When the Male Lead is Obsessed with the Youngest Daughter of the Villain Family - Chapter 37

02. When Cartina Joins the War

“Where are you going, Estiya?”

It was a very late night. At this time, the 4th and 5th floors of the Cartina Mansion were silent. So, as quietly as possible, I muffled the footsteps and crossed the hallway. Then suddenly, the door swung open and Kaylan called me. I paused in amazement and exchanged glances with Jane.

– Shall we?

– No, Miss. If you move here and get caught, you might be locked up in your room.

Ha, then what?

I turned around slowly and smiled as naturally as possible to face Kaylan.

“Brother, what kept you up this late?”

“Oh, I can’t sleep. Rather, Estiya, as you said, it’s late at night. Where are you going?”

“I am thirsty.”

Unbelievable excuses came out of my mouth. I couldn’t help but say things like this.

“Jane, how are you serving your master? Should Estiya go get water herself?”

Again, sparks flew at Jane. Jane quickly bowed and said, ‘I’m sorry,’ and then she went downstairs to get some water.

“I’ll go down and wait.”

Whispering these words.

“It’s because Estiya takes care of the servants so much that it’s a problem. Even if Jane grew up like a friend with you, she is definitely the one who should be working under you. You know, right?”

“Yes, brother. I know. I just can’t sleep.”

I replied, hoping Jane took good care of what I threw out the window.

“Then would you like to go for a walk with your brother?”

Kaylan’s eyes twinkled.

“No! I’m suddenly feeling sleepy. Maybe it’s because I feel comfortable after seeing you.”

“Ah…okay.”

Seeing Kaylan depressed, I thought I should have taken a walk with him, but I couldn’t leave too late.

“Then I’ll walk you.”

Kaylan inevitably offered to walk me back, which was just three rooms away. I walked as fast as I could and we quickly arrived in front of my room.

“Brother, have a nice dream.”

“Wait, Estiya.”

As I was about to open the door and enter, Kaylan caught me.

“Why, brother?”

Did you notice something?

I asked very carefully. Kaylan looked at me for a long time and then shook his head.

“My little sister is really pretty. Let’s meet in our dreams.”

He looked at me one last time and went back to his room.

Love is too much.

The door slammed shut, and I pondered. Having already been caught by Kaylan once, I didn’t have the heart to cross the hallway again.

What should I do…

I walked around the room, thinking and thinking. Then, suddenly, I remembered that Rodrigo had come in through the window.

If Rodrigo can do it, I can do it too.

I looked out the window. In the distance, I could see Jane packing our luggage. I just couldn’t jump. I took the rope from under the bed, tied it tightly to the bedpost, and secured it to my body. Then I slowly lowered myself out of the window. Read only at pm tl.

With the wall as my ground, little by little, little by little, I went down.

“Miss!”

I came down without looking behind me and crushed Jane. Jane and I fell together.

“I’m sorry, Jane.”

I apologized neatly.

“Let’s hurry.”

And before she could murmur more, I moved first.

Even though the portal administrators did nothing wrong, the security around the portal was tight, as they suffered a lot during the last runaway incident. I put the guards to sleep with the anesthetic needle I had prepared in advance. Jane and I went hand in hand. We were able to quickly enter the basement where the portal was.

“Ah, ah, lady!”

The portal manager who found me while nodding asleep turned white as if he had seen a grim reaper. Jane hit him in the back of the head, knocking him out as he squinted his eyes and tried to shake the bell.

Wow. Jane is cool.

I searched through the portal manager’s body and pulled out his key.

I rationalized with myself that some sacrifice was necessary for the cause and opened the portal.

“They’ll know where we went anyway, so let’s go right away, because it’s a waste of mana.”

“Good idea.”

I looked at the map for a while and entered the location into the portal.

To Rodrigo’s barracks.

“Ahhh!”

A portal opened from the sky and spat out me like vomit. I floundered ridiculously in the air. This was what it looked like when you input a specific point on the map instead of the location where another portal was installed.

This is not how I should die.

I wish there was a tree or a window.

Because I didn’t want to die here.

I covered my head as much as I could and fell helplessly.

With a plop.

Fortunately, I fell in a lake.

Still, the shock was huge. It’s nothing compared to hitting the ground.

As soon as I thought, ‘I’m so glad,’ I reminded myself that I had never learned to swim.

I’m ruined.

I floundered. Water continuously entered through my nose and mouth. The dress lifted up and wrapped around my face. The wet dress was heavy. I tried to stir my feet to get my neck out of the water, but it wasn’t easy to move my feet tangled in the bottom of the dress.

Oh, I’m going to die like this.

My mind went blank and my body lost strength. Then, someone grabbed my arm. At the same time, air pierced my lungs.

“Estiya, Estiya!”

An urgent voice was heard. I slowly opened my eyes and looked at his face.

“Ah, Rodrigo.”

With those words, I lost consciousness.

“Rodrigo!”

I opened my eyes brightly.

Apparently, I fell into the water. I think I saw Rodrigo’s face!

I got out of bed.

What happened?

I looked around. It was a familiar barrack. A large map, a chair lined with animal skins, a creaking but quite spacious bed, and familiar robes. It was Rodrigo’s barracks.

“Are you awake?”

