Chapter 174

Zero turned his back on Duke Netri without any hesitation.

Following behind, Scheuer smiled brightly, gently holding the hem of her dress and nodding her head.

If it was merely a show of politeness, it only served to exacerbate Erina’s frustration as Scheuer immediately gravitated towards Raygrain’s side.

“Duke, I saw a bird on the way here. It was beautiful; do you know what it’s called?”

“Do you want to raise it? ”

“Raising it seems a bit scary.”

“Naveed knows a lot about birds. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Raygrain and Scheuer were leaving the mansion, seemingly uninterested in the unfolding situation.

At this point, any words from Netri would not be in his favor. As soon as the door shut, Erina stood up abruptly. She looked at Duke Netri, who was still gritting his teeth in anger, and asked,

“But you said it wasn’t true! You insisted it wasn’t! ”

“Do you think I’m lying? ”

“Then how do you explain this situation? Did you know this would happen when you came out of the temple? ”

She had never raised her voice this high before. Considering how Netri’s standing had been diminishing, Erina did her best to maintain her composure despite her growing irritation.

She endured the whispers around her, hearing about Scheuer’s flowers and how Raygrain cherished her.

The Duke Netri glared back at her, shouting, 

“Well said! Was this not your scheme? ”

“What?” 

Erina was taken aback, speechless. She glared at her father with disgust, her expression twisted in disbelief. Duke Netri met her gaze with a mix of misery and malice.

“From the moment the tablet was found, you were the one who suspected me!”

“Father!”

“Yes! I am your father! Knowing that, you dare to slander me like this?”

“Am I insane? ”

“Did you think I wouldn’t notice you’ve been anxious about entering the palace lately? You must have wanted to take over the family position quickly.”

Erina was momentarily lost for words. While she had entertained such thoughts, she had never considered forcibly taking it from him. After all, she still needed the connections that Duke Netri had within the central court.

But just as she felt anxious, Duke Netri must have sensed his own foundation crumbling. Someone cornered wouldn’t have the luxury to consider Erina’s feelings.

Moreover, she had Silcaro, a successful ally. Erina clenched her fists tightly, her voice trembling as she asked, 

“How did you know the tablet would be there? ”

“I’ve been surveying the territory.”

“Don’t try to deceive me; it’s been at least 20 years since you last did that.”

Before he could finish, Duke Netri momentarily fell silent. After a brief pause, he answered honestly, 

“I heard rumors.”

“Rumors?”

“Yeah, just before I was set to survey the territory, Marquis Luban invited me for tea, and I heard it there.”

He raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. 

“The marquise mentioned during tea time that the tablet was supposedly being prepared at a temple in the Netri duchy.”

Calming himself, he continued, 

“I had nothing to lose, so I searched plausible locations, and it actually turned up. That’s all there is to it.”

“Do you know who attended the marquise’s tea time? ”

Duke Netri took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, and sank heavily into the sofa.

“I’ve raised them to behave, yet not a single one is worthy.”

He pressed a hand to his temple and called for his steward.

“Bardron!”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

The steward, who seemed to have been waiting outside, entered immediately, sensing the tense atmosphere.

Duke Netri forced a calm tone as he continued.

“I won’t let myself be wronged like this. Let’s assert that there were grounds for suspicion about the contents of the tablet.”

“That…”

Bardron hesitated, looking troubled, while Duke Netri kept rambling on.

“It’s precisely for this kind of situation that I kept the beast’s paw. This way, the North is trying to frame us instead.

“Your Grace, I’m afraid… the beast’s paw has been stolen.”

“What?!”

Duke Netri quickly lifted his head.

Bardron bowed his head in apology.

“I didn’t explain in detail earlier due to the urgency of the situation.”

“Ah, it’s obvious. Scheuer, that girl, right? ”

“I can’t say for certain. However, based on our observations, the Duke and Lady Scheuer have not once stepped onto the floor with the office…”

“Is that what you’re saying right now?! ”

With a crash, he threw a vase, the shattering sound reminiscent of the time Scheuer had broken one of her own vases.

Erina no longer wanted to be in this place.

Leaving behind the anguished cries, she stepped out of the room and took a deep breath.

But this wouldn’t ease her troubled heart.

Something was off.

The cause wasn’t Scheuer or the North. If anything, 

“It might not be the case if my father is acting like that.” 

At least in her memory, she had never seen him care about a small, abandoned building.

Could the words from the Marquis’s household not be false? 

“Lady Annabelle…” 

She had always shown a slight hostility towards her, which bothered Erina. She needed to inform someone, even if it bruised her pride. If it reached the Emperor’s ears, the matter would officially surface.

It would be hard to overturn the judgment of His Majesty, who often leaned towards the majority without concrete evidence. Scheuer had been quite close to Lady Annabelle, and she had heard that Annabelle’s family was closely tied to the North. 

“Yes. At the banquet, she seemed to converse with Duke Litton.”

The possibility that the North was trying to keep the Netri family in check couldn’t be dismissed. 

“I have the family’s authority, after all.”

Wasn’t that reason enough? There couldn’t be a clearer fact than this. Scheuer likely hadn’t left the Netri estate for long. Erina quickly ran to catch her just before she boarded the carriage.

“Your Grace! ”

Scheuer turned her head upon hearing Erina’s call. 

“Lady Erina? What brings you here? ”

“I understand you have ties with Lady Annabelle.”

“Oh, yes.”

Scheuer’s reply was in the past tense, as if implying it was no longer the case. She tilted her head, seemingly indifferent.

“From what I saw at the banquet, you seemed closer to His Highness Silcaro or Duke Netri than to me? ”

“Why didn’t Lady Annabelle attend the wedding? ”

To forge the tablet? It all seemed to fit together perfectly. However, Scheuer’s golden eyes momentarily met hers, filled with pity as if she truly knew nothing.

‘Pity…?’

Scheuer climbed back into the carriage, settling herself calmly at the entrance. 

“Lady Erina, I’ve severed ties with Lady Annabelle for quite some time after returning to the North. If you wish, I can prove it through correspondence.”

“I know you still keep in touch with Duke Litton. Don’t deceive me.”

“It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to comment on someone else’s marital affairs.”

“What do you mean…?” ”

With a sharp sound, the colorless knight who always followed her closely shut the carriage door. Before Erina could say more, the carriage moved without waiting.

Watching it leave the Duke’s estate, Erina shouted, 

“Get the horses! Bring me the horses! ”

At her command, the stableman hurriedly brought her white horse. As she mounted, her attendants asked, 

“Miss, where are you suddenly headed? ”

“To Duke Litton’s residence.”

She left behind only a cold announcement as she rode swiftly toward the Duke’s estate.

Duke Litton was friendly towards the North.

So she could understand logically why Viscountess Annabelle harbored animosity toward her during the family gathering.

But…

Moments with Countess Annabelle flickered through Erina’s mind like a slideshow.

Bragging about her cameo, smiling through her fan, spreading rumors, and promoting Silcaro…

‘Recently, at the royal banquet, her ribbon lace was…’

The same as Silcaro’s.

In that instant, she recalled how Countess Annabelle had smiled every time their eyes met at the family gathering.

‘She wasn’t looking at me.’

Always beside her was someone else.

‘She was looking at Prince Silcaro.’

“You are the knife I turn inside myself” – Franz Kafka