MLTK 04

#4.

“Tsk, then he only called you for the sake of appearances. I wondered if there was something to it because he was the one who called you first.”

The Duke looked at me reproachfully. It was the first time he had looked at Amelia since I entered the room, but there was not the slightest warmth in his gaze.

“You’re useless. It has already been half a year since you became engaged to the Crown Prince. Yet instead of taking a liking to you, the Crown Prince apparently avoided you until the very end. I’ve heard about it, so don’t even think about denying it.”

Hmm. I didn’t have much to say in response.

The Crown Prince really had gone horseback riding to avoid Amelia, who came to see him every day and bothered him, and that was where he had gotten into an accident.

But the Crown Prince was funny too. After acting like that before his regression, he returned to the past and called me over, then flirted with me like that.

Did that mean Amelia hadn’t even found it strange?

“So, I was thinking… what if we call off this marriage?”

The Duke, whom I expected to fly into a rage, was unexpectedly quiet. He seemed to ponder something for a moment, then looked at me as though surprised.

“That’s unexpected. You saying something like that. I thought you liked the Crown Prince quite a lot.”

“I know, Father. But continuing to cling to something hopeless isn’t exactly wise either.”

Duke Wentworth stared at me as I calmly answered, then spoke mockingly.

“When I first took you in, I told you that if you couldn’t win the Crown Prince over, I would cast you out. Do you remember?”

The Duke touched Amelia’s trauma.

“…….”

It was true. That had been Amelia’s greatest fear.

Being cast out of the ducal household. Returning to the life she had lived on the streets in poverty was the most horrifying thing Amelia could imagine.

That was why, separate from the fact that Amelia loved him, the Crown Prince was so desperately important to her. So at this point, she should have been crying and clinging to him.

At least, that was what the original Amelia would have done.

As I calmly stood there, the Duke gave a small chuckle.

“Have you changed your strategy because I said I would cast you out? Well, your calmness isn’t unpleasant to look at. If only you had been like this from the beginning. Tsk.”

Since I had read the novel, I already knew that the Duke wouldn’t actually cast Amelia out.

Amelia’s appearance had too much value as a commodity.

‘Come on, say you’ll make me break off the engagement with the Crown Prince. Hurry!’

At my desperate gaze, Duke Wentworth spoke as though he were doing me a favor.

But his words were completely unexpected.

“I’ll arrange a meeting where you can avoid the eyes of others, so meet the young master of the Marquess of Molton’s family first. If things go well with him, I’ll consider breaking off the engagement with the Imperial Family.”

“Marquess Molton…? But before that, the Imperial Family—”

“It’s just insurance, in case something happens. The Crown Prince is still unquestionably the priority.”

The Duke was suggesting that I play both sides against the Imperial Family.

Just how much did he look down on the Imperial Family to say something like this?

In fact, it was also proof of just how much the power of the Imperial Family had declined.

I repeated the name that I was certain I had heard somewhere before.

“Molton, Marquess Molton…. Father!”

I hurriedly called out to the Duke.

In the original story, the House of Molton was a family that would soon be ruined by the Crown Prince after his regression.

Getting involved with them would only make death come sooner.

“Wouldn’t it be better to look into the Marquess of Molton’s family a little more carefully? Things may not be what they appear to be.”

“Do you know something?”

The Duke looked at me suspiciously.

I was momentarily flustered, but I quickly racked my brain and came up with a plausible answer.

“There was that gathering of young noble ladies before.”

“The gathering you supposedly caused a scene at and then left?”

For a moment, sweat trickled down my forehead.

Amelia, you caused a scene there too?

But judging from how vague it was in Amelia’s memories, perhaps it happened so often that she didn’t even bother storing it properly.

“Th-that, anyway… I heard something there. There’s a rumor that the Marquess of Molton’s wife often goes to casinos disguised as a maid.”

Of course, I had never heard such a thing.

But a person as high-ranking as the Duke wouldn’t bother investigating what conversations took place at gatherings of young noble ladies.

“Nobles going to casinos isn’t exactly a flaw.”

“But isn’t it strange that she frequently goes there in disguise? Why would she go that far just to do that….”

“Hmm.”

Judging by his reaction, it seemed to have worked.

Whether this was before or after the Crown Prince’s regression, this information wouldn’t have much influence on the overall course of events.

