Duke, Please Fail! - Chapter 117

Episode 117

It felt disgusting as if I were wearing wet socks. 

I furrowed my brow when I heard the queen’s voice.

“From now on, anyone who talks without permission will have their tongues cut out.”

The queen, who had tidied up the surroundings, called my name. It had a demanding tone, asking me to explain what people had been saying.

“Viscountess Morgane gave birth to me when she was 16, so there isn’t much age difference. Our eye color is the same, and our build is similar, so if she covered her rank, someone might have mistaken me for her.”

The queen looked at the witnesses. They all said that I was covering my face.

“Marquis Gardner, did Nelly Pepper also cover her face?”

Gardner remained silent with a bewildered look on his face.

If he said I did, it would be a lie about something I didn’t do. I had never covered my face when going to the business premises.

“I wasn’t covering up.”

However, that answer implied that Archduke Landers had lied.

The queen would naturally trust Archduke Landers. Gardner knew this well and hurriedly added.

“But there is no evidence that she is Viscountess Morgane. Nelly Pepper might be lying.”

When the queen rose from her seat, the commander of the knights brought a box and a sword.

“Your Majesty, this was found in Marquis Gardner’s room.”

“I’m innocent!”

Gardner looked genuinely wronged. However, the queen took the sword from the knight’s hand without acknowledging him.

“A person who is not a knight carrying a sword in the palace without permission. This is a violation.”

“I’m innocent, Your Majesty. This sword is not mine.”

“Then why did a sword that doesn’t belong to you come from your room?”

The queen threw the box the knight was holding in front of Gardner. Dark contents spilled out; it was like disguises and masks.

“And these as well.”

“I’m, I’m, innocent, Your Majesty. This sword is not mine.”

“It doesn’t deny that you brought a sword into the palace.”

Gardner’s face was now as pale as it could be, almost bluish.

The queen approached Gardner.

“Answer me. Why did you lie to me?”

Gardner knelt, trembling, and looked at Devonduss with an earnest face. Devonduss looked at Adelhardt.

Then Adelhardt nodded as before.

“Your Majesty.”

“Speak.”

“All of this is a plot by Duke Leonel Altwood.”

What is that Adelhardt guy saying?

I almost burst into laughter, but I bit my tongue as it felt like it would be cut off.

A servant came from behind, carrying a bunch of paper items.

“We have evidence here. These are the orders sent by Leonel Altwood. They contain instructions to trap and kill Nelly Pepper. There are witnesses as well.”

I stood up without realizing it. I was about to shout that this was ridiculous when Adelhardt raised his voice a bit more.

“And all of this was prepared by Lord Devondus.”

I sat back down quietly.

But Devondus couldn’t sit quietly.

“This is a conspiracy! Everything is Leonel’s doing!”

“What did I do, uncle?”

I turned my head abruptly and locked eyes with Leonel. He had come in with his knights, and when he saw me, he raised his left eyebrow. Then he glared at Adelhardt and stepped toward me.

I was led by Leonel’s touch to stand up and look beyond his shoulder. The knights had brought people and made them kneel.

Among them was Viscountess Morgane.

When our eyes met, Viscountess Morgane tried to jump up. The knights pressed down on her shoulders, but she didn’t care and shouted.

“Nelly! Spare me, please. Huh? You’ve been able to eat and live all this time thanks to my brother! To repay the grace he’d given you like this, ugh! Ugh!”

Before she could finish her sentence, the queen’s envoy violently grabbed her chin.

The envoy took Viscountess Morgane’s tongue out of her mouth, and the queen drew a sword from the knight’s belt.

“Before you entered, I said, anyone who talks without permission will have their tongues cut out.”

“Hmm, hmm……”

“Still talking.”

Viscountess Morgane stopped making any noise.

“I can’t turn a blind eye a second time.”

Viscountess Morgane violently raised her head, struggling. The queen placed the sword on Viscountess Morgane’s shoulder.

“To find out the truth, I need your tongue, so if you tell the truth, I won’t cut it.”

The envoy released her tongue, but Viscountess Morgane didn’t answer, just nodded.

The queen turned to Leonel. He gently brushed my shoulder, then stepped forward.

“Viscountess Morgane was involved in the attempted kidnapping of Nelly Pepper along with Marquis Gardner.”

Leonel’s gaze turned to Devondus.

“Devondus Altwood is behind this. He ordered everything.”

The queen asked Viscountess Morgane.

“Is this true?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Explain in detail.”

Viscountess Morgane, choked with sobs, revealed everything in great detail.

“I had a maid sent to the mansion disguised as me, and I was to remain secretly in the capital. He told me to impersonate Nelly, forge the ledgers, and bring them.”

As Viscountess Morgane stopped speaking, Leonel pushed her coldly.

“That can’t be all.”

“He told me to cover my face and act like Nelly and put the money in Nelly’s maids’ common treasury. Then he told me to return to the abandoned watchtower.”

Viscountess Morgane looked at me briefly and bowed deeply.

“Then he said that if someone saw Nelly putting money in the treasury and going to the watchtower on her own, and that even if Nelly was locked up in the tower later, it wouldn’t be evidence of her innocence.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Lady Etkins, who was standing behind the queen, gestured to the knights.

