“Please spread a rumor. At the engagement ceremony, Mirabella didn’t wear the expensive necklace and earrings that Lady Köhler personally selected and gifted, causing a dispute between Lady Köhler and Mirabella.”

It was true that Mirabella hadn’t worn the gifts that Lady Köhler had personally selected and invested heavily in.

From the moment she heard that Mirabella was rejecting Duke Köhler, Edith had anticipated this and confirmed it was true.

“Since Mirabella even shed tears at the wedding, rumors are already rampant in high society that she doesn’t want Duke Köhler. Even if Count Bomer uses assassins, the only one he could target would be Lady Köhler.”

Though she hadn’t openly wept, Mirabella had indeed shed tears.

Count Bomer couldn’t know exactly who in the ducal household had harmed Evelyn. From his perspective, Lady Köhler, who openly attacked Evelyn, would be the most despicable.

And while Neil was a knight whose detailed whereabouts would be difficult to track, making assassination challenging, Lady Köhler was attending all major social events these days, making her schedule easy to discover.

“Mirabella has often been harsh to her subordinates. Even if she hired someone to k*ll the former Grand Duchess with whom she had a poor relationship, people wouldn’t think it completely implausible. If it’s discovered that the assassins are connected to His Highness Joachim, that will come to light anyway, so spreading rumors in advance to implicate Mirabella as well could create confusion in the investigation. Of course, my name would be mentioned too. By having multiple suspects and buying time this way, it will be easier for Count Bomer to prepare his own countermeasures.”

“Are you doing this for Count Bomer? For his safety?”

“To some extent. It’s also retribution for ruining my right hand.”

Edith looked down at her right hand as she spoke.

Though she had provided Count Bomer with a way to contact the assassins, Edith herself couldn’t know exactly when he would commit murder. She also needed to establish multiple suspects to buy time.

“I was planning to take that revenge for you.”

“I…”

Edith raised her eyes to meet the man’s gaze. When she wanted the man to remember her words for a long time, Edith typically looked at him clearly like this.

In the swaying carriage returning to the ducal residence, the man and woman stared at each other.

“I don’t want to burden you any further.”

“Burden?”

“I don’t want someone like you, who has lived so nobly all your life, to be damaged in any way because of me.”

“Noble… I’m nothing but a beast.”

Though Edith spoke sincerely, Leonard merely laughed.

“You’ve been an exemplar for the ruling class. People like Isaac respect you. If someone like you remains unwavering, the country you’re trying to establish won’t waver either.”

Edith lowered her head. She didn’t have the courage to meet the man’s eyes.

“I know that many nobles have turned their backs on you just for marrying me. That alone pains my heart.”

‘So please let me take the blame if things are discovered later.’

“Your heart aches? Because you like me?”

Leonard interpreted Edith’s conscience differently. Edith couldn’t answer. She might have to leave the man first before causing him harm, if the situation became unfavorable. Even if it meant her death.

“That… I’ll tell you after I complete my revenge.”

“You’re not saying no. That’s enough for today.”

Leonard stroked Edith’s hair and smiled brightly, as if he had accomplished something magnificent. He was like sunshine appearing in Edith’s life, which had been stained only with shadows.

“Is there anything else you want to do?”

Leonard stroked Edith’s cheek, turning her gaze toward him.

“Anything else…”

If she hastily brought up Isabelle’s story, Leonard might discover the truth.

But it was necessary. It would be better to use Isabelle than to directly attack Ludwig.

“There’s a woman named Isabelle by His Highness Ludwig’s side. You know her, right?”

Leonard nodded smoothly. Edith had already told him about Isabelle’s existence before.

“She told me she was a baroness and had seduced a marquis as a former courtesan, but it was all lies. However, one thing is certain. That woman must have been a courtesan working for His Highness Ludwig. She has the talent and atmosphere to persuade people. What she taught me wasn’t false either. So I was thinking…”

“You were thinking?”

Leonard looked at Edith and smiled, showing his teeth. Contentedly, like someone watching an adorable rabbit.

“His Highness Ludwig must have desperately needed help from Baden Kingdom, the home country of the late Empress, to survive. Could you find out if there were any instances where confidential information was leaked from the Empire, greatly benefiting Baden Kingdom? And if any nobles fell from grace in connection with this? If you could compile substantial facts into documents, I’ll examine them and make a judgment.”

“Are you targeting Isabelle, or Ludwig?”

“If they’ve caused harm to the Empire, His Highness Ludwig might also have a falling out with the Emperor, so perhaps it could be both.”

In truth, if Ludwig had leaked confidential information and committed treason for Baden Kingdom, it would provide Leonard with good leverage to pressure Ludwig.

‘But if that happens, Ludwig would surely bring up the poisoned tea he gave me and talk about the antidote.’

“And I’d like to first review and utilize the investigation results myself. I want to decide how to handle the information obtained. Is that an unreasonable request?”

“No. It’s not unreasonable at all.”

“When the time comes, I’ll hand over the materials you need. For now, I’d like to be the first to…”

“I understand. Don’t worry about that, Edith.”

Leonard nodded readily, sending a look of infinite trust toward her.

⁕⁕⁕

Edith and Leonard returned to the ducal residence.

