Chapter 46
43
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Deep wrinkles were etched on the Marquis's brow.
"Are you bringing up the issues of the council again, Your Excellency?"
Walter Richmond—no, Ares leaned his upper body, which had been leaning casually on the chair, toward the vassals. The sunlight, cut by the large pillar, shone on the side of his magnificent features. Ares slowly pulled the string of tension that lingered in the hall, as if slowly pulling a rubber band. Then, when the string became taut, he opened his mouth.
"I clearly stated that I guarantee the status of Grace and her maid."
"But in the maids' wills...!"
"They were not suicides, but murdered. So the wills cannot be evidence. Yet you ignored my opinion and locked Grace in the underground dungeon."
As the Marquis missed the timing to answer, overwhelmed by the Duke's momentum, Count Isaac, enraged, threatened.
"In this Duke Richmond's castle, you dared to re-verify the person guaranteed by the owner of the castle, Your Excellency?! To lock her in the underground dungeon without Your Excellency's permission, does that make any sense?!"
Then, the Marchioness glared at Count Isaac and shouted fiercely.
"She is in league with the Unseen Ones, so we had no choice but to lock her in the underground dungeon! Your Excellency! Please calm your anger and see the situation clearly! We have found evidence!"
Ares tilted his head and asked languidly.
"Found evidence?"
"Yes, that's right!"
The moment the Marchioness shouted triumphantly, the Duke laughed as if it were a lie. But it was such a fleeting laugh that it was questionable whether he had seen it properly, and he muttered.
"Evidence... I'm very curious what evidence is more certain than my guarantee."
Ares pulled his chin in and glared at the Marquis couple with eyes sharpened to the fullest, and commanded.
"Bring Grace and bring the evidence. If the evidence you present is certain, I will behead her and display her head in this place. But, if it is not certain."
Ares's gaze swept over the Marquis and Marchioness's necks like a tiger's tongue. A chilling shiver ran down their necks.
"I will demand the price for excessive loyalty."
Indeed, blood is blood.
Was it because all the ancestors were rulers? The Duke's momentum, whom they had only thought of as young and inexperienced, made their palms clammy. But the Marchioness puffed out her chest and glared with both eyes.
It's no use pretending to be strong. That bitch must be out of her mind, so she'll end up getting her head cut off in this place.
At that moment, a commotion was heard from behind, as if the door had opened. The Marquis couple, who were facing the Duke, reflexively looked at the Duke's expression. His gaze was fixed on their backs, but it was impossible to read his emotions.
The Marchioness desperately suppressed the breath that was gradually becoming rough with excitement and slowly turned her body.
The light beyond the open door was much stronger than the light inside the darkly decorated hall, so the figures of those entering were not clearly visible. Because it was backlit, and the light was blurred, even the silhouettes were faint.
Why is it so quiet? I wanted her to go crazy in a flamboyant way, if possible.
The Marchioness waited for the silhouette to become clear, forgetting to breathe.
Please, please, be completely crazy. In fact, that would be beneficial to Grace as well. She would face death without even knowing she was dying.
As if paint was spreading, the backlight disappeared and her figure was revealed.
She tilted her head, and the dampness and coolness of the underground touched her cheeks like a mirage. The strange coolness, accompanied by the musty smell of mold and the unique fishy smell of the underground, reminded her that this was reality. The Marchioness turned her head, as if possessed, following the woman who was passing by. The wet, clumped blonde hair covered the woman's back.
Exclamations from Crimson Isaac and those who knew her leaked out from all over the knightly family.
Ares quietly stared at Grace, who appeared pale. Her blonde hair, which was wet with moisture and darkened in color, hung long over her cream-colored dress, which was dirty in places. Her collarbone, which was even more prominent from being starved for several days, looked precarious as if it could be broken with just the strength of a finger, and her pale lips also showed that her condition was not good.
However, the gaze that met his was as clear as a cross-section of summer when the forest is at its lushest, and her will was felt as strongly as her gaze.
'Catch the beast that took the bait.'
Ares faithfully responded to her will.
"Marquis Rinko. Now that the person in question has arrived, it's your turn. Bring the evidence that Grace is one of the 'Unseen Ones'."
Marquis Rinko, who had been glaring at his wife from behind, took a deep breath and walked right next to Grace. He said in a rather angry voice.
"Your Excellency! The maids wrote wills stating that this woman is one of the 'Unseen Ones' and committed suicide! What evidence is more certain than this? However, since Your Excellency does not believe it, we had no choice but to find a witness."
