Chapter 158
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 158
“I knew absolutely nothing about this. Truly, regarding everything involving the Fellon countship, I only ever followed my mother’s orders…”
Lauren was a woman most would call wicked, yet in that moment, as she heard her son’s testimony, a flicker of pity might have been stirred in an observer. Her expression was one of pure, shattered disbelief.
“It’s as if she’s been stabbed in the back by her own flesh and blood. Lady Marshall, after all, staked everything to secure that countship for her son.”
“She brought this on herself. Lauren’s ambition to make Jaden the Count of Fellon was born of nothing but her own greed. But that Jaden fellow won’t meet a pleasant end either.”
Trisha clicked her tongue and shook her head.
Had Lauren not been so consumed by avarice, her life would have been the envy of many. The Fellon family would have provided her with a substantial allowance for her upkeep, and the House of Marshall had been quite harmonious due to their prosperity. But now, all of that lay in ruins.
“Jaden… Jaden…!”
Lauren stood frozen, calling his name as her son descended from the witness stand. Jaden never once looked back.
A cold voice cut through Lauren’s distraught state.
“The second trial will be held in one month.”
With those words, the judge gathered his papers, rose, and exited the bench. Roxana and Harriet helped Trisha out of the room. Lauren merely stared blankly into space until the guards led her away.
* * *
Cedric, having heard the details of Lauren’s first trial, gave a light nod.
“It seems the matter of the Fellon family has been more or less resolved.”
He was the one who had framed the incident as ‘a crime capable of destabilizing the Empire’s class system’ and leaked it to the Emperor, though he told no one of his involvement. Even the Emperor, who had become agitated upon hearing Cedric’s framing and ordered the trial to proceed, likely never suspected he had been swayed.
However, Edgar, a man who knew exactly how to read his friend’s ambiguous actions, chuckled and teased him.
“Wow. If it were me, I’d be fishing for some recognition, but our Duke just quietly helps out and keeps his mouth shut.”
“Nothing is less dignified than boasting about one’s own handiwork.”
“Ugh, that composure! Even a man could fall for you.”
“I decline.”
Edgar cackled with delight as he watched Cedric recoil in disgust.
However, the reason for their meeting today was not so lighthearted. Edgar’s playful demeanor was merely a mask to keep the atmosphere from becoming too stifling.
“Were our suspicions correct regarding that matter?”
At the question, which signaled a return to the main topic, Edgar sighed lightly and nodded.
“It seems to align almost perfectly.”
“Every time an incident occurred, a small blurb would appear in the newspaper, but the full context was never properly reported.”
“The forces covering these incidents up are quite formidable, aren't they? And it’s always the same old story.”
As Edgar shrugged helplessly, Cedric let out a long breath.
Recently, an incident had occurred where a man killed his wife and child before taking his own life. The deceased was an official in the Imperial Finance Department who had embezzled Imperial funds; upon being discovered, he chose suicide—and in the most horrific manner, by murdering his innocent family first. While it was a shocking event, such tragedies happened more often than one might think, and it failed to capture the public’s lasting attention.
Cedric, who viewed the problem from a different perspective, was the exception.
“Many people resort to suicide or murder over financial ruin. But never before have such incidents been concentrated solely within aristocratic society as they are now.”
He had noticed the pattern by chance. While reading the newspaper, he’d felt a sense of déjà vu, as if he were reading the same article from the day before. When he compared the papers, the details were identical, but the names were different. From then on, a strange unease took root. After carefully scrutinizing incident reports, he realized that similar tragedies were occurring continuously within the nobility.
“You’re right. I looked into it, and most of the deceased had experienced a ‘recent’ and rapid decline in their finances.”
“And I imagine there was another commonality.”
At Cedric’s leading question, Edgar chuckled.
“Indeed. They were all guests aboard that ship.”
As expected, every victim Cedric had identified was a regular guest on the ship where the Angelic Party was held.
There were other incidents he had ordered investigated as well.
