To The Traitor in My Bed - Chapter 42

According to those books, taking the life of a king was a relatively simple task. The more important issue, however, was dealing with what came after.

Historically, rebellion had a low success rate, and to kill a king, there needed to be a legitimate reason. The last time Frederick met Princess Sabrina, he gave her one piece of advice.

Sabrina gazed at him with Leonhart’s golden eyes for a long time. Frederick, preoccupied with his plans, didn’t notice the longing in her gaze.

He still didn’t show anyone all of himself. Even when Marianne Fairchild passed away, she never knew all of her son’s secrets.

<I’m sorry I couldn’t live longer to support you, Frederick.>

<You’ve already done more than enough, Mother. Don’t say that.>

Marianne shook her head sadly.

Frederick held his mother’s cold hand tightly. His father wept quietly by his side. Marianne soon fell into a coma and passed away that night.

Frederick didn’t have time to mourn.

The moment he turned twenty, he inherited the title of Count Rochepolie and took over the family business. In the council, he openly supported King Christian’s plan to mobilize the standing army, gaining the young king’s favor. Fairchild Bank lent money to Leonhart at an extraordinary interest rate.

Rumors spread in Swinton that Count Fairchild had switched sides to the royalist faction. Frederick carefully watched the nobles who were particularly hostile to him, knowing that they were likely hidden parliamentary members.

He needed both allies close by and nobles from a distance who would support him.

Viscount Ian Darnell of the Upper Isles was the first to be recruited. The second was Baronet Mark Hartley, and the third was Roger Blanc, a man with a complicated background.

Roger Blanc, originally from the high nobility of Luska, had been educated by a Froiden tutor and spoke four languages with a Froiden accent. The name of the organization, ‘White Rose,’ was a playful reference to Roger Blanc’s name (Roser blanc).

The goal of the ‘Brigade’ was not to overthrow the regime but to cause disruption for Christian. The more the military police linked Froiden forces with the ‘Brigade’, the better.

In the meantime, Frederick continued to look for others to join his side. If someone better and with leadership skills appeared, he was willing to back them. However, as such a person rarely appeared, he quietly went about his work, waiting for the right opportunity.

Christian was highly cautious and rarely showed any openings. Especially during the two years when the princess married into Froiden, things had seemed hopeless.

It wasn’t until the fall of Grand Duke Dietrich of Froiden, the rise of Duke Arthur, and Princess Sabrina’s imprisonment in Strasbourg that the tides began to turn.

To weaken Christian, both the military police and the royal army needed to be diminished, and for that, Froiden had to be used.

Around this time, Frederick was beginning to realize what his mother, Marianne, had wished she could have taught him before her death.

He was wealthy, strong, and capable enough to achieve his goals. Although there were still many variables in his plan, he had now gathered a solid group of allies.

However, when it came to love, he knew very little.

Should he hide his secrets and propose to the woman he loved, or should he step back to protect her from danger? He couldn’t help but wonder about these things.

Had his mother been alive, she would have certainly given him advice with all her heart on matters like this.

So, for the first time in his life, Frederick Fairchild followed his heart without relying on others’ standards, opinions, or teachings.

He loved Deirdre Havisham. He had known her long before the 25-year-old Count Frederick Fairchild, proposed to the 20-year-old Lady.

He was ready to pay any price to deceive her and marry her.

Of course, that foolish decision was often met with bitter self-reproach, followed by sweet comfort.

Deirdre was kind, innocent, and lovely. When she would glance at her foolish husband with her blue eyes, he often thought he wouldn’t mind being treated as a fool by his wife for the rest of his life. She was so kind that after scolding him, she would show twice as much sweetness.

When she learned the truth, he knew that instead of disappointment, there would be sadness and resentment in her eyes. The thought of that inevitable day made him feel like a condemned man.

He had deceived Deirdre, made her the wife of a royalist, and contributed to the misfortune of the Havisham family.

If there was one thing that could make Frederick completely weak, it was Deirdre.

And that weakness was as precious to him as his life and the purpose he had devoted half of his life to achieving.