CH 109

“It must not have been for me but because she was worried about the Duke’s honor. The fact that Irell was swept away by this man and that man without the Duke’s knowledge was foolish for the Duke.”

Pre-marriage and post-marriage were important here.

After marriage, after producing an heir, if they care about and meddle with the spouse’s lover, they would become a disgrace. However, before marriage, they become a fool who can’t even take care of their spouse.

Kalcion didn’t even know he was a fool.

“Then, wouldn’t it be better to say that you know from the beginning?”

“I don’t know how Irell died. Unless he’s the culprit, that’s all speculation.”

“Even if it’s just that she had an affair with the Crown Prince.”

She didn’t want to understand and took sides with Fionel, but it made sense to convey it in the form of a warning.

“I don’t think she could have said that far to save her own body. The whole world knows that Fionel follows the Duke though if I suddenly avoid the Crown Prince, it is clear who blew it.”

If the Crown Prince intended to approach Selina from the beginning, it would be a hindrance to his will. Fionel could have suffered the wrath when things didn’t go his own way.

“If Count Orlen was silenced, there is no way that the same could not happen to Fionel.”

Count Orlen got beaten even though he was a strong man himself.

Fionel was a fragile human who had to wriggle while picking a flower. While she was frustrated with what Selina was doing and threw hints, if Fionel had spoken in earnest, it would be unknown when and where she could have been hit.

“The Queen and the Princess… To be honest, it seems like he can’t afford that. They’re someone who doesn’t even need to keep their mouth shut, so this has moved them even further from this incident.”

In the first place, they were the furthest from the line of suspicion. She wondered if it was because of the urgency of the Queen’s situation but that it was rather a double-edged sword to cling to Kalcion as the matter progressed.

“Finally, Mrs. Janet gets caught…”

“Is Mrs. Janet still innocent?”

“I’m sure she’s not the culprit, but I think it’s just my feeling. The loyalty that is close to obsession with the Duke is uncomfortable.”

After all, Kalcion, who was too familiar to know, simply nodded his head. The evaluation of that part had to depend entirely on Selina.

“Let’s keep an eye on it.”

“Yes. From what has been revealed so far, it’s probably one of the two. Either Rosalyn did the job alone, or she did what the Crown Prince told her to do.”

“It could be both.”

“Yes. But even so, almost all the causes seem to come from the Crown Prince.”

Even if Rosalyn’s excessive affection was an issue, she had a feeling that the Crown Prince made things happen and pushed her from behind.

Selina asked cautiously.

“What… would you do if the Crown Prince was the real culprit?”

Kalcion’s mouth shut heavily.

The opponent was the Crown Prince, not an ordinary noble. So, unless there was decisive evidence, if he raised an issue prematurely, he would only give an excuse for an attack. Private revenge was even more difficult.

If even the tip of a needle touched the Crown Prince’s body, it became treason.

Looking at the full story of the case, it was the result of Kalcion, who was indifferent to Irell, and Irell’s actions, who was helpless. The result was the same as Irell’s tragic death, but it was different from the analysis at the time that she took her own life for no reason.

If Irell had been murdered because she was supposed to be the fiance of the Renbird family, she deserved to be avenged for the family’s honor.

…Nevertheless, was this really a case of honor?

Kalcion couldn’t answer yes as decisively as before. If it was the case of a poor woman named Irell, not Renbird’s prospective fiancée, there was no reason to take revenge for Renbird’s honor.

“I’ll have to think about it.”

However, he did not say that he would give up her revenge. If he ended the investigation like this, it would be no different from the first time when he didn’t know anything. The curtain on the play with Selina had not yet come to an end. He couldn’t stop.

The sky looked dire. Thinking it was going to rain soon, so he turned back to the building and saw a running horse coming in.

* * *

“I’m glad you contacted me as soon as he woke up.”

Selina stroked her chest in the carriage headed for County Orlen.

It was the servant of Count Orlen who rode the running horse. The servant said that Count Orlen had come to his senses and welcomed her visit at any time. He had not yet recovered enough to sit at the desk and write, so instead, the servant delivered it verbally.

As soon as she heard the news, she expressed her desire to visit immediately. The servant who ran like fire was in his tail came again with the Count’s short message.

