“I’ll bring the young lady, so please wait here for a moment.”
After the maid withdrew, Declan looked at the grandfather clock on the wall.
The hour hand had already passed four.
Even if he departed right after meeting with the Duke, it would be impossible to reach Monferrato today. As he subconsciously realized this fact, regret and irritation welled up.
‘It’s something I’ll have to face eventually anyway.’
Declan silently let out a sigh.
Strictly speaking, this was closer to a verification process.
Regardless of the conclusion he had personally drawn, it was a fact that the Duke had been quite close to the late Emperor. Moreover, there were still several unresolved questions.
In his previous life, the Duke had returned to the capital at some point and resumed his activities as actively as before. As if he had never retired in the first place.
Back then, he had thought it was simply a young, inexperienced emperor keeping a seasoned politician close, but what if that wasn’t the case?
Since Joseph didn’t know the notary’s identity, if we assume the Duke had the will, it resolved some previously puzzling aspects.
The timing of the Duke’s return to the capital coincided with right after the Princess married Marquis Richelieu.
In other words, it was also after the Princess had lost her value as a connection to the Emperor. Though they called it marriage, it was more like being sold off to a man twenty years her senior – hardly what one would call normal.
Marquis Richelieu was one of the wealthiest men in the empire. Though he had a history of divorce and various scandals, frequently visiting brothels, the Duke was probably more interested in the amount of gold the man possessed than such facts.
So for Duke Lowell, passing the Princess to the Marquis was a profitable business arrangement. The man was of sufficient rank to not waste the Emperor’s bloodline, and he had plenty of gold to offer the Duke.
The issue came after the marriage.
The Duke, having obtained enormous wealth, unexpectedly bought a mansion in the capital and began frequently visiting the palace again as before. People concluded that the Duke had now captured the young Emperor’s heart as well.
Most assumed it was due to successfully arranging his youngest sister’s marriage, but it was questionable whether the Emperor would have cared so much about Dahlia’s marriage rather than Marianne’s.
But what if people’s assumptions were wrong? What if there was another reason for the Emperor to keep the Duke close?
His thoughts were interrupted by Dahlia, who walked in hesitantly.
“What should we do? You came all this way, but my uncle has already fallen asleep.”
Dahlia thought he would leave upon hearing the Duke was asleep, but the Grand Duke merely let out a soft exclamation as if this was an unexpected situation, and didn’t immediately turn to leave.
“How is Duke Lowell?”
To his detached, ceremonial question, Dahlia put on a mechanical smile.
“Thanks to your concern, he’s showing signs of improvement.”
“The Princess must be having a hard time.”
To his half-serious, half-joking tone, Dahlia couldn’t find a proper response. She couldn’t even say ‘no’ as a formality.
“He’ll get better soon. The healers say if he goes to the Duke’s residence and gets enough rest, his strength will gradually return.”
That was the best answer Dahlia could give.
He had collapsed from his own temper… honestly, in her eyes, even the medicine going into his mouth seemed wasteful.
“Come to think of it, Chesperl Castle would be perfect for recuperation. The coastal city is known for its beautiful shoreline.”
Declan had spoken without much thought, but Dahlia blinked in confusion as if she hadn’t properly understood.
It took a few seconds to fully comprehend his words. It was because she belatedly realized that the castle the Grand Duke mentioned was the inheritance left to her by the late Emperor. In fact, she had never set foot in that castle even once.
“Ah, yes. I hadn’t thought of that place before. Thank you for the suggestion, Your Grace.”
Though she handled it calmly, she could feel her face burning with belated shame. Declan tilted his head questioningly.
“Even the late Emperor, who generally wasn’t interested in villas, cherished that castle dearly, but it seems the Princess doesn’t visit often.”
“Ah… so it was a place the late Emperor cherished. I heard it was old and deteriorating…”
At her innocent words, a faint scoff escaped Declan’s lips.
Chesperl Castle was considered one of the masterpieces among southern architecture, and though not large in scale, its value in gold coins was astronomical.
Not only that, but the castle, situated on a cliff with an excellent view right in front of the southern coast, was famous for its splendid and beautiful exterior. The late Emperor had been so proud of this villa that he personally showcased it by inviting nobles and foreign royalty.
While it might be a stretch to call it a new building, it was at least newer than the Duke Lowell’s residence, making her statement oddly inconsistent.
