# 38
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The Marquise inhaled a deep breath, then exhaled it, and said in a voice as sharp as frost:
“You bastard! Isn't that maid you are escorting a descendant of demons?! Did you not conspire with a sinful group to blind His Highness, and then attempt to seize Richmond?! So as soon as you arrived, you terrorized the maids and made them a front for you to spy on Richmond’s internal affairs, right?!”
"no. My maid and I cannot be “invisible.”
Then Flora shouted:
“After you killed my two maids, that's all you have to say?!” How will you prove that you are not one of the invisible ones?!
The Marquise let go of Grace's chin as if shaking off dust, and stood up.
“Her Majesty Empress Hetfei, the regent, officially recognized the existence of the Invisibles and considered them traitors. “More than ten years ago, they assassinated His Highness Prince Ares, the Crown Prince, and the former Duke and Duchess of Richmond, as well as the former Duke and Duchess of Tyler.”
Grace's eyes sank into a dark depth. In a tight voice, as if it were being crushed between teeth, she said:
“I cannot be one of the murderers of His Highness Prince Ares, nor one of the former murderers of the Duke and Duchess of Richmond, nor one of the former murderers of the Duke and Duchess of Taylor.”
The Marquise sighed heavily and shook her head.
“You seem to have no way of proving it except empty words.”
«……»
“In consideration of the prestige of His Highness the Duke, I will give you time to think.”
Then she turned and ordered the maids:
“Lock her in solitary confinement. And find the maid who came with her.”
“At your command, Madam Marquise.”
The maids lifted Grace violently, and led her through one of the many corridors connected to the hall, one of which seemed to be the darkest. They went down the slippery stone stairs covered in moss, down after another, until a black door appeared.
The accompanying knight opened the door, and air that was colder and more humid than before came in. Grace hesitated involuntarily, and a maid roughly pushed her from the back. A black room with no light reaching it, no known width or depth.
The door closed with a clatter. When she turned around, she no longer saw the door swallowed by darkness. All that remained was a narrow slit, the width of a palm, in which the faint light of a candle danced. From that crack a cold voice crept out:
“No one left that room in their right mind. Only three days, and the person is delirious and confesses everything.”
“You shouldn't have been too greedy. Whoever covets more than he can, this will be his fate.”
The maids shouted sarcastic words, then walked away.
The sound of boots climbing the wet stairs faded away. Even the faint light that had guided the way, like the pole star, had disappeared. Complete darkness descended.
The cell, without light or sound, turned into a deep abyss.
Time and space were shattered, and the boundary between heaven and earth vanished.
Grace took a deep breath, then let it out slowly, and sat down on the ground. When her body began to tremble and her heart beat violently, she closed her eyes and recalled her teacher’s words with all her might:
“The prey you intend to catch is larger than you. "You must always be prepared to sacrifice an arm or two."
At the same time, a low, cold voice seemed to echo:
“Then hold on, Grace Taylor.”
Strangely, the turmoil in her chest calmed more with that cold voice, not with the teacher's voice.
That day she experienced the abyss for the first time, when she stood in front of the charred corpses of her parents. The day you clung to the illusion of a boy whose face you did not know, and you held on. This is nothing but nothing.
“Hold on.”
Grace tightened her stomach muscles and gritted her teeth.
＊ ＊ ＊
The Duke of Richmond's castle was like a beehive set up with a stick.
“Search!!”
Count Lewin's knights and soldiers moved with strict discipline, from the isolated edges of the garden to the interior of the buildings, searching for someone.
Walter tore through the back garden like someone fighting a strong current. As soon as the soldiers who were overturning the bushes saw him, they rose to attention. The Duke passed by without heed. When the wind he raised passed, the soldiers stealthily raised their heads to look at him.
The man, like a black wall or an enormous shadow, was moving away with steps neither slow nor fast. The fleeting glimpse of his face was so neutral that it was impossible to estimate his feelings.
One of the soldiers blinked anxiously and whispered:
“This is… by His Highness’s orders, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know… I think it’s the Marquis’ order……”
Joseph, following Walter, was biting his molars and staring with burning eyes. As if he had swallowed lava; From his throat to his heart, there was no place in his body that was not inflamed.
