So… why on earth did the conversation end up this way?
I closed my eyes for a moment, tracing back to how this dialogue began.
“Ah, Sir Hayes?”
“Hello, Marie.”
Right. At first, the conversation was definitely a bit awkward.
After all, this was the first time we were talking alone since Marie had shown symptoms of hyperventilation during my questioning.
‘It might be a bit much to jump straight to the point.’
While I was choosing my words, my eyes fell on Marie’s hair.
“You braided your hair?”
She always wore a pink hat, but today was different. Marie had her bright blonde hair gathered and braided into a single strand hanging down.
“Ah, yes. Sister Lure taught me how to braid hair.”
Marie toyed with her hair.
“She told me to try braiding my hair whenever I feel anxious, and it really worked. While I was focusing on the braiding, I couldn’t think of anything else.”
‘So that’s why Lure’s hair looked like a porcupine.’
I had thought she was a rapper because of how much it was braided.
It turned out it was because she had offered her own hair for Marie’s practice. Still, it was a relief to see that Marie’s complexion looked much better thanks to that.
‘She really is a competent assistant.’
My relief must have shown on my face.
“Have you been worrying a lot?”
“Well…”
I couldn’t exactly deny it.
“I’m sorry. If I were you, Sir Hayes, I would have been very anxious too. How could you not be? Especially when someone like me, whose mental state isn’t even that stable, keeps acting as if I’m losing my heart to someone who might be a murderer.”
It was self-deprecating, but surprisingly, it was an objective assessment of the situation.
“But Sir Hayes—no, Detective.”
Marie clasped her hands to her chest, her voice full of appeal.
“No matter how much I think about it, I don’t believe the Grand Duke is a bad person.”
“…”
“His Highness always seems sincere. Whether it was his friendship with Sister Elise or the way he favors me. I find it impossible to believe it’s all a lie.”
“Marie…”
My head began to throb.
How on earth was I supposed to convince her?
“That’s why, Detective.”
Suddenly, Marie lowered her voice.
“If all of this is a lie, then the Grand Duke is a truly wicked man. Isn’t that right?”
Marie spread her clasped hands outward.
“There is no middle ground.”
“His Highness is either an innocent, good man, or he is a malevolent liar.”
If everything the Grand Duke said was true, then he was a good man. He had helped Elise until the very end, kept Elise’s final wishes, and was someone who wanted to protect Marie.
If even a fraction of the Grand Duke’s words were lies, then he was a villain. A man who toys with people’s hearts by brandishing things like a dead person’s last words or love as his weapons could never be a good person.
‘I’m already certain the Grand Duke is a villain, though.’
“Since it’s one or the other, there’s something we can try.”
“Something we can try?”
I felt a sudden sense of unease.
“We should attack the Grand Duke in the middle of the night.”
“Huh? What?”
Marie’s eyes sparkled with a grim determination.
“It’s the only way to survive.”
Right. That was the conversation we had…
I opened my eyes and massaged my temples.
Even after carefully retracing my memory, I still didn’t get it!
“How did you even reach that conclusion?”
Attack the Grand Duke out of the blue? What was she talking about?
“Think about it, Sir. We have no time left.”
Marie spoke calmly.
“We were given one week until the wedding, and we’ve already used four days.”
Now, there were only three days left.
“Both of the previous brides died shortly after the wedding was finished. If the Grand Duke is truly a bad person, I have to run away before the ceremony.”
“That’s why we’ve been searching for the marriage certificate all this time.”
Once the wedding was over, finding the certificate wouldn’t allow us to nullify the marriage. We had to find it and destroy it before escaping the Grand Duke’s lands.
“I think we’ve searched every possible place over the last four days. Even so, we couldn’t find the marriage certificate. If we continue searching for another three days, do you think we’ll find it?”
“That’s…”
It was hard to answer readily.
I had been thinking the same thing.
‘We’ve searched the Grand Duke’s office and even his bedroom, but we couldn’t find the certificate.’
If we hadn’t found it by now, the certificate might be in a place we couldn’t even imagine.
“If that’s the case, there’s only one way to find evidence. Ask him directly.”
“So… you’re saying we should ask the Grand Duke directly?”
I was finally catching up to Marie’s logic.
“And we’re attacking the Grand Duke for that? To capture and interrogate him?”
She nodded.
I was flabbergasted by her confident nod.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Why? We’ve roamed this castle enough over the last four days. This place’s defenses are so lax it’s hard to believe it’s a Grand Duke’s castle.”
That much was true.
‘It’s called a Grand Ducal castle, but honestly, it feels more poorly guarded than the Menzel mansion.’
This castle with a name like a pizza crust was certainly an impressive fortress.
The walls were high, and the interior was vast.
The corridors branched out in complex ways to confuse those who didn’t know the layout, and the high spires located throughout allowed for observing and attacking enemies in advance.
However, compared to the size of the castle, the number of soldiers inside was woefully insufficient. Because of that, the internal defense actually seemed weaker than a standard mansion. It was strong against external attacks but vulnerable to internal infiltration.
“Our Phantom Thief Lure Team is more than capable of attacking the Grand Duke.”
“I’m not worried about the plan succeeding.”
Attacking and interrogating the Grand Duke to find the certificate? It would be difficult, but sure. We could manage it somehow.
But what then?
