Chapter 8

7.

What on earth is going on here?

Rachel tilted her head to the side.

"Sir Rupert, I haven't appointed a new tax collector yet, you know?"

"…Yes, I am aware of that."

"But what is this situation?"

The burly men were dragging a frail woman, and they were doing so right in front of her young brother.

Her voice was calm, but her mind was as cold as if it had been doused with cold water.

She walked with a steady pace toward where people's attention was focused.

"Stop."

The men dragging the woman turned to look at the sudden interruption.

"What's this?"

"Hey, miss. You seem to be from a wealthy family, but if you interfere with the execution of official duties, you might get hurt. Got it?"

I heard the area was unstable…

My mind was preoccupied with money, and I failed to consider the safety and security of the people in the territory.

This is my fault.

"Ah, miss, it's dangerous. You shouldn't interfere…!"

To worry about me even in such a situation.

How kind.

"Run away quickly! I can't let you get hurt because of my problem! Nikki, you should go too!"

The woman clung desperately to the man's arm.

"You bitch!"

As the man pushed her away with a look of annoyance, the woman fell to the ground.

"Ah!"

"Big sister, big sister!"

Rachel, who had been watching the scene, opened her lips.

"Sir Rupert, take care of it."

"Yes."

At her soft command, Rupert stepped forward with a sharp gaze.

"Hey, hey. The lady doesn't know the world is a dangerous place."

Their posture and the way they twisted their necks made them look like street thugs.

They drew their swords and pointed them at Rupert without fear.

As his eyes flashed with a fierce light at the sight of the gleaming sword blades, Rachel spoke.

"Don't kill them."

I have a lot of questions to ask.

There must be others impersonating tax collectors besides these guys.

"I understand."

It's absurd for the head of the Agnus family's knight squadron to deal with street thugs.

"Ugh! Ugh!"

Rupert beat the two men, who attacked with poor posture, soundly.

"You, you. Aren't you afraid of the Duke? How dare you lay a hand on a tax collector!"

"The Duke's family won't let you off. If you kneel and apologize now…!"

The people, who had been watching with a satisfied expression, now looked worried at the men's cries.

Rachel, who had been quietly observing the men, gently removed her veil hat.

Her silver hair flowed down, and her clear, shining eyes turned to them.

"The Duke's family won't let me off? That's a funny thing to say."

"Your Grace, what should we do with them?"

At Rupert's words, the men's faces turned ashen.

"Ah!"

Rachel Agnus.

The owner of this vast territory.

"Sir Rupert, how should we punish someone who impersonates a tax collector and uses my name, even though they have nothing to do with me?"

"Immediate execution."

She curled her lips at the trembling men.

"That's right. What do you think?"

"Please, spare us our lives!"

"Please forgive us!"

The men knelt and begged.

It wasn't the time to worry about dignity when their lives were on the line.

She turned her gaze from the sobbing men and looked around the now quiet surroundings.

"The tax for this quarter is waived. I clearly issued an official notice. So if such people appear again, report them to the Duke's family without hesitation."

The security forces can't be trusted.

'I need to inspect the security forces as well.'

Many things that couldn't be seen through documents became visible during her inspection.

The grievances of the people in the territory toward her.

The lives of the people in the territory that haven't improved due to corruption.

The people knelt and bowed their heads at her words.

There was no one who could raise their head in front of the owner of this territory.

"You. What's your name?"

She spoke to the woman who had been trembling on the ground since she heard her identity.

"Me, me?"

"Yes."

"V-Vera."

"Good. Vera."

Rachel liked her.

"Do you want to come with me?"

Vera's eyes wavered like ripples.

"Me…?"

"Yes."

A bright smile appeared on Rachel's face.

I've chosen you.

My favorite's personal maid.

Rachel, who returned to the Duke's residence, worked tirelessly.

She was busy dealing with the newly revealed problems.

It wasn't something that could be solved by just posting official notices and spreading rumors.

It was also necessary to deal with the street thugs who were rampant in the streets.

She had been holed up in her office for two days.

