In his office at the castle in the center of Krasland, Marquis Krall is at work.
Although it was said in that manner, the Marquis has never actually stopped
working, even when monsters are attacking or when peace is prevailing.
"Mm, I guess that's it for today."
The Marquis muttered as he signed the last document and put down his pen.
Almost at the same time, his office door was opened abruptly.
"mu…"
It is the height of impoliteness to enter the room of the Marquis, who is the
lord of the region, without knocking.
But when the Marquis raised his head and was about to give this
impertinent intruder a few scolding, he stopped when the person in question
caught his eye.
It was because the other party was Lacy, who was breathing hard as if she
ran straight to him as fast as she could.
"What is it, Lacy?"
The Marquis waited for her breathing to calm down before he asked.
"Haaa, haa… uncle…"
"Go on."
The Marquis calmly took a moment to compose himself, and when it was
done, Lacy finally opens her mouth.
"It's a betrayal. Big sis has switched sides to Viscount Finlay!"
The Marquis was dumbfounded for a second, before he realized that Lacy
was serious when she said that in a nervous tone. If you a re a ble to r ead th
is m es sage, yo u are r ead ing fro m an unau thori zed ag grega te si te. Re
ad at my Wor dPr ess at st abb i ng wit h a sy rin ge. ho me. bl og to su ppo
rt me and my tra nsl atio ns.
He immediately gets up and calls the butler who is waiting in the next
room.
"Bring Milena here at once. If she resists, you may use our soldiers."
The butler left quickly after leaving a beautiful bow.
The Marquis, after seeing him off, looked at Lacy again.
"Lacy, are you serious about what you just said?"
"Yes! sister is connected with the enemy, Sanada."
"Him of all people… No, if that's the case…"
At the mention of Yuushin's name, the Marquis pondered.
He immediately realized that it might be his trap.
(Spreading false information and aiming for internal conflict on the other
party… he's the kind of guy who would do something like this.)
The Marquis, who had analyzed Yuushin's behavior up to this point, was
already aware of his signature technique.
"Uncle? Is something the matter?"
"No, it's nothing. Anyway, it would be better to ask her side first."
In the meantime, the Marquis made Lacy sit on the nearby sofa.
Then he returned to his desk and waited for Milena's arrival.
Soon, Milena, accompanied by the butler, entered the office while looking
nervous.
"Excuse me, uncle. I have arrived."
"Umu. Thanks for the hard work. Come over here."
The Marquis greeted. Meanwhile, Lecy looked at her sister from the side
with a wary gaze.
"I called you today because I heard something that bothered me from Lacy
over there."
"Something… that bothered you?"
"Yes. I have heard that you have switched sides with Viscount Finlay."
Milena almost jumped at those words, but she clenched her fists and held
on.
"There's got to be a mistake! I cannot do such thing as a betrayal!"
Milena says this while looking straight at the Marquis.
The Marquis, on the other hand, sees that Milena is not lying.
He had known his nieces since they were children. He was confident that he
would know if they were lying or not.
"Hmmm, I see. But I'm at a loss of what to do…"
The problem, then, is a difference of opinions.
If neither of them was lying, then the information was being twisted
somewhere.
And there is only one person who could do that, at least in this situation.
"In any case, we must prevent the situation from getting any worse, first
and foremost. That Sanada, he surely made a mess with a lot of things…"
The Marquis called out the name of the young man, who was not there,
hatefully.
"For the time being, neither of you is allowed to speak to the other without
me. And you, Milena, tell me everything you know. Now."
Having no choice but nod at the compelling words of the Marquis, Milena
nodded.
Recalling the humiliating scene, she began to speak while resisting shame
and frustration from showing up on her face.
"Actually, a few days ago, I received a letter from him…"
Milena then explained what had happened during her secret talk with
Yuushin.
Beginning with arguments with voices that reached their throats, being
provoked into a passionate rage, and ending up with her on the verge of
killing him.
She did not, however, tell how the other party demanded her body in
exchange for her negligence.
"… is all I have to say about the day I met him."
When she finished speaking, Milena was disheartened.
The Marquis, who was listening to her, also had a tragic look on his face,
but that same face immediately straightened up.
"I made you say something unpleasant. Forgive me, my niece. But this is
also your fault for meeting your enemies alone. You have been too
careless."
Milena nodded at the Marquis's unreasonable words. Then, she apologized.
"Yes, it was an error in judgment on my part. I am sorry."
Milena bowed her head deeply.
On the other hand, Lacy, who was listening to this, had a somewhat
unsatisfied expression.
"Uncle… you really believe in big sis's words?"
The Marquis looked surprised at those words.
However, he nodded after thinking about it a little.
"Come to think of it, I have yet to hear the details from Lacy's part."
Saying that, he turned to face Lacy.
"Then it's your turn. Tell me why Milena is a traitor."
"Yes, I think my story will convince my uncle!"
Lacy looks at Milena warily for a moment and then opens her mouth.
"Actually, I also had the chance to talk to that Sanada as well…"
From here, Lacy told the details of her recent conversation with Yuushin
and emphasized the danger posed by Milena. Of course, while also leaving
the part of knowing 'that part' of her sister to save the little dignity she has
left.
Meanwhile, Milena, who was by her side, stared at the situation with
dumbfounded eyes. Thi s ch ap ter tra nsl ation is ma de pos si ble by stab b
ing with a sy ri nge tr ans latio ns. ch eck onl y u p-t o- date tran slat i ons
on my W ordp re ss si te.
(Lacy, why are you so insistent that I'm a traitor? We're sisters, aren't we?)
For the first time, Milena felt betrayed by her adored sister.
(It's true that we sometimes quarrel, but I can't believe you don't believe
me this much!)
Since they had been together the longest as immediate family, the shock of
not being believed by her sister, especially at this timing when she needed
her support the most, was great for Milena.
Despite that, Lacy continued to insist on the Marquis and convinced him
that his sister is a danger to their side, not knowing that she's also digging a
deeper grave for her sister.
"Sis is betraying us while feigning ignorance. Please give us your
judgment!"
"I understand. I'll look into this myself. Both of you take the rest of the day
off to calm yourself down."
It was clear that both of them were mentally damaged, although their
vectors were different.
After saying that, the Marquis sent each of them back to their own barracks.
When he was left alone in his office, he called his trusted subordinate again.
"Immediately get behind the story of the two. Sanada is definitely shaking
us up. We must assess the situation, or the enemy will use this gap as a
chance."
"Understood, sir."
Thus, the Marquis began to deal with the situation quickly, but this was a
bad move.
The bad move is that he should have kept his two nieces under surveillance
and not returned them on their own.
Around that time, in her room in the barracks, Lacy was pacing around her
room in exasperation.
"My goodness, what is uncle taking so long! Sister's words are obviously
just a lie to get her out of the picture!"
Lacy was convinced that her sister had betrayed them under the influence of
Yuushin, her 'man'.
This was because Lacy, who had been with her since childhood, also knew
her sister's physical characteristics.
The fact that the beautiful, calm, and smart sister had become the property
of the enemy man, she had no choice but to admit it.
It's him. Sanada Yuushin is the root of all of this. I must catch him.
Hatred for his sister who betrayed her, and hatred for Yuushin who made his
sister betray them.
Moved by these two hatreds, Lacy grabbed her weapon and tried to leave
her room.
But just before she reached for the door, a gentle yet powerful knock came
from the other side.