“What is the identity of that child?”

Maya climbed the carriage with Rayna and asked as if she had been waiting.

“Please tell me what is happening, even if it’s just a little.”

Rayna swallowed dryly. She had been thinking of telling Maya anyway but felt overwhelmed by her intense gaze.

“That…”

Rayna told her everything.

She was secretly taking in a terminally ill child who was struggling at the Ingerson Grand Duchy.

Rayna expected Maya to be angry, but Maya just bowed her head without saying a word.

‘I was worried that the softhearted and kind Milady might get hurt, but Milady…

‘Became a kidnapper.’

“Milady.”

Her voice strained, Maya took a deep breath.

“Do you know why Lucius Ingerson is called the Monster Grand Duke? It’s because he resembles the first Grand Duke Ingerson.”

Rayna nodded.

It was said that he felt no pain, didn’t sleep or eat, and instead hunted and devoured humans every night—those were the rumors that followed the first Grand Duke.

“You must also know that the first Grand Duke was considered a madman.”

The first Grand Duke of Ingerson was a hero to the empire, someone who led the empire to victory in wars against neighboring countries.

While the empire worshiped him as a hero, they feared him as a monster.

After the war, the grand duke became strange. He never ate or slept properly, and he always carried a sword.

Eventually, he reached the point of cutting the throats of anyone who approached him, like someone terrified that someone would come to kill him.

“Then, have you heard about the curse that befell the grand duke?”

“A curse?”

Since it was a story that was being circulated in secret, people might not know. Maya wouldn’t have known either, if her parents hadn’t told her.

The first Grand Duke died suddenly one day. His death was suspicious, and even his corpse was unusual.

“They say his whole body was covered in black stains. Eerie stains that, no matter how much you scrubbed, wouldn’t go away.”

Rayna’s eyes widened. She recalled the black stains that covered Calyx’ body.

“People believed those stains were the blood of the people the grand duke killed on the battlefield.”

How many lives did he take on the battlefield? His body turned pitch black as it decayed alongside the great duke, soaked in the hatred and blood of those he killed.

“As the bodies of later grand dukes showed no symptoms, rumors of a curse faded away.”

Maya felt the need to instill a sense of urgency in Rayna.

“Do you think a curse born of hatred would easily disappear? It’s best not to get involved with such an ominous lineage, Milady.”

However, instead of being frightened, Rayna sparkled with determination.

“Yes! That curse was the cause! No wonder it didn’t seem like an ordinary illness! Once we lift the curse, Calyx will get better.”

Her declaration was the exact opposite of Maya’s intention. Bewildered, she hurriedly spoke.

“Mi-Milady. Even if it’s truly a curse, it’s not something that can be lifted.”

“Why?”

“If there was a way, the Ingerson household would have found and solved it a long time ago!”

Maya didn’t want Rayna to futilely strive for an impossible task or put herself in danger.

“So, send the child back to the Ingerson family now.”

“No, I can’t. The responsibility became unavoidable the moment my brother brought Calyx here.”

“Responsibility?”

“Do you know that the winters in the Empire are getting harsher day by day?”

Maya nodded. The land and water were freezing, and animals and people were freezing to death overnight.

But what did that have to do with the current situation?

“The Ingerson grand ducal estate manages the coldest and harshest northern lands in the empire.”

Maya’s eyes gradually widened.

“Is there any easier way to gain new territory than a war between households?”

A new territory to replace the one reaching its limits.

This was what Lucius had in mind.

“He can’t just declare a war between families recklessly. But if it’s because someone killed a direct family member, it would be convincing enough.”

Since Calyx was already a terminally ill child, he couldn’t escape death. In that case, Lucius could easily hold the person who brought Calyx accountable.

“That’s why I must make sure Calyx survives.”

‘If Calyx doesn’t die, the pretext for starting a war will disappear.’

“Maya, trust me.”

Rayna spoke firmly.

“We can only survive if Calyx lives.”

Maya finally realized. Rayna already knew everything.

She knew better than anyone else what kind of family the Ingerson household was and what they were capable of.

Maya clenched her fists.

‘How foolish. My role is not to scare Milady.

It’s to protect my master’s life at all costs.’

That was what she had to do now.

* * *

The carriage carrying Rayna and Maya arrived at the capital’s market.

“By the way, why is Milady’s hand wrapped like that?”

Maya asked as she looked at Rayna’s bandaged left hand.

