Chapter 50. It’s Actually Better, Isn’t It?

“…You…”

Isabelle was at a loss for words at the sudden proposal. Just as she was about to regain her composure and question further, the bard who had finished the harp performance stood up.

The women around, enchanted by his music, were craning their necks, eager to see his face. They seemed to expect that his face would be as impressive as his emotional performance.

“Oh my, the performance is over.”

Camilla diverted the topic and applauded the bard. Isabelle, growing impatient, spoke up.

“I don’t think the performance matters right now. We were in the middle of a conversation.”

“Are you sure it’s not important?”

“What?”

“I think you might change your mind once you see that person’s face.”

“What do you mean…”

Isabelle started to speak but fell silent, struck by a foreboding feeling. She looked at the bard with an uneasy expression.

She suddenly remembered that Joseph was very good at playing the harp. It was a faded memory from long ago.

And her premonition was accurate. When the bard removed his hat, his pale face and the color of his hidden hair were revealed. The long white hair flowing from under the hat particularly caught her eye.

“!!”

Realizing that the bard she had praised all along was Joseph made her blood run cold. Isabelle stared at Joseph in a daze, then quickly turned her head towards Camilla.

Camilla, who had been watching her the whole time, met her gaze directly. Seeing Camilla’s amused expression, Isabelle could guess why she had been brought here today.

“You… you knew everything…”

As the bewildered Isabelle stammered, Camilla smiled. It was a sly smile, as if she were about to pull off something significant. Camilla elegantly poured tea into her cup and spoke.

“I told you, didn’t I? You might meet someone you know.”

“……”

“Mother, you know him, right? According to Lady Brilly, you were close in Kamatie. It’s amazing, meeting an old friend here in Ahivith.”

Camilla then burst into laughter. Isabelle couldn’t tell if Camilla was speaking knowingly or just probing.

Isabelle didn’t know how much Alyssa had told Camilla, but she knew well that the situation was dire.

She had to meet Alyssa and talk. It would be troublesome if Camilla got involved.

“Where is she?”

“You don’t need to rush. I’ll arrange a meeting. She’s my husband’s aunt, after all. Do you think I’d treat her poorly?”

Since Camilla referred to Alyssa as her husband’s aunt, it was clear she believed Alyssa Brilly was her sibling. As Isabelle stared blankly at Camilla’s lips, Camilla spoke in a gentle voice, as though there was room for negotiation. It was a subtle threat mixed with a soft-spoken attack.

“To be honest, I was in a difficult position too. Lady Brilly was so eager to see her sister that she asked me to invite her to Blanche Castle immediately. I managed to calm her down by saying I’d discuss it with you first.”

I finished speaking and observed Isabelle’s expression. She was visibly flustered. Though she tried not to show it, her fingertips were trembling slightly.

‘She must be dying to know how much I know.’

My goal today was to corner Isabelle into clinging to me. It was a trap to distort the information I had and make her act the way I wanted.

‘There’s no need to confront the Duchess directly. Aunt will handle that role.’

‘So, my role this time is to be the decoy, ensuring Lady Brilly can exert influence in Blanche Castle.’

‘Yes. Is the role too small for you?’

‘Not at all. It’s actually better, isn’t it? There’s less risk involved.’

Recalling my conversation with Aster, I smiled with satisfaction. If I pretended to know too much from the start, there was a risk of falling prey to Isabelle’s schemes.

My goal was to keep her confused about whether I was an ally or an enemy, rendering her unable to make a move.

‘By the way, will Lady Brilly agree to this? She’s already been threatened once, so won’t she be reluctant to go to the front lines again?’

‘You don’t need to worry about that. That’s why I sent her to the Letia Castle.’

‘Ah, so that’s why…’

The Letia family was a neutral noble house. The current Marquis of Letia, particularly, was a key advisor to the neutral faction leader, wielding significant influence.

Even Isabelle couldn’t easily harm or attack a VIP protected by the Letia family. Doing so would likely escalate into a political issue.

‘Of course, if cornered, she might act recklessly like she did with my mother.’

Even now, I couldn’t fully understand why Blanche attacked Francis’s carriage. What was so important that she took such a risk?

To find out, I needed to locate Black Shadow. And to approach Black Shadow, I needed either the Duchess or the Duke to let their guard down around me.

The quickest way was to get the Duke to act, but for that, I first needed to neutralize the Duchess, his partner in fate.

In any case, it seemed Aster was determined not to put me in danger. He had promised to be my sword, and his sharpness was indeed like a treasured blade.

At that moment, Isabelle fiddled with her fan and spoke.

“She is quite impulsive. But why don’t we move to a different place? This is too public.”

Isabelle glanced around nervously, probably worried about Joseph, who started his second performance after revealing his face.

She feared that once the performance ended, he might come over and say something strange.

I smiled sweetly and took my time.

“Why? Joseph’s harp performance is in full swing. It would be nice to stay and greet him, wouldn’t it?”

“I’m not close enough to greet him. If you hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have recognized him.”

Isabelle retorted sternly. She didn’t want anyone to know about her common-law relationship with Joseph. Of course, I had no intention of revealing it, so there was no need to press further.

“Well, it’s understandable to feel awkward with a friend you’ve lost contact with. Joseph was also reserved when talking about you.”

“Was he?”

“Yes. He just mentioned that he knew you from a long time ago. But he seems very close to Lady Brilly.”

Isabelle seemed to be deep in thought.

Judging by her reaction, she probably believed that I didn’t know Joseph’s true identity. Seizing the opportunity, I threw in another piece of false information.

“By the way, it seems the Brilly family is quite famous in Kamatie. They seem to have quite the network.”

“A network?”

Isabelle frowned as if she found it hard to believe. I answered nonchalantly.

“Actually, I happened to meet Lady Brilly at Letia Castle. Oh, you know Mrs Ayla Letia, right? She was my chaperone at the last debutante ball. I went to thank her with a gift, and I happened to run into Lady Brilly.”

“Letia…”

Isabelle muttered, looking as if she had been hit by a truck. She seemed quite shocked that the person she had been searching for was staying with a family that was hard to touch.

This would make it even more difficult to approach Alyssa.

I spoke brightly, as if to rub salt in her wound.

“With such a great family, why have you been so secretive about it?”

“It’s not something to boast about.”

“Not something to boast about? Letia is one of the key families of the neutral faction. Both the noble faction and the imperial faction would love to align with them.”

“Let’s stop talking about this headache-inducing politics.”

Isabelle showed her displeasure and stood up. Now that she had confirmed where Alyssa was staying, she didn’t want to talk any longer.

“Let’s go. I’m tired.”

“Yes, Mother.”

Before I could finish my words, Isabelle hurriedly moved to the carriage. Judging by her giving instructions to the escort knight, she was probably planning to capture Joseph.

But things wouldn’t go as she planned. Joseph’s safety was not only guaranteed by Letia.

Isabelle couldn’t even dream that Letia and Aster had a deep connection.

‘Mission accomplished.’

Having achieved my goal, I followed Isabelle with a light step.

* * *

Late in the afternoon, Camilla visited the Vice Commander’s office to match Aster’s end-of-day schedule. She was eager to tell Aster about what had happened today.

Aster quietly watched Camilla, who was chattering away. It seemed she had come all the way here because there were too many eyes at Blanche Castle.

After explaining the progress of the operation, Camilla murmured with a face full of regret.

“If only you had seen the Duchess’s expression then.”

Aster smirked, as if he could imagine it even without seeing.

“It must have been quite rotten.”