/
Baron Bennet shrugged.
“The Emperor has promised to bestow on me the title of count and a position.”
That’s ridiculous!
Lady Bennet’s eyes widened at what she was hearing.
“Is this for real?!”
“Unbelievable. Your father has brought back good results, and you’re scowling at him.”
“But father, what you did was nothing short of threatening His Majesty…”
“Quit your complaining! If you’re going to keep blabbering on, do it in your room, or better yet, sleep!” rebuked Baron Bennet.
Lady Bennet bit her lip to the point where it bled.
‘What was I thinking? Protesting my father in the first place when he barely listens to me?’
She felt as if she had bumped into a towering, impregnable wall.
Lady Bennet swung her head and bolted for her room.
“Hey! You didn’t even say good night to me!!”
Her father’s sharp voice followed her.
But Lady Bennet responded by shutting the door on him.
“Seriously, father…what have you done…”
She climbed onto her bed, hugging her shoulders tightly with both arms, curling up into a ball.
She suddenly had a strange foreboding feeling, like a cold hand running down her back.
Somehow.
“Huh?”
She felt something slipping out of her pillow.
She hastily removed the pillowcase.
And, what was secretly tucked inside was…
“A note?”
Lady Bennet’s eyes widened slightly.
***
The next day.
Lady Bennet left her manor early in the morning.
With an anxious look about her akin to being chased after, she headed into the alleys.
What finally stood before her was a neat family lodge.
Lady Bennet took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and grabbed the door knocker.
Thump, thump.
After some time of waiting, the door opened with a ‘click.’
The person who had opened the door was a beautiful woman with long silver hair.
“Welcome, Lady Bennet.”
“Lady Charlize.”
The tension seemingly alleviated, Lady Bennet called out to Charlize in a casual tone.
“I got the note you sent me.”
“I’m glad you got here safely. Come inside.”
Charlize led Lady Bennet inside.
In the living room was a fireplace that crackled and emitted warmth.
A woman and two men were awaiting Lady Bennet’s arrival.
The three figures were the Empress, the Duke of Rochester, and Damian.
“Lady Bennet.”
Damian was the first to break the silence.
“Let me ask you a question. What did you see that day?”
“What I saw…”
“The day the library caught fire, I saw you, Lady Bennet, running away.”
“Ah….”
Lady Bennet slightly opened her trembling lips before shaking her head.
“I have nothing to tell you.”
“Lady Bennet…!”
“Please, just leave me alone…”
Lady Bennet, whose shoulders were shaking, soon burst into tears.
It was clear she wasn’t in control of her emotions.
But Damian’s expression remained indifferent.
“I thought you came here because you had something to say.”
“I, I…”
Lady Bennet’s lips quivered.
‘…Damian.’
Charlize stared blankly at Damian.
She realized at that moment that Damian could be stern and unfeeling at times.
The gentle demeanor in his interactions with her probably made up a small part of Damian.
Perhaps, someone might look at him and decide to accuse him of being cold-hearted…
‘But I understood where Damian came from.’
The reason Damian was able to survive until now was due to his unbroken determination.
Still, Charlize was a little heartbroken.
Knowing very well why he had to be indifferent all the time.
But Lady Bennet didn’t know this.
“You’re heartless!”
“Lady Bennet, whether I’m kind or not is not the matter right now…”
“You don’t care one bit about how hurt or afraid I am!”
Lady Bennet jumped up from her seat, tears welling from her eyes.
Her countenance was rather pitiful, but…
‘Frankly, Damian isn’t obliged to worry about Lady Bennet’s feelings.’
Didn’t Lady Bennet come all the way here to get our help from the start?
If so, she should cooperate so that we can give her the help she needs.
Charlize narrowed her brow, but Lady Bennet was set on divulging nothing.
“I’m going back.”
“Lady Bennet!”
“How can I entrust my life to people who are so inhumane?”
Lady Bennet, who ended her words there, got up and headed for the door.
In vain, Charlize hurriedly followed Lady Bennet.
All Charlize could do was impart advice in a pitiful voice.
“If anything happens, come here.”
“But I hope nothing happens,” said Charlize.
Instead of answering, Lady Bennet turned as if to run and vanished halfway through the alley.
Charlize, who watched her figure disappear, muttered to herself with a complicated look.
“Did she not see what we were trying to help?”
