DTBBW Chapter 69

Chapter 69

In the early hours of the morning, Stephan quietly left his wife’s bedroom. Heading toward the study, he picked up the communication device left behind by Finn and checked the letter.

“He has begun to move.”

Had Marquis Eden finally taken the bait? Feeling anxious, Stephan skipped breakfast and headed straight to the Bayton Guild.

“What did Marquis Eden inquire about?”

“It seems he had no choice but to tighten the money supply.”

“Right, winter is a vulnerable season for pirates.”

As soon as Stephan sat down at the desk, Finn began listing the updates.

“First, we stopped the operations at the tavern. After that, they all headed toward Herkeni.”

“Looks like they were all pirates.”

“The Dowager Duchess discreetly redirected the bills issued by the Marquis Eden’s family to Duke Edmond’s bills, so payments were blocked.”

“That must have been devastating.”

A warm smile spread across Stephan’s lips, but his next words were cold and chilling.

“Cancel the gifts of ships and stores given to Rita.”

“C-cancel them?”

“It’s been more than six months, so it should be possible to cancel.”

“But the Dowager Duchess will make a fuss about this.”

“If she hands the ships and stores to the Marquis’ family to save Susan, it will cause an even bigger uproar.”

“We’ll have to bear the penalty fees for canceling the gifts.”

“Let’s just pay the penalty. I have no intention of letting those pirates sink their teeth into my hard-earned wealth.”

“Understood, Your Grace.”

Hearing Stephan’s harsh words, Finn could guess just how angry he was. Without further delay, he continued with the next report.

“And we’ve caught wind of Count Blanche’s smuggling activities.”

“Blanche? You mean the Blanche family of Aileen Blanche?”

“Yes, that’s the one.”

“Where did the Count’s daughter learn to steal? From her father, I suppose? There’s nothing to teach so he ends up teaching his own daughter to steal.”

Stephan had intended to badmouth the Blanches, but he stopped himself. After all, the Edmond family had Rita, an equally immoral mother, so criticizing them felt like spitting on his own face.

“What were they smuggling?”

“Mostly raw gemstones.”

“So, the Count’s daughter was shamelessly visiting pawn shops?”

Muttering to himself, Stephan seemed to come to a decision and spoke firmly.

“Are the smuggling proofs certain?”

“Absolutely.”

“Report this immediately to the Imperial Palace. Also, request a ban on the Blanche family’s departure.”

“A departure ban?”

“They’ve been involved with pirates; if they try to flee secretly, it could cause a huge problem.”

“That makes sense.”

There was still one more crucial report left. If this were confirmed, Stephan might explode. Feeling the tension, Finn swallowed dryly.

“Why the delay?”

“It seems that Marquis Eden is connected to the sinking of the Burke merchant ship.”

“What?”

Leaping to his feet from the desk, Stephan reached out to Finn. It was a stark contrast to the earlier moment when he had simply listened to his words without checking the report.

Finn quickly handed over the dossier he had carefully gathered. The pieces of the puzzle that didn’t fit until now became clear once the connection to Marquis Eden was made.

“Since all the operations took place in Herkeni, it seems the evidence couldn’t be found until now.”

“This is why Bell had trouble,” Stephan muttered as he scanned the dossier.

Until now, Bell had been turning the Imperial Palace upside down, traveling between Courtney and investigating the cause of the Burke merchant ship sinking. All the actions had taken place in the southern region of Herkeni, so he had been following a false trail.

“But why would pirates sink a merchant ship? It would have been more profitable to steal the goods. Why sink the ship?”

“It seems there was someone behind them.”

“The Burke family didn’t have any enemies, though.”

“Wherever you go, there are always twisted individuals.”

Finn’s words carried a bitter tone, and Stephan’s red eyes flickered sharply.

“Don’t tell me the one who ordered them was Rita?”

“…This is still just a theory.”

“Impossible. If that’s true, does it mean she knew the pirates were involved and still let Marquis Eden marry Susan? Rita’s not that much of a scoundrel.”

“It seems even the Dowager Duchess didn’t know.”

At Finn’s words, Stephan felt a sense of hopelessness. How could Rita, who had tightly bound him and his surroundings for the past 21 years, be this foolish?

“She requested the job without even knowing who the other party was?”

