Chapter 84
Well, he must have felt satisfied that he was the first to bow his head.
Just as she had anticipated.
‘If I sever ties with him, it would be impossible to mend things with Caverion.’
No matter how arrogant and unapproachable Duke Ergen might be, it would be hard for him to ignore Caverion. Raylenne finally allowed herself a calculated smile.
“Thank you for forgiving me, Father.”
“This time, I’ll let it pass. But remember this: if you defy me again, I won’t let you off so easily.”
“Yes, I will remember deeply.”
When Raylenne didn’t leave immediately, Duke Ergen frowned.
“Do you have more to say?”
Raylenne hesitated before speaking.
“I’ve been neglectful of household matters lately. I’m aware of how much you and my brother have been struggling… Now that I’ve regained some health, I would like to actively participate in managing the household affairs.”
Duke Ergen stared at her for a moment before speaking in a gruff tone.
“You need to focus on monitoring Aiden. If something happens before I kill him, Raylenne, you will be held accountable.”
Raylenne swallowed nervously at the Duke’s threat, but she maintained a bright smile on her face.
“Of course. I will take full responsibility for Aiden.”
Raylenne waited for the right moment before continuing.
“Speaking of Aiden, there’s something I’d like to mention.”
“What is it?”
“I recently spoke with Miss Lavita from the Beltvis family. She mentioned that Aiden’s biological mother, Merian, is very concerned about him.”
Duke Ergen raised an eyebrow.
“Naturally. That’s why we’re trying to use Aiden’s death.”
“Yes, I understand that. However…”
“What is it?”
“If the plan is not thorough, I believe Merian’s anger might be directed not at the Bedeusian family, but at us. Therefore, we should not rush into killing Aiden.”
“…”
“We need to invest enough time and effort into this.”
The Duke slumped into his chair.
“…I know that already.”
“Yes, but I wanted to remind you once more. It’s an issue that requires utmost attention.”
Duke Ergen looked troubled.
Even though he was aware of this, hearing it again made one feel anxious and uneasy. The reason Raylenne mentioned this was to ensure that the Duke would not rush the plan to kill Aiden.
Raylenne observed the Duke’s grim expression and raised one corner of her mouth in satisfaction.
‘Fortunately, it seems my words had the desired effect.’
Pleased with his reaction, Raylenne turned to leave.
“Well then, I will take my leave now, Father. I wish you a pleasant night.”
Duke Ergen would likely enjoy the brief moment of peace. Once the truth came to light, hell would begin.
* * *
After apologizing to Duke Ergen, Raylenne visited him every morning without fail for several days. She needed to monitor whether the Duke was still suspicious of her and whether he might attempt anything against Aiden.
Although the Duke was reserved about matters concerning Aiden, it seemed that Raylenne’s consistent visits had begun to make him more open.
From this, Raylenne discovered that the Duke planned to kill Aiden before the end of the year. The end of the year was considered a strategic time because January, the start of the new year, was a period of significant changes. With the arrival of the spring breeze, which melts the ice, appointments within the palace are shuffled, and many systems are reformed. This means that the powerful support for the Bedeusian family might temporarily weaken in January due to these changes. It would take time for the forces to regroup.
The Duke’s decision to target Aiden by the end of the year was partly influenced by Raylenne. While the Duke had initially wanted to accelerate the plan, Raylenne emphasized the need for thoroughness. Eventually, the Duke agreed to carry out the plan at year’s end. This left about two months before the deed was to be done.
In the meantime, Raylenne had to quickly uncover the connection between Nadia’s death and Duke Ergen. Investigating the truth about Nadia’s death was crucial because it could become a critical weakness for the Duke. Therefore, she anxiously awaited this moment.
‘It should be time now…’
Despite the late hour, Raylenne stayed awake, staring intently at the door.
Knock, knock.
As expected, there was a knock at the door.
“Raylenne, are you inside?”
It was Caverion.
Raylenne hurried to the door and quietly opened it. To avoid raising Duke Ergen’s suspicions about her frequent meetings with Caverion, Raylenne had scheduled their meetings at midnight when most of the household staff were asleep. This time of night meant the corridor would be empty.
