“What on earth are you doing? Grabbing the reins without properly looking ahead?”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t think someone would suddenly appear…”

James, who had dismounted from the driver’s seat, was no less flustered. He took off his hat and trembled, wringing his hands nervously.

People started to gather. Dennis, seemingly perplexed by the sudden incident, hesitated and stepped back.

Cordelia knelt in front of Craig, wailing loudly.

“Craig, please open your eyes. Sob. Craig, ah. Craig!”

Her white dress was stained red with pig’s blood. People passed by, murmuring about how pitiful the young woman’s future was.

After she had cried for a while, holding Craig’s corpse, the police arrived as expected. They spoke with the bystanders and the Baron, then approached Cordelia.

“My lady. Was the deceased your husband?”

“Sob, yes.”

“I see. You must be very confused right now, but we need to move the body to the morgue for now. Then, you’ll need to come to the police headquarters to fill out some paperwork.”

Cordelia rose to her feet, pretending to be in great distress. As she staggered, the Baron quickly came to support her. He whispered in a low voice.

“Well done.”

“I didn’t know the Baron was such a good actor.”

“With age comes a variety of skills, my dear.”

As she was about to follow the policeman with the Baron’s support, Dennis, whom she had forgotten about, appeared and blocked her path.

“Sister, that person who just died. Was he your husband? Count Abrams?”

“Dennis. Can we please talk later? I’m too overwhelmed right now.”

“Sorry, sorry. But I’m really in a hurry. When else will I get to see you?”

“Are you young master Vasquez?”

The Baron politely intervened between the two.

“I’m not sure what this is about, but wouldn’t it be better to come back after the Countess has had a chance to collect herself?”

“How dare a mere servant be so impudent.”

“Oh my, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Baron Langsha. I hold the title of junior baron.”

“Ah.”

Dennis’s face changed instantly upon hearing the Baron’s words.

“Ahem. So you’re Junior Baron Langsha. I thought you were my sister’s servant since she didn’t introduce you.”

“Not at all. I should have identified myself first, but as you can see, we’re in a bit of a state. I apologize, but may we go ahead first?”

Despite the Baron’s obvious suggestion to meet later, Dennis did not back down. He continued to press his own agenda in front of his sister, whose husband had just died.

“Just a moment. I have an urgent matter. Sister. I might end up rotting in jail for the rest of my life if I’m not careful. Can’t you put in a word with Archduke Atilei for me? You’re his disciple, right? A magician?”

“Jail? What are you talking about?”

Cordelia was bewildered by Dennis’s sudden request. What on earth had he done to be talking about going to jail?

“I’m sorry, Lady Cordelia. The policeman is waiting.”

At the Baron’s gentle urging, Cordelia resumed her steps. Dennis, with no intention of leaving, walked closely beside Cordelia.

“You must have heard about it too, right? About Maximilian, that bastard.”

“Why him? Don’t tell me you were in contact with Maximilian?”

“No! Am I crazy? Absolutely not!”

He jumped up and waved his hands frantically. Dennis raised his voice, sounding extremely aggrieved.

“Those Silver Stag Knights are sneering at me, saying I did it on purpose, but you have to believe me! It was really a mistake! To be honest, it’s not even my fault. How was I supposed to know he’d unlock his handcuffs and escape at that moment?”

“Silver Stag Knights? Unlocking handcuffs and escaping? What on earth are you talking about? Who escaped… don’t tell me…”

She belatedly realized what he was saying.

There was much to say, but nothing came out of her mouth. They say when a person is too dumbfounded, they become speechless – this must be one of those situations.

“You were the one who lost Maximilian while transporting him?”

“I just had really bad luck and got caught up in it. Sister. You’re not going to let your only brother rot in jail, are you? Right? What will happen to the Vasquez family if I go to jail? Who will inherit it? Please, just tell Archduke Atilei that this isn’t my fault. Those knight bastards set me up because they’re jealous… That’s right! Tell him I fell into their trap and that’s how this happened.”

“Hah…”

While she didn’t know exactly how he had lost Maximilian, it was pathetic and ridiculous to see him trying to avoid punishment instead of admitting his mistake and begging for forgiveness.

As Cordelia just sighed deeply without saying a word, Dennis kept watching her reaction.

“You believe me, right? That’s okay, right? I’ll be fine, won’t I?”

“Dennis. Let’s talk later. I need to deal with Craig, my husband’s accident first.”

