Chapter 154…………………………………………………….
“How… how could you do this to me, Father?”
Riena’s voice, filled with shock and betrayal, echoed through the interrogation room.
Duke Cassius simply lowered his head.
“I’m sorry. If I had known you would turn yourself in like this, I wouldn’t have gone as far as disowning you.”
“Turn myself in? Who said anything about turning themselves in?! I didn’t do anything wrong!”
“You didn’t turn yourself in?”
At the duke’s questioning gaze, the investigator cleared his throat.
“…Yes. There seems to have been a misunderstanding because the report said she came here on her own. The suspect is currently denying all charges and claims that the fraud was carried out independently by Mr. Isaac Cassius.”
Duke Cassius’s expression twisted.
“I thought you had impulsively attacked Isaac and then later felt guilty and came to surrender.”
His voice trembled slightly.
“But it turns out you came here to pin your crime on your uncle.”
“Father, the investment fraud was really Uncle’s doing!”
“How could you say such a thing? To Isaac, who has been hiding you and taking care of you all this time.”
“Wh-what did you say?”
“I just came from seeing Isaac. Even while lying in a hospital bed, he was worrying about you. He said you must have been under great mental pressure and asked that you not be blamed too harshly.”
“You believe that?”
Riena felt like she was going insane from the absurdity.
“Isaac—that man is the one who imprisoned me and starved me! The only way I could escape that hell was by hitting him!”
Despite Riena’s desperate cry, the duke asked in a contemptuous tone,
“Even if Isaac suggested that you surrender, did you really have to insult him with such ridiculous lies?”
“Ha! Who said he told me to surrender?”
“The servants working at the mansion have already testified. They said Isaac was urging you to turn yourself in out of concern, and you struck him with a blunt object.”
“There were no servants there! Those people are all scammers working with Isaac!”
But neither the duke nor the investigator looked convinced. They stared at Riena as if she were a habitual liar.
“…So you’ve chosen someone else to take the blame again. Last time it was Elliot Rude, and this time my younger brother.”
“Why do you believe everyone else but not me?!”
“Do you truly not know the reason?”
Under the duke’s cold gaze, Riena instinctively stepped backward.
“I can’t understand this. The one who should be angry here is me—so why are you blaming me instead?”
Tears gathered in Riena’s eyes.
“I admit I deceived you at first, but once you adopted me, you should have taken responsibility until the end. How can you disown me so easily, like throwing away an object?”
“It wasn’t easy. And the only responsibility I can take now is compensating the victims who lost their money because of someone who was once my daughter. They did nothing wrong.”
Even faced with the tears of the daughter who used to act as if the world were collapsing whenever she cried, Edmund Cassius turned his head away.
“But if you refuse to show even the slightest regret or reflection and continue shifting the blame onto others, there is nothing more I can do for you.”
“It’s not too late! Cancel the disownment now and restore everything to how it was before!”
“I can’t do that.”
“If you disown me, I won’t be a noble anymore. If I’m accused of committing such a crime as a commoner, even if the victims are compensated, I’ll rot in prison for the rest of my life! Are you fine with that?”
“Of course I’m not happy about it. But if that is the punishment you must bear…”
“I didn’t commit the investment fraud!”
“…I hope that someday, while in prison, you will acknowledge your wrongdoing and sincerely repent.”
The duke shut his eyes tightly and turned away.
“Father! Where are you going?”
Startled, Riena tried to run after him, but the investigator stopped her.
“Come back! This is your last chance! If you leave like this, our relationship will truly be over!”
Duke Cassius walked toward the door without hesitation.
He never looked back at Riena.
“…You look perfectly fine, though?”
Location: The Royal Hospital in the capital.
I was staring at a man sitting elegantly on a hospital bed, drinking wine.
“Oh, Baron Lucibius. Visiting the sick?”
Isaac Cassius, who looked not just healthy but positively delighted, greeted me cheerfully.
“Is it really okay for a patient to be drinking alcohol?”
I sat down on a chair beside the bed and placed the fruit basket I had brought on the floor.
“On such a joyous day, being unable to drink would be torture. Is that a get-well gift?”
“Yes. Well, since I am visiting a patient.”
“Then I’ll enjoy it as a snack.”
While Isaac happily rummaged through the fruit basket, I asked,
“Well, I expected some exaggeration, but I’m surprised someone who was said to have nearly died and miraculously survived looks so healthy.”
