Chapter 67

Chapter 67

* * *

AD

“A medal of honor…”

Duke Orlando frowned and muttered inwardly.

“After all, why was the old book found now…?”

Naturally, he expected to receive this medal of honor.

More than ten orphanages were built in the name of the Duke of Orlando. Although the interiors were cheap compared to their glamorous exterior, they were all aimed at the medal of honor.

The Medal of Honor awarded directly by the Emperor had great significance to expand one’s power.

This was because the Emperor was not allowed to take the title of a household which possessed the Medal of Honor.

“Duke Icard’s daughter-in-law accidentally discovered it.”

At the words of his aid, Duke Orlando let out a groaning sound. “Laria Rose Icard? Isn’t she the daughter of a fallen noble without any background?”

“It is said that it was the daughter-in-law’s opinion that it should be donated to the academy.”

“…Wait a minute.”

Hearing that, the Duke of Orlando had a serious expression on his face.

“That kid—”

Laria Rose Icard… He recalled that she got a lot of attention for something similar the last time.

“That… black horse?”

“Yeah. This spring, she’s the one who won a lot of money in horse racing.”

Duke Orlando was still in thought.

Duke Icard was his nemesis. There were only two Dukes in the Empire. The Duke of Icard was incredibly wealthy on his own, and the Duchy was also large, so he had no interest in anything else.

Although when Matilda, the Duke’s wife, died, the Duke’s power suddenly began to grow.

For Duke Orlando, who ruled the noble families, it was a very annoying thing.

When the Duke’s power began to expand to the Imperial Family, the position of Duke Orlando was completely weakened. So, before his power grew, he wanted to catch him in a pod and step on it somehow.

When Evan and Laria got married, the neutral nobles were passive, saying, “The Duke of Icard couldn’t have had such ambitions.”

‘It was definitely weird. There’s no way he can have such a child as her daughter-in-law for no reason.’

The Duke of Orlando frowned nervously.

‘Besides, it was said she was a little ill, she completely repaired the villa… Maybe, it’s because no one knows, though isn’t she a better kid than Princess Elanie?’

A child who brings good luck or something like that.

In any case, nothing good happened to Duke Orlando after she came in as the daughter-in-law of the Duke of Icard.

“Medor.”

“Yes.”

The Duke of Orlando’s faithful servant, Medor, was a very cruel man with gray hair and yellow eyes.

“It seems like there must be some secret. Find it. They said they were on their way to the Duke’s Manor right now.”

“Then, before arriving at the Duke’s residence, it would be convenient in many ways to take a look at it now.”

“Right.”

The Duke of Orlando raised his chin and added slowly.

“The County of Rostri has long been extinct, and she hasn’t even had a proper wedding with Young Master Icard.”

According to a background investigation, he heard that Laria never made her debut in the Capital’s socialite and that she had only a few friends in Borotna, where she went to recuperate from her illness.

“There must be some reason why she doesn’t have a position yet. Right now, Princess Icard doesn’t have much of a background, so even if there is some trouble, it seems to be at a level that can be managed.”

If it was suspicious, he had to know immediately.

As time goes by, if Laria was well established as Princess Icard, even if he wanted to do something at that time, it would rather be impossible to do it at that point.

“I’ll kidnap her and find out if there’s anything. Clearly, I have a strong hunch that the Duke of Icard didn’t bring in that child only for humanitarian purposes.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“When it gets difficult, just get rid of her.”

“Pardon?”

“Anyway, she indeed did a good job for the Duke of Icard, so there’s nothing wrong with getting rid of the seedlings ahead of time.”

Any child who was more helpful to the Duke of Icard than Princess Elanie had to be eliminated as fast as possible.

Medor immediately understood Duke Orlando’s words.

* * *

Laria’s party, who were heading from Borotna’s villa to Duke Icard’s residence, suddenly changed their course.

“Miss Laria’s condition is not very good right now.”

