ASDEF 19

Chapter 19

The King’s emergency command. The fact that he specifically called for Daniel meant that he needed the power of the Royal Order, of which Daniel was the head.

There could only be one reason for the King to call upon the Royal Order.

Somewhere, a Dimension Gate opened by dark magicians must be spawning countless monsters right about now.

In the story, despite being the head of the Royal Order, Daniel personally participates in as many as twenty battles.

The reason Daniel fights fiercely in countless battles is to find the leader of the dark magicians.

The dark magician organization, Baphomet.

Initially pro-royal, they developed a great animosity toward the royal family, who constantly sought to break free from the mages’ shadow through relentless technological advancement.

Baphomet reached out to the Royal Order to secure the mages’ superiority, but the Royal Order, prioritizing the people’s safety, refused.

Isolated, Baphomet eventually gained immense power by making a deal with a demon.

They opened sporadic Dimension Gates in various regions, increasing the kingdom’s chaos, and engaged in full-scale conflict with the Royal Order.

In the war that lasted a full 20 years, it was the people who suffered the most, just as the Royal Order had predicted.

Moreover, with fewer than five hundred mages remaining due to the relentless battles, the kingdom’s last hope was just one thing.

To find and eliminate the leader of Baphomet, bringing an end to this long war.

The problem was that the bastard hid his identity rather than appearing on the battlefield.

Now, some might say that I, who have read the entire story, should just tell Daniel who the leader of Baphomet is, but unfortunately, I can’t.

The leader of Baphomet that I saw in the original story appears in the very last scene!

The final scene went like this.

In the end, Daniel, the villain who grew resentful of the royal family for merely using the Royal Order, plots a rebellion behind the Prince’s back.

However, while plotting the rebellion, Daniel discovers a huge secret about himself and the female lead, and gives up the rebellion for her sake.

Meanwhile, backed into a corner by the cooperation between the royal family and the Royal Order, the Baphomet leader takes the female protagonist, Briana, hostage as a last resort and threatens the Prince and Daniel.

And while trying to save her, Daniel ends up dying in her place.

That was Daniel’s end and the end of the novel.

The author stated that the identity of the Baphomet leader and the origin of the Dimension Gates would be revealed in a side story.

But the side story came out so late that I never got to read it before being transported to this world, which is the catch.

The conflict between father and son, which formed a major storyline in the original, was clearly evident in the Duke’s expression before my eyes right now.

The Duke glanced at the firmly closed door and let out a short sigh.

Seeing that, I felt it. The father’s sorrowful heart as he had to send his son back to battle, unable to break his son’s firm resolve.

And then I thought again. Rather than Daniel’s life, my life, which depends on Daniel and Duke Benson, my own safety and money.

My conscience pricked at me, but I couldn’t help it. If I don’t value myself here, who will?

What if Duke Benson were to find out that I married Daniel, knowing he might die within a year, just for the money…?

Goodbye, everyone! I’ll be the one to take my leave before Daniel does… *cough, cough.*

‘I can’t tell if this bread is going down my throat or my nose.’

I was desperate to get out of this place.

“My new daughter.”

The Duke’s dignified voice was heard.

I turned my head and found the Duke’s piercing gaze fixed on me.

An inexplicable pressure made my neck tense up.

“While your husband is away, you too must fulfill your role and duties as the wife of the young master.”

“Huh? Ah, yes, Father…”

His sudden attention on me made my voice shrink involuntarily.

Just then, the chef gently placed a freshly brewed herbal tea by the Duke’s seat.

Duke Benson’s gaze turned toward it.

The Duke pointed to the steaming teacup and asked.

“My new daughter, do you know how to brew black tea?”

As expected of a black tea connoisseur. Truly a question befitting a Duke.

In the story, Duke Benson’s palate for black tea was extraordinary.

If a black tea didn’t suit his taste, he wouldn’t touch it even if his daughter-in-law had brewed it herself.

Of course, the question now wasn’t an invitation like ‘Would you like to brew some black tea with me, my new daughter?’

As a reader, I understood what kind of answer the Duke was looking for. So I nodded confidently, in my own way.

“Of course.”

“And why do you think you need to know that?”

“So… that I can give precise instructions to the servants? Because I need to be able to judge whether the tea the servants purchase is good or bad.”

To this question, which was like a test question, I answered exactly as I had rehearsed hundreds of times.

At this, the Duke nodded with a satisfied expression.

“You’ve received proper education.”

As I sighed in relief, he soon curled the corners of his mouth and spoke proudly.

“Then starting today, through the head maid, learn about the duties of the lady of the house and the household servants. That way, you’ll be able to keep the account books.”

“Yes, the account books… Wait?! Acc-Account books?!”

Seeing my eyes go wide as if I’d seen a daylight ghost, the Duke, apparently finished with his meal, rose from his seat.

No, why are you making me do something you didn’t even ask the original daughter-in-law to do…?

“Bring the account books you’ve organized over the month directly to me.”

I couldn’t hide my dismay.

Having issued such an absurd order, the Duke left me dazed and disappeared outside.

‘Account books. Account books!’

Back in my room, I grabbed my head and spun around in circles.

I’ve never even properly kept a personal expense ledger in my life, and now they want me to keep account books? Moreover, how am I supposed to track all the money flowing through this massive mansion?

Why on earth is he suddenly making me, of all people, do the account books that he didn’t even ask the original daughter-in-law to do?

No matter how much I thought about it, there was only one reason the Duke was doing this.

‘I guess I’m on his radar…’

Wally, who had followed me in at some point, hurriedly tried to calm me down.

“M-My lady, please calm down!”

At Wally’s restraint, I finally came to my senses. I looked at him, whose face had turned pale, and immediately asked.

“Right, Wally, you know the internal scale of this place well. How many servants are there here?”

“Number of servants? I haven’t counted, but it must be over a hundred…”

“A hundred? What is this, a mid-sized company?! This isn’t an account book, it’s a financial ledger!!”

Wally tried to calm me down again, but I had already lost my mind at the number ‘one hundred.’

“My lady, please lower your voice…”

“Maybe I made a mistake with this contract. I’ll leave now. Where’s the contract? I’ll nullify everything… Ugh!”

“Oh dear, my lady!!”

It was only after Wally barely managed to cover my mouth that I could stop my frantic rampage.

“My lady, you should have anticipated this much effort!”

“B-But…”

“And from now on, never utter even the first syllable of ‘contract’ here. Please remember that.”

Everything he said was right.

But… the ‘effort’ I had in mind was to live in luxury for a year, pretending to be a noble lady in high society, and then quietly disappear.

And besides, this isn’t something that can be solved with immediate effort!

Wally guided me, still agitated, to a side table and spoke.

“My lady, instead of acting like this, we should put our heads together. We’re in the same boat now. And…”

He bit his dry lips and continued.

“The young master didn’t foresee this either, so I’m just as confused as you are.”

I had to swallow my words at Wally’s suddenly serious gaze.