19.Ariel Crohertz

The Marquis of Crohertz had died.

If anyone asked whether it’s a planned development, it would need at least three years to get ‘maybe’ as an answer. The next three years I remembered. During those three years the Marquis of Crohertz in 『The River Where the Sun Manoeuvres』gained prosperity. Therefore, the Marquis’ death was by far the most unrivaled and shocking change that the original work has ever experienced. No one has ever changed the main flow of the work. Just as all the expected Characters suddenly appeared, they suddenly disappeared. Meanwhile, the Marquis of Crohertz died.

What will happen to me?

“Hik….!”

A cold, freezing air, like those during mid-winter, rushed in like a hole to my lungs. I opened my eyes wide with a short breath. There was only darkness all around except for a little light.

“Haa, haa….”

Why am I here?

While catching my breath, I recalled the series of events that happened last night. Yes, this was the Marquis Crohertz’s mansion in Malta. According to my original schedule, I had to spend the night at the hotel and return back to Ingord. But none of the banquet attendees, including me and Richton, could leave the March.

(T/N: I searched through google and found out that the territory governed by a marquis is called ‘march’.)

This is because the death of the Marquis of Crohertz turned out to be a murder.

“Wa, Water…”

I staggered against the wall to grab a teapot on the table. It’s the first time I have slept this deeply since I was addicted to Ingord poison.

No, I wasn’t asleep, it was more like waking up from death in the blink of an eye. It felt as if the hardened blood was forcibly moving along the veins.

“I… I’m Beatrice Adenrogia Kale… The 22nd Princess of Kale in the South continent. My biological mother is a 19-year-old girl who was forced to forfeit the throne and was driven away.”

To remember who I was, I opened the door to the tightly closed bedroom. Reflecting on my role countless times as I carefully crossed the hallway. Currently, all guests who attended the banquet are asleep in the Marquis’ mansion. All I had to do was find Richton’s room among these hundreds of rooms.

‘At the end of the hallway on the right on the fourth floor. The room on the right. Don’t forget.’

It was faint, but the voice of Richton, who asked me to come to the room after resting, lingered in my mind. Even though it’s dawn now, time is none of my problem. Isn’t he the one who told me to rest up then come back? It didn’t matter if my visit disturbed his sleep. No, I rather that happens, so I accelerated my speed in the hope of doing so. Any way is fine, but I hope that Richton is offended, even just a little. I wanted to see his distorted face.

“Ahah”

But where is this place? I went up the stairs, but I was confused about how many floors I went up. It was because I inadvertently moved along the structure of Ingord’s mansion while sleeping.

After looking around, I went straight to the terrace at the end of the hallway. I thought I could check the number of the floors through the view outside of the window.

When I opened the glass door, all I could see was a city sleeping quietly under a countless Milky Way. But there’s no time to appreciate the beauty.

I rolled up the veil and leaned over to see below the terrace. All I did was just roll it up for a short time and try to count the floors.

Creak

The problem was I was surprised by the sudden noise and turned around. At the same time, a faint light from a lantern pushed in front of my nose.

“…Miss Susan?”

I swallowed my breath as if having a seizure and touched my lips. The man’s face didn’t catch my eyes. The only thought of him ruined my plan whirled in my head, urging me to sigh.

What is my hair color right now?

I picked up the hair flowing down the side of my forehead. It’s obviously gold, no matter who saw it.

What about my face?

I lowered my hand and fumbled my cheeks and corners of my mouth.

My face, my face without a veil, must be Susan.

The man who entered the terrace slowly lowered the lantern.

“Miss Susan, right. I’m Colin Campbell, Viscount of Campbell. Don’t you remember?”

Don’t you remember? Of course I do. Didn’t we exchange a short greeting a few hours ago at the banquet?

(T/N: she is repeating his words in her mind)

I hid my slightly trembling hands behind my back in embarrassment. The face of Viscount Campbell showed as much confusion as me.

“But the veil and dress…How could Miss Susan be…?”

Viscount Campbell, dressed as if he had just left the room, took a step closer. The distance between them quickly narrowed. It was a distance where the tip of the nose would touch if they took another step.

‘This morning, the viscount sent a letter to you.’

Ah, right. Of course. Viscount Campbell was a man who would send a maid to deliver a letter, even for personal business. I couldn’t believe that I got caught by a man that remembers my face the most. Even if I lowered the veil here, it would have been more suspicious.

“I didn’t expect to see you here again, since you didn’t reply to my letter…”

The man’s voice spread like ink on a damp piece of paper and scattered far away. I was out of my mind to capture his words. All I wanted to do is to get out of here. And make sure today’s work didn’t get into anyone’s ears.

“There’s a lot to explain, Miss Susan. But don’t worry, I have a heavy mouth like His Excellency the Duke. If you don’t mind, let’s go to my room…”

(PR/N: that ‘heavy mouth’ is a Korean idiom which means that person holds the secret well.)

I didn’t have time to think longer. Because there’s not much I can do. I mashed the flesh inside my mouth as hard as chewing meat, and roughly tugged on his hand.

“Campbell.”

“Susan?”

“Don’t refuse. I came all the way here to meet you.”

