Chapter 222

Chapter 222

Whether he would erupt in anger or express sudden resentment. Of course, nothing seemed to suit that face. Lucius, who always seemed to live leisurely, appeared to have a difficult past that was hard to imagine. Lucius remained silent for a while, merely toying with the rocket containing the portrait.

Elena looked at the trembling necklace in her hands.

In fact, it was something Tom had hastily handed to Elena before she came here, just before her departure. Lucius, after briefly putting down the necklace, spoke.

“Can you testify to all the facts you just told me in court?”

That was the end of his monotonous words. Elena waited for more, but nothing else followed. Elena said a bit awkwardly:

“…Of course. I can also bring evidence. I’ll bring it to the mansion in a few days.”

“Yes. Then, thank you. You may leave now.”

With a clear dismissal, Elena stood up awkwardly, greeted him, and left. Although she stood there for a while, hoping to hear something after sending her away, no sound reached her ears.

The silence felt eerie, and Elena quickly left the place.

As she headed towards the prepared carriage, Tom, who had rushed out from the mansion, caught her.

“How is the master?”

Unable to face him, Elena thought, “Yes, this is how an ordinary person should react,” as she observed Tom’s concerned expression.

But, Lucius reaction was different. He looked empty.

Was it true, or even if it was, shouldn’t Lucius express some resentment or confusion about how someone could be so selfish?

Even people around Lucius were worried how he was going to take in the truth. Yet, the person in question treated all these facts as something that could be helpful but not necessarily important to him.

“He was strangely quiet.”

Then Tom grumbled.

“Well, of course, at first, it would be like that. He was used to the fact that he is a bastard, but then suddenly someone says it’s not true. It’s kind of confusing, right?”

Maybe. Still, Lucius’ reaction was strange, appearing as if he felt emotions much less than others. While Elena thought about it, Tom seemed to dismiss it as unimportant.

“So, is the master okay now? If I go see him, he won’t issue an eviction order or anything, right?”

With such a childlike question, Elena felt embarrassed for a moment, remembering how she feared Tom due to his previous threat and yet he doesn’t look like he could hurt a fly.

Nodding briefly, Elena’s furrowed brows relaxed. Tom, who asked as if such things were not very important, spoke.

“Then go inside. After packing up, head straight to the inn.”

Unbeknownst to Tom, who probably never thought that Lucius was watching through the window, he knocked on the door of the reception room and then opened it.

“Bella Anise has been coming and going here!”

It was as if he had finally realized the truth and rushed in, full of excitement.

Expecting Lucius to be sitting on the sofa, Tom saw him standing by the window, the same window from where the spot where Elena’s carriage had been visible.

Feeling a chill down his spine, Tom could imagine that his master had watched his every move. As Tom expected, Lucius, who had lounged against the window with a lazy posture, tapping it lightly, spoke.

“Why are you pretending not to know anything? You even talked to her just now.”

That slow and monotone statement sent shivers down Tom’s spine.

Tom realized he had made a mistake due to his excitement. Now, with just one step forward, he thought he could wipe away all the insults his master had received so far, making him giddy and leading him to do something incredibly foolish.

Yes, the master was in the reception room, and the reception room had a good view of the front gate. In an instant, he mistakenly thought the master was in the library and, like a foolish puppy, ran out wagging his tail.

“That…”

Tom tried to speak with great effort.

His voice wouldn’t be heard from here anyway. Finding solace in the fact that all Lucius saw was his greeting with Mrs. Anis, Tom said,

“It was definitely Bella Anise.”

“Definitely?”

“Yes… you see, the two of them, they look alike. Anyway, that’s why I could come here. I asked how I could come all the way here, and Mrs. Anise burst into tears, telling everything to the master.”

“Is that so?”

Lucius asked with a casual tone. Tom calculated that there was hardly any mistake in his words, considering the direction they stood before and the view from here toward the main gate. Whether Elena cried or laughed, it couldn’t be seen from this angle. With confidence, Tom’s voice became louder.

“Yes. So, without a farewell, I ran here in a hurry. What exactly did she say?”

Looking up at Tom’s face, Lucius, who had just lifted his chin with his hand, spoke while gazing outside.

“She says I’m not a bastard.”

“What?”

Tom, with a surprised voice, asked. Lucius approached where he was, showing the appearance of spreading smoke down to his knees on the floor.

“What’s that…”

“The woman who just left is not Bella Anise but Elena Anise. She confessed that she performed a play for the Duke’s money six years ago. She thought the Duke and my sister, Bella Anise, were having an affair and did such a thing, but she realized it wasn’t the case after seeing this necklace.”

Saying this, Lucius threw the necklace onto Tom’s lap. Tom already knew who was inside – of course. Since he had personally commissioned it, it was a necklace he made. Despite knowing this, seeing the master treat his father’s portrait necklace so disrespectfully felt strangely odd.

For a moment, without doing anything and just staring at the necklace, Lucius, with a nonchalant gesture, signaled him to open it. Only then, Tom regained his senses and opened the necklace, letting out an amazed sigh.

“This is… Connor Fenry, isn’t it? The deceased brother of the Duke.”

“How do you know that?”

“What?”