Count Rinko’s purple lips trembled faintly. His ears rang, and his palms grew clammy. The Count wet his lips with his tongue and opened his mouth.
“…That land is Rinko’s….”
“Marquis Rinko, recite the oath with proper decorum!”
When Lady Isaac pointed out in a shrill voice, the Marchioness glared up fiercely. However, it was only natural that an oath of fealty be recited with ceremony. Lady Isaac kept her eyes wide and watched the Marquis, and in the end, the Marquis had no choice but to kneel on his left knee.
Thud.
The sound of his left knee falling to the floor seemed as loud as thunder. The Marquis bit his lip, then recited the oath in a tightly restrained voice.
“…As long as that land endures in the name of Rinko, the descendants of Rinko shall offer their loyalty to the Lord of Richmond, and swear to believe and follow the word of the Lord of Richmond in any circumstance.”
It had been so long since he had last recited it that he had wondered if he could still do it properly, but his tongue and body remembered the oath.
Even after the oath was recited, Eliza remained motionless with her eyes closed. The Marquis had no choice but to remain kneeling, and the Marchioness’s cheeks gradually flushed red. Had Edward not been gripping her hand tightly, she surely would have cried out.
Just as Marquis Rinko’s left leg began to grow numb, Eliza opened her mouth.
“Does that land still endure in the name of Rinko?”
“…Yes.”
Hearing the Marquis’s answer, Eliza finally opened her eyes. She looked up at the grand domed ceiling of the hall and spoke as if muttering to herself.
“I see. I had thought that land no longer endured in the name of Rinko.”
“Dowager Duchess!”
“Come out!”
Ignoring the Marquis’s urgent call, Eliza commanded sharply. Then, from beyond the curtain, a woman of slender build revealed herself.
“!!”
Count Reuwen let out a low sigh.
“As I thought… she was in the annex.”
She was Grace’s maid, whom Count Reuwen had been searching so desperately for.
Jessie, who had emerged from beyond the curtain, immediately sought out Grace. Her young lady was literally in shambles. Feeling both sorrow and rage, Jessie approached and stood by Grace’s side. Grace gave her a small nod as if to say she was fine, then bent her knee to Eliza once more.
“I am Grace Taylor, daughter of Arthur Taylor and Luciana Taylor. I greet the Dowager Duchess of Richmond. I sincerely apologize for causing such disorder in the Duke of Richmond’s castle due to my presence.”
The moment the names of the late Duke and Duchess Taylor flowed from Grace’s lips, the faces of the nobles of the Marquis’s faction darkened with the shadow of defeat.
The Duke had said he would demand a price for excessive loyalty. Then what pretext were they supposed to latch onto?
As they furiously racked their brains, Eliza stared at Grace as if glaring and asked sharply.
“Duke, are you aware that Lady Taylor was betrothed to the young Count of Saxony?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Then are you also prepared for relations between Richmond and Saxony to sour because of this?”
Indeed.
Ares unclasped his hands behind his back and stroked the eagle-head ornament on the back of the Duke’s chair. A faint, satisfied smile spread across his lips.
They say the best defense is a good offense. Eliza Richmond intended to ask in advance about the very matter the Marquis’s faction could latch onto, sealing their mouths shut. Ares did not answer quickly but slowly swept his gaze over the nobles of the Marquis’s faction. The nobles were busy averting their eyes, feeling as though their throats were caught in his grip.
Now that Grace’s identity was revealed, rumors would spread in an instant. As if relations with Saxony would merely turn sour. He intended to root that name out of Dekahn entirely. He would ensure that no one ever bore that name again.
Ares lifted his hand from the eagle-head ornament and rose languidly. It was as if a tiger that had been hiding in the grass was rising from its place.
“I am prepared, Grandmother.”
“…….”
“Let us speak of that later. First, I shall conclude the council.”
Those who had thrust their faces forward without knowing the tiger was hiding could not avoid the blade-like claws flying toward their own throats. Ares drew the sword hidden in its scabbard.
“Come here.”
Ares flicked his finger toward “Iron Foot.” It was an insolent gesture completely devoid of etiquette, yet no one perceived anything strange about it.
“Iron Foot,” who had been brazen even before the Duke, started in shock and hesitated, but Crimson Isaac personally pushed his back with a hand.
“His Grace bids you approach. Walk!”
In the end, he walked as if dragged to stand beside the kneeling Marquis before the dais. Seen up close, the dais felt much higher.
Ares’s gaze moved from the Marquis and Marchioness to Edward. Feeling afraid, the Marchioness stood as if to shield her son.
