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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: You Feel It Too, Despair. (6)
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Ariana found Cyrus's quiet assistance anything but welcome.
Knowing he wouldn't help without reason, her heart simply felt heavy.
Furthermore, Cyrus's help only served to disrupt Ariana's plans.
Because of the rumors, Rachel was confined to her room, unable to venture outside the estate. Ariana's plan to sneak into Rachel's room and search her wardrobe when she was away kept being delayed.
‘At this rate, the trip to the Empire might be canceled entirely.’
According to Ariana’s plan, Victoria should have returned by now.
Then Rachel would have hastily arranged their departure for the Empire, suggesting they leave the Western Territory until the rumors surrounding Victoria died down.
But Victoria had not been released, and Rachel was just screaming in her room, like a woman half-crazed.
Ariana suppressed her frustrated feelings and spoke to Rosalyn.
“Rosalyn, could you procure another dagger for me?”
“Yes, my lady.”
Rosalyn, about to leave after receiving the order, paused and looked back at Ariana. When Ariana tilted her head slightly, as if asking why, Rosalyn said,
“My lady, you… you live such an intense life.”
Ariana merely offered a faint smile, offering no reply. Rosalyn, too, seemed to expect no answer, bowing slightly before exiting the room.
‘Intense.’
Ariana mulled over Rosalyn’s words.
‘Yes, intense.’
Victoria must be feeling deep despair, confined in prison for the first time in her life. Rachel, unable to help her, must be feeling something similar.
But this wasn't enough.
‘Not yet. You haven’t felt even a quarter of the despair I felt. You’re merely confined to a noble’s prison, after all.’
To Victoria, who had lived a noble life her entire existence, even a noble’s prison might feel like hell. But Ariana had no intention of being satisfied with this.
‘This is just the beginning. You must walk through the same hell I did. Even if it means I fall back into hell myself.’
+++
Rachel trembled, clutching the letter from the Western Duke.
[Do not come.]
Only a single sentence was written in the letter.
Throughout Weston City, voices condemning Rachel and Victoria grew louder.
Intellectuals gathered, demanding severe punishment for Victoria's crime, shouting for the Duchess to be harshly punished for abusing her child and even instigating ruffians to commit heinous acts.
In such a situation, the only person Rachel could trust was her father, the Western Duke.
But to tell her not to come? Was this what a father should say to his daughter in distress?
Tears of blood welled in Rachel’s eyes as she glared at the letter.
+++
Western Duke Rodian Oblen was in a difficult situation.
Rodian had heard the news of Victoria two mornings ago. As soon as he heard, he began preparing to go to the investigation office himself, when his head butler rushed in, ashen-faced.
“Your Grace. The Nor-Nor-Northern Duke… the Northern Duke has arrived.”
Rumors of the Northern Duke's visit to the Western Territory had spread, but Rodian had dismissed them as idle gossip from women eager to catch a glimpse of the Northern Duke from afar.
There was no reason for the Northern Duke, with whom he had no amicable relations, to specifically visit the Western Territory.
Yet, the Northern Duke had indeed arrived in the Western Territory, and even sought out the Western Duke. And this, while Victoria was imprisoned under a murder charge.
Unable to discern the Northern Duke's hidden intentions, Rodian could not afford to treat him poorly.
Rodian abandoned his plan to go to the investigation office and instead greeted Cyrus.
“I never expected the Northern Duke to travel such a long distance. You could have sent word.”
“I sent word long ago. Didn’t rumors of my arrival spread throughout the entire Western Territory?”
Rodian’s brow furrowed at Cyrus’s insolent tone, coming from a man young enough to be his grandson.
Seeing his expression, Cyrus spoke slowly.
“Why? Are you sentimental, seeing me, who once spoke to you with deference as ‘Grandfather’ when I was a child, now standing as your equal?”
“…You’ve grown impertinent since I last saw you.”
“Impertinent? Are you and I not both dukes? If I am impertinent, then so are you. Isn’t that right, Western Duke?”
Rodian wanted to rip Cyrus’s arrogant mouth open.
Cyrus had come alone, but Rodian, who knew him well, didn’t believe he was truly alone.
Many in the Northern Territory had mastered mysterious martial arts. Cyrus’s Black Knights, in particular, were known to be a force of a hundred men in each knight.
The Western Territory, lacking strong military forces, was in no position to easily provoke the Northern Territory.
Rodian suppressed the anger and irritation boiling within him and managed to ask with a forced smile,
“Indeed, what brings you all this way?”
Cyrus stared intently at Rodian, who was struggling to smile.
Fifteen years had passed since he heard the news of his parents' deaths. Finally, he had reached this point.
There was much he wanted to ask, but he could not yet reveal his true feelings to the Western Duke. He could slit his throat right here, but he lacked the power to manage the fallout.
So, for now, he would have to content himself with simply observing this detestable face. He would have to end it by implanting a tiny seed of unease in the Western Duke.
‘Then, perhaps, he might grow anxious, suspecting I know something, and make a mistake.’
Thus, Cyrus perfectly crafted a subtle smile and said,
“The Western Territory is truly ungracious. To not even offer a cup of tea to a traveler from afar.”
Rodian gnashed his teeth and gestured to the head butler.
Even after the servants brought tea, Cyrus did not state the reason for his visit. As time passed, Rodian grew increasingly anxious.
His granddaughter, Victoria, was imprisoned under a murder charge, and unsavory rumors about the Bronte family were spreading throughout Weston City.
