“…Excuse me. Lord Lupinus.”

“Are your ears clogged? Didn’t you hear me tell you to get lost?”

“There’s just one thing. Just one thing I want to ask.”

Though trembling at Rude’s harsh words, Carla persisted. There was an answer she had to hear.

“A year ago, when you were chasing us. The carriage accident then. Was that accident intentional on your part?”

Did this man really try to kill Merche?

Somehow, she had a feeling it wasn’t true. From what Carla had seen and felt of Rude so far, he seemed like someone who would rather die himself than hurt Merche.

Not only that, if anyone tried to harm Merche, he seemed like the type who wouldn’t hesitate to catch and kill them.

Carla pressed her lips together firmly and glared at Rude.

“Back then, Merche could have died because of that accident. Though she was lucky and unharmed, it was that dangerous of an accident.”

“……”

“Tell me. That accident, it wasn’t intentional on your part, right?”

“And if it wasn’t? What then? What difference would it make?”

“Of course it makes a difference!”

Carla raised her voice in agitation, as if to say ‘how can you not know that?’

“I’ve been cursing you all this time thinking you caused that accident, but it wasn’t like that!

I knew it. I thought something seemed off.

She let out a deep sigh. It wasn’t even as if she had been falsely accused. She felt irritated and annoyed for no reason.

“…Sigh. About Merche. Your engagement with her might end soon, you know.”

Just so you know.

Carla deliberately spoke in a spiteful tone.

Half of her was curious how he would react, and half was truly feeling complicated.

“…!”

At that moment, she encountered eyes filled with madness that seemed like they would crush her alive.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I won’t break the engagement even if I die. I’ll be buried as her fiancé even if I become a corpse in a coffin, so stop spouting nonsense before I kill you.”

Carla dropped her arm that she had raised to brush her hair behind her ear, shocked.

The reaction was far beyond what she had expected.

The murderous intent emanating from his harsh words was so thick it was suffocating. As she slowly backed away from him, she timidly added.

“Why are you being like this to me when it’s not even my fault?”

“Who started yapping first and now acts wronged? If you’re going to tremble in fear at just this much, you should have kept your mouth shut and left from the beginning.”

“I’ve felt this before, but you really need to fix that way of speaking as soon as possible. How did you become close to Merche talking like that? It doesn’t make any sense no matter how I think about it…”

But then, Rude, who had been lying down silently, raised his upper body.

“…What reason is there for the engagement to be broken?”

“Ah, so that’s what’s bothering you now?”

She was about to tease him more but received a fierce glare and politely clasped her hands. Carla, with her neck drawn in like a turtle, spilled everything she knew.

“…They say Merche might be a hidden royal.”

Even as she said it, it felt like she was telling an outlandish lie. But since it was a direct message from the head of House Ardor, it wasn’t a matter to be taken lightly.

The chances of it being false were almost none.

Moreover, there was another shocking fact.

According to the head of House Ardor, there was a high possibility that Merche was a direct descendant of the royal family.

“It would be a big deal even if she were just a royal, but if she’s a direct descendant…”

Carla trailed off and waved her hand. Her fingertips trembled pitifully, tense in case Rude might hurl insults at her.

“…Listen without get angry. If Merche really is a hidden royal and direct descendant, other families will probably be looking to find fault with your engagement to Merche.”

Would they just find fault? They would rush to break the engagement first and try to pair her with someone from their own family, causing quite an uproar.

She’s a precious royal bloodline, after all. And one with proper royal powers at that.

The fact that she subdued and stopped the Basilisk was proof that she had powers incomparably stronger than other royals.

There’s no way other greedy families would let go of such a Merche.

“…What’s with that reaction? You were about to kill me earlier, but now you have nothing to say!”

She thought he would go berserk immediately upon hearing that other families would target Merche.

Contrary to expectations, this time his reaction was too bland.

Rude lay down carelessly like a rag, covering his eyes with one arm. He soon laughed softly.

“…Merche has already abandoned me anyway. She sees me as less than trash…”

“What are you talking about? …Merche abandoned you?”

Carla asked with round eyes, full of doubt.

Abandoned? Merche abandoned this man?

Their personalities might clash a bit, but surely not to the point of treating him worse than trash.

From what Carla could see, Merche’s feelings towards him weren’t that terrible.

