The next day.
As soon as Elena got out of bed, she tied a red handkerchief to the window. She didn't expect to be summoning Kuhn so soon. However, she realized a great deal from Sophie yesterday.
'…The future has changed.'
Sophie's original path was to work for the family until their deaths, but after Elena's return to the past, the maid was dismissed shortly. The past that Elena remembered and future that would unfold would not be exactly the same. Even more so, the largest departure from what she knew was her saving Carlisle's life. How many years had that changed? She had to know.
Rather than relying on memory, she needed to make a fresh analysis of the imperial family. She would gather the information herself, but yesterday's incident made it difficult for her as a noblewoman to move as freely as she desired. Furthermore, Helen's men had followed her in the streets, and for what purpose was still a mystery. She thought it safer to keep her head down as much as possible.
Most of all, it was better to stay indoors to silence the idle rumors. So the correct course of action was Kuhn. She would use him to retrieve information from the outside.
'I hope he's as capable as Caril said…'
After glancing out the window, Elena turned her head around again. She had a lot of work today as well.
After completing her routine morning exercises, Elena summoned all the servants of the household. They all packed into the widest central hall. Elena stepped forward and scanned the faces of her employees one by one, then spoke in an unfaltering voice.
"I heard an incredible rumor yesterday."
At the mention of the rumor the servants avoided each other's gazes. Judging from their reaction, everyone seemed to know what exactly what Elena meant. Elena didn't intend to speak for long and immediately got to the point.
"The person who spread those words against me was sent away yesterday."
Murmuring began to rise from the servants, but Elena lifted her hand to command them to fall silent.
"Let me be clear. If you intend to continue working for House Blaise, don't be fooled by this gossip. If this story comes to my ears again, be prepared to leave."
It was a warning, but the manner which she delivered it was still dignified. For a moment everyone was as silent as a dead mouse, then the senior butler answered in reply.
"Understood, My Lady. I was going to tell you myself but you handled it well. If I see anything else like this, I'll notify you right away."
"Yes, please. Report to me and I will dismiss them right there."
"I'll be sure to take care of it."
Elena turned back and spoke in a clear voice to the servants, who were looking back at her with anxious eyes.
"Now that I have clearly warned you, I will have no more mercy."
The servants answered all at once, bending their heads.
"Understood, My Lady."
After Elena heard the chorus of affirmation, she nodded her head. She didn't want to make threats, but it was difficult to keep them from talking otherwise. Furthermore, there were so many people to keep quiet. She had to deal with it as much as she could before it leaked outside. The servants still had their heads bowed down, and Elena spoke to them again.
"You are all dismissed."
As soon as her voice finished ringing in the air, all of the servants returned to their respective duties. No one whispered and no one was out of place.
The butler, who was watching quietly, turned to Elena.
"You have done well, My Lady."
"Thank you. And thank you for your help. If anyone says anything, please do as you said. I'll leave it to you to keep the story from spreading."
"I will, My Lady."
That was how the Lady Blaise started her day. After a simple breakfast, Elena sat at her desk, looking over the documents she needed to take care of. Mirabelle wanted to go to a jewelry store, so she had to look at their budget.
She also took the opportunity to dig out more information about this world. Because House Blaise was not near the capital, there was no information on the imperial family in the documents, but there was a wealth of them on the southern provinces. She stared blankly at the papers, then figured she could learn new things about the south that she had never known about before.
Suddenly there was a knock on her door. She didn't anticipate anyone visiting her at this time, and she answered with a puzzled look on her face.
"Come in."
As soon as she finished speaking, the door opened and a man entered the room. He had dark blue hair and pale skin. It was Kuhn.
As soon as he entered Elena's jaw dropped, despite the fact that she had summoned him. It had been less than a few hours since she hung the handkerchief. Above all, she couldn't believe he was in Blaise Castle itsel
"How…how did you get in?"
