Chapter 154

Nerys found the stares, as if she were some curious specimen, amusing.

The petty little trick to make her late for dinner had been obvious the moment she was told a time different from the one she knew the household used.

But that didn’t mean she intended to show up dutifully. There was no need to turn down an opportunity to make a striking first impression.

So she had deliberately left her room five minutes late. Perhaps fearing their prank wouldn’t land, Delma had conveniently kept Alice busy, leaving no one to interfere with her.

“Nerys, welcome.”

The only one smiling in the room, Nellusion, rose from his seat. He looked genuinely pleased at her arrival, even pulling out her chair himself.

“Why did you get lost? Did Alice not guide you properly?”

Taking her seat, Nerys replied,

“Alice seemed busy, Brother. After she brushed my hair earlier, someone called her away. I waited in my room for a while, then came out on my own.”

It wasn’t a lie, but it told Nellusion enough to grasp the situation. Valentin glared at her as though she could kill her on the spot. Nerys ignored it and beamed at her.

“Valentin, it’s been a while. We used to see each other all the time at school, but after graduation, it’s been hard to meet like this.”

Nellusion’s stern look landed on Valentin, who forced a trembling smile.

“Ah… yes…”

“It has been a while.”

Before Valentin could finish, the Duke spoke. Nerys turned to him.

“It’s been a long time, Your Grace. I owe you a great debt, and I’m sorry I haven’t been able to come greet you sooner.”

“A debt? You repaid all your tuition, didn’t you? For a scholarship recipient, that’s one thing, but you could have kept the first year’s tuition. What child your age has the money to go out of their way to repay it?”

“My mother and I dislike being in debt. Thanks to Your Grace’s help, I was able to enter the Academy, and that alone was a great favor.”

“They say you were top of your class the whole time. You speak well!”

Whatever her true thoughts, Nerys’s polite tone was flawless. The Duke laughed and praised her, exchanging a satisfied look with Nellusion.

Returning to his seat, Nellusion kept sending her warm glances. The Duchess, displeased, spoke in a slightly sharp tone.

“One does not rise from the table after being seated, Nellusion.”

On the surface, it was an etiquette remark, but the meaning was plain: ‘Why are you pulling out her chair yourself when there are servants for that?’

In that tone, Nerys felt something familiar.

Long ago, when she had first been adopted into the family, the person she feared most had been the Duchess. Over time, though, she came to fear the Duke more.

The Duchess had beaten and starved her for not fitting in with the family, cut her hair on the spot over false accusations, and nitpicked her manners.

But it was the Duke who, without saying a word, took the “meek and well-mannered” Nerys that the Duchess’s abuse had created and used her for political gain.

The solemn, dignified Duke who schemed his way to a crown.
The elegant Duchess who took pains to make Nerys’s life miserable.

A perfectly matched pair, lauded in society as a devoted couple loyal to the throne—no wonder they had produced and raised children like Nellusion and Valentin.

Nellusion understood his mother’s real meaning, but simply smiled.

“It’s the first time since we were children that I’ve had a chance to treat Nerys properly. I should do it myself. Nerys is like a little sister to me.”

The Duchess and Valentin both looked as though they’d bitten into something bitter, but the Duke was already aligned with his son.

“Quite right. Nerys, if you have any difficulties while you’re here, speak to my wife or Nellusion. I hear there was an unfortunate incident, but we believe in you.”

Of course they did—Adrian had no doubt told them everything, likely embellishing his own role in bringing her here.

Nerys gave a deliberately wistful smile.

“Thank you, Your Grace. It’s been so long since I’ve been treated so warmly.”

On her face was the kind of expression that only someone who had known the Duke and Nellusion a long time could recognize as genuine satisfaction. The Duke cleared his throat.

“I’ve heard from Nellusion about your mother. You must have been through a lot. Don’t trouble yourself—consider this house your home. That’s why we offered to pay your tuition.”

In her previous life, they had taken far more than tuition; in this one, they had returned only what she had paid. It was a shameless claim, but Nerys put on a look of deep emotion, her eyes shimmering.

It wasn’t hard to summon tears—just thinking of the things this family had done to her in her past life was enough to make her mind go blank and her eyes water.

“Thank you. You don’t know how much those words mean to me. Thank you, both Your Graces.”

❖ ❖ ❖

A long dinner, a few after-meal drinks, and endless conversation in the drawing room.

It was framed as a welcome, but it was really an interrogation.

With the roundabout sharpness of high society, the Duke questioned her about her life up to now, including what she knew of Maindulante.

Even for an Academy graduate, it would be strange to fully understand the conversational maneuvers of those who had ruled the heights of society since birth. So Nerys mixed in a bit of feigned ignorance, weaving a story of having been “threatened” into “using her ability as ordered” but “learning little herself.”

