Chapter 41
“Don’t even ask. I-It was so intense… Even with me standing right there, they were holding each other so tightly….”
“Enough!”
Katarina snapped, cutting Nancy off with a sharp voice.
Her grip tightened on the bedsheets, as if she were about to tear them apart.
“Wait in the hall and tell Odette this—she must discuss the engagement ceremony before the day is over.”
Once the engagement was finalized, Caesar would take Odette and leave.
The sooner she could get rid of them, the better.
That afternoon, Odette was summoned to Katarina’s parlor.
“You called for me, Madam?”
“I am planning a tea party to formally introduce you as my adopted daughter. It would be ridiculous if no one recognized you at your own engagement ceremony, wouldn’t it?”
A tea party to introduce her?
Katarina, who could barely be bothered to organize the engagement itself?
And yet… she looked oddly amused.
It felt as if she was gathering a crowd of noblewomen just so she could humiliate Odette in front of them.
Katarina set an envelope on the table.
“This is the engagement invitation.”
The seal of the Anderson family was imprinted on it.
Without even glancing at Odette, Katarina kept her gaze fixed on the roses in the vase.
“You can read and write, can’t you?”
“Yes, I can.”
“Then review the guest list and write the names, including your own, before handing it to Nancy. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“…….”
“Nancy, give her the list.”
The guest list was placed in front of Odette.
Her eyes scanned the dense lines of noble names, but then—
She froze.
Her gaze locked onto one name—
Viscountess Saxen.
Odette’s hand trembled, and Katarina smirked, watching her reaction.
“Don’t misunderstand—I didn’t invite your former mistress just to disgrace you. I’ve known Viscountess Saxen long before you did.”
“I didn’t realize you had such a long-standing relationship.”
“I wouldn’t call it a relationship. They were always taking and never giving. If not for her second son securing a position as an imperial scribe, I wouldn’t have reached out at all.”
Then, she noticed something else.
Next to Viscountess Saxen’s name, the words “Including children” were written.
“Does this mean… I have to invite Maxcallion and Leorahill too?”
Her grip tightened around the paper, slightly creasing it.
Katarina, delighted by her distress, covered her lips with her fan and laughed.
“I heard you were quite close with the Saxen brothers. Won’t you be thrilled to see them at your engagement? I, for one, can hardly wait to see what unfolds.”
“Emma.”
As soon as she was dismissed, Odette rushed back to her room.
She had walked so quickly, her breath was still uneven.
“What’s wrong? Did the Madam harass you again?”
If only that were all.
“Emma, I need you to hire someone to deliver a letter for me.”
“That’s easy enough, but… who is it for?”
“A place I used to work at.”
“Viscount Saxen’s estate?”
“Yes.”
She planned to send a letter asking Viscountess Saxen not to attend the engagement ceremony.
Caesar had told her that Viscount Saxen was a human trafficker.
And she believed him.
The north was so dangerous that even its own people fled south—
Yet the Saxen couple had traveled north instead.
They didn’t have any relatives there, so why?
She remembered—
She had once been trapped in a cage on a slaver’s cart.
And when she had seen Viscountess Saxen, she had begged for help.
“I’ll do anything—run errands, clean, anything! I’ll work hard for my meals. Please, my lady, take me with you. Please!”
When Odette had desperately reached through the bars,
Viscountess Saxen had taken her small, dirt-streaked hand.
She may have been a villain to others, but to me, she was my savior.
Odette picked up a quill and began writing.
She started with a polite greeting, then fabricated a romantic tale—
Claiming that she and Caesar had fallen in love at first sight and were now engaged.
But then—
She politely asked her not to attend the ceremony.
She couldn’t explain why yet—but promised she would when the time was right.
Even after finishing the letter, she was still uneasy.
So she wrote another letter—
This one to Leorahill at the Imperial Academy.
“To Young Master Leo,”
Just writing his name made her eyes well up with tears.
Leo… I’m sorry.
The mere thought of hurting him felt like her heart was being torn apart.
They had grown up together—
Catching crickets, chasing birds through the fields, exploring the woods.
Leo had been her best friend in the entire world.
Odette was two years older than Leorahill, but that had never mattered.
Their differences in status and gender didn’t stop them from being inseparable.
But that can’t be the case anymore.
Odette gripped her quill tightly and began writing.
To Young Master Maxcallion,
I heard that you have become an Imperial Scribe.
If you’re thinking of ordering an ice sculpture, please reconsider.
If it’s discovered that you’ve accepted bribes to host extravagant banquets, it will not go unnoticed.
As she wrote those words, a chill ran down her spine.
She was betraying Caesar Maes.
If he ever found out about this letter, all the trust she had built with him would be shattered, and she would not live to see another day.
But I can’t just stand by and do nothing.
When she had last seen Maxcallion in Raon Town,
He hadn’t been the impoverished second son of a declining viscount family anymore.
He wore luxurious silk, traveled in a fine carriage, and even owned a mansion in the capital.
Odette had left the Saxen household for the Anderson estate barely a month ago.
Before that, Maxcallion had been looking for work, but…
There’s no way a low-ranking official could become that wealthy in such a short time.
He must have embezzled money, hoarding a fortune.
And sooner or later, he would likely purchase an ice sculpture from Kiri, Caesar’s lieutenant and frost mage, to decorate a party.
If that came to light, it wouldn’t just be Maxcallion who suffered.
Leorahill, who had just joined the Imperial Knights, would also be implicated—
And targeted for elimination.
The thought alone made tears well up in her eyes.
I know better than anyone how much you want to become a righteous knight.
Please—don’t let that dream be taken from you.
Stay safe.
I will always be grateful to you.
I will never forget.
But please, forget me.
Be happy.
Odette sealed the letter with wax and handed it to Emma.
“Emma, send this one to Viscount Saxen’s estate, and this one to the Imperial Academy.”
Even if Leorahill had graduated, the Academy would still forward his letters to the Imperial Knights.
“The Imperial Academy? Ah, is that where the young master you raised is now?”
“Yes. I’d rather he hear about my engagement directly from me instead of through rumors.”
“Understood. I’ll go right away. The letter must reach them before the engagement news does.”
Emma took the letters and left for the city.
But—
Just as she was about to mail them, she ran into Caesar Maes.
“Odette’s maid?”
Caesar approached, his gaze drifting to the sealed envelopes in her hands.
“The earl has left for the capital.”
“He’s likely seeking the Emperor’s help.”
“I see.”
Caesar entered the hotel suite with slow, deliberate steps and casually tossed a letter onto the table.
This hotel in Hohan District had been rented long-term for strategic meetings.
His officers had been gathering evidence of the earl’s corruption and sowing discord within the Imperial faction, reporting to him here daily.
Golden, one of his subordinates, spoke up next.
“We have found the records of the gemstones the earl embezzled from the Tereba mines. We’re only waiting for your signal to expose his crimes.”
“Well done.”
“What should we do about the knights who remained here instead of relocating to the princess’s territory?”
“Indeed… what should we do?”
Caesar answered absently, taking a seat.
It was then that his lieutenants realized something was wrong.
He was not himself today.
His expression was as cold as ice, his presence unnervingly still— As if he were about to kill someone.