Duke Sachsen passed by Edith without acknowledgment, but his face immediately brightened upon seeing Leonard.

“I have something to tell you. It’s about Hector Mayer.”

“Hector Mayer?”

“Please make him a training instructor for the Sachsen family. The details are lengthy, so I’ll explain separately.”

Allowing Hector, who had fallen out of the Emperor’s favor, to establish himself in Sachsen territory was the Duke’s strategy to draw Hector Mayer to his side.

After Hector set foot in Sachsen territory, the Duke had personally visited him to request that he become his left arm.

Though naturally rejected, the Duke nonetheless didn’t expel Hector and continued to support him so he could live without working.

Duke Sachsen was quite generous to talented individuals who caught his eye.

“Then I’ll retire to my room.”

Sensing the atmosphere, Edith went up to her room.

Leonard moved to the study with the Duke and began a specific conversation.

“Tell me about Hector Mayer. How on earth did you persuade him?”

Duke Sachsen had visited Hector Mayer three times.

But despite the Duke personally making the effort, Hector hadn’t yielded his stance at all.

“Actually, I didn’t persuade him.”

“What do you mean?”

Hector was originally ambidextrous. The Duke already knew that he used his left hand better than his right. That’s why Hector was still a top talent. He was just difficult to utilize because he wouldn’t easily follow anyone.

“Edith persuaded him.”

“Hmm.”

The Duke still felt uncomfortable about Edith. Especially when Leonard mentioned her.

In high society, many mocked Leonard as a deficient man who had fallen for a lowly mistress. In the Duke’s eyes, Edith was nothing short of the young duke’s only blemish.

“Edith examined the paintings in Hector Mayer’s house and pointed out that they weren’t simple portraits but illustrations for a textbook.”

“I see.”

“So we agreed to publish a meticulously crafted textbook in oil colors for him instead. But even that wasn’t enough to persuade him easily.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t.”

“Edith has excellent speaking skills. When she asked him to help prevent more people from being harmed, only then did Hector Mayer change his mind.”

“Anyway.”

The Duke changed the subject, seemingly wanting to move past the uncomfortable topic.

“The Emperor has issued a conscription order.”

The Duke no longer even used the title “His Majesty.”

“He didn’t summon me separately.”

Leonard had taken Edith out and spent a pleasant time introducing her to the vast Sachsen territory. Though the Duke would have known their whereabouts, he hadn’t summoned Leonard separately for the conscription.

“You’re planning to refuse.”

Despite owing a debt to the Iron Blood Bank, the Emperor was still the Emperor. His authority still reached the territories of the Sachsen family.

Ordinarily, upon receiving the conscription order, the Duke should have immediately summoned Leonard back to the ducal residence, but he hadn’t.

“We’ll introduce scutage and pay with money instead. Don’t worry, I’m already courting the nobles. While I was away, they hastily passed the conscription order in the noble assembly. However, quite a few nobles have procedural complaints.”

“It’s a second expedition to Sper. Even if we raise objections in the noble assembly again, there’s no precedent for re-deploying to a country we’ve already defeated, so it’s ambiguous to challenge on procedural grounds.”

Leonard slowly read through the Emperor’s decree as he responded.

“Indeed. The target isn’t Sper anyway—it’s you, Leonard.”

“How much scutage are you planning to pay?”

“Since there’s no precedent, I intend to pay enough to silence them immediately. Don’t worry about such things, Leonard.”

Though he had recently irritated him, Leonard was still the Duke’s most cherished grandson.

To have the Emperor withdraw the conscription order, the Duke was naturally willing to spend an enormous amount of money.

“Pay a moderate amount. Not enough.”

After being lost in thought for a moment, Leonard continued.

“A moderate amount?”

“Yes. Since scutage has never been introduced in the Empire before, there’s no precedent, so you can adjust the amount. Rather than paying so much money that His Majesty the Emperor is immediately satisfied, even if it’s more troublesome, pay a moderate amount to the imperial family following the example of the home country, and distribute the rest to the commoners in the Emperor’s territory who would suffer from additional conscription, in the form of tribute and donations.”

“Are you trying to divide public sentiment, Leonard?”

It would certainly be convenient to offer a large sum at once. The Emperor would more easily accept the proposal. If an unsatisfactory amount was offered, the Emperor would surely latch onto it and persist.

“The additional deployment is obviously against a country we’ve already defeated, and it’s clearly a means to capture me. The Emperor will only have the imperial army, which is the standing army, additional conscripts from the imperial territory, the private soldiers I would bring from the Sachsen family, and at most, Duke Köhler’s private soldiers.”

“That’s true.”

“Although the imperial citizens rejoiced at the victory over Sper, the compensation received was realistically pitiful. The Emperor used most of the prize money to repay debts to the Iron Blood Bank. In this situation, if additional conscripts are recruited from the imperial territory for another deployment, the commoners will be extremely dissatisfied.”

“Are you thinking of starting a revolution rather than simply negotiating with the Emperor to become the master of the principality, Leonard?”

The Duke stroked his chin.

“Well. But for now, it’s something I need, so I would be grateful if you would do this.”

Leonard smiled, his eyes crinkling.

The grandfather, melting once again at his grandson’s smile, readily promised to do so.