“When is later! Hah. I went to the Atilei townhouse so many times, but those arrogant bastards wouldn’t let me in even though I’m your brother!”

“…”

“Do you want to see me die? Do you want your brother to go to jail?”

Dennis shouted angrily, not caring about the attention he was drawing from others.

Cordelia wanted to crawl into a hole. She was so ashamed that he shared the same blood as her.

“Sister, sister!”

She clenched her fists tightly and walked past Dennis. There was no point in engaging with him further; he would only repeat the same things.

Fortunately, the police headquarters was right ahead. Cordelia entered with the Baron.

“Please sit here.”

The policeman offered her a chair. As Cordelia stared blankly into space with a troubled expression, he offered some perfunctory words of comfort.

“I’m sorry about your husband’s sudden accident. We have arrested the carriage driver, and he will receive appropriate punishment.”

“Appropriate punishment? What kind of punishment will he receive?”

“In cases of accidental death, the perpetrator usually receives a thirty-year sentence.”

“Only thirty years? My husband was miserably killed by a carriage! And that driver will be out of prison after just thirty years?”

Cordelia shouted, tensing her stomach. The policeman, seemingly used to such reactions, tried to calm her down without changing his expression.

“I’m sorry. There are laws and procedures, please follow them.”

“This is absurd. Only thirty years…”

Cordelia collapsed into the chair as if unable to support herself.

She had shown enough anger to appear dissatisfied with the punishment, so she planned to take custody of James later when the time was right.

“Please fill out this document for now.”

The paper handed by the policeman had spaces to fill in basic personal information. Cordelia deliberately let tears drip onto the paper as she filled it out.

“Hmm. Are you… Countess Abrams?”

“Yes.”

“And your late husband was Count Abrams?”

“That’s right. Craig, sob, Abrams.”

Fortunately, as the Baron had said, the policeman only asked a few formal questions. When Cordelia said in a trembling voice that she wanted to see her husband again, he led her to the morgue where the body was kept.

The Baron stood next to Craig with a somber expression. Cordelia grabbed Craig’s body and wailed again.

“Count. To leave us so suddenly like this.”

“Darling, sob, how, how could you leave me like this…”

“Excuse me, could you please step aside for a moment?”

The Baron spoke to the policeman. The policeman quietly nodded and left the room, leaving the two of them alone.

Cordelia’s sobs gradually subsided. She slowly straightened her back. Though her eyes were still wet, she spoke in a voice colder than ever before.

“Did you know?”

“Know what?”

“That Dennis lost Maximilian while transporting him.”

“…Yes.”

“Then Master must have known too. But why was Dennis in the capital in the first place? And what’s this about the Silver Stag Knights? There’s no way he could have gotten into that order with his skills.”

Cordelia couldn’t understand how Dennis had joined the Silver Stag Knights.

It was implausible for Dennis, who had been knighted less than a year ago, to enter the Silver Stag Knights, the king’s personal guard.

At this point, it was reasonable to be suspicious.

“Don’t tell me Master pushed him in?”

“No. Absolutely not. Dennis Vasquez entered the order on the recommendation of Archduke Embly.”

“Embly? Why does that name come up here?”

“Well. I’m not sure about that part either.”

Only a select few know that Embly was summoned to the recent council meeting to discuss responsibility. So even if the Baron pretends not to know here, Cordelia has no way of knowing.

“Hah, Dennis. What on earth are you up to?”

Things had become even more complicated. Cordelia chewed on her lip. She thought her worries would be over after dealing with Craig, but an even bigger concern had arrived.

Just then, there was a light knock at the door. Cordelia quickly composed her expression.

“Come in.”

“Hello, Countess Abrams. I am Carlos Rentrio.”

A middle-aged man in uniform entered with a polite greeting.

Seeing how tense the previous policeman looked standing behind him, this new arrival must be quite high-ranking.

The Baron whispered to Cordelia.

“He’s the Police Superintendent of Yebo Delim.”

“Police Superintendent?”

As she was wondering why a Police Superintendent would come for a simple carriage accident, Carlos expressed his condolences with a very sorrowful expression.

“I just heard from my subordinate. Your husband, Count Abrams, has been in an accident.”

“Yes. That’s right. But why are you here, Superintendent Rentrio?”

“Of course I had to come when such a major accident happened to you, Countess.”

“Pardon?”