Hopefully, at Your Mercy - Chapter 8

Chapter 5.1

After having watched the duke’s mansion for a while, he casually crushed the stone in his hand and turned away without hesitation.

[Please spare me. I’ll behave. I didn’t see anything. I’m just a passerby.]

Delinda’s desperate voice echoed in his mind, delivered in a voice that had tried to sound confident.

Something about it seemed to nag at him, causing a crease to form between his brows.

He had noticed the magic amplification ring glowing in the midst of their tense encounter, meaning she was undoubtedly a mage. And judging by the intensity of the ring’s glow, her magical powers were quite strong.

For her to be able to break through Carlot’s spatial distortion spell meant her magical powers exceeded the level of Carlot’s defenses.

Mages, by their very nature, were known for their pride and self-respect.

From his experience, mages would rather offer their heads and be killed than beg for their lives.

But this mage, who had claimed to be a mere maid, had begged for her life. It was absurd.

So, he had decided to let her live for now, intending to follow her and uncover her true identity, along with the people she worked with.

She seemed intent on covering her tracks, circling through the alleyways before finally entering a noble’s mansion.

And not just any noble’s. One of the five great ducal families of the Barkyan Empire, the House of Duke Schultz.

The royal castle and the homes of the founding ducal houses always had magic barriers in place. The reason the grand mansion was only lightly guarded by two knights at the entrance was precisely because of these barriers.

While one could easily leave from within, it was difficult for outsiders to enter without permission.

Yet this so-called mage had mindlessly thrown herself at the barrier, trying to break through it without using her magical powers, just brute force.

‘I’ll find out her true identity soon enough.’

As the man thought of Delinda’s last moments, he vanished into the darkness.

* * *

Meanwhile, at someone else’s lodging…

Rose, the maid, threw off her robe and shouted,

“How could you bring a fake? What if we’d gotten caught?!”

She was at the lodging of Lord Cavila, who had visited the duke’s mansion regarding the Spirit Stone Mine development.

“A ‘fake’? What are you talking about?”

“That fool touched the flame. Didn’t you say ordinary people can’t even hold a spirit stone properly? We were supposed to finalize the contract today, and instead, you caused that mess… I’m extremely disappointed!”

“But, no… it was real! You saw the flame ignite, didn’t you? Perhaps there was some unexpected factor or a defect… Regardless, we still don’t know everything there is about spirit stones.”

Lord Cavila, frustrated, tried to defend himself. He was the man who had proposed the investment to Duke Schultz earlier.

Rose sighed in annoyance and sat down in a chair.

As she tousled her hair, a hairpin hidden within her voluminous hair fell out. It belonged to Delinda.

‘That foolish Delinda probably hasn’t even noticed her hairpin is missing.’

Even if she did, she’d likely think she had lost it due to her own stupidity.

A fool like Delinda didn’t deserve expensive gifts or noble status.

She had only been lucky to be born a duke’s daughter.

“If you’re going to deceive someone, at least do it properly. Even if the entire duke’s family seems foolish, you should at least make things look convincing.”

Lord Cavila pressed his lips together with a troubled expression.

It was obvious that this woman, Rose, considered him nothing more than a con-artist. Of course, not everything he said was the truth, but it wasn’t a complete lie either.

Even though he felt it was unfair, he held back. He had a promising deal lined up with the duke, after all. Until then, he planned to go along with the woman who had introduced him to the duke, without crossing her.

“Fine. Next time, bring a proper spirit stone. That’s all I came to say today. Also, the duke cherishes his daughter, so make sure to prepare a gift for her as well.”

“No, the stone I brought today was definitely genuine. It came from my mine—”

“I’m leaving.”

Rose abruptly cut him off and stood up to leave.

From behind her, she could hear Lord Cavila muttering something under his breath. Ignoring him, she slammed the door shut, and silence fell around her.

“Everyone around me is just a fool.”

Biting her lip in frustration, she flipped on the hood of her cloak.

If everything had gone according to plan, the contract should have been signed today. Then, she would’ve secured a nice down payment from Lord Cavila and could have finally breathed a little easier.

Once Duke Schultz handed over the money to Lord Cavila, using the grand mansion as collateral, she was set to receive a hefty referral fee.

Rose walked through the lodging street and entered the square, moving past the drunken revelers and leaving the market behind. In the distance, she could see Duke Schultz’s grand mansion.

The Schultz household. And her own family, the House of Baron Roche, were merely vassals of the Schultz family.

‘What makes me any less deserving than Delinda, who was just lucky enough to be born a duke’s daughter?’

Rose was bitter. No matter how hard she tried, it was nearly impossible to surpass the standing of House Schultz’s daughter, Lady Delinda.

So, if she couldn’t climb higher than Delinda, then her only option was to drag Delinda down.

If House Schultz went bankrupt and even lost their prized possession, the mansion, they would surely spiral further into ruin.

And Lady Delinda, without her family’s legacy, would face a disgraceful end.

Rose imagined Delinda wearing a shabby dress, looking miserable. The thought lifted her mood significantly.