Chapter 53
53
A moment later, Viktor, looking tired, pressed his hand against the back of his neck and turned to Scarlett with cool eyes, asking,
"Is there anything left to sell me out for?"
"What?"
"Or do you have a thing for the Royal Police?"
At his question, Scarlett turned her head away.
"I, I didn't know."
"Oh, you didn't know this either?"
Scarlett was speechless at Viktor's indifferent gaze.
Viktor continued,
"Out of all those employees, you pick one to leave with, and you didn't know that bastard was Royal Police?"
"I really didn't know!"
Scarlett raised her voice, feeling wronged. Viktor, on the contrary, smiled calmly and said,
"Then explain. Why him of all people?"
At his words, Scarlett thought of what to say.
Words to explain how the one person she chose happened to be a spy who had infiltrated the Dumpelt Family. An explanation that, neither before nor now, did she have any connection with the Royal Police.
Scarlett's breathing quickened. If she didn't explain now, he might send her back to a place like the Monastery. Even if they were now strangers, he had the power to do so.
Standing before Viktor Dampfelt always left her feeling helpless. No matter what she did, he never understood her feelings. Most of their married life had been like that, and it was like that at this moment.
But she couldn't think of anything to say. Really, it was just a feeling. From the moment she recovered from the illness she had contracted at the Monastery and saw Andrei's face, she had the thought that she had to take him with her when she left the Dumpelt Family. It was true that he was capable, but if asked why Andrei of all people, she had nothing to say.
Scarlett couldn't say anything and instead pressed her lips tightly together.
Viktor tilted his head and asked her,
"Why? Can't you remember again? You don't know the reason this time either?"
"......Yes."
Scarlett thought she was like a parrot. Repeating the same thing over and over. And the only additional information was the fact that she couldn't grasp any of it herself.
Viktor said,
"Was that also an act? Acting like a crazy person."
Scarlett didn't know what else to say, so she remained silent, and Viktor continued,
"You lie so much. I don't know what to believe about you anymore."
"......"
"I feel like I have to doubt everything that comes out of your mouth. In the first place, did you ever love me?"
At Viktor's indifferent question, Scarlett's body, which had been trembling with fear, anger, and tears, stopped as if exhausted. And she looked at Viktor and said,
"......If that wasn't love, what did it look like? In your eyes."
"I'm asking because I don't know."
Scarlett closed her eyes for a moment. She felt like she had lost too much.
"Then I guess it wasn't. I must have been mistaken."
She bit her lip once and continued,
"I've never received it, so I don't know what love is. So I guess I was wrong. So why didn't you like me a little? If you could lie about something like that, why didn't you do it?"
"I told you, I said I loved you."
At his words, Scarlett gave a hollow laugh.
"Then neither of us did. It was all fake. Yeah, I never loved you. So I just wanted you to fail, so I did that. I was trying to sell off your whole life. Is there anything left? I was trying to scrape off anything I could. Are you satisfied?"
Scarlett pushed Viktor towards the door, not even making eye contact with him, and said,
"If you understand, can you leave now? And I don't care about the Royal Police or whatever, so please send Andrei back. I can't run this place without Andrei."
After saying that, Scarlett turned around, went up the stairs, and entered her studio.
She locked the door and then sat down in front of it. She thought that she was the one who didn't know what to believe.
*
Andrei momentarily regained consciousness. It was because water had been splashed on his face. He was sitting in a chair, and he was handcuffed.
Looking at the sign on the wall, it was the Naval Residence.
Viktor, who had been smoking in the interrogation room until it was filled with smoke, waiting for Andrei to wake up, opened his mouth.
"Shall we get this over with quickly? Scarlett wants me to send you back soon."
He said that, but Viktor didn't seem to be in a hurry at all. After a moment, he pushed a pack of cigarettes towards Andrei, and Andrei also put a cigarette in his mouth with his handcuffed hands.
"How did you know? My forged identity was perfect."
"My men reported that you were using the Royal Police's unique fighting style."
"......Ah."
"And I also confirmed that you requested the police to find someone."
He knew this would happen. Feeling pathetic for doing such a thing even knowing it, Andrei asked,
"What about the masked man?"
