She had trusted Marie so deeply, yet Marie had betrayed her. This meant that in her previous life, Marie had likely betrayed her as well.

In her previous life, hadn’t Marie claimed to have a stomachache before going to the villa? 

Diana had thought Marie was deliberately excluded, but that wasn’t the case. It seemed Charlotte had offered to handle things, so Marie had been left out of the plan.

Realizing that all the emotions Marie had shown her were false made Diana’s heart sink.

Should she have replaced everyone working at the mansion? Would that have prevented this situation? 

No, traitors would continue to emerge regardless of personnel changes. This realization made the current situation feel even more miserable.

“How could you do this? Why did you plan all this? What do you gain from it?”

“I have my personal reasons. I’m sorry.”

Marie answered halfheartedly with an expression that showed no remorse whatsoever. Diana could sense she had no desire for conversation.

But Diana needed to press her. She needed to know who was behind this.

“Was it Young Master Orkney who ordered you to do this?”

The smile instantly vanished from Marie’s face. With a deeply furrowed brow, she tilted her head.

“Oh? How did you know? I thought I had hidden it well… But I suppose it doesn’t matter since you’ll find out anyway.”

When they had met last time, he had shown he couldn’t let go of his obsession, and sure enough, he was still targeting the Winchester family.

But what did she mean by “you’ll find out anyway”? Did that mean Clive was waiting at their destination?

“Why are you doing this to me? Even if you betray the Winchester family and side with Young Master Orkney, you’ll suffer more losses than gains.”

“I know that. But you see, I simply chose love over money.”

“Love? Are you and Young Master Orkney lovers?”

As far as Diana knew, Charlotte had been Clive’s lover. Had he been involved with Marie as well?

“It’s not such a grand relationship. But he makes an ordinary person like me feel special. So I’d do anything for him.”

When Diana had searched for Charlotte’s whereabouts, she had only heard that Charlotte had left for another empire with her lover.

She had felt relieved then, but with Charlotte gone, it seemed Marie had taken her place.

How could this happen? Was it impossible to escape this cruel fate no matter how hard she tried? Diana was furious at Marie’s betrayal.

“Young Master Orkney might betray you too. Don’t you know he’s a womanizer?”

Diana deliberately provoked Marie. She wondered how Marie would react, hoping to cause even a slight wavering in her resolve.

“Do you think I’ll be swayed by such words? I’m not hoping for anything grand anyway. I just want him to become the Duke of Winchester. And I’m satisfied just being by his side.”

“…”

She’s completely infatuated. Thoroughly enchanted.

Clive was a man who played the role of a mannered gentleman. His gentle smile and neat appearance were certainly charming enough to captivate women’s hearts. Diana had simply never felt that attraction.

Marie seemed to have been thoroughly brainwashed by him to the point where she couldn’t distinguish right from wrong.

Diana wanted to mock them for planning such an absurd scheme, but she was in no position to do so. They wouldn’t have kidnapped her without a plan. They must have some scheme in mind.

Diana tried to think of a way to escape her current situation. What would happen if she jumped out of the carriage?

Would she be badly injured on the bumpy road? If she couldn’t move her body, jumping would be pointless. Even if she managed to escape, she would be caught quickly.

“Please stay quiet until we arrive. I don’t have any ill feelings toward you, my lady. It’s simple—Clive will become the Duke of Winchester, and you’ll quietly become his duchess.”

“W-where is this carriage heading?”

“You’ll find out when we get there, won’t you?”

Diana seemed to know where the carriage was heading. The more familiar the road became, the more her anxiety grew.

Could it be that place?

If they continued this way, their destination would be the villa where Diana had ended her life in her previous existence.

‘How about staying at the villa for a while to rest?’

Her father’s suggestion suddenly came to mind.

She had wondered why he made such a proposal, but it was clear now that Marie had encouraged him. She must have said Diana’s condition was concerning and that she needed rest.

But what difference would it make to take her there? If she went there, would she die again?

Diana’s death would bring no benefit to Clive. Now that they were strangers, how could he become the Duke of Winchester if she died?

In the current situation, there was only one way for him to become the Duke of Winchester. Realizing this made Diana’s skin crawl.

No, no.

Diana tried to open the window to jump out. Rather than suffering something terrible, it would be better to jump out of the carriage and die.

But Marie, noticing her intention, struck the back of Diana’s neck.

“Ugh!”

She couldn’t lose consciousness…

A sense of helpless despair washed over her, but all Diana could do was keep her eyes wide open and try to stay conscious. However, her body went limp, and her eyelids kept closing.

