“Ha……”

A hollow laugh, close to a sneer, escaped through his twisted lips.

“I think you’re quite mistaken, I have no intention of understanding Your Highness’ heart, nor do I want to understand it.”

Herald roughly removed Derius’ hand gripping his shoulder.

“Of course, I have no intention of talking to Your Highness either, so please refrain from any strange attempts.”

With me. And with that woman, too.

Herald swallowed the words he couldn’t say now and brushed past Derius. He thought Derius would back off, even if his pride was hurt, but his expectations were thoroughly betrayed.

“If you don’t want to talk to me, you can just listen, Count.”

Derius persistently clung to him like a leech. What on earth was he trying to say? Not only that he had a lot he wanted to say to Herald, but Herald was also curious about Derius’ intentions.

However, he didn’t stop or look back. If he showed even a little sign of relenting, such fellows would pounce on the opportunity. If he had no intention of entertaining them, it was right to ignore them to the end.

“As I’ve said many times before, I really like Count Braden.”

Derius followed behind him, paying no heed and spouting nonsense.

“Despite being born with everything, you’re not arrogant, and you evaluate people solely based on their abilities, not being bound by the framework of status…… The Count is someone who fits very well with the ideal world I want to create.”

Even if he didn’t want to hear it, the voice pierced his ears. He couldn’t openly block his ears, so Herald chose to listen with one ear and let it flow out the other.

“Whenever I see the Count, I always feel regretful. If only I had met the Count before my elder brother, if only I had become close with the Count first…… That’s the kind of regret I feel.”

The story seemed to go on endlessly. He thought if ignored, Derius would tire and fall away on his own, but he was more persistent than expected. Yet, what he was saying had no substance either. He kept spouting nonsense that Herald couldn’t understand why he was saying it.

What on earth was he thinking?

Herald stopped, understanding Austin’s words that Derius was not just unpleasant but repulsive. A little further and they would reach the outer palace bustling with nobles. Judging from Derius’ momentum, it seemed he would follow him to the outer palace, and then he would become the talk of the town, so Herald had no choice but to turn and face him here.

“If you want to draw me to Your Highness’ side, it’s best to give up. Even if I die and wake up again, I will never stand on Your Highness’ side.”

Even though he spoke coldly, Derius smiled brightly, his dimples deepening, as if he was delighted by something.

“I think you’re quite mistaken, I have no intention of drawing the Count to my side. I never thought it would be possible either.”

“……”

Then why are you clinging like a leech and spouting such nonsense?

It was something he really wanted to say but absolutely couldn’t utter out loud, so Herald conveyed it with his eyes instead. The quick-witted Derius caught on immediately and laughed.

“There’s only one thing I want from the Count. To do nothing.”

In an instant, a brutal chill flowed across the face where the smile had withered away. Derius, who had completely changed his expression to the point of questioning if he was the same person, continued in an icy voice.

“I’d like the Count to stay still, instead of snooping around like a mutt looking for scraps to pick up. You can live freely like a bird flying in the sky, unrestrained by anyone.”

Derius openly expressed hostility, revealing the fangs he had been hiding for a long time. Herald was not frightened by such a Derius at all. Rather, he laughed, glad that Derius had revealed his true colors.

“It sounds as if Your Highness is telling me to stay still and pretend not to know even if you commit treason.”

“Oh, treason. You’re saying something really dangerous, Count.”

His eyes were dripping with murderous intent and chill, but his mouth was smiling, a grotesque sight.

“I’m merely trying to take back the rights that I should rightfully have.”

The rights Derius spoke of were clearly the throne. But to use the expression ‘take back’. As if the throne had been his, Herald scoffed at the amusing statement.

“You should study the imperial language again, Your Highness.”

“Thank you for the advice, Count.”

Even though he spoke sarcastically, Derius didn’t get angry, but rather laughed. The chill in his eyes completely disappeared as well.

“Since the Count advised me out of concern, let me also give one piece of advice for the Count’s sake.”

Herald tried to say he didn’t need it, but Derius’ words were a little faster.

“If you want to obtain what you desire, it’s best to leave the imperial palace as soon as possible, Count.”

“……”

What kind of trick was this again? Unable to understand the meaning behind the words, Herald furrowed his brows. He looked at Derius with eyes demanding further explanation.

