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Chapter 27
“Mmph—mmph!”
“Shh. Be quiet. We’ll be found out like this.”
As Jane struggled with all her might, a familiar voice slipped into her ear. That voice was—.
‘Sir Cern?’
Jane tilted her head and checked the man’s face. It was Cern, the seemingly easygoing knight who served as Rose’s bodyguard, always wearing a good-natured smile. Now, however, his eyes were sharp as he pressed his index finger to his lips, signaling her to be silent. Jane sucked in a breath at Cern’s completely unexpected appearance.
‘W-why is Sir Cern here?’
Still unable to grasp the situation, Jane stared at him. Without removing his finger from his lips, Cern hid her behind him. Gesturing behind his back, he sent her a signal. Jane looked where he pointed and quickly hid herself. It was a spot just big enough for someone of her small build.
‘If I move a little farther over, Sir Cern can hide too.’
As Jane squeezed into the narrow space and was about to beckon him—
‘Sir Cern!’
Instead of hiding, he stepped out boldly. Jane ducked back behind the wall and covered her mouth with both hands.
‘What on earth is Sir Cern doing?!’
The space was tight, but there was room enough for two. Jane thought Cern—usually so scatterbrained—had failed to read the mood and walked straight up to Cedric. She stomped her feet anxiously and squeezed her eyes shut. Surely Cedric’s furious shouting would follow any moment now—demanding how dare he intrude here…
But the situation unfolded completely differently from what Jane expected.
“Have you arrived, Master.”
The voice heavy with tension belonged to Cern. It was utterly different from the gentle, almost playful tone he used when addressing her. Hearing such a serious voice from Cern for the first time, Jane doubted her ears. He was acting like a completely different person. And she had thought him merely an ordinary knight with no prior connection to Cedric…
‘What is going on?’
“You were here already.”
Cedric’s voice reached Jane’s ears through her confusion. He spoke to Cern as if they were well acquainted.
“Yes.”
“Rise.”
Cedric spoke quietly to Cern, who was kneeling with his head bowed.
“I’ve been hearing some strange rumors lately. Rose—that child—has lost her memory, hasn’t she?”
“She hasn’t lost it completely. Only parts of it.”
“Seems she lost her sense of fear along with it. To think she dared look me straight in the eye.”
Cedric muttered as he recalled Rose’s gaze during their meeting in the audience chamber.
“Not only has her demeanor changed somewhat, but her behavior differs from before as well.”
At Cern’s words, Cedric looked at him as if prompting him to continue.
“She didn’t even hold a debutante ball and had no interest in high society before, yet suddenly—who knows what wind blew—her attention turned there.”
“High society?”
“Yes. She summoned private tutors to study the current political climate and has been making efforts to understand relationships among the nobility.”
Cedric’s eyebrow twitched at Cern’s report. For three years she had done nothing, merely trailing after his son…
“…Suspicious.”
Cedric murmured lowly, wearing a guarded expression. Hidden behind the wall, Jane felt betrayed by how smoothly Cern was reporting everything about Rose.
‘Don’t tell me… that airheaded Sir Cern was the former count’s pawn?’
Cern had approached Rose and Jane with friendly ease, growing close to them at remarkable speed. They had cared for him like a younger brother, since he still seemed boyish. Cern, in turn, followed them devotedly. When the inexperienced young Cern became Rose’s bodyguard, no one in the count’s household found it strange. They assumed that, under Cedric’s pressure, the most insignificant man had been assigned to guard Rose.
‘I trusted you, Sir Cern…!’
In this mansion, the people Rose trusted and relied on most were Jane and Cern. Only those two knew that Rose went out in disguise. And yet—Cern had been watching Rose all along, reporting everything to Cedric. Rage surged in Jane’s chest at the thought. If Rose learned the truth, the shock would be immense. But perhaps no one would be as devastated as Jane herself.
Because Cern was… her lover.
A crushing sense of betrayal washed over her.
‘Was that clumsy innocence he showed all just an act?’
The shy smiles, the burning affection—were they all lies? He had stayed by Rose’s side, and by hers, only because he was ordered to.
‘Was I… completely used?’
Jane couldn’t control the emotions flooding up inside her. Her heart pounded violently, and her whole body trembled.
“Was there any particular movement between the Archduke of Arteum and Rose?”
