When My Enemies Began to Regret

 

But then, Fanora had a small problem. She forced herself to spare time to meet Aloken for the first time in a long time, but the letter she sent him didn’t receive any answer after several days.

 

“You have no appetite?”

 

“N-No, Godmother. I enjoyed the meal.”

 

The road to the North was rough, so maybe the mailman got in trouble on the way.

 

Could a wild animal even bite a horse to death?

 

Fanora eventually gave up meeting Aloken because she didn’t get any reply even after sending him a letter again. In the meantime, she concentrated on godmother’s lessons and Carl’s teaching, developing her power and knowledge.

 

Rustle.

Around the time when Kingdom Kasius came to the beginning of winter, Fanora opened a letter from the mailman.

 

[Duke Jalier passed away. I will be busy with the succession issues, so if you have anything to say, visit me in the capital around New Year’s Eve.]

 

It was a very short letter, but he was the one who made the appointment in advance.

 

“New Year’s Eve.”

 

New Year’s Eve was the most important festival in the Kingdom of Kasius.

 

“The Duke died sooner than I thought.”

 

Their meeting was scheduled for two months from now on.

 

* * *

Two months later, at the downtown area of Kingdom Kasius.

 

“…”

 

“L-Lady Fanora. Are you upset? Your fiancé is late for the appointment.”

 

“No.”

 

Tak, tak, tak, tak.

 

New Year’s Eve, the first new year since she regressed and a day from five years ago that she had already been through once. The rich and poor in the capital were out on the street enjoying the festival, and Fanora was also sitting leisurely in the coffee house with the generosity of godmother. However, no matter how long she waited, the person who asked her to meet him on the second-floor terrace didn’t appear.

 

“It’s cold. I will bring Lady a blanket…”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

Tak, tak, tak.

She nervously tapped her nails on the table and sometimes gritted her teeth. But in fact, she wasn’t upset because her fiancé was late.

 

Until when do I have to live like this? I think I have learned etiquette and methods to kill them enough now. How can I wait until I make my debutante?

 

She had been nervous about not getting her revenge over the past few months.

Those rotten people! Did you call yourself noble in the end?! Do you think I will never be able to get my revenge for the rest of my life?!

 

First of all, she had set the order of her revenge in her plan. The more she was involved in many cases, the greater the risk of being caught. In the case of Vasago, even if Fanora didn’t get to the trial, she might not be able to get close to her as soon as a terrible scandal came to her. 

 

She thought things would work out well if she targeted Vasago first. But again, Duke Guelder’s name wasn’t just a decoration.

If she goes around like that, does she even have such a thing as privacy?

 

Just in the last hour, Fanora had attempted to assassinate Vasago. That was because Vasago made a rare appearance in the street, just like described in the ‘Dangerous Love’ novel. But when she went to see her in person, what happened? There were at least five escort knights, as described in the novel. Plus, there was the young boy who she always brought with her.

 

If the world is just like in the novel, it’s okay to be lax… ha…

 

Then, Fanora wondered if she could aim for another opportunity. Still, the scope of Vasago’s activities in the novel was not very wide. At best, the Guelder mansion, the Jalier mansion, the royal castle, the salon… All of them are reputed to have tight security, and even if she was aiming when Vasago rode her carriage, her surroundings were still full of guards. It was almost impossible to aim at her when she was alone without being a friend to her.

 

Even if I am destined to die soon, I’m still a noble. I also came to New Year’s Eve being tailed by godmother’s servant.

 

So, in the end, Fanora decided to wait for the right time. First of all, she decided to participate in debutante and approach Vasago step by step when she was already old enough to enter the society.

 

“…”

 

“Ah! Lady, I hear footsteps. This time it must be the Duke!”

 

But Fanora thought about it for a while. The godmother’s servant standing next to her chatted like a sparrow. Fanora looked up belatedly. A few seconds later, as the servant said, a man entered the small terrace seat.

 

“Greetings.” Fanora greeted him with a formal greeting as he approached. “Duke.”

 

“…”

 

The new owner of the Duke’s family. Duke Aloken Jalier revealed his face after a few months of absence. All his succession matters have finally been completed.

 

“You guys get out.” Aloken sent the butler he had brought and the servant who was next to Fanora out of the door. After that, he sat down in the empty seat opposite her, raised the corner of his mouth, and smiled.

 

“Have you been well? Fanora.”

 

“Yes. You have successfully inherited the title. Congratulations.”

 

“I don’t know if I should call this successfully.”

 

“I’ve heard about it. As long as the seal has been officially stamped, isn’t the game over?”

 

“My younger brother, who doesn’t understand that easy thing, is still struggling.”

 

The past few months have been simple to sum up. Aloken eventually succeeded in crafting a new will without missing a moment when his father woke up from bed. Therefore, even if his overall support was still insufficient, considering the tradition and will of the family, it was inevitable that he would be overwhelmed with the advantage to succeed the title. In the end, he sat down in the Duke’s seat as he wanted.

 

It’s just something that will happen someday.

 

Fanora finally could comfortably call him. Well, in her memory, he had already become ‘Duke Jalier’ for several years, but it was so uncomfortable to call him ‘little Duke.’

 

“Duke, then…”

 

“Ah, many people call me as duke even if Lady Fanora doesn’t call me like that. So stop it.”

