Chapter 18

Arthur responded to the man’s words.

“Yes, I’ve heard. The story about the Emperor and Christine.”

There was no need to say it was a rumor—everyone already knew well.

“Yes. It doesn’t seem like a rumor to just brush off. Strangely, the Marquis family is keeping quiet about it too. As if the rumor were true…”

If the Imperial Family and Marquis Christine family joined hands, it would be the worst-case scenario for Arthur’s faction. And now, with rumors that Sophia would become the next Empress, the situation was only getting worse.

“What will you do?”

“What do you mean, what will I do? It looks like the Emperor is desperate to join hands with the Marquis family.”

Arthur had heard about Evan’s recent actions. He had even visited the Marquisate openly. Arthur scoffed at such a bold move.

“There’s no need to make a fuss. A rumor is just a rumor, and it’s not like the two are actually engaged. Besides, you know as well as I do—even the Imperial Family can’t make the Christine Marquisate obey so easily.”

Who knew what that snake-like family was scheming? 

Arthur’s brow furrowed as he recalled Philip’s smiling face.

“So don’t get unnecessarily agitated.”

“Understood. If it’s Marquis Christine… I know what you mean. For now, let’s just keep an eye on things.”

“Right. No matter what happens, our side will always be one step ahead.”

The man’s eyes widened as he looked at the letter Arthur handed him. At the bottom of the letter, the seal of the Karbel Grand Duchy was stamped.

“This is…!”

“Yes, Grand Duchy Karbel has announced they’re coming to the capital.”

Grand Duke Kahil. He had been in the north until now, but finally, he was on the move. Arthur’s lips curled upward.

*   *   *

“You’re home early today, My Lady?”

“Yes. But I’ll be heading right out. I’m having dinner with Sophia.”

After finishing work and stopping by home briefly, Diana prepared to go out again. Since she often had meals with Sophia, Mary didn’t question her.

“Yes, I’ll let everyone know. Oh, and My Lady, there’s a letter from Madame.”

“From Mother?”

Hearing that a letter had come from home, Diana took the letter from Mary’s hand. She immediately recognized the familiar family seal. Diana quickly opened the letter with her letter knife and checked the contents.

“…….”

“What’s wrong? Did something bad happen?”

“No. It’s just a greeting letter. She’s asking how I’m doing and says she’d like to see me.”

Diana’s family, the Amber Viscountcy, was originally located on the outskirts of the capital. That’s why Diana had a small residence in the city for her work as an aide, and naturally lived apart from her family.

Come to think of it, it’s been a while since she went home.

With the Prince’s Rebellion and her busy work as an aide, it had already been years since Diana last visited home. Holding the letter, Diana fell into thought. She did need to visit at least once, but she still had a lot of unfinished business in the capital.

I needed to find my foolish brother too… No, wait.

Maybe she could learn something about her missing brother’s whereabouts from her parents. Thinking about it, going home once might be a good idea.

“I’ll have to go sometime soon. For now, prepare some stationery. I’ll send a reply when I get back.”

“Yes. What time will you be home?”

“It’ll probably be late. And the special patrols on the street are over now, right?”

“Yes, My Lady. They’re finished.”

“Alright. I’ll be back later.”

Tonight, Diana wasn’t just meeting Sophia. She picked up a bag containing various clothes and masks.

*   *   *

“Leader!”

“It’s been a while!”

“How have you been?”

No. I haven’t been well, thanks to you…

Unlike the cheerful faces of the group, Diana’s face behind the mask was dead tired. It was the first time she’d seen them since the special patrols on the street. Luckily, no one had been arrested during that time, but nothing had been resolved yet. Seeing so many gathered, Diana sighed deeply.

“But wait, does it seem like there are more people?”

“You noticed! Actually, more people have joined us!”

“What? Why? Why are there more?”

Just when she needed to reduce their numbers, more had joined? Diana’s voice rose in disbelief.

“How did you end up with more people?”

“Well, you told us to quietly make money, right? That was when it happened. While we were working hard and spreading the word, everyone came to join.”

“…….”

“We explained your great purpose so well that everyone was moved and came along.”

Seeing his sparkling eyes, as if asking for praise, Diana’s insides churned. But the situation was even more ridiculous.

“With the money we gathered, we finally bought our own hideout!”

“…Wait, what? You bought this place? With money?”

Diana looked around in a panic. Cobwebs hung everywhere, holes riddled the walls, and the roof looked ready to collapse any moment.

No wonder they wanted to meet here…! It wasn’t just a secluded spot with no foot traffic—they actually bought this place? A place that could fall down any second?

“How much? How much did you pay?”

“Luckily, we met a good person who matched the price to what we had. Here’s the deed.”

They proudly handed Diana the document. When she saw the amount written there, Diana clutched the back of her neck.

“You bought this place for that price? With all the money you saved?”

“Yes. We pooled everything together.”

It was an outrageous sum for a building that could be demolished at any moment. Diana’s vision blurred.

“…So. Out of all the buildings, why this one?”

“Well, hardly anyone comes here, and it’s really spacious. No one complains about noise, and it’s easy to move around. Oh, and we prepared something else too.”

“No. I wish you’d stop preparing things…”

What were they going to do to stress her out this time? Diana waved her hand anxiously, but a box was already placed before her.

“What’s this?”

“Open it and see. You’ll love it!”

“…….”

Looking around at her subordinates’ confident faces, Diana cautiously lifted the lid. Inside were masks of various shapes and colors.

“Masks? What are these?”

“Oh, we made them ourselves.”

“What? Why?”

“Well, you wear a mask, Leader. It looks so cool, so we thought it’d be great if we all wore masks. Let’s even name our group after masks!”

“No, wait, wait!”

They were supposed to stay out of sight, and now they wanted to wear masks as a group? She could already imagine the disaster that would follow.

“Absolutely not. If you all wear those and go around, we’ll end up having a masquerade ball in the Imperial Prison! So masks are rejected. They’re a privilege for me as the leader only.”

“Really? Is that so?”

“Of course. And this ridiculous building… Please, if you ever have any big plans, report to me first, alright?”

Diana tried her best to control her irritation and calmly reasoned with them.

“Making money is good. But think about it. If people keep coming and going in a place that’s falling apart, anyone who sees us will think it’s suspicious.”

Especially since the street patrols had only just ended, they had to be more careful than ever.

“So listen. What I’m saying is, instead of buying buildings like this, you should take more time to quietly earn money…”

“What’s everyone doing here?”

“……!”

But Diana’s words were drowned out by the sudden shout of knights bursting through the door.