My apologies. Truth is, I had a bad hunch about this! You were so kind to that foolish princess, so its no wonder Harriet has grown so attached to you and confided in you.

Raul rested his cheek on his knee and regarded Rishe with a grin.

I had information about the forgery, just like you said. Not only did I know about the counterfeit money, but also about what Walter, King of Fabrania, had ordered Harriets knights to do.

Sure enough, the royal family of Sigwell had ordered the hunters to investigate Fabrania.

But back in Rishes fifth life, she hadnt heard of counterfeit money.

Raul probably never reported his findings to the royal family.

Those knights were naturally under orders to keep others away from Harriet. Her brother, Curtis, is allowed to, because he cant do anything after he finds out about the forgeries. As long as the Princess he offered to Fabrania was held hostage, the Sigwell royal family has no choice but to keep quiet.

Are you saying that Sigwell didnt report the forgery because there was nothing the royal family could do about it?

I dont knowBesides, Ive got some other interesting orders.

Raul said and held up two fingers next to his face.

Keep an eye on Harriets behavior to ensure she uses the counterfeit money properly. Even if she pretended to have left the gold in her room, she couldnt possibly miss it the second time.

And one more thing. Its more important for the rest of the story.

A sharp glint flickered in his red eyes.

If Garkhain finds out about the counterfeit then Ill have to kill Harriet.

!?

Rishe and Oliver gasped at his words.

Why would you want to kill Harriet-sama?

Of course, it wasnt just to keep her mouth shut. Since you volunteered to guard Harriet, Im sure you can guess why.

Rishe frowned and said her conjecture.

If Harriets-ama is killed in Garkhain territory, of course, Garkhain will be held responsible.

Exactly! Poor King Walter, who has lost his beloved fiance, will grieve and denounce Garkhain. He may demand a huge sum of money as compensation for theloss of his beloved fiance, or he may even come after Garkhain to offer him a replacement bride.

Even if that were to happen, it was unlikely that the emperor or Arnold would agree to it.

Thats very shallow of you.

It was Oliver, standing beside Rishe, who murmured.

His voice sounded calm, but terribly cold. Raul gave a throaty chuckle in amusement.

Well, no matter how much I talk about it, this is just a bunch of nonsense from the Curtiss imposter. I dont think the international community will believe that the Fabranian royal family had plotted this ridiculous scheme.

Raul, you

Rishe was about to speak when she slowly covered her mouth with her right hand.

Rishe-sama?

Oliver asked stiffly.

Rishe didnt reply, but covered her mouth and shut her eyes tightly.

Oh, has the drug kicked in?

You, what did you give Rishe-sama to drink?

Rishe felt a tingle in her cheek from the killing intent Oliver had unleashed.

Oliver-sama.

!

Rishe reached out and grabbed the jacket Oliver was wearing.

She could feel his surprise.

You are about to lose consciousness. Your limbs are going to be numb, and youre going to speak incoherently.

R-Raul, you

By now, Harriet has been escorted out of the castle by Fabranias knights and Sigwells knightsin short my men.

Raul merely shrugged in response to Rishes glare.

Am I trying to rescue Harriet? Youve overrated me. I was going to take Harriets head as a souvenir and move to Fabrania.

Hiss.

While you and I were talking, you sent knights from Sigwell to guard Harriet from the knights of Fabrania, didnt you? But alas, I have betrayed Sigwell and am in league with Fabrania.

Raul stood up and stretched himself.

Rishe took a shallow breath and clung to Raul with words.

I knew it. The ghost the maids saw was

Thats my man. If a suspicious person is seen in the castle, theyll send all the citys security to the castle, right? Thanks to you, there are hardly any knights from your side in Vinleys now.

Raul exhaled briefly when he saw Rishe curling up tightly.

You look very sickI wonder if I can at least disrupt Arnold Heins movements with this.

Wait, you wont escape from this room.

No way.

Raul stuck out his tongue again.

But he didnt head for the doorway to the corridor. Without hesitation, he walked over to the window, opened it and put his foot on the frame.

That was fun, Sweetheart. If we ever meet again, I hope youll show me a pretty smile.

Raul!

Well then, bye-bye.

With that, Raul jumped from the third floor window.

Damn it

Oliver clicked his tongue and knelt down in front of the slumped Rishe.

Rishe-sama, Rishe-sama, how are you?

Yes, Im fine!

!!

Rishe raised her head up quickly and looked slyly at Oliver.

Thank you for adapting to my performance. As I told you before, well let Raul go a bit and then go after him.

B-But Rishe-sama

Oliver, clearly puzzled, looked at Rishe with a look of disbelief.

Are you sure youre alright? That man said he drugged you

Yes. I took the antidote beforehand in anticipation of what was to come.

Rishe smiled and stood up, plucking the hem of her dress with a flutter.

She displayed no ill effects at all, so she hoped it helped prove to Oliver that she was perfectly alright.

I know exactly what Raul would use in a situation like this.

It was not just the method itself.

What kind of drugs youll need, and in what doses. When to trust and pretend something works, and what kind of traps to use.

For five years in my fifth life, Ive learned how Raul hunts, closer than anyone.

Rishe told the dumbfounded Oliver.

With my performance, Raul probably thinks Im totally incapacitatedAnd so, His Highness Arnolds response will be disrupted.

Rishe deliberately drank the tea with the drug in order to catch him off guard.

Rishe took out a map from her purse and looked at the port town of Vinleys from a birds eye view.

Oliver-sama, I have entrusted you with the placement of the knights, may I ask for details?

O-Of courseWe have dispersed the knights that were unevenly distributed throughout the castle in the past few days. There are knights all over Vinleys, so if there is any suspicious activity, we can expect a smoke signal. Mark the starting point.

Thats great. With this number and location, we should be able to spot most of the anomalies.

The current situation was contrary to what Raul had said, that priority was given to security inside the castle, and so the security in the city would be stretched thin.

This was all thanks to Oliver, who took Rishes reckless request and moved the knights on Arnolds behalf.

Thank you for believing in me, Oliver-sama.

When Rishe bowed deeply to Oliver, he still seems dazed.

Rishe-sama, you had already confirmed the absence of Her Highness Harriet before you spoke to that man, Raul, hadnt you?

Oliver was right.

As a matter of fact, as soon as Rishe found out about the forgery, she went to search Harriets room first.

Since it would be suspicious to approach through the door, she used a rope to climb down the wall from the window of their room on the fourth floor.

She confirmed that there was no sign of Harriet in the room on the third floor.

At that point, she switched her focus to rescuing Harriet, not protecting her.

In order to find out where Harriet was, they needed to let Raul go. Oliver, who helped her with that, asked Rishe.

Was it your strategy when you asked that man to reinforce His Highness Harriets bodyguards to pretend that you are unaware of Her Highnesss kidnapping and let his guard down?

Its more of a spell than a strategy. Its more convenient for me to have him guarding an unoccupied room than to have his men present.

Rishe smirked as she said this.

You, you

W-What is it?

When Rishe blinked quizzically, Oliver smiled softly.

Nothing. Its just that Im increasingly looking forward to your marriage to My Lord.

!?

How in the world did the direction of the conversation shift to this?

Rishe was flustered inwardly, but on the surface, she tried to act like nothing had happened.

T/N: Way to go Rishe (*0*)