Adelle’s face after three days looked less tired than the first time I saw her.
Back then, she looked as though she was about to collapse, whereas now she merely seemed a little fatigued.
‘That must mean she did a lot of regression then.’
Each regression takes a toll, so her fatigue must have been much more severe. That said, I don’t really feel apologetic about it.
After all, it’s ultimately her situation.
‘..I guess I’ve lost my touch too.’
I get a real sense of just how much I’ve deteriorated every time this happens.
Still, I wonder how I went from being a fairly ordinary college student who regularly volunteered to this.
I can only sigh.
“Is there anything else you’d like?”
“..No. Not really.”
“In that case, let’s talk about the contract.”
Snap!
With a flick of my finger, a piece of paper materialized in the air and settled on the table. Adelle picked it up and began to read its contents.
“The contract is bound by gears, so penalties will apply if it’s violated.”
By the way, the penalty is the consumption of life.
It’s a highly dangerous penalty, which is why each contract costs as much as a decent carriage.
Even nobles don’t frivolously buy these contracts. They may have a lot of money, but they don’t have infinite funds.
Of course, for someone of my standing as a duke, it’s not overly expensive.
“First, I shall act as your fiancé for a year and will assist you, Adelle, to the best of my ability.
Second, in exchange, Hardenberg will acquire a one-year monopoly on the trade operations of the Esté family.
Third, if necessary, the contract can be extended or canceled by mutual agreement.
During such mutual agreement, both parties must be of sound mind.”
I stated the contents of the contract and looked at her.
“This is the contract we made before. Are there any revisions necessary?”
“No.”
“Good. Then the contract shall remain in your possession, Miss Adelle.”
“Why..”
“For mutual trust.”
In order to achieve my goals, I need Adelle’s regression ability.
To use it, we need to build some trust first. If giving her the contract achieves that trust, then it’s a worthwhile deal.
“Thank you for your consideration.”
She looked somewhat bewildered as she said that, placing the contract carefully into her pocket.
“By the way, there’s something I hadn’t told you.”
At my words, Adelle tilted her head in confusion.
“Come in, Evan.”
The door swung open to reveal a burly man. Black hair, black eyes. An earnest expression and a build so large he almost resembled a bear.
This man is the vice-captain of the Black Raven Knights and was my personal bodyguard before I became a duke. Despite being born of common heritage, he’s an idol among the commoner knights.
“Er..”
His sudden appearance filled Adelle with questions.
“You summoned me, Your Grace!”
His voice rang out loud and clear. I closed my eyes briefly upon realizing he had been the loudest person this morning.
“..Lower your voice.”
“H.. yes, Your Grace.”
Evan responded, lowering his voice as I instructed. Yet, despite my warnings, his voice will undoubtedly grow louder again.
I’ve somewhat given up on this matter, but still feel the need to give reminders or else his voice will get even louder.
‘He’s such a good and skilled guy, but why is he so loud?’
Adelle looked at me then turned her gaze to Evan and asked me.
“Who is he?”
“He will be your bodyguard from now on, Evan.”
“I serve under you, Madam!”
“..You should address her as Miss.”
“Y.. yes! I serve under you, Miss!”
“..I see.”
There was no energy in her voice, likely due to the somewhat ridiculous presentation of Evan.
Truthfully, based on his demeanor so far, it’s understandable she would have trouble trusting him.
“Don’t worry. Regardless of appearance, he is the vice-captain of the Black Raven Knights.”
“..The vice-captain?”
She echoed skeptically. I had to stifle a laugh at her expression.
I glanced to the side and saw Evan’s face, which seemed slightly hurt.
“Yes.”
“..Thank you for your generous offer.”
“There’s no need to thank me. Protecting my fiancée is important to me.”
“Evan… thank you very much for your help.”
“Y.. yes! I will do my utmost!”
Her gaze briefly moved to me, looking slightly burdened by Evan’s overly enthusiastic demeanor.
“Is there anything else you’d like to ask?”
“..No, thank you.”
