled her.
Sure enough, Sandra didn’t give up and tried once more. “Don’t go. Stay by my side. Rumie has gone to war, and Alice has left for the monastery… I’ll be alone here, Carl.”
“How about staying at the Rolland Mansion for a while?”
“You’ve wanted to visit the Rolland family, haven’t you? Take this opportunity to stay there for a bit.”
“You wanted to go to the Rolland family, didn’t you? Stay there while you have the chance.” Carl said this without malice, but Sandra seemed to take it differently, clenching her fists tightly.
They’re going to fight again.Dana quietly rose from her seat and left the dining room. Sure enough, the moment she stepped out and closed the door, Sandra’s shouting rang out.
“Are you going to send me alone? Come with me! Let’s quit everything and go to the Rolland family together! We can just leave Windsor!”
“I told you to stop talking about that, Sandra.”
“What’s so great about being the deputy head? What’s worth clinging to so much?”
“That ‘so great’ deputy head? So that’s how you’ve always seen me, as nothing more than that.”
“Yes! You stepped down from being the army commander, blaming the aftereffects, and now you sit behind a desk. Do you have any idea how ill-suited that looks on you!”
Yes, yes, fight all you like. Dana hummed cheerfully to herself as she walked away. But then.Aftereffects?Carl didn’t look like he had any.
That night, Sandra came to visit her.
“Behave yourself and come back safely.” Without explanation, she abruptly thrust a box into Dana’s hands. “May it keep you safe.”
A gift? Why all of a sudden?
When she opened the box, a necklace gleamed inside.
“While you’re with Carl, I hope you won’t chatter unnecessarily.”
Aha.So it was a bribe.
“Please take it back.”
“I’m sorry, Aunt,” Dana whispered in Sandra’s ear. “If you want to silence me, you’ll have to offer something better.”
Sandra’s eyes trembled faintly. Shock drained the color from her face in an instant. Was it really that surprising? Dana chuckled.
“So think carefully, Aunt. About what might be able to silence me.”
Their previous conversation, where she mentioned Allice’s biological father. It seemed that the word ‘biological father’ had been weighing heavily on Sandra’s mind.
“You may leave now, Aunt.”
“…” Sandra didn’t say a word. She just walked out of the room with a face like she was swallowing poison.
Well, I just practically confirmed that I know her biggest secret.
Sandra would try to silence Dana in some way. Since bribery didn’t work just now…She’ll probably prepare to do something harmful to me.Of course, that was precisely what Dana wanted. The more Sandra tried to harm her, the more her relationship with Carl would fracture.
Dana wanted Carl Windsor’s marriage to collapse.
“Lethe, while I’m away, keep a close eye on Sandra.” She made a special request to her secretary. “She’ll definitely plot something. Don’t miss a thing and investigate thoroughly.”
Lethe’s response was a beat too late. But he immediately continued with another report.
“Milady, he’ll be visiting soon.”
“Lord Ignis de Windsor.”
At that moment, Dana let out an involuntary groan. “Ignis de Windsor?”
Dana couldn’t close her mouth.
Ignis, that man, was coming.Why all of a sudden?
Ignis had once been adopted into the Windsor family.Though he chose to sever the adoption himself and leave.He had been adopted by Danae’s grandfather, the previous duke, but later cast aside the position of his own accord and left the family. However, her grandfather hadn’t permitted him to discard the Windsor name. Having been fed, educated, and raised by the Windsor, he believed Ignis shouldn’t abandon the family name.I recall there being a lawsuit and quite a commotion.
After a long legal battle, Ignis had succeeded in severing ties with the Windsor family, but failed to completely abandon the family name. The court sided with Windsor, a great noble house. It acknowledged his departure from the family, but didn’t permit him to discard the Windsor name from his own. That was the court’s ruling. Thus, a middle name ‘de’ was added, signifying affiliation.In the end, it means he’s still a Windsor.
“Why is he returning suddenly? Didn’t he leave after a huge fight with Uncle Carl, saying he’d never return?”
Ignis had been the only member of the Windsor family who maintained contact with Carl, but even that had ended years ago in a fierce argument. He had stormed off, shouting that he would never set foot in the Windsor Mansion again. So why was he returning now?
“I’m not sure about that either.”
Who could possibly understand Ignis’s mind?
Dana let out a long sigh.That delinquent of a man was coming back…
“Then, Milady, please travel safely to Kaltusa.”
With a brief farewell, Lethe left the room. His unusually dry expression bothered Dana.Is he upset?
In the past, Dana would have taken him along. Lethe had always accompanied her as an escort and secretary wherever she went. In truth, she could have assigned another professional watcher to Sandra. After all, Allice currently had a watcher assigned to her as well. But…I should start distancing myself.Not for her own sake, but for her secretary’s. So that he could live well even after Dana left this world.
The next day, Dana set out for Kaltusa with Carl. The journey took about a week by carriage, but just before they arrived, something unexpected happened.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t go any further.” The coachman declared a strike. “I’m sorry, Milord. Forgive me.”
Carl looked extremely troubled. “Hey, we’ll arrive in just one more day. How can you say you can’t continue now?”
“B-But… it’s Kaltusa.” The coachman firmly stated his decision. “Five thousand people from the Kaltusa territory were all contaminated and died. They say ghosts still appear there!”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“It’s true! One of my friends entered out of curiosity and never returned!” The coachman trembled with a pale face. “Besides, there are more than a few who’ve seen ghosts. I myself once heard screams when passing nearby at night. The kind of screams someone makes while burning to death.”
“Screams? It was probably a deer.”
“I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I can’t go. Even if I lose my job, I can’t go…”
Inside the carriage, Dana sighed. If he refused so adamantly, what could they do?
“Uncle, let’s go by ourselves.”
Carl looked displeased but didn’t try to hold onto the coachman any longer.
“Well, I’ve never driven a carriage before.” Carl ended up sitting in the coachman’s seat. “Dana, wouldn’t you be frightened alone inside?”
Frightened? If anything, imagining you arriving at Kaltusa and losing your mind in ruin makes me feel wonderful. Swallowing those words, she smiled instead.
“I’ll drive the carriage, so rest inside. We’ll arrive after another day of travel.”
But Carl’s prediction was wrong. The wheel of the carriage driven by the amateur coachman, Carl Windsor, got stuck in a deep pit.
The carriage toppled over with a violent lurch.
With a loud crash, the carriage broke apart.Neigh!When the reins snapped loose, the two horses bolted energetically, resulting in a major disaster.
Carl didn’t chase the fleeing horses. Instead, he rushed to rescue her from the wrecked carriage.
“Dana! Are you alright?!”
Dana lay pinned beneath the broken fragments of the carriage, gasping. Carl desperately cleared the debris and pulled her free.
Blood streamed down from her head. She let out a hollow laugh as she looked around. The dark forest, the broken carriage, and the two horses were already gone. Herself, badly injured. And that damned Carl Windsor, flustered and pacing in panic.Could this guy be trying to kill me already?
No way. He hasn’t even completed the five years of her guardianship yet. If Dana dies now, he won’t inherit her property. So was this really just an accident?
“Dana, are you okay?Huh?”
Do I look okay, you fool?Through the pain, Dana blinked.
“Dana,huh? Say something. Dana?”
What is this supposed to be? She was the one leading him into a trap to ruin him…
“Yes? I’m here!”
“Uncle, you’re utterly useless.”
What do you mean ‘huh,’ you incompetent fool!Dana slowly closed her eyes.
“Dana, no. Stay conscious! Noooo—”
His desperate scream was almost comedic. It’d be quite funny if she died here. With that thought, Dana lost consciousness.