“Haha. If I hadn’t done that, people would be criticizing me right now for hiding Riena.”
As he said, public opinion condemning Riena was currently sky-high.
Not only the Cassius ducal family—who were now legally unrelated to Riena—but even Prince Mikhail, who had been her long-time lover, was seeing his reputation plummet.
In the ducal family’s case, the criticism had softened somewhat a few hours earlier when the duke announced he would repay all the victims.
“I figured my brother would do that. He’s fought many battles in war, but deep down he’s soft-hearted.”
Isaac seemed to have thought the same thing.
“Cassius’s coffers will be empty for a while, but the family isn’t weak enough to collapse over something like this.”
“….”
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m curious about what you plan to do with the money you gained through fraud.”
“Fine. Since Cassius will repay the victims, I’ll just use this money for Cassius instead.”
I tilted my head.
“Oh? You’re giving it up more easily than I expected.”
“Money was never the real goal anyway. And besides, I’ve already earned more than enough elsewhere.”
“That’s a relief then.”
However, unlike me, someone else strongly opposed Isaac’s decision.
“That’s unacceptable! Why waste that money on him?! Edmund will just squander it again!”
The shout came from behind me.
When I turned around, I saw Roland Cassius, lying in another hospital bed like his son.
“…I tried to ignore it, but I have to ask. Is that gentleman also ill?”
At my question, Isaac laughed.
“Oh, he came to visit me and ran into my brother. But when he heard my brother was going to compensate the victims, he clutched the back of his neck and collapsed.”
I could vividly picture the scene.
“My room was originally a private room, but I asked them to add another bed for Father.”
Roland groaned from his bed.
“It’s the victims’ fault for being fooled. Why should we repay them one by one?”
What a personality. His son committed fraud, yet he was blaming the victims.
Looking at this father-son pair, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Roland and Isaac might soon follow Riena to prison.
“Just thinking about it makes me furious!”
Roland kept complaining about how wasteful it was, so I finally spoke.
“Come on, it’s not like they’re taking your money, old sir.”
“The Cassius fortune is all mine! And Baron Lucibius, aren’t you being a bit unfair?”
He shouted angrily and glared at me.
“Why did you greet Isaac when you entered but ignore me?”
Well… because you had been muttering angrily to yourself the whole time.
I pretended not to notice so I wouldn’t hear anything unpleasant.
“You even brought a fruit basket only for Isaac! I’m deeply disappointed!”
“Alright, alright. Here, have an apple and cheer up.”
I tried to brush it off casually, but Roland remained stubborn.
“No! If you want me to feel better, go on a date with Isaac!”
“…Excuse me? A date?”
“What’s wrong with my son?!”
…Apparently this man still hadn’t given up his ridiculous dream of matching Isaac and me together.
In fact, his earlier complaints seemed to be nothing more than an act to make our “date” happen.
“I’ll pass on marrying a con artist.”
“If he stops committing fraud from now on, it’ll be fine. Right, Isaac?”
Isaac, who had been sipping wine, narrowed his eyes like a stage actor and said,
“If Baron Lucibius would just give me a chance, perhaps I could be reborn as a new man.”
Whether he was reborn or not made no difference.
I was just about to say that—
“Unfortunately, it seems there will be no such chance.”
Someone shrugged from the open doorway.
It was Terrence, leaning casually against the door.
“Terrence! What brings you here?”
“I’ve come to escort our baron.”
He gestured for the Cassius father and son to remain at ease despite the sudden appearance of a prince, then walked over to me.
“I’ve arranged the meeting with the person Idel wanted to see yesterday. The other party isn’t someone with much free time, so it would be best if we depart now.”
“Already? That was fast.”
“Since it was your request, I had to do my best.”
Terrence gently wrapped one arm around my shoulders.
With his other hand, he extended it toward Isaac.
“Nice to meet you. I am Terrence Belver Asteroth.”
Isaac politely took his hand.
“Isaac Cassius. The honor is mine, Your Highness.”
“I’ve heard about you from Idel. Apparently you cooperated with our plan in many ways.”
“Baron Lucibius must have spoken about me quite a lot.”
“Of course. We always share many details about our daily lives.”
Despite Isaac’s subtly provocative tone, Terrence maintained his pleasant smile.
Even after the greetings ended, the two men did not release their handshake.
They simply stared at each other.
What was this suffocating atmosphere?
