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“Kieran! What are you talking about!”
Anastasia screamed in surprise. Kieran grabbed Anastasia’s shoulder as she was pulling his arm and shook his head.
“Lian isn’t the one, mother. We should correct what’s not right.”
“Correct it? About what! What we need to correct isn’t my statement, but the fact that he betrayed us!”
Anastasia’s yelling echoed in the room. The inspector intervened.
“We’ll investigate based on the statement first. We can’t just assume Sir Canillian just by a statement. We need some evidence. So please two of you, stop. The young Marquis and I should have a chat alone.”
“I think that’s better.”
Kieran agreed with him and led the riled up Anastasia to the study close to the drawing room.
The inspector and the chief of police were talking to each other while looking into the note. He couldn’t hear it well, but it seemed like they were trying to find the middle ground to the different statement.
Anastasia lowered her voice to save her face and asked annoyingly.
“What are you doing, Kieran? How could you insult me like that!”
“Calm down, mother. But this isn’t it. You pointed your finger at an innocent child!”
“Innocent? How can you be sure? He left the palace in the middle of the party. You know that he didn’t come back home even though the party ended. Also, we were attacked right before we arrived! If Angel was found a little late… It’s terrifying.”
Anastasia turned pale as she clasped her shaking hands together. Anastasia didn’t seem like she was lying.
She was his mother. He knew her well.
If she was lying, she wouldn’t be showing this kind of reaction. She would try to silence him using her authority.
It was weird seeing Anastasia so emotional. He thought that she actually might be thinking Canillian is the culprit.
“Where’s the witness that saw Lian?” Kieran asked.
“I don’t know. It was the inspector that brought that statement, so I don’t know who said it.”
“The person who saw the face?”
“I don’t know! But the storage was open. To do this while Donan is not there… Yes, it was weird he disappeared in the middle of the party. How dare he repay his debt this way!”
“No, mother. Please… Stop. Lian was with the Grand Duke at the time.”
Anastasia felt like the world shook around her and looked up at Kieran without a single word.
“Did you… say the Grand Duke?”
“He knows. Who Canillian is…. That he’s a lady.”
“Ha!”
Anastasia fainted, overwhelming with emotion. Kieran was startled and called an attendee to move her to the bedroom and asked for a doctor.
Kieran stood up after staring at Anastasia for a bit as he heard the Marquis had arrived.
When he came out, he saw the Marquis shaking hands with the chief looking serious.
“There are some differences in statements.”
“I heard. But, like my son said, it wasn’t Lian’s doing.”
“But the Marchioness doesn’t think so. There was a statement on someone seeing Sir Canillian near Louvre so we’ll investigate a little more. It’s a shame that this happened.”
Kieran asked on behalf of Gliad, who was looking grim on the sofa.
“Were the ones that killed really anarchists?”
As Kieran asked, the inspector looked at the chief and shrugged.
“They weren’t registered as citizens of Etaire. Someone from the inspection room will contact us. Also the amount of diamonds missing is not a lot. They won’t be able to make a deal on that kind of amount so you won’t have to worry too much.”
The inspector seemed very confident.
As they left, the house was feeling down.
Kieran went to Gliad, who was thinking.
“She was with the Grand Duke?”
He asked about Canillia.
“Yes, I didn’t see her face, but Baron Tenan checked.”
“Seems like he knows. About Lian….”
“The Grand Duke cares a lot about Lian. That’s why I’m worried.”
Two men nodded at the same time.
“Angel said…. The person who took the diamond seemed familiar. Even though his face was covered, his size and height, his walking style were familiar. Lots of things can’t be hidden. Angel has pretty good eyes… So that might be why they went after him first.”
Gliad ordered an attendee to bring out alcohol.
Kieran looked at his father, who has more white hair than before, and realized it was time.
“Father.”
“Yes.”
“Long time ago… When I was found at the pond.”
Gliad’s eyes sparkled at the unexpected words.
Kieran wiped his sweaty hands off his pants and continued.
“The person that took me to the pond wasn’t Canillia’s mother. It was… Mine.”