BADIL 40

Chapter 40

The Duke’s eyes were sunken, and cold sweat trickled down his face. Anyone could see he looked utterly shocked. Of course, every incident being discussed here tonight was serious enough that a faint-hearted person might easily react that way.

But that man was none other than Duke Luke.

“When Lady Florin showed up earlier, he was just sitting there with that blank look, counting dust motes.”

When Kalima appeared, he’d only looked mildly annoyed—barely paying attention at all. That was the kind of man he was.

“So why’s he so shocked now?”

Because of Duke Luke’s reaction, not only I, but everyone else, fell silent. A strange stillness settled over the garden.

The first to break it was the very man who caused it—Duke Luke himself.

“…Is there not a shred of falsehood in what you’ve said?”

“No. Everything I said is true.”

“Can you swear it?”

This was the same man who supposedly never spoke more than two sentences to anyone in a day—and he’d just said three. What was with all the questions?

Feeling a faint mix of irritation and confusion, I answered solemnly.

“Yes. I can swear it before God.”

By now, I thought the Duke would relent and back down. But instead, he said something completely unexpected.

“…That such wicked intent existed… I cannot believe it.”

“Excuse me?”

“What, does he think I’m lying about my mother’s death or something?”

No matter how desperate I might be, would I ever lie about my mother’s death? Just as I was about to argue back—

“I can personally vouch that Miss Azian’s words are entirely true.”

The speaker was one of the few people I had sent an invitation to—Father Leofried.

Dressed in his black clerical robes, he looked even more solemn and devout than usual. Duke Luke frowned.

“I swear before God—it is the truth.”

“If it truly is the truth…”

If it’s the truth, then what?

I strained to hear the Duke’s low voice as he abruptly turned away.

“Then I’ll find the culprit—and feed them to Roar.”

The sound of his teeth grinding was downright chilling.

Completely thrown off, I leaned toward Cerulean and whispered,

“Why is His Grace acting like this all of a sudden?”

Why was he talking about avenging my mother?

Utterly unable to make sense of it, I looked to Cerulean for answers—but his reply was dispassionately simple.

“Who knows.”

“What do you mean who knows? You’re his son!”

“I’ve never spoken more than two sentences a day to him either. Emotionally speaking, I think you might be closer to His Grace than I am.”

“What? Don’t joke about that—it’s absurd.”

“Do you really think I’m joking?”

There he went again, saying weird things with that emotionless face of his.

“If it’s not a joke, what then? Does he actually think the Duke and I are close?”

The very idea of being “close” to Duke Luke made goosebumps prickle along my arms. I rubbed them absently—just as Father Leofried sighed and stepped toward us.

“All that remains is the sacred oath before God. I will act as guarantor for your marriage vows.”

It was for the wedding ceremony we had only half completed earlier.

“Bride and groom—seal your vows with a kiss.”

My father-in-law stood stiffly with a grave face, my mother-in-law looked like she was sucking on lemons, and the guests had that ‘Should we clap…?’ expression, hesitantly raising their hands midair.

Thus ended the first part of our wedding ceremony.

Since it immediately flowed into the reception, the musicians began playing dance music. We had to change clothes and perform a waltz anyway, so Cerulean and I slipped out of the garden.

Outside, I caught up with Father Leofried, who had gone ahead to fetch a carriage, and grabbed his hand tightly, shaking it enthusiastically.

“Father, truly—thank you so much. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know how we would’ve wrapped things up.”

“Think nothing of it.”

He pulled his hand away from mine like someone removing a leech. So shy!

I giggled. That only made him scowl as if he’d seen something distasteful.

“Why are you smiling so foolishly?”

“I just thought, ‘Ah, so Father was curious about my wedding after all.’”

“Utter nonsense.”

He’d been grumbling at me like this for so long that it just made me laugh. No matter what he said, I just kept smiling, and eventually he sighed and turned away.

“It would be troublesome if the Duchess spotted me, so I’ll take my leave.”

“Yes. Thank you again for today.”