Kuhn closed the door and approached Elena before answering. He noted her surprise expression and spoke in a low voice.
"Infiltration is my specialty."
"W-what? You mean you snuck in here?"
"To be exact, I got a fake job as a food carrier. In a word, yes."
Elena looked Kuhn with more surprise than before. House Blaise was a well-known family in the empire who trained knights. The number of them on the castle grounds was greater than that of any other family. Even if he came into the castle in disguise, he had to steal past all that security reach the room of the count's daughter.
However, the breach was justifiable in some ways. As Carlisle had said, Kuhn's abilities were exceptional. But what if Kuhn's aim was Elena's life? Although Elena had her sword to protect her, as a daughter of a count she was already in enough danger. She felt a chill creep down her spine.
"Let me ask you one more thing. Sir Kasha, have you ever approached someone this way and assassinated someone?"
"That's…"
He formed his words slowly. What he said came as a shock, despite the monotone sound of his voice.
"…That's what I'm best at."
Kuhn, who already seemed to have extraordinary abilities, was most skilled at assassination…
Elena had a headache for a moment, but this was to be expected. When they first met, she thought he looked more appropriate as assassin than a knight. Elena wondered what Carlisle was thinking, but he was not there to answer her question. She spoke to Kuhn instead.
"Let me ask you directly. If your mission was to assassinate me, can you kill me in Blaise Castle and escape? What are your chances of success?"
"There is a difference between infiltrating a castle to have a secret conversation, and another for the purpose of taking another person's life. Each variable would need to be calculated exponentially. And within Blaise Castle, there's not a very high probability of success. Moreso, after an assassination it would be almost impossible for me to live and escape."
Elena smiled when she heard the answer.
"If you put that in a different sense, you can kill me if you risk your life?"
Kuhn had no knowledge of Elena's swordsmanship abilities, but there still stood the chance of an successful assassination attempt.
For the first time, Kuhn did not answer, and Elena took it as tacit confirmation. How many assassins in the Ruford Empire could answer like Kuhn now?
Kuhn Kasha. It was a name she had never heard of in her last life. She envied how Carlisle had such a capable man.
"Let me ask you one last question."
"You've already said you'd ask one last question."
Kuhn's expression remained inscrutable, but he calmly parried away Elena's repeated questions as if he felt uncomfortable answering them. His observation wasn't wrong, but she ignored it and asked her question anyway.
"Why are you answering my questions?"
She had not met Kuhn many times, but she could tell his personality at a glance. It seemed uncharacteristic of him that he would answer to her. Kuhn answered in as dry a manner as before.
"The General told me to obey you unconditionally."
"Ah…"
This was new information for her. She didn't expect Carlisle to pay attention to these details, but he was helping her out more than she realized. She felt grateful to him. She didn't completely trust him yet, but she appreciated his services for her.
It seemed a little strange that Kuhn kept calling Carlisle the General instead of His Highness, but she soon let go of the thought.
"So you will do anything I say."
Kuhn's face twitched, but Elena carried on regardless.
"I'd like to ask a favor. Give me information about the imperial household, as well as the power structure of the nobility in the capital area."
"…I understand."
"Please do it as soon as possible."
Kuhn paused to think for a moment, and then spoke in a quiet voice.
"Can I visit you at a later time? I only have a small window of time to visit by day. I arrived a little late because of it."
Kuhn himself seemed to think his arrival was late, despite only appearing after a few hours after she summoned him. Elena admired Kuhn's quick work.
"I don't mind if you visit late. Please forward the information to me."
"Yes, My Lady…"
Kuhn bowed, then left the room as soft-footedly as he came in. She looked back in silence, pleased with the work of this mysterious young man. The enemy might be cunning, but she had Kuhn as an ally. She praised Carlisle's ability to attract such people. Maybe he was more talented than she thought. It was a good idea to proceed with the contract marriage.
She turned back to the papers on her desk and began reading them more carefully than before.
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