Ulyssian almost forgot that this wasn’t his own body and nearly let out a self-deprecating laugh.
To think I would hear my brother’s confession with my own two ears.
He already knew that Kildian had been repeatedly attempting to assassinate him.
But this was the first time he had heard it directly from Kildian himself.
It was a strange feeling.
It wasn’t betrayal.
By now, Kildian’s murderous intent was far too familiar for him to feel something like that.
His mouth tasted bitter.
He rubbed the roof of his mouth for no particular reason and lowered his head a little further.
Then he mentally repeated the speech patterns and habits of Shite that Amarintis had told him about.
He recalled the way Shite usually spoke.
“That… I couldn’t confirm… whether he was alive or dead…”
As he answered, he watched Kildian’s expression.
Kildian had no idea that Ulyssian was inside Shite’s body.
“You couldn’t confirm whether he was alive or dead? I specifically told you to make sure his life was not completely snuffed out. You can’t seem to do anything properly.”
“…I’m sorry.”
He answered reflexively, but his mind was in turmoil.
He told him not to completely kill me? Was he not trying to kill me? Then why did he attack me?
Could it be that he tried to take over my body, but the situation ended up reversed?
Kildian’s sharp voice interrupted Ulyssian’s thoughts.
“Who said I wanted to hear your apologies? Don’t forget everything I’ve done for you. I got you out of that hellish household, made you a noble, and even got you a beautiful wife. Yet you can’t even live up to your worth. Useless thing.”
When Ulyssian fell silent, Kildian clicked his tongue irritably.
“I’ll confirm whether he’s alive or dead myself. For the time being, focus only on your research.”
He looked Shite’s body up and down.
When Kildian noticed the vivid bloodstains remaining on his shirt, one corner of his mouth twisted into a vicious smile.
“You obtained the most important material, so there shouldn’t be any problems with the research now, right?”
Ulyssian still didn’t know exactly what the material was or what the research was about.
But he had to nod.
If he said there had been a problem with the research, he would have to explain why.
Kildian twisted his thin lips into a smile and rose from his seat.
“Bring me results that will satisfy me within a month.”
A month.
That was by no means a long time.
Within that period, he had to identify the traitor, uncover Kildian’s objective, and return to his original body.
If his original body was already dead, then even if it meant risking his life and pretending to be a double agent, he would stop Kildian’s plans.
But before that, he needed to buy himself some time.
If a month passed just like this, Kildian would have his head before he knew it.
While he searched for a way to gain more time, Kildian brought up another matter.
“And the amount you’ve been paying me lately has decreased.”
Paying?
“You’ve been spending a lot of money on research, haven’t you? Thanks to that, there isn’t enough money going toward my military funds, which is putting me in a rather unpleasant mood.”
Kildian approached him intimidatingly.
“Get more money from that woman. The amount… Yes, ten times what you’re receiving now should do.”
Ulyssian remembered the prenuptial agreement.
Shite was currently receiving 100 million Bern a month—the currency of Melbern.
Ten times that meant Kildian was ordering him to get one billion Bern.
He’s insane.
The Routschild family’s wealth was enormous.
But giving someone one billion Bern every month without receiving anything in return was an entirely different matter.
“That is already stipulated in the prenuptial agreement—”
He was so dumbfounded that he failed to pay attention to his tone, but Kildian interrupted him irritably.
“Do I need to know about those circumstances? Seduce her, threaten her, or use whatever means necessary. Just get the money.”
Kildian roughly grabbed Shite’s bangs and lifted his head.
“You don’t have a bad face either once you move those gloomy bangs out of the way. So, preferably, seduce her in a way that won’t cause trouble afterward.”
His voice was full of mockery, as though he didn’t actually believe it would work.
He released Shite’s hair as if striking his head away, then took out a handkerchief.
He frowned as though he had touched something filthy.
While carefully wiping each of his fingers one by one, he continued.
“While you’re at it, sweep that dreary fringe back and fix that stifling way of speaking and gloomy complexion, too. Have you ever thought about how I feel every time I have to introduce you as my subordinate when you come outside? Tsk. It’s so embarrassing I can hardly hold my head up.”
