Epilogue
An Unexpected Ally
A rundown tavern, somewhere near a small village in the Sada Empire
Lillia de Armand clutched her cloak tightly under her chin, tugging the hood as far forwards as it would go. She couldn’t be sure, but she had the feeling someone had been watching her since she’d left the Kilgard villa earlier this afternoon.
She wasn’t breaking the rules. The stay-put order the Emperor had issued after the monster attacked was lifted hours ago, so she was allowed to come and go as she pleased.
That didn’t mean she wanted anyone knowing where she was going. The note that had been delivered on the foot of a crow had been quite clear about not getting caught, and she’d felt a little bad about lying to Baroness Kilgard about what she was up to.
After all, the baroness had been nothing but kind to her ever since she’d arrived in the capital. Lillia had no choice but to lie—she couldn’t get the kind baroness mixed up in her revenge against Alicia.
Alicia.
That woman.
That vile, greedy woman who wouldn’t stop getting in her way.
In every life, there she was, hanging all over the Grand Duke.
How many times had Lillia had to marry that stupid, jealous Crown Prince because of her?
Why couldn’t she get what she wanted, even in the lives where the Grand Duke had fallen in love with her?
Alicia. She was the reason.
That was why Lillia had changed things this time. If she met the Grand Duke sooner, before Alicia had a chance to fall in love with him, then surely, she’d get the ending she dreamt of in this life.
She would become the Grand Duchess. She would have the love of the Grand Duke. She wouldn’t be stuck marrying a petty, jealous man who couldn’t see his own faults, even if he was the Crown Prince of Sada.
Not that it mattered. Torin’s position as heir had been hanging by a thread in every life she could remember. It wouldn’t take much to convince the Grand Duke to reclaim the title that belonged to him once they were married.
Once he did, she would become the Crown Princess and ultimately Empress, anyway.
But she’d been too late. She’d miscalculated. By the time Lillia had met the Grand Duke, he and Alicia were already engaged.
What was worse was the fact that he hadn’t fallen for her like he had in their past lives. Her perfume had failed.
He didn’t seem to care about her at all.
All he saw was Alicia.
She was different this time, too. She was almost bolder—smarter, even. Lillia wasn’t sure that the tricks she’d used to frame her in her last life would work this time.
That was the only reason she was responding to the anonymous request to meet.
She was truly desperate. The black magic she’d used to make sure she retained the memories of her previous lives was corrupting her soul. Her memories were incomplete, always starting and stopping from similar points, and she couldn’t figure out why.
Maybe this person who’d written to her would know. If they were responsible for hiring the one who’d let the wraithhusk loose during the hunt, she had a lot to thank them for. They’d almost solved her problem by getting rid of Alicia, but she’d thrown out some weird magic power.
That was new, too. She’d never seen her use such a power, and that made her nervous. Lillia’s grip on her black magic was shaky at best—without proper tuition, she was really at risk of going mad.
If only there was someone who could teach her.
Lillia stopped outside a pub that’d seen better days.
Ugh—she’d never frequented such a shabby place, not even when she’d lived in that stupid little town as a poor noble.
Of course, that was before she’d saved her father’s business with the knowledge that she’d gained of the trade route in her past life.
Now, she couldn’t believe she had to go inside.
The door creaked when she pushed it open. It was busier inside than she thought, and she dipped her head, wrinkling her nose at the scent of stale beer and body odour that seemed to seep out of every crevice.
“Yep?” The barman looked at her like she was no better than an orphan from the street.
He would regret that when she was the Grand Duchess, that was for sure.
“Do you know where I can find the doctor?” she recited the words from the letter.
The barman stared at her for a moment, then pointed to the staircase on the opposite side of the bar. “Aye. He’s upstairs, third door on the right. Knock thrice if ye’ve got an appointment. If not, knock once and wait outside.”
“Thank you.” She nodded to him, barely containing her disgust. He couldn’t even speak properly. Why must she come to a place with such uncultured people?
Ugh. Maybe it was better for her to leave.
No. She couldn’t. Not if there was a chance that she could find out who was behind the wraithhusk. Whoever it was could certainly wield black magic like her. There was no other way to control such a beast.
