A shrieking noise escaped from my lips in a panic as I asked again.
âHow did that happen?â
âI didnât know until later.â
Cesare shook his head with a miserable face before finishing his words.
âBut, they were all poisoned.â
ââŠ.â
I swallowed dry saliva. It seemed that the situation was worse than expected.
âThereâs something I want to ask you.â
âYes, please go ahead.â
âWhy didnât you try to save Lord Cassius?â
There was silence after my question as Cesare just stared at me quietly. Eventually, what came out of his mouth was a question, not an answer.
ââŠDoes the Young Lady really not know?â
I didnât know.
I really didnât know.
The urge to get the answer furtively surged up.
According to the original novel, I really didnât understand why this group, who would only be second in the empire in terms of ability, only suffered stupidly. I also didnât know why he didnât even try to save Cassius. So, I didnât know why he was still locked up in that dungeon like thatâŠ
Still, I couldnât tell him any of this.
Instead, what came out of my mouth wasâŠ
âWas it Lord Cassiusâ order?â
âYes.â
Cesare nodded.
âAs expected.â
A bitter taste lingered in my mouth at the confirmation.
It was because I could fully understand why Cassius did that. In a very fleeting moment, he wouldâve had only a choice to choose⊠a choice to choose between me and himself.
âŠAnd, he must have chosen me too naturally.
âWeâre running out of time. Canât we infiltrate people into the Kingdom of Bynell again?â
âInfiltrating it is simple, but itâll be difficult to achieve what the Master wants.â
I asked several times, but Cesareâs answer was the same.
âŠIt was going to be difficult.
It would be impossible. In addition, it was obvious that only innocent members of the organization would die from the careless order.
âThen.â
I opened my mouth slowly.
âHow about letting the Lord escape?â
ââŠ.!â
Cesareâs eyes widened.
âAre you serious?â
âYes.â
I answered briefly.
It was because I didnât want to give a reason for my decision.
âI have to save him somehowâŠâ
Of course, Cassius wouldnât want to get out of the dungeon easily because that meant I would become a sinner.
âHe has already refused.â
âI donât care.â
Replying to him, I shrugged my shoulders.
âNow, I am your master, am I not?â
âYouâre right.â
Seeing Cesare nod, I clenched my fists. From now on, I have to make up my mind firmly. I had to risk everything I had to save Cassius Brudenell.
ââŠNow isnât the time yet.â
âI think so as well.â
âThere will come a time when the security will be less tight. If we aim for that time and take the Lord outâŠâ
âWhat do you plan to do after that, Master?â
I stared at Cesare.
âWhy do you ask that?â
âWe must protect your safety.â
As he answered my question calmly, I grimaced my face. They had already failed to protect two masters. But now, he was saying that they would come and protect me like that?
I couldnât believe a thing.
ââŠIf you do well, nothing will harm me because no one knows that Iâve become your master.â
Even if the remnants of the Duke of Brudenell escaped with Cassius Brudenell after we let him out, it has nothing to do with me.
âThatâs right.â
Cesare nodded.
âHowever, what Iâm trying to say is⊠are you going to stay here alone?â
âOf course, Iâll stay here?â
I shrugged.
âBecause I have no reason to run away.â
It wasnât that I didnât understand his hint. Regardless, if I looked like someone who would run away with Cassius Brudenell, he would be completely wrong. In the first place, if I saved him, then my job would be over.
What would be at stake would beâŠ
âMay I dare to wish for a life where you are in it?â
I pursed my lips.
âIâll let you know when the schedule is set. Do I have to enter only through the aisle myself like this? Or do you have other contacts?â
Of course, I was saying this knowing that there were other contacts.
Cesare stood up from his seat.
âIâll attach a maid, who belongs to us, to the Young Lady. From now on, you just need to communicate through her.â
âI understand.â
I clasped the list.
This eventually revealed that the Aisle wasnât the solution either. Even if Cassius escaped safely, his lost honor and life would never come back.
ââŠCassius.â
I closed my eyes.
