"AHHHHH!"That high-pitched scream came out of the d.u.c.h.ess" mouth due to extreme shock and fear. Marian was truly spooked out, her heart never prepared to suddenly see her real face coldly looking at her. And it was even in the middle of the night!
"Shut up!" said a very familiar voice that made Marian tremble more.
The d.u.c.h.ess kept backing away and at one point, her eyes even rolled back to check whether her screams had alerted the armed guards of the manor.
As for the newcomer, a disdainful expression could be seen on her delicate face. "What a stupid person. Don"t tell me you"re thinking I"m a ghost?"
On normal days from before five and a half months ago, the same face could only produce lovely and pure expressions that would bewitch and dazzle any beholder, now it was ever so cold. The exchange of soul naturally caused the change in the demeanor. It could be seen clearly at how the current owner of the face was not concealing her air of dominance. She was the real royal. It was her aura that confused and scared the d.u.c.h.ess off.
"Why? Why is she here!?" Panting for breath and with eyes as wide as coin, Marian hugged her body and repeatedly took a step back. She was speaking to herself and continuously shaking her head.
Margarette lost patience in the other woman"s reaction so she simply said, "Stop looking at the door, Pretender. Even if you shout until you lose your voice, n.o.body will hear you, not even your beloved duke. So instead of shouting there and deafening me with your yells, just shut up."
Her words were like a thunderclap to Marian"s ears. What did she say again?
Pretender?
No, that was not the important thing. The truly bothersome fact was that the woman said no even Andre would notice the commotion here!? How was that possible?
"Magic…" As a conclusion, she said after realizing what the latter part meant.
The real princess sat down, her delicate hand grabbed the porcelain water container by the handle. She paused for a while when she realized there was no other cup on the table. Her eyes narrowed at the viscount"s daughter who was currently occupying her body. Not long after, she snapped her finger and Marian"s servant walked in before respectfully presenting an elaborate cup to Margarette.
After filling it with tea the maid brew for her, the hooded woman took a sip and then looked at Marian. "This is the first time we"re seeing each other in person, right? Marian Obson? How are you adapting to my ident.i.ty?"
"I…"
Although the girl asked had experienced being a part of the royalty and high aristocracy for some time now, she still felt inadequate before a real princess.
Just now, she felt suppressed!
On top of this, the words the woman wearing her face were simply like another round of thunderclaps. She couldn"t help but be dumbfounded.
How should she answer that question anyway?
Indifferently, Margarette looked away from the d.u.c.h.ess. She helped the latter to reply, "You are loved by the people and your husband. You are also treated like a G.o.ddess by the whole kingdom, I see that you"re enjoying it greatly, Miss Obson."
Marian instinctively turned to the bedroom"s direction, nervousness flas.h.i.+ng across her face. Did he hear what the princess just said? He should be asleep, no? Please be asleep…
In her heart, the d.u.c.h.ess kept praying for the latter and that the woman"s words about the balcony being sealed by magic being true.
The panic she was feeling was hard to calm. It took her a dozen seconds to barely stop her palpitation. Afterward, with a hint of hostility in her eyes, she slowly asked, "What do you want from me…?"
The beautiful woman with unmatched confidence that would remind one of a queen lightly turned her head towards the d.u.c.h.ess.
Marian met the placid gaze and almost stuttered when she mentioned the other"s real name. "What do you want from me… Princess Margarette?"
….
Jiang Li had learned his lesson from before. He knew that if he became half-hearted in what he was doing just because his wife"s incarnation was not the villainess, there was a large chance that he would either fail or die early. That was why after several days of rest and peace, he began throwing himself to the task. His operations had to continue.
An official world could not possibly have two pairs of leads as its trouble… But regarding what lies underneath the surface, who knows? In life, there would be times when people would feel like something was wrong with their situation. But that was it. It would take time to fully understand what it was.
Since the system was practically useless after the initial set of memories were messed up big time by the body swap, Jiang Li not only set his eyes on the leads and the villainess and monitor their movements. With the help of the spies and information brokers that, cough, were funded by Margarette, he had also begun watching almost everyone in the capital. In fact, his eyes also reached the neighboring cities and countries… A lot were concentrated on the kingdom which had living bombs in it – Borley Kingdom.
"I don"t know and care about what"s making those royals anxious to convert into Nephilim. But are those guys really limiting their movements to simply sending Benedict to Holon? No movement in the kingdom itself, or in the royal family that is in the capital of Borley? Doubtful."
An absentminded Jiang Li materialized a street away from a Marquis" manor. The reason why he did not come out of the duke"s instead was that Margarette intercepted him earlier and volunteered to be the one to visit the d.u.c.h.ess. The whole matter made him feel awkward, like a child caught doing something mischievous, but it later made him feel like he did something right.
