Chapter 22

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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Feel Despair, Too. (1)
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A noblewoman watching Victoria leave said.

"The youngest lady could have joined us for a stroll."

Rachel offered an awkward smile.

"Today, we ladies decided to spend time amongst ourselves, and a child would only be a distraction."

"But isn't the youngest lady of this house far more mature than her peers? Praise for her is quite widespread."

The noblewoman's praise didn't register with Rachel.

'Why was Victoria here?'

She had sternly instructed her not to leave her room today. While Helena might, Victoria was a clever child; she wouldn't disobey Rachel's orders.

'Did something happen?'

Rachel watched Victoria's retreating back for a moment. If something had happened, she would have turned her head and subtly gestured, but seeing her simply walk away, it seemed nothing was amiss.

'Right, no matter how mature, a child is still a child. She must have been curious about what was going to happen.'

With such an important matter at hand, she had no time to worry about Victoria.

Ten noblewomen had been invited to this tea party, among them Countess Ketileon from the Empire.

She had invited the Countess, who had not yet returned to the Empire, intending for her to witness today's events and spread rumors among the imperial noblewomen.

Countess Ketileon held no goodwill towards Rachel due to the incident at the garden party, but not wishing to openly antagonize her, she had accepted Rachel's invitation.

Rachel knew that Countess Ketileon had worn a sullen expression throughout her visit to the Bronte Ducal Estate.

'Her mood will change now.'

As the pagoda draped in white fabric came into view, Rachel's emotions became complex.

From now on, Ariana's life would be completely overturned by what was about to happen.

Rounder, a notorious playboy among the women of the Western Territory. Ariana, secretly meeting him, drinking an aphrodisiac, and engaging in illicit acts.

Even a single woman caught alone with an outsider could ruin her chances of marriage; Ariana's reputation, having lured a man into the estate's woods to engage in such acts, would plummet.

The incident at the garden party would be forgotten, and only the accounts of what happened inside the pagoda would remain.

Ariana, who acted as she pleased, flaunting her birth as the Eastern Duke's daughter. Ariana, who ignored her mother Rachel's words. Ariana, who treated her sisters as she wished. Ariana, who pretended to be abused at the garden party to embarrass her family. Ariana, who, crazed by a man, lured a street playboy into the estate.

A brand that could never be erased, no matter what she did, would be seared onto Ariana.

As they approached the pagoda, Rachel spoke.

"Shall we rest for a moment? Though it's chilly, the winter pond viewed from there is exquisite."

Inside the pagoda, it was quiet. There were no shadows visible through the thin, white fabric, but Rachel didn't find this strange.

By now, there would have been enough time for the act to conclude and for the two to fall asleep in each other's arms.

Rachel secretly took a deep breath, then drew back the fabric.

"Oh, this...!"

Rachel, who had been about to scream without even checking the situation inside, belatedly realized no one was on the sofa.

At the same time, the noblewoman standing beside her shrieked.

"Aaaaaah!"

A scream so loud it made the quiet winter woods tremble.

Other noblewomen, peering over the first noblewoman's shoulder to see inside the pagoda, also shrieked, and two turned deathly pale, trembling violently before fainting.

Only then did Rachel also spot 'it'.

A man lying collapsed, his neck twisted at an unnatural angle.

Rachel stared blankly at it.

'What is this?'

Her mind went blank, confronted with the unexpected sight.

'What is this? Why... why is this man like this? Why is he lying there so grotesquely... like that?'

The thought that it was a corpse didn't even cross her mind.

Because there was no reason for the man she had lured in to be found dead.

As Rachel blinked, Countess Ketileon's voice reached her ears.

"Oh dear... how dreadful."

Rachel snapped back to her senses as if doused with cold water.

It had failed.

She didn't know why Rounder was like that, but what Rachel had intended had not happened.

A man had died in the heavily guarded woods of the Bronte Ducal Estate, and noblewomen had witnessed it.

If so, she had to use this situation somehow.

Rachel mumbled, as if greatly shocked.

"Oh, Ariana... Why... why...?"

Then, as if realizing a slip of the tongue, she covered her mouth with one hand.

Countess Ketileon, standing nearby, heard her words.

"Ariana, you say... Do you mean the second young lady? Why would her name come up here? Is there a connection between that man and the second young lady?"

"Th-that can't be. Of course not, Countess. I don't know what you're talking about."

"But didn't Your Grace clearly call the second young lady's name just now?"

"No. That's not right. You must have misheard."

Rachel faithfully played the role of a mother trying to protect her daughter.

Countess Ketileon didn't press further, but she scrutinized Rachel's face with suspicious eyes. That alone was enough.

'Suspicion has been sown. These gossipy ladies will now speculate and spread rumors on their own. I don't know why that man is dead, but I can certainly use this situation.'

Now it was time to send the noblewomen away. If she kept them here longer, they might discover something suspicious.

"I apologize for suddenly subjecting you to such an unpleasant experience today. I need to send someone to the Investigation Bureau, and it seems there will be much to do, so I'm afraid we must conclude our gathering here."

Several noblewomen seemed to want to stay and continue watching what was happening, but they couldn't defy the hostess's dismissal.

