Chapter 62
Robert’s tone had shifted back from how one might treat a ruffian a daughter brought home as a fiancé to a formal, polite address.
Calyx shrugged as if he had no intention of denying it. That small gesture fanned the flames of Robert’s anxiety.
Robert clenched his fists tightly, trying to suppress his racing emotions. He glanced at the teacup sitting half-finished in front of Calyx.
‘First… let’s make everything certain. Action comes after that.’
Robert thought of the envelope of poison hidden in his inner jacket pocket. Taking a long, deep breath, he spoke, masking the tremor in his voice.
“Since you have granted me permission, I will ask without preamble. Did you truly intend to assassinate His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?”
“I didn’t expect you to start with that question right away. No. The Crown Prince himself orchestrated the incident, and I was merely caught up in it by chance.”
It was exactly what Lottie had claimed. Robert wavered for a moment but steadied his heart.
“Then why did you not claim your innocence back then? You must have had plenty of opportunities to expose the truth. Instead, you tamely accepted an unjust verdict, fabricated a disappearance, and even went so far as to hide in our family’s territory….”
“When the entire board was set to frame me as the culprit, what means would I have had to prove my innocence? Even if I had, no one in court would have taken my side. They would have found a Crown Prince foolish enough to risk his own life more noble than the man who supposedly murdered the Late King.”
In truth, there was another reason why Calyx hadn’t put much effort into proving his innocence. However, he felt no need to explain it in detail to the Count.
Robert remained restless even after hearing Calyx’s explanation. He looked as if he had more to say. Watching him quietly, a smile played on Calyx’s lips.
“And Tom Philson, the only witness who could have proven my innocence, had already vanished.”
Robert’s eyes widened as if he had been struck to the core. He hurriedly questioned Calyx.
“Are you saying you weren’t the one who dealt with him? That you have nothing to do with Tom Philson?”
“If you are asking whether I enticed your daughter to help Tom Philson escape… the answer is no.”
“Then you mean to tell me that child did such a thing entirely of her own volition? You expect me to believe that!”
“Count.”
Quiet, reddish-brown eyes fixed on Robert.
Reflecting the light of the fireplace, his eyes looked as though flames were burning within them. A cold, blue flame.
“If you came here only to hear an answer you won’t believe, is there any need to remain in this uncomfortable seat?”
“…!”
“Listen to what I have to say while you calm your nerves.”
Robert, who had been about to retort, reflexively shut his mouth at that gaze.
An instinctual realization dawned on him—the man sitting before him was not Kayan Stallion, the prospective son-in-law of House Icks, but Calyx Valdea, the deposed prince who had murdered the Late King.
“Since you said you’ve been to the capital, I assume I don’t need to waste my breath explaining what chaos my disappearance has caused. The truth will never be revealed. There are no witnesses, and the only hope, the ship, has sunk deep beneath the sea.”
“What… are you trying to say?”
“It means that if I put my mind to it, I can pin that crime on someone else.”
Robert, glaring at Calyx with a hardened face, furrowed his brow. He found it difficult to immediately grasp the meaning of those words.
“A fabricated play isn’t enough… you intend to create an innocent criminal as well?”
“People do not want the truth. They only expect a narrative good enough to gossip about over drinks.”
This was a truth Calyx had learned with his own body during the twelve years he lived as the deposed prince.
Calyx leaned toward Robert. His flushed face looked like that of a mischievous boy plotting a scheme.
“With the case shrouded in mystery, several plausible suspects are on the tip of the public’s tongue. Who is the culprit who drowned the deposed prince in the sea? The Queen, who wants to remove the thorn in her side and safely pass the throne to her son? Or a third party with some connection to him?”
Regardless of his companion’s discomfort, Calyx smirked.
“In a situation where it wouldn’t be strange for it to be anyone, there are no clues and no witnesses.”
“…….”
“All that remains is the testimony of the sole witness who crossed the line of death and returned alive, Calyx Valdea.”
As Robert let out a rough groan, Calyx’s mouth opened as if he were singing.
“If you wish, I will say that Queen Catherine tried to kill her nephew out of fear that the truth behind the Crown Prince’s attempted murder would be revealed.”
Following the simple declaration was a smooth smile, as always.
‘Is he being serious?’
Robert stared at the man before him, pressing his lips thin. This time, it wasn’t because he didn’t understand. He understood with his head, but his heart could not accept it.
How could he easily believe it? The words of a man who, far from just risking the danger of giving false testimony in a fabricated case, was handing him the hilt of a sword, offering to become a weapon for his sake.
“Was this your intention from the start? Did you spread the false rumor that the ship sank with this in mind, so you could use it as a weapon if necessary…?”
“…….”
