CH 105

“Someone else is familiar with the details of the original story.”

The more I considered it, the chillier I felt, as though a winter wind was blowing through my body.

Although I thought it was absurd, I was convinced.

If anyone other than me is familiar with the details of the original story, wouldn’t it be the man who is reputed to be the god of the underworld?

That’s what I thought. He abducted me and took me to an orphanage, just like in the original story, and I believe he may be doing this to keep Astina and I apart.

Are you really obsessed with me because I’m the saint of the underworld?

“Hmm.”

Grand Duke Estin, who had been quietly observing the conversation between Marquis Borneau and Lucas while I was so deep in thought, straightened his body.

His indiscreet movement caught everyone’s eye in the drawing room.

Throughout the brief conversation between Marquis Borneau and Lucas, I was unable to tell what he was thinking. This was due to the lack of a noticeable change in his facial expression.

Grand Duke Estin spoke with a tone of indifference that matched his demeanor.

“I think I know who the culprit is.”

However, the content was quite surprising.

What I heard was so unbelievable. I slightly opened my mouth.

Does Grand Duke Estin share the opinion that the underworld god is to blame?

Will Marquis Borneau believe it if it is the god of the underworld?

I was waiting for Grand Duke Estin’s next statement with a question in my head, and Lucas, who was seated next to me, was clearly agitated.

With a troubled expression, he quietly called out Grand Duke Estin.

“G, Grand Duke.”

“Yes, Lucas, you figured it out as well.”

Grand Duke Estin, however, interrupted Lucas as if he understood what he was trying to say.

Lucas knows? Does this imply that Lucas knows who the culprit is but keeps going in circles?

Lucas caught my eye.

Lucas, who was trying to say more, lowered his gaze and tightened his fist.

Only Marquis Borneau and I were perplexed. Marquis Borneau cautiously questioned.

“Who …….”

“I just have a hunch. There is a decent chance that the first prince is involved in this case.”

“What?”

I was quite surprised by the unexpected name, but Marquis Borneau made a loud noise as if he was really surprised. His expression became distraught.

Although he displayed great bravery in dealing with the Grand Duke, he was troubled to learn that even the imperial family might have been involved.

If Cameron is the culprit, my earlier hypothesis that someone knows the original is unlikely.

It’s preferable that Cameron is the perpetrator.

That’s what I thought…..

‘You’re a cheap kid’

I can’t help but feel angry.

I knew Cameron wouldn’t give up easily after he lost our bet, but I never imagined that he would kidnap my best friend to exact revenge on me.

In a shaking voice, Marquis Borneau inquired, “Why would the First Prince do it? Oh, no…. Why did you think it was the first prince?”

“Did you know Mary and Cameron made a hunting bet?”

Marquis Borneau nodded in agreement.

“I heard Grand Princess Mary won.” At the words, Grand Duke Estin nodded with a proud look.

“Perhaps his pride has been severely wounded. He must have desired retaliation. Because of this, he offered the boy Brian the dagger as collateral. Count Stein is close to the First Prince, as you are aware. It is rumored that the first prince will forsake our great house and elevate the Steins to a position of prominence if he ascends to the throne.

“You’re saying that Count Stein didn’t give this dagger to Grand Princess Mary with the best of intentions, then?”

Count Stein is quite a villain.

Count Stein, I thought, really reflected on himself when he gave me a dagger as a gift.

Am I really so naive? I was too trusting of others.

And here I am feeling sorry for the gift I lost. In other words, everything you said to me when you gave me the gift was a lie?

From the perspective of someone who is familiar with the original story, it was quite humorous.

No matter what he does right next to him, he cannot become king.

“And… yes, the engagement.”

Grand Duke Estin appeared upset as he said the word “engagement.”

“I know those talkative, brainless aristocrats are making a fuss about Mary’s engagement to the Second Prince, but only a few people know that Demimore refused to marry Mary on her birthday.”

“Now that I think about it, you’re right.”

Marquis Borneau’s expression lost its uncertainty. But he didn’t appear to be at ease.