It was an order Ulyssian was more than happy to receive.
He had already been at a loss over the thought of having to continue imitating Shite.
He could use Kildian’s order as an excuse to gradually change his behavior.
“I… will… try….”
Kildian tapped Shite’s cheek twice with the handkerchief and sneered.
“Don’t get your hopes up.”
That was the end of his business.
Kildian turned abruptly and threw the handkerchief into the fireplace.
Thud.
After Kildian entered the passage, the bookshelf closed with a heavy sound.
His footsteps gradually faded away.
Once the room fell silent again, Ulyssian finally let out a long breath and swept his hair back.
A bright smile spread across his raised face.
“All I have to do is cut off Amarintis Routschild.”
She was Kildian’s source of funds.
Without her money, the number of mercenaries Kildian could naturally hire would decrease.
And with fewer mercenaries, the harm they caused would decrease as well.
The research was also being funded by Amarintis’s money, so if he divorced her within a month, he could use the lack of funds as an excuse for failing to produce results.
Even without knowing anything about the research, he could buy himself time.
There was only one thing Ulyssian could do now that he was inside Shite’s body.
Pretend to carry out Kildian’s order to seduce Amarintis and obtain even more money from her, while getting divorced as quickly as possible.
The next morning, I met Shite again at breakfast.
It was unusual for him to come out of his room so early.
I greeted him with a glance, and Shite sat across from me, returning the greeting with a smile.
He unfolded his napkin and placed it over his lap before picking up his utensils.
He looked quite elegant.
No, it wasn’t merely elegance.
He was following the sort of dining etiquette one would expect at the imperial court—so silent that not even the slightest clink could be heard, with even the direction in which he cut his meat following a precise order.
And this was none other than Shite Hurniswald!
He was a man who had always been the exact opposite of elegance.
Even while eating, he used to hunch over completely.
Like a rat hiding in a bush and cautiously watching for a predator, he would constantly look around while wolfing down his food.
Most memorable of all was the scraping sound his knife made as he repeatedly dragged it against the plate.
Did he get struck by lightning or something?
As I stared blankly at Shite, he swallowed the food in his mouth and took a sip of water.
Then, while cutting into the fish dish served as the main course, he spoke to me.
“Madam, I see that your maiden name was Routschild.”
Why bring that up now?
“That’s right.”
“You purchased the mansion yourself and even covered all the management and maintenance costs, as well as the servants’ wages.”
“That’s right.”
“Is there a particular reason you give your husband 100 million Bern in living expenses every month?”
He really talked about his own affairs as though they belonged to someone else.
Was he still keeping up the whole amnesia act?
I tilted my head to the side, trying to figure out what he was thinking, but I couldn’t make sense of him at all.
“At first, I was going to move into your house, but it turned out to be a shabby mansion with only four rooms. There wasn’t even a grand ballroom or a stable… We couldn’t possibly live together in such a cramped place.”
“What does that have to do with you covering the maintenance costs of the mansion?”
“I told you that I would cover all the expenses, so we could move into the house I wanted. You agreed.”
“What about the servants’ wages?”
“I was the one who wanted us to move into a large house, so I was the one who had to hire them. It was only right that I pay them.”
That was merely the reason on the surface.
Unless they were personally attached to a lord, servants usually tended to side with the person paying their wages, so I had offered to pay them myself.
I had never told Shite about that calculation, though.
And I had no intention of telling him now.
Finally,
“As for the 100 million Bern I give you as living expenses…”
I tilted my head while belatedly tearing off a piece of bread before breakfast.
“Don’t you spend about that much in a month even if you try to be frugal?”
Shite looked completely at a loss for words.
I had no idea why he was reacting like that.
It wasn’t as if I had said anything wrong.
I tilted my head and continued chewing the bread.
Shite carefully examined my face, as though trying to determine whether I was telling the truth.
Then he laughed as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Do you know what Shite Hurniswald spends that money on?”
He was speaking in the third person again.
Is he trying to act cute?
