In fact, the County of Garneid had enough money. There was only one thing that needed to be borrowed from the Duke of Brudenell⦠It was an information organization, āAisle.ā
āGive me full authority over the Aisle.ā
The Duchessā reply was also quick.
āI donāt even know if I have the authority to do that.ā
āā¦Havenāt you had any contact with them since Lord Cassius was arrested?ā
At my question, she answered rather pointedly.
āIf it were at a level where contact was possible on my side, it wouldnāt be called an intelligence organization in the first place.ā
The Duchess was not wrong. āAisleā was the highest-level intelligence organization in the Empire and was characterized by blind loyalty that only followed its owner. So, after the Duke died, it passed on to his successor, Cassius.
I gazed straight at the Duchess.
āLord Cassius, do you think heās making contact with them?ā
The Duchess replied with a serene face.
āI donāt know, but it should be possible.ā
I was lost in thoughts for a moment.
If Cassius was in contact with Aisle, there was nothing to worry about because he meant that he was preparing to clear the frame he had laid on himself. If he were handling it, I wouldnāt have to worry about being harmed.
āā¦Thereās a high enough chance that heās unable to be contacted at all, or even the Aisle canāt grasp the truth.ā
No matter how much the Aisle was the best information organization in the Empire, it didnāt move and couldnāt move without the ownerās order. Duke Brudenell would have been in full control until the last moment, but it was clear that he was knocked down by one of my maids.
ā¦In a word, it meant that they knew as much as the owner.
Worst of all, the members of the Aisle would think that Cassius killed their master.
āStill, the Duchess knows that thatās not the case⦠I donāt have to worry about this.ā
Then, there were two ways leftāmaking the Aisle move by somehow contacting them, or contacting Cassius and telling him all the information I had⦠Seeing as he killed Kitty at the risk of being found out by me, it seemed that things were quite urgent for him as well.
āThat means thereās nothing the Madam can do to help me.ā
āItās too bad to say that already, Lady Garneid.ā
The Duchess waved her hand gracefully as she went on.
āIs it necessary to use the Aisle?ā
āAre you telling me to find a private investigator?ā
The Duchess nodded her head.
āActually, there are private informants I have entrusted with investigating. They were the ones who uncovered the details about the Young Lady. If it werenāt for that, Iād still be wondering what the hell my son went to prison for.ā
āBut, you didnāt accuse meā¦ā
āI was just grateful for killing my husband, thatās all.ā
Saying so, she was now resting her chin on her hand and speaking freely.
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āHowever, thatās not the case if itās not the Young Lady. And, my son is in prison for nothing.ā
There was subtle pressure in the Duchessās voice.
āMeet my informants.ā
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āThese things arenāt evidence, Young Lady. Is there any evidence that you arenāt blaming the dead maid for her sins?ā
āā¦Then, how come they only found the things that my maid could easily access?ā
āThatās because they were items that even the Young Lady could apply poison to without feeling burdened.ā
Unfortunately, the Duchessās informants had less capabilities than expected.
I mean, it was inconvenient.
Even though I presented various circumstantial evidence that Kitty was the culprit, when they saw them, they still thought that I was the culprit. Well, they were the ones who approached that decision after setting the conclusion in the first place.
āAs expected, Iāll have to contact the Aisle at any cost.ā
I couldnāt expect this from the Duchess, thenā¦
āā¦There is only that mansion.ā
I remembered the mansion where I worked briefly before I was captured by Cassius and taken to the island. Since it was a mansion where members of the Aisle were selected, I wondered if there might be some clues going there.
If I was lucky, I might be able to get some help from the head maid, who was quite fond of me.
However, it was too far away to go directly and I was worried about what would happen while I was moving, so I called the maid of the so-called āleader of the merchants guild mansionā in a letter.
I smiled at the head maid.