"That Marquis White…" He muttered the name as he joined the crowd that was not as watertight as this morning.
In the darkness, a figure walked out and joined Jiang Li in his walk. The person"s facial features were barely recognizable due to the mask on his face, but he was fairly tall and buffed, with a small beer belly protruding in the stomach part.
The person heard Jiang Li and respectfully answered after a slight bow, "Good evening, Great Sir. Marquis White is one of the few close aides of the royal consort and is the father of General Hayes. The Emperor initially dislikes them for the same reason why he dislikes Duke Grey. But because they threw their support to the royal consort, they became less of an eyesore to His Majesty."
In times of peace, the Emperor hates his Generals. Jiang Li knew this since he also experienced the same in Jiang Ying Yue"s world. The Emperor there plotted his whole family"s annihilation just because he had become a prince-general who could easily raise a rebellion and would have succeeded if not for Jiang Li"s takeover.
"That Marquis unexpectedly knows a lot about the kingdoms and the G.o.ds…"
"It seems too that he is the senior who gave Agatha access to forbidden books."
Jiang Li continued walking aimlessly, closely followed by one of his followers. He asked, "How did they get their peerage?"
The masked man replied, "Their t.i.tle and fief were earned by their ancestor who fought alongside the old king a few decades or so ago, in a war against the four desert states."
After a brief pause, the man finished arranging the pieces of knowlege in his head and then continued to explain, "You have to know, Sir, that time had been quite chaotic and b.l.o.o.d.y as many lost their lives due to the sudden invasion from the desert natives. The kingdom was caught by surprise by those barbarians because everyone was in the dark that those people had been scheming to conquer our lands for the rich resources and fertile land."
"When several cities fell in those barbarians" hands, the royal family was finally alarmed. In order to encourage soldiers to fight with their all their might, the old king promised several benefits. Lands, golds, medals of honors. Stuff like those. And it so happened that House White has a very fierce warrior and strategist who managed to help the kingdom greatly in repelling the enemies. The person became the first generation Marquis. It is said that his secret tomes and techniques are what ensured the next generations" excellence and foothold in the military."
A frown appeared in the youth"s face. He asked, "Does the Marquis come from a House with a special status or deep history?"
"Their House is less than a hundred years old so it is quite respected, but not to the level of those who have been with the royal family since hundreds or thousands of years ago. But if we are to consider what the former Marquis and the other older generation members boasted before, then maybe, they are quite special. They said the Marquis" family are relatives of the Gallaghers, a special n.o.ble family in the Borley Kingdom which has produced six Popes for the Church of Wisdom."
"... A Papal dynasty"s kin?"
"Yes, Great Sir." The other man nodded and then looked around for some time. After making sure there were no eavesdroppers, he added. "... If what they said is true. Even the current Pope will be considered their relatives."
The young man couldn"t help but look at the masked informant for a while. For the courageous one who pretended to be a messenger of G.o.ddess Penemue before, what he heard just now was really surprising. That family was that extraordinary?
But then in a split second later, the surprise in his eyes immediately turned into amus.e.m.e.nt.
In fact, he even almost laughed. He finally heard something very worthwhile and numerous thoughts began to surface.
"The villainess is a witch who wants to get a medicinal formula from the Pope of the Church of Wisdom through the royal family of Borley."
"The royal family wanted to exchange the information in their hands with the method to release the bloodline restriction of the royals."
"The method came from Marquis White, who is most likely a warlock from Agatha"s coven."
"And Marquis White is a relative of a family who produced the current and previous popes of the Church of Wisdom."
He subconsciously muttered, "… What a mess."
The masked man briefly lifted his head to check his employer"s expression. But then scared off by the glint in the grinning face of the youth, he immediately lowered his head.
Feeling uncomfortable and with the urge to leave, he asked, "Great Sir, is there anything else you want me to do? I am yours to command. If there"s anything you wish for me to investigate, I will immediately check it for you."
Jiang Li laughingly turned his head again to the informant. Since the other party was asking for a job, he nodded and said, "Very well. Withdraw those in the palace and have them tail the Marquis and every coven member related to him. But be careful. Report to me once the Marquis showed any strange movement."
"Do we also send more on the Borley"s side?" the other cleverly asked. The man realized the employer seemed to have thought something when the Gallagher family was mentioned.
The youth shook his head though. Before heading to the palace, he specially commanded to lessen their people in the Borley kingdom. If possible exchanged them with elites that knew how to blend in the shadows and fight.
When the masked guy heard the instructions, he became stunned for some time. He only understood the reason for the command when Jiang Li said they must take precautions against the Church of Wisdom.