CH 84

“…What are you talking about?”

“I’m asking if it doesn’t matter if there’s a plan to harm the Grand Duke.”

Naturally, she had no plans to harm Damon. Besides, there was no one who could hurt him and it would be better if she didn’t die trying to harm him.

“Are you… really?”

Seeing Estelle’s bewildered look, Elysia smiled a little.

Could that be the plan? As expected, Estelle still didn’t seem to know about him. That said, she probably didn’t have a deep relationship with Damon, so perhaps she was taken in after the marriage was decided.

“Please answer my question.”

“I…”

She rather felt hope in Estelle’s reaction, which did not answer right away. She wouldn’t have believed it if Estelle hadn’t even bothered and said yes immediately.

“That seems impossible. It’s not like I’m strong enough.”

“….”

“If there’s a plan like that, I can’t side with Your Grace.”

Saying her goodbyes, she tried to stand up, but Estelle’s actions did not erase the smile from Elysia’s lips.

“I don’t plan on doing so either.”

“…Yes?”

“I don’t have plans to harm His Grace.”

She had never seen such a flustered expression. Even though she knew she shouldn’t be laughing, Elysia burst out laughing.

“Your Grace…?”

“Oh, sorry.”

To think that Estelle, whom she thought would always be calm and composed, would make such a face. It must have been quite embarrassing.

“I’m sorry. I tested Estelle.”

“Yes? Then…”

As Elysia invited her to sit down again as she was about to get up, she was so sorry for her bewildered reaction. She didn’t mean to surprise her so much, seeing that Estelle still couldn’t come to her senses.

“I wondered if you had received an order from His Grace.”

Had it been Damon’s order, she would not have cared about these questions. She would have been told to listen to whatever Elysia said.

“Ah… I thought you really wanted to harm His Grace…”

“Is there really anyone like that? There will be no one unless you want to lose your life.”

She had no intention of dying. Rather, she wanted to live. Elysia was doing this because she wanted to live… she hoped to escape safely from him and enjoy a comfortable life for a long time.

“My life is precious to me.”

That was her goal.

Perhaps it was because she died so empty and horrific in her previous life that she was obsessed with living. She wanted to live as long as she could this time.

“If Estelle accepts right away, it would be because you had talked with the Grand Duke.”

“I have not had many direct conversations with the Grand Duke. He must be too busy.”

Had Damon been busy? While he looked busy, he wasn’t that hard to see. Rather, she wished she could stop seeing him. It was different from Elysia’s expectation that they would have a married life without time to see each other properly.

On the contrary, the problem was they met too often.

“I am very relieved. I wonder if it’s real… You have no idea how surprised I was.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No. That’s a suspicious situation. I was speaking about what happened with Your Grace.”

There was also a reason why she didn’t immediately trust Estelle because she had a previous history. It took her a lot to accept without question.

“For now, there is nothing too dangerous. I’m just looking for someone to help me.”

…Unbeknownst to Damon.

“What can I do to help? Of course, His Grace shouldn’t know, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Although Damon did not stop her from going outside, he never offered it. He was just going to gradually isolate her.

“I want to ask Estelle about my older brother.”

First of all, she had to establish a contact point so that she could easily communicate with Edward without being noticed by Damon. At this rate, everything would reach his ears and she couldn’t share her letter like this forever.

Of course, it was true that she had to be careful, even through Estelle.

“Your Grace’s older brother…”

“Yes, he is recuperating in the Logan Empire.”

She wondered if Edward was really safe in the Logan Empire. Damon said he was safe, but she couldn’t be relieved. Not only that but there was also the matter with the Countess.

“His Grace guaranteed his safety, but… I can’t believe it.”

Would he really bring Edward to Caesar’s Empire? Damon may have lied to her to reassure her. The present Elysia had no one she could trust, so she had to have at least one person she could trust.

“Ah, I’m not saying that I don’t trust His Grace. It’s a bit complicated to talk about…”

By now, rumors had circulated that she was the illegitimate daughter.

Elysia suddenly became curious. Though the fact that Edward was also an illegitimate child was a secret, she wondered if she should reveal this to Estelle. It wasn’t a very good thing to know.

