Chapter 5

Jane’s words had been accurate.

The moment five o’clock arrived, Zeke quietly left the mansion without even a brief farewell.

He was clearly going to attend the summit she had mentioned.

“If anything happens, send someone immediately.”

After leaving that final instruction, Zeke climbed into the carriage and closed the door.

Soon, the carriage slowly began moving toward the Imperial Palace, which was not far away.

After confirming that he had completely disappeared beyond the alley, Janette carefully slipped out of her room.

But servants were still moving around the staircase.

At this rate, getting to Zeke’s study on the upper floor would be difficult.

“Fire!”

At that moment, an urgent voice rang out from downstairs.

Soon after, a pale-faced woman rushed up to the second floor and shouted.

“There’s a huge fire near the storage building! We have to put it out quickly!”

“D*mn it!”

Without anyone needing to say another word, the servants on the second floor hurried toward the storage building in the corner of the garden.

Now that the staircase was empty, this was her chance.

Janette quickly left her room and went up to the third floor.

After running for some time, she finally stood before Zeke’s study at the far end.

“Hah.”

It had not been easy, but she had somehow made it this far.

Janette let out a breath of relief and opened the door.

Creak.

Fortunately, the study door opened without making much noise.

Janette entered, immediately closed the door behind her, and headed toward the desk.

This was where it began.

She would find it somehow within thirty minutes.

Repeating those words to herself several times, Janette quickly began searching.

The bookshelves, the drawers, even the top of the desk.

As she carefully searched everything, her gaze landed on a small keyhole built into the desk.

There.

If he had hidden it somewhere, it would surely be in there.

Just as Janette slowly reached toward it—

“I didn’t know you had a habit of entering other people’s rooms without permission.”

The instant she heard the low voice, goosebumps rose all over her body.

Janette knew far too well who that voice belonged to.

“Judging by the look of things, you seem to be searching for something rather urgently.”

“I, I was……”

“Could it be that you’re looking for this?”

With one corner of his mouth tilted upward, Zeke pulled a piece of paper from inside his clothes and waved it.

Judging by the complicated lines drawn across it, it was undoubtedly the map she had so desperately wanted to find.

But that map had already vanished from Janette’s mind long ago.

How was she going to get out of this situation?

That was now the only problem left for her.

Especially if she wanted to escape from the man glaring at her as though he might kill her at any moment.

***

“Janette Kirschtein.”

Janette flinched when he suddenly called her by that name.

Now that they were married, her surname had already changed to Leonhardt.

Yet Zeke had deliberately brought back her former name and spoken it aloud.

It was as good as saying that he did not consider her a member of this household at all.

He knew from the beginning.

Everything.

Dizzy, Janette squeezed her eyes shut.

She had been careless.

This could have been a trap meant to catch her, yet she had not even considered the possibility.

Janette’s body trembled.

She could no longer hide her anxiety and fear.

What would happen to her now?

Whatever happened, it would probably be difficult to leave this place alive.

She would no longer be able to dream of finding the whereabouts of her mother, something she had longed for so desperately, or of freedom unbound by anything.

Zeke watched Janette groan softly in anguish with an emotionless expression before speaking again.

“If anyone saw you, they’d think I was about to kill you. It’s rather unfair to me when I haven’t even done anything yet.”

Mockery.

That was all Janette could hear in his words.

It was probably the composure of someone who held the upper hand in this situation.

Janette clenched her fists and parted her trembling lips.

“Maybe not right now, but don’t you have no intention of keeping me alive anyway?”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t have a hobby of killing people.”

Zeke answered calmly, sat down on the sofa opposite her, and rested his chin on his hand.

His dark red eyes slowly swept over Janette, observing her reaction.

“I use a piece with value however I can. That’s my principle.”

“Even if you’re trying to pry the Duke’s secrets or weaknesses out of me, you’re wasting your time.”

“I know. You’re probably nothing more than a disposable piece to that despicable Duke Kirschtein.”

It was a fact she could not deny.

But if he knew all of this, why had he not opposed the marriage?

And he said she had “value” to him.

What did that mean?

Everything he said only raised more questions.

“If you know that, why are you keeping me alive?”

“I heard you’re the illegitimate daughter born between the Duke and a commoner woman.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Isn’t knowing the wife you’re going to live with one of a husband’s basic duties?”

Janette’s face stiffened as Zeke kept shifting the subject.

Even after noticing her displeasure, he merely leaned back against the sofa with a languid smile.

“And that’s not all. I heard the Duke didn’t even allow you to show your face in social circles.”

“I didn’t know you were someone with such a nasty hobby of mocking others.”

“I’m only stating facts. And I know another secret of yours.”

Was he testing her again?

Perhaps hoping she would make a verbal mistake?

Then keeping silent would be wiser.

Thinking that, Janette turned her face away from him.

But at Zeke’s next words, she had no choice but to look at him again.

