Barbara mumbled, lost in old memories.

“Your Majesty, how are you faring in h*ll?”

She thought she could faintly hear his laughter. As if mocking her, asking what kind of state she was in, unable to use even what she’d been given……

That was exactly how she imagined he would ridicule her.

So Barbara weakly laughed along.

“Gustav seems to have figured it out. What will happen to our son?”

But there was no answer from him.

“You said you were better than Werner…… Why are you silent? Please, help our son.”

She muttered like a madwoman before bursting into tears again.

⁕⁕⁕

At that moment, Gabriel was tapping on the window of Daphne’s chambers.

“Come in.”

When Daphne opened the window, he quickly slipped inside and asked.

“What’s happened?”

He studied Daphne’s expression, but as always, she remained composed, making it impossible to read her thoughts.

A carrier pigeon from Daphne had arrived earlier today. The note attached to its leg simply said to come to her home.

“I thought I wouldn’t be able to see you for a while since you’re under the Grand Duke’s surveillance. Has something urgent happened?”

“Sit down.”

Daphne pointed to the chair opposite her.

“I’ve decided to join forces with the Grand Duke.”

“What?”

He was speechless at this unbelievable news. Yet Daphne calmly poured him some tea she had brewed herself.

“To be precise, it’s a temporary collaboration.”

After pondering her words, Gabriel’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“Don’t tell me…… You’re going to let him associate your rose-gold hair with monsters and go to the grand duchy?”

“Exactly.”

Ha!

Gabriel forgot he had sneaked in during the night and let out an exclamation.

“Come on, he’s not some uneducated person from ancient times. Does that fellow actually believe in superstitions? And you just readily agreed? This is maddening.”

Daphne watched with interest as he became unusually agitated.

‘In my previous life, you were the one who sold me out because of this. I wonder what expression you’d make if you knew.’

Daphne smiled with her lips slightly curved upward, then called to him.

“Gabi.”

When she used his nickname, Gabriel froze as if it were an absolute command. Daphne placed her index finger over her lips, and he immediately closed his mouth.

“I’ve dismissed the guards watching this floor before you came, but we still need to be careful.”

“…Yes.”

After learning how lax security had been during his absence, Werner had reorganized the knights and started intensive training. The formerly slack household guards were now on high alert.

“So be extra careful when coming to our house from now on.”

“From now on…?”

“Yes, one of my conditions for working with Kartun is being able to meet you freely.”

“That was an excellent negotiation.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

When Daphne smiled slightly, Gabriel stared at her as if entranced before shaking his head briefly.

“No, this isn’t the time. There’s much I need to hear and much I need to report.”

First, Daphne briefly summarized what she knew he wanted to hear.

“The Grand Duke seems to be trying to ally with Father. That’s why he was monitoring me too, to assess the situation.”

She couldn’t tell him she had returned from the past, so she gave a plausible explanation. Gabriel grumbled quietly in response.

“Do you know how many of my men I’ve lost to that guy?”

“At least he didn’t kill them.”

“That makes it even more insulting. It means he considers us too insignificant to bother k*lling.”

“No, that’s not it.”

Daphne shook her head.

“How could anyone defeat someone who kills monsters? You know very well it’s not because he thinks you’re insignificant.”

“Is that why you’ve agreed to go to the grand duchy so obediently?”

“He said he’d let me go if my hair color turns out to be just a legend. He seemed surprisingly reasonable.”

“A reasonable person doesn’t take someone to monster-infested lands because of their hair color.”

“I suppose he wants to try anything. And seeing how he accepted most of my conditions, he seems quite generous.”

Gabriel didn’t respond further. He had more objections but couldn’t bring himself to voice them.

But Daphne had already read his mind and provided an answer.

“The Emperor will be disappointed if I leave. But what if I take the Grand Duke, whose very existence threatens the throne? She’ll eventually agree. As for my family, they’d welcome it with open arms if their daughter who had broken-off her engagement could be useful in the grand duchy.”

“But still, he’s your father. Would the Marquis really give permission so easily?”

