Chapter 251: Discovery of Guilt
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 251: Discovery of Guilt
“So, Annette, just do whatever you wish.”
Loik gently stroked Annette’s cheek with his thumb, telling her she was already doing more than enough.
“Don’t worry. Even if the results aren’t what you hoped for, it won’t be your fault. It’ll be the Crown Princess’s.”
And that was the plain truth.
“If worst comes to worst, we can just toss everything back to her and return to the North.”
Annette laughed, calling his suggestion ridiculous, but she leaned into his embrace with a smile. Perhaps his way of thinking had grown on her.
She playfully muttered that she really would run away if the Expo failed, and soon after, she drifted off to sleep.
However, Loik knew that if that actually happened, Annette would be devastated. He looked down at his lovely, sleeping wife, whose arms couldn’t even fully wrap around his broad waist.
‘I must make sure the Expo is a success.’
Since things had come to this, he would use every means at his disposal to turn the Expo into Annette’s crowning glory.
‘I’ll show the entire Empire just how brilliant and amazing she is.’
He would make it so that no one would ever dare criticize her again. Even the Crown Princess wouldn’t dream of trying to steal her glory.
But Loik’s resolve hit a massive obstacle only a day later.
* * *
The following day, Ferdin paid an unexpected visit to the townhouse.
Though his sudden appearance flustered me, I led him to the parlor. He clearly had something to say, yet he hesitated, unable to find the words. Eventually, I spoke first.
“…How is Ladriel? Is she alright?”
“She was a bit shocked, but she’s physically fine.”
“…So you ended up taking charge of the Expo.”
“It’s not that I ignored your advice, Brother. It’s just how things turned out.”
“Right. I heard the gist of it.”
Ferdin gave a short reply and fell silent again. Another heavy quiet filled the room.
‘He’s always been expressionless, but…’
Today, Ferdin’s face was exceptionally grim, with dark shadows under his eyes.
“Did you come here because you have something to tell me?”
Just how difficult was this news?
After a moment of hesitation, Ferdin ran a hand roughly over his face before finally speaking.
“Could you look after Raphael at the Grand Duke’s residence for a while?”
“Raphael?”
I tilted my head at the unexpected request.
“Isn’t Raphael still at the academy?”
In a letter I received from him not long ago, he mentioned that break was approaching. He wrote about how much he wanted to visit Blenheim once school was out—playing by the lake with the children, receiving swordsmanship training from Sir Demich, sparring with Sir Leon… he had a whole list of things he wanted to do.
He had even added a tiny note saying he missed the spicy tomato stew Loik used to make.
Coincidentally, instead of the musical fountain show, Enolius was planning to debut a new fireworks display at the lakeside this winter.
‘I was just about to write back to Raphael, telling him we should watch the fireworks together when he comes to Blenheim.’
“It’s not a problem to take Raphael in.”
However, the nuance of his request felt strange. Moreover, it was odd for Ferdin to suddenly show such concern for Raphael.
‘Didn’t he ignore him as much as he ignored me?’
Seeing the look on my face demanding an explanation, Ferdin spoke as if he were giving up.
“Do you remember the advice you gave me last time?”
The advice…
‘I told him to keep a close eye on the Marquis.’
The reason I had warned Ferdin back then was that the time for the Marquis to attempt to poison the Crown Princess—as he did in the original story—was drawing near. That attempt would fail, leading to the total ruin of the Frais family for treason.
‘Did the Marquis actually do something?’
When I turned to Ferdin with a look of dread, he let out a wretched sigh.
“Did something happen?”
As I stared at him tensely, words I hadn’t expected spilled from his lips.
“An epidemic is spreading in Charleyn.”
“…Where?”
The name was far too familiar.
“The Charleyn estate in the West. Where the Expo is being held.”
I sat there in a daze for a moment before bolting upright. An epidemic! The documents I received from Charleyn yesterday said everything was proceeding smoothly.
“…Calm down and sit.”
Perhaps because I was trembling so visibly, Ferdin moistened his lips with an uneasy expression.
“I still have more to say.”
Stay calm.
I sat back down and took a deep breath.
— “If worst comes to worst, we can just toss everything back to her and return to the North.”
Recalling Loik’s words helped my racing heart settle slightly. When I gave a small nod, Ferdin bit his lip and spoke.
“The person who caused that epidemic… is Father.”
I had expected as much since the Marquis was mentioned, but still.
‘He caused an epidemic?’
