The Villain Changed the Ending

089 Monster in the Dark

***[Heroine Oscar]***

The time to stay in the capital was only about two days.

A day in the royal capital, which only had two days, had already been used up by the king and Countess Becker.

There is only one day left.

After finishing all the work that had to be done in that short time, he had to hurry back to the dukedom.

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Just because the family hunt is over doesn’t mean everything is over.

It was simply an event to mark the beginning of the hunting season, but more important things remained.

Hunting season is not just a time to hunt.

He was also training soldiers.

It is a time when military training can be conducted by combining vassals and soldiers without stimulating the wariness of the king or other nobles, so during the hunting season, the dukedom is not empty as much as possible. Cases like this were really rare.

In other places, the situation was similar in that they also trained soldiers during the hunting season, but in the dukedom, even the militia who had empty hands immediately after harvest were brought in for military training.

It is so large that it cannot be compared to other territories.

When it was first done, the anxiety of the villagers was considerable because they wondered if a war would break out.

There is such a thing, and it also has the meaning of stabilizing the anxiety and life of the civilians, so when mobilizing the troopers at this time, money or flour is paid.

Inspection and repair of weapons in the arsenal are also conducted at this time.

Of course it cost a lot of money.

The saying that war is waged with money can be said to be half true.

It really costs a lot.

Because of that, other territories did not do large-scale training like dukedoms.

No, you can’t. can not do it.

Because there is no place where money is rotten enough to pour this amount of money every year.

Besides, I would add because no one feels the need.

It would seem to them that the duke is fooling around.

I heard that this was rare even in my grandfather’s generation.

However, from my point of view, knowing the invasion of the steppes, it was natural.

What I am doing right now is actually not enough.

‘Even if I try like this, if the steppes start to invade, they’ll attack the kingdom in an instant.’

Even if you move as soon as you hear the news of an invasion, it will obviously be too late.

It will be unstoppable.

Most of the people in the kingdom would snort at my words, but it was a natural guess given how fast they were.

‘It’s fortunate that the Hoven Marquis and the Petrie Marquis are families that value nothing.’

The two families are unaware of the steppe invasion and are properly training.

It must be because the current heads of both families have experience in war.

And the two families knew their fear as they trained with the steppe people.

I know how fast they move and how strong they are.

For that reason, although not as large as the Duke’s, the two families were constantly conducting military training, recruiting soldiers with magical powers, raising magic soldiers, and having them compete with the steppe tribes.

He was probably aware of the steppe tribes’ threat.

However, they did not even imagine that the grasslands would invade deep into the kingdom.

Because there is no such precedent.

The steppes always plundered only the border areas bordering the kingdom and returned.

He had never invaded the kingdom’s interior.

I took a deep breath.

‘You shouldn’t be nervous.’

I am already doing everything I can in my power.

Earning money to prepare for war, preparing weapons, raising soldiers.

All that remains is to be left to the will of God.

I was lost in thought for a moment and my hands stopped.

I started rereading the urgent report sorted by the civil servants.

In addition to regular reports, there were some urgent paperwork.

It was a recent thing, so the report hadn’t gone down to the dukedom yet.

After reading through those documents for a long time, I suddenly stopped at a document about Prince Robert.

The details of how Prince Robert welcomed the baron Yeongyang as his concubine even before marriage were written.

‘A concubine?’

I muttered involuntarily.

The country’s royalty is allowed to have multiple queens.

The queen or the crown princess was given her own official duties.

1 Even if they were not queens or crown princesses, they were allowed to go out with their husbands when attending official events or foreign envoys, and an independent official and escort were attached.

However, a concubine is a little different from a queen or a crown princess.

There are no official duties or privileges granted to concubines.

A child born has the right of succession to the throne, but in a situation where there is already a higher-ranking heir, there is little chance of that child becoming king. The ranking moves there.

It wouldn’t have known if he had been designated as a crown prince before, but the chances of a child born to a concubine becoming king were really small.

The concubine herself went into the depths of the palace and lived without coming out, almost cutting off contact with other men.

Concubines can also attend banquets if their husbands permit them, but they do not stand side by side at official events like the queen or crown princess.

It becomes like a lover without freedom.

Even so, there are quite a few families that wish to have such a connection, but it is indeed rare for a non-royal prince to have a concubine.

It was the same even if he was a crown prince.

