Episode 73
Translator: RaidenTL
Episode 73
The atmosphere in the Linton estate was eerily quiet. Every servant watched one another with anxious faces, as if a great storm had just passed through.
Elysia, her expression completely devoid of tension, stepped into the room she was guided to.
The acrid smell of cigarette smoke and alcohol stung her nose. Scowling, Elysia strode over and threw open the window without asking for permission. A gust of wind rushed in with a whoosh.
Hearing a crunching sound, Elysia lifted her foot to check the sole of her shoe. Shards of broken glass were stuck to it.
Only then did she spot Blair, sprawled out on the sofa like a piece of trash.
“Looks like you threw quite a tantrum,” she remarked coldly.
“Damn it…”
“Why don’t you sober up? We need to talk with clear heads, don’t we?”
“Shit, goddammit…!”
A terrified maid stood in the corner of the room, holding a glass of cold water. Elysia cast a pitying glance at the poor woman, who was trembling so hard she couldn’t even approach the young master, and beckoned her closer.
Blair immediately snatched the glass from the tray and hurled it, breathing heavily as he spat out a curse.
“Get out! Just leave it!”
The glass shattered with a sharp crash. Ugh, so damn loud. Elysia nonchalantly rubbed her ringing ears and gave the maid a look that said, ‘You have it rough.’
Sighing, she made a request to the flustered maid.
“Could you bring one more glass? Cold water.”
“Yes? Y-Yes!”
The maid scurried out of the room as if fleeing and closed the door. Elysia marched over to the man lying tattered on the long sofa, grabbed him by the collar, and hauled him up.
“Hey, you son of a bitch. You called me here, so you’d better talk.”
“Ah, did I? Did I call you? I don’t even remember. I… drank too much. Heh, haha… Hahaha! Why would I have called you? Did I need a woman?”
“Blair Linton, do you want to end up like your cousin?”
Elysia was about to curse him out, thinking, Is he asking for a beating?, when she noticed Evan’s expression turn cold and froze for a moment. Adrian was also rigid, his eyes darting back and forth as he nervously watched Evan.
All traces of humor had vanished from Evan’s face, replaced by a cold fury. The chill in his eyes made the room’s temperature feel as if it had plummeted in an instant.
Wow, he can make a face like that? Ah, right. He was the second-in-command in the army.
Elysia gave a slight shake of her head as if to say, That’s enough, and turned to Blair, who was cowering under Evan’s intimidating presence.
“That mouth of yours wasn’t made for spewing garbage. Is your head just for decoration? You must have called me to talk about Hertz. You’d better get that drunk brain of yours working straight.”
The moment he heard his cousin’s name, Blair’s glazed eyes shot wide open. Clenching his fists as if to suppress a surge of rage, the man muttered darkly.
“Don’t you… dare say that name… Shut up.”
Elysia shrugged, her tone defiant.
“I don’t want to. We came here to keep saying that name. We’ll say it again and again. Caden Hertz.”
“I told you to shut up!”
The man suddenly exploded, letting out a roar as he shoved her shoulder hard. As Elysia stumbled backward, Evan caught her from behind, pulling her into an embrace.
Startled, Elysia looked up at him, taken aback by his face, which was as hard as frost. The rage simmering in his green eyes as he looked down at her, as if seeking permission, was terrifying.
Elysia found herself stammering.
“He’s… not in his right mind. Let’s give him a pass, just this once.”
She didn’t know exactly what Evan was planning to do—no, actually, she had a pretty good idea—but she felt she absolutely could not allow it.
Hearing Elysia’s restraint, Evan scowled as if disappointed but settled for glaring at Blair.
Sighing, Elysia took a step out of his arms and came face-to-face with the maid, who had returned at the perfect moment with a tray holding a glass of ice water.
Oho? Leaning casually against the nearby wall, she turned her head to look at the other side of the room. The man stomping toward her looked like he was about to get violent.
Elysia sighed in annoyance and quickly rationalized the situation.
I stopped Evan when I had no idea what he might do, so I’ve shown enough consideration for someone in a weakened state, right? Okay, this is a real emergency, and I really have no other choice. It’s not like I want to do this.
Snatching the glass from the tray, Elysia mercilessly flung its contents at him. The ice water hit Blair squarely in the face without a single drop missing its mark, dripping down his cheeks. It was the work of someone who had done this a few times before.
Everyone in the room froze. Ah, yes, that included Blair.
“Wow, how did you hit him so perfectly? Haha… Hahaha! You’ve got a talent for this, sis!”
Adrian’s cheerful muttering snapped the maid back to her senses, and she screamed.
“Y-Young Master!!!”
“You can leave. As much of a mess as this is, this is still his territory. If one of us is going to die, it’ll be me, not him.”
At Elysia’s indifferent remark, the maid, who had been at a loss in the middle of this insane situation, bolted out the door. It must be suffocating to serve such a shitty young master. Elysia clicked her tongue.
“Hey, you sober now?”
The man, who had taken a direct hit of ice-cold water to the face, stared at her blankly, water dripping from his hair. Elysia placed the glass on the table with a soft thud and replied with a pristine expression.