"Your Grace, please take a break."

Ann placed a fragrant cup of tea on the desk, looking worried.

Rachel spoke with a voice heavy with fatigue.

"…Thank you for your concern. But there are things I must do."

"Your Grace, work is important, but your health is the most important. You haven't slept properly for two days…"

Ann's worried words made Rachel's lips curl into a faint smile.

She hadn't even gone to her bedroom, taking short naps on the office sofa.

Ann's concern was justified.

"Your Grace, it's Marcus."

"Come in."

Rachel spoke to Marcus, who entered the office with a heavy expression.

"The official notices haven't been properly delivered."

The notices posted on the bulletin boards in the town square had been damaged.

It was the work of the street thugs.

She had ordered Sir Rupert to thoroughly search and apprehend them, so that part would be resolved soon.

But.

"Is it still too dangerous outside to tell me where my brother is?"

"…"

Marcus was lost in thought.

He had promised.

He would tell her after he had finished the overall political matters.

But was it right to let the Duke's blood relative stay outside in such an unstable situation?

While he was lost in thought, Rachel handed him a bundle of documents.

"This is…"

After returning to the mansion.

These were the documents she had processed in two days.

"Promises must be kept, right?"

Marcus scanned the documents with trembling eyes.

He thought it would take at least a month to process all of this!

It was a speed that could only be described as insane.

Moreover, there wasn't a single careless approval.

The Duke had completed a month's worth of work in just two days.

'Ah! This is the person I should serve!'

To work so hard for the people even to the point of staying up all night.

Marcus, moved by her incredible ability, opened his trembling lips.

"Your Grace's brother…"

But he would never know.

That her incredible ability came from her determination to bring her favorite safely to the Duke's residence.

The carriage with the Agnus family crest was running down the road.

Rachel, Ann, and Marcus were inside.

And the Agnus family's knights were guarding them tightly as they ran.

"…Phew. Finally!"

Rachel suppressed her trembling heart.

The jolting of the carriage was still unfamiliar, but she didn't even feel the pain that ran through her tailbone.

It was finally the day to see her favorite.

The day to see with her own eyes the image of her favorite that she had only imagined in her mind.

The alluring villainess, Liz Agnus.

How cute and adorable must she have been as a child?

Ann, who was watching her take deep breaths to calm herself, smiled and asked.

"You seem very nervous, Your Grace."

Even the always confident and unflappable Duke was nervous about something.

Half-sibling.

So, a noble's illegitimate child.

Even to commoners, the existence of half-siblings was not a pleasant one.

How much more so for the nobility, who valued honor and bloodline?

But seeing her so nervously looking forward to a new family member made her seem more human and relatable.

"…I'm getting a family."

"Ah…"

Ann's voice trailed off at her words.

Half a year ago.

After her parents passed away, the Duke had been alone all this time.

The Duke must have been very lonely.

Thinking about it, a look of sympathy passed through Ann's eyes.

"Marcus, when will we arrive?"

"Soon."

Marcus sighed, tired of the frequent questions.

How long had they been traveling?

The carriage stopped in front of a red two-story house.

The door opened, and Rachel stepped out of the carriage.

It's the first meeting.

So I have to make a good impression.

I want to make a good impression on my favorite.

She checked her appearance with a hand mirror and approached the door.

"Hem."

But what should I say?

Hello? I'm your fan.

No, no. That's not right…

Nice to meet you. I'm your sister!

"Ah, that doesn't seem right either."

How should I start the conversation?

"Shall I go in first?"

After hesitating for a while, contrary to his promise to bring her immediately, Marcus approached the door.

"No. I'll do it."

It'll be fine somehow. I guess.

Just as she was about to reach for the doorbell,

Bang!

"Get lost! I don't need a parasite like you!"

The door was roughly opened, and a small figure was thrown out.

'This child…'

Rachel instinctively caught the child in her arms.

"Ah, ah."

The child, trembling in her arms.

Though covered in dust, she instinctively realized.

This child is the one she had been waiting to meet so much.

Oh.