Chapter 89
It was truly strange.
The scene I had expected was chaos the moment we stepped out… yet now, it was so quiet that it almost felt like we were dreaming.
“Rex.”
“Yes?”
“Am I… dreaming right now?”
“Uh… I think I might be dreaming that too. It’s unnaturally quiet…”
Both of us instinctively felt something was off, so we clung tightly to each other and carefully made our way out. It was silent. Had I misjudged from the start?
Could it be that this wasn’t actually the Dowager Duchess’s palace? Had we somehow been transported somewhere else without realizing it?
If this wasn’t the grand ducal residence, there could be a problem. Just as I was thinking that…
A sound of someone angry reached us. A woman’s voice, harsh and furious. Instinctively, I sensed it was someone we knew. Rex and I pressed close to the wall, moving swiftly yet discreetly toward the source.
We were worried it might not be the situation we wanted.
Finally, we saw a group—or rather, two groups—of people standing in front of a garden.
“Is that what you call words, Dowager Duchess?”
“If not words, then what? I’m merely stating the truth.”
“What truth? The child clearly left a message that they would come to see you. Yet you continue to pretend otherwise?”
“They did come. I never said otherwise. But they went ahead as I said. There’s more than one person who saw that. And the knight who accompanied them disappeared too, right? Maybe the knight was kidnapped.”
I held my breath, watching them while also scanning the surroundings. As expected, this was the Dowager Duchess’s palace—exquisitely ornate. Yet everyone seemed focused on the scene before them.
It seemed the Dowager Duchess had gathered all her staff to vent her grievances.
A double-edged sword. By gathering all her staff here, she created a shield to prove her innocence. But since we survived and escaped, there’s no one watching, making it a double-edged sword—Rex and I could easily threaten her. Foolishly… she never considered that we would escape.
“If you don’t believe me, investigate. All my staff are here. You may even search my quarters if you wish.”
“So you’re acting as if you prepared for all of this, Dowager Duchess.”
“Prepared? I…”
The Dowager Duchess’s soft laugh echoed. Recently, whenever she spoke with the Duke, she always ended up conceding. When I first came here with the twins, she had been bold enough to argue with the Duke, who had brought the twins.
But once I intervened, she always lost. Seeing her so confident now… she must have been planning this.
Even if kidnapping Rex and me today wasn’t part of the plan, it was clear that what she did to us wasn’t done in a moment of rage.
For her, that was pretty clever…
It seemed she wasn’t acting alone in this plan.
“Do you think I won’t investigate just because you say that?”
“No, go ahead. I’m the only one cast as the villain here. Everything I’ve done for the Duke’s family counts for nothing because of an eight-year-old. I’ll use this chance to prove it. I have no reason to harm that child.”
“Bold.”
“Yes, bold.”
“When you act this boldly, it usually means there’s something hidden, doesn’t it?”
The Duke’s voice made the air feel cold, as though his calm anger had a weight to it. He wasn’t shouting, but his restrained fury made it clear he wouldn’t let things slide.
“Think what you want.”
“Fine. Search the Dowager Duchess’s quarters thoroughly. Also, make sure none of the staff are absent.”
“Yes, sir.”
No sooner had the Duke finished speaking than the knights began moving.
At that moment, as if waiting for this, the Dowager Duchess chuckled softly.
“I also hope you realize what wrongs you’ve done to me.”
“So you mean if I investigate, you won’t stay passive?”
“Yes.”
“You said investigate, but are you afraid of the investigation?”
“No, I’m not afraid at all. But shouldn’t one take responsibility for their actions?”
Because of her words, the knights paused abruptly, allowing Rex and me to hide even deeper. Both of us instinctively knew it wasn’t yet time to leave.
“Responsibility… Dowager Duchess. You seem determined to crush me. Constantly picking quarrels, wanting me beneath you. Must a marriage always be about one stepping on the other?”
“You were the first to do that to me. You ignored everything I said, trusting only that eight-year-old, doing as they wished. Honestly, I even think that clever child may have framed me.”
The sudden shift in tone caught me off guard. It was as if the Dowager Duchess had been trained to change topics fluidly. Even I was slightly surprised. Normally, the Duke would have pounced at this remark.
“Excuse me?”
“Isn’t it funny that the child leaves a message that they’ll come and then disappears, as if planned?”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
She’s thinking ahead this time.
She must have known I contacted the Duke in some way and that she could use this to pick a fight.
“So, all of this was the child Aisha causing trouble for you?”
“Of course. That little brat was mischievous. Think about it—the peace of the Duke’s household turned upside down when the child came. It makes sense that they could cause such chaos. And they disliked me at every turn.”
I wanted to step out and say something—she was the one who disliked me constantly.
But curiosity got the better of me. What else was she going to say?
At that moment, a frustrated voice from Rohen cut in.
“Are you saying our Aisha caused this chaos and ran off? Just to frame an aunt?”
“…Not an aunt. The Dowager Duchess, Rohen. Also your mother.”
“Mother? What do you mean?”
“Watch your words, Rohen.”
“I don’t want to talk to anyone who speaks badly about Aisha.”
Even from his voice, I could tell how irritated Rohen was. It was time to leave; otherwise, his anger might explode. Even now, he seemed barely holding back.
“Shall we go, Rex?”
“Shall we…?”
Then it happened. As if waiting for this moment, a knight came running toward the side where the two groups were.
Once again, we accidentally missed our chance to leave.
“Your Grace, Dowager Duchess.”
“What is it?”
“Following your orders, we searched everything and found a clue.”
“Did you find Aisha?”
“We don’t know about Lady Aisha, but the guards reported that someone presumed to be Knight Selex left the premises a few hours ago.”
The atmosphere changed instantly.
So that’s it.
No wonder the Dowager Duchess had been so confident—she had a plan. And if someone acting on the Duke’s orders said this, it meant the guards had been bribed.
She was that confident… able to cover up Rex and my disappearance.
“So, after suspecting me this much, what will you do now?”
“…Are you sure?”
“Yes. We checked several times.”
“….”
“Tell me. Why can’t you speak? You doubted me so much, investigated my quarters so boldly, and now are too embarrassed to say anything?”
Suddenly, the situation swung in favor of the Dowager Duchess.
“Why can’t you speak? Out of guilt? Or do you still suspect me?”
“….”
“Of course you can suspect me. But… thinking about it, something seems odd.”
“What is?”
“No matter how clever that child is, could they have left without anyone’s help? And why would your knight take the child?”
The Dowager Duchess suddenly changed her stance.
“So… what are you trying to say?”
“With so many events coinciding, you must have orchestrated this… right?”
“Dowager Duchess, choose your words carefully.”
“I mean, isn’t it strange? How could that child leave with the Duke’s knight? Now I understand. You manipulated everything, didn’t you?”
So that’s how she had tormented the Duke. I remembered what Rex had told me—the event that changed the Duke’s personality, the time the Dowager Duchess drove him with the fear of childlessness. Perhaps this was another carefully drawn plan of hers. Of course, it didn’t seem like her own idea—her father likely commanded it, and she moved like a puppet.
If it were the Dowager Duchess I know, she could never handle this so calmly on her own.
“Why… were you caught?”
“That’s what I wanted to ask you, Dowager Duchess.”
Unable to hold back, I quickly stepped out. Rex, realizing I was moving, hurried after me, and all eyes in the room fixed on me.
