An Incomplete Divorce - Chapter 31

“Lo, Lord Duke?”

In reality, it wasn’t a question but a threat. Diane broke out in a cold sweat. She could barely breathe from fear. But it was too late for her to turn back now.

“I, I was foolish.”

Diane sobbed.

“Suddenly my finances took a turn for the worse and I needed a large sum of money. I couldn’t resist the temptation and just once. Really just once I tampered with the reports. Please believe me, Lord Duke.

Diane pleaded desperately, her shoulders shaking convulsively.

“Your wife found out about it. She used that as leverage to……”

“What a waste of time.”

Johan rose from his seat. He quietly ordered the chief inspector standing beside him.

“The charges. Handle them as you see fit.”

“Understood.”

Handle the charges as he saw fit. It meant he wouldn’t end it with just simple embezzlement. He was a man capable of any fabrication if he wanted to send her to the gallows.

Diane’s tear-stained face was overtaken by terror.

“Lord Duke!”

Diane suddenly stood up, knelt before Johan, and clung to him.

“Please believe me! I only did as I was told…… That is, the Du, Duchess……”

Johan frowned in displeasure, and the policemen rushed over to drag Diane and forcibly seat her in the chair.

“Lord Duke!”

Diane cried out as if in agony.

“Diane Brook.”

A voice calling her name came from the darkness beyond the reach of the lamplight.

Her name being called for the first time was as sweet as she had imagined. If only this weren’t an interrogation room, it would have been perfect. Reality was too cruel.

“You think so little of me.”

With one hand in his pocket, he slowly approached. The sound of his footsteps was heavy.

The man leaned over the table, and his face was revealed in the light. Cold eyes glared at her clearly from within. Diane held her breath.

“I’m very curious how it was with my wife.”

“Wa, wait a moment. Lord Duke. Lord Duke!”

Diane stood up to try and stop the man who was turning away coldly. The officers roughly pushed down on her shoulders.

Ugh. Even as she let out a groan, Diane called out to Johan.

“Lord Duke!!!”

With a clang, the iron door of the interrogation room opened and closed. Diane trembled with a pale face.

“Now, could you please confirm this, Miss Brook.”

It was Morris.

Diane looked down hopelessly at the documents he placed before her. The records of funds flowing into the Brook family, the statement from her accomplice the fence. Their transaction ledger. Nothing registered in her eyes.

Then at the edge of her vision, a single piece of paper the size of a postcard. Diane reached out and picked it up. Both her hands trembled uncontrollably. Her bloodshot eyes turned even redder.

Olivia Blanchet.

Clumsy letters as if from someone newly literate.

It was the handwriting of that lowborn bastard child.

How dare she.

「To His Grace Duke Johan Leopold

I have the pink diamond necklace.

How do you think I got it?」

“Aaaagh!”

Her breath, rough with anger, soon turned into a scream. It echoed beyond the interrogation room and into the dark hallway.

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It had become easier to move the corruption-ridden Leiden Metropolitan Police Department than before.

The investigation into Diane Brook had begun, and the case of the missing maid who had disappeared after resigning from Greathil was also gaining momentum.

Johan closed the bribery ledger he had been examining.

Jack, the fence on Longbone Street, had meticulously recorded the flow of the stolen goods he had disposed of and the names of the police officers he had bribed.

According to the ledger, the jewels Diane had embezzled were passed on to a jeweler.

The ‘Gloria’ jewelry store that purchased them had been operating by dismantling the stolen goods and selling them as newly designed accessories.

But they say they couldn’t bring themselves to touch the pink diamond necklace famous for its tragic story of the twin princesses.

Little did they know it would lead to their downfall.

As a result of the search and seizure, the person who bought the necklace in question was Count Carter Elaine, and his wife Bianca Elaine was a woman Olivia had befriended in Brit.

At last, the puzzle was solved clearly.

Johan felt deflated at the revealed truth. He couldn’t help but laugh.

It felt like he had been sucker-punched by his divorced wife. And in a defenseless state at that. However, he didn’t feel too bad about it.

Johan instructed to exclude Carter Elaine from the investigation. He didn’t want Olivia at the end of it to become the subject of gossip.

He didn’t want to reignite the scandal of his ex-wife that had just died down. That was all.

Of course, Olivia must have personally sent the letter to save Elaine’s husband. But the result was the same, so it didn’t matter.

Johan pushed the ledger aside and took out a piece of stationery from the drawer, placing it neatly. It was time to write a reply.

To Olivia.

It was the first letter he was writing to his wife.

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The scales of water sparkled on the Vichen River as the morning sun had fully risen. Olivia, having finished breakfast, sat on the window sofa staring at the long gift box sent by Edgar.

