Chapter 34
People were dying to know who was behind the incident.
All sorts of sensational speculation ran rampant—that Duke Bolton had acted alone, that it was the work of a wealthy foreign merchant, or that it was some hidden illegitimate child of a nobleman.
And a certain man was also reading the newspaper in his office.
“Dammit.”
The man cursed and slammed the newspaper down onto his desk.
He panted as if unable to contain his rage, his fingers tapping the desk in an anxious rhythm.
Soon, the man rang the bell on his desk with a fierce intensity.
A moment later, the butler Norman entered cautiously.
“Master, you called—”
“Those incompetent fools! How on earth are they handling things?”
The man shouted abruptly and hurled a book from his desk at Norman.
The thick volume landed right at the butler’s feet, but Norman remained calm, his expression impassive as if he were used to this.
“If you have eyes, look at this!”
Still seething, the man pounded his fist against the desk.
Under the moonlight, his hands glowed with a particularly pale light.
“The Imperial Family is already announcing that they’ll tighten the crackdown on poisonous herbs! You couldn’t even monitor Bolton properly and let things spiral to this point?”
The man’s teeth ground together.
This wasn’t the plan he’d made when he risked his life to bring the Devil of Pernin here and distribute it.
It was meant to be a weapon—something to be spread at the right moment to highlight the Imperial Family’s incompetence and erode public support.
But since the poisonous herb had become widely known at an unexpected time, it had instead given the Imperial Family the time and opportunity to step in and resolve the situation.
“Ian Heriet…”
The man gnashed his teeth.
That hateful man should have been blindsided and suffered just like he had.
The mere thought that Ian might even be closing in on him made his blood boil.
After a moment of ragged breathing, his shoulders heaving, the man spoke again.
“First… release the antidote in the South. Since their lives are on the line, they’ll offer up their entire fortunes. Amass the funds that way.”
His voice was bone-chillingly cold.
“Kill every last one who can’t afford the antidote. We cannot let the Imperial Family catch our tail.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“And now I need something to distract the public eye…”
The man paced anxiously by the window.
It was then.
Knock, knock.
A young, girl-like woman peeked her head through the open office door.
Seeing the woman with short black hair and a petite frame, Norman called out his daughter’s name.
“Coco. Come in.”
“Yes, Father.”
Coco hurried forward to stand before the two men.
She scanned the man’s face with cautious eyes.
“Coco, you’ve arrived at a good time. I was just about to hold you accountable for the Bolton matter,” the man said, his voice thick with fury.
His shoulders and chest heaved with every ragged breath he took.
“You let things get this far just to gain a few measly coins? Even if I snapped your neck right now, it wouldn’t satisfy me.”
At those words, Norman’s face turned pale.
As the man said, it had been Coco’s suggestion to provide the poisonous herb to Bolton.
Since the Duke was a man who pursued pleasure without regard for consequences, they had assumed he would spend his last cent on the herb.
Things had simply taken an unexpected turn.
“I didn’t realize Bolton was that stupid. I clearly told him it was a week’s supply, but for him to take it all at once…”
Coco said with a light shrug.
Unlike her father, her complexion didn’t change in the slightest.
It was Bolton’s fault for not following the dosage, and the mercenaries’ fault for losing him.
“…Ha!”
The man let out a stunned, mocking laugh at Coco’s attitude, which suggested she bore no responsibility.
“It was your plan. Because you didn’t handle it properly, our entire scheme almost crumbled!”
“M-Master!”
Unable to contain his rage, the man reached for the dagger on his desk.
Turned pale, Norman stepped between the two.
Coco, who hadn’t even blinked, flinched slightly this time.
However, Norman stood his ground, shielding his daughter while looking his master directly in the eye.
“For now, cleaning up this situation is the priority. Please, calm yourself for a moment.”
“…”
Norman spoke desperately as he caught the man’s wrist.
The man’s aggressive posture, which looked ready to draw the blade at any second, softened slightly.
“What a damn touching display of fatherly love.”
Ultimately, the man tossed the dagger aside carelessly.
The blade hit the thick carpet with a dull thud.
The man’s fierce gaze returned to Coco.
“So, do you have the confidence to fix this?”
“Yes, of course.”
