My plan was as follows.

On the way to see the land where magic stones were found, I would be attacked while riding in a carriage and fall to my death off a cliff.

Of course, the goal was only to make it appear that way, not to actually die.

The objective was to make witnesses firmly believe that I had surely died. And then I would leave this country.

After hearing the plan, Sergio tilted his head.

“Why are you making such a plan?”

“Because I want to leave this country.”

“What could the Duchess possibly be lacking?”

“Everyone has secrets that are difficult to tell others. Let’s not pry too much into a lady’s secrets.”

“…Then let me ask one more thing. Why are you specifically asking me to do this job?”

Right, that’s a very good question. At least you seem to be someone who thinks.

“It’s because I need someone who will take this secret to their grave. Unless you want to die at the hands of His Majesty the Emperor for the crime of selling forgeries, you’ll live quietly in a foreign country like a dead mouse, won’t you? So I don’t have to worry about my secret being revealed to the world. Is that reason enough?”

I looked at Sergio. He nodded as if he understood my explanation.

Then, after carefully considering with his small brain whether accepting or rejecting the offer would be more beneficial, he took the gold bar from my hand.

“Alright. Let’s shake on it.”

***

‘The attack will be in four days, when I visit the mountain where magic stones were recently discovered. There’s a cliff on the way, and you should attack at that spot. As soon as you see me fall off the cliff, run away. Prepare a teleportation artifact for your retreat.’

‘What will you do, Miss?’

This guy will save me.

They were artifacts I bought from a magic item shop.

One was a flying artifact, which I planned to use to slow my fall and land on the ground.

The other was a teleportation artifact to rendezvous with Sergio.

Praying that today’s operation would end successfully, I packed the items in my bag.

I also carefully placed in the bag the gold bars I had purchased with the blank check Ilion had given me, and the diamond necklace and earrings I had received as engagement gifts.

I wasn’t sure exactly how much these items were worth, but it should be enough money to avoid starving to death.

Before leaving the room, I took one last look around.

Once I leave here today, I’ll never see Sebastian and Lily again. But I had no intention of backing out of my decision now.

Lily would probably return to the Count’s family or find another job after my death. Even a crazy Emperor wouldn’t arrest Lily.

However, Ilion, Sebastian, and the numerous servants working in this house would likely die at the Emperor’s hands.

Knowing their fate and choosing to save only myself — the thought of whether this was right continued to torment me until the very end.

‘Don’t think unnecessary thoughts.’

I slapped both my cheeks hard enough to make a clapping sound to shake off these idle thoughts.

Let’s just focus on making the plan succeed now.

Having steeled my resolve, I opened the door and headed for the entrance.

In front of the entrance, Ilion was waiting with his back to the carriage.

“Duke, what brings you here? Are you here to see me off?”

I showed the brightest smile I could muster while taking in his face for what would be the last time.

We had clashed a lot in our own ways, but now that it was the end, I felt somewhat regretful. It seemed I had developed some affection, even if it was the unpleasant kind.

“I’m going to accompany you.”

“…Yes?”

“Since I decided to invest, I think I should take a look at the land too. And review the business plan while I’m at it.”

“…Yes?”

You’re going to do that today of all days? Why?

“Why that expression? Is it somewhere I shouldn’t go?”

“N-no, of course not. Of course you can go.”

Right, I had forgotten one thing. In this damned world, nothing ever goes according to my wishes!

***

As I kept fidgeting with my bag out of nervousness, Ilion looked at me.

“You’re not getting motion sickness today?”

“Ah, o-oh, I guess I’m not feeling sick today because I ate less for breakfast.”

To be more precise, I didn’t even have the presence of mind to feel motion sickness, but.

Ilion glanced at my face briefly before fixing his gaze back on his documents.

Originally, Ilion wasn’t supposed to accompany me.

When I had asked for his permission to go alone one more time, pretending to review the business plan, he hadn’t said anything.

It was just a show for appearances anyway, and I thought at most only Lily or Sebastian would accompany me, but…

I don’t know how skilled the assassins Sergio hired are, but they’re no match for Ilion with ordinary skills.

Should I postpone the plan even now? But how, after coming this far?

I don’t have any means to contact Sergio, and even if I did, I can’t just blurt out the operation details with Ilion watching me with those sharp red eyes.

No matter how much I thought about it, there was no clear solution, so there was only one choice left. To go through with it as planned.

Right. Let’s see this through, come what may.

As we approached the promised spot, I pressed down on my pounding heart and wiped my sweaty palms on my pants.

Finally, the carriage entered the cliff road.

“Stop!”

At last, as if signaling the start of the incident, the assassins hired by Sergio appeared.

