Chapter 75 : 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲
✦ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟕𝟓 ✦
❝𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲❞
⟪ 𝑰𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒚, 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒔—𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏, 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆. ⟫
𓆩⟡𓆪───────𖤐───────𓆩⟡𓆪
“I see,” Edward said, arms crossed leisurely. “So we did have some unfinished business. You left the carriage back then—didn’t even give me a chance to finish.”
He tilted his head, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Now you come asking again. How very curious.”
Then, he let his gaze trail over me, slow and unsettling.
Once more, that gaze. That loathsome, crawling stare that made your skin wish to disappear.
I instinctively tensed, my brows knitting without permission. But Edward seemed to relish that discomfort.
“If the Duchess is the one asking… Doesn’t that mean you suspect Johannes? That there’s a sliver of doubt?”
Those steel-blue eyes locked onto mine, watching—probing—for the slightest tremble in my features. A predator in silk.
He was baiting me. Testing to see whether the seeds of suspicion had taken root.
And perhaps… I had erred. Perhaps I should never have opened the door to this topic. If I continued, it could become a path I regretted walking forever.
‘What would Johannes do in a moment like this?’
I searched my memory for his coldest mask. And then, with a practiced neutrality, I drew my lips into a distant smile.
“You speak as though you’re certain something exists.”
Edward’s eyes gleamed—perhaps with satisfaction, perhaps with calculation.
Could it be that he knew about Johannes’s hidden motives? That he had connected threads I hadn’t seen? Was this a subtle warning… or a trap?
We were both walking a tightrope—balanced over the void of psychological warfare.
And I… I was losing footing.
Because yes, the novel had made one thing abundantly clear: Johannes Schulz was the murderer.
But reality? Reality was not ink on a page.
A thought struck me—uninvited, sudden, absurd: Can a murderer truly fool the one who sees them every day?
Even if our connection was far from perfect… he had never shown cruelty. Never a misstep, never a shiver of true malice.
On the contrary—he had protected me, more than once. Would a killer do that?
Would he go out of his way to ruin Lady Hatzfeld for me?
No… that wasn’t the behavior of a man spiraling into darkness. If anything, she’d simply received the punishment for her own vile intent.
I held my face still, voice unwavering.
“No. I only ask because I’m… genuinely curious. Why would you link my deceased father to my husband in such a way?”
Edward’s expression remained unreadable.
“They say couples resemble one another,” he mused, “but you both have the same irritating habit—never showing what you’re truly thinking.”
He stepped closer.
“I have my doubts. That’s all.”
He was pressing me harder now, like an iron hand inside a velvet glove.
So I decided to change the tempo.
I crossed my arms and raised my chin.
“I suppose it’s not unlike Lady Hatzfeld then. Should we consider you a genuine threat to the Shultz family?”
That did it.
The composed smirk on his face faltered. Barely. But enough.
Men like Edward Windsor, perched atop their mountain of power, were always the same. They craved reverence. They demanded fear.
And when ignored—they cracked.
‘People like Christian Windsor… they are far more terrifying.’
I recalled that cold glint in Christian’s eyes. A different kind of silence than Johannes’s—one that stripped away warmth.
But I didn’t waver.
“You understand the fragile bond between the royal family and House Schultz,” I said softly. “You wouldn’t risk it just to stir discord between me and my husband.”
“…….”
“Then explain yourself. Or I’ll tell Johannes everything you’ve said to me.”
He blinked, then chuckled.
“Are you threatening me, Duchess?”
“Yes. And I’m perfectly capable of doing it.”
“…Then go ahead.”
His voice was detached. Cool.
And yet—there was something new in his eyes. Was it… respect? No. Wariness.
Edward Windsor was not a man easily cornered. He played the fool—but his mind was as sharp as obsidian.
He adjusted his cravat and glanced at the floor, pretending boredom.
Was it all a bluff? Or did he know that Johannes wasn’t to be trusted—and wanted me to reach that conclusion myself?
I took a step closer.
“Why are you so determined to turn me against him?”
He shrugged.
“Forgive me for disappointing you. I’m not that complex. I only wanted to see how long it would take for Johannes to lose something… important.”
So that was it?
Petty cruelty?
No. It couldn’t be the only reason. But he wasn’t about to confess the truth to me.
And I was growing tired of this dance.
“You’re wasting both our time,” I sighed. “Let’s end it here. I have better places to be.”
⋆｡°✩
And just like that, the conversation ended.
𓆩⟡𓆪───────✧───────𓆩⟡𓆪
As I returned to the ballroom, my worries evaporated—only to be replaced by unease of a different kind.
There was Johannes, speaking with Old Mrs. Russell.
At a glance, it seemed civil.
But I knew better.
“I thought you were giving me space,” she said with a sneer as I approached.
Edward, who followed behind me, gave a mocking chuckle.
“The world’s changed, old lady. Discrimination is out of style.”
She scoffed loudly.
“Outrageous. In my day, commoners couldn’t even look a noble in the eye.”
Old Mrs. Russell was… a relic. Proud, unyielding, frozen in another era.
And she despised me.
“I can’t believe the pure Shultz lineage was sullied like this,” she muttered.
When Johannes moved to escort me away, she bristled. “Where do you think you’re going? You were meant to impress me.”
Before I could react, she dismissed both men—and gestured for me to follow her.
Johannes gave me a gentle smile, one that said ‘you’ll be fine.’
…Was I?
She led me to a secluded corner table. Sat me down like I was on trial.
“A test?” I echoed, stunned.
I hadn’t meant to speak aloud. But it slipped out.
I braced myself for another wave of scorn—but it never came.
Instead, her voice… softened.
“I want to ask you something. About commoners.”
“…What?”
She leaned forward, her eyes sharper than ever.
“They say you’re… good at business.”
“Pardon?”
I blinked, confused. What business? I’d never heard such a thing.
“I don’t know where you heard—”
“Your husband told me.”
My mouth fell slightly open.
Johannes?
That sly—
So this is why he said everything would be fine.
He’d spun some elegant lie to pique her interest. The one thing that might make me… valuable in her eyes.
Business.
“If it’s business with commoners you’re after,” I said slowly, watching her carefully, “why not go directly to them?”
Her gaze locked onto mine.
“Because they won’t understand nobles. But you… you stand between both worlds, don’t you?”
𓆩⟡𓆪───────✦───────𓆩⟡𓆪
✦ 𝓔𝓷𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝟕𝟓 ✦
𓆩⟡𓆪───────✦───────𓆩⟡𓆪