The weight of what he did for me had never felt so heavy.
ïŸÂ· : * â§ * :· ïŸ
During the days of frantic efforts to save Cassius, an unexpected guest came to visit.
âSister!â
It was Ophelia.
âItâs been a while.â
As I greeted her with a grin, Ophelia hugged me tightly with a worried face.
âI missed you, sisterâŠâ
âMe, too.â
âWhy didnât you come to see me even though Iâm just nearby? Even when I visit sister, they keep saying that youâve been awayâŠâ
âIâm sorry, itâs because I have a lot of work to do⊠thatâs what happened.â
âThatâs right, sister is a busy person.â
Ophelia meekly agreed.
âBy the way⊠how did that happen? Itâs not real, is it?â
As expected, my cute little sister seemed to have already noticed my lie. I nodded.
âYouâre right.â
âThen, right away, letâs make a corrective report that it is a false rumor! Everyone is saying bad things about you.â
âEverybody knew how bad he was. Sister always tried to escape from that person as wellâŠâ
ââŠYes, I did.â
I had no choice but to agree with Opheliaâs words. In fact, looking back, I only remember trying to run away from Cassius Brudenell.
âHowever.â
I opened my mouth slowly.
âI told them.â
ââŠ.!â
âI was the one who made the announcement, and I was the one who spread the rumor as well.â
âWhy, why did you do that?â
ââŠ.â
I swallowed dry saliva.
âShould I tell Ophelia the truth?â
ââŠI couldnât let him die.â
âSisterâŠâ
At my words, Opheliaâs beautiful amethyst eyes glittered with watery eyes.
âSister is so nice.â
âWho would say such a thing?â
âIf it were me, I wouldâve just let him die.â
âNo way!â
âReally.â
She shook her head resolutely and persisted, âIf I had an opportunity like older sister, right? Well, that would be good for me and Iâd rather accuse him even more. I wouldnât try to save him by throwing away sisterâs honor like now!â
âUh, wellââ
I calmed Opheliaâs trembling as I held her shoulders carefully.
âThereâs a reason.â
âWhat is it?â
When she gazed straight at me, the childâs eyes were hardened with determination.
ââŠNo way. Sister couldnât have fallen in love with that person now, did you?â
âNo way!â
I screamed in fright.
âThatâsâŠâ
The explanation didnât take long. Ophelia was by no means stupid, and she quickly understood that I was trying to repay the debt in my own way.
â⊠Thatâs what it was.â
Eventually, she let out a deep sigh.
âI donât know if I should say this is really like older sisterâŠâ
âOur Ophelia grew up a lot while I couldnât see you, didnât you?â
âIs that so?â
Smiling at my words, her cheeks flushed pink.
âI really tried to be like sister. Whenever I had a hard time, I thought about what I would have done if I were older sisterâŠâ
âWait a minute.â
I blinked my eyes slowly.
âWhat do you mean?â
âWell, I was really happy to be Davidâs wife, but⊠Still, there are so many things to do. Whenever I faced a crisis, she overcame it by thinking of sister.â
AhâŠ
Hearing her words, I decided that Iâd check out what she was up to in the social world once Ophelia would go back.
Meanwhile, she opened her mouth in her determined voice.
âAnyway, sister wants to save that person, right?â
âYes.â
âIâll help you.â
ââŠWhat?â
âOf course, David will definitely help! If he understands the situation, heâll definitely step up right away.â
âI wondered if he wouldâŠ?â
Worried, I swallowed dry saliva.
Due to the fall of Cassius, much of the power of the Duke of Brudenell passed to David. Of course, the Duchess held all the key things, and I had ownership of the Aisle.
âLetâs do it⊠It might be more helpful with David if we let Cassius escape completely than to have him go into exile somewhere.â
I hesitated for a moment.
âEven if it doesnât work with David, Iâll do my best to help.â
âThis is something I have to take care of myself⊠but can you please support me?â
Ophelia widened her eyes.
âOf course, letâs tell everyone the truth! Sister, then, did you try to use a different method?â