What the Emperor wanted was a child with mixed blood between Duke Leopold and the Imperial Family.
But in my third life, I was deeply suspicious of the Emperor's ordering his maid to poison me, and as I pondered the reason, a hypothesis came to mind.
Could it be that there is another Leopold Duke's bloodline besides mine?
I didn't think my father had an affair.
Because my father truly loved my mother.
After my mother passed away from a chronic illness, many young ladies proposed marriage to him to take the honorable position of Duchess Leopold, but my father refused.
Rather, he got angry at the family that had sent him the marriage proposal, telling them that she was the only woman in his life and that they should stop doing such nonsense.
The story is still being told in social circles today.
So, there's no way I have a hidden half-sibling or anything like that.
It could have been for my father.
Because my grandfather, Duke Leopold of the Former Empire, was a famous womanizer known throughout the Empire.
In the meantime, he said that he took good care of his lower body and never saw his children outside.
Well, I heard that women who had affairs with my grandfathers often brought the child home, saying that it was my grandfather's child.
However, these children were never recognized as being of the bloodline of the Duke Leopold.
Because those children did not have red hair, which was evidence that they had been blessed by the red dragon.
And I couldn't get into 'that place' either.
Anyway, officially my father had no siblings, but considering my grandfather's record, I couldn't say for sure that he didn't have any.
It could be that it was not my grandfather but my ancestors who did it.
Indeed, somewhere on the continent, there is another Leopold Duke's bloodline, besides mine.
So if the Emperor had found that bloodline, it made sense that he would have poisoned me in my third life.
“I’ll have to look for it.”
So I need to check if my assumption is true or not.
I decided to look into it and called upon Lord Aldor.
“There’s something I’d like to find out secretly. Do you know of a good information guild?”
If there wasn't, I was going to ask him to find out, but fortunately, Lord Aldor answered right away, as if he knew.
“I think Ecclesia will be okay.”
“Ecclesia? It’s the first time I’ve heard of it, so I guess it’s not a guild with roots in the empire.”
Lord Aldor nodded and continued.
“Do you know the nomadic people called Thrasos?”
“Yes, I know. You mean the desert-based, slightly dark-skinned people?”
I saw it only once in my first life.
“That’s right. It’s an information guild they created, and they’re pretty good at keeping secrets.”
"Is it so?"
I'm a little worried since it's the first time I've heard of the guild, but seeing as Aldor says so, I can definitely trust it.
“But how does Lord Aldor know about such a place?”
From what I heard, it seemed like a little-known place, but it was surprising that he knew about it.
“I found out about it by chance when I went on a mission for His Highness the Duke.”
“Oh, I see. Then how do I request it there?”
“I know how to do this. Write down your request and I will pass it on to them.”
“No. I will meet them in person and tell them what I want.”
It's not that I didn't trust Lord Aldor.
I felt more comfortable speaking directly because if there was someone in the middle, there was a greater chance that the story would leak out.
“Okay. Then shall we call them the Duke’s residence?”
“No. Then there is a possibility that other people will notice, so let’s meet quietly outside.”
What particularly caught the Emperor's eye was the absolute specification.
“Whenever they come to the dukedom, just tell me. I’ll take the time to get out.”
"All right."
As the conversation was almost over and Lord Aldor was about to leave, the office door opened without a knock.
There was only one person in the Duke's residence who could open the door and enter without knocking.
“Young Lady, wait a minute.”
Perdes, who had discovered Lord Aldor, stopped in his tracks.
Lord Aldor bowed his head to Perdes and leisurely left the office.
Perdes stared at the back of Lord Aldor, turning his head sharply, before looking back at me.
“What did you talk about with that guy?”
“Nothing.”
As much as I wanted to investigate this in secret, the fewer people who knew about it the better, so I kept quiet.
Then Perdes said with a grumpy face.
“I always feel this way, but YoungbLady has too many secrets.”
“I always say this too...”
“A woman must have many secrets to be beautiful?”
Perdes cut off what I was trying to say and waved his hand.
“That’s okay. Jack made a mistake, so he needs some help."
What mistake did he make that you need my help?
When I looked at him in wonder, Perdes continued speaking.
“Jack dropped his magic ring, which was his means of communication with the Emperor.”
“So did the ring break or something?”
There's no way that's possible?
The magic ring was so hard that it could only be broken by stepping on it with a horseshoe.
