#48

Actually, in the Morris Kingdom, people with blonde hair and red eyes are very common. Since this is a romance fantasy world, people with weird colors hair and eye colors are scattered everywhere. Even last week, I saw someone with purple hair on the left side and pink hair on the right side.

However, the words I just said were just a random spat. I simply thought of the person who might appear by Gloria’s side at this moment, and I wondered if this man could be the Crown Prince.

He suddenly heaved out a sigh as if he was sorry. I became a bit suspicious. As a journalist, I could sense something he was trying to hide. I squinted my eyes and asked him again.

“There’s no way you’re really the Crown Prince, right?”

As I waited for his answer, anxiety struck me. Had I been rude to this man before? I don’t about it a lot. Oh, could he probably be angry because I haven’t return the handkerchief and used it carelessly, resulting in a charge of royal contempt? Perhaps, I should ask him if I can take a photo of him as well.

‘Perhaps, now is a good opportunity to find out who his ideal type is or his favorite food.’

What does it mean to be a journalist? To me, digging deeper is the essence of being a journalist. I wasn’t afraid of being arrested for royal contempt at that moment. However, if he really was the Crown Prince, I wanted to interview him and write an article about him. If I remembered correctly, there hasn’t been a report of an interview with the Crown Prince in the entire kingdom.

My lips were getting impatient. Before hearing the answer, my desire had already appeared first.

“Then, do you want to do an interview with me for a while…!”

“I am the Crown Prince’s bodyguard escort. I dropped by here for a moment because of him and I was happy to see you, so I pretended to know you.”

“Oh! Yes?”

Alright, that was enough.

I instantly changed my interested look into a blank look, then looked at the man expressionlessly.

‘Ah, if he is really the Crown Prince, it would be great. Our newspaper subscribers would definitely be pleased.’

[Big News! Exclusive Date With the Crown Prince!]

This kind of article would definitely be preferred by unmarried female readers. I could also guess about the type of woman he likes. I felt so ashamed that the man in front of me wasn’t the Crown Prince. I wanted to take a picture of his back and write a novel about a fake interview with the Crown Prince. I was really going to make this up, weren’t I? I shook my head quickly and discarded that absurd thought.

After enjoying the flower tea and finishing with the cake, I thought there was no other business with this blond-haired man.

“Thank you for the meal. It’s time for me to take my leave.”

“But…”

The blond man had something he wanted to say to me. He paused to check if there were waiters around.

“What do you want to say? Is there something you want to tell me?”

“Hm… I’m actually your fan. Can you sign this for me?”

He took out ‘The Red’ with a red cover from his chest pocket. It was the first edition that was very difficult to find among collectors today. The cover was very shabby from having been seen so many times. There were even quite obvious dirt stains on the outside.

“Hm, hm. Could you tell me when the second book will come out?”

How did he know that I was the author of this book? He even approached me to get my autograph. From today on, I decided to call this crazy blonde a blond-haired pervert instead of ‘b*st*rd eunuch’.

*  *  *

The police headquarters has a cold dungeon. The floor was hard and the mattresses were dirty. Gloria could at least appreciate that because of her marriage, she could be imprisoned in a classier prison. However, despite being classier, the only difference was that there was one extra mattress in this cell. Other than that, there was nothing different from the other prisons.

Gloria climbed onto the dirty mattress and flipped her knees with eyes down.

‘I don’t have to stay here for the rest of my life, do I?’

She must have answered the officer’s question honestly. Baron Stephen took out an unknown potion from his chest and drank it, and soon after he fainted and had a seizure. Due to that, the officer began to put suspicion on Gloria because they thought she might have prepared the potion. Of course, that was not true. It was very unfair for her.

The sound of shoe soles was heard from afar. Someone walked towards her cell and hit  the prison’s iron mesh with a blunt stick.

“Hey, take this. Your friend left something for you!” 

The officer approached and threw a cloth bag into the cell. Inside the bag was roughly cut food, a letter, and a blanket. The food appeared to have been tampered because it had to be check for any trace of poison. The sandwiches looked messy as well with yellow tomato juice oozing out from the bread.

Gloria, who had no appetite put the food in the bag and opened the torn letter.

[Gloria, how are you? Hold on just a little longer. I’m going to reveal the truth. Please put faith in me!]

It was the handwriting of her best friend, Haley.

Even one letter could bring a sense of relief. Her body that had been trembling now felt a bit relieved. She read and continued to read the letter in the dark. It gave her a sense of relief.