He appeared to be rather complicated. He wasn’t certain that he could believe all of these stories.

“The place that can turn a child supported by Conler into an enemy of the Grand Duchy is…”

“There is only the imperial family.”

In a complex voice, Marquis Borneau connected Grand Duke Estin’s words.

I also felt sorry for Astina, who had been dragged into my fight with Cameron for no apparent reason.

Astina suffered such harm simply because she was close to me.

Nothing had changed from the original. Because it’s accurate to say that she was kidnapped because of me.

“But why was it our Astina?”

“She is Mary’s best friend, so that must have been the reason.”

Yeah, we shouldn’t be close!

There is nothing I can do if my father forbids me from playing with Astina.

“Oh, all of this is just my insistence on protecting my daughter. It’s up to you to judge.”

However, how did Prince Cameron come to know Brian?

He could have looked into the orphanage where Astina and I once resided, but he was unable to look into my interactions with the children there.

The uneasy sensation persisted.

“Pardon me,”

Lucas then extended his hand.

I thought he would just stay still after Grand Duke Estin stopped him earlier, but I guess he was looking for a chance to get the floor quietly.

“May I say a word?”

“Even if I tell you to stop, you’re not the type of person who will.”

Grand Estin looked bored. He gestured as if he was asking him to speak.

Lucas said matter-of-factly.

“It’s dangerous to pinpoint the first prince as the guilty party with just these two testimonies, and… oh, Marquis Bourne, I don’t want to say this, but we’re about to start trading, so the emperor and…”

Lucas’s comments made sense and were surprisingly realistic.

It was impossible to see the Grand Duchy with a fine gaze from the imperial family, who will open a trade with the Kingdom of Lacom.

But if the first prince is accused of the crime without any proof, the imperial family might use that as a justification to meddle in the business.

I bit my lower lip and looked at the dagger.

I wish I had a fingerprint identification system. The prints left by Cameron can be analyzed as proof.

Without Marquis Borneau’s knowledge, I was carefully inspecting the dagger when I discovered a peculiar detail.

Was there a pattern like this?

The eagle carving on the dagger had a translucent white pattern drawn on it.

It didn’t have this when I first saw it. I rubbed my eyes and took another look because I thought I had seen it incorrectly, but I had not.

It appeared to be a geometric pattern at first. Why was this even drawn in the first place? I extended my hand and tried to touch it, but all I could do was feel the engraved eagle.

It’s an oddly familiar sensation.

Oh, it reminds me of the magic trick Gilbert demonstrated in his textbook from the academy.

“Mary?”

Grand Duke Estin called out to me from behind as I was silently gazing at the dagger, possibly wondering what I was doing.

After giving it some thought, I made the decision to be honest.

“The dagger has a strange marking on it.”

“What did you do with the dagger?”

Grand Duke Estin, who had been listening to me, asked Marquis Borneau urgently, but Marquis Borneau shook his head and gave a terrified expression.

Grand Duke Estin took the dagger from me and examined it. However, when he focused on the pattern, only his brows furrowed.

Marquis Borneau, Lucas, and Grand Duke Estin all did not see a pattern on the dagger.

Grand Duke Estin asked me while taking his eyes off the dagger.

“Could you describe the type of pattern it has?”

“Uh, I don’t understand how to describe it; it’s so complicated.”

“Would you like to draw, then? Drawings by Mary are excellent.”

What’s the matter with him? This is a serious matter.

Lucas rushed out with parchment and a pen without perhaps noticing my tense expression.

My hands shook under the pressure. I grabbed the pen and tried to replicate the image on the dagger as best I could.

I initially thought it was geometric, but after giving it another look, I realized it was more of a repetitive structure that was simple to draw.

While I was drawing the pattern, Grand Duke Estin and Lucas’ expressions as they observed it were peculiar.

“Is this the pattern?”

“Oh, this is… It is.”

“I see.”

Grand Estin mull.

He then muttered some unclear words.

“You have succeeded, Father.”