Chapter 72
Recalling Allendo’s words, Belia felt her consciousness slipping away.
Within seconds, she lost awareness and collapsed beside Carlton.
Soon, the tree trunks, tangled and gnarled, slowly enveloped the two of them.
As if from the very beginning, there had only ever been trees in that spot, their forms gradually disappeared from sight.
And over them, a thick, dark sap began to drip, drop by drop, as if determined to keep them trapped inside forever.
“An investigation by the royal family?”
Barun’s eyes widened in shock.
“T-Yes.”
Tobe, who rarely expressed emotions, bit his lips in anxiety.
This wasn’t a scenario they had anticipated.
“Who! Exactly! Could handle things like this!!”
Feeling just as uneasy as Tobe, Barun slammed his fist on the desk repeatedly, revealing his emotions without restraint.
Well-organized documents scattered through the air and fell to the floor.
“What about Bea?!”
“That’s the problem!”
“Problem? The current situation is the problem! What other problem could there possibly be?”
Barun was already furious, having no time to process the shocking news he’d heard from Lady Preslo—the plan he had devised had fallen apart.
“Even if it was an attack, Belia’s intent to deliver such a gift to the palace hasn’t changed.”
“That is…”
“Why.”
Tobe glanced away from Barun’s gaze.
Though he served Barun as his lord, being of the same age, Barun sometimes treated Tobe like a close friend.
Because of this, Tobe understood Barun’s feelings toward Belia extremely well.
For reasons unknown, Barun’s sense of inferiority and jealousy toward Belia grew more intense with each passing year.
And as Belia took charge of the Bea enterprise, it reached its peak.
He had gone to great lengths to sabotage the Bea gift meant for the royal family on the princess’s birthday.
Barun intended to expel Belia from the family because of this incident.
Yet, if things went this way, it was Barun who was in danger.
Tobe closed his eyes tightly.
“Bea has disappeared. The group that attacked took everything and vanished. We are tracking them within the capital, but they haven’t been caught.”
“What?”
“The royal family is currently investigating who is behind this, and depending on the circumstances, they may treat it as treason.”
“Treason? Over something like this? The royal family suspects a mastermind….”
The door suddenly swung open, cutting Barun off mid-sentence.
Tobe turned, startled, wondering who would dare barge into the Marquis’s office like this.
“Your Grace, we’ve come to see you!”
Tobe quickly saluted.
“Father, what brings you here…?”
Barun composed his expression in the presence of the stern-faced Marquis.
Tobe tensed, wondering if his father had noticed anything.
“I won’t take long. It seems a territorial war might break out. You need to go to the estate immediately.”
“A territorial war, you say?”
Barun and Tobe exchanged a brief look.
“Yes.”
“This… suddenly?”
“There’s been a dispute on the border with the neighboring Tratan Count family. The cause of the dispute is…”
The Marquis waved his hand, looking pained at just the thought.
“Their side deliberately stirred up trouble. I thought it would be minor, but things went slightly wrong. Either way, the atmosphere is tense.”
“Has the Count gone mad? A territorial war with the Marquis’s estate?”
“It’s not just the Count.”
“Excuse me?”
“Behind them is the Dalton Duke family.”
“The Dalton Duke family?”
Barun frowned at the unexpected appearance of such a powerful house.
“What grudge could a Duke have against our Marquis…”
“His Highness the Crown Prince is engaged to Lady Arpedi.”
At that moment, Lady Preslo’s words flashed through Barun’s mind.
“So that’s how it happened.”
The Marquis considered telling Barun about the engagement, but kept silent.
He had already heard the details from Belia herself.
Of course, Belia had left out the story of the Misty Forest, making the Marquis believe she was simply sharing the secret of an incident from eight years ago.
When he first learned of the false engagement, he had been outraged, but Belia’s firm stance had made him give up.
The Marquis thought that if both parties had agreed to the fake engagement, it could be overturned before the scheduled date.
Thus, he had only given Tobe a hint, avoiding telling anyone else.
Barun’s eyes briefly flickered with frustration as he watched the silent Marquis.
Unaware of this, the Marquis pressed his temples, thinking about the estate.
“This is troublesome. Anyway, I want you to go to the estate. Meet the Count and….”
“I refuse.”
“What?”
The Marquis looked as if he had misheard Barun’s outright refusal.
“Then it should be Bedol who goes, not me. Isn’t he currently the true blade of the Marquis’s house?”
“You are the heir.”
Barun’s lips twisted into a smirk.
If he had received a formal appointment, he wouldn’t feel this way at all.
“The heir, yet so unaware of family affairs, really…”
“What?”
The Marquis narrowed his eyes, having not heard Barun’s whisper.
“I’m busy. I have many tasks at the guild, and will there truly be a territorial war? The Duke will stop once he gets what he wants.”
“Can you guarantee that…?”
“I’m busy, so tell him to go meet Bedol. Meanwhile, you can leisurely deal with Belia and the… retreat.”
Barun froze.
“Retreat?”
He wondered what retreat could mean, but saw it as an opportunity.
He realized the girl was acting arrogantly, unaware of his measures.
Yet at that moment, Barun felt something strange—a terrible realization that perhaps he was the arrogant one.
He kept silent as he came to this understanding.
“The guild is overflowing with people. Delegate some of the busy work, and you go. Isn’t this a serious matter? And what could Bedol do there? He only knows how to handle a blade….”
“I am already fulfilling my duty as heir sufficiently, aren’t I? There are many matters in the capital, so call Bedol.”
Having made up his mind, Barun firmly stated his position and passed by the Marquis, leaving the office.
“You?! No, Barun!”
Tobe quickly bowed as he alternated between looking at the bewildered Marquis and Barun, who calmly left the room.
“Father, I will see you next time.”
Left alone in Barun’s office, the Marquis sighed.
“I’ve raised these children for nothing…”
He glanced at the papers on Barun’s desk.
The guild had planned a new project, and the documents were numerous.
A secretary finally approached from behind the Marquis.
“Shall I call the second young master?”
“He’s too young to handle such a heavy responsibility.”
The Marquis shook his head and picked up one of the documents on Barun’s desk.
/[From the Lebrun Count family]/
It was the first time seeing it, but the family seemed somewhat familiar.
“They’re getting into distribution…? Were they a maritime family?”
If the Marquis didn’t know, it was likely a newly established family in the southern maritime trade.
“Is this the business the Marquis is managing?”
“Yes. What kind of distribution business did you say?”
“The Marquis has completely entrusted this to Young Master Barun. Investigating too much might interfere, so we were told not to look into it.”
“Then just check on the Lebrun Count family.”
“Excuse me?”
“A father should fix a son’s mistakes. There are frequent incidents among newly established southern families.”
“Yes, I understand.”
The Marquis carefully noted the name “Lebrun” before putting the document down.
“Then what about the estate matter?”
“I’ll go myself.”
“Excuse me? To the Count’s estate directly?”
“No. I’ll go to the Duke.”
“…What if the Duke refuses to see you?”
“Even so, I must go. It’s my daughter’s marriage, after all. And I must see His Majesty first.”
The Marquis pressed his temples lightly and left the room with the secretary.
“So, to the royal palace first?”
“Yes.”
“And what about the Bea attack? Will you leave everything to the royal family?”
“Ah…”
The Marquis stopped in place.
“Even without going to the estate, I can handle this matter.”
“Pardon?”
“Call the steward. Barun should handle the investigation. We’ll cooperate with the royal family, but we should also conduct our own inquiry. We need to know who dared touch our carriage.”
The Marquis’s face grew extremely cold.