“The Grand Duke won’t just sit idly by.”
If we were a bit unlucky, we’d end up behind bars. In the worst-case scenario, it would be execution.
“I don’t like prison as much as you do.”
“What I like isn’t prison, it’s Scarlet! It’s a play! And I don’t want to go to prison either!”
That was a bit surprising. Considering she wore a prisoner’s uniform even when she slept, I thought she’d like prison.
“As long as the plan succeeds, we don’t have to worry about that.”
“What?”
“I told you, didn’t I? It’s one of two things.”
What if everything the Grand Duke had said was true? Then he was a man who helped Elise out of goodwill, even at a personal loss. He was even a suitor who fell in love with Marie at first sight.
“If His Highness is truly that good of a person, he’ll understand us. Once we explain the situation, he won’t send us to prison. He’ll even nullify the engagement.”
On the other hand, what if the Grand Duke was a liar?
“Then that means His Highness is Taylor John. He’d have no reason to tell such lies otherwise. In that case, we have no future anyway if we don’t steal the certificate. Rather than just sitting around waiting to be murdered, it’s better to attack first.”
It was a do-or-die situation.
“You’re not… wrong.”
I still thought it was reckless.
Marie’s plan had no fallback.
However…
‘We’ve been one-sidedly attacked until now.’
The attack on the campsite in the middle of the night before arriving in the North. The plan to isolate me by uncoupling the train cars. And the scheme to entice Marie with sweet words after arriving at the castle.
We had been attacked multiple times. Without even realizing it, I had been shrinking back and acting defensively.
‘But there’s no end to this if we keep going like this.’
Marie was right. We couldn’t just sit still and wait for an attack. Now, even if it meant taking a risk, we had to go on the offensive.
“…The attack must be carried out exactly as I direct.”
Marie smiled brightly.
“Of course! I’ve been counting on you from the start, Sir Hayes! I was only able to be brave because I believed you’d protect me!”
“You know your safety is always the top priority, right?”
“Of course!”
Marie threw a spirited punch into the air.
“Then, Phantom Thief Lure Team. Move out!”
“But Lure isn’t even here. Well, fine. Move out!”
We bumped fists and smiled at each other.
***
At 2:00 PM that day.
“Guards!”
Lure emerged from Marie’s room and called the guards with a troubled look.
“I’m sorry, but could you accompany me to the village?”
“What is the matter?”
“I have to go down to the village on an errand for the Young Lady, but I’m afraid of Taylor John. I heard he’s targeting us, so how can a woman go all the way to that distant village alone?”
“Is Miss Menzel going with you?”
“No. I told you, it’s an errand for the Young Lady.”
“In that case, we cannot go.”
The guard looked somewhat troubled but refused Lure’s request. His duty was to protect Miss Menzel.
But just then.
“I would like you to go with my maid.”
“Miss!”
Marie appeared. Unlike her usual self, Marie commanded the guards in a stern tone.
“I cannot send my maid, who is like a sister to me, alone. I will be under Sir Hayes’s protection inside the castle, so you all must protect my maid.”
‘Good job, Marie.’
She had played the role of a devoted noble daughter well before, and she was equally flawless in the role of an authoritative and haughty future mistress of the Grand Duchy.
‘Those guards won’t be able to easily ignore Marie’s words.’
They were all innocent and thus didn’t know much about the underlying circumstances.
On the surface, Marie was the prospective mistress of the Grand Duke’s house. It would be difficult to carelessly go against her wishes.
“H-however… In that case, wouldn’t it be better if one of us went to the village to run the errand instead? Leaving our posts during duty is a bit…”
“There is an important telegram I am supposed to receive from my father. It’s very private, so I don’t want anyone other than my maid to see it.”
“Mmm…”
“If leaving your post bothers you that much, go ask the Grand Duke for his opinion. I’m sure His Highness will grant his permission readily.”
Only then did the guard’s face brighten, and he immediately left to find the Grand Duke.
‘The Grand Duke will surely allow it.’
Whether he was sincere or not, he was a man courting Marie. He wouldn’t coldly refuse a request to provide an escort because she was worried about her maid.
Sure enough.
“His Highness has ordered us to do as you wish, My Lady.”
The guard returned with a bright face and delivered the message.
“All of us will follow the maid.”
It was an even smoother process than I had expected.
‘I thought he’d send about three people if we asked for everyone to go.’
In this case, we wouldn’t even need to shake off any remaining guards.
“Wow. I’m counting on you all.”
Lure smiled brightly.
I mentally double-checked the rest of the plan.
‘From now on, Lure will leave for the village in a carriage with the guards.’
After requesting to receive a telegram at the village post office, she would stall for time by saying the telegram hadn’t arrived yet and asking them to wait.
She wouldn’t need to stall for that long.
Sunset seemed to come early in this region.
Afterward, she would just stay the night in the village, claiming it was too dark to return.
In the meantime, Marie and I would attack the Grand Duke and achieve our goal.
If things went wrong, Lure, who was waiting in the village, would secure an escape route. Everything needed for an escape was already loaded in the carriage Lure took.
Lure was taking on the role of both a decoy for the guards and our final safety net.
“Now, then.”
With the carriage departing behind us, I looked back at Marie.
“The rest is our job.”
When the night deepened, we would attack Grand Duke Callan.