Already found out everything?

What on earth does that mean!

I unconsciously glanced at the door, surprised by her unexpected words.

I knew the Viper household maids had all returned and no one was outside the door, but still.

“Soniel, just a moment.”

With a cautious heart, I carefully walked to the door.

I slightly turned the handle to confirm the hallway was empty, then closed the door soundlessly.

“Now tell me.”

Soniel opened her mouth with a composed face.

“As you saw in my letter last time, Madam Grita was… truly horrible.”

She was a famous midwife in the area.

Just hearing her name made me shudder as the contents of the letter came to mind.

“I simply couldn’t follow the madam’s instructions.”

Soniel’s face crumpled, seemingly feeling similar emotions.

“Soniel, I’m really… really sorry.”

I tried not to blame myself, but I couldn’t help it.

If I hadn’t done something unnecessary, her peace would have lasted longer.

Then this poor child could have spent more time living normally and happily.

“Even if you hadn’t discovered that place that day, my father would have ordered me to do it anyway.”

“Soniel.”

“He brought me there to sell me off like that in the first place.”

Soniel’s final words were terribly cold.

“After I refused several times, Father even forbade me from leaving my room.”

“Good heavens.”

“He said if I didn’t learn properly, he’d let me starve to death in that room. That not even a drop of water should be given to someone as worthless as me.”

I gritted my teeth at Foil Viper’s terrible cruelty.

Well, considering what he did to me, it wasn’t surprising.

Foil was a man who treated even his own daughter as nothing but a tool for his power.

It was obvious how he would view a child brought in from outside.

“At first, I thought it would be better to starve to death.”

“……”

“But being left alone actually helped me sort out my situation. And I felt indignant.”

I firmly held Soniel’s small hand.

Though she pretended to be calm, there was no way she was fine.

I was right—Soniel’s eyes quickly reddened. I quietly embraced her.

“Feeling indignant gave me a little courage. Don’t just sit still, don’t lose. Let’s escape this crisis.”

“You did well. You really did well.”

Only then did Soniel start sobbing, clinging to me like a child her age.

“I’ve survived worse situations than this.”

“Yes, yes, that’s right.”

It was around this point that I thought she was remarkable.

If I had been placed in a similar situation as Soniel, I don’t think I could have endured like that.

While I was thinking this, Soniel awkwardly broke the embrace.

“My lady, this is a bit embarrassing but.”

Soniel blushed and said.

“I thought about what you would do in this situation.”

Me?

You know, I was just thinking about this, and I’d probably just lock myself in my room and cry my eyes out.

It’s embarrassing but true.

I was awkwardly smiling, waiting for her next words.

“I thought you would follow my father’s words first, to regain his trust. So that’s what I did.”

When she said those words, Soniel’s eyes looked a bit sad.

I felt sorry for the girl who had struggled to survive.

After pondering briefly about what to say, I decided to offer the best comfort I could.

“You did well. That was a smart choice.”

Foil must have been anxious too.

A situation where Leonora seemed to occupy the position next to the Emperor, yet without any official announcement.

He must have felt the urgency that this might be his last chance, that there wouldn’t be another if not now.

So his judgment would have been cloudier than usual.

“When I changed my attitude, Father was pleased. I hated studying but… I worked hard.”

“So you watched for an opportunity.”

“Yes, I acted like I was on Father’s side to make him believe it.”

Soniel smiled innocently as she spoke.

I forced a smile along with her. But inside, I felt a small anxiety.

Well, Foil is not a man to be taken lightly.

Even if he pretends to be favorable to Soniel now, I didn’t think he would believe she had truly become a daughter of the Viper family.

“And that’s how you found out about the private army?”

When I lowered my voice slightly to ask, Soniel nodded.

“Yes, I searched Father’s office.”

“What?”

I opened my eyes wide at her unexpected words.

Wow, my goodness.

She didn’t even find out indirectly but actually searched Foil’s office?

Is this what they call the spirit of a newborn pup!

When I asked again in surprise, Soniel laughed with the innocent expression of a child her age.

“Yes, I felt I couldn’t just sit still.”

Looking at her now, I can hardly believe what she just did.

“No, wait. How on earth did you get into the Duke’s… I mean, your father’s office?”

I still can’t believe it even as I ask again.

You knew what kind of person Foil is, you feared him, and yet you did that?

Knowing he could kill you anytime if he wanted to.

“Since I learned the Viper household was dangerous, I’ve been collecting laxatives by claiming I had stomachaches and couldn’t go to the bathroom.”

“My goodness.”

“Then recently, Father left for an important matter.”

“An important matter?”

“Yes, he didn’t tell me directly, but I overheard that someone was injured and he needed to enter the palace.”

That must have been the day Ainberg returned injured.

“I watched for my chance and put a ton of laxatives in the water the maids drink.”

After defending them as good girls, you really gave them a proper dose.

I nodded with a satisfied expression.

“So that’s when you entered the office.”

“Yes, coincidentally that day, the secretaries weren’t around since morning and the atmosphere was chaotic. Father was busy from early morning too.”

What day could that have been?

For a while, there hadn’t been any urgent matters because Ainberg wasn’t in the imperial palace.

The most urgent recent event was the day Ainberg returned.

…But that wasn’t early morning.

“The Duke was busy since morning?”

“Yes, I remember that day clearly. It’s the same day he ordered Johana to deliver a letter to you, my lady. Everyone was in disarray, so I thought it was a good opportunity.”

Ainberg returned to the imperial palace in the late afternoon.

But Foil knew from the morning that something would happen at the imperial court.

That means possibly…

An ominous feeling swept through me.

“So Soniel, what did you see in the office? Did you find records about the private army there?”

When I spoke with an urgent voice, Soniel also responded hastily.

“Yes, that’s right. But there was something really strange.”

I could barely bring myself to tell her to speak quickly.

I was extremely tense, just waiting for Soniel to open her mouth.

“As I wrote in my previous letter, the Viper household has 10 platoons and 10 platoon leaders. Maintaining that army costs an enormous amount of money. At least, that’s what I’ve confirmed.”

“Yes.”

“But recently, the number of personnel suddenly decreased. The same goes for the money paid to the soldiers.”

“…The soldiers decreased?”

“Yes, isn’t it strange? Until then, the number of soldiers had been steadily increasing, even if just a little. But at some point, about fifty soldiers were erased.”

I fell into deep thought.

Whether for rebellion or anything else, they would have needed to grow their numbers to plan something.

Yet the steadily increasing number of soldiers decreased from a certain date.

Why on earth?

“I thought maybe they were recorded elsewhere… so I searched hard, but I couldn’t find anything.”

“Hmm.”

“Do you think he thought the number of private soldiers had become too large and decided to reduce it himself?”

“……”

That can’t be.

That was too naive a thought.

While pondering deeply, something suddenly occurred to me.

“I think they moved somewhere else.”

I murmured, stroking my chin.

“Somewhere else? Do you mean they went to another estate?”

“If not that.”

It was a hypothesis I didn’t want to make.

And this was one thing I hoped wasn’t true.

“…They might have marched out to attack something.”