chapter 4

Why?

Why is Alias showing up here now?

Rachel tried to get a good look at Alias’s face beneath the hood, but it was useless. He wore a black eyepatch, concealing both his face and eye color.

Alias—the alias of Sian Aysa Dikarsniak, the only duke in the empire, and the father of Dolorasa, the heroine of the original story.

Rachel decided to revise her plan of simply extracting information from the informant.

Alias was the father of her future son-in-law—the father of the girl who would one day become Theodore’s wife. She couldn’t just let him pass by without taking the opportunity to engage him.

Alias tilted his head.

“Countess? Is there a problem?”

“Sorry. Your name startled me because I know someone with the same name. Since this conversation might take a while, could you wait in another reception room? I’ll finish what I was doing and come to you immediately.”

“You’ll have to pay for the time you make me wait.”

“Of course.”

Alias left the reception room with an easy nod.

To think that one of the wealthiest men in the empire meticulously calculated even waiting time! If I hadn’t known, I would’ve been completely fooled.

Rachel was eager to speak with Alias, but first, she needed to finish dealing with Marsha.

Taking a deep breath to calm her excitement, Rachel slowly spoke.

“Now that the little nuisance has gone, shall we continue our conversation?”

“M-Madam….”

“I gave Marsha a chance. But she threw it away, so there will be no mercy. Don’t be too disappointed.”

She clasped her hands calmly and delivered the punishment she had prepared.

“From this moment on, Marsha is no longer a maid of the Ellosa household. All privileges she enjoyed as a servant are revoked, including the financial support sent to her family.”

“If you cut that off, my family…!”

“Don’t interrupt. I haven’t finished. Return all the items provided to you, including the clothes you’re wearing now. If any items were lost or damaged beyond what’s in the ledger, you’ll compensate for them.”

Marsha’s head dropped weakly to the floor.

It was still early, but if she broke down already, it would be troublesome.

“Return everything you stole in secret. If any items are missing, you must compensate. I’ll calculate the rental fee for the dishes you took, and I’ll also charge for the dates you held the Consolation Society gatherings and the amount of food you took.”

“I… I don’t have that kind of money…”

“You must also return any pay you unfairly received while neglecting your duties. I’ll charge compensation for the mental damage caused to Graham and me by your lies and negligence. Graham is too kind to speak ill of you properly, but…”

After letting the words flow like a waterfall, Rachel exhaled deeply.

“I’ll tally the amounts and deadlines and send them to your family in the countryside. Don’t even think of running away, because your family will bear the responsibility once you vanish.”

“Sniff… sob, sniff…”

Marsha finally broke into tears.

Rachel watched briefly as the elderly nanny of her son scratched at the floor in despair, then turned away.

There was more to punish, but seeing her cry made Rachel’s heart soften, and she didn’t administer the final punishment.

‘I had thought of spreading the rumor that she was expelled for theft, but I can’t bring myself to do that. Then she’d never be able to work as a nanny again.’

It was unfortunate, but the financial penalties alone would be enough for Marsha to suffer, so Rachel decided to leave it at that.

Rachel then headed to the other reception room where Alias was waiting.

When she opened the door, Alias turned toward her. Despite his eyepatch and hood, he had accurately adjusted his direction.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“That’s fine. As I mentioned, I’ll bill you for the time you waited.”

“Do as you wish.”

A chair was placed near the sunlit window, but Alias stood deliberately in the shadows.

Rachel stepped into the shade as well. He kept his gaze fixed as if he could see clearly.

“As you may have heard, I need to obtain certain information. I was supposed to come to the guild myself, but my husband and butler insisted on sparing me the trouble of going.”

“That’s no problem.”

“Before I officially explain the request, may I say something first?”

“If you’re willing to pay for the extended time, anything is fine.”

“Good.”

Rachel bowed politely toward Alias, draped in a black cloak and eyepatch.

“I am addressing His Grace, Duke Sian Aysa Dikarsniak.”

“Wha…?”

Alias stiffened noticeably.

“I don’t know what you mean. I am Alias, an informant of the guild.”

“Most likely a pseudonym.”