Isn’t that a far worse crime than trying to poison the Crown Princess?
“P-please, tell me more.”
“I’ve been keeping Father under separate surveillance for some time now.”
Ferdin began to explain everything step-by-step, from how he had assigned people to watch the Marquis to the fact that the Marquis had recently hired an information guild.
“Since you and the Grand Duke sided with the Crown Princess, I assumed the Empress would make a move soon. I figured if it wasn’t me she approached, she would drag Father into it.”
And just as Ferdin predicted, the Empress had ordered the Marquis to the palace.
“I knew Father wouldn’t listen to me, so I planned to block him from behind the scenes.”
Ferdin stopped there and wiped his mouth, muttering that he had been too arrogant.
“Brother, have a sip of tea.”
It wasn’t the first time I’d called him ‘Brother,’ but Ferdin flinched slightly as he looked at me before finally taking a sip. Setting the teacup down, he tried to maintain his composure as he continued.
“Actually, the information guild Father hired is one that I run personally.”
Ferdin ran an information guild? A thought suddenly flashed through my mind.
“Wait, could it be…!”
Ferdin replied with a look of slight embarrassment.
“It’s the same place you used.”
I was so stunned my jaw dropped.
‘The place where I sold my jewelry when I ran away from home was Ferdin’s guild?’
No wonder it felt strange that Ferdin knew about my runaway attempt in advance.
‘I basically walked right in and told him myself.’
“Anyway… since my guild took the request, I thought I could handle whatever Father was planning.”
However, the details of the Marquis’s request were completely unexpected.
[Find three coachmen to drive carriages from Ravenlore to Charleyn. Change coachmen at Bellington and Wondermere. No talking between coachmen. No use of Gates. Travel via inconspicuous forest paths without rest. Never open the cargo hold of the carriage. Leave immediately upon arrival, leaving the carriage behind…]
Based solely on the request the guild master wrote down, it was difficult to tell what he intended to do beyond simply moving a carriage.
“Did you check the contents of the cargo hold?”
“They said it contained food supplies.”
“Food?”
“Beer, cheese, slaughtered mutton, and the like. Low-quality goods consumed by commoners.”
Following Ferdin’s orders, the guild members left the carriage and hid. A few hours later, someone came to retrieve it, and not long after, the laborers at the Expo construction site shared and ate that food.
“At first, it just looked like a shipment of supplies between estates.”
However, the guild members followed the person who took the carriage and distributed the food, discovering that he was a member of a different information guild.
“It turns out Father used three different information guilds.”
Loading the food in Ravenlore, transporting it to Charleyn, and distributing it at the site—three guilds, each unaware of the others’ existence, had split the tasks.
“The Marquis did that…?”
Does he even have the brains for that?
Seeing my look of disbelief, Ferdin gave a bitter smile.
“Yes, he used his head quite a bit.”
Only then did Ferdin realize he had missed something. He hurriedly re-investigated Ravenlore and discovered through back channels that a livestock plague was spreading there.
Soon after, news arrived from the guild members lurking in Charleyn that the laborers at the Expo site had begun collapsing.
“It seems he hid mutton infected with the plague inside the supplies and brought it into Charleyn.”
Ferdin pinched the bridge of his nose, explaining that because the supplies included pungent-smelling cheese, even the guild members hadn’t noticed anything suspicious.
“The Lord of Charleyn is desperately trying to suppress the rumors, but it likely won’t last long.”
“So, the conclusion is that the Marquis intentionally moved an epidemic from another region to Charleyn?”
‘Just to ruin the Expo?’
Does he have any idea what an epidemic actually means?
I bit the inside of my cheek so hard it went numb.
“…What are you going to do now?”
“I have to… take responsibility.”
Ferdin’s voice dropped, heavy with bitterness.
“Take responsibility?”
“Since it’s a crime committed by the family, I will reveal the truth and settle the matter properly.”
From the sound of it, Ferdin intended to report Marquis Frais himself.
“That is the only way to save the House of Frais.”
Certainly, to prove the family wasn’t complicit, casting the Marquis aside was the best method.
‘I suppose the family is more important to him than his father.’
Then again, he was a man raised since childhood for the sole purpose of succeeding the house.
“I’ll send Ladriel and the Marchioness down to the estate for now. Raphael should be safe if he’s at the Grand Duke’s residence.”
Reporting his father’s crimes to the Imperial family and having the House of Frais fulfill its duties until the epidemic was eradicated?