Chapter 43

Today, as well, the dishes Vernereli prepared were exceptionally delicious, and Julius and I couldn't stop praising them.

But after hearing Vernereli's report, Laila was left speechless.

(…What? Carolina was cooperating with the Oluva people?)

"Ah, um, what do you mean by that?"

"Helka must have noticed, right? The letter that supposedly came from your father yesterday… it was a forgery."

Laila, who was drinking tea after the meal, blinked at Vernereli's matter-of-fact explanation.

(Indeed, Helka was suspicious, and it turned out to be a forgery. But why does it have anything to do with Carolina?)

"That woman had a letter written by your father himself. The woman who wanted to give you a scare contacted someone who harbors hostility towards Lord Julius and used that letter as a tool to lure you out of the house."

Vernereli spoke smoothly, but Laila's brain was having trouble keeping up.

To begin with, when she finally returned to the house early this morning, she immediately went to bed with Julius, and both of them didn't wake up until after noon. The meal they just had was technically lunch, but for them, it was breakfast, and their heads were still not fully awake.

"So, Carolina really hates me so much that she wanted to threaten me and gave the letter to those people?"

"Pretty much. Last night, we traced the route of the forged letter and found her. When we confronted her, she confessed while crying, saying it wasn't her intention."

According to Vernereli, Carolina, who had looked down on Laila since their school days, was jealous of Laila's apparent happiness and decided to "scare her a bit."

She contacted a magician who claimed to be "hostile to Julius" and handed over a letter that Laila's father had sent as a notice of his absence from the wedding, using it as a tool to lure Laila out of the house.

(But… wait a minute…)

"Helka told me to hide in the distillation room. But if they broke in, it means they failed to lure me out, right?"

"Yes, that's right. So, not only did her plan fail, but it also got her hands dirty with a crime."

Vernereli chuckled, "Serves her right," but Laila could only awkwardly pull at the corners of her lips.

"Can you imagine how I felt when she cried and begged for forgiveness, saying she didn't mean to start a war and that she would reveal everything? If it had been a man, I might have kicked him down."

"U-um… I caused trouble… I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? That stupid woman was jealous of you and, due to her ignorance, almost became an accomplice in starting a war. …By the way, I'm not in law enforcement, but she was talking freely about other things. It seems she was being threatened by Lord Julius."

"Wh-what?"

She couldn't help but look at Julius, who had been silently drinking tea, and he nodded.

"Yeah, that's right."

"Y-You threatened her!? Lord Julius!? When did you do that!?"

"Well, it was my first time threatening someone, so I was nervous. …She said some unnecessary things at General List's birthday party. I didn't like that she was approaching you, who had already made you sad, so I told her a fact."

"…A fact?"

"…The father of her child is not Joachim Cantor but his older brother, the next baron."

At Vernereli's words, Laila thought her ears must be playing tricks on her.

(Huh? What is this!?)

"What!? What do you mean!?"

"That woman was in love with her brother-in-law from the beginning—more accurately, with the stronger power. Her sister-in-law was sickly and unlikely to have children. So, they made the woman, who was the next baron's mistress, marry her brother, and they would take the child. Ideally, after divorcing her sister-in-law, they would find a suitable reason to make the woman a concubine for the brother-in-law. …Even the baron agreed with this plan, so there was no saving her."

"U-um… Why did Lord Julius know about this?"

Laila thought he couldn't have asked directly, and Julius sighed.

"I sensed it with magic. I don't know Joachim Cantor well, but I knew his brother. Her child definitely had the potential to be a magician, but the magical aura was too similar to the brother's. So, I told her not to touch Laila, but I guess I threatened her the wrong way. I'm sorry."

"No, it's clear that the fault lies with that woman."

Vernereli was encouraging her, but Laila's mind was a mess of shock, sadness, and disbelief.

(Carolina… hated and envied me so much? Her marriage to Joachim was all part of the plan, and we were just pawns…?)

The magical examination confirmed Julius's suspicions this morning, and it was determined that the father of her child was her brother-in-law. The Cantor family was in turmoil, and it was said that both the eldest and second son would soon be divorced.

Incidentally, Joachim, who had been played by Carolina, learned of his wife's plans and his brother's betrayal and woke up. Vernereli predicted that he would pay alimony to his divorced sister-in-law while raising his brother's and Carolina's child.

(…Thinking about it, even though Joachim betrayed me and sided with Carolina, he was also a victim…)

Carolina's future would be left to the justice system, but Laila thought that something could be done for Joachim. After all, his sister-in-law and the child to be born were not at fault.

The situation with Oluva would be handled by the kings. The representatives of the envoy apologized, saying it would be difficult to question the kidnapping of Laila and the assault on Helka, but in return, they could create a significant debt to Oluva. Laila and the others agreed that it was fine as long as they could avoid an unnecessary war and the birth of "weapon" children.

The greedy Oluva might continue to target Rendia.

But Laila believed that what was thrown into this situation would surely become a foundation to protect Rendia.