Lillia reached the upstairs floor and counted the doors until she reached the third one, then knocked three times. She was here at the time in the note, after all.
The door creaked as it opened, and a figure dressed in similar garb to her appeared. “Come in.”
Her stomach rolled with nerves, but Lillia stepped into the dark and dingy room. It was fine. She could use magic if she needed to make an escape, and she had a dagger concealed in her cape. She wasn’t defenceless.
“Leave us,” the figure ordered the woman who’d opened the door.
The maid nodded and left, closing it behind her, and the figure opposite Lillia set out a magic stone and activated it.
“Sit down,” they said, and their voice vaguely familiar to her ears. Where had she heard it before? “It’s only a silencing spell so nobody hears us.”
“Why did you call me here? And who are you?” Lillia asked, clutching her cape tightly.
“We have a mutual interest.” They were being deliberately vague, but there was nothing Lillia could do.
Despite her magic and weapon, she knew she was at a disadvantage here.
“And what is that interest?” she asked.
“Alicia Vermillion.” They tapped their fingernails against the desk. “More specifically, getting rid of Alicia Vermillion.”
Lillia froze. This had to be a trap. There was no way it would be this easy to find someone else who wanted her out of the picture. “Why do you want to get rid of her?”
“She’s a thorn in my side. That’s all I’m telling you.” The person withdrew their hand and sat back in the chair, deliberately keeping to the shadows of the dingy room.
“That’s not enough. How do I know this isn’t a trap?”
“I know who sent the wraithhusk, and they want the same thing we do. For Alicia and the Grand Duke to be separated.”
Lillia’s heart thumped. “Really? Was it sent after her?”
“It was sent after her tent,” they said. “There was bait hidden in there. It was a shame she wasn’t in there when it attacked, or our problem would have been solved.”
She swallowed. She was the reason Alicia had left the tent.
“That’s right. You’re the reason the plan failed, Lillia.”
Hearing her voice said by them sent a chill down her spine. “Is that why you want us to work together?”
“Why not? You want the Grand Duke for yourself, don’t you? To rise above the nobles who’ve looked down on you all week?”
Lillia clenched her jaw. Sure, of course. That was a bonus if she could rise above them all, but she was no longer bothered by their outright dismissal of her. She’d been through this several times now, and whether she married Torin or the Grand Duke, they’d have to bow to her eventually.
She just didn’t want the fuss of marrying Torin first. She couldn’t stand listening to him whine about Alicia in yet another life.
“What do you get out of this?” Lillia asked. “I stand to gain a great deal with Alicia out of the way, but what about you?”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me. How can I trust you if I don’t know who you are?”
They didn’t say anything.
“I’m not going to tell anyone about this, am I? I’d be incriminating myself. Besides, I’m nothing more than a lowly countryside noble. Who would believe me anyway?”
“Very well,” they said, shuffling forwards. “You do have a point. Nobody would believe you over me. If I show you who I am, will you agree to work with me? Between the three of us, I’m sure we can get what we want.”
The three of them? Did that include the one who was responsible for the wraithhusk?
Just how many people wanted Alicia dead?
Not that Lillia cared. The enemy of her enemy was her friend, after all, and these other two people were clearly higher than her on the social ladder.
While nobody would believe her if she outed them for doing such a thing, if it all went wrong, she could just say she’d been forced into being their underling.
High nobles using those of a lower rank to do their dirty work wasn’t exactly uncommon.
“Do we have a deal?” they said. “We’ll get rid of Alicia, and you’ll be able to marry the Grand Duke.”
“We have a deal once you show me who you are.”
They nodded and reached for the candle, pulling it closer to them. Lillia’s heart pounded against her chest as they reached up and pulled back their hood, slowly revealing their face to her.
Her eyes widened as recognition dawned and the pieces clicked into place.
“Well, well,” Lillia said, unable to stop the smile that crept onto her face. “I didn’t expect to see the Empress’ niece here.”
The young woman tucked her red hair behind her ear and stared coldly at Lillia. “Keep your voice down.”
Lillia chuckled. “I’ve been dying to know, so tell me—how is it working as that vile woman’s maid, Lady Annie Lancaster?”
To be Continued