Chapter 61

It has been more than a year now. Adeline had been secretly exchanging letters with Lady Seymour.

At first, it was nothing more than a simple friendship. However, it was a trap set by Adeline, and Lady Seymour had fallen into it beautifully.

Fortunately, the state of the estate has been gradually improving, but the fact that someone from the Everett family is still in Valentina is truly disheartening.

One day, Lady Seymour began to confide in Adeline about her worries.

Over the course of a few months, Adeline had repeatedly emphasized, "I am entirely on Lady Seymour's side," and finally, Annabella Seymour began to open her heart.

'What a fool.'

Adeline curled her lips in a mocking smile.

People grow weaker as they age. When the seemingly eternal youth withers, health deteriorates as if by magic, and the heart wavers and becomes anxious.

The vision of the elderly narrows. It becomes difficult to accept new things, and they tend to settle for the familiar.

Most people would be like that unless they have a strong sense of improvement and will.

Lady Seymour was no exception.

Even she, who seemed to have iron in her veins instead of blood, eventually grew weak with age. She had succumbed to the ruthlessness of time.

Yet, her pride remained strong, and even though she had opened her heart, she did not reveal everything. As a result, Adeline could not learn the detailed situation of the Valentina ducal family, but she was satisfied that she had completely won Lady Seymour to her side.

Moreover, today.

She had received the news that Lily Everett had fled in the middle of the night, and it had come so quickly.

Lady Seymour was truly easy to handle.

'She’s even doing a good job of pretending to be mad.'

For a while, Adeline had advised her to pretend to be insane.

About four weeks ago, after hearing something from Theodore, Lady Seymour seemed very anxious, and Adeline advised her to use a strategy to evoke Theodore's sympathy. After all, it was better to gain pity than anger.

And Lady Seymour, thinking the method was good, immediately followed Adeline's advice.

For the great Lady Seymour to pretend to be insane... it was a ridiculous situation, but outwardly, she pretended to be concerned about Lady Seymour. The kind image she had carefully cultivated was her treasure.

Theo, Lady Seymour... everyone must think of her as a kind person.

And isn't that the case in reality? She had always been kind to those she loved and cherished.

Whenever she got angry or acted badly, there was always a reason. The same goes for Lily Everett. It's you who is bad, not me.

'So... shall I start my work now?'

Adeline entered the dressing room and began to prepare for her outing. With the main culprit of all the twists, Lily Everett, having escaped Theodore's protection on her own, it was finally time to put her plan into action.

'If you just disappear, Lily, everyone can be happy. Everywhere you go, you bring trouble. It's all your fault that I couldn't be with Theo, and that Theo has become unhappy. You are the problem.

So, just disappear.'

* * *

The effect of the disguise magic tool wore off not long after they left Veronice.

The magic tool had been used so much that the magic circuit had worn out, and it could no longer be used.

Still, it had served its purpose well. It had been a great help in the final escape with Charlotte.

'...Owen gave me this magic tool to uncover Valentina's secrets.'

Ironically, it was used for a completely different purpose. I used it to help the people of the estate while disguised as a maid and to gather information on the servants who had mistreated me.

Although it was an item that had passed through Owen's hands, I am proud that I used it for good purposes. That's why, even though it's now broken and useless, I feel a bit reluctant to throw it away.

'Should I keep it as a memento...?'

I stared at the silver pendant-shaped magic tool, lost in thought. After a while, Charlotte's voice reached me.

"It's really chilly now that it's October... Are you okay, my lady?"

"Yes... I'm fine."

Actually, I was not fine at all.

We had successfully escaped Veronice and entered the main escape route, but the problem was that we had to cross the mountains.

Although this was a shortcut, the air in the mountains was so cold that I shivered even inside the carriage. Wrapping myself in several blankets did little to keep me warm.

'At least we can ride in the carriage, so that's a relief...'

Otherwise, it would have been a disaster.

This mountain path was well-traveled by peddlers, so the road was well-maintained, allowing carriages and carts to pass.

Thanks to this, our group could travel by carriage, but there were a few issues.

First, it was too cold.

Second, there was the possibility of encountering bandits...