The lemon-colored ribbon swayed gently in the early summer breeze. Upon untying the ribbon wrapped around the sky-blue box and opening the lid, a snow-white racket appeared.

“Do you like it?”

Mrs. Mary asked as she placed the coffee on a silver tray on the table.

Olivia looked up at Mrs. Mary with a satisfied smile, holding the racket she had taken out of the box.

“The grip feels good. As if we’ve always been together.”

Olivia stood up. She took a light swing stance and kept exclaiming in admiration. It was incomparable to the rackets provided by the hotel.

“I like it.”

The weight, not too light, was just right, and the size of the head was perfect.

As her fingertips traced along the smooth oval head, they felt something bumpy. Turning the racket over, she saw Olivia Blanchet’s initials embroidered in white thread on the left shoulder part. A gentle smile spread across her face.

“Drink your coffee before it gets cold.”

Mrs. Mary, who had been watching Olivia excited like a child for a moment, smiled contentedly and left with the empty tray.

Until then, Olivia’s gaze remained on the delicately embroidered initials. The slightly slanted font was exquisite. She wanted to swing the racket on the court right away.

“Oh, Miss?”

It was then that Anne’s urgent cry broke the peaceful morning. Olivia looked at Anne running towards her, still holding the racket. Anne was uncharacteristically flustered.

“What is it, Anne?”

“A, a letter has arrived.”

“A letter?”

Olivia’s eyes widened slightly. Only Edgar and Elaine knew the address here. Could it be a letter from Elaine curious about the necklace?

Olivia put down the racket and received the letter.

“!”

At the top of the white envelope with gold-decorated edges, elegant handwriting caught her eye.

「Johan Edinburgh Leopold」

Olivia was as surprised as Anne and froze.

“……No way. How did he know?”

Olivia had never thought her handwriting was particularly special. She was just newly amazed that Johan had solved the puzzle.

“He must have caught the thief.”

Anne’s eyes blazed.

“This quickly?”

It had only been three days since she sent the letter to Johan. Olivia couldn’t close her slightly parted lips.

Taking a deep breath, Olivia slowly opened the envelope and took out the letter.

「To Olivia

Next time, reveal your identity」

“……”

There wasn’t a single line about Diane Brook, which she had been curious about. Nor any mention of the disposal of the pink diamond necklace.

The curt reply, as cold as the aristocratic handwriting, was bewilderingly brief.

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“From Johan?”

Edgar asked in response to Gerald’s report. His expression was one of surprise.

“Yes, sir.”

“The contents?”

“She burned it right away, so I couldn’t confirm.”

“I see.”

With those words, silence fell again.

Edgar cast his gaze out the carriage window. Having left the city center, the carriage was heading towards the quiet suburbs bathed in fresh greenery. The darkened leaves glistened in the morning sunlight.

A letter from Johan…

Edgar leaned deep into his seat and fell into thought with a languid gaze.

What business did he have to personally send a letter to his divorced wife? And at this time, right before his engagement to the princess of Kranz.

For what reason.

Sunlight poured through the leaves that had grown more lush after the flowers had fallen. The light stabbing his eyes was strangely irritating.

Johan was not one to move without gain. So why.

Edgar’s doubts did not easily subside.

Was the international mail that Olivia had sent through her maid… indeed for Johan?

But for what reason now?

The carriage had now entered a quiet country lane, and after about ten minutes, a path with neatly trimmed lawns on both sides as if measured with a ruler stretched out. At the end of that path stood a majestic red building.

Dumblin Cricket & Tennis Club.

Today’s destination.

While Edgar was lost in thought, the carriage circled around the central fountain and came to a stop in front of the entrance.

Above the ivy-covered entrance, a golden decorative piece featuring two crossed rackets encircled by a laurel wreath glittered in the sunlight.

“Welcome, Marquis Lancelot.”

A club employee bowed respectfully to Edgar as he alighted from the carriage. He responded with a slight nod. The manager, having apparently received prior notice, was also waiting.

“They are waiting for you.”

“I see.”

Edgar followed the man up the wide stairs leading to the building with a slight smile. He decided to put aside thoughts of Johan for now.

Henry McDowell, dressed in a crisp white shirt with a green cardigan and white cotton trousers, greeted Edgar at a round table set with tea and fresh green grapes.

“Welcome.”

“It’s been a while since I last visited.”

Edgar bowed to the man as soon as he entered the reception room. A formal smile played on his face, seated by the window where sunlight streamed in well.

“Have a seat.”

“Yes.”

Edgar sat down with a gentle smile and perfect posture. Looking at him, Henry thought to himself.

Fox-like fellow.