Chapter 17

Charlotte had to doubt her own eyes as she stared at Dostern’s wrist.  

No, they had planned to make their presence known first, but she hadn’t expected such an immediate and deliberate reaction.  

On the wrist of the Earl’s servant, which was extended toward her, was the distinct symbol of the Snowflower. At a glance, it looked like a tattoo meant to cover a scar, but Charlotte, who had stared at that symbol for nearly a month, found it more surprising that she hadn’t recognized it immediately.  

She hadn’t expected them to show up so blatantly.  

Faced with such an abrupt encounter, Charlotte found herself frozen, unable to think clearly.  

“Viscountess?”  

The servant, puzzled that she wasn’t taking the plate he was holding out, called out to her.  

“Ah, thank you.”  

Charlotte replied mechanically, her thoughts racing.  

What should I do? How should I handle this?  

Should I let him go and follow him? No, that was nonsense.  

In the many classic romance novels she had read in her previous life, heroines who hastily pursued villains often ended up being kidnapped, only to be rescued later by the prince on a white horse.  

Charlotte had no intention of following that script. Why take unnecessary risks? For her, this was reality. But at the same time, she couldn’t let such a big catch slip away. She needed to make a quick decision.  

Countless options flashed through her mind in an instant, but she chose the most natural course of action she could take at that moment.  

“Ah!”  

In her 25 years of her past life and 23 years of her current one, Charlotte had never acted with such conviction.  

Accepting the plate, she pretended to stumble, stepping on the hem of her dress and falling toward Dostern, smearing the cheese on the plate all over his clothes.  

Clang.  

The sound of the fork and plate hitting the floor drew the attention of the surrounding nobles. Alarmed, the other servants and maids quickly approached them.  

“Are you alright, Viscountess?”  

“Yes, I’m fine. I’m fine.”  

A concerned maid helped her up, asking worriedly. Charlotte hurried to stand. Whether it was an act or not, her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.  

It felt as though she could hear the reputation she had built crumbling in real-time, but now wasn’t the time to worry about that.  

“I’m sorry!”  

The apology came out reflexively.  

“Are you okay? It was my mistake.”  

“No, Viscountess! I’m fine.”  

“Your clothes are ruined. I wasn’t paying attention.”  

“Really, it’s nothing. Please don’t worry about it!”  

“I can’t just leave it like this.”  

Dostern, unable to meet Charlotte’s eyes, waved his hands nervously.  

As expected, the attention unintentionally drawn to him made him eager to leave the scene as quickly as possible.  

There’s no way I’ll let you go that easily.  

Charlotte smiled boldly as she removed the bracelet enchanted with a tracking spell that Erhen had given her. She then forced the bracelet into Dostern’s hand as he began to back away.  

Without wiping the smile off her face, Charlotte spoke again.  

“Once again, I’m sorry. You must have put a lot of effort into preparing, and now it’s ruined because of me.”  

“This is too precious; I can’t accept it, Viscountess!”  

“If you don’t want to embarrass me further, you should just take it.”  

“But…”  

She didn’t hesitate to add a slight threat.  

At last, Dostern fell silent, his expression troubled, and held the bracelet, bowing his head to Charlotte. Satisfied, Charlotte’s smile deepened.  

“What’s going on?”  

Erhen, who had sensed a change in Charlotte through their connection, approached her, having returned from fetching wine.  

Seeing him, Dostern immediately bowed deeply, trying to mask his expression. Charlotte, looking at Dostern, spoke innocently.  

“It’s nothing. I just made a little mistake. Go on now.”  

She gestured for Dostern to leave. Dostern, barely concealing his inner despair, hurriedly left the hall.  

As she watched him open the door and exit, Charlotte said quietly, without looking at Erhen.  

“The bracelet has a tracking spell, right?”  

“Yes.”  

“That’s the one. Snowflower.”  

Erhen looked at the door Dostern had exited with a startled expression.  

“There’s a tattoo on his wrist. He won’t be able to leave the Earl’s estate quickly.”  

Charlotte continued speaking. Understanding her meaning, Erhen nodded.  

As they exchanged words, Erhen was unexpectedly reminded of a party they had attended during their marriage to gather information. A faint smile formed on his lips.  

“Sometimes, it amazes me how everything goes according to your plan.”  

“Most of the time, yes. But today, I think the Gods were on my side.”  

