Melchor turned from the butler, Hugo, to Deborah, who was sobbing. He had another reason for summoning Deborah in this manner.

“How much is the child’s monthly salary?”

“Hmm, hmm….”

Butler Hugo replied instead of Deborah, who was still crying.

“Deborah’s salary is 15 gold a month, sir.”

“I see. Then increase Deborah’s salary by 20 times.”

“……what?”

This time, butler Hugo seemed to hiccup in surprise. Until now, he had never lost his composure in front of his master, but he opened his eyes wide and asked back.

It was ridiculous that a maid’s salary would be 300 gold. Such a salary is only paid at the level of an imperial court’s managerial position.

But Melchor, who always believed he made rational and reasonable judgments, thought he was offering a decent salary.

“Deborah, I’ll leave you with a very heavy task. Think of the pay rise as an allowance.”

Seeing Melchor’s eyes twinkle, Butler Hugo quickly covered Deborah’s eyes to prevent her from having a heart attack.

Unaware of the butler’s consideration, Melchor coldly gave his first order without considering Deborah’s condition, which had yet to calm down.

“Find out what Roseline likes, and report to me.”

Deborah, who came out of Melchor’s office, sobbed for a long time after that and fell asleep after taking a sedative. Under the moonlight in the dark night sky, several shadows climbed over the walls of the Postenmeyer mansion. It was a mercenary unit that was ordered by a group of empresses.

The purpose of the mercenary unit was to kidnap Roseline and take her to the empress while the servants were surprised and caused a disturbance.

“Captain, the mansion is quiet. I guess you really don’t patrol here.”

“Okay. Let’s set a fire and get out of here.”

“You said you left an oil can in the kitchen, didn’t you? I can’t see it.”

The mercenaries were quite embarrassed when they couldn’t find the oil can on one side of the old building.

“Is this not the place?”

“I may have moved it inside in case it stands out if I leave it outside.”

“Okay. Let’s go inside and find it. They said it’s a building to be demolished soon anyway, so they won’t be caught.”

The mercenaries burned down the house, stepped on the fallen door, and entered the kitchen. The kitchen was desolate because Roseline ordered all the burned furniture to be taken out.

“I don’t have an oil tank, so maybe they just lied to me because they said.”

“What should I do?”

“It can’t be helped. Instead, we have no choice but to find something else to burn.”

The mercenaries searched the kitchen for something to burn, but there was nothing in the already charred kitchen.

“You’re really…”

An angry mercenary leader kicked the wall because the plan went wrong. And…

“Oh, my.”

The pillar, which had already been burned and was weak, broke and cracked the wall.

“Argh!”

“Mu, it’s falling down!”

It’s crumbling.

Whoo!

Without having to wait until winter, the building outside the villa was simply torn down by the kick of the mercenary leader.

Three of the five mercenaries who managed to escape the collapsed building sustained serious injuries, while the other two were only slightly injured. The leader of the mercenaries demanded that Marquis Auberweichman pays for their medical treatment as it was an accident that occurred during the mission, but the marquis refused to take responsibility for the mission’s failure.

******

The following day, Melchor, who had risen with the dawn to tackle the backlog, turned to Heinz, his diligent assistant, who was sitting at the desk beside him.

“Heinz,” Melchor began.

“Yes, sir?” Heinz replied attentively.

“What did you have for dinner last night?”

Heinz’s expression contorted in confusion. Why was his boss asking such a sudden question? But, as a subordinate, it was his duty to answer. He quickly cast his mind back to the previous evening and recited his dinner menu.

“Since your Majesty’s departure, I have been working closely with Sir Erich Valenmark Promfeld, and the restaurants have been crowded, so I decided to dine out,” Heinz said.

“I see,” Melchor said.

“I stumbled upon a new establishment on the street. I ordered roast pork and Sir Erich Fromfeld ordered Aintoff and pasta. The restaurant also served us cheese sandwiches and croquettes as a complimentary gesture to celebrate their opening,” Heinz continued.

“And how did it taste?” Melchor asked, furrowing his brows.