Making a lover outside the palace would be the best.

A red mark was attached to the document.

This mark is attached when there are contents that are difficult to leave as documents.

As I raised my head, the butler who was nearby came closer.

Since I had already seen what documents I was reading, I would have known which parts I was questioning.

The butler lowered his head and spoke in a low voice.

“The contents are exactly as written. Prince Robert was seen dragging the baron antelope away. This may be a trap set up by the baron family.”

“…”

“however.”

The butler hesitated a little.

As I urged him to continue with a wink, the butler’s voice lowered further.

“The baron’s antelope resembles his wife, Catherine.”

“…what?”

I think I heard it wrong.

When I was startled, deep wrinkles were carved on the butler’s forehead.

He too seems very unpleasant.

“At first, we didn’t know that either, but as we gathered the information, the investigators became suspicious.”

The appearance of the baron lady was not outstanding.

I guess it’s a bit better than normal.

However, at first glance, the atmosphere is said to be a bit similar.

In particular, if you wear a mask to cover half of your face, it seems that the mouth and head blend together to create a very similar atmosphere.

“… You said it looked like a trap, right?”

“yes.”

“Then… how many people have noticed that the Crown Prince likes Catherine?”

“I guess that’s what it should look like.”

I had thought that Robert’s gaze toward Catherine was too strong from before.

But I didn’t think I was attracted enough to seduce a woman like Catherine.

“This… is really unpleasant.”

And it’s dangerous.

I had heard that there were quite a few rumors of women around Robert, but so far, there had been no problems so far that they interfered with his marriage with a foreign princess.

1 Perhaps the rumors did not spread widely because the queen was paying attention.

But Robert himself seems to have been cautious in his own way.

Even though Prince Robert was the first in the line of succession to the throne, he could not use the title of crown prince when he was young.

Even if he was the son of the second queen, it was because Prince Emile already existed before Robert was born.

Moreover, Prince Emile is a very smart and excellent person.

We weighed Robert and Emile, and I know that there were a lot of families that leaned towards Emile.

However, as the story of her marriage with a foreign country matured in earnest, she was finally recorded as a crown prince in official documents.

Marriage with a foreign country contributed greatly to solidifying the position of crown prince.

Knowing that fact, Prince Robert must have been careful not to let the issue of women leak out.

This incident must be evidence that Robert, who had been paying so much attention, lost his restraint, albeit temporarily.

It means that he was fascinated by Catherine.

I took a small breath.

Catherine is still young.

A child who is just a flower bud that has not yet bloomed.

‘No, even the flower buds come. It’s only about to be a sprout now.’

Maybe because I’ve been watching since I was little, Catherine felt like fourteen years old in my mind, not fourteen years old.

But in the eyes of others, it looks different.

What will happen when it blooms? If the situation is already like this, the future may be a little uneasy.

‘Maybe it would be better to increase the escort.’

After Catherine decided to stay at the duke’s house, the escort was being reorganized.

First of all, there was a report that several female escorts were added.

However, it would be better to have more female escorts who can stay with you 24 hours a day when going outside the dukedom.

Especially when participating in a New Year’s banquet.

I took a small breath once again.

Catherine is obviously beautiful.

‘But once you know the inside, you’re just a cute kid.’

It’s also quite erratic, and sometimes a little strange enough to make you tilt your head.

Because of her personality, the beauty of her appearance is overshadowed.

To think that there is a human who is greedy for such a child, I really hate being a man.

‘Well, of course I’m a man too.’

I gave the butler a glance.

“Gather information about Prince Robert with a bit more care.”

“Yes, I know.”

After a while, the merchant’s officials visited one after another with a time difference.

We share a little story about magic tools sold in the new year, and after that, we meet the person involved in the sugar-related store again.

As the sun went down, he attended a small evening held by another family.

Most of the heads of families leave the capital and go to the territory, but their children, wives, or other family members remain in the capital.

The soiree I attended was one of the places where rumors gathered the most.

It is mainly a women-oriented evening.

The partner was Countess Becker.

I had interrupted the evening she was scheduled to attend.

It is said that the case of Countess Becker being attacked by a witch upon returning from abroad has spread to some extent among wives.

In addition, the monster hunt is in full swing now.

The conversation naturally moved to the hunting season, and while answering the wives’ questions, I subtly inserted a small clue about the increase in the beast’s calves.

