The next day, I wrote a letter.

“Louise, please deliver this letter to Miss Limnike and bring back a reply.”

Limnike was one of the five ducal families, and their young lady was acquainted with Alisa.

The wax-sealed letter looked very ordinary. It was pressed with a flat rod instead of the family seal, making it difficult to guess who sent it based on the seal alone. It was deliberately made to look like a secretive letter.

“I’ll send a messenger.”

“No! You must do it yourself.”

Louise looked surprised at my stern tone. I quickly added further instructions.

“This is a letter that can only be entrusted to someone reliable. I can’t entrust it to anyone but you.”

Louise’s eyes lit up as she replied that she understood.

How suspicious would a letter sent secretly without a seal look? Especially if it’s going to another ducal family. She would surely be tempted to open it on the way.

The contents were ordinary greetings with occasional suspicious sentences that looked like code interspersed throughout. ‘How are you, the weather is nice these days, moles might be wandering around at night.’ That sort of thing.

“You must bring back a reply. Without fail.”

Miss Limnike would probably spend a long time pondering what on earth this meant. And Louise would waste that much time.

“Then I’ll be going, my lady. Please stay in your bedroom while I’m gone, I’m worried you might hurt yourself more if you wander around.”

“Alright, don’t worry. I’ll do as you say.”

Louise left the mansion with the letter. It would take at least two or three hours for her to return.

While she was out, a lower-ranking maid took care of me. I sent that maid on errands all over the mansion, and separately called for the butler and the head maid.

At their mistress’s call, the Penvernon family’s butler Sylvester Eddy and head maid Harriet Ronan moved.

These two had worked at the Penvernon ducal residence for a long time. They were loyal to Rashid and the ducal family, so I thought they could be trusted with this kind of matter. Regardless of how the Duke treated her, the two of them treated Alisa respectfully as the Duchess.

‘At least they won’t do anything rash.’

After all, this is also for Rashid’s sake.

I met them one by one in order.

The first person I met was the butler, Sylvester.

A man with grizzled gray hair and a solid, steadfast impression greeted me with full courtesy.

I conveyed my request without hesitation.

“Butler, from now on, please bring me all letters leaving the mansion, except for those from His Grace the Duke.”

It felt very awkward to speak as a superior to someone who could be twice, no, thrice my age. I felt a bit sorry too.

But I need to get used to it. I am now a noble, and not just any noble, but a duchess.

“All of them… you say?”

“Yes. This is a very important matter for His Grace, so I hope you understand. It needs to be handled discreetly, so much so that even the sender doesn’t know their letter passed through my hands. As a butler, you understand what I mean by this request, don’t you?”

“Yes, my lady.”

I subtly used Rashid’s name.

“Also, have someone stationed at the back gate to keep watch at all times. The more discreet they are so that people coming and going don’t notice, the better. Keep a close eye on messengers coming from outside as well.”

“Should we prohibit all entry?”

After a moment’s consideration, I answered.

“…No, just pretend not to notice. Let the messengers receive letters from the mansion and leave, then catch them and take the letters away. Don’t let that person come back to the mansion again.”

We need to figure out how Louise communicates with the Imperial Palace and cut off that flow.

She’s surely sending news of the Penvernon family to the Emperor. But the security of the ducal residence is tight both inside and out, making it difficult to use tricks like carrier pigeons or communication magic.

‘She might be using ordinary methods instead.’

Didn’t they say to hide a leaf in a forest? If hidden among numerous letters, no one would be particularly curious about its contents.

“This is for His Grace the Duke’s sake.”

I emphasized once again. When I mentioned that it was for Rashid’s sake, Sylvester bowed politely without questioning why. In any case, it’s because I am the Duchess. That was fortunate.

Following Sylvester, Harriet entered.

Harriet Ronan was Rashid’s wet nurse and the head maid of the ducal residence. She had taken care of young Rashid in place of the previous Duchess, and for a while, she managed the household affairs in the absence of a mistress.

I let out a long sigh and pressed my chest.

“Mrs. Ronan, I regret to inform you of an unfortunate matter.”

“Please, tell me, my lady.”

“I’d like you to quietly search Louise Garnet’s room.”

“Pardon?”

A momentary bewilderment flashed in Harriet’s eyes. It was clear she was perplexed by this sudden request.

“How should I put this? Don’t be alarmed, Mrs. Ronan. One of my belongings has gone missing. And… I’m a bit concerned about Louise.”

“Goodness.”

Harriet’s eyes widened in shock as she covered her mouth.

“My heart aches. I trusted that child so much. But I still can’t let go of that trust. That’s why I want to find out discreetly.”

“…I understand. I’m sorry, my lady.”

I shook my head slightly.

“It’s not your fault, Mrs. Ronan. Rather, I’m grateful to have you. You’re the only one I can tell this to. I haven’t even let on to Louise about the situation.”

Of course, none of my belongings are actually missing. Or perhaps I don’t even know if anything is missing…

“It’s sad, but… I want to keep an eye on that child for a while. Naturally, don’t tell anyone about this. It’s best to use only one trustworthy person. And don’t tell them too much either. Understood?”

I put on a sorrowful expression, pretending to be heartbroken from being betrayed by a trusted maid.

“I need your help, Mrs. Ronan. After all, Louise came to us in a somewhat different manner…”

I let my words trail off, but Harriet would have understood what I was trying to say.

It was necessary to plant seeds of doubt about Louise in Harriet’s mind. And it was equally important to show that I trusted Harriet more than Louise.

“I’m counting on you, Mrs. Ronan.”

I looked her straight in the eyes and smiled gently. Though I said ‘counting on you,’ it was closer to an order in tone, clearly expressing my intentions.

A firm and resolute intention to sever the unfortunate ill-fated connection between the deceased Alisa and Louise.

* * *

And so, in the corridor of the Penvernon ducal residence.

A man and a woman were walking side by side, engaged in conversation.

“What did you discuss with the madam?”

“……”

“It seems the madam has changed from before.”

“Right, Sylvester? I’m not the only one who felt that way.”

“Not just you, but the messengers, maids, all the servants who interact with the madam think so too.”

“Yes. Somehow, it’s hard to think of her as the… madam from before.”

“She used to hardly express her likes and dislikes properly.”

“Given the circumstances of her becoming the Duchess, she must have felt the need to be very cautious.”

“But now…”

“Is this her true self…”

“Completely…”

“…How on earth…”

“……”

“……”

Their voices trailed off.

* * *

After making requests to the butler and head maid, all that was left for me was to wait. Depending on what they bring back, the ‘when’ and ‘how’ would be determined.

Fortunately, Louise hadn’t noticed anything. At least, that’s how it appeared to me.

「Louise did not loosen her vigilance towards Alisa.」

The white letters appearing occasionally on the black background in my mind proved this fact.

「Alisa was gradually recovering her health. It seemed she wouldn’t die. Louise thought she should send another letter.」

When I closed my eyes, my vision cleared, and the sentences in my mind became more distinct.

As I spent a lot of time with Louise, this ability was often used to describe her.

‘It’s as if Louise is the protagonist of a novel.’

In fact, at this moment, the only protagonist of the novel here is Rashid Penvernon. Louise isn’t some Mata Hari¹Mata Hari was a famous Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I. Her name has become synonymous with a seductive female spy., and I wondered if it was appropriate to devote so much space to her.