Chapter 65
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Assault 3 (3)
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Arneersen glanced around before lowering his voice.
"Madam, I never would have pegged you for someone who could cause such a catastrophe."
He was acting incredibly cautious, even though there was no one around to hear.
"Even for research purposes...! I'm suppressing my own urges to experiment on my disciples' bodies!"
"Is that the issue?"
"Ahem, there's a limit to how bold one can be. Live experiments are taboo."
Arneersen shook his head vigorously.
"I'll pretend I didn't see what I just saw. I don't want to lose a promising disciple... no, not yet. A promising talent."
Rose hesitated, unsure whether to react to him offering to turn a blind eye or to him already treating her like a disciple.
"Naturally, His Excellency has no idea, right?"
Arneersen shot her a desperate look, as if pleading for her to confirm it. After a moment's thought, Rose finally answered.
"He permitted it."
"What did you say?"
"His Excellency... he gave his permission."
"...Oh."
Arneersen's eyes spun in their sockets.
"Hmm..."
Then he suddenly noticed Dane's clothes folded neatly beside the research chair.
"...It's real."
He stared into space for a moment before speaking.
"I saw nothing. Don't drag me into this. Ugh, but I don't want to lose a wealthy, powerful investor..."
"Anersen."
Rose quickly cut off Arneersen's spiraling imagination.
"This magic tool is for studying internal mana capacity. The graph you saw earlier was extracted from here."
"Internal mana capacity?"
Only then did Arneersen snap out of his delusions. He examined the chair, the instrument panel, and the connected tubes more closely before realization dawned.
"...No way, this is His Excellency's?"
Even without saying more, Arneersen swiftly inferred the rest of what Rose hadn't voiced.
Flutter.
He unfolded the paper he'd had tucked away and peered at it intently.
"This... it's truly bizarre. A graph from someone with mana reserves like His Excellency Dane's shouldn't look like this."
Arneersen seemed convinced this was Dane's graph. Rose neither confirmed nor denied it.
"How is this even possible?"
Instead, she sought to resolve the question that had been gnawing at her.
"How can someone interfere with a person's innate internal mana reserves?"
"For something like this to be possible, there's one way... but no, it couldn't be. That sort of thing can't possibly work on humans."
Arneersen clutched his head in confusion.
"What method?"
"Could you give me a few days? I need to do some research before I can give a definitive answer."
Rather than replying, Rose stared at Arneersen intently. Something in her gaze made understanding click for him.
"...It's urgent, isn't it?"
"Yes, Anersen. And I want this to stay between you and me."
"I had a feeling..."
Arneersen let out a deep sigh.
"His Excellency doing something so out of character. So that's what it was all about... something to do with his body... Oh."
He caught himself mid-sentence and clamped his mouth shut.
Rustle.
Arneersen carefully folded the paper and tucked it into his pocket. His expression was resolute.
"Understood. I don't want to lose a good investor either. I'll cooperate."
"Thank you, Anersen."
Rose swallowed a sigh of relief.
She could trust Arneersen. He'd even turned a blind eye to her conducting live experiments.
"Please hurry."
Rose added in a heavy tone.
Rumble.
Rain fell from the ashen sky. The weather was as gloomy as the gathered crowd.
Thud, thud.
People gathered at the chapel owned by the Marcus earldom.
A coffin draped in black cloth sat beneath the wall bearing the family crest. Black fabric covered the altar, pillars, and every visible surface.
"Sniff, sniff..."
The quiet sobs of the Lady Marcus mingled with the patter of rain. She wept softly behind her black veil.
Thud.
Earl Olson entered the chapel. The scent of incense and candle smoke cut through the humid air as he made his way to the coffin.
He offered his condolences directly to Earl Marcus, who stood before it.
"...You're here."
Earl Marcus spoke in a deeply sunken voice.
"My regrets."
Earl Olson replied flatly, but it was enough.
"A moment."
Earl Marcus led Earl Olson away. They slipped between the trees outside the chapel, to a spot devoid of people.
Confirming no ears were listening, Earl Olson asked.
"Where was it found?"
"...In the carriage."
Earl Marcus bit his lip before adding.
"Inside the carriage... only the head was left."
"Hah."
"Such a good child..."
Unable to hold back his rising emotions, Earl Marcus covered his face.
The child had gone out to buy a gift for his sister. But only the driverless carriage returned to the estate.
And inside...