Then I slowly closed my eyes and kissed the man. It felt like kissing the scales of a reptile. It was stiff for a moment. As he had waited, he wrapped his hand which didn’t hold the lantern around my waist. At the same time, the breath that seethed in my mouth became hot.

It feels like a bug. I got goosebumps from the hand that was placed on my back. My body was so warm that the flesh of the man felt hotter. The man hurriedly put the lantern on the terrace, hugged me tighter. His fingertips, hovered around my waist, crawled up like a snake. My back neck shivered under his palm.

No, stop, please, Susan. Don’t think of anything. Stop thinking and empty your head. Hold your breath and it’ll be over.

“Cough”

Yes, just like now.

“Ugh!”

Viscount Campbell shoved my chest away. With his head tilted back, he was in agony, unable to make a proper noise. I tried to vomit, but there was nothing to vomit. There was only a drop or two of blood in his mouth, but by now, the man’s throat would’ve burned and the skin would’ve melted. Why didn’t I feel any guilt even when I saw him struggling?

“I’m not Susan, Viscount. Looks like you need to open your eyes wider. I’m sure I told you my name at the banquet… this is upsetting.”

I stood there blankly and gaped.

“Besides, you suddenly invited someone that you only know the name of to your bedroom? You have no manners.”

(Pr/n: ok good. We don’t like him)

(Q/C: We all dislike him)

Then I shoved the staggering man’s shoulder as hard as I could. He couldn’t open his eyes due to the burning throat. His body flipped over the terrace that barely reached the half of my thigh without resistance.

No screams were heard despite his fall. Instead, the friction between the branches and the fallen body echoed loudly under the silent night sky.

I couldn’t determine the condition of the man because dense leaves blocked my vision. There was no one passby to see if he fainted. I thought it was a good thing. Even though my heart beat loudly of anxiety.

“…Sigh.”

The second one was easier than the first one. So maybe, the third one is easier.

“1, 2, 3….”

After checking the floor, I raised the upper body that was leaning against the terrace. I am on the third floor of the building, so Richton’s room must be one floor above me right now. It was terribly unrealistic.

He doesn’t care even if I hurt people like this?

As I was about to leave the terrace, I glanced aside and was faced with an unfazed look.

He was there. (he saw the scene.) Just five steps of an adult man, on another terrace with fluttering curtains. On the terrace, Wilhelm was leaning and staring at me. My mind went blank. His dark red eyes shined like the ember that devoured the Triviaches.

P

Wilhelm’s face was just a blur in the dark and his expression vague. His vague expression raised my fear and my desire to get away from him. So I ran away. To the distant dark hallway, darker than the night itself, faster…faster!

“Haa, haa…”

The terrace where Wilhelm stood was a terrace at the end of the hallway that only VIP guests could use. Come to think of it, it’s obvious. Since the room at the end of the fourth floor’s hallway is Richton’s, the room at the end of the third floor could only be Wilhelm’s.

As soon as I reached the fourth floor, I slowed down. It was hard. Not a single thing has been worked out since yesterday. The character that’s created by God would’ve had a more peaceful day than this.

I thought a whole life’s misfortune had poured on the day I met Richton. But it seems there’s more left to be emptied out properly.

“My head… hurts so much.”

I had been suffering from headaches all day, and I felt like my skull was going to break even with a small shock when I was stressed out. I pushed him on the third floor. And the sight was witnessed by Prince Wilhelm.

‘How can it be the worst from start to finish?’

Even Viscount Campbell was a close aide to Richton. What if he’s the one who’s assigned the big job?

…no, let’s not think too long. I did what I had to do.

Tak, tak

I knocked habitually, but I pushed right at the door without waiting. I wanted to relieve myself of my sins and wrongdoings sooner rather than later.

I wanted to get rid of the stuffy feeling that I couldn’t handle alone and was locked right up to my throat. But the view of the room immediately revealed was so unfamiliar that all the thoughts on the spot were blown away.

“…so, what I was going to say.”

A look that focuses precisely on me with a fading, feeble voice. There were five more people besides the owner in Richton’s room. Men, men, men, men in the left chair. And a woman standing only a few steps away from me. Five strangers in all.

“…what I was going to say.”

The woman’s blonde hair was as transparent as my dark blond hair, which was dyed. Elegant elegance from a straight posture and skin as white as ceramics.

A thin waist, an inch of undisturbed appearance late at night. It was a feature that reminded me of someone, but somehow my memory is blurry.

Did I set the wrong time to come? Richton looked extremely tired in his chair. The pale face was already dead in the dark.

“Were you talking about something important, Richton?”

However, he could not tell me to go out asking for understanding. Because I am Beatrice, the Princess of Cale and the Lady of Richton. Although the door was closed confidently, the atmosphere of being an uninvited guest does not disappear.

How long has it been?

The woman, who had closed her mouth for a while, fixed her eyes on me, and recited each letter clearly.

“Unintentionally, it’s been cut off for a while. What I was going to say, your excellency.”

Alas, I just remembered. The character I conjured up in that woman’s face was Marquis Crohertz.

“It’s the fact that I’m pregnant with your child.”

So, the woman’s identity is Ariel Crohertz, who was once a guest at the Ingord Annex.