As the noblewomen slowly prepared to leave, the sound of hooves echoed. Three men on horseback appeared on the forest path.

Rachel's face turned pale as she realized they were wearing investigator uniforms.

'Why are investigators here?'

It was strange that investigators, whom she hadn't summoned, had arrived as if they already knew an incident had occurred here.

Rachel hid her dismay and approached the investigators with a faint smile.

The investigators dismounted and bowed respectfully to Rachel.

Rachel asked.

"What brings you here...?"

"We received a report of a suspicious man trespassing on the Bronte Ducal Estate."

"H-here! There's a body here!"

Rachel had intended to buy herself time to think of her next move, but one of the noblewomen cried out like a scream. At the word 'body,' the investigators' expressions changed, and they rushed towards the pagoda.

Rachel clenched her fists and squeezed her eyes shut.

This was clearly Rachel's plan, yet nothing was going the way she wanted.

Her insides boiled. Rachel barely suppressed the urge to scream and turned away.

The investigators were swiftly examining the inside of the pagoda.

The noblewomen, who had halted at the investigators' arrival, gathered in small groups, watching the investigation with keen interest.

Rachel said cautiously.

"Perhaps you ladies should return for now..."

"That won't do, Duchess. A body has been found, so everyone must remain here until the investigation is complete."

An investigator, having heard Rachel's voice, called out.

The situation not going as she wished made Rachel's chest tighten with frustration.

If only she knew why Rounder had been found dead, some of this frustration might subside.

'Did Ariana kill him? No, that can't be. How could Ariana twist his neck like that to kill him? No, maybe he fell awkwardly during a struggle and died like that...'

While it was questionable if Ariana had the strength to incapacitate a robust man to such an extent, if not her, there was no one else who could have done that to Rounder.

The problem was that the investigators didn't know Ariana had come and gone from this pagoda.

'I need to subtly let them know Ariana was here somehow... What's a way to reveal it without looking like I'm tattling, but rather like I'm trying to protect Ariana?'

Just then, an investigator examining the body spoke.

"Chief, it seems he was stabbed in the chest with a dagger. His neck looks like it was twisted from a fall, though."

At the word 'Chief,' Rachel's expression darkened.

The Chief Investigator of the Investigation Bureau was affiliated with the Empire, independent of the Western Duke's influence. This meant that an incident occurring at the Bronte Ducal Estate wouldn't simply be overlooked.

'No, it's actually a good thing. If they find out it was Ariana's doing, they'll proceed according to the law no matter how much I try to dissuade or beg them. Then, if I call a maid and have her mention Ariana's name...'

Just as Rachel thought that far.

"Chief! There's a lady's handkerchief dropped here!"

An investigator exclaimed.

The watching noblewomen gasped, and Rachel's eyes widened, almost popping out.

'Whose handkerchief is this? Ariana doesn't have one...'

The Chief Investigator took the handkerchief, examined it, and then gazed at Rachel. Seeing his eyes subtly glint, Rachel swallowed.

A sinister premonition struck her. The corners of her lips, barely holding a smile, stiffened and trembled.

The noblewomen also seemed to sense something amiss, looking back and forth between the Chief Investigator and Rachel.

Finally, the Chief Investigator spoke.

"This handkerchief has 'Victoria Bronte' written on it. That's the name of the youngest lady of this house, isn't it?"

The world went black before Rachel's eyes.

+++

On her way back to the main building, Ariana wiped the blood from the dagger's hilt and threw it into the bushes.

As soon as she entered her room, she removed her makeup, changed into her original clothes, and left the room.

A determined expression settled on Ariana's face as she walked down the corridor.

'They've found the body, so there will be a commotion for a while. She'll have to put on various acts for the noblewomen who went with her and send them away, so I have at least thirty minutes.'

Ariana, unaware that Cyrus had summoned the investigators, believed she had gained about thirty minutes.

'I must get my hands on it today.'

Evidence that was both Rachel's and the Western Duke's weakness, and a weapon she could use to seek refuge with the Eastern Duke.

When Rachel was in the Eastern Territory, married to the Eastern Duke, she had secretly exchanged letters with her father, the Western Duke. The Western Duke had instructed her to burn the letters immediately after reading them, but Rachel had kept a few pages for a moment when they might be needed.

Around the time Ariana was twenty, Rachel, facing another crisis of being used by the Western Duke, had used those letters to escape his grasp.

'She put one of those letters in my hand and sent me to the Western Duke. So that his wrath would be unleashed on me.'

Rachel had taken out the letter in front of Ariana. Ariana, who had gone to the Western Duke with that letter and conveyed Rachel's words, was beaten by the Western Duke and confined to Rosen Castle for a time.

The Western Duke vented his anger, which he couldn't direct at his inaccessible daughter, entirely on Ariana.

From the moment Rachel called Ariana into her room and adorned her, Ariana had suspected what she was planning. She had instinctively known that if she navigated that well, this moment would surely come.

She had to hurry. She absolutely had to get her hands on those letters.

'Now those letters are mine.'

Ariana's eyes gleamed sharply as she opened Rachel's door.

'Now those letters will be used for my freedom, not yours.'