“If you can’t tell me, it’s okay if you don’t.”

“No, we have to talk about this… Estelle can help.”

Even though she was reluctant to talk about the Countess, she had to tell Estelle about it so she could save Edward. If it was her, she was unlikely to spread the story elsewhere.

“…You know I’m an illegitimate child, right?”

There was no way she wouldn’t know her circumstances because she watched everything in the County. In the first place, it was Estelle who taught her, who had no education. She didn’t even have to say it, it was something Estelle would have noticed.

“Yes…”

“It’s not just me who is an illegitimate child… the same goes for my older brother.”

It was a secret known by the world that all the children of the County were illegitimate children. All three were never publicly known as illegitimate children, so they seemed to keep it a secret. There was nothing good about it if the mistress was found to be infertile.

“I see.”

“The problem is… my older brother is in the Logan Empire because he is not feeling well, and it is all because of the Countess.”

“…Countess Caitlyn?”

It was too disgusting to have to bring this up out of her mouth again.

Elysia’s expression crumpled at the frown of her eyebrows. Just putting it in her mouth made her feel dirty, and she couldn’t stand it. She never imagined that the Countess would be doing such a thing behind her back.

“Yes, the Countess gives brother medicine every day. He got sick because of it, and he’s being treated in the Logan Empire.”

In fact, there was no treatment whatsoever. It was only prolonging his life so he wouldn’t die. It would be disappointing if the only heir, Edward, died. However, she did this despicable thing because if she let Edward grow in his power, her place would be in danger.

“There is nothing more certain than holding a life as collateral.”

There was no way Edward could refuse to do so since the Countess had even put her safety as collateral. It was to take advantage of the fact that Elysia and Edward had affection for each other.

“Before I went to the Grand Duchy, the Countess assured me that she would never touch brother again…”

“…You mean you can’t believe her?”

“That’s right.”

Indeed, the Countess would no longer stretch her clutches against Edward.

Angelina was never a person to give up easily. It was obvious that if she continued to do so in some way, she would be holding on to Edward because the Countess only had Edward left. Meanwhile, the Count paid no attention to Angelina.

“She’s definitely not one to keep still.”

Somehow, she would press Edward from behind, especially since she came to the Grand Duchy. There was no way she didn’t know that if the Countess caught Edward, she could catch her, too.

“For now, can you find out if my older brother is safe in the Logan Empire? And please give him my contact as well.”

There was no way Angelina would miss this good opportunity.

“All right. Don’t worry.”

“Once you hear from him, can you keep in touch in the future?”

She preferred to have the means to keep in touch.

“Your Highness can contact him directly. Don’t worry about that part.”

“Thank you.”

“Is it okay if you keep an eye on the Count’s side as well?”

“Sure.”

As expected of Estelle. Even if Elysia didn’t have to say it, she did everything right. She was reassured by Estelle’s words.

“I’ll go back and get in touch with him right away.”

“Haa…”

A sigh of relief came out immediately.

Without her, Elysia would have to wait endlessly for Damon to contact him. She didn’t even know if he was lying or not, so she couldn’t help but be terrified.

“Your Grace, don’t worry too much and prepare for the founding festival.”

“…Oh, and there was also the founding festival.”

Her head was so dizzy that she couldn’t even see the founding festival. She had learned a lot just last night.

“By the way, doesn’t the Grand Duke participate in the founding festival?”

If Damon hadn’t lied to her, she thought that the Grand Duchess would not have participated in the founding festival.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then… may I attend?”

Apparently, he said he didn’t mind if she did what she wanted, but she was still confused about whether she should attend.

“The Grand Duke has never attended before, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Would it be better for me to attend alone?”

Even though Damon said it was better for the two of them to attend, when she thought about it, that didn’t seem to be the case. Even Elysia, who knew nothing about the social circle, noticed. It seemed that if he attended, there would be a great uproar.

“Estelle, do you know if the former grand duchesses ever attended the founding party?”

While she heard that there was no such private record in the Grand Duke’s family, she didn’t know if it was to reassure her or if he could have said that perhaps because he really didn’t know.

On the other hand, if a socialite, Estelle, she’d know the answer.