I’ve Decided to Let You Go - Chapter 88

Sieghart’s free hand clenched tightly around the letter. His knuckles turned white, and veins rose under his skin, thick and pulsing, ready to burst.

The sharp wrinkles at the corners of his eyes revealed his simmering rage. His fierce gaze shot directly at the man responsible.

“The contract seems to have failed, Duke.”

“I had no choice.”

“No choice? You think that pathetic excuse is enough to explain all of this?”

“If I hadn’t helped her escape, something much worse would have happened. You wouldn’t have found your wife—you’d have found her body.”

At that, Sieghart’s brow twitched sharply. He looked ready to explode at Duke Kshant, but his mouth closed without another word.

A heavy silence followed, and both men turned to look at the same thing.

The dagger in Sieghart’s hand.

The blade still stained with Natasha’s blood.

“You saw the blood and still acted like you didn’t understand? Fine, I’ll be clear. She cut her own throat. I couldn’t stop her. The moment I got close, she was ready to drive it straight through.”

Sieghart’s expression loosened slightly, but he didn’t calm down. His eyes stayed cold.

Underneath his blank expression, a subtle tension remained. His broad shoulders were locked tight with unease.

“She must have decided that dying was better than returning to you.”

“That’s enough, Duke.”

Sieghart snapped at him instantly.

“She wasn’t afraid to die.”

But the duke kept going, and Sieghart’s lips fell silent again. His shoulders trembled.

“She looked thinner than when you met again two years ago. I thought she was getting better after that gathering outside the city, but I was wrong. Inside, she was completely broken.”

There was a deeper message behind Kshant’s words.

That Natasha had been desperate to escape from Sieghart. That she couldn’t take it anymore.

Sieghart didn’t answer. It wasn’t because he was shocked. It was because he already knew.

He carefully folded the letter and tucked it inside his coat. The dagger, sticky with dried blood, he set back down on the table.

“What will you do now?” Kshant asked as Sieghart moved to leave.

“Why ask something so obvious? I’m going to find my wife.”

“And how will you do that? She’s been caught by you before. She’ll be more careful now. She might move to a different place every day just to stay ahead.”

Duke Kshant was trying to be cautious, but each word only made Sieghart more irritated.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll find her no matter what.”

“…”

“She belongs by my side. Getting her back won’t be difficult.”

Sieghart didn’t wait for a response. He turned and walked straight out of the room.

Once back at the mansion, he went directly to his study. Meliana and the three knights, quiet and defeated, returned to their quarters.

Sitting at his desk in silence, Sieghart was soon approached by Jenkins, who wore a concerned look. From the expression on his face, it seemed he had already figured out what had happened.

It wasn’t surprising. The duchess hadn’t returned even after nightfall.

“My lord… about the duchess…”

“She left of her own will.”

The moment Jenkins heard it confirmed, his face became even more serious.

He had sensed the tension between them for days, but he hadn’t imagined it would come to this. He could already feel the cold that would settle over the mansion for some time.

He swallowed a quiet sigh and finally asked, “Should we send the knights to search for her?”

It would be a hassle, but there was no faster way to find someone who had gone into hiding. It might attract attention, but they could always cover it up with a believable story.

“No.”

Sieghart surprised him by refusing. He, of all people, the one most likely to lead the search himself, had turned it down.

“Sir…? You mean… you’re not going to search for her?”

“There’s no need.”

“You really don’t plan to go after her?”

“If people hear we’re searching, she’ll only hide deeper. There’s no need to cause that. It’ll be easier if I go alone.”

His hand moved slowly across the table, pulling his pipe toward him. Smoke began to curl up from its bowl, heavy and slow.

He hadn’t dismissed Jenkins yet. That meant he still had something else in mind. Jenkins remained alert, waiting.

“Bring me the list of applicants for the Aschart knight order.”

The request came so suddenly that Jenkins froze for a moment. Then, he remembered.

