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Shortly after Cosette left, Count Weinberg committed s*icide. It’s too cunning to be a coincidence.

Moreover, there was no way she didn’t know that contacting criminals without permission would cause problems later.

Nevertheless, pushing ahead means that there was a reason to do so.

A secret that must remain hidden so much that she had to kill her ally for fear of it leaking.

The only conclusion they could think of was that Count Weinberg was silenced because he knew her true identity.

‘But is it okay to just kill the contractor like that? Or is the real contractor secretly hidden to hide their identity…? Or was she trying to help the Count take revenge…?’

Her head felt like it was about to explode. A groan escaped from her mouth.

“Noonim? Are you okay?”

“I’ve been thinking about a lot of things. For now… No, Cosette is in custody. We don’t have to worry about her making more moves.”

The problem was that the strongest witness had died. Haa, Keira sighed again.

Ding, ding, ding–.

Then the bell rang again, announcing the funeral’s end. The mourners begin to prepare for their departure.

Some people even came up to Keira and Zeke just before they left to express their condolences.

“He’s gone to a better place now.”

“The deceased will watch over Her Ladyship.”

Keira mechanically expressed her gratitude and dealt with them.

When the funeral was over, for some reason, she felt depressed.

...• • •...

Cosette was detained in a small attic in an annex. Guards were guarding the door all day long, so she couldn’t take a single step outside without permission.

They took such measures because they believed if she were given free rein, evidence in the house might be destroyed.

It was a very shabby room for a noble lady, but Cosette remained indifferent.

The guards by the front door were startled and whispered amongst themselves.

“Usually, in this case, don’t they go wild and shout something like, ‘How dare you treat me like this?’… It’s amazing.”

“She grew up living as a commoner. Maybe that’s why.”

“Don’t they become snootier when they’ve originally lived like that?”

The chatter was interrupted by the sound of someone’s footsteps. Turning to the sound, they found a familiar face walking toward them.

The guards bowed and saluted.

“Your Grace, the Grand Duke!”

They had heard someone was coming to investigate the mansion, but they didn’t know it would be Ludwig.

Ludwig nodded his head to greet the soldiers and entered the room.

When the door opened, Cosette, sitting by the window reading a book, turned her head.

“Your Grace?”

Soon, both wonder and joy spread across her face.

She jumped up and greeted him, slightly lifting the hem of her skirt.

“I didn’t know you would come in person.”

“You’re not calling me empty words like ‘Father’ anymore.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You told me not to call you that. I’m just following your orders… Is there a problem?”

Ludwig’s expression hardened at her sly reply.

With her arms outstretched, Cosette said.

“I don’t know what you were thinking of coming here, but look around as much as you want. It’s okay to interrogate the maids. Do anything.”

“…”

“Nothing you can imagine will come out.”

“We didn’t give you time to destroy evidence, but you’re pretty calm.”

“I don’t have to get rid of things that didn’t exist in the first place. I have no doubt that Your Grace will conduct a fair investigation.”

“…you speak well.”

Ludwig turned around. A thud, and the door slammed shut.

As soon as she confirmed she was alone, Cosette’s expression wrinkled like a newspaper.

‘That b*stard…’

Why did he do those things even though she told him not to move alone?

Cosette felt like she wanted to take out the corpse already buried in the ground and cut it up again.

It would have been a disaster if he ever divulged anything about her identity during the interrogation process.

So she killed him. More precisely, she encouraged him to commit s*icide.

‘He’s not the contractor, so I have no obligation to protect him.’

Well, even if he were, she still had no obligation to protect him. The important thing was to fulfill the contents of the contract faithfully.

After this, the reputation and status of the Weinberg family were none of her business.

‘First, I need to find the spirit stone.’

Her expression distorted even more when she recalled her original goal.

She pretended to be as carefree as she could be in front of Ludwig, but her heart burned with anger.

‘Things are getting more messed up.’

According to her original plan, she should have found out the location of the spirit stone by now and played with the contractor’s enemies with ease.

But she had achieved none of the goals she had set for a year. She would have no face to show to the Demon realm if they find out.

“First of all, find the location of the spirit stone… No, better yet. How am I going to move in this situation?”

Because of what Isaac had done, people began looking at her suspiciously. She would be in the public eye no matter what she did. She might get caught if she moved hastily.

Cosette nervously chewed her nails and clicked her tongue.

“Tsk.”

...• • •...

“I didn’t expect anything to come out.”

Even after searching all over the Weinberg house, the villas spread across the country, and even the houses of relatives, no plausible evidence was found.

They found evidence of minor corruption, but Keira wanted more than evidence of embezzlement.

