Episode 14

“Brother!”

Relief blossomed on Blair’s face at the appearance of Duke Adler.

On the other hand, the face of the duke who opened the door and entered was grim.

“Blair, are you hurt anywhere? Surely you haven’t been harassed?”

“Yes, the princess came and….”

Before Blair could finish, a cold voice flowed from Duke Adler’s mouth.

“Did the princess do this?”

His sharp gaze was directed at the floor of the powder room, precisely at the broken glass and the mess of red wine.

“Well, that’s one way to put it….”

Since I was the one who broke the wine bottle.

Then the duke’s face contorted.

“Ha! I can’t believe it.”

The duke’s tone, as if exhaling breath, was somehow foreboding.

I had an intuition that something was going awry.

“What were you planning to do to my sister?”

“Brother, it’s not that…. I will explain….”

Feeling that something was off, Blair called out to the agitated Duke Adler almost pleadingly.

However, Blair’s wet eyes and pale complexion only made her look more frightened.

“I saw the young ladies close to you screaming and running out of this room, crying out the princess’s name. And then there was the sound of something breaking. I don’t see why more explanation is needed for something I’ve already witnessed with my own eyes.”

It seemed he misunderstood that I had tormented Blair and the three young ladies.

I opened my mouth to clarify.

“That’s not it…. There’s been some misunderstanding….”

“Are you going to lie again? Didn’t you say earlier that the princess did it? Do you intend to feign ignorance even after seeing the state of this room?”

“No, it’s true I broke the wine bottle but….”

“I thought something had changed over time. But it seems one’s true nature can’t be hidden after all.”

At this point, my energy was drained.

I stopped talking and stared blankly at the man in front of me. His blue eyes were flickering with anger.

It didn’t seem like this man would believe anything I said.

Or perhaps, he didn’t want to believe me. It seemed he had no intention of listening to me in the first place.

I let out a short sigh mixed with resignation. Then, abandoning any thought of explaining myself, I walked past Blair, who was frozen and fidgeting, and the duke, who silently glared at me.

The duke’s musk scent grazing my nose felt sharp as if piercing my lungs.

I left the banquet hall just like that. But no one from the ball bid me farewell or held me back.

Perhaps because of the earlier incident, my legs trembled and my hands shook with each step. My chest felt constricted and hollow.

I had intended to help Blair.

A surge of sorrow welled up. Maybe Duke Adler’s reason to want me dead was simply because he disliked me.

I shook my head to dispel the pathetic thought. What am I to do, feeling hurt by the subject of an investigation?

“You left early, didn’t you?”

As I stepped outside the mansion, under the moonlight, a man greeted me. It was John, who had been waiting for me, leaning casually against a nearby large tree.

“Yes. I’m tired and it wasn’t fun.”

“How was the dance?”

I blinked wearily. Come to think of it, I hadn’t done anything at the ball except scream.

“The dance… I didn’t dance.”

John looked down at me quietly. Then he spoke in an indifferent voice.

“What’s the point of dancing such dances? It’s just spinning around in circles, isn’t it?”

I chuckled at his simple answer. At that chuckle, John looked down at me and smirked.

“It seems you are not returning with Duke Adler. If you wait here, I will call for the princess’s palace carriage.”

“I don’t like the dark. Let’s go together.”

To be honest, disliking the dark was just an excuse. I just didn’t want to be left alone anymore.

“Ah, the princess dislikes being alone in the dark. You might end up asking a rabbit hidden in the garden for help, so it’s better we go together.”

“Don’t tease me.”

At his teasing words, I pouted my lips. He carefully examined my trembling arms and legs.

“Can you walk?”

“Yes.”

But because my legs were weak, I walked like a newborn giraffe.

Before I could take three steps, John abruptly stopped.

“Shall I carry you?”

I jerked my head up to look at John. Wondering what he meant, I widened my eyes, and he shrugged his shoulders.

Ah, it seemed he was offering to carry me to the carriage.

Walking was difficult, and wanting to return to the princess’s palace quickly, I silently nodded.

With a swift motion –

As soon as I consented, he briskly lifted me into his arms. My organza silk dress rustled as it flowed over his sturdy forearms.

“You should wrap your arms around my neck so you don’t fall off.”

Silently, I did as John said and wrapped my arms around his neck. John walked steadily, showing no sign of difficulty.

“Am I not heavy?”

“Not at all. I thought only your arms were frail, but you’re so light. There’s not a sturdy spot on your body, it seems.”

I snorted in disdain at his sarcastic remark. The vocal cords seem sturdy enough when I scream, though.

Suddenly, someone rushed out of the entrance of the count’s estate, following John’s steps.

Even in the dark night, it was a man unmistakable by his dazzling presence, Duke Adler.

Fearing our eyes might meet, I quickly buried my face in John’s neck. John’s shoulders flinched slightly at my sudden movement.