‘Then, you can come right away.’

With those words, she literally got ready right away.

The flashy outfit of this morning was not worthy of a visit to a sickly person, but it took a little time to find something worthy of the visit. Still, it must have been the quickest preparation a lady had ever had, the maids unanimously said.

The gatekeeper of County Orlen was also amazed.

“I was told that you would be visiting during the day, but I was surprised that you came earlier than expected.”

The carriage stopped in front of the central building, passing through the main gate and through the winding path of the garden, decorated like a forest. Selina, who was looking at the building through the carriage window, saw a carriage parked in front of the building.

It wasn’t just one.

“I think there are other visitors besides us.”

If it was Count Orlen’s carriage, he would have kept it in a separate storage room, so it must have been an outsider. Was it cumbersome to have multiple people come and go, so he asked them to come at once? Or did she come earlier than expected, and the time overlapped?

When Selina said so, Kalcion, who was looking out the window of the carriage, slammed the carriage wall and signaled to the coachman.

“…Wait. Stop.”

“What? Yes!”

The coachman hastily stopped the horse.

“Why?”

“…Of all things.”

Selina also drew her head and looked at the carriage’s crest. Nonetheless, she still didn’t know how to distinguish the family crest. It was a crest she had seen a lot. In particular, such colorful crests were not common…

Both of them had the same crest side by side.

“…Ah.”

When she saw the person getting off the carriage, she could immediately recognize him.

It was the royal crest.

It was the Princess who got off the carriage in front. Looking at the Princess’ dress as she got off with her handmaid, it seemed that she had come to visit though she could not enter right away and stood idly near the carriage in the back instead.

After a while, a man got off the carriage behind as well.

It was the Crown Prince.

“The two of them didn’t seem to get along, but they came together… Gasp!”

A loud bang was heard all the way here.

It was the sound of the crown prince’s fist hitting the Princess’s head. She could not even scream and stumbled to the floor. It seemed that she was walloped so badly that she couldn’t even control her body.

The handmaid hurriedly supported the Princess, but before she could lift her up, another foot flew towards her. The Princess’s body flew over as the foot hit her. At the same time, the handmaid who was supporting her was also struck along with her.

The two fell, tangled, and groaned on the floor for a long time.

The Crown Prince coldly threw something at the two people who were wallowing on the floor, then spat before disappearing into the building.

It was only after he left did the Princess got up with the handmaid, stumbled. However, she sat down again and burst into tears. As the handmaid next to her also burst into tears, the cry soon became two.

“…Haa.”

Selina, who had been frozen and immobilized by then, sat down as if flopping into the chair. Placing her hand on her forehead, her heart was racing.

“Are you okay?”

“Ah, yes… I was a little surprised.”

She saw the violence right in front of her eyes. Furthermore, an adult man unilaterally assaulted a young girl. It was an unbelievable scene, and her heart pounded with anger and shock.

“The Crown Prince……, that’s what the word ‘wretched personality’ meant.”

“This is not enough.”

“What’s not enough?”

“Killing him on the spot?”

“…Haa.”

Now, she could believe that it wasn’t an exaggeration. He was so violent that she believed he could kill someone with anger.

“Because she’s the Princess, he let her live. If he becomes king, he’ll undoubtedly kill her since he finds her annoying.”

The Queen’s recklessness was understandable. Since her life is really at stake, shouldn’t she use all she can?

“Shall we go back?”

Today was not the only day she could visit the Count. Besides, the visit was not urgent. After confirming that the Crown Prince had arrived and had seen the situation with Princess, it was better to avoid the place.

Instead, Selina clenched her fists.

“…No, it’s an opportunity.”

Because the Crown Prince had a clue, she must approach. That way, she might find it and hold it in her hand.

“If the Princess talks about it, something more may come out.”

Kalcion crossed his arms with a dissatisfied face and gazed at her face for a while. Still, it wasn’t a fight he could win from the start.

“…Go.”

With Kalcion’s sighing command, the coachman immediately drove the horse.

The Princess, who noticed the approaching carriage, got up to her feet hurriedly. Unlike Selina, she recognized Renbird’s family crest from afar. As the carriage stopped, Selina swiftly opened the door of the carriage and jumped before Kalcion could come down and grab her hand.