āā¦I didnāt expect to see you like this, Young Lady.ā
āMe, too. Thank you for treating me well then.ā
Although I was taken by Cassius because of the recommendation by the head maid, I had no regrets about her.
Her fault was that she thought highly of me.
āIāll be straightforward. I want to meet with the person in charge of Aisle. How can I meet them?ā
The head maid wasnāt at all surprised, but she gave an unhelpful answer.
āā¦Isnāt Lord Cassius imprisoned in the Imperial Palace right now?ā
āThere must be someone in charge right below the Lord.ā
The head maid shook her head and continued.
āAll members of the Aisle are equal. Interactions with each other are also extremely limited to prevent information leaks. As for the leader you think of, Lord Cassius Brudenell is currently the only one.ā
Her words didnāt sound like lies. Still, if it was really according to her wordsā¦
āIsnāt there someone who was investigating Kitty?ā
āI donāt know what the Young Lady is talking about.ā
āMy maid whom Lord Cassius killed.ā
There was once a time when just thinking about Kitty or mentioning her name made my throat choke up. Nonetheless, those days felt far away, like it was a long time ago⦠even though it hadnāt even been fifteen days.
The head maid was lost in her thoughts.
āI can ask around. If it were the Young Ladyās maid, the informants in charge of her would also be staying in the Capital.ā
āThank you. Iād like to ask you one more thing.ā
āIf Lord Cassius is not released⦠Where does the full authority of the Aisle go?ā
The head maid raised her head. At the same time, her strange gaze lingered on my face before she opened her mouth slowly.
āAs long as Lord Cassius is alive, whatever his status, the Aisle is subject to him. However, if the Lord diesā¦ā
I immediately understood the implications of her words.
ā¦In case Cassius got the death penalty. The head maid was talking about just that case.
āWeāll move on in the order specified in his will.ā
I asked back in surprise.
āCassius wasnāt even over thirty yet, though there was a willā¦?ā
The head maid tilted her head.
āI heard that you were engaged, but he didnāt say anything to the Young Lady at that time? All members of the Duke of Brudenell write a will after theyāre ten years old and amend it every year.ā
It wasnāt something that they just wrote it down and forgot at all, writing a will every year⦠It wasnāt that I didnāt have a clue, and that was why this situation was even more frightening.
I held out my hand to the head maid.
āThank you. Iāll compensate you for it.ā
She didnāt turn down my offer. After I gave her a large sum of money, I then prepared a carriage for her to go back to the mansion where she was supposed to work.
Even though Iād have to see the will to be sure, maybe you didnāt have to. If what I thought was rightā¦
āā¦Cassius wants to die, leaving everything to me.ā
What he wanted was the death penalty.
ā¦Perhaps, committing suicide.
I gritted my teeth. Unless Cassius was dead, there was no way for me, who was not the party, to see the will at all.
If so, there was only one way left.
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Hermia looked intently at the woman in front of her.
āYoung Lady Garneid.ā
Her voice echoed strangely in her room.
āWhat did you come to see me for?ā
As Evelyn Garneidās pupils trembled anxiously, Hermiaās body tensed up. As far as she knew, there was only one instance where she would be so nervous like this⦠Cassius Brudenell.
āHeāll be executed within this year, so Iāll have to tell her not to worry.ā
The evidence presented by Cassius Brudenell was enough to astonish the entire Empire, and calls for execution as an example were rising. In any case, with the head of the family dead and the heir serving at least life imprisonment, there would be no possibility of a revival of the Duke of Brudenell.
The Emperor was thinking of executing Cassius, and reverting the Brudenell Dukedom itself to the treasury. Of course, according to the will, the actual property would pass to someone unknown by Cassius, but the powerful family of Duke Brudenell wouldnāt be resurrected.
It was when Hermia opened her mouth that Evelyn Garneidās earnest voice startled her.
āā¦Please, let me meet Cassius Brudenell.ā
āIāll pay whatever the price⦠Please let me see him.ā