Volume 1 Chapter 9 Marquis Family - Early Firefighting, This Is Important
Since the day Elizabeth was exiled from the country, the Marquis Braubelg residence has been as quiet as if a fire had gone out.
Normally, during this summer vacation, the Marquis residence should be filled with excitement. Elizabeth and Lord Braubelg, the Minister of Finance, were supposed to return from the capital and bring life to the house.
But it is eerily quiet.
The Marquis Braubelg family, a great noble that gained wealth through maritime trade, has top-notch servants, all of whom are fiercely loyal to the Marquis family.
Therefore, the fact that Elizabeth was exiled was something they could not tolerate. On top of that, there have been rumors of her death circulating in the past few days. Not just the family, but all the servants were holding back their boiling anger.
Yes. To be precise, the Marquis residence is not quiet as if a fire has gone out. The bright flames that should have been there are hidden inside, quietly smoldering into a fire of rage.
Within them, a desire for revenge certainly smolders. However, at the same time, they understand Elizabeth's feelings. So, without letting that fire consume them, they have been suppressing the flames with a degree of reason.
At first glance, the Marquis residence seems extinguished. But the powder keg, on the verge of exploding, was, as usual, suppressing its inner flames with reason, holding back an explosion──until a mailbird flew in.
"Someone! Call Flora and Cedric!"
The door to the office burst open, and it was Lucian von Braubelg, the master of the house. With the same blue eyes as Elizabeth and his tousled golden-brown hair, Lucian was more flustered than he had been since Elizabeth accepted her exile.
The once-quiet Marquis residence suddenly became as noisy as if a hornet's nest had been disturbed, as the confused madam of the house and Elizabeth's older brother, the heir, were guided into the office.
"Dear..."
"Father?"
In front of the two, Lucian Marquis silently handed over the letter that had just arrived.
Seeing it, the two froze, and their eyes filled with tears.
"Liza is alive..."
"Yes. For now, I thank God."
Tears streamed down Marchioness Flora's face as her brother Cedric gently comforted her shoulder. They had heard that Elizabeth's life had been cut off in the Beast Forest, so they were prepared for her death.
Just a few days ago, they had been drowning in sorrow, and only recently had they begun to recover. Then came the letter saying that Elizabeth was alive. It was news that made them feel grateful to God.
Normally, they would never want to express gratitude to the church that played a part in Elizabeth's exile, or to God, but...
"First, we need to impose a gag order. A person who should have been dead is alive. If this gets out, it will cause trouble not just for Liza, but for her benefactors as well."
At Lucian's words, Cedric and Flora both looked shocked. They must have recalled the situation during Elizabeth's exile mentioned in the letter.
──If we don't choose our words carefully, it would have been fine if she had died. No, it looked more like they intended to kill her.
The letter definitely said that.
Elizabeth's banishment was pushed through quickly, without any objections. This was because Elizabeth actively admitted her guilt.
The Marquis couldn't possibly miss the true intention behind it. He had to realize that Elizabeth was trying to protect the Marquis family by taking the blame alone.
──Our family has been set up.
It didn't take long for the Marquis family to come to that conclusion.
On top of that, there was the death rumor surrounding the exile that was supposed to be a killing. It was understandable that Marquis Lucian might misunderstand this as the enemy's second move, since they hadn't managed to weaken the Marquis family's power.
Killing Elizabeth would shake the Marquis Braubelg family.
These were the doubts they had been harboring for the past few days. The enemy wanted to weaken the Marquis family at all costs.
That concern turned into certainty with the letter. The ones who banished Elizabeth had plotted to weaken the Marquis family.
...In reality, it was just Catherine, who wasn't thinking at all, and the reckless Crown Prince Edgar, who was influenced by her...
It was the moment when a huge fuel was thrown into the flames of anger that they had somehow managed to suppress.
"The central government really seems to want to oppose our family."
Lucian murmured quietly, but the anger reflected in his eyes was unmistakable. However, he quickly pulled back the anger that had surfaced.
"Right now, I don't care about them."
As Lucian let out a big sigh, Marchioness Flora peeked up at him.
"You're going to see her, right, dear?"
"Yeah. Revenge against the central government doesn't matter right now. It's about Liza."
Lucian nodded but continued with a slight furrow in his brow.
"But... I need to be careful. Normally, I would want to see her right away, but... it's a foreign land. If I go to the territory where Liza disappeared, unnecessary rumors will spread."
He wanted to crush the possibility of Elizabeth's survival becoming known. Cedric and Marchioness Flora nodded at the unspoken words.
"That said, we need to make contact with Liza first."
From the moment the letter arrived, their interest shifted from revenge to meeting Elizabeth again. They didn't care what happened to the royal family or the central government now.
"Fortunately, thanks to Liza, the Minister of Finance's position has been dissolved. We have plenty of time."
Lucian smiled slyly, but his mind remained calm.
After taking a deep breath, Lucian called out, "Sebas!" to the steward waiting near the door.
"Prepare a mail bird for a round trip immediately."
Sebas bowed at Lucian's words and quickly left the room.
"Dukedom, huh──."
At Lucian's murmured words, Cedric, who had been preparing, handed him a map of the continent. Lucian spread it out on his desk and began to calculate the route.
Once he had a rough idea of the route, Lucian wrote a letter with determination, pen in hand. By the time he finished writing, Sebas had returned and presented a mail bird.
Taking it, Lucian placed the letter he had written onto the mail bird himself and released it out the window.
"Secretly, without rushing, but swiftly──."
The 3 of them, Lucian and the others, watched the trail of the mail bird as it flew away.
The rebellion of the Marquis Braubelg family, which was supposed to happen in the official history, ended up being an unfinished story. But for now, no one knew. The flames they had once kindled would soon take a different form and rain down like sparks on the kingdom and Catherine.
It would still be a while before they realized this.
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