It was because Serena, Laria’s doctor, urgently requested it.

“Especially, if we go like this, we will go through Morris mountains, right? With Miss Laria’s condition right now, it’s impossible to go to a high altitude. It’s going to get worse.”

Owen, the Head of the Icard’s Knights, who was tasked with escorting Laria safely to the Duchy, was frightened.

The Duke of Icard seemed to be very fond of Laria. Besides, thanks to her, the Duke even received a Medal of Honor. So, he must have prepared everything for the welcome and was waiting for her… But, if anything happened, it seemed that Owen’s head wouldn’t be safe.

“Th-then what should I do?”

“We must return to the plains.”

Serena said, looking at the map.

“Here.”

The place she pointed to was a lake village called Abonitar.

“If we go over here, it will take two more days, but this route is the best. For various medical reasons, we must make sure we arrive tomorrow afternoon.”

“I’ll turn around quickly. If the doctor says so, of course, I should follow.”

“Oh?”

Serena smiled seductively and ruffled her hair.

“If I say so, will you follow me?”

“Yes? Th- that’s not it… Of course, as long as it is a good judgment…”

“I see. Good judgment.”

Serena’s voice continued softly.

“Why don’t you take a chance to judge me in Abonitar?”

At her words, Owen quickly memorized the Knight’s Oath inside. He knew very well the end of the knights who passed over to her.

No matter how pretty and charming she was, in the end, it would be him who would get hurt.

“Though I have to always keep an eye on Miss Laria’s surroundings…”

“You know, I’m always around Miss Laria.”

Serena leaned closer to him and whispered, “Shouldn’t you keep an eye on me, too?”

“What?”

“I have been watching Sir Owen for a long time.”

“Wh-what? What do you mean? Me…?”

“Yes. I’m serious. I swear on my doctor’s license.”

In the end, Serena did not go back to Laria after that but continued to talk with Owen until she arrived at Abonitar.

The story went well, and every gesture she made was of a charming woman.

It was dangerous…

Owen swore to himself.

‘I will never fall for Serena unless the sun rises in the west.’

“Miss Laria wants to see the lake.”

As Laria was unpacking her luggage at the inn of Abonitar, which she had chosen herself, Serena came in and said,

“She said she doesn’t want the quiet village to get noisy, so she asks for a minimum of escorts. In particular, she says Sir Owen should not come because he is big and stands out.”

Serena said with a smile.

“While Miss Laria is looking at the lake, how about Sir Owen look at me?”

At that, he quietly took the compass out of his pocket and changed the needle.

‘From now on, my west is over there.’

He couldn’t find any reason to follow Laria, who told him not to follow her… No, it was accurate to say that he didn’t want to find a reason.

Laria left to see the lake with only Lisa and a few escorts.

* * *

“Pretty, isn’t it?”

I said, taking a leisurely walk around the lake.

“The thing that shines in the sunlight is just as beautiful as a gold coin… No, I was wrong. It is as beautiful as a jewel.”

I quickly corrected myself and glanced around.

This was a remote lakeshore far from the village.

‘Ñrobably, around this time… Oh, it’s over there.’

There was only one person around, an outsider wearing a robe and sitting on the shore of the lake fishing.

‘Now, if I remove the escort a little…’

To create the best timing for the surprise attack, I told the escorts behind me.

“Right, this is a famous ruby-producing area, so please find a good jeweler.”

“Yes?”

“Evan likes red. I think it would be nice to give it as a birthday present.”

“Then, let’s go back to the inn and give instructions to the other servants…”

“Still, I’m in the mood to buy Evan’s birthday present now. Right now, come on, right away.”

I insisted bluntly.

“What could happen here? Go quickly. If you are really worried, you can just leave a couple of people.”

The escorts, who had been looking at each other awkwardly, eventually dispersed into the villa except for two of them.

‘I need to send at least one more person…’

I rolled my eyes and immediately started coughing.

“Cough, cough, cough…!”

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