He had no time to deal with an impertinent young duke, but he couldn't leave the castle without knowing why Cyrus had come.
When Cyrus was five, his parents, the former Northern Duke and Duchess, died in battle and were subsequently charged with various crimes.
Most people with the Karha surname died in that incident, but Cyrus managed to escape safely and preserve his life.
Not only that, at the mere age of 14, he led the Black Knights back to the Northern Territory, pacified the chaotic region, and reclaimed the title of Northern Duke.
Rodian had last met Cyrus when his parents were still alive, and after more than ten years without seeing him, he had no idea what poison Cyrus harbored within him.
Rodian scrutinized Cyrus with serpent-like eyes.
‘He wouldn’t have come without a reason… Could he have figured out there was another reason for his parents’ deaths?’
Cyrus’s unreadable face revealed nothing.
Eventually, Rodian arranged lodging for Cyrus, and two days passed, bringing them to today.
Something had to be done before the Bronte Ducal family's scandal spread beyond the city, but Cyrus made it difficult to act rashly.
Cyrus couldn't possibly know the secret related to the former Northern Duke, but it was still a possibility.
It was possible he had come to find Rodian’s weakness. If Rodian were to use his power to protect his family, Cyrus might later use that against him, putting Rodian in a difficult position.
Time simply slipped away as he remained trapped in an impossible situation.
+++
Isaac was drinking alcohol in the temporary lodging set up outside the castle gate.
He was tired of drinking the new alcohol, only found in the Western Territory, and was yawning repeatedly as he drank.
“Since we came incognito, I can’t even roam around freely, and there’s nothing to enjoy… I’m bored to tears.”
He was tearing at dried jerky he’d eaten to the point of tedium when Noah, who had gone out to spread rumors as Cyrus had ordered, returned.
When Isaac smiled brightly, Noah recoiled slightly.
“Don’t smile like that, Sir Isaac.”
“Why? Are you going to fall for me?”
“No, I thought you were going to offer me alcohol.”
“What’s the harm? His Grace isn’t here, and all we have to do is spread rumors, so we can drink a little, can’t we?”
“Not while working. Rui would kill me if she found out.”
“Rui can’t come either, glued to the Duchess’s side. What’s the problem?”
Noah sat in the chair opposite Isaac and leaned forward.
“Speaking of which. Will the second daughter really become the Duchess?”
“Of course! Look now. His Grace is helping the second daughter with all his might. He says he's helping to repay a debt for getting evidence thanks to her, but is His Grace really the kind of person to do that?”
“No, he’s the type to milk a good mark for all they’re worth. But he did say the second daughter has long-term value.”
Isaac raised his index finger and wiggled it gently from side to side.
“Noah, Noah, Noah. You’ve been by His Grace’s side for how many years, and you still don’t know? Is His Grace the type to help just because there’s value in it?”
“That’s true, he’s not. He’s the type to extract every last drop, down to the marrow, even by blackmail, if there’s value.”
“Exactly. And that kind of person has spent days meeting with the Western Duke. And the Western Duke is someone he hates enough to want to chew him up and spit him out. So what does that mean?”
“It means the second daughter is the future Northern Duchess, doesn’t it?”
“Right. That’s exactly it. His Grace just hasn’t realized it yet, but we all know. Don’t we?”
Isaac poured alcohol into a glass and pushed it towards Noah.
“So drink up. It’s something to celebrate.”
Noah licked his lips and stared at the glass for a moment, then declared, “Oh, what the heck!” and picked up the glass.
After downing the alcohol in the glass in one gulp, Noah said,
“By the way. Do you think the Duchess will like our lord? When I saw her last time, her expression wasn’t very good even with our lord in front of her.”
“What woman wouldn’t like our lord?”
“That’s true, but…”
Noah recalled Ariana in the pergola.
Up until now, women facing Cyrus would always have dazed expressions on their faces because of his looks, but Ariana was different.
Her beautiful and lovely face was filled only with annoyance, and her eagerness to end the conversation with Cyrus was palpable.
It seemed she was truly bothered by Cyrus, not because the situation was urgent.
To Noah, Cyrus merely looked like a man trying to flirt with a woman who disliked him, but he would die before uttering such words.
Unaware of Noah’s thoughts, Isaac smiled broadly and said,
“If we bring the Duchess, Duke Hern will be very pleased, won’t he?”
+++
When the dresses for the social season arrived, Rachel decided she could no longer remain like this.
Rachel took out each dress from the boxes and examined them. Her eyes gleamed sharply as she picked up Ariana’s dress.
When she had ordered this dress, she never imagined she would be in such a situation. She had thought Ariana would wear this dress not at an imperial party, but at her wedding to Viscount Albrecht.
But nothing had happened to Ariana, Victoria was framed for murder, and Rachel was rumored to be a woman who abused her own daughter.
And that wasn't all, was it?
Even her husband, whom she’d believed was entirely on her side, and her father, whom she’d trusted to unfailingly help her in a crisis, had turned their backs on Rachel.
The Western Duke had sent one letter and then nothing, and Jacob hadn't returned to the estate. The rumors said he had taken an actress from a theater troupe as his mistress and was staying at her house.
At any other time, she wouldn’t have left Jacob’s mistress alone, but given the current circumstances, she had no choice but to endure, even if her eyes bled.
Rachel gnashed her teeth and flung the dress she was holding.
Then she commanded her maid.
“Bring me a maid. A girl who grew up in the countryside. She must have both parents alive, ideally with many siblings, and a strong attachment to her family.”
