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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Feel Despair (5)
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(26) Feel Despair (5)
The atmosphere in the mansion was strange.
Helena sat in the parlor of her room, embroidering, a sense of unease unsettling her. Her heart fluttered, making it impossible to concentrate on her needlework.
She wanted to throw down her embroidery hoop and go outside, but the knight guarding her door stopped Helena.
"The Duchess ordered that you absolutely not be allowed out."
The knight repeated the same words as before, his expression rigid.
Helena didn't even have the energy to throw a fit as usual, so she simply returned to her room and gnawed on her thumb nail.
‘What on earth happened? Did Ariana die? But even if she did, would it be such a big deal?’
Rachel had told her not to leave her room yesterday, so she'd stayed inside, but she hadn't expected to be kept confined for so long.
Just then, Luigi, the maid she had sent out to find out what was happening, returned with a tray of tea and cookies. Helena rushed over and grabbed Luigi's arm.
"What on earth happened?"
"Someone died, Young Lady. A man died in the pergola..."
"What? Ariana didn't die?"
"No, but... that's not the problem. The killer of that man is Young Lady Victoria."
"What?"
Helena stumbled at the unexpected news, then collapsed onto the sofa.
Luigi whispered softly to the blinking Helena.
"It seems Young Lady Victoria's belongings were found next to the man's body. The investigators came and took Young Lady Victoria away."
"T-took her away? Victoria?"
"Yes, Young Lady. What shall we do?"
Helena had never been particularly fond of Victoria, but hearing that her own sister had been taken away made her heart turn cold.
"The investigators... how dare the investigators take Victoria away? She's the youngest daughter of House Bronte."
"Exactly. But it seems the Chief Investigator came himself. The Duke tried to stop him, but he raised his voice at the Duke. He even mentioned His Majesty the Emperor..."
Helena's mind went blank.
Just a few weeks ago, House Bronte had been peaceful.
Everyone looked up to the Bronte Ducal Family, the Duke's two daughters were beloved, and whenever parties, big or small, were held, lavish praise was showered upon the two Ducal Daughters.
But something had started to go awry since the garden party, and now, something no one could have imagined had occurred.
The youngest Ducal Daughter of the Bronte Ducal Family taken to the investigation bureau as a murder suspect.
‘Why?’
Helena couldn't understand why.
‘Why is this happening?’
+++
Victoria had been confined in the noble's prison for several days.
The noble's prison was a solitary cell, equipped with a bed, chair, and table – all the necessities – but to Victoria, who had lived her entire life in the Ducal Estate, it felt worse than a latrine.
The hard bedding, the musty smell of old wood, the small window that let in little sunlight, the dingy floor, and the grimy ceiling.
These things, which Victoria had never experienced, choked her.
She had always been praised for being mature and adult-like, but that was only within the Bronte Ducal Family. As long as she had the unwavering support of her parents and family, she could remain the third Ducal Daughter, far more mature than her peers.
However, the moment she stepped out of the Ducal Estate, Victoria became an ordinary child.
The interrogating investigators treated Victoria politely, but she was simply terrified. Under the pressure that one wrong answer could lead to lifelong imprisonment, she could only sniffle and cry.
"They said the third Ducal Daughter of the Bronte Ducal Estate was mature and clever... I guess it was just a rumor."
"Indeed. If she just keeps crying like that..."
She couldn't retort even when she heard the investigators whispering. She could only hunch her small shoulders and bow her head. The intelligent third Ducal Daughter of Bronte was gone.
She remembered suddenly giving that handkerchief to Ariana last night and told the Chief Investigator, but his expression, after returning from questioning the nobles who attended the party, had grown even darker.
This was because all the nobles had been babbling about the same things: "The second Ducal Daughter of that house was so pitiful...", "She had bruises on her arm and neck, did you see?", "I was so focused on the second Ducal Daughter that I didn't properly notice anything else... I mean, even so, is it right that they don't even dress their own daughter properly?"
Victoria, unaware of these facts, continued to insist that she had given the handkerchief to Ariana at the party, but to the Chief Investigator, who had heard the true circumstances, it sounded only like an attempt to frame the pitiful second Ducal Daughter.
"The man's name is Rounder. It appears he was stabbed in the heart with a dagger, then fell and broke his neck. And the dagger that pierced Rounder's chest was found in the forest. Have you ever seen this dagger?"
The Chief Investigator took out a dagger wrapped in white cloth. Its blade was still stained with blood.
Victoria, realizing the nature of the dark red stain, twitched her shoulders.
"I, I haven't seen it. But... but if it's Ariana..."
CRASH—!
The Chief Investigator slammed his hands down on the table in fury.
"Again! Again! Always Ariana! How many times do I have to tell you? The second Ducal Daughter was doing laundry with her maid all morning that day. Do you understand? Framing someone isn't something you can just do by spouting words!"
Born as the third daughter of House Bronte, Victoria had never been treated this way before. No one was supposed to ever raise their voice at Victoria. They shouldn't have.
