Gillian’s shout made Caden, who had been walking away from the arena at a brisk pace, look back.
“I’ll see the family doctors, there’s no telling what dangers may be out there.”
“No. No, Gil.”
Caden shook his head. His eyes burned like fire.
“I’m going to keep her with me for the time being, for her safety. Gil, I need you to think a little more calmly, because there’s still nothing revealed about who the culprit was.”
“All the more reason to…!”
“Gil!”
Caden exclaimed.
“Who do you think has anything to gain by assassinating the ‘Duchess of Krembel’ now?”
At his words, Gillian suddenly realized where he stood.
Not the Duke of Krembel, but the Duchess.
It’s safe to say that there are no other nobles whose political interests are tied to hers.
Did that mean she had any grudge matches worthy of assassination?
No, she doesn’t.
So at this point, the enemy is not from the outside…
Caden’s icy gaze cut to Gillian.
“Because I am now in a position where I have to remain neutral more than anyone else, and because you are my best friend… That’s why I don’t open my mouth. The investigation will be conducted strictly and thoroughly. I bet on my name. Of course, the safety of the young lady.”
Not directly, but the crown prince had spoken of his suspicions.
Then, as if in anticipation, the crowd began to spit out their speculations.
“Could this have something to do with the divorce rumors that have been circulating lately? With a divorce, Krembel would lose a strong ally in Kryant, but if only his wife were to fall unconscious before the divorce…”
“Shhh. You, don’t talk.”
“Isn’t it? As long as I hold my breath…”
“I’ve been on edge ever since there was friction between Kryant and Krembel.”
“Krembel’s side of the story has become unhinged.”
“That’s true. Regardless of the outcome, Krembel won’t be able to hold his head up high for a while.”
That wasn’t all.
“Oh, my God. Is that really you, Lord Krembel?”
“He’s been chasing after her like a stalker since before, trying to harm the Lady of Kryant somehow.”
“I saw him earlier, too, and I was so scared I looked away.”
“It’s obvious to anyone who sees it that the Duke of Krembel is…”
Over the shouting from all sides, Gillian clenched his fists tightly and stalked out of the tumultuous hall.
* * *
Gillian walked, not bothering to calm his heart, which was beating hard with rage.
The culprit for the assassination!
His steps quickened to a pounding beat.
He wasn’t the killer.
He swears, he never once thought of killing her wife.
He had intended to get her back from the crown prince, not kill her and be rid of her.
Still, isn’t that enough of a motive to render her unconscious to deal with the divorce rumors?
‘It’s certainly a good idea. But why would I do that?’
She’s the one who’s going to be dragged into the mansion today.
He hadn’t even thought about it yet, but people were making their own paths and fitting themselves into the most efficient ones.
‘I gave no orders, so this assassination must have been someone else’s idea.’
But no one had anything to gain by messing with Ellen.
It would take a great nobleman to do something like that to the Duchess of Krembel.
So let’s switch gears and pretend that Ellen’s elimination wasn’t the goal, but that this outcome today was the original goal.
To deepen the rift between the Krembels and the Kryants, to bring them to ruin.
There are several groups that would benefit from this twist in the story.
First, the nobles.
It was likely that at least one from Krembel or Kryant would break away from the Emperor’s faction, and when they did, it would be to the aristocracy.
‘Which reminds me, the Duchess of Traia has had her eye on Ellen recently.’
But he quickly shook his head.
‘To think that they could work in a tournament hosted by the imperial family simply by doing so. It was too reckless.’
Just look at that.
The crown prince accused the emperor and declared that he would investigate the matter severely.
If he had thought to do something like that, he would have chosen a different day and a different way.
He felt his thoughts slip into a labyrinth, and he pulled his hat off roughly.
“Damn it!”
Krembel’s entourage, oblivious to the events that had transpired in the hall, could only bow their heads in awe of their master’s insane behavior.
* * *
Caden, who had accompanied Ellen to the emergency medical barracks as it were, ordered everyone to clear out, saying he didn’t need anyone but the doctor, and took a seat.
“Is your leg okay?”
“… Yes, don’t worry about it.”
At first glance, she sounded fine.
But her face was white and her forehead was breaking out in a cold sweat.
“Don’t worry.”
After a round of false laughter, Caden spoke through clenched teeth.
“Unless I ask you to worry, don’t.”
His hands tightened on his knees.
“Don’t do things that would make people worry in the first place…!”
He shouted, really angry.
