Chapter 198

Chapter 198

“Yes. At first, I believed that it was a lie she made to veil herself as a widow later on. But as it turns out, the priest even attended their wedding.”

“What? Who did she marry? Surely not the count?”

“Yes. I even asked if there was a chance Bella Anise had married someone else, but the priest remembered the count precisely. He described him as a tall, rare-beauty with blonde hair. He even said he felt sorry for him, as he had a lame leg then.”

“But the count was already married back then… So, he deceived her, went through with the wedding, and then discarded her?”

Deatrice couldn’t easily move on from the unbelievable story. However, Tom was more interested in the actions of the Deatrice’s father, the Duke, than any blame towards him.

Tom thought that when stories of adultery come up, women get overly overwhelmed, so he tried to bring Deatrice’s attention back with a comment.

What was essential was what had happened to Lucius.

“We need to tell Sir about this.”

“…”

“The duke orchestrated everything from the beginning, and it needs to be revealed.” Tom said.

But Deatrice had no response. Tom grew anxious. He wondered if Deatrice had changed her mind about it now.

Even though it would be embarrassing for the lady when this came to light, he couldn’t help it. If this was exposed to the world, maybe his master could restore his honor.

“Lady Deatrice, while it might be embarrassing for you when this is revealed, it’s different for Lucius. This could be an essential opportunity in his life. He might be able to shed the disgrace of being branded a bastard.”

“You fool. How can he shed that? No matter how grand a wedding they held, the count was already married by then. It’s obvious that the later marriage would be invalid. He will only bring shame upon himself. Dixie and the countess will suffer. Besides, father…”

It was quite challenging to mention the Duke. It felt burdensome to forever address him as her father.

“Nevertheless, as the duke, his words have weight. If he simply denies knowing, claims that Bella Anise… no, that woman six years ago, falsely declared herself the mother of Lucius, then that’s the end of it. So he must be more cautious with his words and right his wrongs…”

As if frustrated, Tom raised his voice.

“What do you mean, ‘more cautious’? Doesn’t the lady just don’t want this truth to come out? Moreover, do you believe your father, the duke, don’t know about this? That’s just nonsense. Do you know why I took long? It’s because the Duke made it challenging for anyone to find out. He used his influence to prevent me from getting the documents. Even after I said I’d receive them, they conveniently disappeared, and they said such documents can only be provided with the permission of the estate. Who do you think silenced me? Furthermore, who would believe that the duke, without any investigation, took such actions just because he believed that impostor was Sir’s mother? Not only the Duke, but nobles in general, are like that. Nobles are the ones who require verification for even the obvious, like whether oats are bland.”

“So what do you suggest I do?”

She wanted to shout.

Deatrice didn’t want to keep this fact hidden from Lucius forever. If revealing this could help Lucius shed the stigma of being a bastard, she would have shared this news immediately.

But right now, exposing this would cause more harm than good. More people would be hurt.

Dixie and the countess– Dixie’s mother and the late count’s wife– and people connected to the late count, and especially Lucius would be deeply wounded.

She was just advising caution, so what was so wrong with that?

However, at the same time, Deatrice couldn’t help but wonder if Tom was right and she was hesitating to reveal the truth because she didn’t want to. “The woman you saw six years ago isn’t your birth mother, Lucius. Your birth mother died a long time ago, and my father set up a ruse to destroy you,” she’d have to say. How would Lucius react when he heard this?

Would he look at her with disdain, as Tom Wilson had suggested? Would he find it repulsive?

“I’ll be the one to tell him. Just give me the chance,” Deatrice finally whispered, and with a frustrated sigh, Tom left the room.

***

That day was Frederick’s farewell ceremony.

He had promised to personally use Panimer’s Sword to deal with the monsters on the Emperor’s birthday, and now it was time to fulfill that promise.

Frederick, along with the knights, was ready to depart for the region where the monsters were expected to appear. In honor of this, the Emperor had prepared a farewell ceremony.

“Now, Deatrice. Let me explain my plan. I’ll use the fact that our engagement was never properly completed to annul your marriage to Lucius. Then, you will marry me and become the Queen of Galaba, just as we planned. Everything will go back to the way we intended.”

Deatrice recalled the words Frederick had said to her blankly.

Frederick had mentioned that the Emperor would be unable to refuse if he offered a sword in exchange. Since Frederick had declared that he was setting out on a campaign for the Emperor, those words implied that some sort of agreement had been reached between them.

Would the Emperor have to deliver the message to Lucius tonight, asking him to divorce his wife?

The truth was terrifying. Perhaps Lucius, upon hearing her ‘confession,’ might not have known whether to leave her, but Deatrice still couldn’t bear the annulment of their marriage. She couldn’t just give up on Lucius. It felt unjust.

“Dee, you don’t have to dwell on things that aren’t entirely your fault.”

Hadn’t Lucius said something like that as well? Her wrongdoing wasn’t nonexistent, but most of the blame rested on the Duke. Lucius couldn’t deny that.