“In that case, I shall take my leave. By the way, if you have questions about bridal lessons, you can ask Alan.”
“I understand.”
With that, I exited the reception room and headed toward my study.
I wonder how many documents await me today..
The mere thought was giving me a headache, but as a duke, there’s nothing I could do about it.
How much time had passed?
Finally done checking the budget management of the dukedom and the detailed business operations.
For the moment, there should be no urgent matters.
Then, something suddenly came to mind.
‘..Ah, the trading company of the Esté Count, wasn’t it?’
I sighed, feeling another headache coming on as I leaned back in my chair.
The exclusive rights to Esté Count’s trading company mean that I have the privilege of purchasing the goods they handle solely.
Of course, if the exclusivity is applied too strictly, it could also harm me, but that’s not my goal.
What I’m actually after are the military supplies the Count Esté distributes.
Given that he deals with royal military supplies, he would likely try to hide that information.
Certainly, I would not make an effort to identify this from the beginning.
The problem is something else.
Clang!
I turned my head to see three assassins wearing black masks. Was this an assassination guild contract?
On the surface, their skills didn’t look impressive.
“Crap, failure!”
The assassins quickly dashed toward the window to flee.
“It’s not that simple.”
Thud!
With another flick of my finger, the assassins froze in place.
This is the use of spatial magic passed down through the generations of the Hardenberg family. These fools likely attempted the hit without knowing I could control spatial magic.
‘This could be a warning worth considering..’
Perhaps connecting with Count Esté already made the royal family wary of me.
By the way, if these incompetents managed to infiltrate this far, what exactly were the knights doing?
Bash!
The door burst open to reveal a man in chain armor. He knelt before me.
“Forgive me, Your Grace.”
His name is Ilho.
Ilho is the leader of the secret assassins organization ‘Ravens’ created within the House of Hardenberg, and he serves directly under me.
Of course, the original story had no mention of this organization ‘Ravens’.
The Ravens are an organization composed of orphans, who were known for their exceptional fighting prowess in the original story, that I gathered to form this group.
They handle any dirty or clean tasks for me.
Their existence has increased the influence of the Hardenberg family far more than in the original story.
“So, why were these people able to make it all the way to my office?”
“There is no excuse.”
“I’m asking for a reason, Ilho.”
“They were more numerous than expected.”
“And Miss Adelle?”
“Unharmed thanks to Mr. Evan.”
“At least that’s some good news.”
Bang!
With a snap of my finger, the rigid assassins hit the ground.
“Ugh..”
They writhed in agony, trying desperately to escape. Normally, I would simply kill them and put them out of their misery, but..
‘There’s no need to show mercy to those who aim to take my life.’
“Ilho.”
“Yes.”
“Take them and extract any useful information.”
“As you command.”
Thud!
With another flick of my finger, the assassins fell unconscious, coughing up blood.
At Ilho’s signal, his subordinates appeared and dragged the unconscious bodies away.
“By the way, there’s something else.”
“What is it?”
“Investigate the Imperial Palace’s inner workings.”
“Are you beginning now?”
“Yes. It’ll likely take a long time, but it’s time to begin.”
“As you command.”
With a bow, Ilho disappeared into the air.
I sighed and looked at the world map hanging on the wall.
The map bore a striking resemblance to the one from my previous life.
The only difference was that about 70% of the world’s territories were marked as part of the Arié Empire.
And the one person who contributed most to conquering 70% of the world has to be one person.
‘The Emperor.’
In the original story—the original of the original, at least—when Adelle thinks about it, the emperor appears as a kind of grandfather figure.
A comedic role whose main task is to actively prevent the Crown Prince from confessing to the female lead.
However, the true nature of the Emperor is not someone who cares for his children.
The ultimate boss of The Villainess Who Can Turn Back Time* and the real mastermind.
That was the Emperor.
No matter how much I might know about the original story, I can’t be sure how much of it will come into play in a match against him, since even in the original, the Emperor was never fully defeated.
‘..This is a plan I’ve been preparing for a long time.’
I closed my eyes, hoping that all my preparations will lead to success.