Before the regression, Duke Wentworth would eventually find out on his own, lend money to the Marquess of Molton at exorbitant interest rates, squeeze them dry, and eventually swallow up the entire Molton territory.

After the regression, wanting to prevent the Wentworth faction from growing too powerful in advance, the Crown Prince himself would expose and crush the illegal gambling operation of the Marquess of Molton.

More vile crimes committed by the Molton family would be revealed there, but that was irrelevant for now.

After thinking for a moment, the Duke rang the bell on his desk.

Soon, Butler James entered and bowed his head.

“You called for me?”

“Bring Viscount Layton here.”

“Yes, understood.”

Viscount Alfred Layton was one of the Duke’s close aides and a source of information.

Calling him meant that he intended to verify whether my statement was true.

“I’ll have it checked, and if it isn’t true, we’ll proceed as planned.”

I was grateful that he believed me, but this meant that breaking off the engagement was out of the question.

Was this really the end?

Was there something I could do to make the Duke decide to break off the engagement?

I hesitated instead of leaving, and the Duke called me again.

“Wait.”

I raised my head and looked at him.

Had I acted too demure? Should I have imitated Amelia a little more?

“On your way out, bring Aiden here.”

At the mention of Aiden, I secretly raised the corners of my lips.

It wasn’t important, but perhaps I could take this opportunity to deal with an annoying matter.

For today, I only intended to plant a little bait.

“Ah, if you mean Brother Aiden… I’ll tell Kate.”

“Kate? You mean the maid? She isn’t even your assigned maid. Why?”

“They seemed particularly close….”

Duke Wentworth’s expression frowned slightly.

He probably wouldn’t think much of it right now.

If he happened to see the two of them together someday, he would remember it then.

I was about to leave just like that when Butler James, who had just left, suddenly came running back into the room.

“Your Grace! Duke, Your Grace!”

“I told you to bring Alfred Layton. Why have you suddenly come back?”

“Someone has come from the Imperial Palace!”

“From the Imperial Palace? Bring them in.”

At the mention of the Imperial Palace, a sense of unease washed over me.

I deliberately didn’t leave and watched what was happening.

Soon, an imperial attendant came upstairs and paid his respects to both Duke Wentworth and me.

Seeing that made me even more uneasy.

“What is the matter?”

“His Highness the Crown Prince instructed me to deliver this letter to Your Grace.”

While the Duke read the letter, I found myself slowly taking a few steps backward.

I had a pretty good idea what it said.

I couldn’t believe he had really sent it the very next day.

When the Duke finished reading, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

That was even more ominous.

“It would be best to move Amelia’s residence to the Crown Prince’s Palace.”

“Yes. I was ordered to bring Lady Amelia over as soon as preparations are complete.”

The moment the Duke and the attendant turned their eyes toward me, I clutched my head and staggered.

“Ahh, I suddenly feel dizzy….”

“My Lady?”

“Amelia!”

I remembered all the fragile female protagonists I had seen in various forms of media and put on the best performance I could.

I had no choice.

There was no way I could enter the Crown Prince’s Palace right now, completely unprepared, and deal with a regressor obsessed with revenge.

“Amelia, are you all right? Your complexion is so pale.”

The Duke approached me with a completely different attitude from before and examined me.

He was conscious of the attendant’s presence.

Regardless of what the truth was, the Duke had to appear to be a father reluctantly giving his beloved daughter to the Crown Prince.

Leaning against the Duke, I weakly nodded.

“I… don’t feel well. I can’t go right now… Cough!”

“Oh dear, My Lady. In that condition, it seems it would be difficult.”

Fortunately, the attendant also fell for my acting.

I put on an even more dramatic performance to drive the point home.

“Cough, the Crown Prince… I’m sorry to His Highness… Cough, cough!”

I coughed even more violently and then completely collapsed forward.

The Duke hurriedly shouted.

“James! Take Amelia away immediately and lay her down in bed.”

“Yes? Yes, understood.”

James carried me on his back, and in the meantime, the Duke spoke to the imperial attendant.

“As you can see, Amelia’s health is poor, so I don’t think she can enter the palace immediately. Please convey that to His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Yes, I will relay the message. My Lady, then please take good care of yourself.”

Nod, nod.

After that, still being carried on James’s back, I arrived at my room.