Then, she remembered the terrible first night she had to pass. What if Baron Stephen hadn’t died? It would still be terrible for her. However, seeing someone die in front of her was a very frightening experience.

Gloria took out a neatly folded blanket from inside the cloth bag. She wrapped herself in it and leaned against the wall.

‘Haley said she would uncover the truth. I have to believe her.’ 

Her husband died as soon as they got married. How is she going to continue her life now? Gloria Stephen. Because of her name, she might have to take over the estate and bank that was once taken care of by Baron Stephen. She felt scared. She let out a bitter laugh. However, she thought this kind of worry could be settled once this matter was resolved.

Would people believe her? What would happen if the police or Haley couldn’t prove the truth? Would she had to spend the rest of her life in the dungeon?

Gloria kept thinking about the events, the worries, and then back to the gruesome death she witnessed. She repeated this thought pattern over and over again until she finally felt tired.

In the time she spent with these thoughts, she was still awake even in the middle of the darkness. This time, a sparkling light swinging from a distance appeared. It was getting closer.

“Gloria! I’m here!”

Gloria eargerly lifted her head, but she immediately froze. The woman behind these bars was not Haley, it was her sister, Brie.

“Hey, why are you here? What’s wrong?”

Gloria’s voice somehow trembled. There was something strange about this situation. Brie was not a gentle person. It wasn’t new for her. Instead, she usually blamed Gloria even if she did well.

“Is this a problem? My sister’s the one stuck in prison, of course I’m going to worry, right?”

Brie proceeded to tell Gloria how hard she tried to get here.

“You know my husband is a nobleman, don’t you? His status is not very high, you see. However, thanks to my husband, I was able to come see you easily.”

Brie was not such a friendly person who would come to see her sister, who had became a suspect just because of concern. Gloria didn’t believe what her sister said, so she asked again.

“You… You came to see me?”

“Yes. You know, a close friend of my husband’s works here. I paid a large bribe to that friend and just got permission to pay a visit. You know how hard I had to do anything to see you, right?”

“….”

Gloria wondered why her older sister tried so hard to come here. When Gloria didn’t answer, Brie chuckled and opened her mouth again.

“Gloria, I hear you haven’t confessed yet.”

“Yes, because I didn’t commit it.”

“Uh, I bet there aren’t any more cops or sergeants out there to investigate, right? Everyone thinks you did it.”

Brie said so and put her hand in Gloria’s arms, then took out the hidden newspaper article. Her eyes widened after reading the article.

“This… Huh? What do you mean?”

The newspaper did not openly identify her as the culprit, but it stated a suspicion towards her. Even more surprising, the newspaper Brie had brought was ‘The Golden Wild Goose Daily’ with her friend Haley as the president.

“What do you mean? Everyone thinks of you as a villain. I’m here to tell you the truth.”

Gloria stared quietly and blinked with a blank look. Then, Brie continued saying hurtful things to her sister.

“Moreover, if your crime is revealed, you will be hang in the town square where there a lot of people, or you will be beheaded. How about just dying painlessly?”

Brie took out a colorless medicine bottle from her arm and rolled it onto the floor inside the bars.

“I want you to leave without experiencing any pain. That’s why I obtained this medicine for you with a large chunk of money. Don’t drink it immediately after I leave. I’ll send you back to the mansion tomorrow. After that, you can drink it, got it?”

“Why? Why are you doing this? I haven’t done anything wrong. How can I accept such a marriage?”

“Wow, look at you. Who forced you into getting married? You left because you wanted to marry a rich man and live comfortably.”

Brie blinked rapidly as if she was dumbfounded. Gloria felt sorrow when she stared at her sister.

The Baron once held her pants and begged her when he was alive. It was revealed that his older sister and father sold the things that Baron prepared.  Gloria begged on her knees to forgive her father and elder sister. She even helped the Baron bathe as if she was a maid for a while and even doing things that satisfy him. In the process, Baron Stephen humiliated her by treating her as an item that he bought with money.

“Don’t you believe me? Oh, my gracious! This is all for your own sake. If you were alive, what else would people do to you, a murderer? And how can we live as your remaining family with the extreme humiliation? Shouldn’t you be considered of us?”

This time, Brie mercilessly put the blame on Gloria again. She encouraged her sister to have s*ic*de, but she had no guilt it all while doing so. The main reason was because she would obtain the rights for Baron Stephen’s asset, which were quite much, after her sister’s d*ath.