Chapter 1 – Part 8

“Ah, is it because you have given your heart to someone?”

“Someone?”

“They say Troy Marsden came to visit.”

Olivia’s face turned icy. It felt strangely unpleasant to hear Marsden’s name from that jerk’s mouth.

“You can’t possibly trust Marsden, Olivia?”

“Sure, keep rambling. I’ll call the knights to drag you out.”

Olivia tried to pass by Gael, keeping a wary eye on him. Or at least, she intended to.

“Have you forgotten what Marsden did to you?”

Olivia stopped in her tracks. She slightly turned her body as if to ask what he was talking about. Her body automatically reacted, even though she knew it was Gael’s trick.

“What did he do?”

“Wow, Olivia, you haven’t just lost a bit of your memory, you’ve lost a lot. Did you really have an accident or something?”

Gael smiled leisurely. Olivia wanted to punch him so badly.

“Do you remember that your vassals said someone like you couldn’t go to war, so Marsden went instead?”

“…The Duke of Marsden?”

“Don’t get emotional, Olivia. Marsden didn’t do it for you. He was after the money and power rolling around in the Marchioness’ family.”

A drop of water slid down Gael’s chin.

“Poor Olivia. If it weren’t for the spells of Ronae, you might not have been hurt by Marsden like that.”

“There’s no reason to tolerate this anymore.”

“There is, Liv.”

The smile disappeared from Gael’s lips.

“Do you know why you don’t have allies inside the mansion?”

“…”

For some reason, Olivia didn’t want to hear the answer. As she tried to turn away, Gael stepped forward and grabbed her wrist.

“Because he killed them all.”

Gael laughed brightly, as if he hadn’t just gone serious a moment ago.

“Troy Marsden killed them all. Right in front of your eyes.”

Olivia was momentarily shaken, but quickly regained her composure and shook off Gael’s hand. It wasn’t difficult to push him away, even though he was a man. She was better at fighting than that jerk, after all.

However, instead of killing Gael in the hallway, Olivia went to call the knights herself. She intended to reprimand them properly. No matter what the master had said, how could they let an outsider in so recklessly?

“Huh? You mean the Count Abyss? No one has come today besides Duke Marsden.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ve been on guard all day, so I’m sure.”

The knight reported in an indignant tone, then looked at Olivia suspiciously, as if doubting her state of mind. He seemed to believe she was seeing things due to her lovesickness.

Olivia was about to scold him for spouting nonsense but closed her mouth at an ominous feeling.

Gael’s presence had vanished. She retraced her steps back the way she had come, turning her back on the knight.

‘Gone.’

Gael Abyss was gone. It was hard to dismiss it as a hallucination because there were traces of water on the hallway floor. She couldn’t believe it and walked back to the knight standing in front of the main building.

“Did you really not sense anything?”

“You might be confused after just returning, but the security of the Charbert family isn’t that lax. If there had been any sign of intrusion, we would have known immediately.”

Olivia didn’t refute the knight’s words. It wasn’t that she was convinced, but the situation itself didn’t make sense. She had clearly seen Gael with her own eyes, but the knights claimed no one had entered. The moment she mentioned Gael, his presence vanished. It was as if a ghost had come and gone.

“If you’re really worried, I’ll quietly check the mansion. But nothing like what you fear should have happened. Unless the Count used magic.”

“Magic?”

Lost in thought, Olivia’s head jerked up. The knight sighed wearily.

“The Duke of Marsden said he eliminated them all, but there are still criminals who use magic. That’s why I mentioned it. The Count wouldn’t do something so crazy.”

Olivia unfolded a mind palace in her head like Sherlock Holmes. It wasn’t a flashy display like in some drama, but inside, she found the word ‘magic’. Yes, in this world, magic was taboo and referred to as spill. Getting caught meant immediate execution.

So, was she really mad and hallucinating? Olivia soon denied that possibility. She was sane. That’s why she could endure the current situation she was thrust into.

“To sum up, there was no intruder and the Count of Abyss didn’t come.”

The knight snapped, as if telling her to get a grip. Looking around, she saw another knight staring at her with a pitying look.

“Alright, let me ask you one thing.”

Instead of criticizing the knight’s attitude, Olivia asked a question.

“Did I ever say that the Count of Abyss could enter without my permission?”

“No. You wouldn’t want that, right? No one can enter without verification, except for the Duke of Marsden.”

The knight frowned, as if to tell her to stop talking nonsense.

“That bastard lied.”

“What?”

The knight’s eyes widened in surprise at Olivia’s low murmur.

Gael Abyss had lied. Olivia turned around and went back inside the mansion. She stopped where Gael had been standing.

There were faint traces. They had almost dried, but traces remained.

Yet the person who left those traces had vanished as if they had evaporated.

‘Is this a horror story? Did I get reincarnated into a horror game?’

Olivia ruffled her hair in confusion. Then she calmed herself and began to organize the situation step by step.

Gael Abyss wasn’t a hallucination. If he were, he wouldn’t know things she didn’t, especially about Troy Marsden.

