Chapter 63. Change of Plans

After hesitating for a while, Isabelle hurriedly began checking the records one by one. When she confirmed something was missing, her face turned ashen.

The assassination requests she had hidden among the records were gone. All the records of her attempts to kill Aster had vanished.

Panicking, Isabelle checked other notebooks. Only the records related to Aster had been selectively removed, leaving her in despair.

Could it have been Aster? If so, why did he remain silent until now?

While she was rummaging through the library, someone opened the door and entered. When their eyes met, Isabelle was dumbfounded.

“Helen? What are you doing here…?”

“Gasp!”

Startled, Helen fell backward. The assassination requests she had secretly taken fell to the floor. She had already given copies to Sezad.

Seeing the assassination requests on the floor, Isabelle’s face turned icy.

She never imagined the rat would be her own daughter.

Isabelle growled, clutching the assassination requests.

“What did you do with these?”

Helen hiccupped at her sharp question. This happened a week before her wedding.

* * *

Helen was severely beaten after being caught stealing the notebook by Isabelle.

‘Confess! What were you planning to do with this?’

Despite the fierce interrogation, Helen didn’t reveal that Sezad had asked for the records from ten years ago. She feared that Isabelle might kill Sezad if she found out.

Instead, she claimed she had foolishly taken them, thinking they might be useful. Enraged, Isabelle imprisoned her. She promised to release her before the wedding. Helen waited quietly, but.

‘Now that I know, I can’t let your husband live. If you weren’t my daughter…’
‘Mother!’
‘I’ll take good care of the child, so just accept it.’

Helen was in a daze after her mother left, having announced her intention to kill Sezad. With Isabelle determined to kill Sezad, Helen had only one option.

Taking advantage of the relaxed security before the wedding, she sneaked out of her room and headed to Camilla’s room. She believed Camilla could save Sezad.

* * *

The incident occurred two days before Helen’s wedding. When Helen came to me in tears, I sensed something was wrong.

“Save Sezad! He might die if you don’t!”

Her sudden plea to save Sezad was shocking, especially since she hadn’t shown herself before.

I was surprised that she knew about my relationship with Sezad and even more shocked that Sezad was in danger.

I sat Helen down and asked her to explain. She looked like someone being chased.

“What do you mean? Calm down and explain clearly.”

“Mother, Mother is trying to kill Sezad. I got caught stealing the notebook… She said she would kill him… I never wanted him to die, even though I hated him… Ah!”

Her incoherent words left me stunned. The notebook she mentioned must have been from Isabelle’s library. It was one of the reasons Sezad wanted to marry her. It seemed the plan had been discovered midway.

The problem was that Helen had come to me. I pretended not to know to gauge how much she knew.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Don’t pretend! I’ve figured out that you and Sezad were using me.”

“!”

I suddenly remembered Helen’s previous suspicion about my relationship with Sezad. It was a ridiculous misunderstanding, but it worked out well. If she knew that Sezad had come to Apelli on my orders, it would complicate things. Helen continued to plead.

“Please help… She plans to strike when we leave Apelli. After the wedding, without anyone knowing…”

It seemed Isabelle planned to target them when they boarded the cruise. Helen was almost fainting from crying.

“She even summoned the Black Shadow. No matter how skilled Sezad is, he can’t handle them alone!”

‘Black Shadow!’

I was stunned to learn that Isabelle had enlisted the Black Shadow to kill Sezad. It seemed she intended to deal with him after the wedding, as it was too late to cancel it.

She didn’t seem to know about Sezad’s scam yet. If she did, she would have gone straight to the Duke instead of planning an assassination.

I grabbed Helen’s shoulders and asked.

“When did you get caught?”

“F-Five days ago. Camilla, you can save Sezad, right? He can’t die because of me!”

Helen buried her face in her knees, sobbing. She was shaking like a leaf in a winter storm.

Seeing her like that, I realized she had genuine feelings for Sezad. I calmed her down and asked again.

“How much does the Duchess know?”

“She thinks I gave the notebook to a man out of infatuation. She still wants to kill him…”

“So you haven’t told her about me and Sezad?”

“Of course not. I have some pride. Even if the man I’m marrying loves another woman…”

Fortunately, she hadn’t told Isabelle everything out of jealousy. That meant there was still a way to avoid this crisis.

“Just to be clear, there’s nothing between Sezad and me. We just have a past connection.”

I firmly denied any relationship with Sezad, fearing Aster might misunderstand. Helen, seemingly indifferent to that now, continued to plead.

“Please help… I’m begging you…”

Helen kept repeating her plea with tears streaming down her face. I worried about her health, especially since she was pregnant.

I looked at Aster, who had been watching the situation. He seemed to grasp the seriousness of the matter, his expression grim. Aster asked for my decision.

“What should we do? If we want to settle this now…”

“No. We stick to the plan.”

“What?”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before speaking to Helen. I couldn’t tell her the entire plan, but I wouldn’t abandon my desire to save Sezad.

“Helen, listen to me carefully.”

Helen looked at me with desperate eyes. I had to proceed with the operation while capturing the Black Shadow.

“Act normal and go through with the wedding. Then board the ship with Sezad.”

“But… on that ship!”

“There isn’t just one ship. If they don’t know about Sezad and me, we might be able to deceive them.”

There were more than three cruises departing that day. Isabelle likely had the passenger list and was preparing for the operation.

If Helen and Sezad changed into different outfits midway and disguised themselves, they might be able to deceive the assassins. I looked at Helen with a determined expression.

“Aster and I will board the cruise pretending to be you two. Meanwhile, you board another ship. You and Sezad need to stay hidden until it’s safe.”

* * *

It was right after I calmed Helen down and sent her away.

“Camilla. I’ll go alone.”

Aster grabbed Camilla’s arm. He didn’t want to drag her into such a dangerous situation.

He tended to be overly protective of her, almost to a ridiculous degree. Camilla held his hand and smiled.

“Don’t worry. I may not have special abilities, but I’m strong enough to protect myself.”

Camilla had trained in swordsmanship from a young age because she lacked Francis’s powers. Her father insisted she should be able to protect herself as Francis’s heir.

“Of course, I can’t compare to those with special abilities… But with you by my side, I’ll be fine.”

Aster visibly flinched at her reassuring words. He held her hand tightly and asked.

“No special abilities? So you weren’t hiding them all this time?”

“What?”

Camilla tilted her head at the strange question. It was as if he thought she had abilities all along.

If he had lived in Ahivith, he would have known she had no abilities. Camilla replied nonchalantly.

“Why would I hide abilities if I had them?”

“But…”

Aster hesitated, looking frustrated. She placed her hand on his cheek and smiled softly.

“Don’t worry. I won’t let the Black Shadow lay a finger on me.”

She meant it. As the young duke of Francis, she wouldn’t fall to an assassination group.

Aster finally lowered his head, pressing his forehead against hers. He seemed to be struggling to contain his emotions.

“……Yes. But you must stay close to me.”

For some reason, his expression was dark. I wanted to ask him something, but he took away my chance to speak with a kiss.

Through our joined lips, hot breaths mingled and tongues intertwined. He held me tightly in his broad embrace and I accepted him naturally. I bit down on his lower lip, following his tongue as it traced my teeth.

“Aster.”

Called by my drowsy voice, Aster lifted me up. Still in his arms, I slipped my hand inside his shirt.

“Ha.”

Aster let out a groan as my cool hand invaded his shirt. As I caressed his firm chest and naturally twisted his peak, his pace towards the bed quickened.