If Lady Armando had tried to leave first, Elysia might have stopped her. She couldn’t understand why Sierra was looking for her, though they had to face each other eventually.

“….”

Even after moving to the reception room, Sierra didn’t say a word. How long did they silently gaze at each other?

Finally, Sierra spoke.

“Thank you for making time to meet separately.”

“No problem, Lady.”

Sitting face to face with Lady Armando like this was an awkward experience for Elysia—the true lead of this story, Sierra Armando. Unlike Elysia, who passed by with a brief one-liner description, she was the real lead.

“Last time, I didn’t have the opportunity… now I’ve found the time.”

Even if Rowena hadn’t intervened at the palace, she wouldn’t have talked to Lady Armando. Anyway, that place was the Empress’ headquarters.

There was no chance for deep conversation there.

“No, there was no other choice given the circumstances.”

“But… is there something you want to say to me?”

“Yes, it seems there might be a misunderstanding.”

Misunderstanding…

Elysia couldn’t understand what misunderstanding there could be. As the lead, she was somewhat familiar to Sierra. Not as much as the newly created Damon, but enough because she had to continue facing this character to understand the story.

“What kind of misunderstanding is it?”

“I have no feelings for the Grand Duke.”

Elysia looked at Sierra, who confessed that she had no feelings for Damon, with a cold gaze. If she hadn’t read the original story, she might have been fooled. That was how good Sierra was at hiding her emotions.

“I see.”

“I was looking for a man of higher status than me, not to marry the Grand Duke for any emotional reasons. Really, there’s no lingering attachment.”

“All right. I believe you.”

The Empress, who had been in the social circles for a long time, couldn’t hide her feelings. At first, Elysia thought that no matter how skilled she was in managing her expressions, love was something she couldn’t conceal.

However, the more she knew, the more she felt that wasn’t the case. Cassandra was born into the most powerful family among the four ducal houses. Moreover, she was an only child, a beloved and cherished only daughter.

Yet even among noble ladies, Sierra was different.

Duchy Armando was the poorest among the four ducal houses. They weren’t unambitious; they lacked the ability to compete. Simply maintaining what their ancestors had built was a struggle, and this made them fall behind other ducal houses.

“I really want to maintain a good relationship with the Grand Duchess.”

“Me too… Likewise.”

Currently, Duchy Armando did not have a Duchess.

Originally, Duchy Armando had three children. She knew Sierra had an older sister. The Duchess, who only gave birth to daughters, was eventually pushed aside by the mistress, who eventually gave birth to a son, and she ended up passing away in loneliness.

Of course, Sierra, being the youngest, had no power at all.

Pressured from all sides, she couldn’t live a proper life. Even Sierra’s sister, aiming to survive, attached herself to the Duke and son. However, not long after the Duchess passed away, her sister also met an untimely death due to an accident.

“Can we continue to stay in touch in the future?”

Sierra, who had been neglected, finally began to receive attention from everyone.

Growing up constantly under scrutiny, Sierra was accustomed to hiding and suppressing her emotions. Cassandra, born strong from the beginning, never felt the need to hide her emotions… That was the difference between an Empress and Lady Armando.

Sierra and Cassandra were different from birth, as Cassandra had everything from the moment she was born.

“Of course.”

As much as she wanted to refuse in her heart, Elysia smiled and nodded.

She had suspicions. Despite the fact that she hoped it wasn’t true, she couldn’t shake off this uneasy feeling.

“Well… Is it okay if I ask Lady Armando for a favor?”

“I’ll do anything you ask.”

She hesitated whether it was appropriate to ask Sierra for this. However, at the moment, Elysia had no choice.

She knew who the culprit was.

* * *

“What do you want to ask me?”

“It’s nothing much. Do you happen to know about the guild that gathers information?”

Elysia knew that there was a guild specifically for obtaining information. Occasionally, maids would listen to their masters’ secretive requests.

Among them were tasks like discreetly going outside. While she didn’t know the details of such confidential matters, she was aware that there were various guilds, starting with information-gathering guilds to assassin guilds and more.

“Yes? The information guild?”

