Daphne’s letters had been intercepted by Ludwig himself when she was young, and after he got an aide, he entrusted the task to him.

That’s why Werner had never received a single letter from Daphne until now.

“That wretched girl!”

As if she somehow knew about his situation, she had sent letters to Werner even before she learned how to write, drawing pictures for him when he was away on trade expeditions. And when she attended the Academy as a boarding student, she sent them almost daily.

How bothersome it had been.

At least after graduation, she had quieted down. Perhaps feeling ashamed about her postponed marriage, she seemed to be keeping a low profile.

He had let his guard down because she’d been behaving herself, and now she had dealt him a devastating blow.

After this successful trade expedition, Werner had planned to retire from the front lines and pass the merchant guild to him.

“I’ve worked so hard for this all this time!”

Even this voyage had been part of that plan.

While preparing to set sail, he had received news of his wife’s pregnancy. It was her first pregnancy, and he couldn’t even stay by her side, having to go out to sea instead. Now it seemed like the brilliant future he had finally grasped was dissolving into nothing.

The imperial command to return was one thing, but it was clear that Daphne’s letter had played a significant role in this.

Ludwig took another swig of rum.

“Is there really any need to wait until she marries Leonhardt? Lady Barbara dislikes Daphne enough to pretend to be ill.”

There were plenty of ways to prevent the marriage. He recalled what Werner had said earlier.

“Once the nails are in the coffin, everything becomes pointless.”

He didn’t want to eliminate someone who would be legally family. He hadn’t wanted to go this far, but he couldn’t stand by any longer.

“Daphne, you should have lived quietly. This is the result you’ve brought upon yourself.”

Ludwig smiled coldly.

⁕⁕⁕

Just as Daphne finished her morning preparations, Anton came to see her.

“Grand Duke Kartun Schwiers has sent a messenger.”

His expression was casual, but he couldn’t hide the concern in his voice.

He too had heard much about Kartun.

The Grand Duke who guards the Forest of Sleeping Monsters.

The Emperor’s uncle who rarely left his grand duchy to avoid causing disturbance to the unstable throne.

The one who cuts down monsters that awaken once a week with a single stroke.

The one who doesn’t just cut them down but eats their hearts to absorb their magical power.

If the first three stories were true, the fourth was fabricated. It was similar to threatening crying children with “Grand Duke Kartun will come to get you.”

Anton, being very rational, disliked baseless rumors like the fourth one.

But when the subject of such rumors specifically requested to meet Daphne rather than the Marquis and his wife, the situation changed.

He was worried about why the Grand Duke, who had completely isolated himself from the Empire until now, would want to meet their young lady personally.

He only regretted that he couldn’t refuse because the other party was Kartun.

“What does he want…?”

“He asked for permission to visit during afternoon tea time today.”

She could refuse by saying she had prior engagements, since he asked on the same day.

But she needed to meet him at least once.

“Very well.”

“Yes, I’ll refuse right away… Pardon?”

“Tell him that I look forward to his visit.”

After Anton left with an undisguised worried expression, Christine came to see Daphne.

“Daphne, did you have any prior engagements?”

“No.”

“Then why is he visiting? If you know anything, please tell me.”

Daphne approached Christine, who was fidgeting nervously.

“Why are you so surprised? You’re the one who told him I wanted to see him.”

“Huh? Ah… That’s right. But I don’t think I meant for him to visit separately. With all these sudden visits lately, I’m feeling overwhelmed.”

The timid Christine was still worried about pouring water on Barbara. Daphne sighed softly and comforted her.

“Mother, take a deep breath in and exhale slowly. That’s right, well done. Once more…”

Christine obediently followed Daphne’s instructions.

“When Father returns, visits from such important figures will continue. Think of this as a rehearsal and prepare accordingly. Don’t forget to remove the vases.”

“Y-yes, I understand.”

While the Marquis’s household was in emergency mode preparing for the afternoon visit, House Mücke was also in quite a commotion.

“Open this door now!”

“Young Duke, please calm down…”

Fred the head butler was pleading desperately outside the door.

“If the Duke finds out, there will be h*ll to pay. You know that better than anyone, Young Duke.”

“I’m going to resolve what Father wants!”

Leonhardt was furious after discovering that Gustav had confined him.