“Don’t say that, tell me more details…”

“Young lady−!”

At that moment, Carla’s maid came running breathlessly from afar.

For some unknown reason, feeling ominous, Carla hurriedly got up even before the maid arrived.

“What’s the matter?”

“You need to go right away, young lady. A body was found near the main territory entrance, and it seems…”

The maid with a darkened complexion hesitated before speaking.

“…It might be Sir Joseph’s body.”

Most of those who saw the body vomited. The state of the corpse was that terrible.

“…Joseph.”

Carla covered her mouth.

He was a disliked cousin. There were times when she had wished for him to disappear from this world.

When he came leading the Basilisk, harboring resentment for losing the successor position, she truly felt like strangling him to death.

But this… not like this. She certainly never wished for such a mangled end.

The stench of decay from the corpse, barely recognizable, was overwhelming.

Unable to bear it any longer, Mariette ordered the body to be hidden and all passersby to be driven away.

“The right ring finger was cut off.”

Mariette pressed her fingers against her brow with force as she sat in her office.

“Someone deliberately placed the body there. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been discovered like that.”

When all the snakes attached to Joseph disappeared. From that moment, she had a feeling something was amiss.

The simultaneous loss of connection with all those snakes meant that someone had killed them all.

Although he was quite capable as a Venenum, it also bothered her that his power wasn’t enough to summon and control a Basilisk.

“Are you saying there was someone else behind Joseph’s actions?”

“Yes.”

“Who on earth would do such a thing…”

Mariette had her suspicions, but she didn’t give any hints to Carla.

“……”

On the day Joseph went missing and the Basilisk rampaged, the safe that only the head of the family could open was robbed by someone.

It’s a safe that only the family head can open.

Someone used Joseph to open the safe that could only be unlocked with the family head’s seal, and then killed Joseph to eliminate him.

Who could it be? For what purpose did they commit such an atrocious act?

Mariette instructed for Joseph’s funeral and sent Carla away.

Lately, troublesome incidents have been occurring one after another.

There’s no more hair left to turn white, yet why has such a difficult path opened up in old age? It’s truly baffling.

“…Head of the family.”

“Ah. Merche, you’ve come. Sit there.”

Mariette swallowed a sigh and sat down across from Merche.

“It’s nothing else, I called you because I have something to ask.”

She pushed a piece of paper across with her wrinkled hand.

In the center of the white background, there was a single ring drawn.

It’s not a particularly detailed drawing, but enough to roughly gauge its shape at a glance. Just that level of a drawing.

“Have you ever seen a ring that looks like this?”

Merche didn’t answer immediately, carefully examining the drawing.

The band of the ring, the jewel set in the center, the color of that jewel. It was colored red. Probably a ruby.

“……”

As she stared at it, she frowned slightly.

Not entirely certain, but strangely familiar. As if she had seen it somewhere before. Where could she have seen this?

Suddenly, she recalled a man from an unforgettable day.

Rude. The day he gave her a clumsily woven laurel wreath.

One of the treasures he had brought out from the treasure room, knowing he would face harsh treatment from Genovefa.

One of them flashed through her mind.

“…It’s a treasure that was in Lupinus Castle.”

“…Hmm. Is that so? Then indeed, that must be it.”

“Do you know this ring?”

“I do. This ring… it’s the king’s divine object.”

Mariette clicked her tongue. Somehow, things seem to be heading in an increasingly bad direction.

“You’ve heard the news that Joseph’s body was discovered, right?”

“Yes. I heard it from Carla.”

“This is the ring Joseph was wearing before he died. I saw it with my own eyes, so I’m certain.”

What was on Joseph’s finger before he died had disappeared from the finger of Joseph’s corpse.

The strangely severed right ring finger.

Someone had retrieved that ring Joseph was wearing.

Judging by the fact that they didn’t just take the ring but cut off the entire finger, this is clearly no ordinary villain.

“…Ah.”

As if suddenly remembering, Mariette asked a question she had completely forgotten.

“Merche. Have things been a bit awkward with your fiancé lately?”

“…It’s not a big problem.”

“Is it not just with you? The rumors I’ve been hearing are not good. They say the head of the Lupinus family is wandering around like a madman, steeped in alcohol and cigars. I’ve heard the servants gossiping about it several times.”