“Since Your Highness has helped me, I will help you if you wish. But please put away any thoughts of using me. I have no intention of being swayed by Your Highness.”

“Oh.”

Cyrus let out a short exclamation and drew closer to Ariana.

“Did you think you were going to fall under my spell?”

“If Your Highness thinks so, then it must be.”

“Seems like talking to me is annoying to you.”

“Every woman wants to hear Your Highness’s voice. Am I any different?”

“You are excellent at evading answers.”

“You flatter me, Your Highness. Just as Your Highness wills.”

Cyrus observed Ariana’s smooth retorts with interest. He should be heading back north, but somehow he couldn’t tear himself away.

He became curious about how far and what Ariana would do, forgetting his purpose and watching her.

It had been thrilling when things happened at the pergola. If he had returned to the north as planned, he would not have wanted to imagine what would have happened to Ariana.

As usual, Ariana waited for Cyrus to disappear, but he did not seem to have any intention of leaving first.

Time made her more anxious.

Since the investigator had come, Rachel would have been detained longer than Ariana had anticipated. But she couldn’t continue to stay in Rachel’s dressing room, not knowing who might enter.

Ariana examined his overly handsome face.

He just watched Ariana in silence, without saying anything.

Finally, Ariana couldn’t bear it any longer and asked.

“Aren’t you busy?”

“I still have some time.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to enjoy it somewhere better than here?”

“This place is fine too. There’s the pleasure of looking at beautiful jewelry.”

It seemed that Cyrus was not going to leave first.

Now she had to leave this room.

Ariana glared at Cyrus for a moment before bowing her head.

“I will take my leave first.”

“Okay.”

As she left Rachel’s room, Ariana gritted her teeth.

She disliked Cyrus.

Although it was true that she had received Cyrus’s help, she found his inscrutability unbearable. Right now, the situation was taxing enough just dealing with Rachel.

Rather, his actions were only hindering Ariana’s plans.

She had to get the letter before leaving the mansion, but now she wasn’t sure if there would be another chance.

Ariana returned to her room, biting her lower lip.

+++

After Ariana left the room, Cyrus remained listening for a moment. His keen hearing accurately caught the sound of Ariana walking down the corridor.

Each step filled with force.

Seeing Ariana, who usually moved silently like a butterfly, making such loud footsteps, he realized that she must be very angry.
“That means there’s something Ariana wants here.”

What Ariana wanted at that very moment was to leave the mansion and entrust herself to the Eastern Emperor.

Given Ariana’s nature, she would not appeal to the Eastern Emperor for recognition as a father and ask for his help.

She would probably try to take a weapon with her that would make the Eastern Emperor accept her. That weapon might even be Cyrus’s weapon.

Cyrus opened the closet door and took out the fur coat Ariana had been holding earlier. As he felt around the fur coat, he felt something rustling inside.

Cyrus tore the lining of the coat and checked inside.

There were several letters in it.

Cyrus checked the contents of the letters. The evidence of ‘that day, that event’ that Cyrus had been looking for was there.

A smile appeared on Cyrus’s lips.

“You’re indeed useful, Ariana.”

+++

Rachel had barely come to her senses.

“Victoria? Am I seeing this wrong?”

Her voice didn’t sound like her own. She didn’t like the pitiful sound, as if a stranger was grumbling. She cleared her throat and spoke again.

“Our Victoria couldn’t have done this.”

“But there are signs of use, and precisely the family emblem and the name Victoria Bronthe are written on it.”

The chief investigator from the Empire didn’t shrink back just because the other was the Duchess of Bronthe. Although polite, his firm eyes were saying that he couldn’t easily evade this situation.

“Let me see it.”

“You shouldn’t touch the evidence.”

The chief investigator showed the place where the name was written from a reasonable distance.

Even before properly checking the handkerchief, Rachel knew that it was Victoria’s. The highquality fabric that was hard for anyone to obtain, the edge embroidered with Victoria’s unique embroidery.

It was definitely Victoria’s handkerchief, embroidered by Victoria herself.

But why was Victoria’s handkerchief lying here?

Before proceeding with the matter, in case someone else was involved, she had ordered the maids to clean up properly. If Victoria’s handkerchief had been lying so visibly, the maids would have found and removed it.

“Is it really Victoria’s?”

It didn’t seem like they would believe her if she said no here.

Rachel gave a slight nod.

“It is my daughter’s. But just because that handkerchief was there doesn’t mean Victoria killed that man.”

“Of course, we don’t think that way. But that handkerchief was on the man’s arm.”

“…What does that mean?”

“It means it was dropped after the man died.”

A small gasp rose among the observing ladies.

Rachel smiled elegantly and said calmly.

“That still doesn’t mean my daughter is the culprit. Someone might have stolen that handkerchief to frame my daughter and dropped it, don’t you think?”

Having said that, she felt as if her words were true.

Then who was trying to frame Victoria?

There was only one name that came to mind.

‘Ariana. Ariana. Ariana!’

She didn’t know how Ariana had killed that man. She didn’t know how she got Victoria’s handkerchief. She also didn’t know how she conveniently called the chief investigator here.

Although it seemed absurd, she couldn’t erase the thought that Ariana had done all this.

She thought she had raised her stupidly without teaching her anything. Indeed, Ariana had lived like a fool, struggling and trying to earn Rachel’s love, and being mindful of her.

She never dreamed that behind that dull appearance, she was hiding such a sharp blade.

Only now did Rachel feel that Ariana had become an untamed beast that had escaped her hands.

She wasn’t merely 16 years old. She was already 16.

The Northern Emperor had stabilized the chaotic North and put it under his feet at the age of 14.
Bearing malice and concealing poison, no matter how old one is, they can fiercely reveal the blade hidden in their heart.

And now, Ariana is aiming that blade towards Rachel, no, towards the Bronthe family.

‘Then I must break it. I must break it by any means necessary.’

Rachel’s eyes shone coldly.

Rachel, with an effort to suppress her cool gaze, spoke softly.

“I’m ashamed to expose our family’s flaw, but it seems our second daughter is harboring ill thoughts.”