Three months ago, they had posted a recruitment notice for new knights to strengthen their winter defenses.

“Y-yes, my lord. I’ll bring it right away. Please wait a moment.”

Jenkins hurried out. A short while later, he returned, carrying a thick stack of papers in his arms.

Sieghart began reviewing the documents in silence. His movements were steady and quiet as he shifted one page at a time from the right side of the desk to the left.

Nearly an hour passed before he finally stopped. Only five documents remained in front of him.

“Contact these people immediately.”

“Pardon? Ah… yes, sir.”

Jenkins responded quickly, though inwardly he was confused. The duchess had disappeared, yet Sieghart wasn’t deploying the knights. And now he wanted to hire new ones?

As he scanned the names and details of the five selected candidates, a few things caught his attention.

All five were currently living in Vyle. None were nobles. They were commoners.

What was the duke planning?

Jenkins stood staring blankly for a moment. Across from him, Sieghart, who had been lost in thought for some time, let out a faint, relaxed smile.

“I need people who can move without making it obvious that House Aschart is involved.”

He tapped the pipe in his hand, then answered as if it were nothing.

It was unusually kind of him to explain. Still, it didn’t answer all of Jenkins’s questions.

Meanwhile, Natasha suggested to Sir Dante that he begin holding weekly training sessions with the knights in town. Even though it was extra work, he readily agreed.

Every week on the same day, Dante gathered a group of former royal knights and knights from other noble houses to train together in the village.

Natasha attended as well, always in disguise. She sat off to the side like a casual observer, silently watching them.

“Ten from the royal order, ten from noble families, twenty commoners…”

She quietly counted and let out a slow sigh.

She couldn’t approach knights from other noble houses. Of the twenty commoners, only five were originally from the kingdom. And even among those, not all could be expected to join her cause.

I’ll have to recruit more knights.

If she could bring in more former royal knights, it might attract other former citizens of the kingdom who still held hope for its return.

That evening, she wrote a letter to Sir Reon, who was working elsewhere.

A month passed.

It had been four weeks since Natasha began attending the weekly training sessions.

With growing numbers, the group now met three times a week. Though each knight was only required to attend once per week, Sir Dante came to all of them, taking on the role of leader and instructor.

Natasha had already asked Viscount Myrrhen for a two-month leave of absence for Dante.

Busy as he was, he looked genuinely happy. He had once told her he enjoyed this far more than working at the estate.

Seeing him sweating and smiling, Natasha couldn’t help smiling a little herself.

After training ended and most of the group had dispersed, Dante approached her quietly.

“You were observing carefully again today,” he said in a low voice, nodding toward the notebook in her lap.

Natasha kept a detailed notebook during every session. She made notes on promising knights, recording not only their skills but their temperament. In some cases, she had even written down personal background details she had discovered.

“Yes. I need to study hard,” she replied with a light smile.

On the surface, the purpose of the group was camaraderie and training. But in truth, Natasha planned to handpick a few of them later and form a force that would aid in the restoration of the kingdom.

To do that, she would need former royal knights or commoner knights who still believed in the dream of reclaiming the kingdom or earning glory through rebellion.

So, the training was a cover. If the empire discovered that former royal knights were gathering regularly, the already weakened Letius royal court would become suspicious and possibly take action.

That was why she intentionally expanded the group’s size—to dilute suspicion and blend in.

“Just be careful not to overdo it.”

“I was planning to take a step back anyway. The group’s gotten big enough that word must’ve spread to other regions by now. It’s probably even reached House Aschart.”

She thought about how long she had lived under her false identity. It had been nearly a month since Duke Kshant had handed her forged papers under the name Ellis Ripher, a simple common woman.

A full month in Vyle was more than enough time. If she stayed much longer, Sieghart might catch her before her plan even began.

“Sir Dante, could you pass along a message for me?”

She looked up at him, her voice calm but firm.

“To those who wish to see the setting sun again… tell them to stay.”

It was time to move forward.

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