Chapter 9

"Lady Fiona"

When Iris signaled with her eyes that there was something complicated to talk about, Fiona obediently stepped back and said, "Then I'll go freshen up," before leaving with the other maids.

Prince Alvin, who saw this, widened his eyes in surprise.

"She seems to be quite taken with you."

"Lady Fiona is very honest and adorable."

—It was almost as if Iris was praising herself, but she was definitely becoming something like a big sister to Fiona.

After sending Fiona off with a gentle gaze, Iris turned to Prince Alvin. He seemed to be in a rather cheerful mood after hearing about Rebecca being hired.

"So, you're making Rebecca your personal attendant?"

"I told a small lie. To be precise, I want to hire her children as personal attendants."

"…Her children, you say?"

"Is there a problem with that?"

Iris tilted her head with a straight face.

However, Rebecca's children were not servants. Prince Alvin, who didn't know the details, could guess from Rebecca's age that her children were likely in their early teens.

The real problem, in Prince Alvin's mind, was that there were only problems with this arrangement.

But—

"No, if you chose them, there's no problem."

Prince Alvin responded without even glancing at Rebecca, who was standing behind him.

From this, Iris realized a possibility.

(This is perfect. It's just me, Rebecca, and my brother and Clarissa here.)

Iris casually checked her surroundings and decided it was a good time to talk.

"You were aware she was a spy, weren't you?"

Iris voiced her suspicion.

Prince Alvin was curious. He couldn't help but wonder why Iris had decided to hire Rebecca's children as personal attendants. Yet, he didn't press the issue at all.

Why? Because he didn't want to pursue it in front of Rebecca.

—Upon hearing this, Prince Alvin snorted in displeasure.

However, Iris felt relieved by this reaction.

Because if the current Prince Alvin knew about Rebecca's betrayal, it meant that the Prince in her previous life also knew about it. Yet, in her previous life, Fiona (Iris) was still caught up in the incident Rebecca caused.

At this point, there was a possibility that Prince Alvin was the mastermind.

But if he were the mastermind, he wouldn't slip up here. He wouldn't show any signs of knowing Rebecca's true identity when Iris pointed it out.

Therefore, the only reason for his displeased expression was one thing.

"I see, you were letting her run to find out who was backing her."

In other words, Prince Alvin was not involved in the Rebecca incident.

In her previous life, the incident Rebecca caused spiraled out of control while she was being monitored. Or perhaps, Clarissa's disappearance had an impact.

Iris accepted this, but Prince Alvin's expression turned serious. He had appreciated Iris's bold actions because she was competent.

However, he wasn't so lenient as to laugh off someone who intentionally brought harm to the country.

"If you have the intelligence to understand that, why didn't you consider the impact before speaking?"

"There's no problem with finding the mastermind. She was a spy to protect her children. I offered to hire and protect those two as my personal attendants."

Iris smiled softly, deflecting Prince Alvin's hostility. Prince Alvin wasn't so dull that he couldn't understand her intentions.

"…Was Rebecca being threatened?"

"Yes. Therefore, I persuaded her to help catch the spy in exchange for removing her fears."

"I see… Well done."

Prince Alvin quickly called a servant and gave instructions to interrogate Rebecca. The key was to ensure the spy didn't realize Rebecca had switched sides.

However, just as the servant was about to take Rebecca away, Iris interjected.

"Wait, we're not done talking yet."

"…What is it?"

"Didn't I say I would hire her children?"

"…Her children, you say?"

Prince Alvin looked at Iris with a troubled expression. He couldn't quite understand her motives for making such a request.

"I have no objection to protecting them. But hiring children as servants is dangerous. There's no guarantee they won't resent the Remuria royal family."

There was no proof that Rebecca's children were uninvolved. Even if they were, they might harbor resentment and hostility towards the royal family after their mother was punished.

Prince Alvin was asking if she could take responsibility if something went wrong.

In a situation where most would hesitate, Iris responded with a confident smile.

"I will take full responsibility for educating Rebecca's children."

"…Very well, do as you please. You have done me a favor, after all."

Rebecca let out a sigh of relief at Prince Alvin's concession. However, Iris, maintaining the tense atmosphere, opened her mouth to make another request.

"…What more do you wish for?"

"A reduced sentence for Rebecca."

Clarissa and Rebecca herself gasped in unison.

Prince Alvin's expression turned stern.

"You should understand. Treason is a serious crime, regardless of the reason. It would be safer to punish the children as well."

"I, I'm fine as long as the children are saved!"

Rebecca interjected, panicked. She was worried that the promised safety of her children would be revoked.

"…She says she's fine, so give it up."

"Can't you at least consider it?"

"You should have used her cooperation as leverage."

It was as if she was being told she was a poor negotiator, but Iris smiled confidently.

"Her cooperation was in exchange for the children's safety."

"…I see."

If Iris had proposed those two things, Prince Alvin would have objected. She had predicted this and secured the children's safety with certainty.

"Go on. If you can think this far, you must have other leverage."

"Information from me. In exchange, I request a reduced sentence for Rebecca."

"…Really? You, who just arrived in this country, offering information? Interesting. If you can provide information that impresses me, I'll reduce Rebecca's sentence. …Should we put it in writing?"

"No, that's not necessary."

If Prince Alvin broke his promise, Iris would no longer assist him in the future. Prince Alvin should understand the losses that would entail, Iris smiled.

"Hmm, then let's hear your information. But if you're going to say that, I won't be satisfied with half-hearted information."

"Yes. The one who threatened Rebecca and made her a spy is—Count Wilm."