 

“…”

 

“Aren’t we in agreement to call by our name? If you don’t like it, we can change it using the nickname as a special provision…”

 

However, even if the naming problem had improved, the inconvenience seemed to continue. Fanora responded coldly to Aloken’s mischievous remarks. Aloken, on the other hand, only wriggled his left eyebrow.

 

“Ahem. Anyway, I have something to say.”

 

“Come to think of it, you sent a letter to me when the Duke passed away. So, what do you want to say?”

 

As Aloken, who was seated, leaned the staff in his hand against the terrace wall, Fanora took a sip of the cooled tea and continued. “That’s…”

 

But what came out of her mouth was far from the sentence she really wanted to spit out. “I said that I would provide helpful information to extend the contract once a year. But, come to think of it, I think I will be busy preparing for my debutante in the new year.”

 

“Ah, that’s why you wanted to see me in the fall.”

 

“It’s better to meet you in person. I’m not supposed to tell you this in the letter.”

 

Once again, Fanora sipped the tea and began to whisper in a low voice. “This is the information for this year. In the near future, the merchants from Gamiel, who have been popular in our Kingdom, will withdraw one by one.”

 

“Is it because the disease the previous duke suffered and Popira, the fruit from Gamiel, was about to be revealed by the middle of next year?”

 

“It has nothing to do with that. It’s the spice merchant who will withdraw.”

 

As Fanora said so, Aloken leaned his upper body toward the table and listened more.

 

“I don’t know the details, but the climate of Gamiel Kingdom has changed a lot recently.”

 

“Really?”

 

“It seems the yield of spices grown in Gamiel has declined sharply. The monarch will soon issue an export ban as there is not even enough quantity to be consumed in their own Kingdom.”

 

The terrace filled with the key part of the information Fanora was holding. “So, before spring arrives, sweep up the Gamiel spices in the capital. Especially aromatics, which nobles are accustomed to, will become very expensive later on.”

 

Of course, Duke Jalier, the most wealthy man in the Kingdom, could monopolize the goods.

 

Aloken briefly retraced the information Fanora had brought up. “It’s mouth-watering information, but I don’t see any trend yet for anyone to buy spices… how can you know about it so quickly?”

 

“…”

 

“Is my fiancée actually Gamiel’s spy?”

 

Fanora responded with a smile, contrary to his remarks. “Did you see the sky on your way to the capital yesterday?”

 

“?”

 

“The night sky was clear, so my fortune-telling came out well.”

 

This meant that she had no intention of telling the source of information, so shut it up.

 

“…” At such a response, Aloken became silence for a moment then let out a laugh. After that, he nodded in a somewhat convincing manner.

 

“Yes, thanks to an astrologist like you, I was able to rise to the duke position without seeing blood, so I will trust you again this time.”

 

However…

 

“Aloken.”

 

Fanora, who had been pondering the sentence he uttered, immediately asked with a subtle face. “Does that mean that we would have seen blood if you hadn’t been able to become a duke?”

 

“…”

 

Aloken immediately answered the question. As if there was nothing to worry about. “Hmm? No, I’m just saying. The fight would have been a mess, but why would I kill my brother?”

 

What?

Fanora didn’t expect him to give such a cool answer. Look, he was a man with a coldness in his eyes, but he said he was just reluctant to make a bloody battle out of the succession fight.

 

“Then, what if the title of the duke is being taken away?”

 

“Should I assume that I succeeded but failed to do my duty?”

 

“…”

 

“Hmm, if I had lost… no matter how much ambition I have, I would lower my tail. I would have gotten a few bucks and left the estate to live.”

 

Fanora was astonished by his unexpected, ordinary idea.

 

Aloken wondered why she was reacting like that and then came to his own conclusion. “Aha. I was wondering why you asked me this. You were worried that your status would also fall if I failed, right?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“You must have been in trouble. Wealth and status are also good conditions for courting the opposite sex.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“I will win Lady Fanora’s favor before my strength decreases.”

 

Fanora froze at his words. Aloken was rather interested when he saw her being like that and added a few words, “Why don’t you reconsider now? You’ve succeeded in making me a duke as planned, so I’ll give you my wife’s position for that.”

 

“I won’t buy it.”

 

Of course, Fanora, sitting opposite him, refused immediately. It seemed that the choice of her words was a little off, but they didn’t have to argue about it here.

Why is he trying to seduce me these days? Isn’t he going to horribly throw me away after I’ve done my best?!

 

But it was then.

 

“Fanora.”

 

“Ah… yes.”

 

“But… you don’t tell me something.”

 

Clatter.

Aloken lifted the cup of coffee from the table, then said slowly, “You must have met my brother once in the meantime.”

 

“…”

 

As expected, she got caught. Fanora was silent for a moment at his remarks, and soon Aloken’s eyes fell into her gaze. It was a deep amber gaze that she didn’t know what he was thinking.

 

“Yes, Lord Rose visited.”

 

He probably already knew what his younger brother had said. So, Fanora made a head-on breakthrough to reveal Aloken’s true nature. He was a human being, so if she hit the nail on the head like she did when he found out about his father’s illness, he would have a slight reaction.

 

“Your brother told me something quite shocking, so I couldn’t say anything.”

 

“…”

 

“Aloken, were the stories he told me true?”

 

Fanora boldly recited exactly what Rose had said. The fact that he tried to kill his five-year-old brother because of a mere toy, and what happened at his mother’s funeral. As far as saying he had a mental illness. All of that passed over the table, and Aloken slowly closed his eyelids.

 

“Huh…?”

 

And a few seconds later, the reaction of Aloken was like this.