“……”

Alias—no, Sian—examined Rachel’s presence carefully before speaking slowly, his voice sharp.

“How did you know?”

Rachel had successfully piqued his interest.

She spoke in a calm voice, reciting the lie she had prepared.

“It wasn’t difficult. You concealed your eyes and hair thoroughly, which only made you more suspicious.”

Not difficult, she said.

It was common for guild informants to hide their identities when carrying out covert work.

Of course, it was rare to cover one’s eyes and hair as perfectly as Sian did. Gathering information while unable to see clearly is not something just anyone can do.

“You claim to have deduced that I am a duke from only that?”

“You didn’t hide your voice either. While you don’t often appear in public, your voice is so distinctive that it’s unforgettable.”

Her deduction was meaningful, but it wasn’t fully convincing. It’s hard to remember the voice of someone you’ve rarely, if ever, heard up close.

Rachel added one final point.

“Also, Your Grace had a reason to be here.”

This was the most certain reason.

It was the key factor in the original story that led Theodore, smitten with Jane, to collapse, and left Graham stripped of title and forced to live as a mercenary.

“I know the noble council suspects my husband Theodore of rebellion. I also know that Your Grace often patrols secretly on behalf of the council. Isn’t that enough to make a reasonable deduction?”

Indeed.

It was publicly known that Sian represented the noble council and occasionally patrolled via the guild. Only the fact that he was Alias had not been revealed.

The question remained:

“How did you know the noble council suspects Theodore Ellosa of rebellion? That’s information only high-ranking nobles would know.”

“The count often wanders outside the mansion at night, through desolate alleys. The family finances are strangely irregular. Anyone would suspect a rebellion under such circumstances.”

Sian’s eyes narrowed beneath the eyepatch.

Everything Rachel said was true—his identity, the suspicion of rebellion, all of it.

Last year, reports indicated Theodore Ellosa’s behavior was suspicious. The noble council advising the emperor wondered if he might be preparing a rebellion.

Sian began tailing Theodore. No evidence of rebellion appeared—only signs of an affair.

The problem was that the timid emperor wouldn’t lift his suspicion, so Sian had to monitor the Ellosa estate.

Today, he only stopped by because the council urged him to check on the guild’s informant at the Ellosa mansion. He had planned to take the request, inspect the mansion, and leave.

Yet remarkably, Rachel had seen through Sian’s identity and even understood the council’s suspicions.

Rachel, who had been observing Theodore, was not a naive woman. She was pure in one sense, perhaps foolish in another—she hadn’t noticed her husband’s affair for years.

And now…

Rachel spoke persuasively, filling the silence.

“Theodore is only meeting his mistress secretly to avoid people. The money he diverted probably went into that woman’s womb, not the army. I’ll help you gather the evidence.”

He couldn’t believe a woman would feign ignorance while knowing of her husband’s affair. What on earth was her identity?

Sian had never been so completely misled in his investigations. His curiosity was piqued.

He challenged Rachel:

“Ridiculous. You’re trying to cover up your husband’s rebellion. I won’t believe you.”

“I’m speaking because you won’t believe me. Since you doubt, track Theodore until you’re certain it’s not a rebellion, but an affair.”

What is she saying?

As Sian waited silently, Rachel continued.

“There’s a shop on Rotten Street with a pale yellow flower painted on it. Enter the alley to the right, pass two buildings, and you’ll see a two-story house with a red roof. Watch that house. You’ll see clearly what Theodore is doing.”

He already knew where that was—Jane’s house, Theodore’s mistress.

Rachel wasn’t just suspicious—she had the full picture.

“Observe the house, and if you’re certain it’s an affair, not a rebellion, come back to me.”

“…Are you asking for compensation?”

“No.”

Rachel finally laughed, despite trying to hold it in.

“I want the irrefutable evidence of his affair that Your Grace has collected. I want a clean, safe divorce from Theodore.”

Using Sian allowed her to obtain proof of the affair without arousing Theodore’s suspicion. It was a perfect plan—divorce and gaining an ally at once.

All that remained was for Sian to agree.

Sian’s lips twitched beneath the eyepatch.