Chapter 10

Marianne smiled at his reply with a satisfied look. She looked like a woman who had heard the answer she had been waiting for.

“I see how loyal you are. How about you, Hugo?”

When asked unexpectedly, Hugo was bewildered for a moment before he said, “Well, I am ready to.”

“Are you sure? I thought you would.”

Her gaze darted between Hugo and Iric.

“I know you are loyal and trustworthy, so I want you to help me.”

The butler devoted to the Kling family, and the knight who owed what he was to the duke. Marianne’s request for their help was not unfamiliar to them. In fact, they already had experience with taking care of her requests or orders ranging from small chores to her personal matters.

“I will help you as best I can.”

“What can I do for you?”

Without any doubt, Iric and Hugo replied in the positive respectively.

“I would like to visit the capital secretly. Right now. Tonight.”

Naturally, she had no idea how to say these fearful words.

They didn’t expect she would something terrible like this at all.

“…”

“…”

The room was silent. Doubting what he just heard, Hugo was looking at her blankly while Iric was also staring at her with his suspicions.

“Why don’t you reply? You guys told me you would do anything for me and my father, right?”

She shrugged her shoulders with a brazen expression. While Iric, who was more confused by her conceited attitude, was standing blankly, Hugo, who was dumbfounded for a moment, barely opened his mouth.

“Lady, you just mentioned the capital…”

“Yes, the capital city.”

“Are you talking about a salon that recently opened under the name of ‘Capital’ in Lennox, or a shop, or…”

“What are you talking about? Don’t you know what the capital means? Milan! The capital city where the Lucio Imperial Palace is located, now under the direct control of the Frey imperial family. Please don’t feign ignorance when you already understand my point.”

Hugo, who was usually calm, was really embarrassed when she named the city by specifically mentioning the imperial family and the imperial palace. Even Iric, whose mouth was closed all along, had a serious look on his face.

“When you said you wanted to go there secretly, you don’t want to inform your father about it?”

With her sparkling eyes, she nodded instead of answering.

“I have to leave for the capital as soon as possible. I’m not going to tell my father about it at all, but I’ll tell him later. Do you understand what I mean?”

“But…”

“I will not go there alone. That’s why I called Iric. I’m going to take a maid with me. Well, I’m thinking of Cordelli. While I’m away, please make some plausible excuses for me, Hugo. I don’t I’ll stay long there. One week at most. You can keep the people here in the dark about my visit to the capital, can’t you? I’m going to write a letter to my father in advance. If he ever finds out I left for the capital, just give the letter to him so you won’t be hurt, Hugo. Can you promise me?”

She pushed everything onto him without giving him any chance to refuse. Hugo was anxious to protest whenever she added a new request, but waited until she was done.

“No, you can’t do this. How can you think of visiting the capital city, only accompanied by one knight and one maid without letting your father know about it? This is too dangerous!”

“I’m not crossing the border, you know. I’m just heading for the capital. If I use the big streets, it won’t be dangerous.”

“Anyway, you should never go. Never!”

“As you know, Iric is a very reliable knight. Don’t you trust him?”

“Don’t you know that’s not my point?”

“That’s why I need your help. Please help me once. I’ll be right there.”

“It will take you six days on average even if you use the big street from Lennox to Milan.

No matter how much you urge your horse forward, you should ride the horse at least twelve hours for four days. Besides, you are not strong enough to endure that dangerous and difficult journey. Even if you manage to leave secretly, His Excellency will find out anyway while you’re on the way, right? Aside from his permission, he won’t be able to sleep if he discovers that only one knight and one maid are accompanying you.

“That’s why I’m asking you like this. I’m your father’s servant. I cannot do anything against his will.”

Hugo’s answer was firm. She bit her lip.

She knew he would not easily go along with her request, but she needed his help.

Someone like Hugo who knew the ins and outs of the situation of the Kling family could fabricate any information in and out of the family if he wanted. Hugo was the only person she needed who could persuade her father in case of an emergency.

“Please think twice about your visit. Even if you don’t go to the capital, you can choose a fashionable dress or jewelry nearby, can’t you? As for the man you want to see, you can meet an artist, a merchant, a priest, a nobleman, or anyone else you want to meet.”

“That’s not what I mean. Anyway, I have to go there myself.”

She was impatient. Hugo was right when he said that she could have anything and meet anyone without leaving Lennox. But the person she was trying to meet was an exception.

“Lady, His Excellency is always concerned about your safety.”

“I know.”

She was going to say, ‘That’s why I want to go there alone,’ but she didn’t.

She lowered her shoulders and left out a sigh. Duke Kling didn’t want to expose his daughter to the outside world as much as possible. Although he never got angry or shouted in front of her, he always kept his daughter inside the Lennox walls. The overprotection of his daughter was such that not only the people at his mansion but also those in the social circles knew about it. Because of his father’s overprotective propensity, Marianne rarely spent more than three days in a castle other than the one in the north. It was almost impossible for her to travel outside the castle except for a great event like the new emperor’s crowning ceremony.

Given this, could she get his father’s permission to travel to Milan without any clear reason? Of course not. Even if he granted permission, he would dispatch a big security team to protect her and have them report back to him in almost real time.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know why you have to secretly go to the capital. If it is difficult for you to tell me about it, why don’t you tell your father honestly? He would carefully listen to what you have to say.”

“I think he will. I would love to tell him, but I can’t.”

Marianne bit her lip. What Hugo asked her to do was actually what she wanted, but she couldn’t do so. If she told her father honestly and asked him to keep the secret, her father would surely keep it. But would it be the end of the story? No way. Her father would immediately head for Milan to meet the Emperor on her behalf, or storm into Ober’s territory and hold him by the collar and beat him. In terms of her allies, her father would be the perfect one.

But there were her watchers at the mansion left behind by Ober.

They would surely interpret her father’s concern and protection of her daughter differently.

She knew that her own action in itself was dangerous, and at the same time it would certainly implicate her father as well.

She wanted to delay the conflict between Ober and her father as much as possible.

Someday, both of them would have to confront each other, but she hoped that day would come later until she could find the most powerful and useful ally.

“If I may, can I ask you why you want to go to the capital alone?” Hugo asked.

He became increasingly suspicious.

‘I really didn’t want to use this method,’ she thought to herself.

While looking at him blankly, she turned around.

“Iric, don’t touch me from now on. It’s my order.”

It was an unexpected order. Despite that, Iric lowered his head slightly, putting his right arm close to his chest. It was an example of his obedience.

She quickly pulled out the sword in his sheath.

As soon as the eerie sound of her pulling the sword was heard, Hugo and Iric shouted at her with a stunned look, “Lady!”

“It’s dangerous!”

When they were about to grab the sword, she quickly aimed the tip of the sword at them. As the sword was heavier than she thought, she had to use both hands to hold it. Nevertheless, the two men stopped as if they had fallen under a spell.