CH 24

A few days later.

“No one seems to be interested in it at all.”

I reached a conclusion after gathering information about the central land. It was expected since it was a land which would only gain value in a few years.

Indeed, the future lies in real estate!

“Buy a nearby land under a pseudonym.”

Vielle raised her head in response to my words.

“I will do it immediately.”

She then signaled to a nearby maid, who resided on the fourth floor.

Observing their interaction, I noticed a stark contrast between the people of Argenta on the fourth floor compared to those on the third floor and below. I began to understand why Diello could trust only those on the fourth floor.

Firstly, the servants on the lower floors didn’t casually come up to the fourth floor as if there were invisible barriers. Only those who freely moved to the fourth floor were servants with higher status and had a greater influence.

“Don’t forget to use my money.”

I reminded her once again. After all, Diello already knew about my future plans, and it wouldn’t be right to use Argenta’s money.

“Oh, and…”

Almost forgetting something important, I called Vielle again.

“Argenta’s informants should be able to create new commoner identities, right?”

Vielle questioned my statement.

“Are you referring to forged identities?”

“I can’t go all the way to Croire with my name.”

As I indicated the location of ‘Croire’ on the map, a gentle knock resonated in the room.

My attention shifted towards the door, revealing Diello peering in through the slight opening, a contented smile gracing his face. His lustrous, ebony hair caught the light within the room while the oceanic blue wall behind him accentuated his presence.

“Krua, may I come in?”

Seeing that he was already halfway in before asking, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Come in.”

Even though he had already entered without waiting for permission, he fully stepped into my office. In the process, he noticed the map on my desk.

“….”

As his blue eyes examined the map, his gaze was fixated on the center of the map.

“Are you really going there?”

I shrugged at his words.

“I have to go. When the real Ferro comes, she would be bothered by the former wife…”

Wait a minute. Hadn’t it been quite a while since we saved Redius Argenta? Wasn’t it time for the real Ferro to come?

…Or was it not time yet?

“If you stay in Argenta, it’ll be fine.”

Diello suddenly replied to my words.

I blinked for a moment, then burst out laughing.

“You’re saying you’ll greet the new wife while your former wife is still in Argenta?”

His blue eyes blinked several times at those words.

“Yes. Is that not possible?”

His innocent blue eyes glistened, leaving me utterly speechless.

I couldn’t help but wonder if Ferro, his current spouse, would be bothered by the fact that I, his former wife, was residing in Argenta, even if I were to move elsewhere within the territory. Moreover, I knew that his Ferro was easily jealous.

“Men and women can’t simply be friends, how do you plan to explain it?”

To fully awaken his ability, he had to share his heart with Ferro. If the Ferro couldn’t open her heart to Diello, it was over. In addition, the nobles in this world thought of trivial things as scandalous, even if men and women stood together.

…However, leaving his former wife in Argenta as it was?

“Hmm…”

Diello tilted his head as if contemplating my words.

“What if I introduce you only as an Argenta?”

He suddenly opened his mouth at that moment. He laughed nonchalantly.

“Just be Argenta, Krua. It wouldn’t be strange for an Argenta to stay in Argenta.”

“Well…”

I pressed my temple hard. Wouldn’t I have tons of headaches in the future if I did so?

I reached out my hand.

“I’ll politely decline. My goal is a peaceful retirement.”

“What if it’s peaceful?”

When Diello immediately replied to my words, I also answered without hesitation.

“To avoid being the woman caught between the new wife and ex-husband, to avoid the title of a widow in society, and to avoid my name being tossed around in society… there is only one solution, right?”

I pointed my index finger to the ground before finishing my words.

“I have to leave here.”

Was there even any other way?

Diello hesitated, his hand rubbing his lips.

“….”

His face was somehow filled with disappointment. How could he live in this turbulent world with so much affection and kindness? I sighed deeply.

“Still, I’ll stop by occasionally.”

Because Diello seemed so disappointed, I uttered so and smiled.

“Ah, by the way.”

I almost forgot to ask the important question while talking.

“…Is there any news about the real Ferro?”

Even though I wanted to ask why hadn’tsn’t come yet when she was supposed to already come, I couldn’t ask so directly.

Diello slowly lowered his head in response to my words.

“Not yet.”

…Not yet?

I almost blurted out, my mind filled with doubts.

