Chapter 44
The calm red eyes staring at her seemed to see right through her.
With a cheerier voice, the Countess of Fremeng said,
“Oh, come now! Why would I ever think something so horrible? Go on and wash up before you catch a cold.”
“No, there’s something I need to confirm first. Ah, perfect timing.”
Thud.
A knight dragged something across the floor and threw it down at the entrance.
‘T-That man… How…?’
The man, soaked in rain with a gag in his mouth, was the very assassin she had sent.
He looked worse for wear, likely from being out in the downpour for too long.
“Isn’t he someone you know? He’s the servant you assigned to me, Countess.”
“Well, yes, but… what is going on here? Why is he—?”
She couldn’t fathom how Ariel was unharmed while the assassin was caught like this.
But now was not the time to figure that out. She had to escape this situation first.
The Countess of Fremeng decided to play dumb.
“The servant you gave me tried to kill me.”
“What? How could… you wretched man! How dare you try to harm my niece!”
“Don’t come any closer. He’s a professionally trained assassin.”
“An assassin? Oh heavens… Thank goodness you’re alright.”
“Yes. Though I imagine that’s unfortunate news for you, Countess.”
“Are you… suspecting me?”
“Wouldn’t it be strange if I didn’t? The servant you assigned to me tried to kill me.”
“You followed my suggestion to go into the woods and got attacked. I understand your suspicion. But this is going too far. Why would I ever want to kill you?!”
“Who knows.”
“You’re like a niece to me! How could I…! I admit I was careless in managing my staff. I’m so sorry you went through something so horrible. But I would never try to kill you! I didn’t know he was like that!”
Her tearful face looked genuinely distressed.
“Is that so? Then you’re saying you had nothing to do with this?”
“Yes! He came highly recommended, so I brought him on only recently. I’ll get to the bottom of who recommended him as soon as I return. Once we uncover who put him up to this, we’ll know who’s really behind it.”
The Countess had already decided to pin the blame on the butler the moment she returned to the estate.
She would claim she trusted the butler’s recommendation and wasn’t aware of the man’s true identity.
She’d be scolded for neglecting her duties, but if she left for a year-long trip afterward, even Duke Clastar wouldn’t press further.
She didn’t care if Ariel suspected her or not.
The real power in the Clastar family rested with the Duke.
The Countess discreetly glanced at Duke Clastar’s expression.
His indifferent face gave away nothing.
‘As I thought… He doesn’t know I sent the assassin.’
No matter how much Ariel cried and protested, she was just a child. The Countess was the Duke’s own sister.
“There’s no need for that. We can just ask the assassin.”
The Countess almost burst into laughter at Ariel’s naïveté.
‘This girl really doesn’t know anything.’
Even assassins who killed for money followed a code.
And one of the top rules was to never reveal the identity of a client—no matter what.
As long as the assassin didn’t say her name, Ariel couldn’t do anything.
With no evidence, all she had to do was deny it.
The knights seated the assassin and began to torture him.
“Mmmph!”
“Speak! Who sent you?!”
The assassin tried to bite off his tongue, but the knights prevented it.
Despite several rounds of torture, he kept his mouth shut.
Watching this, the Countess of Fremeng cried out,
“Stop! Stop this at once! What do you think you’re doing?! Are you going to keep torturing him until he tells you I ordered your death?!”
She turned to the Duke.
“Brother! Say something! I understand why she’s suspicious, but does that mean she gets to paint me as a criminal? Will she only be satisfied if this man names me?!”
Then Ariel quietly spoke.
“Countess, I find this all very strange.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well… if I were the assassin, would I really name you right now?”
“What…?”
Ariel continued, voice calm.
“Just as you said, I’m already suspicious of you. So wouldn’t it make more sense for him to name you and end this?”
“!”
“He gets two benefits from doing that. First, we’ll stop torturing him. I got the answer I wanted, so why keep going?”
She turned to the Countess.
“Second, it protects his real client. If he names you, I’ll stop looking for someone else.”
“Th-That’s…”
“Then why hasn’t he said a word?”
“Are you telling me to take the blame for all of this?!”
Ariel tilted her head.
“Why would that matter to him? Whether you live or die has nothing to do with him—unless, of course, you are the client.”
The Countess’s mind went blank with panic.
Only then did she realize she’d fallen into Ariel’s trap.
The trap had been set from the moment Ariel arrived and accused her outright.
“Y-You! This is a setup, isn’t it?! You and that man conspired to frame me!”
“But you’re the one who gave me that servant.”
“Stop twisting my words!”
“Enough.”
At last, Duke Clastar raised his voice.
He turned to the Countess.
“How much longer do you plan to keep lying to me?”
“B-Brother, what do you mean?”
“I warned you not to meddle in family affairs. And yet you…”
His golden eyes were filled with fury.
“It’s not like that. I… I was blinded by greed.”
The Countess fell to her knees, pleading.
“Please. Just this once. I swear it won’t happen again. Everyone makes mistakes. We’re family! So please—just this once, forgive me!”
But the Duke’s expression didn’t waver.
His face had the look of someone who had come to a final decision, and it terrified her.
“Yes, we are family.”
There was even a touch of sorrow in his voice.
“I truly cherished you like family.”
He pushed the Countess away and said coldly,
“But that girl is my family too.”
“Brother!”
“Family, you say? Would you try to kill your family? Truly?”
“Please… for Federa’s sake, just this once—”
“Silence! That child never did anything like this. Don’t you dare speak her name with your filthy mouth.”
Then came the final blow.
“I won’t kill you. But I will strip you of all the support I’ve given you.”
The Countess’s face went pale.
Her house, her living expenses, the funds for her businesses—all came from Duke Clastar.
Without his backing, she’d be out on the streets.
“I was wrong. Please, brother, please. Just once. Just this one time…”
“Enough. You are no longer family, Countess Fremeng.”
The Duke’s voice was firm.
“See her out. She is no longer affiliated with our house.”
* * *
“Prepare a hot bath, quickly!”
“Start preparing dinner for the young lady!”
“Add more firewood to the stove! Make sure the room is warm!”
Once the chaos had died down, the maids began to scramble around.
After bathing and eating dinner, Ariel found the Duke waiting for her.
“Can we talk for a moment?”
He was holding the flower crown she had made.
It was soaked, its stems broken—it looked more like trash than a crown now.
“Is this why you went into the forest? I didn’t think you’d care about things like this.”
“…I made it for you. I heard you liked them.”
“Did the Countess say that?”
The Duke let out a small chuckle.
A quiet pause settled between them.
“I’m sorry you had to go through all that. I knew she was eyeing the family’s power, but I didn’t think she’d go that far. She’s gone now, but if you wish, I’ll make her pay with her life.”
“It’s alright.”
Ariel looked closely at the Duke’s face.
She suddenly remembered how he’d come to find her, completely drenched.
His inner clothes and socks were soaked too. He must have searched for a long time.
Why?
Why had he come himself?
Why had he taken her side?
No matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn’t find the answer.
“May I ask you one thing?”
“Go ahead.”
“Why did you come to find me?”
The Duke stiffened at the question.
“You said it didn’t matter to you if I died.”
“I never—”
He was about to deny it when he suddenly remembered.
He had said that—back when they first met.
“Well, that… I’m sorry.”
No matter how he tried to phrase it, there was only one thing he could say now.
He had, in fact, said those words.
“Why did I come find you…”
“You could’ve just sent knights. Why come yourself?”
The Duke had never once thought about that.
He hadn’t paused to think at all when he went out looking for her.
Only now did he finally realize why he had done it.
