Chapter 37
“Your Excellency!”
At the marquis’s protest, the duke opened his eyes. Walter spoke quickly and flatly, as if he didn’t wish to continue.
“Do not make me repeat myself, Marquis. Here in the Duke of Richmond’s castle, there are no ‘unseen ones.’ There are only those who wish to slaughter maids and turn this place upside down. I told you already—I personally vouch for Grace and her maid.”
“…Can you prove it? That your lover is not one of the ‘unseen ones’ whom Her Majesty the Empress has declared traitors—can you prove that?”
The badge of Richmond’s vassal gleamed red on the marquis’s chest.
Walter’s lips twisted into a crooked smile. Until now, he had maintained a cold, indifferent expression.
So that was it.
This man had not forgotten his master—he had replaced him.
“For the peace of Richmond, I beg you to understand my loyalty, Your Excellency! This is not a matter to be resolved in the heat of passion!!”
Walter felt the marquis’s killing intent circling around his heart.
“I was clear, Marquis.”
“……”
The marquis never gave an answer. Walter moved on. If he stayed any longer, something truly irreversible might happen. But as he passed the marquis, he stopped briefly and asked:
“By the way, Marquis. Why is your son nowhere to be seen?”
It was a question that seemed out of place, but the marquis thought the duke was backing down, and so he answered readily.
“I had not yet had a chance to tell you, Your Excellency. Recently Lady Taylor and the young Count of Saxony were wed. My son attended the ceremony as the Richmond representative, but he will return soon. You’ll meet him shortly.”
“I see.”
Leaving only that ambiguous reply, the duke departed.
As Walter and Joseph disappeared, sighs of relief rose from all corners. One man beside the marquis quickly asked:
“My lord, what will you do now?”
The marquis recalled the duke’s relatively mild reaction and spoke with confidence.
“What else? We must find the traitor hiding in Richmond Castle at all costs.”
One of the moderate nobles spoke carefully.
“But His Excellency ordered us to stop questioning his lover. Do you mean to continue anyway?”
“Are you insulting my loyalty?”
“That’s not what I meant—”
“Do you not understand this is for Richmond and for His Excellency?! Watch your tongue!”
When the marquis shouted like a madman, the noble who had spoken shrank back like a turtle retreating into its shell and fell silent. The marquis clicked his tongue in displeasure, then strode out of the archive with the bearing of a king.
Emerging above ground, he saw the crimson twilight fading. He made straight for his office, where the marchioness was already waiting.
As soon as he saw her, he whispered into her ear:
“We must make that wench talk.”
“Don’t worry. She’ll speak eventually. And even when cornered, she refused to name the castle. She must be a runaway. The person I told you to find—are they being located?”
“Don’t worry.”
“Capturing the missing maid is the most urgent task. The Empress’s investigators must have her testimony that they truly are ‘unseen ones.’ Only then can we completely bring down the duke.”
“Count Ruwen promised he’d find her by dawn at the latest.”
“You must also keep watch on the duke.”
“I told you, don’t worry. And about the duke—he strutted around so proudly, but today he lowered his tail. He should have done that from the start. Just wait. Soon he’ll be like my grandmother—limbs cut off, barely clinging to life.”
The red glow of sunset cast a patchy, sinister light over their faces twisted with malice.
Count Ruwen’s knights scoured the castle as though combing through it with a fine-tooth comb.
“Find that wench! At all costs!!”
Every door leading out of the castle, large and small, was locked tight. They searched the servants’ quarters, the storerooms, even the sewers that drained outside. The hunt continued late into the night. But Jesse was nowhere to be found—not even her shadow.
Count Ruwen grew more anxious by the minute. The marquis had ordered him to capture Jesse before dawn, and the castle was vast. The longer it took, the greater the chance she would escape.
Then his eyes fell on the annex.
The soldiers were searching here and there, yet instinctively none dared set foot on its lawn. The knights, too, avoided it.