Cedric’s voice reached Jane’s ears again as she trembled. At the words “Archduke of Arteum,” Cern silently closed his mouth.
‘I’m sure… the lady disguised herself that day and went into the Archduke of Arteum’s estate.’
In truth, Cern had tailed Rose from the very beginning when she left the mansion in disguise. Clinging to the back of her carriage, he had followed her all the way to Arteum territory. With his own eyes, he had clearly seen Rose enter the Archduke’s residence. His gaze darkened as he parted his lips.
“…Nothing in particular, it seems. I searched all the letters, but found nothing—aside from the Archduke sending the lady an invitation to a banquet.”
He hid the truth of what he had seen that day and shook his head. Cedric, seeing nothing but sincerity in Cern’s clear eyes, let the matter pass without suspicion.
“That damned bastard—why invite someone like Rose and stir up all this trouble? Tch.”
Perhaps recalling the humiliation he’d suffered at the hands of Duke Pliche over that banquet, Cedric clenched his fist, trembling.
“The Archduke of Arteum… he was lucky once, but he won’t avoid it the second time. This time, I’ll wring your neck.”
A vile chuckle echoed through the underground storage room. One of Cedric’s subordinates added smugly,
“Indeed. This time, there’ll be no escape. We’ve already planted someone on Princess Diana’s side.”
“Good. Everything is falling into place. That woman—famous for her thoroughness—only ever lets her guard down around her cousin, the Archduke of Arteum. We have no choice but to exploit that.”
Diana was excessively sensitive about poisoning. She always kept a poison taster by her side, eating only after he did. She drank water only from cups made of ‘unicorn horn,’ said to have detoxifying properties, and never touched wine, since poison in wine was difficult to detect by taste, aroma, or color. Yet there was one day a year—just one—when she drank wine freely: the day of her birthday banquet. Every year without fail, the Archduke of Arteum brought the wine. Trusting her cousin implicitly, she would drink to her heart’s content.
“We’ve made a cup identical to Princess Diana’s, but from narwhal tusk. Unlike unicorn horn, narwhal tusk has no detoxifying effect. Even a small amount will be extremely dangerous. The princess will drink the wine the Archduke offers without any suspicion.”
“Good. But His Majesty is very concerned. Diana is his only daughter. He ordered that the poison be mild enough that she’ll recover after taking an antidote.”
“Don’t worry. We’ve already finished testing on prisoners to determine the proper amount.”
At the man’s words, the corner of Cedric’s mouth curled up in satisfaction.
“The Archduke of Arteum will never escape the charge of attempting to poison Princess Diana.”
“This time, you’ll be able to finish him for good. And once it’s over, Duke Pliche will surely acknowledge the Wenst Count family’s efforts.”
The two men’s hearty laughter echoed through the cellar. Having heard everything, Jane froze in place.
‘What… what did I just hear?’
She had overheard a terrifying plot she should never have known. If they discovered she was here, it wouldn’t end with mere punishment. Jane held her breath, barely daring to breathe. Eyes squeezed shut, she waited for the hellish time to pass. The thought that discovery meant death made her legs feel weak with fear.
After some time, Cedric and his subordinate exchanged farewells with Cern and left the cellar. Even after they were gone, Jane couldn’t move. There was still one more person here besides those men and herself.
Step—step.
Slow footsteps approached. Jane squeezed her eyes shut, trembling violently as the steps came closer.
“You… heard everything, didn’t you?”
Cern had come up beside her, whispering softly into her ear. Jane, who had been clenching her fists, slowly opened her eyes at his voice. Her lashes trembled as she looked up at him, unable to hide her shaking.
“Sir Cern… how could you? How could you do this?”
At Jane’s resentful gaze, Cern answered quietly,
“Pretend you didn’t hear what you just heard.”
He didn’t answer her question, saying only what he wished to say. But it didn’t seem as though he intended to kill her, despite everything she’d heard.
“Sir Cern! How did you ever get mixed up in something like this?!”
“Do you still not understand? From the beginning, I approached the lady deliberately. And you as well.”
“…!”
Jane’s eyes filled with shock. Tears welled up, shimmering. Even seeing it with her own eyes, she didn’t want to believe it. At the very least, she had hoped he would say his feelings for her were real. Clear tears streamed down her freckled cheeks.
“So everything… was a lie.”
“…”
“Your kindness… your loyalty to the lady…”
Jane lowered her head, her eyes shaking, then forced her lips open with effort.