Tonight, especially, Raylenne was waiting for Caverion to come to her room. He had met with Nadia’s physician today. Although the head maid remembered Nadia’s physician from that time, finding him was delayed because he no longer resided in the Duke’s territory. However, they had finally located the physician yesterday, and Caverion had gone to see him today.
“How did it go, brother? Did you meet the physician successfully?”
“It was indeed strange.”
Caverion’s ominous tone piqued Raylenne’s curiosity even further. What news had he brought?
As she was about to urge him to continue, Caverion spoke.
“The physician vividly remembered our mother. He didn’t provide detailed explanations, but he quickly recalled our ailing mother.”
That was a relief. Given the time that had passed, Raylenne had worried that the physician might not remember Nadia.
“How did the physician remember our mother?”
“A woman who was deteriorating without any apparent reason. He said there was nothing he could do about her worsening condition because he didn’t know the cause.”
Even though the physician was supposed to be skilled, it seemed he was baffled by the lack of diagnosis.
Caverion sank into a sofa by the window, leaning back.
“Most oddly, he mentioned our mother’s death.”
Caverion ran his hand through his hair and continued.
“The physician said he examined our mother immediately after she fell down the stairs and assessed her condition, but he didn’t find it to be severe.”
Raylenne’s throat went dry at this shocking information.
“Is that… really true?”
Caverion nodded slightly.
“Although she bled a lot and fainted, the physician said the condition wasn’t critical due to a head injury. He was surprised to hear of her death the next morning.”
It was indeed an unsettling death.
“But the physician, accustomed to our mother’s frail health, thought nothing of it and lost interest after she passed away, since there was no need for him to visit the Duke’s residence afterward.”
While nothing concrete was clarified from the physician’s account, it seemed they were getting closer to the truth. Nadia’s death had been surrounded by numerous peculiarities.
“Was there any other information?”
Caverion shook his head.
“None.”
The question now was how to clear away the fog concealing the truth. It seemed Caverion was grappling with the same issue.
‘Hmm…’
“Did you, by any chance, see our mother immediately after her death?”
Raylenne couldn’t recall seeing her deceased mother. Her memory was of a rainy day a few days earlier, seeing her in a clean white dress inside the coffin. A blue hydrangea and a white ribbon were tied around her neck, an image that was strikingly different from how she had been in life.
“I didn’t see her right after she passed. Father had the undertaker come right away to handle the body.”
An undertaker…
Raylenne’s ears perked up.
“If it’s the undertaker, he would have seen our mother immediately after her death.”
“That’s true… But what could he know?”
“If he noticed anything unusual while preparing the body, he might remember it.”
Caverion nodded, seeming to agree.
“Indeed, the undertaker would have examined our mother’s body most closely.”
Caverion slowly got up from his seat.
“I’ll go find the undertaker responsible for our mother’s body first thing tomorrow.”
Raylenne recalled the image of Nadia in the coffin. Despite her efforts, something about it still felt off.
“Brother.”
Caverion tilted his head and looked at Raylenne. She spoke with a resolute expression.
“I would like to accompany you when you meet the undertaker.”
* * *
Following the meeting with the physician, Caverion set out to find the undertaker. Within just three days, he managed to locate the undertaker who had handled Nadia’s remains.
Raylenne and Caverion boarded a carriage to visit them. This was Raylenne’s first time going out with Caverion.
However, before she could fully appreciate the novelty of the experience, she noticed Caverion’s tired appearance.
“Brother, have you been getting proper rest? You look unwell.”
Lately, Caverion had appeared exceptionally busy. He seemed to frequently meet with knights in addition to his training sessions, suggesting that his increased workload was related to them.
Raylenne chose not to bring it up, waiting for him to share in his own time.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
Caverion offered a smile, though it looked somewhat strained and weary.
“We’ve arrived.”
At that moment, the carriage stopped, and the driver announced their arrival.
Raylenne suppressed the growing tension within her. She had a strong premonition that they were about to uncover a significant truth.