“Since you couldn’t sober up on your own, I gave you a little involuntary assistance. Aren’t you fucking grateful? I’m just that selfless.”
“…”
“If that’s not enough, just say the word. I can beat some sense into you, too.”
Suddenly, she felt someone grab both her arms. Adrian was dragging her backward. Evan, uncharacteristically, was just watching from the sidelines.
“Sis? That’s enough. Let’s not hit him, okay? You’ll have to wash your hands.”
“If I’d followed my temper, I would’ve beaten him from the start. I was being considerate by throwing water on him, you know? Besides—hey, he couldn’t get his act together on his own, so I helped him!”
“I know, I know, but just try to be a little more patient. Please?”
It was then that Blair trudged toward the bickering pair. His shoulders were slumped as he roughly wiped his face with his sleeve.
“…Let’s talk.”
“See? He’s sober now. I told you, the best way to deal with a drunk is to dunk him in water.”
With a triumphant ‘What did I tell you?’ expression, Elysia plopped down on the sofa and casually crossed her legs.
Blair looked terrible, as if he had been through severe emotional distress. Elysia studied his gaunt appearance and spoke in a business-like tone.
“If you have something to say, go first. I came here for a reason, too.”
“You first.”
This bastard, cutting his words short…? Just as Elysia was about to flare up, Evan naturally took her hand and shook his head, as if telling her not to dirty them.
Watching her take a deep breath to calm down, Adrian had the amusing thought that Evan was something like Elysia’s personal tranquilizer.
“I need to examine the body.”
“I refuse.”
“I just need to look at it with my own eyes. An autopsy would be better, but I figured you’d foam at the mouth and collapse if I said I was going to take a knife to the body, so I’m compromising. You should accept this much.”
“Why should I?”
“Because it wasn’t a suicide.”
At her blunt statement, Blair’s eyes widened in shock, but he quickly shook his head as if to deny it. Confused, Elysia tilted her head slightly.
“It’s obviously a murder. Why are you denying it?”
“You wouldn’t know. A suicide note was found at the top of the bell tower.”
“What?”
“It was recovered with the body and brought to me. It’s Caden’s handwriting. I confirmed it myself.”
After a brief pause, Elysia asked.
“Only a suicide note was found? No other signs of homicide?”
“That was it.”
“…What did it say?”
He hesitated for a moment before lowering his head. Elysia saw him bite his lip so hard it must have hurt.
“He said he felt he had gone down the wrong path, a path so vile that he chose death… He asked me to protect his honor.”
“That’s hilarious. It’s not like he had any honor to protec—mmph—”
Adrian hastily covered her mouth and gave an awkward laugh. Elysia slapped his hand away and held out her own.
“Let me see it.”
“…It’s the last letter left by my friend. I can’t just hand it over.”
“So, there’s nothing suspicious about it at all?”
He couldn’t answer her easily. She stood up and spoke as if delivering an ultimatum.
“In any case, I need to examine the body.”
“Why are you so obsessed with—”
“For starters, the estimated time of death doesn’t add up.”
Blair froze, his expression asking what she meant. As she continued, he shook his head, his eyes clouded.
“I touched the body right after the fall.”
“And?”
“I saw with my own two eyes that there were no post-mortem spasms.”
Leaning forward, Elysia slammed her hands on the table and stated her conclusion.
“Do you understand what that means? It means he was already dead before he fell.”
“That’s—”
“No autopsy. I’ll only check the exterior and run a few simple tests to estimate the time of death. You can at least allow that, can’t you?”
With a tormented expression, Blair finally nodded. After sending Evan and Adrian out first, Elysia, who was about to follow them, turned back and asked with a cold smile.
“Are you going to let the bastards who killed your cousin sleep soundly?”
“…”
“I’ll return the note without any damage. Think about it while I’m examining the body.”
The man’s eyes, weakened as they were, stared at her. As she turned to leave the room, he grabbed her wrist as if clinging to her for dear life.
Far from being flustered by the man’s desperate grip, Elysia turned to look at him with an air of familiarity. In a voice thick with emotion, Blair asked.
“Why should I trust you?”
“Is your judgment more trustworthy than mine? Then don’t.”
The woman’s unhesitating reply was like a blade that pierced through everything—a sword that thrusts deep, tears away every veil, and pulls out the truth.
Her calm, silver-grey eyes shone, as if she already knew what his answer would be.
“But you don’t believe it yourself, deep down, do you? If so, then leave your judgment to me.”
His grip loosened and his hand slid away. She turned away nonchalantly and said with a wave of her hand.
“Decide before I leave the estate. Whether you’ll hand over the note or not.”
With a thud of the closing door, Blair was left alone in the room. He staggered to his desk, opened a drawer, and took out the suicide note he had kept inside.
He once again read the words on the paper, its edge rough as if it had been hastily torn from something.
I am ashamed to have gone down the wrong path. Let death hide my shame. Protect my honor… Reading the note written in his cousin’s hand, the man clenched his fist, lost in thought.