“Even your confession of love to me… it was all a lie too, wasn’t it?”
Cern flinched at her words.
“I believed you… when you said you’d protect me for the rest of my life!”
Jane sobbed as she struck Cern’s chest.
“How could you lie like that? Hic… sob.”
There were limits to toying with someone’s heart. The thought that Cern had played with her all this time behind that innocent face made her sick. Jane struck his chest a few more times, then glared at him.
“Never… never appear before me again, Sir Cern.”
With those words, she ran out of the cellar.
“…”
Unable to stop her, Cern watched the door she fled through with a bitter gaze. His hand, which he hadn’t been able to use to hold her back, fell limply through the air.
“Jane…”
Murmuring so softly she couldn’t hear, Cern rummaged through his pocket. In his hand lay a crude copper ring—the ring Jane had dropped, the engagement ring he had given her. The ring, having lost its owner, remained alone in Cern’s palm.
“Such a racket. Just who has arrived to make everyone so busy?”
Meanwhile, unaware that Cedric—Eric’s father—had come, Doana looked around the unsettled mansion.
“I should go ask Rose.”
Since the servants never answered her properly anyway, she decided to look for Rose, whom she considered the easiest to deal with.
“Rose.”
As usual, she flung open Rose’s door without even knocking.
“Huh? No one’s here.”
Rose’s room was empty. Perhaps she didn’t know the common sense of leaving when the owner wasn’t present. Doana began rummaging through the room as if it were her own. She opened the wardrobe first. Last time, Rose had given her a look and she hadn’t been able to browse properly. Humming, Doana sifted through Rose’s dresses.
“Oh my, what’s this?”
A red dress caught her eye.
“At a glance, it doesn’t seem to suit Rose at all.”
It was lavishly decorated to an excessive degree; the dangling jewels alone showed how expensive it was. Pulling the dress out slightly, Doana glanced around.
“…It should be fine just to try it on, right?”
Everyone seemed busy anyway. Thinking no one would pay attention, she acted at once. She threw off her worn maid’s uniform and squeezed herself into the dazzling dress. Fully dressed, Doana stood before the mirror and smiled in satisfaction.
“It’s perfect for me.”
A dress utterly mismatched with Rose’s rustic image. Anyone could see it suited Doana far better. They said clothes made the person—wearing it, she felt like a princess. Grinning brightly, she lifted the hem and spun in place.
Clatter.
As she turned, something fell to the floor. The flared skirt must have knocked something off the vanity. Stopping, Doana noticed a small gift box on the floor.
“What’s this?”
She bent down and picked up the red-wrapped box and the letter envelope beside it.
“To Rose…”
Doana frowned. Somehow, she felt this gift was from Eric. Suspicious, she opened the envelope and pulled out the letter inside. As expected, it was from Eric, briefly apologizing for not paying her much attention until now.
“…If he’s getting a divorce, why send a gift?”
She couldn’t understand his behavior. Just earlier he’d said Rose disgusted him—so why send this? Grinding her teeth, Doana snarled,
“What did he send her, anyway?!”
She roughly untied the ribbon and checked the contents. Inside was a small cosmetic jar, about the size of her palm. Doana irritably lifted it.
“Something you put on your face?”
She wanted to throw it straight into the trash. But instead of discarding it, she chose to steal it.
“Bad luck.”
Jealousy flared at the thought that Eric had given this to Rose. Opening the lid, she saw an opaque liquid pooled inside. She plunged her fingers into the jar and scooped out a generous amount. She should have used it sparingly, but malice burned hot within her. Without noticing the heat building at her fingertips, she began applying the cream to her face, rubbing carefully from her jawline to her cheeks.
“It stings a little…”
Her jaw and fingers felt as though they were burning, tingling painfully. The areas touched by the cream flared hot. Only then did Doana pause and look at her hand. Her middle and ring fingers, smeared with the cream, were reddened. That wasn’t all—blisters began forming on her skin, which moments before had been smooth and pale.
“W-what is this?!”
Startled, Doana shook the cream off and wiped her hands on Rose’s dress. Then she hurried to inspect her face in the mirror. Clutching her face with trembling hands, she screamed.
“Kyaaah!!”
Doana’s ear-splitting scream echoed through the entire mansion.
The gift on the vanity had not been sent by Eric.
It was Cedric’s gift.
