Chapter 6
The person who had arrived early in the morning was a contractor who came to repair the mansion.
At Lida’s request, he had come to begin work but decided to conduct a full inspection upon seeing the building’s unexpectedly poor condition.
The results were shocking. The state of the building was dangerous enough to cause a fatal accident. That was why he had rushed to Charlotte’s house at dawn.
“The building’s condition is overall disastrous. It’s a wonder it has held up until now.”
“What… what do you mean?”
“It seems the previous owner recklessly expanded the structure, which negatively affected the entire building.”
“……”
“It’s too dangerous to live here as it is. You’ll need to demolish and rebuild it entirely.”
“Are you saying we need to leave the main building immediately?”
“Yes. It’s in such a precarious state that it wouldn’t be surprising if it collapsed at any moment.”
Charlotte, still not fully awake, was stunned.
What kind of disaster was this, so early in the morning?
The mansion she lived in was located in a place where one could enjoy Heringen’s beautiful scenery. After her divorce was finalized, she had hastily left the Duke’s household, choosing this place based solely on its location, ignoring all other factors.
The property included a main building, an annex, and a small garden.
Compared to the Rothschild estate or the Duke of Rosenheim’s mansion, where Charlotte had previously lived, this was a much smaller and cozier place. However, it was suitable for someone like her, who had no particular attachment to grand houses.
The only problem, as it turned out, was that the building’s durability was in shambles.
This was the result of ignoring Lida’s insistence to conduct a full inspection when she first set foot in the house, claiming that the building felt off.
Hiding her embarrassment, Charlotte asked Lida, who had been out since dawn searching for a solution and had just returned.
“What do you think, Lida? Do we have anywhere to move to immediately?”
“Yes. But there aren’t any suitable places, Viscountess.”
“Did you offer to pay above market price?”
“Yes, but I couldn’t even negotiate with those using their properties as vacation homes. The only available houses are even smaller than the annex.”
The port city of Heringen was densely populated with summer homes belonging to nobles of all ranks, as well as residences for nobles without permanent estates. Even the famous hotels in the area were always fully booked.
In a place like this, offering extra money didn’t guarantee finding a house.
“Right, I forgot for a moment where I was living.”
Charlotte sighed, pressing her aching temples.
At this rate, being the daughter of a construction company felt shameful.
What made matters worse was that she now had to stay with Erhen, complicating the situation further.
After some thought, Charlotte spoke up.
“Proceed with the demolition. I’ll decide on the new main building later, depending on the circumstances.”
“Yes. In the meantime, you should stay in the annex during construction. It’s safe there.”
The contractor, finishing his explanation, quickly left to plan the construction schedule.
Unlike the main building, which was three stories high and relatively spacious (though not quite a grand mansion), the annex was a smaller two-story structure.
The annex had originally been used by Charlotte as a coffee house.
As such, it had limited rooms. The second floor had two guest rooms for emergencies, and the first floor had two rooms for servants.
Staying in the annex meant that Charlotte and Erhen would be living together on the second floor. Of course, the servants would remain on the first floor, but the close proximity made an already uncomfortable situation even more awkward.
“Charlotte.”
“Ahhh!”
Erhen whispered next to Charlotte, startling her.
She had been standing there defenseless, and his sudden appearance made her jump in surprise. Embarrassed, she grumbled.
“Why don’t you make some noise when you approach?”
“I called your name several times, but you didn’t respond.”
Charlotte pouted, closing her mouth.
Erhen shrugged at her reaction, and after a brief sigh, she spoke.
“If you’ve been here the whole time, then you must know. We have to vacate the main building.”
“That’s a big deal.”
“Actually, it’s a good thing, isn’t it?”
Earl Werner, who had been observing the situation while preparing to leave, spoke without understanding Charlotte’s feelings.
“If the two of you are closer together, the protection will be tighter.”
Technically, he wasn’t wrong.
But Charlotte couldn’t shake the feeling that Earl Werner was somehow enjoying this.
Before she could say anything, Erhen quickly stepped in to send the Earl off.
“You’re leaving now.”
Earl Werner smiled slowly at Erhen’s urgency.
“Then, I’ll see you in the capital.”
“Take care.”
The Earl didn’t forget to bid farewell to Charlotte as well.
“See you in the capital, Viscountess Lintz.”
Why would you see me in the capital…?
Before she could ask, the Earl winked at Erhen and climbed into his carriage.
From the moment the decision was made to move into the annex, the servants, under Lida’s direction, began transferring all the belongings from the main building to the annex.
Thanks to Charlotte’s modest lifestyle, despite her wealth, the rooms were mostly set up by evening.
When Lida emerged from the annex to announce that the rooms were ready, Charlotte and Erhen, who were seated at a tea table in the garden, stood up simultaneously.
“First, it was your plan. Now, it’s my mistake, isn’t it?”
As Charlotte began walking toward the annex, Erhen spoke up.
“Mistake?”
“If you think about it, yes.”
Why did he always have to speak so vaguely?
Charlotte frowned slightly.
Erhen took a step closer to her.
