I Reincarnated as the Daughter of a Runaway Sub Heroine - Chapter 62

I wondered if he’d met some important person when he handed me a stack of papers.

“This is the investigation regarding Duke Ashil Myura that you mentioned back then. It contains information about the entire royal family.”

The thickness of the documents was considerable. The small writing indicated that it had been researched quite thoroughly.

“We’ve organized the materials we have for you. If you need additional information, you’ll have to request it through our contacts in the Empire, but that will take some time.”

I began to read slowly from the first page. The materials were systematically divided, and the investigation details were recorded diligently.

This seems quite useful. If the latter part isn’t problematic, I’d like to continue the contract. Or could I persuade them to become one of our people entirely?

“Was there a rumor that Duke Ashil Myura is not the Emperor’s biological son?”

As I pointed to a specific section while reading, Jakar answered smoothly, as if he had anticipated my question.

“That’s just a rumor. The late Empress had many lovers, and there are claims that one of them might be the father.”

“The Empress had an affair?”

“Yes, the late Emperor is known to have had the most concubines in history, and it seems the Empress was not far behind. She met lovers quite openly and gave birth to a son, so it’s only natural that such rumors would arise.”

I strongly sensed that this was a dysfunctional family.

“Could the current emperor use that as a reason to attack the duke?”

“It seems that circumstances made it difficult. They are not half-brothers but full brothers, so revealing their mother’s indiscretions would be hard. It would also reflect poorly on the Emperor himself.”

“That makes sense.”

Even if this situation allowed for the expulsion of his brother, the truth about their mother’s infidelity could provide grounds for attacking the emperor himself at any time.

Thinking about this, I wondered if Princess Casia, who aimed a knife at her own father, was incredibly bold or simply fearless.

Most people would hesitate if it meant sacrificing their own arm to gain something.

However, the princess was unhesitant about cutting off a part of herself. She was someone who was fully prepared for that.

“There’s also the matter of appearance behind the rumors about Duke Ashil Myura.”

“Appearance?”

“Unlike other royals, he’s healthy and said to be quite handsome.”

The imperial family had been practicing incest for a long time. They repeatedly married close relatives to preserve their bloodline and maintain power.

Given this situation, the royals naturally suffered from genetic diseases. Most direct descendants of the imperial family were short and frail, and their dental health was poor.

In such circumstances, if a physically well-built prince were to be born, suspicions about his lineage would inevitably arise.

“What about the Duke’s relationships with women?”

Given that he was born with a diamond spoon and was physically sound and handsome, I assumed his relationships would be complicated. There had been remarks from the Duchess before.

“Clean.”

However, his answer was completely different from what I expected, making me wonder if I had misheard him.

“I’ve heard that the imperial family has a very messy private life?”

“I know that to be true, and it is indeed the case, but Duke Ashil Myura strangely had no women around him. There are even rumors that he enjoys male companionship.”

Is this investigation reliable? I was very skeptical and asked my next question.

“I understand he hasn’t married yet; is that correct?”

“Yes, he’s 23 this year, and considering that the imperial family has a custom of early marriages, it is quite late.”

As he said, the imperial family generally married young unless there were special circumstances.

Of course, early marriage didn’t mean getting married at a young age immediately. They would choose their partners around the age of 10, sign documents, live separately, and then hold the official ceremony upon reaching adulthood.

Like the kingdoms, marriage in the empire was the strongest alliance and a means of transaction. Especially in the empire, who one took as a wife could determine the next emperor, making marriage even more significant. Thus, I understood that such customs had taken root early on.

“In any case, he will soon marry a close relative if he wants to become emperor.”

Jakar nodded.

“That’s probably the case. If he wants to live quietly, it doesn’t matter whom he marries, but if he wants to become Emperor, he’ll have to do that.”

As I continued to read the materials, he asked a question.

“May I ask you one thing?”

“What is it?”

“Why are you interested in Duke Ashil Myura?”

“Well, he’s currently the most powerful person in the empire and has a high chance of becoming the next emperor. The Grand Duchy borders the empire, so I need to know about him in advance.”

“Then, is the lady’s greatest enemy not the King of Castoria, but Duke Ashil Myura?”

I looked at Jakar quietly.

“His Majesty has never considered the Grand Duchy an enemy. Why do you ask such a question? Do you hope the Grand Duchy harbors ill intentions?”

Was it because I had met the princess last time? A somewhat prickly response slipped out.

My father had long since laid down all desires for revenge. However, perhaps the public still viewed us with suspicion.

“I apologize. That wasn’t my intention.”

Jakar immediately lowered his head. I returned to the materials and spoke.

“And I will get along very well with Duke Ashil Myura. That’s why I requested information from you.”

“Indeed, the Duke seems particularly interested in the kingdom. Learning Castorian separately shows that.”

The fact that he knew advanced information that only Duke Acanthus was aware of significantly increased my trust in this material.

“Was the reason the Duke learned Castorian investigated as well?”

“I was curious about that too, but unfortunately, I couldn’t find out. However, I heard that he made some unusual requests when he was young.”

“Unusual requests?”

“He asked for a portrait of Duke Acanthus’s only daughter.”

“A portrait?”

This seemed related to what Duke Acanthus had told me last time. He had asked him, “Is it true that your daughter is dead?” Had he been interested in the Duke’s daughter since he was young?

“Why?”

“I don’t know the reason.”

“So, did he eventually get it?”

Jakar shook his head.

“No, the Duke’s daughter died at a very young age, so I believe there’s no portrait available.”

Yvette had died at the age of six. So, it was likely true that there was no portrait. In fact, there was no portrait of Yvette left in the Duke’s family either. I only knew that Yvette had silver hair, similar to mine.

Why was Duke Ashil Myura so interested in a lady from another country, not his own?

As I continued to examine the materials, I thought it was about time to send Jakar out.

However, I didn’t have a proper excuse to chase him away. Originally, I planned to find some fault in the documents to send him off, like asking him to bring more materials because this area was lacking or saying the classification was a mess and needed to be redone.

The problem was that the investigation and organization of the materials were too well done.

There was nothing to criticize. It was truly a model report.

I wanted to show this to Derek and say, “This is how reports should be written! Learn something!”

I glanced at the newly filled teacup. Since it had come to this, I had no choice. I would spill it on my clothes and then call Derek outside.

I intentionally nudged the teacup. The moment I successfully knocked the tea over the table, something moved quickly and blocked my view.

Contrary to my intention, not a single drop of tea touched my clothes. All the tea flowing toward me was stopped by Jakar’s forearm. He had stretched out his arm to protect me.

I stared blankly at his white sleeve, which was now stained pink.

This wasn’t what I intended! And how was this guy’s reaction speed so fast?

“The tea is still hot. Be careful.”

“S-sorry!”

I was the one surprised by the unexpected turn of events. I jumped up from my seat.

“Did you burn your arm?”

“I’m fine.”

“I need to see if you’re really okay.”

Just as I was about to roll up his sleeve, Jakar quickly grabbed it and pulled it down. A momentary look of surprise crossed his face before it disappeared.

“I’m really fine. I’ll go change my clothes. I’ll have the staff clean this up, so just leave it.”

With that, Jakar left the room immediately. I stared at the closed door and soon realized that, although it hadn’t gone according to plan, I had succeeded in getting him out of the room.