William spoke, sounding unsettled by his grandson’s words.
“The possibility that the two of them were murdered… I can hardly believe it.”
Likens nodded with a heavy expression.
“I know this is not an easy decision to make.”
“Was it your idea that they might have been murdered?”
“No, I was not the first to suggest it.”
“Who suggested it first?”
“Miss Rodi.”
William questioned him in surprise.
“Miss Rodi?”
“She was the second daughter of Duke Evant’s family.”
Only then did William recall the rumors from not long ago.
‘They said the second daughter of the Evant family was cast out.’
It had stuck in his memory because such an occurrence was exceedingly rare in high society.
“What is your relationship with her?”
Likens gave a faint shake of his head.
“None at all. I simply believed her argument held merit.”
William gazed silently at his grandson. Likens wore an inscrutable expression, as he always did.
‘When did he change like this?’
Ever since the young couple’s death, William had been plagued by the crushing pressure to raise his grandson into someone magnificent.
He worried that he had demanded far too much of a young boy who had just lost his parents.
In the past, William had suppressed his own tender feelings and remained relentlessly strict with his grandson.
‘Never show your emotions.’
‘You must carry out everything to perfection. You must never become an heir who brings shame upon House Magzeta.’
Because William had repeated those words so often, his once-sensitive grandson, who used to cry easily, ceased to weep at all.
Instead, he had grown into an adult who never showed distaste for anything, carrying out his duties in silence like a stone statue.
Others lavished unending praise on William, saying how envious they were that he had such a perfect grandson, but William only grew more worried for him.
He often asked himself,
‘Have I truly raised Likens well enough to face my dead son without shame?’
Lost in thought, William slowly broke the silence.
“What do you think?”
“Pardon?”
“I want to know your thoughts on examining your parents’ bodies once more.”
At his grandfather’s unexpected question, Likens paused in thought.
“I…”
For the first time in a long while, Likens recalled his parents.
His gentle mother, and his father, who had always spoken of art with such delight.
It was thanks to his father that young Likens had developed an interest in handicrafts.
‘Though it was because of that very thing that he always clashed with Grandfather.’
His grandfather, who wanted his son to be a flawless heir, had disapproved of his father’s deep love for the arts.
‘And the day Father died was no different.’
He still remembered vividly what his grandfather had shouted at his father that day.
‘If you intend to keep dwelling on such garbage, I cannot pass the dukedom on to you! Joen, Nia—mark my words, I will cast you both out!’
And the look his father had worn in response to that outburst.
‘How could you say such a thing? It might seem trivial to you, Father, but to someone else, it could be a radiant jewel! You will never understand, not when your head is filled with nothing but our house and power!’
His father had stormed out in fury, and his mother, her face etched with sorrow, had hurried after her husband in worry.
Back then, all young Likens had been able to do was sob in his wet nurse’s arms.
He had always regretted that day to the point of madness.
‘If only I had run after my parents…’
Would they have made a different choice?
Hundreds, thousands of times, he had been trapped in such thoughts.
‘And yet.’
Rodi had presented a new possibility.
That his parents’ deaths were neither suicide nor an accident.
That it was a tragedy born of someone’s malice.
…He could never turn away from that possibility.
Even if it meant committing the sacrilege of disturbing his parents’ graves.
“I believe we must confirm the truth properly.”
William looked intently at his grandson.
“Even if it means tearing open our old wounds? If the theory is wrong, we will only be forced to confront that agonizing conclusion all over again.”
“You are right, Grandfather. But…”
Likens added with firm resolve,
“Even if it tears those wounds open, I wish to face the truth head-on.”
“…!”
A hint of surprise crossed William’s face.
‘It has been so very long since Likens has shown this much emotion.’
He looked at his grandson with a gaze steeped in deep contemplation.
That argument with his son was a past William had regretted hundreds, thousands of times himself.
If only he had not said such harsh words back then…
‘Would my son and his wife still be alive?’
He had lived fifteen long years buried beneath that regret.
“…”
William closed his eyes.
There were things in this world that had to be confirmed, even if doing so reopened old wounds.
“Very well.”
He continued, his voice heavy with solemnity.
“I grant permission to exhume and examine the bodies of Joen and Nia.”
✦ ✦ ✦
The following morning.
The House Magzeta burial grounds, usually shrouded in solemn quiet, were bustling with an unusually large crowd.
Laborers digging the grave, a physician and a mage to examine the bodies, undertakers, and the members of the Imperial Palace Knights.
Along with Rodi and Likens.
The knights whispered among themselves as they watched the laborers dig into the earth.
“Could what that woman said really be true?”
“I’m not sure.”
One of Simone’s admirers denied it immediately.
“There’s no way the wild guess of a foolish villainess could be right.”
The corners of his mouth curled into a sneer.