“Your lack of humility is also amazing.”  

Charlotte grinned mischievously.  

With that, Erhen placed a hand on her shoulder briefly before letting go. It was his way of saying to leave the rest to him. Charlotte gave a barely perceptible nod. All she had to do now was trust Erhen and wait.  

***

Once outside in the corridor, Dostern shoved the bracelet Charlotte had given him into his pocket. The grand hall where the party was being held was deep within the Earl’s estate, so he had to pass through several corridors to exit the building.  

Fortunately, the busy servants preparing for the large party paid no attention to Dostern, who walked by with cheese stains on his clothes.  

“Damn it.”  

Finally alone in an exterior corridor leading outside, he muttered a curse, venting his frustration.  

The plan had failed before it even began.  

Not only had he failed to kidnap Viscountess Lintz, but he hadn’t even been able to drug her. Who could have predicted that a noble would trip over her own dress?  

The only silver lining was that since the plan hadn’t been executed, nothing had actually happened. If he disappeared naturally, this incident would simply be a minor mishap for the Duke of Rosenheim and Viscountess Lintz, and it would pass quietly within Kopenbach as well.  

Thinking this, the anxiety caused by the failed mission eased slightly… or so he thought.  

Tap.  

Tap.  

In the quiet corridor, another sound besides his footsteps echoed. Dostern quickly looked around, but there was no one else there. No shadows either.  

Was I hearing things?  

Tap. Tap.  

No, he wasn’t mistaken. When he took another step, the same sound repeated.  

Someone was definitely there. A fellow servant of the Earl wouldn’t make such deliberate footsteps.  

Does that mean I’ve been discovered?  

The anxiety that had briefly subsided resurfaced. Sweat began to form on his back.  

Dostern tried to walk as calmly as possible while thinking. Just a little farther, and he would reach the servants’ back door. From there, he could escape and regroup with his team. Among them was a weak mage who could signal danger and help them escape.  

When he was only a few steps away from the back door, he swallowed hard and sprinted toward it at full speed.  

Thud, thud, thud.  

He thought he was running, but before he realized it, he was bound by an invisible rope, standing still in the corridor.  

“You didn’t come alone, did you?”  

In the eerie silence, a cold voice pierced Dostern’s ears. Then, from the shadows in front of him, Erhen emerged.  

Dostern’s eyes filled with fear.  

“It’s too few to be a group.”  

As Erhen finished speaking, the restraints disappeared. Dostern barely managed to steady himself as he knelt before Erhen.  

Erhen glanced toward the back door Dostern had been running toward. When he had been attacked, he had killed no fewer than thirty people.  

There was no way only one person had come here. Sending just one person would have been an insult to his pride.  

“Are there others outside?”  

“I-I don’t understand what you mean! I’m just a new servant who got lost!”  

“For someone lost, you certainly had the perfect posture of a servant.”  

“No, no, Your Grace! I truly know nothing!”  

“Nothing about what?”  

Erhen smirked as he spoke.  

It was only then that Dostern realized and shut his mouth. 

How did they know? Where had I been caught?  

Suddenly, a memory surfaced. Viscountess Lintz had been staring intently at his wrist. He had been so focused on smearing the drug on the fork that he hadn’t even considered that the Viscountess might recognize the tattoo. This belated realization made Dostern squeeze his eyes shut.  

“Duke!”  

Behind the bewildered Dostern, the Earl and his guards came rushing in urgently.  

“As you instructed, we have surrounded the Earl’s estate.”  

“Well done. That will make things much easier.”  

“No, Your Grace. Thanks to your prior warning, we were able to prepare.”  

“Begin the search. The Kaiserliche will arrive here tomorrow.”  

At this completely unexpected statement, the Earl of Friesland’s face turned pale. If the King’s personal guard was involved, this was no ordinary matter. It must have been an act tantamount to treason.  

“Yes. For now, let us move to the office.”  

Erhen nodded. The Earl of Friesland gave orders to his guards to reinforce the security of the party venue and begin the search.  

Soon, Erhen walked quickly, setting up a barrier around the Earl’s estate. With this in place, anyone with an unclear identity would find it difficult to leave. It wouldn’t take long to root out the Snowflower operatives involved in this incident.  

At last, Erhen felt the weight of the situation lift as he realized they had finally gotten a lead on the case.