Heinz’s expression twisted again, as he rolled his eyes. “The meat wasn’t particularly fresh, but it was tender and savory, perhaps due to the chef’s grilling skills. Sir Erich Fromfeld said that the pasta was a bit greasy because of the heavy sauce, but it settled his stomach well. After finishing the cheese sandwiches and croquettes, we were both quite satiated.”

“I see,” Melchor said, thoughtfully.

“The service was efficient, despite there being only one employee, and the food was served quickly. It was good value for the price, but I don’t think it’s worth going out of your way to visit,” Heinz concluded.

“Yes, that’s all I needed to know,” Melchor said, his gaze distant and his frown deepening.

Heinz looked at Melchor, perplexed. He followed Melchor’s gaze, trying to see if there was something on the wall, but all he saw was a clean surface.

As the day progressed, Melchor, who had been at work since dawn, found himself increasingly preoccupied with thoughts of his wife, Roselaine. Despite the pressing demands of his duties, the image of her delicate features and gentle demeanor filled his mind, making it difficult for him to focus on the task at hand.

Heinz, his hard-working and loyal aide, noticed his boss’s distraction and attempted to engage him in conversation about the previous night’s dinner. But Melchor was too lost in thought to pay much attention, and Heinz’s report of the meal went largely unnoticed.

As the day drew to a close, Melchor wrapped up his work and made his way home, eager to see his beloved wife and discuss the events of the previous evening. Though he had been preoccupied with thoughts of her all day, he could not shake the feeling that something was amiss.

Heinz, meanwhile, returned to his own home, where he tended to his “honeymoon” plant, Benjamin, with a heavy heart. Though he was a loyal and competent aide, he could not help but resent his devilish boss and the demands of his duties that kept him away from his true love.

******

Empress Wilhelmine’s expression was dark as she sat in the meeting room. Her younger brother, Count Viegelhoffen, also had a dark expression on his face.

“As expected, I shouldn’t have left things to such a poor mercenary,” the empress said, her tone filled with disappointment.

Marquis Auberweichman, who was sitting on the opposite side, felt the blame from the empress and count directed at him. He knew that the plan to send an assassin to set fire to one side of the annex and kidnap Roseline in the midst of the disturbance had not gone as planned.

“Marquis of Auberweichman, what can I do?” the empress asked, her tone demanding.

“It’s not that I don’t have a plan…,” Marquis Auberweichman began but hesitated.

“What’s the trick? Go ahead and tell me!” the empress pressed.

“But the method I’ve already told you has failed once,” Marquis Auberweichman said, his expression filled with uncertainty.

The empress and Count Weigelhofen had blamed him for the failed plan, despite praising it as a good strategy before. The empress had even said, “Didn’t I tell you not to do it?”

Marquis Auberweichman was aware that the empress and count had little faith in him, and he didn’t want to lose their confidence. He hesitated before speaking again.

“It is said that the cathedral’s ambassador will officiate. I heard that the wedding will be held in the outdoor hall.”

“Do you want to conciliate the high priest?” the empress asked, a hint of skepticism in her voice.

“No, I’m not,” Marquis Auberweichman quickly denied.

Melchor was also thorough in choosing a priest to officiate. The high priest of the Central Cathedral was very clean and impossible to conciliate with wealth or power.

“Are you suggesting that we bribe or blackmail the costume designer to help us kidnap the bride?”

“No, not at all. I am suggesting that we use the costume designer as a way to infiltrate the mansion and gather information. We can use this information to plan our next move and increase our chances of success.”

The Marquis of Auberweichman’s proposal was met with silence as the empress and her brother considered the idea.

“It’s risky, but it’s worth a try. Make it happen, Marquis Auberweichman.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will make sure to choose a trustworthy and capable designer for the job.”

The Marquis of Auber Wiechman bowed and left the room, leaving the empress and her brother to discuss their next move.

It was clear that the empress was determined to stop the wedding at any cost and would do whatever it took to achieve her goal. The Marquis of Auberweichman could only hope that his plan would be successful and that he would not disappoint the empress again.

If you want to support the Lunar Letters team, you can do so by pledging to us on Patreon and get to read advanced chapters of our novels! (Note: Patreon is not compulsory. Patrons are able to read ahead, but chapters will still be released to the public at a later date. This is only one way to financially support the team and keep the site running. Thank you very much!)

Browse our table of contents or Become a patron now!