# 74
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Count Chinchis took a deep breath.
He had rushed there in a hurry, but the room was filled with the smell of blood.
Knights and doctors were surrounding the place. The knights wore clothes bearing the crest of the Crown Prince.
“My men will come looking for you soon.”
Count Chinchis conjured up the image of Cyrtain, as well as Aeneas who was probably now at sea.
He entered the room with a tense face. The doctors were surrounding the bed, their faces completely pale.
The Crown Prince's knights retreated, and only then could he see the woman lying on the bed.
“…Is she dead?”
Her situation seemed so hopeless that there was no need to even fake her death. The blood had completely cooled.
Which family do you belong to? Who are you?
While Count Chinchis was trying hard to remember, the woman opened her eyes.
She slowly turned her pale head and began to slowly get up.
“It's dangerous!”
"You've lost a lot of blood. You'd better keep lying down!"
The doctors clung to the bed trying to stop her.
When her eyes met Count Chenchis's, he felt as if something heavy had been lifted from his chest.
His legs collapsed and he sat on the ground, panting.
“Luckily.”
“From now on, consider me a dead person.”
Although she was sick, her gaze was steady and resolute.
“Lie down for a while. If I really die, how will I face His Highness the Crown Prince?”
The Crown Prince's knights spoke to her calmly, as if they were ordering her to just lie down and rest.
“Pretend to be dead and take it as a vacation.”
“You're lucky.”
“Lucky? This is all the result of training! I avoided all the deadly areas myf.”
The woman laughed a little as she answered them.
“But you'd better keep lying down, Commander.”
Finally, she yielded to the knights' pleas and lay down again.
As for Count Chenchess, his face was paler than the injured woman's, and he could barely utter his words
"So...she's officially dead. You have to keep it secret. You know what I mean, right?"
The doctors bowed their heads.
The doctors who were sent to this room in the first place were those who had been carefully ected by Count Chenchis since that day.
Their mouths were heavy. Most of all, they owe Count Chinchis a lot, so they will not betray him.
Count Chinchis slowly got up, strengthening his trembling legs.
“Knight there.”
“Just call me Hexa.”
“Okay, Sir Hexa, can I hear a summary of what happened? I need to know some details so I can de-escalate the situation.”
“Of course, Sir Count.”
After they moved to another place, Hexa began to explain what happened.
According to his account, Augustin stabbed his wife with a broken bottle.
But, fortunately, thanks to her high skills as a knight, she was able to avoid the deadly areas, and pretended to be dead.
It was a very clever move from someone who had fooled Augustin all this time with his elaborate acting.
“That crazy bastard…”
The Count muttered unconsciously, then covered his mouth with his hand.
“I expect you to handle this well. Augustin must be found guilty and taken to the capital. We will handle his trial.”
“Leave that to me. But...”
“Yes, Sir Count?”
“Should I meet Young Duke Augustin alone?”
Concern appeared on Count Chenchis's face, and Hexa gave a faint smile.
"We'll be around to guard you without being noticed. Don't worry too much."
Only then did Count Chenchis clear his throat.
Augustin was leaning back in his chair. His face reflected absolute confidence, as if he didn't care about anything.
Even though he had stabbed someone with a broken bottle five times, his appearance was completely calm.
If his wife had not been such a skilled knight, she would have died already.
“Ah, Count.”
Augustin raised his hand slightly, and it appeared to be clean, perhaps because he had washed himf after the crime.
“…I checked the body on my way here. I already heard the details. She was stabbed with a bottle, and died of severe bleeding due to ruptured arteries.”
Count Chinchis tried to appear calm.
'Of all the misfortunes, why should I get involved in this?'
In his mind, he thought of poor Ines' face, but at the same time, he couldn't ignore the image of his playboy son Victor.
He thought he had the worst son in the world, but Duke Spelman proved he really did have the worst.
'Is this my consolation now? 'Crazy, this is crazy!'
Count Chinchis pressed his lips tightly.
‘I thought I saw all kinds of corruption, but this? This is the worst I have ever seen.'
“So, so what?”
Augustin opened his eyes coldly.
“Will the Count arrest me? Or will you file a complaint against me?”
Augustin laughed sarcastically.
“I have already discussed it with my father.”
“Young Duke Augustin!”
“Come to your senses”
Augustin suddenly stood up and leaned on the table. He was now looking at the Count from above.
“Do you think you can antagonize Spellman and survive?”
Augustin tapped his temple with his finger.
“You must use your mind well. This is the only way to remain the ruler of the Larus Region for a long time. But if you anger my father, it will be easy to replace you with someone else.”
“…A person has died! How can you be so impudent?!”
Augustin leaned closer and sighed.
At that moment, his eyes were filled with pent-up anger, revealing the truth about his frightening personality.
Augustin lowered his body slightly, exhaled slowly, while the edges of his eyes turned red.
'This man… he's a demon.'
At that moment, Count Chenchis was facing Satan himf.
"There is nothing in this world that cannot be solved with money and power. Even the Great Emperor kneels at my father's feet, ing for women and drugs. Do you think someone like you can oppose my father?"
His body started trembling. Count Chinchis took a step back.
“Just go with the flow. Don't take an unnecessarily complicated path. That's all I have to say. From now on, I will only speak through my lawyers.”
After saying that, Augustin completely closed his mouth.
But his gaze, which had been staring lazily and boredly at the Count, was still burning red.
Those were deadly looks, looks that could not be believed to belong to a human.
From Augustin, Count Cinchis realized one thing
'What a scary place to create such a monster in the capital.'
How Duke Spellman was a true monster, capable of giving birth to such a demon son.
'I should never go near that place.'
'I shouldn't be greedy.'
'I must not set foot there, no matter what.'
“Ah…”
But his heart couldn't stop worrying about Ines, who was going to the capital.
But... maybe Princess Elizabeth will protect her.
If not her, then...maybe Sirtain.
The Count swallowed hard.
He felt as if his throat had closed from fear.
The announcement of the engagement of Roderick Roger and Silla Bentley was the starting signal.
A reference to arouse Cirtain's suspicions towards Duke Roger's family.
It was known that the Bentley family had always been affiliated with the Spelman family for several generations.
But even so, Certain seemed completely unconcerned, which made it difficult to know how I should talk about it with him.
Since hearing the news yesterday, until today, he hasn't said anything at all.
We sat at the dining table, while Sertin ate with a very calm face.
“Hmm, this fish doesn’t seem to give off any smell. Maybe it’s fresh, just caught from the sea.”
“Yes, right.”
“...Try it first before you agree with me so easily.”
Sertin said with a smiling voice, then offered me a piece of grilled fish.
The grilled fish topped with a tangy lemon sauce was definitely delicious.
Even though we were in the middle of the sea, we were never short of food. On the contrary, we ate the finest dishes every day.
“It's very delicious.”
“…If you want to say something, say it directly. Otherwise, I won’t be able to focus on eating.”
said Certin, wiping his lips. I nodded, smiling awkwardly without realizing it.
“Well… I was wondering what you thought about… the Spellmans and the Rogers getting married.”
My heart was beating hard.
Sertin narrowed his eyes.
“Honestly?”
“As frankly as possible.”
'Because I need to know your opinion before I decide what to say.'
'Before I try to convince you, or defend Roger's innocence.'
I had prepared for this situation a long time ago.
From the moment Duke Roger decided to play the double role of spy between Spielmann and Sertin.
But facing it head on… was more stressful than I expected.
I held my breath, keeping my eyes fixed on his lips.
“I think… they might have betrayed me.”
Yes. So, this time too…things will go the same way in the end.