I don’t know if that will sow the right seeds.

‘But… it’s better than doing nothing.’

After the evening party that day, I finished all the work in the capital, and I set off for the territory as soon as dawn broke.

***[Catherine, Duchess]***

In the Duke’s house, a thunder-like sound sometimes reverberates.

When I first heard it, I thought it was really thunder.

But according to Oscar-sama, it’s a magic bomb.

It is said to have greater destructive power than arrows.

The place where they experiment is Sven’s laboratory.

And everyone urged them to never, never, never get close to them.

“But Rose, I’m the Duchess, right? Wouldn’t it be troublesome if I didn’t know something about this mansion?”

I complain to the pony Rose, who was allowed to enter the room with Oscar-sama’s special permission.

“It’s not because I’m scared. It’s not because I’m really scared, it’s because I think as a duchess I should know.”

Even with permission, the rooms Rose can enter are limited.

Only a few large rooms on the first floor were accessible.

After Oscar left the duchy, he was very lonely, and scared of the strange noises that sometimes resounded, so he slept with Rose in the corner of the large room on the first floor at midnight.

Yes, it’s scary.

It makes a strange noise every night, like a big dog growling in the ground.

Sometimes I even felt the ground shake.

When I was alone in a dark room, I heard a strange, dull gurgling noise in the quiet night air.

It’s different from the daytime bombs, but I hear something strange anyway.

On the first day I sneaked down because I was so scared, for some reason, when I woke up, I found myself covered with a blanket.

I think someone knew about it from the moment I came down from the couple’s room.

In order not to be noticed by the lady-in-waiting in the hallway, I sneaked out through Mr. Oscar’s room, not his wife’s room, but I don’t know how he knew.

Still, since everyone pretends not to know, they still secretly come at night and return before the sun rises, awakened by Rose’s cries.

But today, the thunder-like rumbling is too loud.

It felt as if a huge monster was buried in the ground.

He’s also incredibly terrifying.

“Rose, are you scared too?”

“…”

I asked for Rose’s consent, but it doesn’t seem scary.

Rose looked at Catherine like an idiot.

“I’m scared, Rose. Yes! I’ll be honest. It’s scary. It’s like a haunted castle.”

Catherine hugged Rose’s neck tightly.

“Rose, shall we go check out what’s there? Knowing that it’s not a ghost will put your mind at ease. Just take a look at it from a distance. How about it?”

“Hey.”

Do you mean it or not?

I can’t tell just by looking at the face.

In a way, it seems like he’s just saying he’s an idiot, but in a way, it’s also like an answer saying that he’ll go with me.

“But I really can’t take it anymore, Rose.”

At this point, the words that I was really afraid to pee at night came out of my throat.

‘No matter how much I say it to Rose, such words would be too low of dignity as a duchess.’

Katrin swallowed the words that came out of her tongue again and jumped up.

“Rose, come here.”

I can’t go alone.

Rose lowered her head slightly as if she couldn’t help it.

It means you can ride.

I jumped on top of Rose’s saddleless body and fell flat on her face as she walked slowly out of the room.

Since I was young, I have been riding without a saddle, so I don’t fall off.

Go out with Rose under the dark night sky.

At the doorway leading to the room stood a nice pole, on which a torch shone softly.

coo coo coo coo coo coo.

The ground shakes again.

“Look at me, again.”

Catherine’s body shrank.

I don’t really believe in ghosts.

It’s just unfounded fear.

Why, there is such a thing.

I know there’s nothing behind me, but it just feels scary to look back.

I feel like something is standing there in a blur and watching me.

Once you get that feeling, you just can’t get over it.

It’s scary enough to die until you confirm there’s nothing there.

However, as they move away from the torch stand, the light behind them is hazy, but the front is dark.

The darkness seems to have gotten thicker.

Somehow I got more scared.

‘Should I just go back?’

That was when I thought about it.

As Rose advanced into the dark space, she suddenly stopped.

“Why, why? Rose, that’s scary. Why are you doing that?”

It was the moment to say so.

Something suddenly appeared out of the darkness.

Two round eyes.

But not a person.

It was too big to see as a human being, and the gap was wide.

Torches danced behind her, and her large eyes flashed in the dark.

There really is a ghost in the Duke’s house.

there is a monster

“aaa!”

Katrin let out a loud scream without realizing it.