But for a mere Chief Investigator to dare raise his voice at her...
She felt a surge of indignation, but there was nothing she could do.
Even watching Victoria's lips tremble, the Chief Investigator's eyes remained cold.
"Rumors are circulating outside. It seems this man, Rounder, told his companions something. That he was supposed to receive 6 gold from the Duchess in exchange for committing a terrible deed against the second Ducal Daughter."
"Th-then it really was Ariana who killed Rounder..."
"The second Ducal Daughter was doing laundry at that time. However, for some reason, several noblewomen witnessed the third Ducal Daughter in the forest. Didn't the third Ducal Daughter head to the pergola to see what the Duchess was plotting, only to be attacked by Rounder, who mistook her for the second Ducal Daughter? And so, you killed him."
"...N-no. No! I never went to the pergola!"
"Third Ducal Daughter. If you did it while trying to prevent Rounder from harming you, it would be self-defense, and you wouldn't receive a severe punishment. You must speak honestly. Think carefully about it tonight."
After the Chief Investigator left, Victoria huddled in a corner.
Several days had passed since Victoria was confined here, but no one had come to rescue her.
‘Did they abandon me? Am I no longer needed? Since Helena is there, am I expendable? Or did they decide to take Ariana in because she's smarter than me?’
If, as the Chief Investigator said, she was attacked by Rounder and killed him out of necessity, there was a high possibility she would be released without severe punishment.
However, neither the Duchess, who instigated such a thing, nor Victoria, who went to witness it and ended up killing someone, would ever be able to recover their shattered reputations.
Looking forward or backward, she saw no escape route.
At a time like this, she couldn't find anyone to discuss it with.
For the first time in her life, Victoria was engulfed by deep despair and solitude.
+++
It was the fifth day since Victoria had been taken to the investigation bureau.
Strange rumors were circulating in Weston City, the capital of the Western Territory.
The rumor that the Duchess of House Bronte had sought out ruffians from the back alleys, given them a large sum of money, and ordered them to commit a terrible deed against her own daughter, Ariana.
The rumor that the third daughter, Victoria, also knowing this fact, went to watch, but was instead subjected to the terrible deed herself, leading her to kill the perpetrator and be apprehended.
The rumor that Ariana, born from the Eastern Duke, was suffering terrible abuse.
The rumor that the clothes Ariana wore were old and worn, not even fit for maids.
The rumor that Ariana called her elder sister, Helena, 'Young Lady' and used honorific speech.
People did not know that behind these rumors were a woman with short red hair and a man with black hair.
The stories diligently spread by a woman and a man transformed from rumor into truth, even appearing in newspapers.
While the entire city of Weston was abuzz with the events unfolding in the Bronte Ducal Family, Ariana quietly gazed out the window.
It was early March, and late snow was falling.
The garden, covered in softly falling, large snowflakes, was as exquisite and beautiful as a snowfield. Even the dirty rumors circulating among the populace could not tarnish the beautiful scene, covered as they were by the white snow.
Ariana tapped the window frame with her index finger, lost in thought.
‘Rachel wouldn't have time to pay attention to me. She must be struggling to get Victoria out somehow.’
Helena was now free to move about the mansion as she pleased, but she no longer actively tormented Ariana as before.
The heavy atmosphere of the mansion made even Helena hold her breath.
‘By the way, why isn't the Western Duke making a move? This must have reached his ears by now.’
Victoria had been confined for longer than Ariana had expected.
If the Western Duke were to step in, it would be difficult for even the Chief Investigator to keep Victoria imprisoned. The crime couldn't be definitively proven with just the blood-stained dagger, the handkerchief found near the body, and the noblewomen's testimonies.
To convict the Western Duke's kin and the Duke's daughter of murder, at least eyewitness testimony of the murder itself would be needed.
So I thought she would be released in two or three days, but for some reason, the Western Duke isn't making a move.
‘Could it be that he's trying to abandon Victoria? No, that can't be it. The Western Duke favors the clever Victoria the most; he wouldn't abandon her just because she got caught up in something like this. There must be another reason.’
As I was trying to guess the Western Duke's thoughts, a knock sounded. When I told her to enter, Rosalyn came in with food and drinks.
"What's the atmosphere like outside?"
"Several middle-class people are gathered in front of the investigation bureau, insisting that this case must be resolved justly. Even if His Grace the Western Duke intervenes, Young Lady Victoria won't be easily released."
"I see."
"There's someone else actively spreading rumors about this matter, besides me."
"...Is that so?"
"Yes. The rumors I spread only went as far as Young Lady Victoria being arrested for murder. The rest must have been spread by that person."
Cyrus suddenly came to mind.
Cyrus, who had seen right through the fact that Ariana would spread rumors.
Could he have been moving secretly behind the scenes?
Ariana swallowed a sigh.
‘How much does that man expect from me to offer this kind of help?’