Moreover, the Princess was already of age. It was strange for her to be so ignorant about the inheritance she received from her birth father.
“Princess.”
Though he could guess the whole story without hearing the details, Declan asked directly.
“Have you perhaps never been to Chesperl Castle?”
Dahlia’s face rapidly turned red.
“They said it was just an old castle full of money-draining holes, and I didn’t need to worry about it…”
Her voice grew progressively quieter as she spoke. Dahlia’s face turned cold as she finally realized the truth.
It had all been lies.
“The late Emperor wouldn’t have left inadequate inheritance to his beloved daughter.”
Dahlia barely managed to lift the corners of her mouth. The words ‘He didn’t even leave a single coin to his only legitimate daughter’ rose to the tip of her tongue.
“What’s visible isn’t everything.”
Though she spoke as if unbothered, there was a bitter taste on her tongue. As Dahlia habitually recalled the past, her father’s affectionate face overlapped with her half-sister’s cold blue eyes in her mind.
‘…Huh?’
Dahlia’s eyes wavered at the sudden inexplicable sense of déjà vu.
It was then that she realized the ring found in the Duke’s belongings had eyes that looked exactly like those two people’s. Dahlia, who had been quietly blinking, raised her lowered gaze to look at him carefully.
“By the way… Your Grace.”
Though they hadn’t had any particular personal relationship, she had heard that the connection between the Grand Duke’s family and the Lowell ducal family ran quite deep. Since she’d heard that his late father had been close with the Duke, there might be quite a bit of overlapping acquaintances.
Moreover, the Grand Duke wasn’t the type to go around spreading gossip, so she concluded he would be the most appropriate person to ask about the item the Duke possessed.
“Do you happen to know anyone among Uncle’s close acquaintances whose name begins with M?”
Still, Dahlia quickly added, worried that he might misinterpret her question.
“It seems something got mixed in with our belongings, and I should return it before leaving the capital.”
“Well, there is one name that comes to mind.”
Fortunately, he didn’t seem particularly suspicious. Declan appeared lost in thought for a moment before slowly speaking.
“I believe that was the first initial of the deposed Empress’s name. She was also an old friend of Duke Lowell.”
Dahlia’s brightening face froze instantly. Come to think of it, she’d heard that the Duke had been close to the executed Empress when he was young.
But regardless of how deep their past friendship was, wasn’t she executed for treason? She couldn’t even begin to guess how the Duke had come to possess something belonging to such a person.
‘More importantly, does the Emperor not know?’
The Emperor deeply hated this princess and her birth mother. There was no way he would have quietly allowed the Duke to possess items belonging to the deposed Empress.
As her thoughts continued, Dahlia’s face turned increasingly pale.
“It must belong to someone else. The Duke wouldn’t have such items.”
“Ah… yes. That must be it.”
Dahlia tried to force a smile, but the fear deeply etched on her face didn’t disappear. Declan silently observed her.
Like Dahlia, Declan had lost his parents at a young age, and Duke Lowell had been his nominal guardian. Would the man who had sent his godson, sworn before God, to the battlefield have properly acted as a guardian to his step-niece with half-maid blood? It was a question that didn’t need consideration.
“Princess.”
Of course, such sympathy wasn’t all there was to it.
“If there’s anything I can help with, please tell me anytime.”
Dahlia’s eyes widened slightly at his gentle words. She moved her lips as if to respond but ended up just nodding repeatedly. Her eyes were redder than before.
Declan stayed by her side until she calmed down before leaving the Duke’s quarters. As he walked down the corridor, the corners of his mouth curved into a slant.
Duke Lowell possesses belongings of the executed Empress.
Could it be mere coincidence?
While the Duke had outstanding abilities as a politician, surviving as the Emperor’s confidant was a different matter. It was difficult to attribute it to mere luck.
The late Emperor had been a capricious and self-centered person in life. When pleased, he seemed willing to give away the world, but when things went wrong, he could be incredibly cruel.
By the time he was executing his childhood friend and wife with his own hands, Duke Lowell had retired, fearing the Emperor’s wrath might extend to him. Meanwhile, he had taken in the Princess as his niece, never letting go of his royal connections, so his political acumen was certainly praiseworthy.
Nevertheless, there were clearly questionable points in this flow of events.