“It didn’t break... It rolled into the basement of the Duke’s residence. Into the small space between the door.”
"Ah."
That's what happened.
Finally realizing the situation, I stood up and grabbed the basement key that I had put in the drawer.
“Go. I’ll take out the ring for you.”
***
It might seem strange that I would step forward to pick up a ring that a servant had dropped, but anyone who knew the circumstances of Duke Leopold's residence would never find it strange.
That would be the case, as the Duke's basement was a special place where only those permitted to enter were allowed to enter.
For example, a blood relative of the Duke of Leopold, or someone who married into a blood relative and had their name recorded in the family tree.
And only those who had special permission from Duke Leopold were allowed to enter.
A little deeper, 'that place' was only accessible to blood relatives.
The deepest part was accessible only to the Duke of Leopold.
If an unauthorized person entered, they disappeared without a trace the moment they set foot in.
Of those who entered without fear or with the ability to overcome curiosity and then disappeared, not a single person has ever been found.
Because it was such a dangerous place, employees were warned never to go into the basement when entering the Duke's residence.
That's why I told Perdes never to go into the basement when I brought him to the Duke's residence.
Perdes, surprisingly, did not forget that fact and came to me to ask for my help.
Well, even if he tries to go in directly, it's locked behind a thick iron door so he won't be able to get in.
There was a small gap at the bottom of the iron door, just big enough to fit a hand, and the ring had rolled in through it.
Squeak-
When I opened the door after a long time, I heard a sound like metal scraping.
I'll have to ask Haness to fix the door later.
...But is the ‘special permission’ that my father gave to Haness still valid after he passed away?
If not, it would be a big problem, so I decided to put off asking Haness to fix the door until later.
After I became Duke Leopold.
The ring in question, which had rolled through the crack in the basement door, was lying right in front of me.
I picked up the ring and gave it back to Jack.
“Be careful in the future.”
“Yes, yes. Thank you very much, Miss.”
Jack bowed 90 degrees to me, repeatedly thanking me, and then quickly disappeared.
I locked the basement door and went back to my office.
Perdes, who had been following me like a puppy, asked me as soon as he entered the office.
“What's in there?”
“Why all of a sudden?”
"Just curious."
When I was little, I was really curious about what was in there.
I'm still curious now.
“If it’s hard to answer, you don’t have to.”
When I remained silent, Perdes said, perhaps because he thought I was having a hard time answering.
“No, I don’t know either.”
“You don’t know?”
“Yes. I know there’s something very special in there, but I’ve never actually seen it.”
The only person who could see it was Duke Leopold, who could enter the deepest part.
That means my father knows what's inside, so I asked him.
But my father said I didn't need to know and wouldn't teach me no matter how many times I asked.
At that time, I didn't think much of those words.
Now that I think about it, I think my father said that because he had no intention of appointing me as his successor.
If it weren't for the Duke, there would be no need to know what was inside.
“...”
Suddenly, my throat felt tight and my chest felt tight as if I had swallowed a few rocks.
"Ha."
Perdes, who was quick-witted, noticed that I was frustrated and offered me a glass of cool water.
"Thank you."
Drinking some cool water helped relieve some of the stuffy feeling in my heart.
Even if my father had not intended to appoint me as his successor, I would have been a Duke.
No, it had to happen.
Because that was the only way I could survive while taking revenge on the Emperor.
To do that, I had to finish what I was doing quickly, so I sat down at my desk, trying to calm my anxious heart.
***
It was about three days later that Lord Aldor made an appointment with the information guild called Ecclesia.
A late summer afternoon with a damp rain falling steadily.
I sneaked out of the Duke's residence without the servants knowing and headed to the meeting place.
Aldor followed me.
I wanted to go alone, but since the person who made the appointment with them was Lord Aldor, I had no choice but to go with him.
The restaurant was quiet as it was raining and the lunch hour was slightly behind schedule.
There were only five guests including us.
My red hair stood out no matter where I went, so I pulled my hood down and sat down.
Since it was raining and many people were wearing hoods, it didn't seem strange at all for me to be like this.
After waiting for a moment, a man who appeared to be an employee approached us.
“Would you like to order, sir?”
I didn't really feel like eating anything, I just wanted to order a beer.
“...!”
The man suddenly grabbed Lord Aldor by the collar and threw him down.
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