Chapter 14

"Are you going to see your mother? I don't think you need to go see someone you don't like, you know."

"That might be true, but I can't ignore her request to meet and talk. It would be heartless for a saint to turn down her mother's wish, wouldn't it?"

About two weeks after Eric was no longer being targeted by assassins, I received a letter. The sender was my stepmother, Ekaterina. The content was a request to meet alone to discuss something.

I do admit that I'm not good with Ekaterina, and if asked if I wanted to see her, I wouldn't. However, as a saint, I couldn't ignore her, so I made an appointment to meet her around noon today, which is my day off.

"Discuss something? I didn't think your mother would be the type to say such a thing to you."

"You're right. That's why I was worried and concerned. I thought she was the type who would never show any weakness to someone she dislikes."

Eric, who is usually very cautious, has a talent for quickly assessing a person's character with just a little observation. He has a good grasp of Ekaterina's pride and her animosity towards me, so he probably felt the same sense of unease as I did about her request to meet.

"Okay. If you're aware of the unease, that's fine. I don't think you need to worry, Lea, but be careful. If you want, I can send Linsha as your bodyguard?"

"Linsha, I'll knock anyone out, okay~"

"No, I'll be fine on my own. I'm sorry to worry you."

Bowing my head in gratitude for Eric's concern, I headed to meet my stepmother. But, what really happened—?

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"Lea, thank you for coming. Would you like to order something to drink first?"

"Sure. Then, I'll have tea."

At the restaurant where we were supposed to meet, Ekaterina stood up and waved me over when she saw me. Her attitude seemed to be one of concern for me, almost as if she was trying to flatter me. I sat down in front of her, who was forcing a smile.

"Ahem, the reason I want to talk to you is about Jil."

"Jil...?"

Jil, consulting me? I don't understand. Ekaterina has always been protective of Jil from me. Of course, I haven't done anything...

"That child might be cheating."

"Wh-What!? No, that can't be. As the heir to a duchy, there's no way Philip-sama would be replaced. Jil is a high-idealistic child."

I was surprised to hear that Jil, who is engaged, might be cheating. There's no way that could happen. First of all, who is the person involved? That child has high ideals. Someone with a higher status and lineage than Philip-sama would have to be a royal or a great noble—

"The person is Duke Velcrain... My hired spy told me."

"Spy...?"

"I hired them to gather evidence that you were bullying Jil when no one was around, and to protect Jil if anything happened. Since you had already paid in advance for your bodyguard at the palace, I thought it would be a good idea to have someone watching over her."

Ah, now I remember. There was someone secretly guarding Jil. Was that person a spy? I, who can sense presences, noticed it immediately, but I never thought Ekaterina would do something like that.

But more importantly, she just said—

"Did you say Duke Velcrain? The one who inherited the duchy at a young age. Jade Velcrain is involved with Jil...?"

"It seems they've been secretly meeting several times at night."

"Is that true? Have you talked to Jil about... the situation?"

"It's impossible...! If that child were to admit it and the cheating became public, our family would have no face to show to the Gilbert family."

I was surprised to hear the name of such a big catch. Duke Velcrain is indeed popular among young women and seems to be the type Jil would like...

"I beg you. Since you are connected to Prince Eric, could you ask him for help to secretly separate Jil from Duke Velcrain? I want you to mediate and have him promise not to touch Jil again."

No, cheating can't happen alone. If someone with a strong sense of justice like him hears such a scandalous story, he definitely won't allow it...

However, if Jil continues to be involved with Duke Velcrain, it could turn into a quagmire. If the Westeria family's reputation falls, it will naturally tarnish Eric's name, who is my bodyguard—

This is a problem. I need to think of a way to handle it—.