The startled horses reared up once, causing the carriage to shake.

As I lost my balance and fell forward from the recoil, Ilion caught me with one arm.

My body stiffened with tension. Ilion, probably thinking I was scared, sat me down on the seat and said,

“It’s nothing to worry about. Stay in the carriage.”

Saying that, Ilion immediately went outside the carriage.

Those red eyes looking at me seemed particularly gentle today… No, snap out of it! Is this the time to be thinking about other things?

I slapped both my cheeks hard enough to make a sound and quietly went outside.

Coming out and secretly surveying the surroundings, I saw that a dozen or so assassins hired by Sergio had surrounded us.

In front of them, Ilion and Sebastian were facing off with swords drawn.

Every time I saw Sebastian, I thought he was quite fit for a butler, and now seeing his stance with the sword, I understood why.

Lily was looking out worriedly from the carriage that had been following us.

The situation was all set. Prolonged confrontation with Ilion would only be disadvantageous for us.

So I had to carry out the operation as quickly as possible.

Carefully scanning the surroundings, I made eye contact with Sergio.

Sergio also seemed flustered by Ilion’s presence, but when our eyes met, he nodded slightly.

With that signal as the start…

Bang! Bang!

Huh? What’s this?

Instead of an assassin lunging at me at the right moment, something else flew in and started bursting with a ‘bang’ all at once.

“Master, be careful. It’s smoke bombs!”

Sebastian shouted urgently, looking at Ilion. The smoke bombs started spewing thick smoke.

The smoke quickly enveloped the entire cliff area, and visibility was literally reduced to zero.

“Argh!”

“Gah!”

I couldn’t see what was happening where because of the poor visibility, but I could only guess that a fight had broken out as I heard the clash of swords and screams through the smoke.

As I walked away from the carriage to survey the surroundings better, someone grabbed my hand. It was a man wearing a mask.

Sergio, you fool!

“This is different from what I told you. No one will see me fall like this…”

As I was whispering and blaming him, he roughly pulled my hand and shouted.

“Target secured! Withdraw!”

“W-what are you saying? This is…”

After shouting that, he took out an artifact from his pocket and activated it.

I instinctively closed my eyes tightly at the light bursting in front of me. Maybe due to the teleportation, my body felt like it was floating in the air for a moment, and I felt a bit nauseous before my feet touched solid ground again.

When I slowly opened my eyelids, an unfamiliar scene came into view.

Where is this? At least it doesn’t seem to be… the cliff?

Frowning at how things had progressed in a completely different direction from the original plan, I confronted Sergio.

“Sergio, this is different from what I told you!”

The man I thought was Sergio took off his mask and smiled wickedly. It was a face I had never seen before.

“Who, who are you? Where’s Sergio?”

“I don’t know who Sergio is, but stay quiet. If you don’t want to die.”

Saying that, the man roughly pulled my hands and tied them behind my back. Looking around, I saw that five or six assassins were occupying the room. Sergio was nowhere to be seen among them.

“W-what is this? Do you know who I am to be doing this?”

“Of course we know. Aren’t you the noble and esteemed Lady Rischefeld? Or should I call you the future Duchess?”

The man snickered as he said this.

They know and they’re still doing this? Who are these people? And where is this place?

***

“Ugh, what is this? Which idiot used smoke bombs?”

Sergio frowned and waved his hand to dispel the smoke. He was just as confused since the smoke bombs weren’t part of the plan.

It was already giving him a headache that Ilion had unexpectedly jumped out of the carriage, and now with the smoke being sprayed everywhere, he couldn’t get his bearings at all.

In this situation, he was just waiting to hear Ravenne’s scream as promised, when a strange man’s voice was heard from afar.

“Target secured! Withdraw!”

‘What? What’s going on? Target? We didn’t plan anything like this!’

Sergio looked around with a puzzled expression, searching for Ravenne.

“La-Lady? Lady, where are you?”

With things having gone so wrong, it seemed best to at least find Ravenne and withdraw. They could think about the next plan later.

“Lady? Do you mean Rischefeld?”

“Oh, you idiot, are you really asking that now? Did you listen to anything when I explained the plan?”

Thinking some fool was asking again at this point, Sergio turned around irritably.

There, a sharp blade was pointed at his neck.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t hear the explanation. I’d like you to explain that plan once more.”

Seeing the terrifying red eyes that looked ready to pounce at any moment, Sergio dropped the knife he was holding and raised both hands.

‘This wasn’t part of the deal!’

He didn’t know where Ravenne was, or why Ilion had appeared here, but even with his foolish brain, he could understand one thing clearly.

If he defied Ilion’s words, his neck would be cut right here and now.