“Whether he does or not…… I’ve already made up my mind.”

She wanted to leave this house quickly.

With Werner alive now, her youngest brother Fabian was also safe. So if she could just deal with the monsters in the grand duchy……

‘Since I’ve done it in my previous life, it should be much easier this time.’

She wanted to finish quickly and enjoy complete freedom.

In her previous life, she had constantly read people’s intentions and done whatever it took to survive. If revenge was the only goal of this life, it would be too bleak. That’s why she needed this hope even more.

“We’re not leaving right away, so let’s talk about this later.”

Daphne looked at Gabriel as if it was now his turn. He shrugged his shoulders in defeat and began his overdue report.

“Leonhardt came to our guild.”

When her eyebrow slightly raised, Gabriel smirked.

“He was making an effort, in his own way.”

He told her about the information Leonhardt had requested, details about Helmut Bering, and how Leonhardt hadn’t even received proper heir training.

“It seems he’s been so caught up in superficial things that he didn’t even understand his own situation. But why did Gustav really do that?”

“He must have realized his wife and son were cuckoos in the nest.”

Gabriel paused momentarily before muttering with a groan.

“That’s impossible.”

“Exactly. Because everyone thought it was impossible, no one knew until now.”

Daphne took a sip of tea before continuing her explanation.

“Tyrants are easily consumed by fear of assassination. The late Emperor was the same, always wearing a mask.”

“It’s relatively safer when people don’t know your face.”

“That’s why no one suspected. Because no one knew the late Emperor’s face. But think about it. The late Emperor had green eyes and blonde hair, which the current Emperor and Leonhardt inherited. Meanwhile, Gustav has brown eyes and hair.”

“As far as I know, Barbara is blonde. People think she has black hair because she always dyes it, but still.”

“Exactly. Why does Barbara dye her hair black?”

“Because it suits her better?”

Daphne shook her head.

“Because my father prefers women with black hair.”

Gabriel frowned.

“My lady, I’ve never been called slow-witted anywhere, but aren’t you making quite a leap here?”

Daphne nodded as if she understood completely.

This was a secret only someone living their second life could know, so his doubt was natural.

‘Even I couldn’t imagine it in my previous life until I heard it directly from Barbara.’

Why she hated Daphne and her mother so intensely.

“Or maybe there’s something I don’t know……”

As Gabriel persisted, Daphne put an end to it.

“I’m telling you this because of our condition that you don’t ask about sources. Don’t try to cut open the goose that lays golden eggs.”

Gabriel grumbled about how he would never do such a thing.

“That’s the most insulting thing you could say to a merchant. You might as well curse me outright.”

“That’s exactly what I just did.”

Gabriel raised both hands in surrender.

“By the way, what about Leonhardt? It could get complicated if he teams up with this Helmut character……”

“Just leave him be. It’s also fun to watch bad children join hands and see what mischief they’ll get up to.”

Seeing Gabriel’s still dissatisfied expression, Daphne began to explain patiently.

“Anaïs had a magic stone. It’s not a well-known type, which is concerning. Who do you think gave it to her?”

“That woman wouldn’t have the ability to get it herself. And since all the royals there are incompetent… it must be Helmut.”

“Exactly. That’s why we need to draw him out.”

“You want to use Leonhardt as bait?”

“Yes. If Helmut was manipulating Anaïs from behind, then he was targeting Leonhardt in the first place.”

“So we let them deal directly.”

Daphne nodded.

“So don’t worry about me and keep a good eye on those two.”

“One of the tasks Leonhardt requested from me was to monitor you.”

He emphasized the word “monitor” particularly strongly.

“Are you angry because he asked you to monitor rather than protect me?”

As if it were obvious, Gabriel nodded vigorously.

“Even if Leonhardt hired someone else to monitor me, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Of course I know you’re clever and capable. But……”

“The Grand Duke who lent you his men will take care of whatever people Leonhardt has assigned. Right?”

The conclusion was so clear that Gabriel couldn’t argue further.