Chapter : 83
Officially, Yulia was still considered to be at the royal palace, so Casielope first sent her back to the central area.
By now, it should have been time for the hunting festival supplies to arrive, making it a perfect excuse for Yulia to be present at the event.
Apart from the chirping of birds, there was no other sound in the surroundings.
There were no roars of beasts driven mad by frenzy, nor the screams of other nobles.
Casielope rode quietly through the forest on horseback.
There was no sign of a struggle with the beasts—except in the direction Yulia had come from.
A sudden sense of unease struck, and Casielope’s hand froze in midair as she held the reins.
The beasts that had been controlled by Princess Delua had all charged straight at her.
“It must have been to lure me out.”
The area where the beasts had attacked was east of the center of the hunting grounds—the path where the royal knights had turned back Lady Hetzen.
Yet there wasn’t a trace of blood there.
They hadn’t attacked anyone else, including Lady Hetzen.
Apart from the intended target, no one else had been touched.
If that theory was correct, Yulia should not have had contact with the beasts either.
Yulia’s claim that she had been attacked by the beasts was not a lie.
Unless she had been leisurely playing the part of a hunting festival participant while ignoring her own life, the marks on her clothes were undeniable evidence of a confrontation with the beasts.
At that thought, Casielope wiped her dry face with her hand.
“…There’s only one possibility.”
Aside from herself, the only person who could have been targeted by Princess Delua’s attack:
Regis Euriel.
The reason Yulia had encountered the frenzied beasts was likely because she had been with Regis.
Most probably, it was a calculated move to coax Yulia over to his side.
If she survived while Regis was to take the fatal blow instead, Yulia would willingly assist.
And the same applied to Casian.
A mixture of emotions arose. She felt glad that those who could do anything for her were her close allies.
Yet at the same time, her heart was pierced with horror at the fact that the people she trusted the most could push the one she loved into death for her sake.
Her breath caught in her throat.
Unable to breathe properly, Casielope reflexively grasped her own neck.
“Hah…hah…!”
Cold sweat streamed down her face.
Overwhelmed by a pain she had never experienced before, she struggled to breathe in a disordered fashion.
“I must never be discovered.”
If anyone learned about her meeting with Princess Delua, and realized she had redirected the curse back onto herself, she had no idea what they might do.
She had to hide it completely, and then hide it again.
Once she finally calmed down, Casielope regained her composure and wiped the blood spattered on her face with the handkerchief she had kept in her arms.
Though the blood had already begun to dry, she wiped her cheeks neatly, thinking of Tesha’s reaction if she saw her like this.
Almost immediately, she heard voices calling out for her.
“Your Majesty! Empress!”
Before she could catch her breath from running, the knights urgently approached on horseback.
“You must return to the center immediately!”
Casielope turned to the knights, hiding any sign of the earlier ordeal as if nothing had happened.
“…What’s the matter?”
“Count Yurtina has committed suicide.”
“…Huh.”
She couldn’t help but let out a short, incredulous laugh.
Who… did what?
“And the knights stationed nearby? What were they doing?”
It wasn’t meant as a rebuke; she genuinely wanted to know.
The reason they had brought him along to the hunting festival, instead of imprisoning him, was purely to monitor him.
Under the guise of participating in the festival.
So they had placed a significant number of knights near the Count.
“…Well…”
The knights hesitated, unable to answer immediately.
Under Casielope’s sharp gaze, they stammered out a response.
“It seems he had hidden poison in his mouth.”
“….”
It was a rather weak explanation.
How could someone surrounded by knights have hidden poison in their mouth?
“…Did anyone make contact with the Count?”
“No one did.”
Impossible.
Even if not directly, someone must have approached him in some way.
For example, someone might have tried to sway the knight assigned to watch him.
Casielope remained silent and turned her horse toward the central area where the barracks were located.
Upon returning to the center, nobles had gathered, murmuring among themselves.
Though all eyes were likely on that scene, Casielope first looked at Regis.
He strode toward her unhesitatingly, meeting her gaze.
“Rope, are you hurt anywhere?”
“…I’m not hurt.”
She answered curtly to ensure he wouldn’t suspect anything.
At the same time, the scent that emanated from him made her almost frown.
It wasn’t his usual subtle body scent, but a heavy fragrance, as if he were trying to conceal something.
Casielope deliberately looked away from him.
Turning her attention to the gathered nobles, she saw the lifeless form of Count Yurtina sprawled on the ground.
Pale and bloodless, he truly looked dead, just as the knights had said.
As she stepped slightly away from Regis, Yulia returned, dressed as a maid, and hurried over.
“Was there anyone chasing Lady Yurtina?”
“Yes. It seems to have been the Hetzen Viscount family.”
As expected.
Casielope couldn’t hide her sneer at the absurdity of it.
Count Yurtina was not brave enough to take his own life.
Nor would he have borne the responsibility alone, to protect his family from harm, like Count Florence did.
“It would only make sense if it were the opposite.”
“Do we know what medicine the Hetzen Viscount gave the Count?”
“It’s said to be a drug that temporarily stops the heart. It’s very rare, but its effect is reliable. However…”
Yulia hesitated, her face stiffening.
“It seems what was given to the Count was real poison.”
There must have been some kind of deal.
Since Count Yurtina was not someone who could be easily manipulated alone, he likely assumed the root cause was his daughter, Lavia.
That’s probably why the Hetzen Viscount pursued Lavia.
If they could just capture the runaway Lavia, everything would be resolved.
“Was a will found for the Count?”
“Yes. It states that everything was planned solely by himself, and the Duke of Ikart has no involvement.”
With Florence and Yurtina fallen, the only remaining noble family is the Hetzen Viscount family.
Finding Yurtina’s will stating no connection to Duke Ikart fully worked in favor of the Duke.
Breaking the deal to bring back Lavia from Yurtina while killing him…
“The Hetzen family has fully sided with the Duke.”
Probably, the Hetzen Viscount used Lavia’s escape as justification to remove Count Yurtina.
Thus, they pretended to pursue Lavia to deceive Yurtina while administering poison.
All to win the Duke of Ikart’s favor.
It was a smart move—or rather, the best decision he could make in this situation.
…As long as it remained undiscovered.
The royal knights, led by Airban Rotes, had been fully monitoring Count Yurtina, so they likely assumed she hadn’t assigned anyone to Lavia’s side.
“The Hetzen Viscount’s agents pursuing Lady Yurtina have been handed over to Airban.”
Casielope nodded slightly and murmured.
“Quite unremarkable, choosing to destroy himself.”
Even without that, Count Yurtina would eventually have faced punishment, and there were other ways to prove Duke Ikart’s innocence.
“I didn’t realize the Hetzen Viscount could be so hasty.”