The higher the nobility, the more they had to join with such a dirty side. After all, power and money were inseparable from the dirty side of things. If someone had a lot, others had to have less, and it was only natural.

“Yes. If it’s Lady Armando, you might know about it.”

Among the people she knew, Sierra was the most adept at maneuvering. The information guild was originally a place not accessible to just anyone. It was easy to think of it as a kind of errand service for a select few people, as there were special ways to meet.

“The information guild…”

“If you know anything, please tell me.”

“Surely you’re not thinking of going there yourself?”

Elysia knew that Lady Armando used the information guild. This information was derived from the original story, where Lady Armando engaged in various tasks through the guild. Since the methods to access the guild changed every time, the approach that was described in the original work might not be applicable anymore.

“There’s something I want to find out.”

“If that’s the case, you can instruct the maids or talk to me.”

As always, Sierra was Sierra. Elysia couldn’t help but smile at her direct attitude of lowering herself. Unlike the Empress, Sierra had no pride. She did whatever it took to achieve her goals, even if it meant compromising her dignity.

“No, there’s something personal I want to look into.”

“Are you planning to proceed without Grand Duke knowing?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Even though she had a harmless expression, Elysia knew better than anyone that Sierra was the most formidable person.

“I need to know what level of information you’re seeking. Depending on the type of information, the approach to accessing it will change.”

She was only looking into information about the County. Did she really need high-level information for that? Nevertheless, she couldn’t be sure. If her uneasy premonition was correct, then it might be necessary.

“The highest level of information.”

The mention of the highest level of information brought another stillness to the reception room. She knew that Sierra could obtain information up to the highest level, and that’s why she frequently visited the guild in the original story.

“If it’s a high level…”

“Do I need to tell you what kind of information I wanted?”

“No, of course not.”

To her sharp reaction, Sierra immediately waved her hand.

“There are various ways to access the guild. If you want to approach without the Grand Duke knowing, it’s best to go through the bookstore.”

She didn’t expect Sierra to reveal the information so easily without any conditions. She thought there would be at least some hesitation. If someone knew about the information guild, they might have suspicious thoughts.

“Is it okay to tell me right away?”

“The Grand Duchess already knows, asked me, right? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have asked me. Talking about the information guild is no loss.”

She was indeed a formidable opponent.

She didn’t ascend to the top by trampling on her entire family for nothing. Elysia recalled how Sierra became the heiress. Even though it was good that she became the sole daughter of the Armando family by killing her sister and mother, the heir, the son, was still there.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t surpass the heir.

Sierra was a very ambitious woman. If she had been satisfied with being a lady, she wouldn’t have committed those terrible deeds. However, if all the children died successively, it might arouse suspicion.

“I don’t want to become an enemy with the Grand Duchess.”

Not wanting to become an enemy held a lot within those words. She, too, had no intention of becoming an enemy with Sierra. Still, if it was unavoidable, she didn’t know whether she should confront it.

She only wished fervently that Sierra’s intuition would prove wrong.

“There’s a bookstore called ‘Laduelle’ in the capital. If you say you want to buy a limited-edition book from the owner of that bookstore, they will guide you to the path to the guild.”

Laduelle Bookstore?

“The name of the information guild is Solar. There will be a gatekeeper there. If you tell the gatekeeper, ‘The black dragon fell into the water,’ you can go all the way to the place handling confidential information.”

Upon hearing the code Sierra mentioned, Elysia’s brow slightly furrowed. Even here, there is the black dragon. Why is everyone so obsessed with black dragons? She wondered about the significance of dragons to the Caesar Empire.

“But places that handle confidential information are a bit risky.”

“Ah… I’m aware of that.”

If she only wanted to know about the County, she wouldn’t need to go to a place handling confidential information. However, what Elysia wanted to know wasn’t limited to that. It included the dealings between the imperial family and the Grand Duchy and even the curse on the Grand Duchy.

“Can we consider ourselves somewhat friendly now?”

“If our goals align.”

Even if she said that, Elysia knew she could never truly become friends with Sierra. That was because she knew that Sierra liked Damon more than anyone else.

__