Regardless of whether it was a lie or the truth, Gael spoke of things she had never considered. He mocked her for still being foolishly deceived.

Questions remained. Why did he sneak in, and how?

However, Olivia had no intention of blaming her mental state, despite suspecting the shady ex-fiancé. She entered her room and stood in front of the mirror. She undid her nightgown and lifted her shirt.

‘How many times did he stab me?’

Olivia gazed at her reflection in the mirror with a newly somber feeling. There were multiple deep stab wounds on her ribcage, marking the horror of that day.

No matter how Gael had arrived here, Olivia had to admit one thing, albeit grudgingly.Olivia had harbored some malicious feelings towards Troy Marsden, believing that he had carelessly betrayed her trust.

* * *

“I should have hit him and made him bleed.”

The first thought Olivia had as she woke up after a restless night was this. She already wanted to smash his head while reading, but she let him go too easily. If she had made him bleed, everyone would have believed Gael had come. Or maybe cut off a finger…

They say there’s a fine line between a regretful man and a pathetic one. Gael’s score in Olivia’s mind dropped below zero. Next time, she might go for his neck instead. That guy didn’t deserve the ‘regretful’ label.

She knew staying in bed wouldn’t help her sleep, so Olivia got up, dressed quickly, and headed to the training grounds. She had something to confirm.

Ignoring the cold early morning air, Olivia entered the training grounds, causing the knights practicing early to jump in surprise.

“Lady Olivia, why are you here…?”

“Is there a problem with me wandering around my own house?”

When Olivia spoke in a tone suggesting they could leave if they didn’t like it, the knights immediately bowed their heads. Olivia looked around the training grounds.

“Where’s the knight commander?”

“In the annex where the knights stay… Ah! Here he comes.”

As she turned in the direction the knight pointed, the middle-aged knight commander entered, leaving the tent. His eyebrows raised at the sight of Olivia.

“What brings you to the training grounds so early, Lady Olivia?”

Knight Commander Glenn Miles stood in front of Olivia without any trace of respect.

However, Olivia wasn’t angry this time. According to the documents organized by the servants, Glenn was the one who grieved the most when the previous lord died.

He was also the one who most often opposed Olivia being swayed by her vassals.

“Since coming back home, this place has been on my mind. Regardless of the circumstances, it’s true I haven’t been attentive to my knights and soldiers.”

“…?”

Glenn’s eyebrows twitched for a different reason this time. Olivia looked around the well-maintained training grounds again.

“This place is the most organized in the mansion. I’ve shown you an embarrassing side as the head of the house.”

Olivia thanked Glenn on her behalf. Glenn’s eyes flickered with surprise.

“Since we haven’t trained properly for months, I plan to swing my sword diligently starting tomorrow. Select some suitable knights for sparring.”

Glenn scrutinized Olivia as if trying to gauge her sincerity. Olivia didn’t avoid his gaze.

“Yes, understood.”

Thankfully, Glenn didn’t start an unnecessary power struggle early in the morning. Olivia felt relieved and brought up the question she’d been harboring.

“Has there ever been a rebellion within the mansion?”

“There have been many signs of rebellion. Which incident are you referring to?”

More than one, huh. Clicking her tongue, Olivia recalled what Gael had said.

“Do you know why you don’t have allies inside the mansion? Because he killed them all. Troy Marsden killed them all. Right in front of your eyes.”

“I’m asking if Duke Marsden ever dealt with it himself.”

Glenn’s eyes deepened. Olivia didn’t miss this subtle change.

“Did he?”

“He did, but why are you asking about that all of a sudden?”

She was right. Gael had appeared like a mirage last night.

The difference was that Marsden hadn’t arbitrarily killed her people. It seemed it was indeed a rebellion, as she suspected. However…

“Why did Duke Marsden handle it himself? What were the signs of rebellion, and who died?”

Such incidents weren’t recorded in the documents Olivia had seen. It was a sensitive issue.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know. At that time, the lord just ordered us to follow the Duke’s commands. And so…”

Glenn trailed off, sounding pained.

“And so you cried, cursing the Duke for being resentful.”

The point was this: Marsden’s handling of the traitors was likely his unilateral decision, but Olivia, though resentful, hadn’t thought to stop him.

She’d have to find out the rest through other means. Olivia turned to leave.

She spent her time barely eating breakfast. It was almost time for Marsden to arrive at the Charbert mansion. They were supposed to go to the palace today. Just then, a maid entered Olivia’s room with her attendants.

“Lady Olivia, the dress you’ll wear to the palace…”

“Just pack a comfortable riding outfit and some drinking water, please.”

“What? But you’ll be traveling by carriage.”

The maid’s expression stiffened, but Olivia crossed her legs indifferently.

“I’m not taking the carriage.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m not taking the carriage. It’s stifling. Why take a week to cover a day’s distance?”

Olivia stood up and looked out the window. The weather was nice.

“I’ll be going on horseback. Just have the carriage follow. I’ll be leaving first.”