However, this time, whether he didn’t understand or pretended not to, Derius only smiled without saying a word.

“Then, farewell.”

Derius turned away without providing any additional explanation to the end. Should he grab him and ask? Herald pondered while looking at the unpleasant retreating back that was getting farther away, but he didn’t. It seemed that was what the Second Prince wanted. He didn’t want to get entangled with Derius any further.

The estimated time of the incident was between 8 and 10 p.m. Around 7:30 p.m., when the guard of the public cemetery made his last patrol, there were no issues, and it was around 10 p.m. when heavy rain poured down, making it impossible to see an inch ahead, so the investigator said the grave robber must have dug up the grave during that time.

In fact, incidents of grave robbers ransacking cemeteries and stealing burial money and valuable items were more frequent than one might think. Although it was an unfortunate and sad occurrence, it was considered a common incident, nothing special, but this case was a little different.

The grave robbers had left without cleaning up afterward. Usually, they would neatly wrap things up so as not to be caught for ransacking the grave, but Madison Benjamin’s grave was left in its ransacked state.

As if trying to announce to the world that they had stolen the items inside.

“At first, I thought they had fled in a hurry because it suddenly started raining heavily…… But that wasn’t the case.”

Against the backdrop of the rhythmic sound of horse hooves, the investigator continued.

“If that were the case, they would have left behind clues like a shovel or items they couldn’t take in time, but nothing was left behind. It was clearly done on purpose.”

The investigator carefully asked, gauging the reaction of Lily, who was sitting there absentmindedly as if her soul had left her body.

“In such cases, it’s usually due to a grudge…… Do you know anyone who held a deep enough grudge to dig up your late father’s grave, madam?”

Lily shook her head without a word. Her father, Madison Benjamin, had a gentle and warm personality and would never do anything to incur grudges from others.

Even if, by some small chance, he had earned a grudge, it was strange for someone to dig up his grave now, two years later. Without another reason, this couldn’t have happened.

“Then do you remember what items were placed inside? If it’s not too much trouble, I would appreciate it if you could also tell me the exact amount of the burial money.”

“Burial money…… We didn’t put any in separately.”

At that time, Lily’s financial situation was not good enough that she had to sell all the accessories she received as coming-of-age gifts to pay for her mother’s hospital bills. How could she put in burial money? She wanted to put in even a single silver coin if she could, but people around her dissuaded her, saying it would be disrespectful to the deceased.

“We only put in items that Father used at work. Things like books and fountain pens.”

The investigator meticulously wrote down Lily’s words in his notebook and asked.

“Were there no items of monetary value? For example, something that grave robbers might covet.”

“As far as I remember, there weren’t any.”

In fact, she couldn’t clearly remember. She had been so preoccupied with nursing her mother, who was in a coma after suffering severe burns, and holding her father’s funeral. It would have been better if she had financial leeway or at least somewhere to lean on emotionally, but she didn’t even have that, so she was even more distraught.

However, the items her father used at work couldn’t possibly be expensive enough to tempt grave robbers, so Lily denied the investigator’s words.

After repeating the process of being asked questions and answering them, they soon arrived at the public cemetery. It was a cemetery mainly used by nobles without estates or private land and wealthy commoners. It was thanks to Madison Benjamin’s preparations for unexpected situations that they were able to create a grave here.

“Father……”

The moment she saw her father’s grave, buried in mud soaked with rain that had fallen all night and in a terrible state, her body and mind crumbled. As Lily staggered, looking like she would collapse at any moment, Emily hurriedly supported her.

Emily was six years younger than Lily, but their physiques were similar. In fact, Emily was even stronger than Lily, so she could firmly support her to prevent her from collapsing.

“Are you alright, madam?”

Instead of answering, Lily tightly closed her eyes. Anger, nourished by the atrocity, rapidly grew in size.

Who on earth. For what reason did they dig up Father’s grave!

“I heard that in memorial services, they pray while thinking of the items the deceased used during their lifetime as the deceased themselves…… Are there any items left that the late Marquis used?”

Suddenly remembering what Fredrick had said, Lily bit her lips hard.

“There are items that can be buried with the deceased and items that can’t. I asked because I was worried that madam might have made a mistake. So please don’t misunderstand.”

Could it be… that Fredrick Benjamin… is the culprit?