Chapter 45

As time went on, the feeling that Louise couldn’t blend in with the rest of society only grew stronger.

One could tell just by how she didn’t pay any mind to Julia, who was practically the queen of the social scene.

“How can Louise look so unafraid?” some of the noblewomen wondered.

They couldn’t understand her, but they also envied her. Louise’s detachment from societal entanglements appeared liberating.

In the end, the Brent Duchy was completely ousted from society.

Everyone thought Julia’s influence had something to do with it.

However, the noblewomen didn’t feel genuinely concerned for Louise.

What would have been a monumental tragedy for them somehow seemed manageable for Louise.

“Hmm…”

“Could it really be Louise?”

The noblewomen pondered seriously.

Without any news of how Louise was faring these days, her presence suddenly felt significant.

At that moment, the sound of a door bursting open echoed through the room.

All heads turned toward the ornate door.

A noblewoman, catching her breath as if she had hurried over, stood there.

With a grave face, she announced, “I found out who it is.”

“What?”

“Who is it?”

The noblewomen were so shocked they lost their composure and stood up.

“It seems a coachman was tortured until he confessed to Julia. Apparently, Marcel told him to keep it an absolute secret.”

“Really?”

“Who is it?”

Their hearts raced as if they were about to burst.

“Well, the person is…”

“…?”

Who? Who is it?

The noblewomen almost gasped in their urgency.

The noblewoman who entered took a few deep breaths before finally speaking.

“It’s the Duchess of Brent.”

“What?”

“The Louise we know!”

“…”

* * *

I was in a deep sleep.

Was it because I had fallen asleep thinking about Marcel and Julia?

A memory from over two years ago appeared in my dream.

An old acquaintance was on the brink of death.

Cathy was a maid who had assisted me closely.

She came from a poor family and had worked as a maid at the duchy since she was thirteen.

She was gentle, kind, and quick-witted, so I couldn’t help but keep her close.

She resembled my white and adorable half-sisters, which made me even more fond of her.

“The bleeding has stopped, but the inflammation is severe, and her fever won’t go down. We are doing our best, but in her condition, you should prepare for the worst, madam…”

“…”

The doctor said Cathy might die.

She lay unconscious, moaning in pain and burning with fever.

How much must she be suffering?

I approached Cathy, whose consciousness was hazy, and held her rough hand, staying by her side for a long time.

“Stay strong, Cathy. You can get better…”

I couldn’t leave her side.

But Cathy didn’t open her eyes again after being bedridden for a week.

She was only fifteen, dreaming of becoming the empire’s greatest seamstress one day…

I had even promised to send her to sewing school when she turned sixteen, so she could attend without parental opposition.

Her words of admiration for me still echoed in my heart.

“I feel so lucky to serve someone as wonderful as you, madam.”

“I want to marry someone you approve of, madam.”

I felt terribly sorry.

Cathy’s death remained a deep-seated guilt in my heart.

If only I hadn’t taken her with me, if only I had searched more actively when she went missing, this innocent child wouldn’t have died so tragically.

I had accused Julia of murder, but the council merely imposed a paltry fine that meant nothing to her.

The helplessness and anguish of failing to protect someone were overwhelming.

It was the first time someone had died because of me.

And it was an innocent child with a bright future.

The boundless rage I felt towards Julia, who trampled on Cathy’s life without any remorse, was uncontrollable.

Even after learning of Cathy’s death, Julia had only sneered, saying,

“Oh dear, how unfortunate. I suppose the doctor was incompetent.”

“L-Louise.”

“…”

As I sat alone in my room, tormented by Cathy’s death, I heard Alec’s voice.

It was rare for him to seek me out first. This time, I knew exactly why he had come to see me.

Alec was genuinely grieved by Cathy’s death.

I lifted my tear-streaked face.

He stood in the center of my room, bathed in moonlight, looking like a statue.

But he didn’t come any closer.

“Alec.”

He had endured such situations many times since childhood, he had told me.

If he didn’t show up, Aksen would torment Alec’s attendants instead.

In that moment, I realized why Alec had always endured in silence.

He had tried to protect his people in his own way.

If he didn’t bear it, the malice would be directed at the innocent and weaker ones.

Tears that I had been holding back suddenly poured out.

The fabric of my dress crumpled in my tight grip.

I woke from the dream with those emotions from the past resurfacing.

I blinked my long eyelashes slowly.

I felt the moisture clinging to them.

Suddenly, the memory of Alec beating Marcel and his friends in the marketplace came to mind.

I also recalled how the mercenaries who had followed us at the amusement park were taken down in the blink of an eye.

Thump, thump.

My heart pounded again, and I felt the blood coursing rapidly through my body.

Alec no longer held back like before.

The fear in my heart seemed to be gradually shattered by his overwhelming strength.

We no longer had anyone to protect, so there was no need to endure anymore.

It finally felt like it was time to repay Julia.

* * *

Alec was having breakfast, keeping an eye on Carson’s movements through Gideon’s eyes and ears.

After being dismissed by Marcel, Carson was sharpening his blade for revenge against Alec.

He had been reorganizing his mercenary group and planning his strategy.

Finally, today seemed to be the day of his departure, as he was rallying the mercenaries from the morning.

“Is it to your liking, Alec?”

At the sound of her voice, Alec looked up.

Seated across from him, Louise was gazing at him with warm eyes.

“Yes.”

Alec nodded briefly in response.

Louise then gave him a gentle smile, one more elegant than any portrait of a noble lady.

“Hmm.”

At the same time, Alec felt a sense of curiosity.

Several days had passed since they had returned from the amusement park and knocked out the mercenaries.

Yet, Louise had not said a word about it until now.

It was convenient, but also somewhat puzzling.

“Is she pretending not to know?”

Louise couldn’t be unaware of who had knocked out the mercenaries.

He hadn’t been able to hide his extraordinary skills from the eyes of ordinary people.

Previously, when his identity had almost been revealed, Louise believed Alec’s power had grown stronger for some reason.

Even if she learned that he had become somewhat more special, it wouldn’t change much.

But he hadn’t expected her to not mention that day at all.

“Eat up, Alec.”

Louise, smiling faintly, began to eat her own soup.

Alec glanced at her for a moment, then lowered his head and picked up his utensils.

Given that her affection and trust levels remained intact, she didn’t seem to suspect his true identity.

That was fortunate.

He had resolved to put more effort into gaining her affection in the future.

But before that, he had an opportunity to gain a significant amount of experience points.

Alec focused back on Gideon’s mind.

There seemed to be at least sixty mercenaries gathered in the training grounds with Carson.

With each mercenary worth five experience points, defeating all of them would yield a substantial 300 experience points.

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