"Navy."
"He was quite useful."
"I have to kick him out if he's only good enough to lose to the police."
At that answer, Andrei laughed emptily and asked,
"Are you going to kill me?"
"I'm telling you, Scarlett told me to send you back."
Whatever the case, Andrei had a satisfied expression on his face as he smoked a cigarette for the first time in a while.
"The Madam hates the smell of cigarettes, so I've been quitting recently."
"Oh. She doesn't like it."
Viktor agreed with his words, but Andrei felt that it was putting pressure on him. Viktor asked,
"So. Why near my ex-wife?"
"I was monitoring the Young Master, but the Madam scouted me. I went because I was greedy."
"Scarlett scouted a Royal Police officer out of all those servants?"
"Yes."
"Not colluding?"
At Viktor's words, Andrei chuckled and said,
"Actually, that's right. We were colluding. We're in cahoots. Why wouldn't a woman who betrayed once do it twice? We were colluding to sell all the information about the Young Master that could be sold to the royal family. The Madam is a great liar."
As he sneered like that, Viktor gestured. From behind, his subordinate grabbed Andrei's head and slammed it against the desk with a loud noise.
Andrei groaned and continued,
"Why, why."
"I don't like your attitude."
"I'm telling you as it is? Or why. Do you think the Madam isn't cunning enough to lie so naturally, or rational enough to hide her feelings?"
"......"
"Someone who can't help but be happy when she's happy?"
Whether it was Viktor's order or not, the hand pressing down on his head was released.
Andrei muttered,
"It's a pity that the Madam is such a troublemaker, I got caught up in it and got caught. It's a shame......"
Andrei stopped talking at the pressure as Viktor walked over. Viktor threw the cigarette on the floor and rubbed it out with his shoe, then grabbed Andrei's chin, lifted his head, and said,
"So what were you trying to get as a spy?"
"......I wonder."
"I said I wouldn't kill you."
And then his thumb pressed on Andrei's lower teeth. Andrei struggled in pain as his healthy teeth cracked and were pulled out. Blood dripped from his mouth.
"What do you need?"
Viktor moved his finger to another tooth and asked as if he were dealing with a child, and Andrei gasped and said,
"Don't you know?"
"In case of emergency, were you thinking of killing me?"
"Of course not."
"Scarlett cooperated with that?"
"Did the Madam cooperate?"
Andrei laughed heartily with a face covered in cold sweat. And continued,
"How could the Madam have cooperated in killing the Young Master? Someone so in love."
As he said that, he soon burst out laughing at what was funny.
"Did you know? I handle all the money-related matters at the watch shop. I also manage all of the Madam's assets. If I wanted to, the Madam would be penniless, you know?"
"......"
"The Madam trusts others so much, but others don't trust the Madam."
And he muttered as he lost consciousness.
"......Only our Madam is pitiful."
*
"Only our Madam is pitiful."
Late at night, Viktor, standing by the office window, was troubled by Andrei's words etched in his mind.
Strangely, that one word wouldn't leave his head.
There wasn't much to gain from him. The fact that a Royal Police officer from a family with a certain name had infiltrated, even changing his identity, meant that, as Andrei said, he would have been willing to end his life in case of emergency.
As Viktor was looking at the rain that had begun to pour outside the window, Evan, who had finished the interrogation, said,
"The mastermind is Crown Prince Yuli Irene."
"Besides something so obvious. What about Scarlett?"
"She just laughs when I ask her that. She's not in her right mind."
At his words, Viktor said,
"I'll interrogate her."
As Evan was about to step back, Palin, who had come with him, who always said one word more than necessary, said,
"Are you going to interrogate the Madam too?"
At his question, Viktor turned to look at Palin.
At his gaze, Evan quickly smiled and said,
"Please pretend you didn't hear that. I'll beat him up."
Evan said and kicked Palin. After that, he closed the door.
As Palin rubbed the thigh that had been kicked with his hand, Evan said,
"Don't even mention anything related to the Madam. If you want to save your life."
"But I have to say what I have to say."
"You're going to ruin yourself with that mouth someday."
Evan scolded and quickly moved his steps.