"What…?"

Prince Alvin was taken aback by the straightforward revelation.

He had let Rebecca run to find the mastermind behind her. He had planned to interrogate her for the same reason. Therefore, he thought Iris's information would be a clue to get there.

But what Iris provided was the answer itself.

There was no way Iris, who had just arrived in the country, could know such a thing. But Count Wilm was one of the men Prince Alvin suspected as the mastermind.

"Are you saying Count Wilm is the mastermind?"

"No, but he was the one manipulating Rebecca. If we monitor and set a trap, we might find out if there's someone else behind him."

In her previous life, they were always a step behind, and by the time they discovered Count Wilm was the one manipulating Rebecca, the evidence was already gone.

This time, she planned to monitor from the start and catch him in the act of hiding evidence. She was also instructing to confirm if there was another mastermind.

"…Where did you get this information?"

"Well, would you be satisfied if I said I had spies investigate it?"

The information came from Iris, and the source of the information was also Iris. If he didn't believe her, there was no point in telling him where she got it from.

Iris smiled confidently.

"…I see, you're right. And the information was more useful than I expected. I'll reduce Rebecca's sentence when I confirm the information is true."

"Thank you."

Securing Prince Alvin's promise, Iris turned to Rebecca.

"Did you hear that? You'll be inconvenienced for a while, but you won't be heavily punished. And you don't need to worry about your children."

"…Lady Iris, thank you. I don't know how to thank you…"

"You don't need to. I just wanted a trustworthy servant."

She said it casually, indicating that the conversation was over, and turned to Prince Alvin. Rebecca bowed deeply to her.

"Alright, then there are no other issues. —Take her away."

The servant took Rebecca away at Prince Alvin's command. Iris, watching her go, said, "Well, I'll be on my way," but was stopped by Prince Alvin grabbing her arm.

"By the way, Iris, why did you protect her?"

"For a prince to not understand subtleties is unacceptable. Didn't you notice I was trying to leave without being pursued?"

"Hmm, then you should understand that I'm pursuing you because I understand that."

Her slight resistance was easily overcome, and Iris sighed. But being pursued was part of her plan, and she had already decided how to respond.

"…In the past, someone very much like her saved my life. Well… I was in trouble because of that person, but…"

"…What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just a bit of self-satisfaction."

An event from the future that had been erased from history.

But it was irrelevant to Prince Alvin.

So, Iris bowed deeply.

"…What's the meaning of this?"

"It's an apology for being selfish while in a position to predict your plans."

"…Indeed, it was a selfish action. But… I'll let it slide this time. After all, you helped me in the end."

Prince Alvin smiled and ran his finger along Iris's cheek. A gesture that would make a sheltered young lady weak at the knees, but Iris just rolled her eyes.

"Doing that is why women misunderstand you."

"Hmph, you wouldn't misunderstand, would you?"

(I don't think it's about not misunderstanding…)

Thinking this, but aware of her own audacity, Iris sighed and let Prince Alvin touch her face. Complaining would only make things more complicated.

"Still, a favor from someone else, huh? Even you can be sentimental."

"Ah, do you think I'm a heartless woman?"

"At least, you're interesting enough to want to court."

"Prince, 'interesting' is not a pick-up line."

"…Damn, you're tough."

He pulled away with a grimace and looked at Iris with narrowed eyes.

"…So? How did you know Rebecca and Count Wilm were spies?"

"That's—"

Iris's words made Prince Alvin chuckle softly.

◆◆◆

In Prince Alvin's office.

As he was signing documents, one of his servants came in.

"How did it go?"

"Yes, Rebecca spoke freely. The information we had matches."

"…Hmm. As Iris said, then."

Rebecca had been coerced into compliance by threats against her children. After several suspicious individuals approached her children, she was threatened that if she didn't comply, her children would be harmed.

Therefore, she agreed to cooperate in exchange for the protection of her children.

"Can we corner Count Wilm?"

"With her full cooperation, we will definitely catch him."

"Then, also confirm if there's someone behind him. We can't miss this opportunity."

"Of course. We will catch everyone."

Normally, they would have only caught the intermediary. At best, they would have confirmed Count Wilm as the culprit and left it at that.

But with Rebecca's cooperation, they had a chance to set a trap for the spy. They would secretly protect Rebecca's children and wait for the intermediary to make contact.

When contact was made, they would set the trap and catch Count Wilm. Then, if there was a mastermind behind him, they would catch that person as well.

Such an opportunity was rare.

They couldn't afford to fail with everything set up for them—this was likely the servant's mindset.

"…However, we struggled to identify the spy, so how did Lady Iris figure out Rebecca and Count Wilm's betrayal?"

The servant, sharing the same question, received a faint smile from Prince Alvin.

"…Did I say something strange?"

"No, I asked Iris the same thing."

When Prince Alvin asked how she figured it out, Iris put her finger to her lips and smiled, saying, "It's a secret."

"She challenged me to find out how she knew."

"…Is there a possibility that she herself is the enemy's spy and this is a trap?"

"Can't say for sure."

She knew about the situation in this country while living in a neighboring country.

That alone was suspicious.

But—Prince Alvin muttered, but the servant didn't hear. Understanding the unspoken message to investigate as he pleased, the servant left to take action.

(Not only is it mysterious how she knows, but we can't ignore how much she knows. It's possible she even knows what I'm thinking.)

"…She really is an interesting girl."

One day, they might face off. It would surely be an exciting confrontation, Prince Alvin thought, a smile playing on his lips.