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[…….]
[Ivan has been bothering me lately with all sorts of nonsense—for example, pretending to be possessed by Grandfather's spirit to make me do pathetic errands or try to prank me... So, you were the one who taught him all that, Uncle? Truly hilarious.]
As Duke Libertan listened to my grumbling, his expression gradually grew heavy. That was the end of the walk for the day. And the end of our meeting.
From time to time, I would look back on my memories of Duke Libertan, and every time I recalled them, I realized just how uncomfortable he found me.
However, then as now, I felt no desire to improve my relationship with him. I was simply curious about the reason.
The reason was simple: I felt nothing in particular toward Duke Libertan, even though he hated me. Feelings like shame or insult...
But why wasn't it the same with Valentin?
'What is the difference between my uncle and Valentin?'
What on earth could it be?
Why, exactly, do I feel this urge to teach Valentin a lesson?
To think he could be so arrogant toward the Princess of the Ohala Empire. Returning to my bedroom, I scoffed as I tossed the letter—the first and last I had ever received from Valentin, now crumpled from being read so many times—into a drawer.
"Fine, you think I can't do it?"
That night, I stayed awake until dawn, immersed in a new plan. After nearly half a day had passed, the day arrived for Valentin to depart on the path of the reformer.
That morning, it was practically destiny that my eyes snapped open earlier than usual.
In the early hours, as the blue morning light faintly dawned, the process was perfectly seamless: getting out of bed, washing my face lightly, brushing my hair, putting on my prepared outfit, taking a leisurely rest, and finally sharing breakfast with my siblings.
Except for one thing.
"Anything that arrived for me?"
"Nothing."
The fact that no letter from Valentin had arrived, even on the final day.
He really intends to just toss our secret mission aside as if it never happened. It doesn't matter. I figured as much.
"Lara, my little kitten. Is something wrong?"
"No."
"You're clearing your plate like a hyena that hasn't eaten in a week. Did you spend the dawn running around your room? Chew slowly so you don't get indigestion."
"Okay."
Just as Tatyana said, the amount of food I was stuffing into my mouth today was nearly double my usual portion. It was preparation to successfully carry out my planned task, but I simply nodded without further explanation.
'Good, my stomach is full enough now.'
I checked the clock. 8:40 AM. The time Valentin was scheduled to briefly visit the Imperial Palace to have an audience with my father before departing on the path of the reformer was 9:00 AM.
Pretending to be relaxed, I returned to my bedroom and asked the maid to bring out the brown suitcase I had used since I was a child. After roughly gauging the size of the large suitcase and checking the status of the locks, I immediately called for an attendant.
"See this bag? It contains a gift for Valentin, who is coming to see Father at 9 o'clock. It's very heavy."
I spoke while tapping the top of the empty suitcase.
"Come back in ten minutes and take this bag. You must come exactly in ten minutes, as I haven't finished packing everything yet. I have to go to Mother as soon as I finish organizing the gift, so in ten minutes, load this bag directly onto Valentin's luggage carriage. But! You must load it secretly without mentioning it to him. It's a surprise gift. Understood?"
"Yes."
"Good. Now go. Don't forget, ten minutes! For your information, it will be heavy enough that it'll be difficult to carry alone, so be careful."
After the attendant left the bedroom, I quickly changed into thin clothing. Then, I opened the suitcase next to the door and squeezed my body into the ample space. If I closed the case like this...
"Good, this size should be sufficient."
I connected the thread I had prepared to the locks on both sides of the case, climbed inside, and closed it. Everything went smoothly after that. Not long after I heard the door open, both locks of the suitcase were snapped shut.
Because my vision was completely black, all my senses focused on my hearing, but I had nothing to fear. The locks on this bag were incredibly loose and easy to open. I had only kept it because it was one of the foreign bags I had received as a gift from my mother.
"Whew. It's incredibly heavy. I wonder what's inside."
The attendant groaned as he moved me. At first, I felt like I was going to die from the discomfort of the bag jolting and shaking. But after a long period of patience, peace arrived. I could feel the bag being loaded onto the carriage.
Yes!
The plan to secretly follow him by being loaded as Valentin's luggage had succeeded perfectly.
*Tap, tap.* Along with the sound of someone dusting off their hands, an unfamiliar voice was heard.
"So, you're saying that bag is a gift bestowed upon my master by Princess Larisa?"
"Yes. But as I said, she requested that it be delivered secretly..."
"Yes, yes. Don't worry. You've been saddled with a tedious task. I'll handle it."
"Thank you. Good work then."
I suppose asking the attendant to keep it a secret was useless. I felt as though I had realized a somewhat unpleasant and uncomfortable truth.
How much time had passed? Relying on the thin slivers of light leaking through the gaps of the bag, I brainstormed various countermeasures for emergency situations in my head. Meanwhile, the stationary carriage slowly began to move.
Finally!
Perhaps because the carriage I was in was a luggage carriage, it jolted violently. I felt considerable pain as my arms and head bumped against the bag, and I started to feel nauseous. But then, not even ten minutes after departing, the carriage came to a halt.
It wasn't a short stop either. More than three minutes had passed since the carriage stopped.
'What is it? Why did we stop?'
The silence was strangely long, and an anxiety I hadn't felt before began to creep up on me.
'What on earth is happening? Could it be that Valentin decided to dump all his luggage and leave with only himself?'
Or was he enjoying an early lunch at a restaurant? If it was the latter, it would be fine, but if it was the former, it would be a disaster. If I were carried all the way to the Dmitriev estate trapped in this bag, I would experience a peak of shame that I wouldn't forget even in death!
Since I was already loaded onto the carriage, it should be fine to open the latch.
I gently pulled the thread I had been gripping tightly like a lifeline. Consequently, the lock, which had seemed securely fixed, began to shake slightly, and after repeating the motion about forty times, the coupling loosened with a clatter and the lock clicked open.
"Whew."
This is thrilling. Is this what it feels like to be an assassin? I... might actually have a talent for spying.
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