A gunshot echoed through the hall, and Ellen fell from her horse.
At that moment, he experienced what it means to stop thinking.
He was afraid.
He was terrified that he would lose another person like this.
His mother, his best friend’s betrayal, and that woman in the end.
His body jumped with fear. The next thing he knew, he was holding her in the middle of the stables.
Luckily, he didn’t find anything on her that looked like a gunshot wound.
There were just bruises and some swelling.
It was only when he realized this that the heat in his head subsided.
With that relief came a surge of anger.
“My lady. Please… I don’t want to lose anyone anymore.”
“Your Highness?”
Caden was unaware of what he was saying, and began to pour out the things that were bubbling up inside of him.
“I had a feeling that you were understanding my feelings. That’s because all of your words sounded like a firsthand experience of going through the pain, my lady.”
Ellen’s face fell.
“Maybe that’s why, as ridiculous as it is to think, I felt a kindred spirit in your every word…”
Caden’s emotions were pressed into each syllable.
“You must have been betrayed, too, and it was most likely by Gillian Krembel, and you must have gone through this before me, when you were younger, and it must have been… really hard for you.”
He curled his hands into a tight ball.
“So maybe we can be friends, and not hurt each other.”
“…”
“But I was foolish. You have no sympathy with my feelings, not one, not a single one. I, who hear them, I, who see them. I can’t even imagine how you feel!”
He shouted, pouring out all the things that were swirling inside of him.
Ellen was now faced with her greatest embarrassment since her regression.
The crown prince had hit the nail on the head.
The betrayal that had come, the pity for him, and the sense of kinship.
Those were certainly emotions she had projected when she’d seen this man.
But she hadn’t realized how much they’d come to mean to him.
“At least you made a deal, and you’re a man of your word. It wasn’t that long ago that you said we’d look out for each other’s safety. You’re not the kind of person to go back on your word, are you?”
“I apologize. I didn’t mean to give you trouble…”
Embarrassed, Ellen spat out what she was thinking at the time, then quickly shut up when she saw Caden’s face contort even further.
“Ah, good work.”
Caden’s gaze lingered on her.
“I guess this isn’t my job to do.”
“… I apologize.”
Caden’s eyes darted to the pack, and Ellen realized she’d misspoken again and shut her mouth.
“That’s not like you. Do you even know what embarrassment is?”
He said sarcastically.
“Congratulations, because you’ve just gone from being the most suspicious woman in the world to a woman who still has a shred of humanity in her.”
Caden spat out the last word with a hint of bitterness in his voice.
“Though I’m not too happy that this is how it happened.”
Straightening his clothes again, he turned to leave and started toward the outside of the tent.
“Your Highness!”
Ellen’s shout stopped Caden in his tracks.
“I apologize for the inconvenience… and thank you.”
“No. If anything, I’m sorry for upsetting you, my lady. Take care of yourself.”
With that, Caden strode out of the tent without looking back.
* * *
Caden ruffled his hair as soon as he was outside.
“Damn!”
I should have known from the start.
This was the woman who’d come with him to the scene despite Lord Cheshire’s protests that it was dangerous.
She’d taken the gun and gunpowder from him for this very purpose.
The idea being that if you don’t have the evidence to go after the source, you can make it up as you go along, so she planned to throw him in.
‘What, you’re one step closer to a divorce and it’s now a little easier for me to investigate?’
The trampled grass wrinkled under his feet.
“Your Highness!”
A knight rushed toward him, his face stony.
“What is it?”
“I found what I believe to be the killer’s tracks where the smoke was rising. Some gunpowder that looked like it had been spilled while loading, and a spent cartridge.”
“That’s all you found?”
“Not yet, but we’re following the trail of movement, so I’m sure we’ll find the killer soon enough.”
“Keep chasing. Do you know if he’ll abandon his gun to save his life when the encirclement closes?”
Apparently he will.
If she had planned this, she would have made sure that both the gunpowder and the firearms were available for collection as evidence.
Caden sent the knight back with a quick reminder that he must find the evidence.
He had just finished when he saw the doctor emerge from the tent.
“Hey, you!”
“My lord, I see Your Highness.”
“Never mind. How is she?”
“What?”
“The patient, come on, answer me.”
“Oh, it’s nothing that can’t be cured with good care for a while. For now, I’m going to get a splint…”
“How long is a while?”
“It depends on the person, but I’d say about a month should be enough.”
“A month? You mean she’s injured enough to need a month?”
Caden asked in disbelief.
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