# 52
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The door was like a border between two times or two worlds. As soon as it opened, the Marquise had a strange feeling, as if she had suddenly returned to more than ten years ago.
The Grand Madam's maids entered the room with a silent flow, wearing dark gray dresses, their backs straight and unbend. Their gazes were deep and solid, like mahogany wood that has weathered the storms of years. Even the Countess of Lewin, who moments before had almost pounced on Mrs. Isaacs' cheek, had no choice but to open and close her mouth without a sound, her excitement fading in the face of that prestige.
Lady Isaac and the Marquise's gazes met blankly. Mrs. Isaacs saw in the Marquise's eyes fierce resistance; The resistance of a woman who considered everything hers and was not willing to give up even a single bundle of firewood.
What shameless ingratitude.
She took a step forward and finally said the words she had wanted to say all those years.
“We have come to receive what the Grand Lady has ordered, Marchioness of Lenco.”
At the same time, she intended to show her little by little how empty illusions those desires were.
“Bring the treasures of Richmond, along with the key to the Blue Room.”
As soon as the Richmond Treasure and the Blue Room were mentioned, the features of the noblewomen who maintained haughty expressions cracked. Whoever was wearing a ring quickly hid it, and whoever was wearing a necklace pulled her chin down unnecessarily. They all knew deep down that what they did was wrong.
Lady Isaac's gaze passed over their faces one by one, before finally settling on the Marquise.
“Anyone who carries treasure on her body must take it off now, and everything that is kept today will be restored the day before tomorrow.”
She said this, syllable by syllable, carrying every word with the weight of the past years.
“As for the crime of disposing of the treasures without the permission of the Grand Lady, he will be held accountable at the appropriate time.”
The Marquise had no choice but to watch with her open eyes how what remained of her prestige was being torn apart.
She wondered, with faint despair, if this hellish day was just a dream.
＊ ＊ ＊
More than ten years ago, the Duke's supporters suffered a political defeat by the Marquis's supporters. The Marquis was at the height of his life and influence, while the Duke was an orphan child, taking refuge in his grandmother's lap. There was no real comparison.
Thus, the young duke was sent with five hundred knights to the Wall of Death. Their deaths were so almost inevitable that everyone at Richmond Palace would have nodded in understanding if their obituary had ever arrived. It was only a matter of time, they thought.
But year after year, no obituary arrived. They said it was a coincidence. Then the coincidence repeated itf, until something like a miracle happened: they all came back alive.
How did they survive?
Were the monsters that are said to appear incessantly avoiding the Duke and his knights alone?
The lower prison guards and soldiers soon realized that their survival was not pure luck.
There were only three of them.
The Duke, Joseph Lexton, and Crimson Isaac.
But their presence alone was enough to swallow the darkness of the prison. Their looks, expressions, steps, and even their small movements were pressing on the chests of the veteran soldiers there.
In order to survive among the monsters, they themves became stronger than the monsters. The monsters that didn't kill them, made them stronger.
At the heart of that group was the Duke.
“Ahh… ahhh!”
"Damn you! Won't you shut up?!"
Joseph growled with a face that might haunt one's nightmares, but Ironfoot could no longer hear anything, he was screaming like a madman.
It wasn't his hysterical screaming that sent chills down the knights' hearts the most, it was the Duke's attitude as he watched. Sitting in the judge's chair, his face was devoid of any emotion, as if he were looking at something inanimate.
“Aaaah!”
As his madness increased, the Duke finally got up. Ironfoot retreated in terror as he crawled on the ground. Joseph blocked his path with his leg, and at that moment Ares approached until he was a step away, putting his hands in his pockets, staring at the liar without a word.
Then he delivered one sentence, with deadly coldness:
“Continue.”
Hysteria receded in the face of such cruelty.
"I finished?"
Ironfoot stared at the man who seemed to be an extension of the darkness of the prison. He realized, for the first time, that a bored look could be so terrifying.
Ares took his hand out of his pocket and knelt down, his broad body looking like a mountain range. As the trembling man watched him with bated breath, Ares whispered:
“I've put up with your ridiculousness so far. Open your mouth.”
“….”
“Who did you make the deal with?”
“….”
"Understood."
“W-what?”
Iron Foot asked in astonishment, but Ares, completely impatient, turned around and ordered Joseph:
“Send him back to the cell.”
“Oh… sir!”
“Close his mouth and put a mask on him.”
“Your command!”
Ironfoot's face faded. He realized that the Duke had no intention of negotiating. It doesn't matter if he tells the truth or not. This was no time for deals.
He threw himf on the ground, in the most degrading position possible.
"I'll tell you everything I know! Everything, honestly! Please, please let me live!"
Amidst his pleas, his eyes fell on the tip of a black shoe. He slowly raised his head and saw the man holding the thread of his life staring at him silently.
"I won't ask questions. You'll tell everything you know. I hope he has what I need."
The fear was more intense than the darkness of the prison itf. He lost his hand and leg because of money, and here he is entering a black tiger's den with his feet. He cursed himf bitterly, then spoke quickly before Ares ran out of patience completely.
＊ ＊ ＊
The Marquis of Lenco's office was tense and tense.
“The grand lady’s maids entered the palace.”
“Then the entry of the knights is a matter of time.”
"probably."
Edward, standing by the window with his arms crossed, looked up at the whispers.
"the curse!!"
The Marquis hit the desk violently, and the nobles trembled and were silenced by his anger.
Finally, Edward took them out.
“Let us reconvene at dawn.”
"Yes... yes. It's good that you're here. Take care of your father."
“And help Count Luwin, if anything happens, let us know.”
“I will.”
As soon as the office was empty, the Marquis exploded in his son's face:
"Are you so insensitive?! You saw your mother's expression, and yet you gave that testimony?!"
“….”
“Because of you, everything collapsed!”
"my dad."
The Marquis paused at his son's calm tone.
Perhaps because he inherited his grandfather's name, Edward was more similar to him than his father in features and temperament.
"Any other family would have buried the matter and killed the witnesses. How could Duke Taylor's daughter be linked to the 'Invisibles'?"
“Damn…”
“Have you ever thought about how the Duke, who was at the Wall of Death, and the Miss, who lived in Taylor's Palace, became lovers in the first place?”
The Marquis wiped his face.
“This is what puzzled me.”
“It's not confusion. It's a trap.”
“….”
“The Duke and Miss Taylor set a trap together.”
The Marquis's face turned red, and he began to pace the room with bated breaths. He looked troubled…as ever.
Only then did Edward truly understand the anxiety his parents had lived in all their lives.
He breathed deeply, then said:
“Go and apologize to the Duke and the Grand Lady.”
"…What?"
"Abandon everything and return to Lenkou Palace. Ask for mercy in return for your service. Perhaps they will pardon you."
"…You!"
"Do you refuse to apologise? Or do you know that you will not be forgiven even if you apologize?"
The Marquis was silent. From his silence, Edward read the answer.
“Were you involved in the death of the former Duke?”
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