Had I miscalculated the timing? Or perhaps my recollection of the sequence of events was incorrect? It couldn’t be… we had rescued Redius Argenta quite a while ago, so there should have been news about the real Ferro by now.

In the original story, around this point, Diello Argenta would have greeted the real Ferro, and everyone would have discovered that Krua Alors was an impostor. This would mark the beginning of an uncomfortable relationship between the real Ferro and Diello Argenta.

Unfortunately, as the original story primarily focused on the perspective of Krua Alors, it was impossible to understand the underlying reasons for the tension between the two.

Still, I couldn’t help but question whether it was truly convenient for everyone to have a destined partner.

“Is there any news at all?”

I asked again, and Diello nodded slightly.

“No.”

What on earth was going on?

So far, the only significant change I made to the original was helping Redias Argenta. What did that have to do with Ferro’s arrival? What went wrong?

A strange sense of unease filled my mind.

“…I hope she arrives soon.”

I muttered softly.

“Yes.”

Diello replied with a hint of disappointment and turned away. As I watched his back, a random thought crossed my mind.

…By the way, did he come here to say something?

* * *

That afternoon, the peaceful mansion was suddenly filled with the sound of hoofbeats and commotion.

“Huh?”

As I absentmindedly glanced outside, there was Diello. He was wearing a knight uniform, typically worn during outings, and was rushing off somewhere. Following him were a group of knights, raising clouds of dust as they followed him.

Were they going towards the endless sea? I wondered, but before I could dwell on it, a maid rushed over.

“Madam.”

“What’s happening outside?”

The maid lowered her head in response to my question.

“There’s an urgent matter at the border of the endless sea, and the lord is heading there quickly.”

Since the third and fourth zone had been noisy recently, it wouldn’t be surprising if something happened in other zones.

I nodded slightly.

“The lord told me to convey a message to not to not worry.”

The maid replied cautiously.

When he went to the fourth zone, he didn’t say anything to me, but this time, it seemed like he remembered to convey me a message.

“Understood.”

“Yes.”

Until the Ferro arrived, there shouldn’t be any significant concerns for now.

I leaned my head on my hand, my brows slightly knitted. Yet, I couldn’t help but wonder, wasn’t it about time the Ferro made their appearance? My thoughts became needlessly tangled. In the end, I set aside the documents I had been looking at regarding Argenta.

Thud.

As I pushed my chair back and stood up, Vielle approached me.

“Madam?”

“I can’t concentrate. I want to take a walk and come back.”

She immediately lowered her head.

“Yes, Madam.”

It seemed my lack of concentration was evident. Vielle willingly led me to the corridor, where a gentle breeze brushed against my skin. Through the expansive windows, the setting sun painted a picturesque view of the garden.

Swoosh…

As the wind whispered, my mind wandered. If the Ferro were to arrive at Argenta personally… she would undoubtedly exercise great caution, especially considering the knowledge of Diello’s marriage to his Ferro.

And if that weren’t the case, there was no way Argenta wouldn’t have heard about it and brought her here. Either way, the atmosphere wouldn’t be this serene.

Thud, thud.

Abruptly, I halted my footsteps on the first floor.

The knights on the first floor appeared different from their usual posts. While I couldn’t recall the faces of every Argenta who frequented the mansion, the knights from the fourth floor were familiar to me since they were typically stationed on the fourth floor.

“Why are the fourth-floor people here?”

I asked, and Vielle replied briefly.

“The lord ordered them to be stationed here.”

“Diello?”

I raised an eyebrow. It shouldn’t be the case that they were just taking a detour to the first floor to go out…

“Madam!”

I heard urgent footsteps from above. It was a maid from the fourth floor, quickly descending the stairs.

“From the lord’s study…!”

The study should’ve been empty by now. Holding a white cloth in her hand, the maid was out of breath.

“In the study, the contract documents are burning!”

“What? Why would that suddenly happen―”

I was about to ask, but I stopped mid-sentence.

Whoosh!

The memory of Mirta’s contract bursting into blue flames and disappearing as soon as Diello’s signature was completed came to mind.

“Could it be… Mirta’s contract?”

Mirta was the one who left Argenta not long ago. The servant from the fourth floor who wrote the blood contract, promising not to speak about Argenta.

“Yes, it seems like a violation of the rules.”

The maid said with a grave expression.

“It’s a betrayal.”

“…Ah.”

I touched my forehead.