“Edward Rinko testified that my lover was Lady Taylor, and ‘Iron Foot’ testified that she was the daughter of a criminal. Surely, you cannot brand Lady Taylor with the false charge of being one of ‘the Unseen.’ Marchioness, you choose.”
Each time the low voice bored into their ears, it felt as though the hair all over their bodies stood on end.
“Whose word should I believe?”
The Marchioness’s mind raced furiously. In other words, she had to cut off the tail to survive…… Just then, “Iron Foot,” sensing the situation had turned unfavorable, breathed heavily and tried to quickly change his words.
“C-come to think of it, it’s been so long since I last saw her, now that I look at her like this, she’s not…….”
But Ares was not one to sit idly by and watch such antics.
“And I clearly said the maids were murdered. Joseph!”
When he called Joseph’s name, the Marquis and Marchioness flinched. Then, when Joseph appeared from the side door, pushing forward an adult man whose face had turned blue, the couple’s minds went blank. The man, who had been eavesdropping on the entire situation from beyond the side door, quickly fell to his knees before the Duke and cried out.
“Your Grace!! Please, spare my life!! I-I know nothing. The one who killed the maids—it was all done on Count Reuwen’s orders! The will too, I-I wrote it by threatening the maids!”
The moment the soldier’s shout echoed thunderously through the Hall of the Blue Eagle, Count Reuwen, who had turned ashen, also leaped forward.
“You bastard!! Your Grace, it is a lie!!!”
Flora, who had come dressed like a duchess, felt strength leave her legs and swayed. The maids standing beside the Marchioness did not catch her, and Flora collapsed heavily onto the cold floor.
This was undoubtedly a terrible nightmare. How could that woman be Lady Taylor, and why was her father suddenly being mentioned?
She was not the only one hoping this was a dream. The Marquis, who had been kneeling all along because he had not been told to rise, also wished this were a dream.
“I-it had been too long, so I couldn’t recognize her properly. I mean, that ‘Vicky’ really did look just like her!”
“Iron Foot” pleaded prostrate, but Ares was resolute.
“I clearly said the crime of perjury would be paid for with death.”
“I did not commit perjury! Your Grace, I beg you.”
“Whether it is perjury or not, we shall find out in due course. Joseph, drag ‘Iron Foot,’ the soldier, and Count Reuwen below. I shall interrogate them personally.”
“…Your Grace!!”
“Please save me, Your Grace, I only did as I was told!”
“Shut your mouth!! It is a lie!!”
Count Reuwen also pleaded to the kneeling Marquis with bloodshot eyes.
“Marquis!!”
The three men’s struggles were desperate. But they could not overcome the grip of Joseph and Crimson, who had returned alive from death’s door. As they were dragged out, silence fell.
Ares glanced at Grace, who was growing increasingly pale, then turned to Eliza. The old noblewoman, who had been deep in thought, stood up after a moment.
Eliza descended the stairs alone, her footsteps clicking sharply, and as she passed by the kneeling Marquis Rinko, she spoke evenly.
“Rise now.”
The Marquis, whose left leg had lost all feeling, could not rise easily and staggered, and Edward hurriedly supported his father.
In the meantime, Eliza, who had passed by the Marquis, stopped before the Marchioness. Something had been bothering her all along. A necklace strung with dozens of black pearls, each as large as an adult’s thumbnail. Seen up close, it was an object she could not fail to recognize even if she tried. It was one of the wedding gifts Eliza had received from her husband.
“Ha, hahaha.”
“…….”
Laughter spilled out.
“Hahahahaha!”
“…….”
Her laughter, as hollow as the black mourning clothes she wore and somehow also sorrowful, struck the Marchioness’s cheek. But perhaps because she had played the mistress for so long, she neither knelt nor begged for forgiveness.
Soon, as her laughter subsided, Eliza looked up into the air and spoke.
“Arwen.”
“Yes.”
“I miss my maids. Summon them all.”
“!!”
Lady Isaac’s eyes widened in surprise, and the Marchioness squeezed her eyes shut, letting out a silent sigh.
Even if the Duke were to summon maids who had been cast outside the castle, the Marchioness could have protested, citing the inner castle’s regulations. However, there was only one person in this castle. Eliza Richmond could bring in her maids without being constrained by anyone.
Click, click.
The footsteps of the Queen who had fully awakened from her slumber sounded like a song of joy to some, and like a sound of despair to others.
“Yes, my lady!!”
Lady Isaac’s tear-choked voice followed after the Dowager Duchess and faded into the distance.