'Ha ha! Bandits? Don't worry! They are nothing but puppies compared to our mercenary group!'

...The leader of the mercenary group we hired said this with great confidence, but, well, is there anything more threatening than a hungry bandit? Especially in the mountains.

'The bandits know the terrain of the mountains inside and out, so I'm worried they might ambush us from somewhere...'

I regret not stealing one of the spirit stones containing Theodore's spirit power.

I put the transformation magic tool back in my pocket. Wrapping myself in the blanket, I sighed softly. Suddenly, the carriage stopped.

"..."

Could it be... the bandits really appeared? They say if you talk about tigers, they will appear...

I tensed up, gripping the blanket tightly with both hands and hunching my shoulders. Just as I was on high alert, the carriage door suddenly opened.

At that moment, my heart almost stopped.

"Hey! I told you to knock before opening the door! Our lady is delicate!"

Charlotte scolded the person who had poked his head in. It was quite sharp, but it felt like a kitten's growl.

Harriet, who opened the door, seemed to have the same thought, as she smiled at Charlotte.

"Ah, sorry. I forgot. My lady, I apologize."

Her tone was polite, but it sounded playful. She was just too playful. I closed my eyes and nodded, feeling a bit relaxed.

Charlotte's voice, arguing with Harriet, reached me.

"Why did you stop the carriage? We need to get out of here before nightfall."

"It's nothing serious. I just thought you might be cold, so I brought something."

Harriet was the master of the errand guild 'Forest Wind,' responsible for our escape. He was a young man with freckles on his face. He had planned the escape route and hired a capable mercenary group.

"Ta-da! What's this?"

"..."

I slowly opened my eyes. In Harriet's hand were two black stones. The smooth surface of the stones had red letters engraved on them. Recognizing the letters, I widened my eyes.

'Those are... the letters of a mage?'

...In other words, these stones were magic tools.

"Here, touch them. They're really warm."

Harriet handed the stones to Charlotte.

Charlotte, who had been eyeing Harriet suspiciously, soon widened her eyes and looked down at the stone. After examining it for a while, she suddenly turned to me and shouted.

"My lady! Look at this!"

Charlotte approached me at a frightening speed. I flinched and blinked. With a wide smile, Charlotte placed the stones in my hands.

The warm heat seeped into my skin.

"Really warm, isn't it? It's amazing. This must be a magic tool."

"...Yes, it is. Thank you, Charlotte."

A gentle smile spread across my face. I also thanked Harriet.

"Thank you for taking care of everything, Harriet."

Harriet waved his hand with a friendly smile.

"Oh, it's nothing. This should last about four hours. If it gets lukewarm, just let me know, and I'll replace it."

...So, it's a one-time use. I heard that some mages create one-time use items to generate profit rather than permanent magic circuits. These stones must have been made by such mages.

"Then I'll take my leave. Please rest, my lady."

Harriet said formally. I stifled a laugh at his strange tone. The carriage door closed, and I sat down next to Charlotte with the stones.

"My lady...?"

"You're cold too. Let's use them together."

I placed the two stones in Charlotte's palms and covered them with my hands. This way, we could both stay warm.

"Thank you, my lady..."

"Don't thank me. It's only natural. And about the way you address me..."

I asked Charlotte to call me 'Lily' instead of 'my lady.' But Charlotte shook her head, saying she couldn't possibly do that.

It took a while to persuade the persistent Charlotte. In the end, we agreed that she would call me 'Miss Lily.'

I was still unsatisfied.

"You can call me 'sister'..."

"No way! How can I do that!"

"Charlotte, you know... I..."

I trailed off, looking beyond the carriage wall. I didn't want anyone to overhear. Charlotte immediately caught on and nodded seriously.

"Of course I know. But... to me, you will always be 'Miss Lily.'"

"..."

Charlotte knew that I wasn't even the illegitimate child of the Duke of Everett. I had told her everything. Yet, Charlotte continued to treat me as a noble lady.

"Miss Lily, you are the most beautiful and radiant person I have ever seen. I have always thought so since the first time I saw you. So, I will always be Charlotte to you. I like it that way."