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She had no intention of being dragged around and manipulated by Cesare. She would do anything to get him out of her life and out of the county.

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Even if that meant holding hands with Akkard Valerian.

Akkard carefully studied Damia.
Her eyes were rational, her face a bit pale but with a sense of stability.

In short, she didn’t seem like a liar.

“I’ve lived in the North all my life, and my family supplies the goods they need for the Great Temple and Holy War.
So I can’t openly oppose the temple but if you can guarantee secrecy, I can supply you with a little help and information.”

Damia’s suggestion was very tempting.
The biggest obstacle to Akkard now was the unfamiliar social environment of the North.

The impenetrable northern nobility were deeply dazzled by the capital’s foremost celebrity and listened intently to his dramatic stories of capital society and the progress of the ‘pollution’ in the south.

However, when Akkard tried to ask something, people avoided answering or explaining anything and backed away.

‘Especially when it comes to information about the Great Temple.’

The reverence and loyalty of the northern people to the temple were beyond Akkard’s imagination.

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If Crown Prince Heinrich had witnessed what Akkard had seen, he would have had a heart attack.

It had been pure dumb luck that he had overheard Louise’s conversation while hiding in a locker.
There was no guarantee of such good luck assisting him in the future.

‘I’m sure Damia will be of great help.’

Akkard looked at the woman in front of him with new eyes.

Her rich hair, white face, blue eyes, and red lips were glamorous even without makeup.

Even with the misfitting shawl and guest pajamas, her shoulders and collarbones looked elegant.

A beautiful woman.
A woman whom he wanted to sleep with.
Those had been the only things Akkard had thought about Damia beforehand.

So somehow this situation was unfamiliar.

It was almost as if he were now facing a woman he had never known before.

“Okay, I understand what you mean.”

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Akkad deliberately and slowly affirmed.
He always trusted his intuition but this time it wasn’t easy for him to decide.

He wasn’t flippant, so Akkard asked questions typical of those who agonize over serious decisions.

“But why do you want to help me?”

Akkard asked a natural question.

As she disclosed, Count Primula’s estate has long traded with the temple.

No matter how confidentially was guaranteed, Damia’s assistance would clearly jeopardize her house, and no matter how ‘small’ her help was it would be clearly a significant betrayal to the Great Temple.

Damia grew quiet at his sharp question.
And laughed, embarrassed.

Her face resembled a lost man.
Akkard thought perhaps she didn’t have a right answer.

After a moment Damia spoke, tilting her head and lowering her eyelashes, attempting to hide her vulnerable face.

She was clearly being honest, feeling exposed.

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“I want to destroy ······ Cesare.”

It wasn’t just a conflict between stepbrother and stepsister anymore.
In comparison, it was rather cute that Cesare manipulated her first love, Kael, into breaking her heart and breaking them up.
Compared to what Cesare intends to do afterward.

The moment he sneaked into her bedroom, Damia knew.

The moment has already passed to maintain a decent relationship with Cesare.

‘Besides he’s even going so far as to touch Cecil.’

Damia’s eyes grew cold and dark.

From her point of view, he was an enemy of the Primula family and to its heir apparent, even though Cesare was adopted.

Where did he get such insolence to dare to commit such atrocities?

Damia had always wondered about that.
Cesare wasn’t impulsive because her father, Count Primula, was away.

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Cesare was too cunning for that.

So she speculated Cesare had a backer.
And what if his backer was the temple?

‘Then in the Great Temple has already betrayed me, they have chosen Cesare over me,’

Damia deduced realistically.

The Great Temple had more than enough power to replace the successor of a count.
And Damia wasn’t good or passive enough to allow herself to be pushed out of her seat like this.

Even if the Primula family’s business is smooth thanks to the Great Temple, what good was it? If she was ousted from her successor position due to a conspiracy, it would be over.

“…You want to destroy…… Your stepbrother?”

asked Akkad, in a tone of astonishment upon hearing her answer.

Alarmed Damia, who looked up reflexively, checked his countenance.

It was a very bizarre sight.
To an outsider, Akkard looked like an indignant man baring his teeth.
But in Damia’s eyes, it looked like he was smiling.