“And, Edel…”

Just as he was about to go, he stopped, hesitating. His lips moved soundlessly for a long moment before he finally spoke.

“Today, you looked beau—”

“Who is that woman?”

I was dying to know what he was about to say—but Cerulean cut him off.

Following his gaze, I noticed a small woman standing a few steps away, wrapped in a robe.

“Oh? You brought company, Father?”

As I looked at her, she hesitated, then approached.

The moment she came close, I recognized her immediately.

“You came after all.”

I had sent two invitations to the church—one to Father Leofried. And the other…

“I’m sorry. I was too terrified to step forward.”

…to the woman now standing before me—Noel.

Noel had been a palace maid—the very one beaten to near death by Vanerinne during that incident. The scar on her neck from that day still hadn’t faded.

I had invited her hoping she might testify if needed, but she hadn’t been able to bring herself to do it.

Yet I didn’t blame her. I held her hands and shook my head.

“No, it’s alright. Just coming here at all means you were brave. Thank you.”

“When I saw the Princess in person… my whole body started trembling, and I couldn’t speak.”

“I understand.”

I’d felt the same when I saw Vanerinne again after that incident. Even now, whenever I saw her angelic smile, my heart still froze.

But I had decided to fight—to help Cerulean and reclaim my honor.

I smiled gently at Noel.

“I’ll fight for both of us. Please look after the orphanage.”

“Thank you.”

Tears glimmering in her eyes, Noel pulled her hood low and left with Father Leofried, afraid someone might recognize her.

As we watched them go, Cerulean asked quietly,

“Was she your hidden card?”

There was nothing to hide from him, so I nodded.

“Yes. She was a maid in the Princess’s palace—one of the victims.”

“I heard it was attempted murder.”

“She said she came to Father Leofried after recovering, begging to be hidden because she feared for her life. Not long after, I was carried to the orphanage, half-dead. The moment I saw her, I recognized her—she was the bloodied maid from that day.”

Few people in the world knew Vanerinne’s true nature, so it hadn’t taken long for us to open up to one another once we realized our shared history.

Still, it had been too much to ask her to publicly come forward for justice.

I smiled wistfully.

“Honestly, I wanted to beg her to speak the truth. But that would be selfish of me.”

How many people throughout history had been destroyed for trying to tell the truth? She was quietly helping at the orphanage now; it was only natural that she feared becoming Vanerinne’s next target.

After listening to everything, Cerulean said softly,

“You are not selfish in the slightest.”

I turned to look at him. His blue eyes were shimmering in a way I hadn’t seen before.

“You are—”

Just as I waited for him to finish—

“Hey! Commander! Madam!”

“Kalima.”

Kalima came running toward us, her energetic steps completely mismatched with her elegant dress. I clasped my hands and bowed my head deeply.

“Kalima, thank you so much for today.”

“Oh, it was nothing! Crushing a little shrimp like that is easier than eating porridge!”

So confident and refreshing! To call Lady Florin a “little shrimp”—I couldn’t help admiring her iron will.

As I listened, curiosity struck.

“By the way, how did you even get a copy of the investigation records? Weren’t they destroyed?”

“Oh, that was nothing too! I just asked His Majesty the Emperor to make a duplicate before they were lost.”

“…Wait, His Majesty the Emperor?”

That was already a major deal.

I turned to Cerulean in disbelief, but he answered calmly, as if it were trivial.

“I told you earlier—Kalima and His Majesty are cousins.”

“W-What?”

But the content was anything but casual. My jaw tightened as I stammered,

“K-Kalima… Is it really alright for you to just be hanging around me? Don’t you have, uh, imperial duties or something?”

Kalima waved her hand and laughed brightly.

“Brother Theodore is kind to simple-minded people like me! He adores me like a little sister!”

Brother…?

What in the world…

I had suspected she wasn’t ordinary—but the more I learned, the more suffocating it felt.

Fanning her face lightly with her fan, Kalima continued cheerfully,

“Honestly, I was embarrassed to ask the favor, but I really wanted to become your lady’s maid, so I worked hard! Now I can legally stay at House Luke!”