A Perilous Gamble

Rachel ambled out of the Silver Mistletoe Estate.

The clamor from the ballroom was muffled by the heavy oak doors, leaving only the cool night breeze of the capital city to greet her.

Lingering in the air was a blend of food aromas wafting from the estate and expensive perfumes, a scent that nonetheless failed to dispel the weariness weighing on Rachel’s heart.

Rachel sighed, as if shedding a heavy burden.

She waved away the servant’s kind offer to hail a carriage for her.

Seeing this, Vera, who had been lingering behind, immediately hurried to catch up.

“Let’s take a walk together.”

The banquet within the Silver Mistletoe Estate had seemingly concluded.

No, more accurately, a significant crowd still swarmed around the princess, ensuring the estate remained a scene of vibrant festivity.

Yet, that was no longer Rachel’s concern.

“Lady Rachel! Lady Rachel!”

Vera’s voice was hushed, yet it vibrated with irrepressible excitement.

“Didn’t you see Yuri Harth’s face just now? It went utterly pale in an instant! And! When did you report the mining matter to Her Royal Highness? How did I—how did I not notice a thing?”

Her questions tumbled out like a rapid-fire volley, her eyes fixed on Rachel, gleaming with pure adoration and bewilderment.

Rachel allowed Vera to tug at her sleeve, her pace deliberately slow.

The hem of her deep purple gown brushed against Eredia’s smooth, cold flagstones.

The bright moonlight cast their elongated shadows onto the ground.

She turned her head, observing Vera’s excited face.

Her lips barely curved into a faint, utterly weary smile.

“Well… it was merely a matter of informing her; nothing too troublesome.”

Rachel’s reply was dismissive and perfunctory.

However, Vera, oblivious to this, remained lost in her excitement.

“Ah! I know! It was Miriam, wasn’t it! So that’s what you tasked her with! But I never realized, Lady Rachel, that you were a supporter of Her Royal Highness…”

“A supporter?”

Rachel looked at Vera, a hint of a smile playing on her lips.

“When did I ever become her supporter?”

“Eh? But—but didn’t you help Her Royal Highness? And the Princess publicly thanked you for it, saying you made a huge contribution and all…”

Vera blinked, clearly failing to grasp Rachel’s meaning.

Rachel let out a soft sigh.

“You think too highly of your Lady, I’m afraid.

I am merely an insignificant baroness; in matters like these, I hardly possess the power to choose sides.

I am simply swept along by the current.”

Rachel paused mid-sentence, her gaze drifting towards the profound darkness at the end of the distant street.

Her voice dropped, as if she were speaking to herself, yet also explaining to Vera.

“What’s more, have you forgotten? According to that notebook, the princess already had a collaboration with the Cult.

I imagine she’d rather silence me than thank me.”

“Eh? Eh!! But—but just now…”

Vera’s face registered profound shock; she clearly hadn’t fully grasped Rachel’s words and felt utterly disoriented.

Just as Rachel was about to offer further explanation, a familiar voice drifted from nearby.

“L-Lady Rachel! Miss Vera! What a coincidence!”

A figure shuffled out from the shadows, a hint of awkwardness in their movements.

They possessed striking pink curly hair, which appeared somewhat muted under the crisp moonlight, and wore the characteristic smooth, ingratiating, and cautious smile of a merchant.

It was Miriam.

Miriam, rubbing her hands together, quickly approached Rachel and Vera.

Her face was wreathed in smiles, though her gaze flitted nervously over Rachel’s slightly tired face and Vera’s bandaged arm.

“Oh dear, it’s wonderful to see both of you safe and sound!

I was terribly worried outside the ballroom earlier; there were so many people, and I couldn’t get in…

Her Royal Highness didn’t do anything to you, did she?

However, judging by your demeanor now, Lady, you must have safely navigated the crisis!

You truly are brilliant and courageous, Lady!”

Upon seeing Miriam, Vera exclaimed in delighted surprise, “Miriam, you’re here!”

She was immediately captivated by Miriam’s words.

“Yes, yes! Her Royal Highness acknowledged what Lady Rachel reported! Our Lady is truly amazing!”

Miriam immediately let out an exaggerated sigh of relief, patting her chest repeatedly.

“That’s good, that’s good!”

She leaned closer, lowering her voice, a hint of seeking credit in her tone.

“Lady, that matter you tasked me with… I was on pins and needles, and it was only with great difficulty that I—that I delivered the item as you instructed.

There were no mishaps, were there?”

“Delivering something? Delivering what?”

Vera glanced back and forth between Miriam and Rachel, bewildered by their conversation.

Suddenly, as if a thought had struck her, she gasped in surprise, covering her mouth.

“Ah! Could it be that what you asked Miriam to do was…”

“Precisely.”

Rachel nodded calmly, confirming, “I had Miriam deliver that notebook to Princess Ariya.”

“Oh dear, I was quite startled then; I thought you had suddenly gone mad, Lady.”

Miriam wore a look of lingering fear.

“After all, we had just managed to get a hold of the princess’s leverage, and not only did we willingly expose it, but we also handed over our trump card.

It was practically like…”

“Like committing suicide, wouldn’t you say?”

Rachel interjected, a faint smile on her lips.

“No, no, no! I certainly didn’t say that! It must be that you, Lady, possess far-sighted wisdom, and I simply failed to comprehend your intentions!”

Miriam hastily adopted an ingratiating expression.

Vera, caught between the two, still looked utterly perplexed.

Seeing this, Rachel patted her shoulder reassuringly.

“Vera, do you recall the contents of the notebook? Her Royal Highness knew from the very beginning what was happening in that mine, and even maintained a degree of cooperation with the Cult.