However, inspecting the garden was anything but simple. When they reached the corridor leading to the chandelier room, Joseph let out a sarcastic laugh. Knights bearing the coat of arms of Richmond on their chests were breaking into the Chandelier Room and committing violence without the Duke of Richmond's order.
The dog bit his owner's hand.
Walter approached the chandelier room silently like the creeping darkness. The knights guarding outside sensed his presence and quickly greeted him, but he did not respond.
The inside was scattered, as if a thief had invaded the place. Those who were searching Grace's luggage on the ground got up and stood up straight.
Without showing emotion, Walter pointed to the highest rank among them and ordered:
“Lead me to where the bodies of the two maids are placed.”
They led him to an underground morgue. Nobles, summoned by order of the Marquis, had preceded him.
They circled around two corpses placed on a rectangular stone platform. Some of them stood far away whispering, some of them examined the bodies cloy, and others covered their noses with a handkerchief and signs of disgust appeared on their faces.
As soon as Walter entered, the nobles took two steps back and bowed. The Marquis was standing at the head of the two bodies, and he hurried towards him with a worried face.
“Your Highness!” Are you well?"
Walter stopped, and just rolled his eyes to look at him from above.
“You must be very upset. Worry no more, Your Highness.”
What a paradox the dog that bit his owner is worried about him!
Walter passed the Marquis and approached the two bodies. The Marquis quickly followed him as he spoke:
“These two poor women must have been so terrified that they left a will and committed suicide...”
His voice became long, as Walter began to examine the two bodies himf. Joseph approached in turn. Their gazes were so cold that no one dared to object.
Then Walter asked, staring at the neck of one of the corpses:
“They committed suicide?”
"Yes. When the soldiers found them, they were both hanged.”
One of the knights answered, and Joseph raised his head and immediately said:
“You didn't commit suicide.”
The Marquis furrowed his eyebrows violently.
“Five soldiers testified that they were found hanged!”
Walter replied coldly:
“They did not hang themves. They were killed by suffocation. There are clear marks on the neck that distinguish those suffocated. “They called a specialist forensic doctor to determine the exact cause of death.”
«……»
The Marquis was silent for a moment. He clearly felt the gazes of the nobles streaming down his back. This is a group that includes almost all the nobles, with the exception of the houses of knights who are absolutely loyal to the Duke, and among them are moderates who may side with him at any time. The Marquis craned his neck and showed feigned sadness.
“Your Highness. The passion of youth is like a beautiful, sparkling flame, but it fades away in the blink of an eye.”
Walter's black eyes were like darkness penetrating the Marquis' gaze. His heart instinctively contracted, but he held firm and raised his voice for everyone to hear:
“These two maids claimed that a maid came with Your Highness’s lover from the ‘Invisibles’!”
At the same moment, the nobles were disturbed.
“Invisibles?”
“They reappeared?!”
The Marquis continued, feeling the current tending towards him:
“More important than the cause of the death of the two maids is that these incidents occurred immediately after the arrival of Your Highness’s beloved to the castle, and that there is a possibility that she was involved in these deaths. It's time to put emotion aside and look at the facts clearly!
Walter watched the troubled nobles, then slowly passed his hand over his face. A slight movement, but it silenced the voices one by one.
The Duke was like a black sea whose depth could not be measured. Just looking at him creates dangerous fear.
“Invisibles?”
“This is what was stated in the wills of the two maids. “Those who more than ten years ago assassinated Crown Prince Ares, the former Duke and Duchess of Tyler, as well as Your Highness’s parents, and then disappeared!”
“Grace of them?”
“Unfortunately, we must prepare for this eventuality, Your Highness.”
said the Marquis of Lenco, in the tone of a loyal knight.
There was a prickly silence that pricked everyone's necks. After a long wait, Walter closed his eyes and issued his order:
“Stop questioning and searching Grace. Find everyone who was last in contact with the two maids before their death, and collect the full details.”