I Wasn't Trying to Seduce with the Male Lead - Episode 69

“I won’t do that.”

Eleanor’s voice was firm.

“I don’t want to make another vow to break a vow.”

Beatrice gave her a dumbfounded look at the confident reply.

“You just demanded that I make a vow, didn’t you?”

“That’s because you aren’t trustworthy, and I feel like you’ll break a promise right away.”

“You think you’re trustworthy? What if you break the promise?”

“Even if we don’t keep our promise, you’ll just go on living as you did before. You can’t demand compensation when you’re not at a loss.”

Beatrice glared fiercely at Eleanor and gnashed her teeth.

“I’m being lenient, but you’d better be careful. You seem to keep forgetting that I can kill you at any time.”

A murderous aura billowed around Beatrice’s body.

It was a terrifying sight, but Eleanor’s expression didn’t change.

She had certainly been scared by such threats before, but not anymore.

“You won’t be able to. If you kill me, you’ll be lonely and isolated.”

Beatrice’s wrinkled mouth twitched at Eleanor’s words.

“If the Princess kills me and subjugates Count Calabria, all problems will be solved, and she won’t come looking for this place. You’ll disappear from the Princess’s consciousness, and you’re the only person who knows that I’m here.”

“Don’t just talk nonsense. Shut your mouth!”

Beatrice trembled and shrieked.

A claw-like hand reached out to cover her mouth, but Eleanor stepped back and finished her sentence.

“If you think it’s better to just count the long years you’ve lived alone, unable to do anything in a place where no one is around and no sound can be heard, then do as you wish.”

At that, Beatrice’s momentum was broken.

Eleanor pressed her advantage while the other woman hesitated.

“Don’t believe me if you don’t want to. After all, there’s no guarantee that the Count will be safe with this method, and it’s just as dangerous as simply cutting the carving.”

Beatrice withdrew the hand she had been holding out to press down on Eleanor and just clenched her jaw with her head bowed.

As her energy drained, she looked more like a frail, old woman than a fearsome witch.

“Don’t be stubborn, and compromise. Don’t let a good situation go to waste because of your willfulness.”

When Eleanor urged her again in a more gentle tone, Beatrice grumbled.

“You’ve got an annoyingly good head on your shoulders.”

“You’ll help, right?”

Beatrice shot a glare at Eleanor, who smiled as if she had expected it.

“Damn it, fine. Just keep your promise.”

Eleanor put the book she had been hugging back on the table.

She opened it to the original page and held it out.

There was a detailed map of a small village in the southern part of the Empire called Etrisha.

In a corner of the village that was covered by her palm, there was a small house marked in red.

“Please take good care of it, Beatrice.”

Eleanor said with a gentle smile.

Biancasta pulled down her veil to cover her face.

Then, she looked at the unfamiliar townhouse that stood tall in her hazy vision.

At Duke Abrote’s urging, she left the duchy before the Line of Abrote’s blockade became extreme.

It was a kind consideration, as she needed to get away from everything and recover from the shock.

She wasn’t helping there anyway, and she kept thinking about Adrian, so she accepted and left.

She couldn’t return to the Marquis Weiss family, where the Princess’s influence could reach, and with security issues, the place she decided to go to after much consideration was the former Shankarn Hotel, now Count Calabria’s residence.

She was concerned that the place would be a center of attention since it was at the heart of the uproar that had turned the Empire upside down, but there was no such thing, perhaps because the main figures had left.

The surroundings seemed to be well-guarded, but it was so quiet without any news that she couldn’t stop her mind from wandering.

‘Why did he call me all the way here?’

Last night, she had received a letter from Duke Sky Phaedra.

[I need your help. I will send a carriage tomorrow, so please come to the designated place without telling anyone. – S. Phaedra.]

She had only seen Sky for a moment, but his presence was overwhelmingly etched in her memory.

He was a person from another world, just like Eleanor.

It was unbelievable that such a great person needed her help, but the seal was real, and she had seen the man who delivered the letter with Sky at the party.

While she was agonizing over whether to go or not, the carriage arrived at the mansion, and Biancasta ended up getting on it.

And after a drive that skillfully evaded her tail, she was now in front of a townhouse on the outskirts of Felicity.

“His Excellency the Duke is waiting for you. Please go inside.”

After being politely guided inside by a man named Zenith, she entered a small but antique living room.

Sky was sitting there and greeted Biancasta warmly.

“You’ve come, Marquess Weiss.”

Biancasta bowed to Sky in a timid manner, following proper etiquette.

“What do you need me for?”

“Before I tell you about the detailed request, I have something to tell you first.”

Biancasta blinked her large eyes and waited for Sky to speak.

“Baroness Eleanor Marie and Adrian Eunice are currently alive.”

This was the news she had been waiting for.

Biancasta half-rose from her seat, her eyes shining.

“Is that really true?”

“Yes, it is.”

When Sky confirmed it again, tears flowed from Biancasta’s eyes.

She had thought they had all dried up from crying so much, but it seemed there were still some left.

Sky handed her a fragrant handkerchief and waited for her sobs to subside before continuing.

