ISGJV 49

Chapter 49

The Duchess’s steps as she headed toward Edmund’s bedroom were full of confidence and anticipation.

‘By now he must be on the verge of suffocating. He should finally be obedient.’

He was, at most, fourteen years old.
Moreover, after already being locked up for a night by Cassia, he seemed to have grown thinner and more fragile.
On top of that, she had kept him confined in darkness for several more days and even starved him.

Naturally, he must be completely cornered.
At this point, he would surely spill everything he knew.

‘Then I can finally get rid of that troublesome, hateful Edmund.’

Every time she saw Edmund—whose appearance reminded her of the late former duchess—she felt unbearably displeased.
Especially because she believed her husband still harbored lingering feelings for his sister-in-law.

A fool who, generation after generation, stood in the way of her and her son’s future.
Not only hateful, but downright cursed.

‘I will never tolerate anyone interfering with Patrick’s future.’

All she had to do was find out the location of the heirloom Edmund was hiding and then kill him.

‘Then my husband won’t be able to say anything to me.’

Cleanly and neatly—everything would be resolved.

As her anticipation edged closer to excitement, she quickened her pace.

But just as she reached the corridor leading to Edmund’s bedroom—

A strange sound pierced her ears.

Crash!
The sound of glass shattering.

‘What was that?’

And then, immediately after—

Thud!
A heavy object struck the floor, the impact reverberating through the ground.

As if on cue, a sharp scream tore through the air.

“Kyaaaah!!!”

Cassia, who had been guiding the duchess, muttered in confusion.

“That sounded like the nanny’s voice. What’s going on?”

Despite her limp, Cassia hurried forward.
The place where the strange noises and screams were coming from was in the same direction as their destination.

‘Toward Edmund’s bedroom?’

The duchess forcibly suppressed the sense of dread crawling up her spine and followed Cassia.

When she overtook the limping Cassia and arrived first at Edmund’s bedroom—

The door was firmly closed.

“What? Nothing’s wrong?”

For a moment, she wondered if Edmund had somehow escaped, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
Yet the nanny’s screams were still piercingly loud.

More precisely, they were coming not from inside the room, but from somewhere very close outside the building.

Cassia, who had arrived just behind her, urged her on.

“My lady, please open the door quickly.”

“Y-Yes!”

She finally came to her senses and unlocked the door with the key.

And what greeted them inside was a horrific scene.

Whoosh—
Wind was blowing in through a window that should have been tightly boarded up.

There was a hole in the wooden planks large enough for a child’s body to pass through. The window glass was shattered as well.

As though someone had desperately slammed their body against it over and over to break through, the boards were covered in scratch marks and even traces of blood.

Anyone would inevitably frown at such a pitiful and tragic sight.

But the duchess paid none of that any attention.
All she cared about was whether Edmund was here or not.

“Where is Edmund? Where is the child?”

Her trembling voice sounded as though she were genuinely worried for her nephew, which was deeply ironic.

But the room was empty.

When she cautiously approached the broken window and looked down—

Something that should not have been there lay on the garden ground below.

A boy’s frail body.

Familiar silver hair soaked in blood.

The duchess let out a scream before she could stop herself.

“N-No!!!”

Her vision went black.

While the duchess and her subordinates were in utter chaos, the one who responded calmly was Cassia.

Even with her injured leg, she desperately made her way down the stairs to check Edmund’s condition.
The nanny, who had happened to be passing through the garden and witnessed everything first, assisted her.

“What happened?”

“I was walking through the garden, and then suddenly the young master fell from above!”

“That can’t be… Could it be that being locked up too long caused him to become delirious?”

Cassia and the nanny deliberately conducted their conversation in a way that the duchess could easily understand.

As if they were trying to implant the idea: ‘That’s what happened.’

The situation was so shocking that no one found anything strange about it.

The duchess, who arrived late, was no longer in her right mind—shaken both by the sight of blood and the terror that everything had fallen apart.

To make matters worse, Marco (Willes), who had briefly served her as a footman, stepped in front of her.

“This is not a sight a noble lady should witness!”

Hiding behind his sturdy back, the duchess bit her nails, desperately trying to escape reality.

