How To Get Revenge On My Sister Who Stole My Husband - Chapter 78

As he said, he certainly didn’t have enough money to buy a ring suitable for proposing right now. This year’s income was barely enough to cover living expenses, estate and mansion maintenance costs, and pay salaries to servants, knights, and administrators. Leonard thought for a brief moment and then said:

“There’s no other choice. I’ll have to borrow the money from the Shylis Guild.”

“What? Isn’t the Shylis Guild run by those notorious loan sharks? You’re going to borrow money from them?”

Gordon asked with wide eyes. Leonard spoke to him in a cold voice:

“Where did you learn to talk back so impertinently to your master, servant? Do you want to be thrown out of this mansion?”

“Ah, no. I apologize, young lord.”

“Tsk, get out!”

Leonard waved his hand dismissively, and Gordon bowed deeply in respect before quickly leaving. He followed the servant’s retreating figure with a displeased gaze.

“That measly sum will be more than repaid with the dowry Christine brings when she marries me. Damn it. If only Danae hadn’t tempted me…”

Yes, he just needs to marry her somehow. Then she will sort out everything Danae has ruined, and raise up his household and the Yusten family again. She loves him, and she will devote herself to him, the man she loves, as much as needed.

Yet why does he keep feeling uneasy?

Growing anxious, he thought of Duke Haven who had been approaching her lately. Taller than himself by half a span, a Sword Master, with handsome looks inherited from his parents – the former Duke Haven and Princess Liz who were once praised as the empire’s most beautiful couple – one of only three dukes in this empire. Thinking of that man who seemed to have received God’s blessing and had everything in the world, feelings of inferiority boiled up inside him.

Except for the close ties between their families and the fact that she loved him, Leonard fumed at the realization that he had not a single advantage over that man. The thought that he might steal her heart while he was being complacent like this filled him with unspeakable fear. He stared into space with darkened eyes, lost in thought.

“I need to make her mine as soon as possible…”

He nodded, thinking that would solve all his problems.

* * *

At that time, in the annex of Duke Yusten’s mansion.

After finishing an early dinner, I checked the letters that had arrived for me. One was from Viscount Miles. He reported that patrolling the port had become difficult due to the increased number of sailing ships staying at Anworth Harbor, and that naval training was also progressing smoothly. I wrote back asking after his well-being and promising to send more support funds for his knights patrolling the harbor.

The second was from Emlyn, who had arrived at Ursi Castle. Along with his surprise at finding more ore deposits than expected, he grumbled that it would take a full month to mine it all even with Noah’s help. I wrote back saying it was fine to proceed slowly and to send a letter anytime if he needed anything, then tossed it out the window as he had instructed. A hawk swooped down, snatched my letter in its beak, and disappeared into the distant sky.

Now two letters remained.

After a moment’s hesitation, I picked up the letter from the spy I had planted in Princess Meredith’s household. Opening the envelope, I found a very short letter and dozens of parchment pages filled with writing.

[No notable movements from the Prince or Princess.

However, we must not let our guard down. Although all the servants attending the Prince and Princess were expelled from the palace, there are still many loyal to them in the court. Also, there are secret passages in the Prince’s palace that allow free movement in and out while avoiding others’ eyes.

In other words, they can meet anyone if they wish. Currently working to discover the locations of these secret passages.

Attached is information on the recent investigation request. The enclosed 78 pages of parchment are copies of the report on the deaths of Princess Liz and the former Duke Yusten, written by Count Glessner, the former royal investigator of the Privy Council.

It seems the Princess’s side tried to destroy this record by starting a fire after the Count’s death. Fortunately, one of the Count’s loyal servants had kept this.

As the servant may be killed if the existence of this report becomes known, destroy the report immediately after reading.]

I inadvertently drew in a sharp breath.

Duke Yusten had completely blocked any information related to my father’s death to prevent me from questioning it. In other words, this was the first time I was seeing any records about my father’s death. My heart pounded loudly, and my fingertips trembled faintly with tension and excitement. After taking a deep breath, I carefully opened the report.