'Kyaaah!'
Cordelia, who had checked inside the carriage, had taken to her bed ever since. She lay there, wasting away.
Earl Marcus muttered with a troubled expression.
"I should have been more careful beforehand..."
"Don't say that. No one knew."
Earl Olson pointed out coldly.
"Who could've predicted Dane Schmichael would suddenly go berserk like this?"
Dane had sent his gifts with meticulous precision, as if prepared long in advance.
Some families found the head placed by the bedside. The maid who drew back the curtains fainted on the spot.
Others had it delivered to the kitchen. Lifting the food cover revealed a bloodied head to all.
The sender was obvious from the brutal, graphic method.
"That madman..."
Earl Olson pressed his throbbing forehead.
"Why now, after lying low for three years?"
The tiger hunkered in the snowy mountains had risen, baring its long-sharpened claws. A mere graze inflicted fatal wounds.
This was happening only to families who had sided with Henrik and pointed swords at Dane.
The targeted families huddled in terror, while the others held their breath, waiting for the claws to pass.
"...I don't know."
Earl Marcus muttered in a melancholic voice.
"I just don't know anymore. I want to end it all..."
"Have you lost your mind?"
Earl Olson snapped angrily.
"Pull out now? You think that's possible?"
"Damn it, if we lose Cordelia too..."
Earl Marcus trembled in fear.
When they first started this, he never imagined he'd end up in such a predicament.
The Schmichael family had been wide open for the taking, and placing Cordelia there was a strategic move.
Everyone else was trying to assassinate Dane, so he followed suit without deeper thought.
Someone would succeed eventually, he figured lazily.
"That's why we strike first!"
Earl Olson thumped his chest in frustration.
"He's already out for revenge. You think he'll let you walk away now?"
"..."
"Cordelia could be next! We need to band together before that happens!"
"Aren't you... aren't you scared?"
"I've got nothing left to lose."
Earl Olson's daughter had died back when she was Lady Schmichael. Ambushed in her carriage.
They never even found the body. That was his eternal regret.
"I won't rest until I see that bastard dead."
Earl Olson's eyes blazed like torches, fueled by a father's vengeful fury.
"If only we hadn't started this..."
"Enough nonsense!"
Earl Olson glared at Earl Marcus. The man had aged years in days, looking far more exhausted than his age.
How could he talk of jumping ship now, after boarding the same boat? If he was going to whine, he shouldn't have gotten on.
"It's too late for that. You think Sir Henrik will let the man who betrayed him off the hook?"
"Ugh."
Earl Marcus ground his teeth at the valid point.
Earl Olson was right. There were no other options. They either retreat like cut tails or bite back.
As Earl Marcus shed his fear bit by bit, Earl Olson pressed him.
"Decide quickly. The other families have already united."
"What do you plan to do?"
"Show him a cornered rat fights back. Soon—"
That was when it happened.
"Father."
A voice came from behind the two men.
"...!"
"Cordelia!"
Whirling around in shock, they saw Cordelia standing there like a ghost.
The vibrant, beautiful face was gone. Her corpse-pale visage turned toward Earl Marcus.
"You'll do it, right?"
Cordelia smiled with eyes full of hopeful words.
"W-what do you mean?"
Earl Marcus's lips trembled. The daughter before him felt like a stranger, sending chills down his spine.
"If you're going to do it, grant my request too."
Cordelia's lips curved upward slyly.
"Kill Rose Schmichael. That woman."
Clatter.
The carriage began to move.
"How was it today?"
Lately, conversing with Rose in the carriage had become routine.
Monastery visits and donations, tea parties, charity events and relief work...
Accompanying Rose to all sorts of events and showing their faces publicly.
It was akin to proclaiming far and wide that the Schmichael family was thriving and that he confidently held the reins.
"Several families didn't attend today."
Rose replied in a calm tone.
She seemed to be adapting quickly to life as the duchess.
He was so pleased with her handling of affairs that he dreaded the emptiness her departure would bring.
"I see."
He could roughly guess which families had skipped out. He'd been diligently sending them gifts lately, after all.
'They're not the type to stay quiet.'
In preparation, he'd doubled the guards at the castle and the carriage escorts.
The air around Schmichael Castle was taut with tension, palpable to the skin. All eyes were on them.
"Your Excellency, about the examination of your body last time."
"Mm."
"I spoke with Anersen, and I think I've found some clues."