When Charlotte instinctively stepped back, he carefully grabbed her arm.
Her eyes widened in surprise as Erhen leaned down to meet her gaze.
“Charlotte.”
“…Yes.”
“No matter what happens, I’ll protect you.”
His expression was serious.
Charlotte knew and acknowledged his capabilities.
But for some reason, the sensation of his grip on her arm sent a wave of unease through her. Her heart began to race, and her mouth went dry.
“Even though this situation wasn’t intentional…”
“……”
“Let’s take care of each other, Charlotte.”
Erhen smiled gently.
It was as if he had cast a spell.
She wanted to say something but found herself unable to speak.
Living with her ex-husband.
That fact alone was unsettling enough.
Unlike her, who was troubled by the situation, Erhen seemed completely at ease, smiling as if nothing was wrong.
Charlotte could only nod as she looked at him.
***
“The Duke was supposed to die, wasn’t he?”
A man in formal attire roared in the dark meeting room. It was a rare sight to see Schweiger, a senior member of the Republican Faction Kopenbach, lose his temper, given his usually composed nature.
“If you’re going to act on your own, what’s the point of us gathering here? Why does this organization even exist?”
Malena, the person responsible for the incident, bit her lip. Her clenched fists trembled as Schweiger’s sarcastic words stung. She shouted back, sounding aggrieved.
“But this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”
“And you’re the one who ruined it!”
“……”
“And why, for heaven’s sake, did you use the emblem for this mission? Didn’t you realize things could go wrong?”
As an underground organization, Kopenbach had a strict system to identify its members, using emblems to mark them. However, having the assassins involved in this mission carry the emblem turned out to be a critical mistake.
“How do you plan to clean up this mess, exactly?”
It had been the perfect opportunity.
When they learned that the Duke of Rosenheim would be carrying out a mission alone, Kopenbach had celebrated, believing they were on the verge of achieving their goal of ushering in an era of free citizens.
In her excitement, Malena had dispatched assassins to the Duke without first reporting to her superiors, informing them only afterward.
According to her plan, the Duke would have died on the spot, and by now, she would have become Dietrich’s right-hand person.
But she hadn’t anticipated how strong the Duke was. No, she knew he was strong, but not that strong.
In this era of fading magic, no new mages were born in the Rohadin Empire after the Duke of Rosenheim.
Even so, Kopenbach had its own mages.
This assassination attempt involved a team of thirty, including two mages. Yet the Duke had annihilated all of them and disappeared.
To make matters worse, his current whereabouts were completely unknown.
If his corpse had been found, things wouldn’t be so quiet.
Led by Schweiger, the voices of Kopenbach’s members grew louder.
“As you said, we couldn’t even make it look like an accident. He survived and vanished!”
“Because of this, it’s only a matter of time before they start tracking us.”
“At this point, wasn’t it like walking into a death trap?”
“Enough.”
A low but commanding voice interrupted Schweiger’s rant. It was a voice that dominated the room.
The meeting room fell silent at the command of the man seated at the head of the table.
“That’s enough. Malena has surely understood her mistake.”
“But, Dietrich…”
Someone immediately objected, but they fell silent under Dietrich’s piercing gaze.
“Given the nature of our organization, it won’t be easy for them to track us down in the near future.”
Schweiger, who had been glaring coldly at Malena, offered a suggestion.
“In that case, Dietrich, what about focusing on the army instead of the Duke, as per the other plan?”
“The Duke of Rosenheim comes first. His existence poses the greatest threat to our organization.”
“But if we were to request assistance from Hildegard…”
“The army comes next.”
Dietrich knew now was the time to lay low.
It wasn’t yet time for him or his organization to emerge above ground and declare revolution.
Of course, if Malena’s plan had succeeded and the Duke of Rosenheim had been eliminated, things would have been much easier.
But with the failed assassination, security around the Duke and elsewhere would have been tightened significantly.
The King of Rohadin’s shield was the Duke of Rosenheim.
Having failed once, breaking through that solid shield to achieve his goal would now require even greater effort.
“I’ll handle it. Please give me another chance.”
“Do nothing.”
“But—”
“For freedom.”
When Malena cried out in desperation, Dietrich coldly cut her off.
At his command to leave, she bit her lip and rose from her seat.
***
After leaving the meeting room, Malena was seething with anger.
If only this mission had succeeded!
But there were no “if onlys.”
Not only had Kopenbach lost several assassins it had trained, but the emblem they had used to boost morale had been exposed.
As a result, the underground organization now faced the risk of its identity being revealed.
Although Dietrich had ordered her to remain inactive, Malena had no intention of following his command.
She turned to the man trailing close behind her and gave him an order.
“No matter how long it takes, find the Duke of Rosenheim.”
Malena muttered darkly.
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Torryy
So this organization that is apparently fighting for the freedom of the citizens, has no decorum and people just don’t follow orders from their superiors? Well that’s quite the shame. Even while fighting for freedom, there should be some rules that they must follow… Otherwise what they’re trying to achieve is not freedom but anarchy and tyranny of the few powerful individuals over normal citizen.