The bandaged hand was a result of her foolishly excited actions from the previous night.

When Calyx’ fever dropped, Rayna deeply believed that her hand possessed special abilities.

She even entertained the thought that she might be a new possessor of divine power in the empire.

‘Yes, such privileges are bound to transmigration.’

Excited about the idea of healing Calyx, Rayna, as an experiment, lightly cut her palm with a paper knife.

‘Divine power, my foot.’

It hurt horribly, and no matter how much she poked at it with her hand, the wound didn’t react at all.

Rayna felt a sense of confusion and embarrassment as she quietly bandaged the wound.

“I accidentally cut myself.”

Maya didn’t completely buy Rayna’s explanation, but let it pass.

“Is it because of that child that you’re visiting this place today?”

Rayna nodded as she and Maya entered an antique shop.

The shop they visited was the largest antique store in the shopping district, frequently used by the Krollot couple.

They had a hobby of collecting expensive and rare items, although most of them were unique and suspiciously smuggled goods.

‘Things that couldn’t be obtained through legal means.’

Thanks to the count and his wife, who used to brag about their illegal dealings, things were easily sorted out.

It was the first time since transmigrating that Rayna felt grateful to Count and Countess Krollot.

On the surface, it appeared to be an ordinary antique shop, but the young man who was the master of the shop was anything but ordinary.

He was a black-market dealer who would find anything a customer desired as long as they paid the appropriate price.

Rayna had contacted the Master in advance to request an item.

Although he had initially mentioned that it might take a while to acquire such a rare item, he promised to have it ready by the end of the day when Rayna doubled the commission.

“How can I help you?”

The clerk asked as Rayna approached the counter.

“I’m here to pick up a reservation I made with the Master.”

The clerk’s eyes changed when he heard the word “master.”

“May I know the name under which the reservation was made?”

Unable to answer promptly, Rayna felt the sharpness in the assistant’s gaze.

Sensing a suspicious atmosphere, Maya was about to raise her guard when Rayna leaned toward the clerk and whispered,

“A-a violet blooms under the moonlight.”

Ehem. Rayna’s face flushed with embarrassment.

The Master, to preserve the customer’s anonymity, casually assigned nicknames to make the reservation and called them by their nickname rather than their name.

‘He doesn’t know who I am and yet came up with such a weird nickname.’

Although they had never met, she could tell the master was an eccentric.

“Please wait a moment.”

The clerk cooled his temper and entered the space behind the counter, and Maya grabbed Rayna’s arm.

“Milady, is it a weapon or poison?”

Rayna raised her eyebrows at the question.

“You claim to have come because of that child, but you’re clearly engaged in a suspicious deal.”

Maya quickly assessed the situation and concluded.

“Are you here to buy tools to eliminate witnesses?”

“…What?”

“It’s alright. Even if you didn’t, I was planning to eliminate any witnesses first.”

Finding a way to cure Calyx required time, and that time could only be gained by not letting anyone know the fact that the child was hidden.

“Who is it? Who saw him?”

Maya’s gaze was determined, almost fierce.

“I’ll handle it quietly. My soft-hearted lady shouldn’t have to—”

Maya was whispering and glancing around and suddenly stiffened.

Her eyes slowly widened as she focused her gaze on the glass window.

“Maya?”

Rayna was dragged behind a shelf as she tried to follow Maya’s line of sight.

“What’s wrong?”

“Shush.”

Maya peered through the gap in the shelves at the man who had just entered the shop.

Although Rayna didn’t understand what was going on, she also held her breath and looked at the man.

Subtle facial features, reminiscent of a meticulously crafted sculpture, were immediately noticeable.

His hair, as dark as the night, complemented the eyes, which gleamed with a vivid golden hue.

The cold aura emanating from his impassive face harmonized exceptionally well with the man, giving off an impression of sophistication rather than intimidation.

“Do you know him?”

“He’s the Monster Grand Duke.”

Rayna had been calmly admiring the man’s face and suddenly widened her eyes.

‘Come to think of it, he is Lucius!’

The man before them was exactly as the Lucius described in the original work.

Rayna was so distracted by his handsome appearance that she only belatedly realized it.

“Why, why is that crazy grand duke here? I-is it because of me? No, it can’t be… not yet…”

Maya quickly covered Rayna’s mouth, as she was thoroughly flustered and babbling.

The sound of Lucius’ footsteps was getting closer and closer to them.