Soon after, John looked down intently at the hem of my dress and said,

“What happened to your dress?”

“It’s because I spilled wine on it.”

“Oh no, what a pity.”

He clicked his tongue as if it were a shame. I teased him, catching onto his words.

“The wine? The dress?”

“Of course, the wine.”

I smirked and turned my head slightly to find Duke Adler standing motionless in the count’s garden, looking this way.

John glanced back, following my gaze.

“Princess.”

At his low call, I turned my head to look at John. In the settled darkness, our gazes met.

Then, a voice tinged with laughter flowed to my ears.

“Actually, the dress you tried on at the dress shop last time suited you better.”

Goodness, the dress I’m wearing now is at least twice as expensive. Such naive comments unaware of that.

I couldn’t help but giggle at the absurdity.

*

Blair rushed to the princess’s palace as soon as the day broke. She was so apologetic that she even dabbed at her tears with a handkerchief.

“Your Highness, I truly do not know what to do with myself, I am so sorry. It’s all my fault.”

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault, Lady.”

I readily accepted Blair’s apology. It really wasn’t her fault after all.

“After Your Highness left, I explained everything to my brother. He went out shortly after you did….”

“Is that so? It seems we… missed each other.”

It appears that Duke Adler showed up at the entrance of the count’s estate for that reason. I pretended not to see him.

“My brother can be stubborn, but he’s not someone who gets angry easily. Yesterday, I was too shocked to speak properly myself.”

“Well… it seems even such people get angry at those they truly dislike.”

I murmured in a self-deprecating tone.

He’s not one to get angry, yet he flares up at me alone.

The ridiculous thought that his motive for ‘murder’ might simply be because he was ‘offended’ grew on me.

At those words, Blair’s eyebrows drooped again, and she made a sad face.

“My brother must surely feel sorry. He’s not someone who has apologized in his life, so I don’t know if he can apologize properly… But I will apologize on his behalf, ten times, a hundred times.”

“Lady, you don’t need to apologize anymore.”

I tried to hide my bitterness and managed a small smile. Blair’s face was touched with emotion.

“I think I’ve greatly misunderstood you all this time, not knowing you well. And yet, you are such a kind person.”

“Then… come visit often and spend time together. I want to become friends with the Lady. I’m also very curious about Duke Adler. As you know, I like the Duke.”

I squinted my eyes in a flirty manner, like a woman in love.

Blair, genuinely moved, clasped her hands in front of her chest and her blue eyes sparkled.

“My goodness! How could my brother be so rude to someone as magnanimous as you!”

“Oh, no…”

“Surely, once my brother gets to know Your Highness properly, he will have no choice but to like you. I will actively help you with that.”

“Thank you, Lady.”

“Please call me Blair! We’re going to be family, after all!”

Blair looked at me with eyes like lakes, tightly grasping my hand.

I, too, firmly clasped Blair’s slender and white hand.

I looked intently into her eyes.

“Yes, Blair. So… I’m curious about something. About your former tutor.”

Feeling like a hyena preying on a pitiful deer, I got to the point.

*

“Your Highness, are you truly not sending a letter to Duke Adler again today?”

“Yes.”

I sipped on my cold iced tea with a straw and answered nonchalantly.

Martha widened her eyes and gauged my reaction.

“You used to send them every day… Did you have a fight with the Duke at the ball?”

“It’s not exactly that….”

I trailed off vaguely.

For a few days after Count Mosston’s debutante ball, I hadn’t sent any letters to Duke Adler to meet.

The reason was that I needed time to organize the information I had gathered.

But honestly, that was just a rationalization.

I felt a sense of disappointment towards the Duke, and I didn’t want to see him.

It was funny to feel let down by someone who might want to kill me.

But then I suddenly widened my eyes.

No, if I were truly a fiancée in love with the Duke, I would have spent the night soaking my pillow with tears over the last incident!

This is a sense of betrayal felt towards a man who has forsaken his human duties. Exactly, that’s just what it is.

I again made excuses to myself.

Bang!

Martha, startled by the door suddenly bursting open without a knock, widened her eyes into triangles.

“Oh my! How shocking! Sir Watson! How rude, what is this all about?”

I too frowned at John’s sudden appearance and looked at him. John seemed to be panting as if he had run here in a hurry.

“I said that I didn’t need an escort today since there were no special plans….”

“Huff, huff, it’s the fifth one.”

“What do you mean by…”

John cut me off, speaking with urgency.

“The serial killings. At dawn, the fifth victim was found.”

“What? Who’s the victim?”

I unknowingly shouted and bolted upright from my seat.

“It’s… someone I also know. The commander of Cortina, Viscount Breguet.”

I was shocked beyond measure at John’s answer.

Because…

Viscount Breguet, he was the very man who had taken Duke Adler away at Count Mosston’s debutante ball, the one who had mocked me.