[…By His Majesty’s order, I arrived at the Yusten estate on August 13th, at the height of midsummer heat, to investigate the death of Duke Willard Kramer Yusten. My adjutant, Viscount John Seyner, and I passed through the garden where beautiful yellow butterflies were fluttering, heading to the main building where the Duke’s office was located.

…(omitted)… The cause of the Duke’s death appears to be acute heart failure.

According to the servants’ testimonies, the master’s complexion had been very poor for the past few days, and he had difficulty climbing stairs. It seems the Duke’s heart had already been troubled before his death.

…(omitted)… Those around the Duke seemed to have noticed something was wrong with his health about 5 months before his death.

Following the instruction of Privy Council Chairman Grand Duke Lucent to thoroughly investigate the possibility of a curse cast by a corrupt mage or witch, we checked the Duke’s activities during that period but found nothing unusual.

As Duke Yusten was not a very sociable person, there were not many subjects to investigate. Apart from a very few friends, the only people he had contact with recently were his family members, but the Duke’s daughter and nephew were too young to commit such an act, and we found no suspicious points regarding the Duke’s brother, Viscount Richard Wayne Yusten. At the time, the Viscount was searching for a missing girl near the Lunalia region of the estate.]

There was nothing particularly noteworthy. Frowning, I moved on to Princess Liz’s report. As it concerned the death of a royal family member, it was described in more detail.

[…On July 24th, Her Highness Princess Liz Eldernith died while on an expedition to subjugate monsters appearing in the Frugis region.

Viscount Seyner and I headed to the Plinia Gorge in the Frugis region. Countless insects emerged from the forest thick with nameless flowers and trees, clinging to us, staining the white linen we had brought to recover Her Highness’s body with yellow excrement.

…(omitted)… The cause of Her Highness’s death was acute pulmonary edema.

The knights of the White Lion Order led by Her Highness insisted that someone must have released poisonous smoke into Her Highness’s tent. Viscount John Seyner and I immediately cut out a part of Her Highness’s tent and conducted a poison test.

However, no poison was detected in the tent.

But near the center of the knights’ campsite where Her Highness’s tent was located, there was a bonfire lit to drive away insects, and half-burned chestnut wood was found in it. It seems that a young servant, unaware that burning chestnut wood can produce toxic smoke strong enough to kill a person, had thrown it into the bonfire.

After investigation, we found the servant. He was a 13-year-old boy named Jude Mathis from the western Broken region of the empire.

The boy denied the charges, and the knights, including Her Highness’s adjutant Sir Oliver, also protested, saying ‘There’s no way Her Highness, a Sword Master, would die from such a thing.’

However, we had already secured testimony from a maid who saw the boy wandering around the campsite with an armful of firewood the day before Her Highness’s death, and upon examining Her Highness’s body, we confirmed a strong burnt smell.

…(omitted)… The boy, immediately transported to the capital, was imprisoned in the dungeon, and three days later he was hanged.]

But I couldn’t find any particular points of interest in that report either. Sighing, I went to the fireplace. Now that I had checked all the contents, it was time to burn them, regrettably. As I was about to tear them into small pieces before burning, I soon sighed deeply and sat down in front of it. I just couldn’t bring myself to burn them. After going to such lengths to obtain them, it seemed too wasteful to destroy these reports.

‘The Duke and Princess tried to burn down the Count’s mansion to get rid of these records. That clearly means there must be evidence hidden in these reports that could reveal the truth about their deaths.’

I’d better examine the reports again from the beginning.

With that resolution, I laid out the reports on my father and Princess Liz side by side. Then, bringing a small parchment and quill, I alternately examined the two reports and wrote down the common points on the parchment.

“…Summer, sudden death, yellow? Are these the only commonalities?”

I sighed deeply. While sudden deaths in midsummer were one thing, I couldn’t understand why the word ‘yellow’ appeared in the reports.

“I don’t know why Count Glessner described the situations in such excessive detail, making things so confusing.”

Then suddenly, I realized something and hurriedly opened the two reports.

“Yellow butterflies…, ‘yellow’ excrement on the linen…!”