The devil. Black magic. A contract.

A decisive shot that could bring Cosette down.

It seemed they’d catch a clue that would disappear like a mirage. Keira sighed and sat down on the sofa.

‘…Now what?’

Not so long ago, she was almost certain that Ragibach’s contractor was Count Weinberg.

However, it seemed she was wrong since she threw him away without hesitation.

‘But, if there was a contractor, I thought they’d be a member of that family…’

She didn’t expect a book about black magic to come out, let alone a revelation on the contractor’s identity.

As she agonized for a long time, she inadvertently remembered Erez’s proposal.

“That’s enough. Then why don’t you meet someone who believes in me?”

“There is someone you should meet for Plan B. They will definitely help you.”

It just so happened that the situation was appropriate. Cosette had been detained in the mansion for a while, so it would be difficult to notice her absence.

Even if she did, Cosette wouldn’t be able to conspire against Keira since she was under surveillance.

Devil realm. An unknown world where dangers might exist…

Even if Erez accompanied her, her anxiety didn’t go away.

‘That’s why I wanted to find evidence of black magic in Weinberg’s mansion…’

Since things had become like this, she had no choice but to accept his proposal.

‘Then where should I start preparing…’

Keira tapped her head in thought.

First, she had to make an excuse to leave the capital for a while.

In Zeke and Sir Joseph’s case, she could just say, ‘I have something I must confirm. Please trust me.’

Moreover, not all employees could be trusted. Creating an excuse to leave the capital was a must.

How could she hide her existence for a while without public suspicion?

‘It would be best not to let the outside world know I’m gone. After all, I rarely appeared in social circles, so no one would think it’s strange that I didn’t show up for a while.’

Moreover, the incident with her grandfather happened recently, so she’d be less likely to socialize.

But what if someone asked for her whereabouts?

‘Then, why don’t I go around saying that I left the capital for a while to recuperate?’

She was sorry for the deceased, but it looked like she had to use her grandfather’s death as an excuse again this time.

She was shocked by her grandfather’s death, especially since it was a murder committed by a high-ranking nobleman, so she left the capital for a while to recuperate.

‘But Cosette might doubt that I left to recuperate…’

She probably wouldn’t hear the news since she was under surveillance and lacked manpower, but it didn’t mean Keira shouldn’t be vigilant.

It would be better to keep it as secret as possible that she has left the capital.

Keira ordered a maid to bring Zeke. Not long after, she returned with Zeke.

Zeke’s expression darkened a little.

“I heard the results of the search. Is that why you called?”

“It’s not that… Come here and sit down.”

When Zeke sat across from the table, Keira gestured to all the servants. In the strange atmosphere, Zeke’s expression became more serious.

“What’s going on?”

She answered with a sigh.

“I didn’t want to use this kind of method… You know that they didn’t find anything in the Weinberg’s mansion.”

“And?”

“I think I will have to leave the capital for a while. I have something to find.”

“…”

Zeke quickly understood what she meant.

“Is this dangerous?”

Badump–. Keira almost flinched when Zeke got it right.

‘You’re quick to notice…’

But Keira couldn’t exactly say she was going to the demon realm. If she did, he might persuade her not to do it or, worse, insist on going with her.

“It’s not. I just meant that I didn’t want to use this method because Cosette would be suspicious if I left the capital. It’s something I really need to investigate.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Zeke’s eyes narrowed in doubt.

“Don’t do anything dangerous.”

“Of course. I also value my life.”

Fearing that she might get caught, Keira quickly changed the topic.

“In that sense, I’d like to ask you a favor.”

“If you promise not to do anything dangerous, I’ll do it.”

“Of course.”

Keira thought to herself, ‘I’m sorry, Zeke.’

“As I said before, Cosette shouldn’t notice my absence.”

“Yes.”

“So we should try not to let the outside know that I’m not in the capital. For that…”

“Father’s cooperation will be essential.”

“That’s right.”

For Keira to leave for a while without being questioned, there was one last person she had to convince– Ludwig.

Ludwig wouldn’t send her off without asking or arguing with her if she told him she had something to find.

“Well, why don’t you use Grandfather as an excuse to take a breather? You don’t want society to gossip about it, so you want to keep it a secret that you’re leaving.”

Keira had the same idea. She nodded and said.

“I was about to use that, too. So, I need your cooperation.”

“…?”

Which part of this simple plan would require his cooperation? Zeke’s eyes lit up with intrigue.

“I’m planning to say I’m going on vacation to the family villa, but the place I have to go is far from there. At any rate, they might find out that I’m not there…”

“You’d like me to deal with the chance you’ll get caught?”