The knights brought Devondus, who was retreating, and sat him next to Gardner and Viscountess Morgane.

He glared at Leonel fearfully. Then, like an innocent person, he raised his head stiffly and spoke clearly.

“Your Majesty. This is a scheme orchestrated by Viscountess Morgane and Leonel. Otherwise, how could Viscountess Morgane be apprehended at a moment like this?”

Leonel lightly chuckled, and a man brought by the knights was seated beside Devondus.

“Uncle, please look at this man.”

Devondus glanced at the man’s face and then turned away.

“He is a stranger.”

“He was found in the underground of Uncle’s mansion. You don’t know him?”

Leonel looked at the man, who seemed to be waiting for the queen’s approval. The queen nodded as if it was okay to speak.

“I, I, under Lord Devondus’ orders, practiced Lord Leonel Altwood’s handwriting. And I used that handwriting to create false evidence.”

“We confirmed it before bringing him here.”

The knight held up a piece of paper with two identical sentences written one above the other.

“The sentence above was written by Duke Leonel, and the sentence below was written by this man.”

The queen received the paper and examined it, while Leonel continued his testimony.

“Devondus imprisoned the writer, threatened him, and forced him to write orders and false letters in my handwriting.”

“Yes, I, I…”

The man prostrated himself on the floor, shedding tears. When the queen signaled to the knights, they took him away. The queen’s gaze fell upon the remaining individuals who had been brought along.

“What about the others?”

“They are the ones who received the orders of Devondus and set fire to the Altwood estate.”

Devondus ground his teeth. He glared at Leonel.

“How do you know?”

“I already knew how my uncle handles evidence and witnesses. It’s no different from when he disguised the accident and murdered my parents.”

Due to the Queen’s orders, no one had spoken, but there were sounds of gasping for breath here and there.

Devondus shouted in anger.

“Evidence! Do you have evidence that I killed your parents?”

“If there were evidence, you wouldn’t have survived this long.”

There was no pitch in the voice, but his knuckles and jawline were swollen. I cautiously approached and wrapped his fist with both hands.

Leonel looked at me for a moment and said to the Queen.

“Your Majesty, Devondus Altwood deceived the royal family and confused the palace and the family’s estate. Please execute him.”

The Queen scanned the sinners with a ruthless gaze.

Viscountess Morgane trembled and clung to Leonel and me like a chased animal, falling to our knees.

“Nelly. I was wrong. Please spare my life. I’ll make amends and live. Please. Please, Nelly.”

“If you hadn’t laughed at me when I was tied up and locked away and told me I was going to die anyway, I might have had a little sympathy for you…….”

“That, that’s!”

Viscountess Morgane contorted her face and twisted her body.

“Your Grace, I’m Nelly’s mother. Are you going to let your lover’s mother die?”

Leonel looked down at Viscountess Morgane with bloodshot eyes.

They wouldn’t try to kill her here, would they?

My palms were sweating as I tightly held Leonel’s hand. Then Leonel looked away.

Viscountess Morgane turned as pale as if she were about to faint, her face twisted in a look of despair.

“Your, Your Highness! I was only outside. No, I was also threatened! Please spare my life.”

The Queen glanced at her for a moment, then looked at me.

“Nelly Pepper, you’re the victim. What do you want to do with your mother?”

Looking into the green eyes that seemed to expect something, I thought she was shameless.

“Your Highness, I have no mother. Those kneeling over there are just criminals. Please punish them according to the law.”

“Lock Viscountess Morgane in the underground prison.”

“Nelly! You ungrateful wretch! Did you think I would leave you alone?”

With charges of conspiracy to murder, fraudulent marriage, and identity forgery, she probably wouldn’t survive. But I had no reason to feel sorry for the person who had tried to kill me.

Then Lady Etkin, who had been staring at Viscountess Morgane, spoke to the Queen.

“She should have her tongue cut out.”

The Queen nodded, and two executioners and a knight followed Viscountess Morgane.

The hall fell silent again. The Queen went to Devondus after dismissing Gardner and the other witnesses.

Her sword hung over Devondus’ shoulder.

“Didn’t you say with your mouth that you were afraid of me?”

“Your Highness, it’s unjust. I admit to other things, but the palace…”

Suddenly, Leonel wrapped his cloak around me and pulled me into his arms. At the same time, screams tore through the air.

“Remember well. Only the king can defile Istalta Palace.”

“Oh no. That was an important statement. Devondus probably couldn’t hear it and went to the afterlife.”

The voices of the Queen and Lady Etkin cut through the midst of the screams.

Shivers ran down my spine as I huddled in Leonel’s arms for what felt like an eternity. When he finally let go of me, I turned my head.

Devondus was no longer visible, but there was blood on the floor.

Lady Etkin wiped the Queen’s face with a handkerchief, and then a few nobles who had fainted were seen.

Leonel took off his cloak and laid it on the floor.

“The trial is over. Those who want to leave are free to go.”

The Queen’s voice and the sound of the blood-soaked cloak falling made a heavy, sticky noise as they intertwined.