The Night in Hasets
Receiving Leona Klaus's piercing gaze, Yuri spoke in a trembling voice.
"I'm sorry. I fell asleep in the godown at the estate and woke up late."
"Ho, if anyone overheard that, they'd think I was assigning some cruel task to my maid."
Her mocking tone sent a chill down Yuri's spine, a bead of sweat sliding down her back.
"N-no, that's not it at all. It's just that my body is frail."
Leona Klaus was never the original wife of the Klaus ducal family.
She had been the duke's mistress, an infamous figure who stirred up scandal in high society.
Yet she had somehow divorced the wife and taken her rightful place as the new mistress of the household, thanks to her cunning schemes.
She had driven every child from the previous marriage out of the family, then placed her own youngest son, Kalian, on the ducal throne.
To Yuri, she was still just an elegant older woman who seemed far beyond her reach.
Knowing that a clumsy reply would only fuel suspicion, Yuri dropped to her knees without hesitation.
"Your Grace is my benefactor. Since the day I chose to stand with you over Esika, I have sworn to follow you for the rest of my life."
"Hmph. Begging so desperately... when your actions say otherwise..."
Leona crossed her legs and spoke coldly, her voice dripping with disdain.
"If your words and deeds do not match, how can I possibly trust you?"
Yuri's clenched fists trembled at the reminder.
She had once confessed to Kalian that she had been whipped by Leona.
Without that confession, she would have earned his wrath, so she had gone to Leona in tears, seeking his sympathy.
"Please, just give me a little more time. I will prove my loyalty again."
Regaining Leona's favor was the priority.
Obtaining even a single favor would help her situation.
She had already sent a letter to the marquis family, fabricating Esika's circumstances, though the risk remained.
"Loyalty? How can I trust someone who has already betrayed me once?"
Yet Leona's gaze remained ice-cold.
Yuri continued, her red eyes burning with intensity, without a trace of shame.
"If you suspect I harbor other feelings, cut my hair right now."
Leona's lips curved into a mocking smile.
She reached for the scissors on the table, then stepped forward and seized a handful of Yuri's hair, yanking her head up to meet her gaze.
Yuri's jaw trembled as she looked up at the duchess dowager.
"I kept you close because you reminded me of myself."
Leona snipped off a lock of Yuri's hair with a single stroke.
Yuri's red eyes shook violently.
If Leona had learned what had happened with Kalian the night before, she might not have stopped at cutting her hair.
"..."
Fortunately, the scissors only threatened; the severed strands fluttered to the floor.
Leona's lips curled into a thin line as she looked down at Yuri.
"Behave yourself, Yuri."
Yuri nodded, her spine chilled to the bone.
She had understood Leona's demonic cruelty well from afar while staying near Esika, but experiencing it firsthand made her realize just how terrifying it truly was.
"Understood. Your Grace."
Still, Yuri could never abandon the position of the Klaus ducal wife.
The hand of the duke she had once been unable to reach had finally touched her, and she had been held in his arms.
Power and glory that should have remained out of reach had now entered her sphere of influence.
She could not turn away.
She would drive the wretched Esika out of the ducal estate, eliminate this disgusting demon, and claim the family everyone coveted as her own.
"Please believe me."
***
The day had finally arrived when Esika was to retrieve the antidote she had ordered from the weapon shop.
Thanks to Pulse's carriage, the journey was smooth.
Three family supporters—Hans, Hemos, and Sella—had accompanied her.
Thanks to them, not only the food but also the accessories and clothing had steadily improved in quality.
She was currently wearing a middle-class dress, chosen because Hans had sent one that was less conspicuous than a maid's uniform.
This was Hans, who had proven his usefulness through diligent cooperation in her daily life.
'The fish are finally gathering. All that's left is to reel them in.'
Knowing the future in advance was strangely pleasant.
Esika gazed at the scenery outside the carriage with a bright, cheerful expression.
Her internal energy had accumulated at a pace far exceeding her expectations.
Of course, it was not a return to her previous strength.
Unfortunately, she was still far from the ranks of master swordsmen.
And there was one variable.
Esika recalled the words Superot had spoken to her yesterday.
"When you were eight, the country was still in chaos after the war, a turbulent and ominous time. I didn't know everything, but you disappeared from Hasets."
Superot Brigate, the eldest brother three years her senior, and Serbin Brigate, her second brother two years younger, had often played in the Hasets port with her and Yuri, who was the same age.
It had been their secret from the adults.
One day, during a game of hide-and-seek, Esika had vanished.
The entire family had searched Hasets, but she could not be found.
Superot and Serbin had called her name until their voices grew hoarse.
It was the day after a sleepless night, when Superot had not even been able to eat a spoonful of soup.
At dawn, he spotted a warehouse and called out Esika's name.
Inside, corpses of armed men were piled high.
Esika stood there, holding a sword far larger than herself, her eyes unfocused and bloodied.
Superot noticed a boy crouching behind her, of similar age, with a chilling gaze.
The wanted poster for a first-class traitor was used to hunt down rebels and their descendants.
Although the royal family of Turesia had only recently reclaimed its stolen capital, they had been executing collaborators in droves.
"He had black hair. His head was messy, so I couldn't see his face clearly... Still, we tried to reach for the boy, and Esika began speaking in a strange language."
"A strange language?"
"Yes. It was completely incomprehensible. And... he collapsed. Shortly after, someone from the royal family took the boy away, and our family was investigated."
It was against the rules to mix the words of a first-class traitor, but since Esika had spent an entire day with the boy, the entire family had been investigated.
"What happened to the boy?"
"From what I heard... he was executed. That's what first-class traitors usually receive."
"...Probably not."
"...What?"
Esika's stomach churned as she guessed the boy's identity.
The first meeting with Lesban Deon Rusein had not been at the Klaus estate, as she had expected.
And the strange language had likely been the awakening of the spirit's self-awareness for a moment.
'What did I do to him there...?'
She had lived as Esika, but her memories of that exact period had been severed.
She knew something had happened in Hasets, but she had never connected it to Lesban.
'In the end, the only way is to recover the memory or hear the answer from him.'
Her heart raced at the memory of Lesban's golden eyes staring at her intently.
A short while later, the carriage arrived at the weapon shop.
Esika stepped down, brushed off her thoughts, and entered the shop.
The interior was noisier than the last time she had visited.
She had intended to ask for a good sword quickly, but the shopkeeper seemed to be dealing with troublesome customers.
"This cheap sword costs five hundred rings? Haggle a bit."
"Here's one hundred rings. Take it!"
"Then we won't even have a profit left. One hundred rings is too little."
"Shut up!"
The leader of the group of six drew a sword from the weapon rack and threatened the shopkeeper.
"Ugh, my lord...!"
"How dare you try to cheat us? Business properly, or else!"
The shopkeeper looked utterly defeated, unable to decide what to do, while Esika let out a small sigh and watched the situation unfold.
From their appearance, they seemed like mercenaries from outside, and the quality of the men was poor.
"This one's a bonus. It might come in handy when I slice up some rabbits."
The leader picked up Esika's slightly short sword beside the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper tried to stop him.
"Ugh, no. This belongs to another customer. You said you'd come to pick it up today, so returning it would be..."
"From the looks of it, you're not skilled. If you're dissatisfied, come find me. Kill kill kill."
His cold, mocking laughter made Esika's eyebrows twitch.