“N-No. This isn’t because of me. It’s not my fault!”

Her thoughts spun painfully.

What if Edmund really had thrown himself down in delirium?
What if he died?

Then the existence of the heirloom would be buried forever in darkness.

‘If my husband finds out, he won’t leave me alive.’

And according to the duke, it was the Genovia imperial family who wanted the hidden family treasure.

‘Then what if, because of this incident, Patrick’s marriage negotiations are canceled?’

A chill ran down her spine.
The rosy future she had envisioned was being utterly shattered.

Just then—

A ray of hope descended upon her, who had been driven to the brink.

Cassia’s calm voice rang out.

“He’s still alive!”

“What?!”

The duchess finally stepped out from behind the footman and looked at Cassia and Edmund.

Edmund was covered in blood.
The stench of iron filled the air.

Even if he was technically alive, could he really survive long enough to speak about the heirloom?

‘If he can’t, then I’m finished!’

The duchess screamed.

“A doctor! Call a doctor, now!”

But the servants replied with devastating news.

“What do you mean there’s no doctor?!”
“He took leave yesterday.”
“Of all times—now?!”

As the duchess stomped her feet in frustration, Cassia, covered in blood, approached her and asked for permission.

“There should be a clinic in the city. I will take him there.”

“But we can’t just let him leave the villa so easily!”

Lowering her voice, Cassia subtly threatened her.

“If Edmund dies here, neither I nor you will have anything to say to the duke.”

“That’s…!”

An undeniable reality.

Cassia deliberately pressed on the very point the duchess feared most.

“I will take responsibility for this incident. You are the duke’s wife and Patrick’s mother, so you may pass through this without much trouble. But I am different.”

Cassia’s desperation sounded convincing.
It suited someone in a position so insignificant that being discarded would not be surprising.

The duchess’s eyes flashed.

“You’ll take responsibility for all of this? You mean it?”

“Yes. Either way, I’m as good as dead if things stay like this.”

The duchess quickly organized her thoughts.

Even if Edmund died, there would now be someone to shoulder the blame.
And that person was offering herself willingly.

‘Yes. After the tutor was dismissed, the villa was under this girl’s jurisdiction. I can just say I arrived after everything had already happened!’

The duchess quickly regained her composure.

“Very well. It can’t be helped. The villa is indeed under your management.”

“…Thank you.”

Cassia swallowed a bitter smile.

‘Can’t be helped, my foot. If you’re going to say that, you could at least pretend to feel sorry. It’s written all over your face how pleased you are.’

But it didn’t matter.
That was exactly what she had intended.

Meanwhile, the duchess did not forget to assign people to watch Cassia as she carefully carried the fallen Edmund with the nanny.

She sent the only two people she trusted: Lady Lillipen, her close aide, and Marco (Willes), whom she had come to trust surprisingly quickly in just one day.

In a low voice, she commanded them:

“Make sure they don’t try anything foolish. Watch them both and report every development to me immediately.”

Willes nodded, suppressing a bitter chuckle.

‘Even in such a desperate situation, she can’t bring herself to go and see things with her own eyes. Should I call that impressive?’

No—perhaps there was something even more impressive.

‘It’s the young madam who’s truly remarkable, having predicted even the duchess’s reaction.’

As Willes transferred the limp Edmund into the carriage, he recalled Cassia’s confident words from two days earlier.

“The duchess won’t go to confirm it herself. At most, she’ll send someone like Lady Lillipen.”

And just as she said—it had happened exactly that way.

‘You truly are astonishing, young madam.’

Hiding his admiration and satisfaction, he drove the carriage.

The carriage carrying Edmund and Cassia shot out of the villa at full speed.

Lady Lillipen, her eyes filled with tension and suspicion, carefully observed everything.

‘She’s not going to try to pin this on me too, is she? The duke’s wrath will be terrifying.’

Just then—

After confirming they had traveled far enough from the villa, Cassia let out a long sigh.

Then, in an utterly casual voice, she said:

“That’s enough. Get up.”

Before Lady Lillipen could fully grasp what was happening, a shocking scene unfolded before her eyes.

Edmund—who had been lying there bleeding—suddenly sprang up.