“For example, the reason you’re risking your life to cooperate with that man?”

There was no way he could know.

She had never told anyone.

Even as she thought that, her heart began pounding rapidly.

No.

Perhaps he really did know.

If that man was even more meticulous than she had imagined……

“I’ll get straight to the point.”

Zeke leaned back against the sofa and continued with a languid smile.

“Cooperate with me. Then I’ll not only tell you where your late mother’s grave is, I’ll even prepare a safe future for you.”

“How do you know that•••··•!”

“Planting spies in enemy territory isn’t something only that man can do.”

Blood seeped from Janette’s bitten lip.

She knew she should deny everything, but the fact that he knew about her mother had shaken her.

Zeke, however, continued speaking without much concern.

“This isn’t an offer. You aren’t expecting me to listen to excuses from you, are you?”

“Why are you making me this proposition?”

If he had planted spies inside their ranks, then he must already know the entire situation.

So why did he need her?

And why was he even offering terms favorable to her?

“The Duke is not someone who easily allows others close to him. But you were dragged into this game so he could capture me. As his most important piece, no less.”

“…….”

“Just as the Duke can only approach me through you, the same applies to me. Do you think I could let an opportunity like that slip away?”

“What if I betray you?”

“You won’t. There’s a saying that the enemy of my enemy is my ally. Besides, the Duke isn’t your only enemy, is he?”

His dark red eyes gleamed as though seeing through everything.

Just how much did this man know?

Janette frowned.

“You won’t have enough power on your own if you want to bring down the Emperor.”

The words struck directly at the truth.

Janette could not deny them.

Revenge against the Emperor.

That was also her final wish.

“I’m sorry, Janette.”

How deeply she had regretted the day she ran away from their shabby home because she could not bear to watch her mother, sick and suffering, still taking care of her alone.

When Janette came to her senses and hurried back home, she learned a horrifying truth.

While she had been gone, Duchess Kirschtein had come looking for her mother to silence her.

Not only that, when persuasion failed, she had tried to drag Janette’s mother away by force.

And when her mother resisted, they even spread the rumor that she had committed the crime of scratching the Duchess’s face.

As the disturbance spiraled out of control, the Emperor appeared and quickly convened a trial before handing down his judgment.

“Daring to lay a hand on a noble is a serious crime. Since this has become such a major disturbance, a decisive response is necessary.”

They had never had the slightest intention of determining whether the rumor was even true.

With dissatisfaction toward the Imperial Family steadily increasing, the Emperor merely saw an opportunity to make an example of someone and show what happened to those who defied them.

He immediately sentenced Janette’s mother to death.

Janette had desperately tried to save her, but there was no way a young girl could have done anything on her own.

In the end, she lost even her mother, her only family.

That was when it began.

Her dream of revenge against the Emperor who had ordered her mother’s death and the House of Kirschtein that had taken part in it.

That was why, despite knowing a difficult life awaited her, Janette used the filthy blood flowing through her veins as an excuse to enter House Kirschtein, where she was treated as less than an animal.

Duchess Kirschtein, who had driven her mother to her death.

Their daughter, who had constantly tried to torment her.

And Duke Kirschtein, who had orchestrated all of it.

She would destroy everything.

And when it was over, she would leave in search of freedom.

The desire to cast off every shackle, disappear somewhere no one knew her, and live the life she wanted had begun to bloom around that time as well.

“I need your cooperation right now, and you need enough power to take your revenge.”

He was right.

She needed a powerful backer who would move alongside her.

“That’s why I’m telling you to join hands with me.”

If she refused here, her future was obvious.

She would either die, or live such a miserable life that she would wish she were dead.

If that was going to happen……

“All right.”

Perhaps she would regret this moment for a long time.

She would become far more deeply entangled than she had intended, and being a double agent was dangerous as well.

But if the alternative was to lose everything and merely cling to life, this was better.

Besides, it was painfully obvious that the untrustworthy Duke Kirschtein would use her and discard her.

In that situation, securing one more safe backing for herself would not necessarily be a bad thing.

Janette made up her mind and slowly spoke.

“But there’s one thing I want to tell you.”

“What is it?”

Zeke’s right eyebrow lifted slightly.

At his silent urging to continue, Janette finally dropped the expressionless face she had been forcing herself to maintain.

“Never attach the surname Kirschtein when you call me again.”

“……”

“The thought of that name following me around makes me sick enough to vomit.”

“Hah.”

Zeke burst into amused laughter, chuckling as he lowered his head.

After a moment, he looked back at Janette and answered.

“How could I refuse? It’s a request from my wife. In return, I’d like you to put a little more effort into playing the role of a married couple from now on. We have to pretend to be close if we want them to believe you and I are properly sleeping together.”

“••···As long as you don’t do anything sudden, I’ll try my best.”

And just like that, the two of them entered into their perilous agreement.