“No, I’m sure she did.”
With a confident tone, Charlize glanced back at Damian.
“…Damian.”
“Lady Bennet said something back there about entrusting her life.”
“She did say that.”
Charlize nodded slightly.
‘How could I entrust my life to people who are so inhumane?’
I could still hear Lady Bennet’s fiery voice.
“Even if she snapped at us like that, she was probably apprehensive on the inside,” Damian added calmly.
“Is that so?”
“If she had somewhere or someone to go to, she wouldn’t have come all the way here in the first place.”
But…
Damian reached out and gently placed a hand on Charlize’s shoulders.
“On top of that, the person we’re concerned with is used to getting her way. It’s a lot to ask of her.”
Then he shrugged.
“We don’t have enough evidence to launch an investigation, so we’ll have no choice but to wait.”
“…you’re right.”
Charlize couldn’t hide her sullen expression and leaned her head against Damian.
“Let’s wait a little longer,” Damian said reassuringly.
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
The Empress came out just in time and comforted Charlize.
“I’ve known that child for a long time, she’s not the type to keep secrets for long. She’ll come around.”
“Your Majesty, the Empress…”
“I’ll think of something, don’t worry, Charlize.”
The Duke of Rochester, who was right behind the Empress, chipped in too.
“Her Majesty is right.”
Then he added playful teasing to the mix.
“Don’t tell me you’ve lost trust in me, now have you?”
“That’ll never happen.”
Charlize giggled a little.
However, sadly, they couldn’t afford to wait.
A few days later.
News of the Bennets’ manor being robbed and the massacre of the entire Bennet family spread, making headlines.
****
And more recently, strange rumors have been popping up throughout the empire.
“Did you hear the rumor?”
“Ah, rumors that the Duke of Rochester had a hand in the massacre of the Bennet household?”
From the salons and ballrooms of aristocratic families to the taverns and coffee houses where people congregated.
The rumors spread like a vicious mold, contaminating people’s ears.
“From what I heard, it was Baron Bennett who set the library on fire.”
“So in retaliation, the Duke had the minor noble’s entire family dealt with…”
“No way. Can you believe that drivel?”
“I’m not sure myself, I’m somewhere in between, but the Rochesters back then…you know?”
People gulped in fear when they recounted that.
Before the current Duke of Rochester became the head of the household, the Rochesters were a family with a fairly bloody history.
Their family didn’t shy away from getting blood on their hands for their gain.
Indeed, without bloodshed, it wouldn’t have been possible to join forces with the current emperor and usurp the throne.
“Besides, everyone knows Baron Bennet and the Duke of Rochester didn’t get along well.”
“This is a message I tell you. Anyone daring to interfere in the Duke of Rochester’s affairs will be killed to set an example…”
“Don’t say something like that. What if someone hears you?”
Even as that was said, the suspicion on everyone’s faces showed no signs of disappearing.
While all that happened, there was one person who was listening to the rumors.
It was the Emperor.
****
“All right, how are people reacting?”
The chamberlain lowered his voice and answered the Emperor’s query.
“The rumors are spreading properly.”
“Ah, really?”
“Yes. Most seem to think that the Duke was behind this.”
“Yes, as it should be.”
The Emperor nodded in satisfaction and leaned back, burying his figure deep in his chair.
“It’s time I rid myself of the Duke of Rochester, too.”
This wasn’t like when the previous duke, the father of both the current empress and the Duke of Rochester, was alive.
When the Rochesters were once the Emperor’s faithful collaborators and helped him ascend to the throne.
No, things are different now. They had to be done away with.
In no time at all, the Duke had colluded with the Crown Prince and become the Emperor’s biggest adversary.
‘Well, the Bennets were a fine sacrifice.’
Their deaths would suffice, a noble family being wiped out could gather enough buzz for moderate clamor and gossip.
Moreover, their family wasn’t on good terms with the Duke, to begin with…
‘It was perfect. Magnificently perfect for framing him.’
The Emperor’s plan had worked spectacularly, and now, the Duke was backed into a corner.
“You dared to intimidate me before…now I’ll wait. Your move, Duke of Rochester.”
The Emperor nodded in satisfaction.
****
Somewhere else.
A hooded woman in shabby clothes grabbed the doorknob at 356 Joanne Street.
Thump, thump!
The woman clinging to the door was deathly pale.
“Please, help me…”