As soon as I noticed the owner of the room, the owner of the room entered. In his hand was a warm vegetable soup.

“I thought it would be nice to eat something when you get up.”

He sat down next to me and brought out a tray of soup.

“I will get up.”

As I was about to get up, Rodrigo shook his head.

“You were sick all night.”

“Me?”

“It must have been a huge shock when you fell from the sky. You almost died from drowning there.”

He only looked back on the facts, but I kept getting smaller and smaller as if I had made a big mistake.

“I’m really okay.”

Rodrigo held my hand. A blue light then appeared.

It’s magic.

“I used some healing magic. Are you uncomfortable?”

“Not at all!”

“I will gradually increase the duration of the use of magic, so before then, eat well and get well.”

Rodrigo scooped out the soup with a spoon and shoved it into my mouth. I looked down at the spoon.

“Ah.”

I slowly looked into his eyes and opened my mouth. The spoon slipped into my mouth. The taste was quite good for food eaten on the battlefield.

“I got a cook.”

“Where?”

“It’s a secret.”

He was a man of many secrets. After that, Rodrigo moved the spoon diligently like a mother bird feeding her baby birds. Suddenly, the soup in the bowl ran out.

“What are you up to here again?”

“Aren’t you happy?”

I shut my mouth as I joked, but the atmosphere was still weird. I wiped my mouth with the towel next to me and coughed heavily.

“Emperor Tereo has moved.”

“Because of changing the king of the Veloki Peninsula?”

“Oh, you knew?”

“I did that.”

Rodrigo recounted in detail what he had done to end the war. I listened to him, sometimes exclaiming, sometimes groaning in disappointment.

“That’s a good plan.”

“The person who will become your husband is more capable than you think. Until recently, he would have seemed incompetent.”

“You were competent before and now.”

Rodrigo turned his head. Is it because the tip of his ear seems red because I’m sick right now?

“I didn’t come here for that. I’m here to let you know that you’re in danger of being accused of heresy. The Holy Father will come soon.”

“Heresy?”

“Do you have any idea?”

Rodrigo was lost in thought. When deep in thought, he would tap something with his fingers. This time it was my bedside table. I was unconsciously concentrated by the tapping sound.

“Gunther.”

Rodrigo stopped his fingers and looked at me as if thinking of something.

“I went to a temple for Gunther’s treatment.”

“Is Gunther hurt?”

If Jane hears it, she’ll be upset.

“By the way, what about Jane? Have you not seen Jane?”

“She was hanging from a tree without falling into the lake. She’s fine. They gave her a small barrack.”

Thank god. Jane isn’t dead either.

“Tell her you found me as soon as she wakes up, just in case.”

Rodrigo smiled and nodded his head.

“But, tell me more about Gunther.”

Rodrigo briefly explained. Needless to say, I understood the situation right away with the superfluous explanation. Gunther was injured, he was bleeding too much to return to camp, and simple treatment was not enough to cure him, so he went to the temple. In the temple, even though they knew they were imperial, they treated them. Gunther recovered somewhat and they returned to camp.

“That’s fortunate. How did he get hurt?”

Rodrigo pulled out a small box from the bedside table. He opened the box lid. A transparent, thin thread was rolled.

“Oh, this!”

“Do you know this?”

“Can I take it out for a moment?”

“It is dangerous.”

“It’s okay.”

I pulled out the thread and looked at it. The transparent thread was a thread that could be spun from the Spines. Spines’ thread is transparent, but as strong as steel. It has an inconspicuous color that is close to being transparent, so it is often used as a trap by assassins. It’s not life-threatening, mainly by lining up around the ankles, but it’s best at crippling a person. If the string was struck at neck height, it is possible to cause mass destruction.

Wouldn’t it be nice if it was fortunate that a very dangerous and expensive item was not easy to obtain?

“Was this from the forest of the Veloki Peninsula?”

Rodrigo nodded. This item was meant to be monopolized within the Empire. The reason I know this is because Cartina makes and sells these things.

Was it stolen secretly?

The products are not managed in vain. The records were made very meticulously, and inspected directly by Emperor Tereo. Then there was only one person who could be suspicious. Emperor Tereo personally handed this to someone in the Veloki Peninsula.

“Is there something wrong?”

Seeing how my expression changed, Rodrigo asked.

“I think I got it. The negotiation card.”

I released information about the Spines thread to Rodrigo. His expression  grew darker.

“After starting a war, behind the scenes, we provided supplies so that the country could win. It’s fatal. However…”

“However?”

“You can’t shake Emperor Tereo with it.”

Of course.

“If you make a mistake, your whole family could be overthrown.”

Huh? That can’t be the case.

I got serious.

“I wish I could just cover it up.”

Rodrigo took the thread from my hand and put it in the box. And he tried to put it back in the nightstand drawer. I quickly grabbed his wrist.

“Anyway, try using it.”

He tilted his head.

“I will save the family and you too. So, give it to me.”

Actually, my plan was reckless. But I remembered what kind of person Emperor Tereo was in the novel. He was emotionally loyal and selfish. He was also someone who wanted someone to support him. I just need to satisfy that selfishness a little.

I was a little afraid that I wouldn’t do well, but I believed I would. I won’t let myself, my family, or Rodrigo die.