“That’s why you were so confident the first day we met. It wasn’t that you were certain I wouldn’t expose your secret, but that even if the world discovered you were alive, it wouldn’t be fatal for you.”
It was only after a long silence that Robert spoke. He tried to remain calm, but his voice trembled pathetically.
“Tell me. Why did it have to be my daughter?”
“…….”
“Whatever you intend to do, my daughter and my family have nothing to do with it. I have no intention of interfering or obstructing. But why Lottie, of all people? Why did you choose to use that child as your shield? Why?”
Robert’s eyes, glaring at Calyx, distorted with pain. Though Calyx had been smiling consistently, if coldly, the smile vanished from his face this time.
“Could it be… that like she said, you were aiming for something hidden in Dempis….”
“Count.”
Calyx cut Robert off. His voice was as stiff as his expression.
“I told you once before. I will protect your daughter so she isn’t harmed because of me, so please trust her and watch over her as she wishes.”
“…!”
“I have kept my promise, so you keep yours as well, Count.”
With that, the business was concluded.
Watching Calyx bury himself deep into the back of the sofa, Robert fumbled with his mouth a few more times before stopping. He realized instinctively that once the host’s business was over, all that remained for him was to give his regards and leave the house.
Standing up, Robert gave a hesitant bow and headed for the door. Calyx didn’t even give him a glance, staring only at the fireplace as if no one else were around. His attitude was so indifferent it was hard to believe he was the same person who had just made such an enticing proposal.
“You would do well to think carefully about the offer I made today.”
Just before Robert left the drawing room, Calyx spoke without looking at him.
“It will be much more effective than relying on the strength of the friend hidden in your chest.”
There was no need to ask what he was referring to. Turning pale, Robert fled the drawing room as if running for his life.
Calyx did not stop him. He simply continued to stare at the fireplace with an indifferent face.
To find the missing Tom Philson, House Icks deployed their shadows on a large scale.
However, even after three days, they failed to bring back any information that would satisfy their master. The only reports coming in were stories about the gambling debts he had incurred here and there.
‘It’s my fault. If only I had told Hanson to pay more attention to Tom Philson….’
Whenever Lottie overheard conversations between her father and Hanson, it felt as though a heavy lump of lead was pressing down on her chest. She had been grounded since her big argument with her father, but she was too consumed by gloom and anxiety to even feel the boredom of confinement.
‘Soon, a letter will arrive from the Royal Palace pressuring Father. If he doesn’t produce Tom Philson, Father will end up taking the blame for everything….’
She didn’t care if she suffered. But she never wanted her innocent father to be harmed because of her mistake.
Lottie let out a deep sigh as she soaked in the bathtub.
Today was the day of a regular inspection. Normally, her father would have gone alone, but this time he insisted she accompany him. It seemed he was desperately afraid his daughter might cause another accident while he was away.
“Miss! If you’re finished washing, I’m coming in.”
“Wait a moment!”
Lottie shouted to Liz outside the door and quickly finished her bath.
It was just as Lottie was about to step out of the tub that she discovered something near her left breast.
‘A smudge? No…. This is….’
There was a scar about the size of a fingernail near her left breast. She had no memory of being injured recently, and she couldn’t tell when it had appeared.
“Miss! How about now?”
“I’m done! Come in!”
Because Liz was rushing her from outside, Lottie pulled her attention away from the mysterious scar. Afterward, as she busied herself with grooming, the scar completely slipped from her mind.
Lottie and her father headed toward the inspection site in an awkward atmosphere.
The village of ‘Elga,’ located not far from Glaster Castle.
More than 80 percent of the residents here made their living as mechanics, earning the village the nickname ‘Village of Inventors.’ Most of the remaining population acted as brokers for the items made by the mechanics or supplied parts to them.
Lately, her father had been busy visiting the technicians of Dempis. This was because the World Expo to be held in Ronvernon was only two months away.
“What is… this long and massive machine?”
“Yes! This is a coffee machine that automatically brews delicious coffee, My Lord! Here… if you put the ingredients into this round hole….”
A young man in a slouch hat, who looked to be barely twenty, began his demonstration with a passionate voice. When he put the ingredients into the coffee machine—which looked like several iron cans stacked together—and pressed a button, the machine began to operate with a loud clatter.
A moment later, as a black liquid trickled out of the machine when it finished operating, the mechanics standing in a line watching, including Robert, let out exclamations of awe.
The young man held out a cast-iron cup filled with coffee with a proud face.
Robert stared at the lye-like liquid the machine had spat out with a fearful expression, then gathered his courage to take a sip.
“Hmm, good. Very good. It’s unique… and quite encouraging.”
Having managed to finish half the coffee, her father finally offered something that could be called an evaluation. The mechanics’ faces brightened instantly, but Lottie knew the hidden meaning behind her father’s words.