For all its desolation, that annex was the residence of Eliza Richmond.
Count Ruwen halted, drawing a slow, deep breath. Sweat dampened his palms. His throat prickled as if with lodged thorns.
This is war. Victory goes to the one who seizes the initiative first!
As the marquis had said, this was war—and the Ruwen family was already entangled in it. The count steeled his resolve and ordered his adjutant:
“Go to the marquis and get permission to search the annex.”
Meanwhile, Lady Isaac watched the annex grounds through a gap in the heavy curtains. The glow of torches painted her face red. After a long time keeping vigil, she drew the curtains shut and turned.
“They seem determined to find you.”
“……”
“Stay here. Don’t try to leave. If you go out and they catch you, you’ll suffer.”
Hidden in the dark, Jesse bit the inside of her cheek. The search had begun the moment Grace was taken, leaving her no time to escape the castle. She didn’t fear capture or torture for herself—what terrified her was failing Grace’s plan by being caught.
“…Thank you.”
She whispered softly.
Then the steady rhythm of boots from a distance suddenly quickened, coming closer. Lady Isaac, who had been about to step outside, froze. Jesse rose to her feet. As shadows of torches flickered across the curtains, Lady Isaac rushed to the window.
Peeking past the curtain edge, veins bulged across her forehead.
“How dare these insolent wretches!”
Count Ruwen and his knights were trampling across the annex courtyard.
Lady Isaac spun around and dashed into the corridor. Straightening her shoulders, bracing her core—
BANG, BANG, BANG!
Armor clattered and fists pounded against the door. These midnight ruffians had no patience.
“Open up!!”
A man’s rough voice shook the lonely annex.
“Force it open if you must.”
At those unbelievable words, Lady Isaac’s shoulders trembled violently. Force the door?! Outraged, she ran straight down the corridor. With rough hands she undid the locks, then threw the door wide open with all her strength.
The knights who had been about to break in stumbled back in surprise as the massive door suddenly swung open. There stood a maid, impeccably dressed even at this late hour, blocking the threshold with blazing eyes.
“How dare you! Do you not know whose residence this is?!”
At her sharp cry, the knights retreated down the steps. Lady Isaac fixed her furious gaze on Count Ruwen.
“Count Ruwen! What is the meaning of this? Withdraw your men at once!!”
“Step aside, Lady Isaac. This is a matter of great importance.”
“It is you who must withdraw your men, Count!!”
But Ruwen did not retreat. The marquis had granted permission, and he had already crossed the line. He strode up the stairs.
“Count Ruwen!!”
“I warned you.”
He shoved Lady Isaac aside, her protests ignored.
“Ahh!!”
She fell to the side as Ruwen flung open the doors of the annex.
“Search the place! She’s in here somewhere!”
The knights, who had hesitated until now, eagerly surged inside at his command. The few candles in the corridor flickered, then went out.
With the last barrier broken, the knights tore through the annex more ruthlessly than ever. If they found Jesse here, no one could fault their insolence.
Jesse leapt up and dashed into the next room. The Imperial style meant all the rooms were interconnected.
“Open all the doors at once!!”
“Yes, sir!!”
She could feel the thunder of boots pounding down the corridor.
“Stop!! The Great Lady is here!!”
Lady Isaac’s scream rang out, but the soldiers did not relent. Doors rattled open one after another.
Jesse gritted her teeth and ran on. The door behind her flew open and slammed shut just as she escaped.
Faster, faster!
She vaulted over a massive sofa. Her legs felt as though they no longer belonged to her. How many rooms had she sprinted through?
Suddenly, the darkness revealed a wall—she had reached a dead end.
Outside the window, torchlight flared. Behind her, the knights were already storming the rooms she had passed. Their footsteps roared ever nearer.
Without hesitation, Jesse turned back. She locked the door she had just come through, then raced to the corridor door. Her sharpened senses caught the knight’s presence.
The very moment he tried the handle—Jesse threw the bolt across.
