Chapter 20

The incident of Jil and Duke Belkline's secret meeting.

To determine the purpose of this, Eric decided to tail Jil.

I suggested sending a spy, but Eric insisted on confirming it himself.

"I had been thinking of settling things with Duke Belkline. The incident with those two officials was a rather frustrating experience for me."

In society, Jade Belkline, the young duke, is immensely popular.

However, he also has a ruthless side, mercilessly eliminating any obstacles.

Eric seems to have a grudge against Duke Belkline, and that's why he wants to be the first to uncover the truth.

"Since His Highness is so stubborn, I will stay here with Rinsa to cover for him."

"Eric, I'm here. I won't go out. Rinsa, remember that."

Johan, who knows Eric better than anyone, understands and agrees to stay in the office with Rinsa, camouflaging Eric's all-night work.

And since my sister is involved, I decided to follow Eric and left the palace with him.

---

"It's been a while since I snuck out of the palace at night like this."

"Have you done this before?"

"Yeah, to fight."

"F-fight...? Lord Eric fighting..."

We waited in front of my family's house until Jil sneaked out, but I was confused by the story of Eric sneaking out of the palace to fight.

While I have an image of him as a man of justice, I didn't expect him to get into fights, so it was surprising.

"I've never clashed with anyone like that. But after that, I developed a sense of conviction."

"Conviction...?"

"Putting on a facade won't get you anywhere. To truly understand someone, you can't fear friction. You have to be prepared to clash, even if it means being disliked."

It seems that fight was a defining moment in shaping the current Eric.

The precariousness of standing up to anyone without compromising his sense of justice—this is Eric's conviction. If that's the case, I must continue to protect you from breaking...

"But will Jil conveniently show up? According to my stepmother, it's only a few times a week."

"I know. I'll wait every day until she does. It's a matter of urgency. After reviewing the documents and thinking about it, I came to this conclusion..."

"Reviewing the documents...? What do you mean—"

"...Quiet. She's coming out. Your sister, Jil Westeria."

Eric whispered to me, urging me to look behind the house.

She really did come out. It's hard to see in the dark, but that's definitely Jil.

"I'm going to follow her. ...Don't get too close. We need to maintain this distance."

"Understood..."

We kept a certain distance and carefully followed Jil to avoid losing her.

The only light source is the moon, but I can sense people even in the dark, so as long as we maintain the distance, we should be fine.

As we followed Jil, she entered the forest.

I see, this area is particularly deserted, making it perfect for a midnight rendezvous.

Jil is approaching something. That's... a carriage, it seems...

"It looks like your sister said a password or something, and Duke Belkline came out of the carriage."

"That seems to be the case. Duke Belkline will be cautious."

Thanks to the moonlight, we could barely confirm that Jil and Duke Belkline were embracing.

Even though it's unavoidable to see my sister's love scene here, it's a bit distressing...

"But at this distance, we can't hear what they're saying."

"Yeah, but he's more cautious than I thought. Getting any closer would be dangerous."

To avoid being discovered, Eric chose not to get close enough to hear their conversation.

I think that's the right decision.

We can't afford to lose the advantage of knowing what they don't.

For a while, we just watched them being affectionate.

However, about thirty minutes later—

"Hmm? Is that a puppy...?"

"And he seems to be filling a container with water..."

Duke Belkline returned to the carriage, brought out a puppy, and filled a dog bowl with water.

What is he planning to do...

As we continued to observe, Jil touched the water.

—And soon after the puppy drank the water, it collapsed.

"It's poison. Your sister seems to have used a type of poison magic. And it's fast-acting—"

"W-Why would Jil do such a thing—"

I had a bad feeling.

If Duke Belkline is trying to eliminate me, this might be the method.

My sister Jil is trying to poison me.

That's what I thought—.