And so, she lost consciousness.

* * *

“I have something to report, Captain.”

The person waiting for Edwin upon his return from the expedition was a mercenary he had personally employed. This man shouldn’t be here unless something serious had happened. The fact that he approached with a pale face meant a grave situation had occurred.

He had been secretly monitoring the Winchester family, so this must be related to them.

“What’s the matter?”

“Well, Lady Winchester suddenly went to the villa, so I followed her, but those trailing behind were attacked by someone.”

“What?”

Edwin felt his heart stop.

To prevent any unfortunate accidents, Edwin had been monitoring the Winchester family while avoiding public attention.

It was to prevent the worst-case scenario. But now the people watching over her had been attacked…

Something bad must have happened to Diana. Edwin gathered the Imperial Knights and shouted to them.

“Lady Winchester has been kidnapped. Call the soldiers and begin the search for her.”

His voice was controlled, but the end of his words trembled slightly.

“Understood.”

The knights lined up and moved out, while Edwin prepared to leave immediately, securing his sword.

The culprit must be Clive.

Targeting the prestigious noble Winchester family meant he was prepared for the consequences. His backing would be the Second Prince.

Edwin had already noticed that Clive was the one spreading slanderous rumors about Diana. He also knew Clive wanted to ruin her reputation and hoped for the engagement to be broken off.

Yet Edwin had observed quietly because of the Crown Prince’s message.

‘Even if all eyes focus on Lady Winchester, never interfere. Lies will eventually be revealed, won’t they?’

Even if Edwin had stepped forward, the malicious rumors about Diana wouldn’t have subsided. But he could have at least clarified that there was nothing between him and Lady Queensberry.

The person who prevented him from doing so was also the Crown Prince. When people’s attention was focused on the love triangle, it would help hide the truth the prince didn’t want revealed.

Cover one rumor with a bigger rumor. That’s how the Crown Prince had intended to use Diana. As a scapegoat.

It was absurd, but Edwin followed the order because the Crown Prince had made an offer too tempting to refuse.

‘If you help me, I’ll also help Lady Winchester. She wants to become the head of the family, right? I can support her in that. What do you think?’

Edwin had heard that Diana was struggling with her plans as criticism against her increased. In such circumstances, having the Crown Prince’s backing would greatly increase the chances of her plans becoming reality. So Edwin had no choice but to accept his proposal.

He could have told Diana about this, but Edwin chose not to. If this information reached someone else’s ears during the process, everything could go wrong.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Diana. He had kept it secret out of concern that there might be rats listening to their conversations.

But was that wrong?

Hearing that Diana had been kidnapped, Edwin realized his judgment had been flawed.

On the day he had expressed his feelings to Diana and returned, Edwin had received orders from His Majesty the Emperor to go to the border region immediately. The Count of the border was allegedly conspiring with a neighboring empire to stage a rebellion.

Edwin frequently went to the border region to deal with monsters, but as far as he knew, the Count didn’t have the courage to contemplate rebellion.

So when he heard this news, Edwin’s instinct told him that Clive was planning something.

He had heard that Clive had recently met with the Second Prince. Edwin didn’t know what the two were plotting, but he knew what Clive was after.

It would be marriage to Diana.

Clive, who had been quiet all this time, was now making his move because of Edwin. Edwin had provoked Clive out of jealousy, and Clive, thinking his chance to marry Diana had completely disappeared, was clearly seeking a way through the Second Prince.

Knowing this, Edwin still had to go to the border region. He asked a trustworthy person to monitor the Winchester family.

He had also deliberately sent Diana a letter implying that he would break off their engagement.

If she heard that the engagement might be broken, it could temporarily subdue Clive’s anger. Edwin hoped that Clive would at least stay quiet during the brief time he was away.

But Edwin’s prediction had missed the mark. Clive had gone ahead with his plan while Edwin was absent.

Should he have warned Diana to be careful of that man? Would things have been different then?

The reason Edwin hadn’t told Diana everything was to prepare for unforeseen circumstances. He had to consider the possibility of traitors around her.

He had only informed the Duke of Winchester in advance, who shared the same concern. So even though he knew Diana would be hurt, Edwin had no choice but to act as he did.

He had to stop Clive, who was plotting something heinous with the Second Prince.

But in the end, he had failed to stop him.

Why, why did Diana have to suffer? She had only happiness ahead of her, so why?

No, he shouldn’t think negatively now. He couldn’t repeat his past mistakes. He needed to shake off such thoughts.

That wasn’t what mattered now. The priority was to rescue Diana somehow.