“Yeah, can you make it seem like you went on vacation with me? You don’t have to fool the maids who serve you. I’ll take care of them.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter as long as Noonim can guarantee that you won’t go to do anything dangerous.”

“…”

Keira wondered where he got his tenacity from. Ignoring the voice of her conscience, Keira answered.

“I’m just going because I have something to find out. It’s not dangerous.”

She tried to convince herself that while it was a dangerous place, it wouldn’t be bad because she was with Erez.

“But there’s no one else to convince other than me, right?”

“… There’s one last hurdle left to overcome.”

The last hurdle was Ludwig.

Of course, Keira had no intention of explaining the situation in detail. The only question was whether she could convince him why she had to go on vacation.

“He might just tell me I shouldn’t look weak.”

Considering how they were raised until now, this was quite a possibility. Beside her, Zeke nodded in agreement.

Strike while the iron is hot. It would be better to push through with the plan immediately rather than delay it any longer.

She rose from her seat and headed straight to Ludwig’s office, thinking of even shedding a few tears if necessary.

“What’s going on?”

At Ludwig’s question, Keira answered.

“I want to go on vacation. I think I need to leave the mansion for a while.”

But just as Keira thought, ‘Should I start crying because I’m stressed?’…

“Do as you please. Instead, don’t be away for too long.”

“…?”

Strangely enough, he gave her permission.

As Keira stared at him strangely, Ludwig slightly frowned.

“What’s the problem?”

Still surprised, Keira answered.

“No. Rather than a problem… I wish to keep my departure from the capital a secret.”

“Why? I don’t think it’s necessary to hide that you’re on vacation.”

“If I go on a vacation at this time, people will surely talk and say I left the capital in shock because of what happened to Grandfather. I don’t want to be the target of gossip. It’s not good.”

“That’s true.”

Ludwig quietly nodded. He hated it whenever people gossiped about his family.

“Then why do you want to go on vacation all of a sudden?”

Keira recounted the excuses she had prepared.

“First of all, I’ve been thinking about taking a little break for a while, but I couldn’t easily leave the capital because of Cosette. But when Grandfather’s death and her house arrest overlapped… I thought I should take a break.”

“When are you going to come back?”

Erez said they only needed to discuss something briefly, so it shouldn’t take long.

But Keira deliberately set aside plenty of time.

“I think I’ll be gone for about ten days. If I want to rest a little longer, I will send you a letter in advance.”

She was thinking of instructing Zeke to write a letter to the capital for her if she hadn’t returned three days before her vacation ended.

“Okay.”

Ludwig gave permission without a hint of suspicion. Her Grandfather’s incident a while ago seemed to be a big help in convincing him.

Keira said goodbye and left the room.

Preparations for her departure proceeded quickly.

Keira had decided to go to the villa owned by the Grand Duke, built near a lake shore.

Of course, it was a long way from where she and Erez were supposed to meet. He summoned Keira to a small village at the foot of the mountain.

Because of that, she had to travel by carriage for a long time.

Even though she was traveling, hiding her face was a little tricky. The only comforting thing was that it was a small town that didn’t check the identity of each visitor.

In the pitch black night, Keira, a sword in her hand, groped through the darkness as she headed to her appointment alone. It was a warehouse located in a sparsely populated area.

As she entered the warehouse, the disgusting smell of oil stung her nose.

“Ugh!”

Could it be a warehouse for storing oil? Keira grabbed her nose and looked around but couldn’t see anything.

After closing the door, she went in a little further, and a lamp lit the inside.

It didn’t look like it was a dirt floor, and there was a big white cloth all over the warehouse where piles of straw and unknown grains were stacked.

And in the middle was a person drawing a big picture…

“Oh, you’re here?”

Erez asked as he turned to Keira.

“You’re slow to react.”

“I didn’t notice because I was concentrating.”

Keira looked closely to see what he was drawing, but she couldn’t figure out the pattern.

Perhaps it was because she knew he was a demon, but it looked quite ominous. It seemed to be a magic circle to go to the demon realm.

“Why does this place smell like oil? It’s disgusting.”

“I doused the whole warehouse. I’ll burn this place.”

Keira realized why before she could even ask.

After they’ve left, only a seemingly ominous magic circle would remain.

It would be easy to see this was black magic if someone investigated deeply.

The country would be in a state of chaos if traces of black magic were found in a small country village.

“I’m going to drop the fire right before I cast the spell. You can stand it even if it’s a little hot, right?”

“…”

“Oh, you’re going to have to hold your breath for a while. If you breathe in the smoke, your airways will get hurt.”

Well… There was no other way, so I couldn’t say I couldn’t do it.