“And the deviants? Were they the same?”
“They didn't stray from our suspicions.”
Though not reported in the newspapers, Cloud’s intelligence network had uncovered several stomach-turning incidents. Most involved killing a partner during sadistic sexual acts or dying during masochistic ones. There were also cases where, even without a death, wives, children, and unmarried female relatives were being subjected to horrific abuse.
“All of it must have been learned and practiced on that ship. How else would ordinary people know such bizarre ways to torture someone to death?”
As Edgar shook his head in revulsion, Cedric clenched his jaw.
“How many people have been used as playthings by nobles and died on that ship? Even now, someone must be dying in agony.”
The documents Edgar had submitted slowly crumpled beneath Cedric’s hand.
“I’m just as distressed as you are. But you know that if we rush this, the situation will only worsen.”
“I know. If we fail, they’ll just retreat further into the shadows. And even if we succeed, there will still be those suffering from side effects or withdrawal.”
That was the most crucial reason they couldn't simply strike at Albert Kingsley yet. When Angelic disappeared, they needed an alternative drug to prevent those dependent on it from collapsing.
“How is the development of Simon progressing?”
“Since we found the raw material for Angelic, progress has been rapid. I hear it’s entered the final stages of completion.”
“Maintain absolute secrecy.”
“I’m on it,” Edgar snorted. “That Albert fellow truly has no conscience. No matter how much he loves money, to fatten the coffers of an enemy nation like this?”
Cloud had discovered Angelic’s primary raw material several months ago. It was a task they had painstakingly worked on since Albert first established his pharmaceutical company. They finally managed to persuade a factory worker to obtain a sample of the raw material, Darsenger. After an investigation, they confirmed it was an herb from the Firma Kingdom. They also learned that Kingsley Pharmaceutical in the Astor Empire was the only entity exporting such massive quantities of Darsenger from Firma.
“The term ‘top secret’ is only a temporary shield. All secrets are bound to be revealed eventually. Albert overlooked that.”
“Which is also why we need to move quickly. Our own ‘top secret’ will eventually leak as well.”
Cedric nodded.
“Once Simon is complete and mass production is possible, we strike at Angelic immediately. A false angel deserves to fall.”
Cedric’s eyes gleamed with a cold light.
* * *
Around the time Cedric and Edgar were piecing together the causes of these unsavory incidents, aristocratic society began to stir. A mysterious illness had started spreading exclusively among the nobility. Symptoms ranged from mild—nightmares, insomnia, and heart palpitations—to severe cases involving peripheral neuropathy and even heart failure.
“Speculations about the cause vary, but from where I stand, it’s clearly the Angelic.”
Tez mumbled, propped up on his side. Beside him, Bella sat gnawing on her fingernails, her brow furrowed.
“Just my luck…”
Her fingertips, chewed raw, were red with pooled blood, yet she felt no pain at all. The problem was that she couldn't feel anything—not pain, not touch, not even temperature.
Watching Bella bite down hard on her own hand, Tez asked, “You’re going to make yourself bleed. Doesn't that hurt?”
“Far from hurting, it doesn't even feel like my own hand.”
“Well, now… I’d only heard talk of the side effects, but seeing it in person is chilling.”
Yet, his tone was far from serious.
“It’ll get better, right?”
“Who knows? No one’s gotten better yet.”
“What does Albert Kingsley say?”
“He says Angelic has side effects comparable to typical pharmaceuticals, and that as long as you don't overuse it, you’ll be fine.”
“The man knows better than anyone that people are addicted to that drug. What a ridiculous thing to say.”
Tez nodded, letting out a small laugh. But Bella was in no mood for mirth. She, too, suspected Angelic was the cause of these strange symptoms. Nothing else in her life had changed except for that drug.
I don’t even feel like I took that much, so why this sudden misfortune? Even Tez, who took more than me, is perfectly fine.
Her fingertips felt like alien objects, no matter how much she massaged them.
And this wasn't the only stroke of bad luck coming her way.