The Marquis huffed and turned to look at Grace.
"We found someone who knows this woman."
Then, the Marchioness, who had come to her senses, chimed in.
"Everything from A to Z was nothing but lies. Even her name was a lie!"
When Grace slowly turned to look at her, the Marchioness snorted and shouted fiercely at the maid.
"Bring him in!"
When the Marchioness's maid gestured toward the side door, the soldier who had been waiting quickly opened the door.
His presence was felt more through hearing than sight.
Thump, thud, ―thump, thud.
The sound of metal hitting the floor and heavy footsteps were heard alternately. Crimson Isaac and the knights watched the side door with those characteristic footsteps.
Soon, a mysterious being appeared through the open side door.
Thump, thud, ―thump, thud.
The man had a particularly thick neck. His neck and thick shoulders seemed almost attached, but what was more eye-catching than that was his gait, which was as impressive as the sound. He limped badly. A left foot and a metal bar were visible under his old gray cloak. He was missing his right leg.
"Oh, my legs make it hard for me to go far. Please step aside for a moment. Yes, yes, thank you."
When he tried to break through the Marquis faction nobles with a hoarse voice full of phlegm, the nobles immediately glared fiercely. But the man didn't care at all, and there was a commotion in the area. Meanwhile, the Marquis hid his laughter and asked Crimson Isaac.
"Isaac, Count Isaac. This man says he owes his life to the knights who were at the Wall of Death, so he can't possibly not know him. Is that right?"
At that time, the man who had come through the nobles staggered and approached.
"Knights! Long time no see! Wow, it's really nice to see you like this."
The Marquis put on a serious expression and pressured Crimson.
"Count, please tell us the identity of this man."
"'Metal Foot'."
Ares said before Crimson could answer. The gaze that had been focused on Crimson flowed to the Duke all at once. The man whom Ares called 'Metal Foot' widened his eyes exaggeratedly and bowed comically as if imitating a gentleman.
"Your Excellency! You even know my name, I am deeply grateful."
Ares snorted and said sarcastically.
"Don't talk about gratitude. I saved you when you should have died, but you don't know the grace or the subject. Not only did you lose one leg and arm because you were crazy about greed, but you're going to lose your neck today."
"Oh, you're not only fierce with your eyes, but you're also fierce with your words!"
"Show respect to Your Excellency!!"
When Crimson jumped up from his seat and got angry, 'Metal Foot' shrank his neck, which was already tight, a little more and puffed out his nose.
"I'm sorry. I'm not greedy, Your Excellency. I'm just here to state what I know."
Ares hung a laugh that went back and forth between cynicism and absurdity and warned in a low voice.
"The crime of perjury is punishable by death. Do you know that?"
'Metal Foot' wiped away his artificial expression and nodded. Then he turned to look at Grace and opened his mouth.
"What's the point of perjury or anything?"
Grace met his shiny eyes.
"Even though my body is like this, my eyes are good."
'Metal Foot' smiled and called her as if calling a nephew he hadn't seen in a long time.
"Long time no see, Vicky. How have you been? You rude girl, if you saw your uncle after a long time, shouldn't you say 'Hello' first?"
Flora felt like she was going to burst out laughing, so she bit the soft flesh inside her mouth hard. Then she whispered to the maids behind her in the smallest voice possible.
"Did you hear that? Her name is 'Vicky'."
"She's called Grace, so I guess she wanted to imitate a noble."
Flora looked at the Duke.
"How heartbroken must he be."
'Metal Foot' staggered and approached Grace, waving his thick index finger in front of her nose.
"You've been lying since you were young, and you haven't fixed that habit even when you grew up, and you finally did this!! Where is the etiquette to be talking so carelessly!!"
The Marquis stepped forward as if now was the time, pointing his finger at 'Metal Foot'.
"This man here is a merchant who travels around the empire selling goods. He says there is no place he doesn't go, including the capital of Dekan, this Richmond, and even the villages near the Wall of Death."
'Metal Foot' puffed out his chest as if he was proud.
"This is already a confirmed fact, and I think Your Excellency knows it."
When Ares gestured to continue, the Marquis continued.
"As a vassal of Richmond, I needed to verify the identity of everyone who entered and exited the castle. The same was true for Your Excellency's lover. But while I was inquiring, I met someone who knew about Your Excellency's lover."
When the Marquis gestured, 'Metal Foot', who was waiting for the time to intervene, opened his mouth.
"When I heard about it, I immediately thought of Vicky. Hehe, I know this kid's parents."