“It’s obvious without even looking. All we have to do is sit back and watch that woman beg on her knees.”
Listening nearby, Simone wore a troubled expression.
“Still, don’t you think that’s going too far?”
She trailed off, her voice laced with concern.
“Demanding that she kneel and apologize before everyone…”
The followers surrounding her shook their heads.
“Dame Gretia, you are simply too kind.”
“That’s right. Think of how much you suffered at that villainess’s hands.”
Just then, one of the laborers digging up the soil shouted,
“The coffin is reached!”
“Lift it with the utmost care!”
The men joined hands, slowly and cautiously hoisting the coffin.
Thud!
At last, the coffin was set upon the ground.
Brushing away the dirt with care, the undertaker called out,
“Opening the coffin!”
“Open it!”
Pooling their strength, the men pried the coffin open.
“…”
William wore a complex expression as he looked down at the white bones of his son, gradually laid bare to the light.
“I shall take over from here.”
A gloved physician carefully lifted the remains of Young Duke Joen and arranged them one by one on a cloth spread across the ground.
After examining the bones for a long time, the physician shook his head, having found no notable abnormalities.
Right then, a visibly nervous mage approached William’s side.
“Duke, may I proceed as we discussed earlier?”
His name was Sailo.
A novice mage of the Magic Tower, he had developed a new spell a month ago that could detect the traces of poison.
While not exceptionally skilled, he had been brought in because of Rodi’s adamant insistence that they check for signs of poisoning.
William nodded.
“Yes, begin.”
“Y-Yes, of course.”
Sweating profusely, Sailo began inscribing a magic circle around Joen’s remains.
‘Please let this go smoothly…’
This request was immensely important to Sailo as well.
Not only had it come from a ducal house, but it was also the first occasion to prove the usefulness of his newly developed magic.
‘If I prove its worth here, securing sponsorships from high-ranking nobles will no longer be just a dream.’
Researching magic required an enormous fortune.
While the Magic Tower provided a fixed stipend, it was hopelessly inadequate for conducting advanced research.
After meticulously checking his formulas once more, Sailo thought,
‘Please let this yield a good result.’
With one final, desperate prayer, he channeled mana into the magic circle.
Whirrr—
The magic circle rose into the air, spinning rapidly as it began to analyze Joen’s remains.
“…”
Everyone gathered at the grave watched the magic circle with bated breath.
At that moment—
“Black?”
The floating magic circle came to a halt, completely dyed in black.
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
“What does that mean?”
“Does it mean there’s nothing wrong?”
Sailo turned to William with trembling eyes.
“Th-The results are in.”
William asked calmly,
“What is it?”
“Y-Young Duke Joen was…”
Sailo swallowed hard before replying as calmly as he could manage.
“At the time of his death, he was afflicted with poison.”
“…!”
All eyes turned to William and Likens.
✦ ✦ ✦
The moment the mage’s words landed, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
“…”
Dizzied by the revelation, Likens slipped away through the crowd.
A few subordinates moved to follow him, but halted in their tracks at the ominous, menacing aura radiating from him.
Reaching a deserted corner of the garden, Likens braced one hand against a tree and bowed his head.
“Haa…”
He stared blankly down at his calloused palm, which was trembling uncontrollably despite his will.
‘This has never happened before.’
It felt strange.
He felt as if heat were rushing all the way to the crown of his head, yet at the same time, as though ice-cold water had been dumped over him.
“Are you all right?”
A calm, indifferent voice came from behind him.
Likens turned his head.
“Why are you here?”
Rodi shrugged.
“You didn’t look so good.”
She was a strange woman.
Whenever he radiated such an intimidating edge, even his grandfather would keep his distance.
‘Is she not afraid?’
Because he felt so utterly awful, a brusque retort slipped out before he could catch himself.
“…Just leave me be.”
A faint trace of pity passed through Rodi’s eyes, but Likens did not notice.
“I guarantee you,”
she said, stepping closer.
“Being by yourself won’t make you feel any better.”
“What do you know about me?”
“More than you think.”
Likens let out a dry scoff.
“For someone who claims that, you never seemed to have much interest in me.”
“That’s not entirely true…”
Trailing off, Rodi thought to herself,
‘First Yubar, and now him. Why does everyone assume I don’t care about them?’
Appearances aside, she cared for all the male leads of Utopia quite fairly in her own way.
“If I really had no interest, I wouldn’t have followed you all the way here.”
“Are you trying to comfort me?”
“Something like that.”
Rodi paused, considering her options.
Her concern for the present Likens was entirely genuine.
‘What could make him feel a little better?’
Soon, an idea occurred to her, and she tugged at Likens’s forearm.
“Come over here.”
Feeling the faint tug leading him away, Likens briefly debated shaking her off.
As if noticing his hesitation, Rodi gave a gentle smile.
“I know a way to make you feel better.”