The Duke, outwardly a stiff, earnest man, was identical to Nellusion in what lay beneath—and with decades more experience, far more dangerous.

Nerys worked to appear fully cooperative with the Elandria family. At last, after a few exchanges of looks with his son, the Duke seemed convinced.

‘More likely he trusts his son than my explanation.’

Overconfident in both his judgment and her honesty, Nellusion was still unmatched among his peers, and the Duke trusted his carefulness. That worked in her favor.

Exhausted by the end, Nerys returned to her room, changed with Alice’s help, and lay down on the bed.

“Have a restful night, my lady. If you need anything, just pull this cord.”

The maid gestured to a gilded cord hanging amid the luxurious furnishings and bowed.

“Yes, you may go. You’ve worked hard today.”

With all the loyalty and diligence she could show, Alice had been studying Nerys’s every move. Nerys pretended not to notice, answering kindly.

Soon Alice left, extinguishing the lights. Nerys listened carefully to her retreating footsteps.

She didn’t know how long she had lain there in the moonlight when—

“My lady.”

Dora was suddenly standing beside her bed.

Nerys sat up slightly, smiling.

“Was it all right coming here?”

At night, noble houses were far more tightly guarded than in the daytime, when merchants and servants came and went freely. But Dora replied calmly,

“I see no problem in guarding you here at night, my lady. You may rest easy.”

Even the Silver Moon had never infiltrated the Elandria mansion. Of course, that was more because long-term infiltration was nearly impossible—servants like the MacKinnon family’s Nora or the Marquis of Tipion’s knight had been planted from the start—but still, it was risky.

Looking at Dora’s relaxed expression, Nerys smiled.

“This mansion’s security isn’t lax, so your skill is truly exceptional. Well, anything special to report?”

Night was actually a harder time to have private talks. Dora smiled faintly.

“Yes, my lady. His Grace the Duke has just arrived at a mansion on the outskirts of the city.”

“What?”

During the journey from Maindulante to the capital, their security had been tight, and to avoid giving the enemy an opening, she and Dora had avoided contact with outsiders. She had assumed Cledwyn would send his subordinates to follow—but that he would come himself?

“He left his castle and came all the way here? Why?”

Dora looked puzzled—as though it were only natural. Seeing her expression, Nerys clicked her tongue.

“Never mind, I understand.”

From the look in Dora’s eyes, even she understood what emotion lay behind those words. She answered brightly,

“Yes, my lady.”

Nerys sighed. It wasn’t embarrassment, as Dora seemed to think, but inconvenience.

‘So much for leaving him behind.’

She had no desire for him to see what would happen here. She couldn’t send him away now that he had come, but still.

“Do we have anyone inside this house?”

“Not to my knowledge. This mansion only hires those who pass strict conditions and are recommended through personal connections.”

“Tell them to prepare to place a few. It wouldn’t hurt to plant our people here while we have the chance.”

Dora was right—the Elandria household was strict in its hiring. Still, she had hoped there might be some, but it seemed she would have to handle it herself.

She motioned Dora closer and whispered an address. Dora memorized it quickly, though she didn’t understand the context.

Smiling, Nerys explained,

“That’s the home of the deputy butler’s brother. It’s not widely known among the staff, but a few in this mansion have entered through his recommendation. Give him a few small gifts and mention, lightly, that you’d like to be told if a good job opens up.”

Someone trusted enough to recommend servants here could open doors. Of course, if other houses knew, they would all try to slip agents in through him, so his role was kept well hidden. Nerys had only discovered it after years of observation in her previous life.

“But we don’t know when they’ll hire again. I was thinking of sending one or two far away and posing as them. That way, we could act immediately.”

“That would be discovered quickly. The staff are trained to report any unusual behavior to the butler. Don’t worry—soon they’ll need many new hires.”

Dora looked at her intently.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You seem different from usual, my lady. I was only checking you weren’t unwell.”

“Am I? …Maybe I am.”

When she had first returned, her enemies in this house had still been young. Nellusion had been a boy whose moves were easy to read, and Valentin—just a petty little girl.

Back then, seeing them had almost felt like a dream. The children who had made her school days miserable, she had simply made theirs equally miserable. But death…

Whether or not she could have managed it then, could she really have drawn a blade on children whose biggest concerns were homework and the latest dress?

But now, Nellusion was a full-grown man, and Valentin had matured into the same vicious younger sister she had been before. Now, nothing held her back.

All that was left was to test just how deep the roots of this great empire went—and burn those who fed on them.

Even if it took years, she would see it done.

Her mind heavy with thoughts, Nerys closed her eyes and reviewed her plans.

Everything would begin—perhaps tomorrow morning.