“The duality of the Marquis Eden family was astonishing. On the surface, they acted like generous lords, but they had been thoroughly deceiving not only the residents but also the nobles.”

“Even so, this is too much.”

“It was only possible because they operated strictly in the shadows. Rita had entrusted the case to the late Marquis, and since they only dealt in writing, she probably never learned their true identity.”

“…”

“Do you know what’s even more shocking, Your Grace? The fact that only the direct male descendants of the Eden family knew that they had been involved in piracy all this time.”

“What?”

“Not even the Marquis’ wife or any of the women knew. They didn’t know that their father, husband, or son was a pirate.”

“…Pathetic.”

Stephan flipped through the dossier in his hand again. There was information linking the Eden family to the sinking of the Burke merchant ship, but there was no evidence showing that Rita had made the request.

“The sinking of the Burke merchant ship is not just about the immense financial loss; it caused a great deal of loss of life as well. This is not a personal issue; it needs to be addressed on a national level.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Put in a petition to the Imperial Palace.”

“A petition?”

“I’m suggesting we submit a petition requesting a re-investigation into the sinking of the Burke Burk merchant ship, as it was not an unfortunate accident, but a planned murder.”

Hearing Stephan’s suggestion to escalate the matter, Finn felt a slight sense of fear.

“Your Grace, if we do that, Lady Susan will be in danger. We still don’t even know where she is.”

“Susan will be rescued soon, either by Rita or Thomas, so don’t worry about that.”

While Stephan’s sudden mention of the Duke’s house steward’s situation piqued Finn’s curiosity, he realized he needed to remind Stephan of a key person he had overlooked.

“What about the Duchess?”

“Why Rachel?”

“How could anyone stay sane if they find out that their mother-in-law killed their parents?”

“…”

“The sense of betrayal toward her husband would be beyond words. Even if Your Grace is not the Dowager’s biological son, and even if you didn’t know about Rita’s crimes.”

At Finn’s words, Stephan bit his lip. He had risked everything to imprison Rita, the one who had ruined his life, but now there seemed to be so many more obstacles.

If Rachel’s mental trauma from learning the truth about Rita prevented him from taking revenge on her, then his life would no longer feel worth living.

“Then let’s just cut off the limbs of the Eden family for now.”

“Understood, Your Grace.”

“When the funds are blocked, we’ll use Susan as leverage to threaten Rita. At that time, we’ll thoroughly investigate the connection between Rita and the Eden family.”

“Understood, Your Grace.”

Finn responded confidently, but as he left the office, Stephan slumped into his chair, exhausted.

The sinking of the Burke merchant ship was the perfect opportunity to entrap Rita. If he missed this chance, it might be his last opportunity to capture her.

Stephan had lived his life with a thirst for revenge against Rita. But now, Rachel had become an obstacle.

“Why now?”

How much better would it have been if this had happened before meeting Rachel? If they were strangers, he wouldn’t have hesitated to reveal the truth.

He might even have heard words of gratitude for avenging her parents. If Rachel truly was his fate, maybe they could have been married.

As he continued to entertain these nonsensical thoughts, Stephan closed his eyes.

He decided that he would stay in his office for the time being and not return to the Duke’s residence. He didn’t have the courage to face Rachel in this situation.

—

“He’s really staying out for something like this?”

For the third consecutive day, Stephan had not returned to the Duke’s residence.

A part of Rachel wanted to ask what scene he had witnessed to avoid her so thoroughly. If he was shocked, she had been even more so, and the shame was entirely hers to bear.

Fortunately, Remington had come to the Imperial Palace. If it weren’t for his preparations for entering the academy, she would have barged into Stefan’s office immediately.

“Sister, is His Grace always this busy?”

“Oh, he’s been busy with preparations for winter.”

“Even so, to be away for three days, I’m worried.”

When Remington suddenly sighed, Rachel looked at him with wide eyes.

“Why, Remington?”

“Even though the security at the Duke’s residence is tight, I’m worried about leaving you alone.”

“That guy really worries about everything.”

“We’re leaving for the academy soon, and with the Dowager Duchess often going out, I just wanted to say something.”

Now that he mentioned it, Rachel realized that Rita had been going out more frequently lately. Normally, Rita always had a scowl on her face, but now her complexion was unusually dark, as if a shadow had descended on her.

“Has something happened to Lady Susan?”