Coco, who had been glaring back at him with gritted teeth until a moment ago, gave a bright smile as if nothing had happened.
“Let’s hear it then.”
The man sat down and gestured for her to continue.
However, the look in his eyes remained incredibly predatory.
If the information wasn’t up to his standards, he looked ready to kill her on the spot.
But as Coco continued, the look in his eyes changed.
“I saw Ian Heriet with a woman at the festival. It was Lobelin Dines.”
“…What?”
The man’s hand stopped in mid-air as he stroked his chin.
In truth, he had been contemplating how to kill Coco.
To think she possessed such startling information.
“I heard Ian Heriet was alone at the scene.”
“But I saw the two of them together with my own eyes. He must have lied. Even during the last investiture ceremony…”
Coco reported in detail what she had seen of Ian and Lobelin on the day of the ceremony.
From what happened in the hallway to the two of them dancing together on the balcony.
It was information she had saved for a moment like this.
‘Hah, the ceremony was nearly a month ago, and she’s only mentioning it now?’
The man frowned at Coco’s transparent motives.
However, he soon burst into a hearty laugh.
“Indeed, nothing is quite as interesting as a scandal involving the grown Crown Prince. Well done, Coco. You’re proving your worth. Even if you are playing games with me.”
The man said sarcastically, tapping his temple with his index finger.
Yet, every trace of his earlier anger had vanished from his face.
Straightening his back, the man turned to look out the window.
Blue moonlight settled over the round flowers blooming in the garden.
After watching this for a moment, Norman asked his master cautiously.
“Master, shall I take action with the press tomorrow?”
“No, there’s no need. We don’t need to reveal ourselves on the surface.”
The man shook his head firmly at Norman’s suggestion.
A devious smile played on his lips.
“Then what do you intend to do?”
“There’s someone who will work much harder on this matter in my stead.”
The man said, glancing toward a corner of his desk.
There sat a small framed portrait of the Imperial Family.
The man’s gaze lingered on one heavily adorned woman in the picture.
The only woman of the current Heriet Imperial Family, and the person who would be first in line for anything that could bring Ian Heriet down.
“Tomorrow, send an anonymous letter to Wighill. Tell him that the Crown Prince has a woman.”
Following Duke Bolton’s death, the atmosphere in the Heriet Imperial Palace turned somewhat somber.
The reports on the Devil of Pernin, which the media rushed to publish, cast a chill over the capital.
The Imperial Family expressed their responsibility and promised to resolve the matter actively, but the people’s anxiety could not be easily quelled.
“Whew…”
Ian also had to spend several days incredibly busy, investigating the Bolton case from every angle.
Though they had caught the assailants who attacked him at the festival, they refused to reveal their mastermind no matter how much they were interrogated.
‘W-we don’t know! We just did what we were told!’
‘Is that so? And who told you to do it?’
‘He was wearing a hood, so I couldn’t see his face. It was an older man’s voice, though… He just gave us a whole pouch of gold coins, so we took the job. Just transporting that herb. P-please, believe me!’
Ian didn’t think they were lying.
Whoever the mastermind was, they wouldn’t be stupid enough to reveal their identity to rough mercenaries while ordering such a task.
“An older man…”
Ian’s fingers tapped the desk irregularly as he read the interrogation report through his glasses.
“Is he the mastermind behind all this? Or just a henchman?”
Countless possibilities flashed through his mind.
But for now, there were no conclusions to be drawn.
There was no significant evidence.
“Damn, I’ve been running in circles for days.”
Eventually, frustrated, Ian took off his glasses and stood up.
Just then, Paula entered the office.
“Ah, Your Highness. You were inside. May I come in for a moment?”
“Of course, come in, Paula.”
She was carrying a large box.
Ian held the door open so she could enter easily.
“Is Duke Raven on leave today?”
“Ah, the Duke went out to look into something. He’ll be back soon.”
“I see.”
The box Paula was holding was filled with various flavors of taffy.
She approached Ian’s desk, opened a drawer, and began refilling it with the candies.
It was a task she had done many times and was quite adept at.
“Paula, I feel like Maximilian hasn’t been coming around much lately.”
Watching her, Ian spoke up.
“Is something going on with him?”