He was causing a disturbance, insisting that he would go to Daphne personally to smooth over the talk of breaking off the engagement.

“When the Duke returns, I will certainly convey your intentions to him. Wouldn’t it be better to get permission first?”

As Fred gently coaxed him, Leonhardt quieted down.

Just when Fred was about to sigh in relief, thinking he had finally calmed down…

With a loud crash, the bedroom door split open. Through the broken door appeared Leonhardt, holding a sword.

Fred nearly fell backward in shock.

Leonhardt was a healthy young man. However, he was far from being a swordsman. If anything, he was intellectually capable. His swordsmanship was only at the basic self-defense level that most noble youths learned.

Yet he had just cut through a door made of solid oak with metal decorations. It was simply unbelievable.

Seeing him holding the sword with wild, bulging eyes, something felt terribly wrong. It felt he was like facing a stranger rather than the young duke he had served.

“Move.”

Leonhardt quietly commanded Fred, who stood there with his mouth agape.

But the loyal Fred, though trembling violently, did not back down.

“This won’t be resolved by taking my life. Young Duke, please, after getting permission—Ugh!”

Leonhardt struck the loyal butler on the neck with the back of his sword before leaving his chambers.

A servant who witnessed this ran to the knights. His only thought was that they needed to stop the young master somehow. Soon, more than ten knights came running, but Leonhardt had already disappeared.

Fred, who had collapsed on the floor, gave instructions even while receiving treatment.

“Find the young duke, but do it discreetly. And what happened today—I’ll never forgive anyone who speaks of it. Make sure everyone keeps their mouths shut!”

⁕⁕⁕

Having finished her preparations, Daphne was leisurely strolling through the garden.

To others, she appeared relaxed, but she was meticulously planning what information to extract from her meeting with Kartun.

That’s when she heard a sneering voice from behind.

“What a charmed life.”

It was Zenos.

Daphne looked up at the sky, sighed visibly, and made no effort to hide her displeasure.

As expected, Zenos was immediately provoked and approached with loud footsteps.

“Mother is so busy over there, and what are you doing here?!”

“If she looks that busy, why don’t you go help her?”

Zenos stared at Daphne with an incredulous expression before bursting out.

“You? How dare you speak so informally… Hey!”

“Didn’t you tell me not to call you brother? If you don’t want to be addressed by any title, then don’t appear before me. And I don’t feel like showing respect to someone who lost in a physical fight.”

At her response, Zenos immediately raised his hand. Daphne glanced at his hand and mockingly said:

“I doubt you came looking for me because you’re short-handed… If you swing that hand, you’ll never get the answer you want from me.”

Zenos made a pained sound before reluctantly lowering his hand.

It wasn’t Daphne who was at a disadvantage, but him. Zenos furtively glanced around before speaking heavily.

“…About when we met last time.”

“You mean when I hit you and gave you a nosebleed?”

“Hey!”

Raising his voice was useless. As Daphne said, he desperately needed to find something out.

When Daphne turned to leave, he hastily apologized.

“Wait! I’m just used to… I’m s-sorry.”

Only after the word “sorry” came out of Zenos’s mouth—for the first time in both his lives—did Daphne turn to face him again.

“You told me not to showcase a clock that works without power. How did you know?”

“Why are you asking that?”

“Actually… I berated my assistants and researchers, demanding to know how the secret leaked. But it turns out other professors threatened the shops that supplied my materials and made predictions. They even had plans to discredit me by bringing up magic stones.”

Hearing this, Daphne shook her head.

“To think such talented people suffer under you—truly a tremendous loss.”

After finishing her words, Daphne gleefully watched as Zenos’s jaw clenched tightly with tension.

“Just tell me… how you knew. You only hang around with noble ladies.”

“You mean how could someone who just attends tea parties and galleries know about that?”

“N-no, that’s not what I meant.”

It was quite entertaining to see him struggling as she picked apart everything he said.

‘To think he was so easy to handle.’

It made her increasingly angry to think that in her previous life, she had endured slaps from him at every encounter.

After Werner and Ludwig died in her previous life, Zenos became the head of the family.

With both the family head and heir dying simultaneously, the family was literally on the brink of collapse.

There was a mountain of issues to resolve, but Zenos was completely irrational.