Chapter 31
“Is this all you know?”
The lawyer peered at me through his glasses with a rigid, serious gaze.
I was in the lawyer’s consultation room receiving legal advice while preparing my defense, as the case was being reinvestigated.
Across the desk, in front of the lawyer, were documents related to the case spread out neatly.
I was recounting, in chronological order and without omission, everything that had happened from the moment I first stepped into the Glück estate until the death of Prince Georg.
Since Richard had told me that I was the reason for Kyle’s motive for murder, I had to carefully go over my memories with Kyle, which I hadn’t thought deeply about until now.
However, since I couldn’t suspect Kyle until he confessed, there were no suspicious memories to consider.
“Unfortunately, this is all I know. Everything that happened up until Prince Georg’s death is this,” I said.
“So, nothing particularly unusual happened?”
The lawyer pushed up his slipping glasses and looked down at the documents. Though I had already testified once, I went into more detail about my encounters with Kyle.
“You are a prime suspect, but is there anyone else who could reasonably be suspected?”
At the lawyer’s question, I instinctively looked away.
I hadn’t revealed that Kyle was the real culprit yet. The only evidence was Kyle’s confession, and I wasn’t sure if it was safe to disclose it.
So, I fumbled and avoided giving a clear answer.
“Well… I’m not sure.”
“You mean there’s no one you suspect at all?”
“Prince Georg was notorious for his spiteful behavior, so it could be any one of the servants. It’s hard to point to just one person.”
Above all, what I couldn’t understand was the motive for the murder. Even knowing who the real culprit was, I couldn’t guess why Kyle had killed the young lord.
Richard said it was to save me, but I hadn’t known the danger I was in.
Had I been wrong to try to understand Kyle in the first place? I bowed my head in complicated thoughts and pressed my forehead.
The lawyer sighed with a troubled expression as he organized the documents.
“Ha… alright. We’ll leave it at that for today. If any new facts come up during the reinvestigation, I’ll come see you again.”
With a thud, the stack of papers hit the desk. As the lawyer stood up and the chair scraped across the floor, I felt an urge to tell him that Kyle was the culprit—but I quickly gave up the thought.
‘If only I knew a more concrete motive for the murder, I could try to claim that Kyle is the real culprit.’
I sighed deeply and followed him out of the consultation room.
Returning to the underground prison with nothing to show for it, Richard was waiting for me.
Just seeing his face brought an automatic smile to mine.
We exchanged soft, tender looks as he led me into the cell. The guard locked the iron door and alternately glanced at us with narrow eyes. But Richard and I were too absorbed in each other to care.
The guard shook his head and left down the corridor. Richard and I moved as close as we could to each other through the bars.
“How was the consultation? Did you learn anything helpful?”
I shook my head slowly.
“Not really. Nothing new, really.”
“If there’s anything I can do to help, tell me. After all, I’m Veronica’s lover now.”
As he said that, Richard’s face turned faintly red. I suppressed the laugh that threatened to escape.
Just the change in our relationship made this prison feel so… romantic.
“Isn’t it like we’re a couple from a myth?”
“You mean Pyramus and Thisbe, who whispered through a crack in the wall?”
“Hmm, I don’t know their names, but it seems about right.”
Richard smiled, looking cute. He was a knight and well-educated too. Had he not become a knight, he probably would have appeared in the imperial newspaper in another role.
No doubt he would have caught the crown prince’s attention, which would have eventually brought him to Fortress Prison, right?
The thought drifted in an odd direction, and I started rambling out loud.
“I don’t like that Richard was falsely accused of treason, but I’m also glad he came to Fortress. If we hadn’t been imprisoned, we’d never have met. We wouldn’t have become like this.”
As soon as I said it, I regretted it slightly, but I couldn’t help it. Talking with Richard was too enjoyable, and I kept rambling.
“I don’t like that,” he said firmly.
“Huh?”
At his decisive answer, my eyes went wide.
“I wouldn’t be happy that you came to Fortress. Even if you hadn’t come and we never met, eventually I would have found you, just like by chance at the fountain, and approached you first.”
“Richard…”
Our sweet moment was interrupted by the sound of the guards’ footsteps. The chief guard and two other guards came down to the underground prison without hesitation.
Their aggressive energy drew both Richard’s and my attention.
The guards stopped in front of Richard’s cell, opened the door, and pulled him out.
“Number 14395, come out.”
With Kyle gone, I had no idea where they were taking Richard. Stepping closer to the bars, he shook his head slightly.
‘Don’t intervene.’
Without speaking, our eyes conveyed the message. I bit my lower lip and watched helplessly as Richard was led away by the guards.
I had come to realize that being lovers meant I could no longer be at ease for even a moment without worrying about him.
“You look comfortable.”
An abrupt, gruff voice made me turn. The chief guard stood with his arms crossed, staring at me with a displeased expression.
Among the prisoners, he was referred to as the chief guard, holding a senior position among the wardens.
He usually helped Kyle on the fourth floor and rarely came down to the lower levels. Perhaps he had come to watch me in Kyle’s absence.
I wasn’t surprised by Kyle’s cunning, but I had no idea why the chief guard would comment on me looking “comfortable.”
“You seem to be having fun lately. There’s a rumor going around that you’re dating the prisoner in the next cell.”
“Ah… I see.”
It was nothing serious—just about Richard and me. I had no intention of hiding it, so I just shrugged.
In a prison where there was little else to talk about, news of a fight or a budding romance spread quickly. I had gotten used to the gossip among the prisoners.
Still, when did the guards start taking an interest in the private lives of prisoners? I doubted Kyle would have revealed his feelings for me to his subordinates.
I wasn’t exactly afraid of Kyle’s reaction when he returned, but I felt confident, bolstered by love.
I lifted my chin proudly and stated,
“It just happened that way. There’s no rule that says prisoners can’t date, right?”
As far as I knew, Fortress had no such rule. Even if it did, I would have ignored it.
Anyway, there was no problem, so I hoped he would just leave. But the chief guard didn’t move from in front of the cell and scowled.
I raised my eyebrows in confusion.
“Do you have a problem with that?”
Surely, he wasn’t… interested in me, was he? I couldn’t think of any other reason for opposing my relationship with Richard. A foreboding and suspicious feeling settled as I awaited his reply.
“I really can’t forgive you. What the warden did for you…”
He muttered it softly, but I couldn’t miss the words. I jumped up and stepped toward the bars.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t tell me you don’t know. How shameless. At first, I didn’t understand, but now I get it. The warden locked you up for a reason. He couldn’t just let a cunning woman like you go free.”
His eyes pierced me with what seemed like resentment or contempt. I had no idea why the chief guard would glare at me like that.
“Speak clearly. What did Kyle do because of me?”
“Hah, really… you don’t know?”