Under such circumstances, how do you think Her Royal Highness would react to us, having discovered this secret?”

“…Silence us?”

Even Vera, slow-witted as she sometimes was, understood now.

“But—but earlier at the banquet, Her Royal Highness explicitly said…”

“That’s precisely why I had Miriam return that notebook.”

‘?’

This time, not only Vera but even Miriam wore a curious expression.

Rachel patiently elaborated:

“Her Royal Highness does indeed have some cooperation with that Cult, but it’s merely temporary.

I believe her ultimate goal, as she stated at the banquet today, is to utterly eradicate the Cult.”

“Cooperation… only to eradicate them later?”

“Likely to gain prestige,” Miriam offered, spreading her hands, answering Vera’s confusion on Rachel’s behalf.

“These powerful figures are always temperamental and utterly ruthless! It’s perfectly normal for them to act this way.”

“I-I see…”

Vera nodded, still only half-understanding.

“I believe Her Royal Highness’s original plan was to have Yuri Harth accuse me of colluding with the Cult, thereby exposing the Cult’s activities and conveniently declaring war on them.

As for evidence, that mine held an abundance of it; any defense I offered would have been useless, wouldn’t it?”

“H-how could this be? Yuri Harth was actually arranged by Her Royal Highness…”

Vera instinctively covered her mouth, a look of utter disbelief on her face.

“However, Her Royal Highness’s plan encountered a slight hitch,” Rachel said with a smile.

“The Gray Mountain Mine collapsed.

In other words, Her Royal Highness no longer possesses sufficient evidence to prove the Cult’s existence.

While she could certainly proceed with her plan to eradicate the Cult, the opposition would likely be far more numerous, wouldn’t it?”

As she spoke, Rachel spread her hands, deliberately assuming a casual demeanor.

“Therefore, I delivered that notebook to the princess.

Provided the sections pertaining to her are removed, the notebook then becomes the most direct evidence of the Cult’s atrocities.

My action was merely to inform the princess that I am willing to assist her in continuing her plans, albeit through a different approach.”

“S-so that’s how it is!”

“Truly worthy of you, Lady Rachel!”

Vera and Miriam simultaneously cast admiring glances her way, but Rachel merely offered a wry smile.

Ariya needed a pawn, a piece to help her advance her plans.

The life or death of that pawn was entirely inconsequential to her.

Given this, Rachel saw no reason to directly oppose the princess; she could even forge an alliance.

After all, she was merely a minor baroness.

Even possessing the notebook would only bring greater peril.

To consider using it as leverage to blackmail or even overthrow the princess was truly an overestimation of her own power.

Nevertheless, this was, at its core, a perilous gamble.

What if Ariya didn’t trust her? What if Ariya remained intent on silencing her? What if Rachel’s assumptions had been flawed from the outset?

In such scenarios, Rachel would likely not escape death today.

Ultimately, it had simply been a stroke of luck.

At this thought, Rachel suddenly turned to Miriam, asking in a seemingly casual tone:

“By the way, Miriam, you said earlier that you couldn’t get into the ballroom.

That was a lie, wasn’t it?”

Hearing this, Miriam first froze for a moment, then hastily broke into a smile.

“Oh dear, I can never hide anything from you, can I…?”

“I thought as much,” Rachel said calmly.

“After all, I told you previously that once you delivered the notebook, you were free to leave.

However, if you were curious about the mine, you could try entering the ballroom; Princess Ariya would be there to clarify your doubts.

Since you’re here to meet us now, I presume you successfully slipped inside.”

Rachel spoke, a smile gracing her lips.

“So, was your curiosity satisfied?”

“Completely satisfied, completely satisfied!”

Miriam’s ingratiating smile reappeared.

“I disguised myself as a servant and blended in, standing in the corner.

Her Royal Highness explained everything so clearly! That Cult of the End, and the demonic dragons… it made my hair stand on end! It was terrifying!”

“Is that so.”

Rachel nodded, her tone as placid as ever, yet a sharp glint flashed in her eyes.

She suddenly halted, looking at Miriam.

“Then… Miriam, knowing all this, do you still intend to kill me?”

“Wh—what?!”

Vera gasped, sucking in a sharp breath.

She was utterly incapable of comprehending this sudden turn, her mind a complete blank.

She could only stare, wide-eyed and helpless, at her most trusted master, then at Miriam, who had instantly frozen in place.

‘My Lady… what is she saying? Kill her? Miriam?!’

Miriam’s ingratiating smile shattered like a frozen lake, piece by piece.

Those eyes, usually glinting with a merchant’s shrewdness, now held only pure astonishment and a flicker of panicked exposure.

Her lips parted slightly, as if to force out her usual, tearful excuses.

“L-Lady… you… you must be joking… How could I… I…”

However, her excuses abruptly ceased.

Swift!

Faster than Vera’s comprehension could possibly register!

One moment, Miriam was frozen a few steps away, her face a mosaic of shattered astonishment and a desperate attempt to maintain a timid facade.

The next, she seemed to melt into the flowing shadows.

There was no whisper of wind, no warning, only a blurred afterimage streaking across Vera’s horrified vision at a speed too rapid for the eye to follow.

A cold sensation pressed against Rachel’s exposed neck without preamble.

Vera’s eyeballs bulged with extreme terror.

She saw it clearly—behind Rachel, Miriam had appeared like a ghost.

One hand clamped Rachel’s slender shoulder like an iron band, the force causing Rachel’s body to tremble involuntarily.

In her other hand, a short dagger had appeared, its sharp blade already pressed against Rachel’s throat!