“However, the current situation is not good. She is trapped in the palace dungeon, and it’s almost impossible to rescue her.”

“Is there anything we can do? If Count Calabria returns…”

She stopped talking as she mentioned Rian.

Biancasta thought that Sky also liked Eleanor.

However, Sky smiled without any sign of displeasure.

“You know that Count Calabria is subjugated to the Princess, don’t you?”

When Biancasta nodded, Sky explained.

“The Count’s power is great, but because of the vow, he can’t save Eleanor on his own. It’s over if the Princess sees the Count first.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I plan to cooperate with the Count to save Eleanor. And for that, I need your help.”

‘Could I really be of help in such a great matter?’

“If there’s anything I can do… I’ll do anything.”

Biancasta said in a small, timid voice.

“Good. Then, for the time being, please attend all parties and lead the conversation.”

“What? The conversation?”

“Yes. You need to spread a rumor that the Princess criticized and brutally murdered Eleanor out of jealousy.”

She had thought she would do anything, but she was immediately overcome with fear.

Not because she was afraid something would happen to her, but because she was afraid of harming Eleanor if she failed.

“I was always a wallflower at parties. I’ll try, but I can’t be sure I’ll succeed.”

“You have no choice but to be the center of attention right now. Especially if you start talking about Eleanor, people will flock around you like clouds.”

Biancasta recalled the last banquet she had attended.

Thanks to Eleanor’s help, people had indeed surrounded her and cheered.

“But, if the Princess shows up…”

“The Princess won’t show up. It would be impossible for her to enjoy a banquet in this situation.”

In an emergency where the dukes have declared the royal family persona non grata, it would not look good for the Princess, no matter how young she was, to attend a banquet and have fun.

However, Biancasta could not give a clear answer and hesitated.

‘Can I do this?’

She worried that she, who had been bullied and whose every word had caused misunderstandings for others, would only fail if she stepped up.

She wanted to step up in front of people very much, but at the same time, she also wanted to hide.

However, Biancasta’s hesitation was swept away by a single sentence from Sky.

“Eleanor needs your help.”

In that moment, everything Eleanor had done for her rushed through her mind.

Eleanor had saved her from a miserable life shackled to the Princess and helped her stand up with confidence.

‘You are very beautiful. If you just open your heart a little more, everyone will like you.’

Eleanor’s gentle whisper seemed to be ringing in her ears.

She couldn’t stay safely holed up in her mansion, grieving, while a person like that was in danger.

“Yes. I’ll do my best.”

Biancasta’s eyes shined with determination.

Three days after talking with Biancasta.

Sky leaned against the rocking carriage and asked Zenith a question.

“Is the plan going well?”

“Yes. Almost all the nobles in Felicity have already heard the rumors.”

“She did a good job in such a short time.”

Sky smiled with satisfaction.

As he had asked, Biancasta appeared at every luncheon, tea party, dinner party, and charity event and spread rumors.

He had also enlisted a few other nobles and maids to do the same, but most of the results were created by Biancasta.

“The royal family has been caught up in an unprecedented giant scandal.”

The Emperor was cold-blooded and somewhat headstrong, but he was competent.

And the Princess, who had awakened his fatherly affection, was one of the most beloved members of the royal family in the Empire’s history.

But the angelic image of the Princess had suffered a massive blow.

The rumor that she, who couldn’t even catch a fly, had been blinded by jealousy and brutally murdered Eleanor Marie was widespread as fact.

“There are even rumors that things that happened around the Princess are being looked at with suspicion.”

“Once a crack appears, the problems spread uncontrollably.”

He had watched the Princess from the closest place for a short period.

As a result, he thought that it was probably not the first time she had harmed someone.

She must have done a lot of similar wicked things, and quite a few people must have fallen into ruin because of her.

Her viciousness was surprising, but what was more surprising was her meticulous ability to conceal.

‘If it weren’t for this incident, even I would have been fooled.’

Until recently, the Princess was a sweet, naive girl to him as well.

Her true nature was now slowly being revealed.

“I’m curious about what’s the point of making the public opinion of the Princess negative.”

Zenit asked in an anxious voice.

He seemed to be worried about Sky, who, after boasting to Lian, was just holed up in the townhouse like a dead man, focusing only on his treatment, except for spreading rumors about the Princess.

“Well. Isn’t it enough that one must face criticism for doing wicked things?”

Sky evasively answered and looked out the window.

The carriage he was in was slowly entering the palace.

The carriage passed through the palace courtyard and stopped in front of the annex.

He got out of the carriage and entered the drawing room of the annex where he was staying.

He had been staying in the townhouse for treatment, so it had been a long time.

As soon as he settled his still-uncomfortable body on the sofa, the Princess burst in.

“Where have you been, Your Excellency?”

The Princess’s shrill voice echoed in the drawing room.

Sky slowly rose, looking at her anxious expression.

“I’ve been suffering from terrible rumors. Wherever I go, people…!”

“You don’t have to worry, Your Highness.”

Sky gently cut off the Princess’s words.

“I have returned with the answer you desire, Your Highness.”

Sky smiled and bowed politely.

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