IYWHM Chapter 88

Kisa was momentarily confused, not understanding his words.

By Vischer, did he mean his brother Vischer Hillan?

What could he mean by saying Seyard had killed him?

After removing his hand from Kisa’s bracelet, he calmly provided further explanation.

“Actually, when the legal battle was at its peak and relations between myself and my relatives had deteriorated significantly, several of them raised such suspicions.”

Perhaps it was because she’d heard the word “murder,” but his typically calm voice now sounded somewhat chilling.

“They claimed my brother’s death wasn’t an accident but murder, and that I was the perpetrator. That I had killed Vischer to secure the duke title and family fortune.”

“How could they…”

How could anyone make such a terrible accusation? Kisa drew in a sharp breath.

Tap, tap. Seyard drummed the wooden table’s surface with his index finger.

“Coincidentally, they had one piece of evidence to support their suspicion.”

“What was it?”

“The incident where I left the Pavela Monastery without permission around the time Vischer died in the fire.”

“Did Seyard really do that?”

He nodded, readily acknowledging his wrongdoing.

“Yes. At that time, I stayed in a city somewhat distant from Bonzmos for several days.”

“Why?”

“…I was in a mood to run away from everything. A conflict I had with a monk named Emil was the trigger.”

“By Emil, do you mean the monk who manages the monastery’s apothecary?”

“You know about him.”

“When I visited Pavela Monastery before, Brother Vishius explained about him while showing me around the apothecary. I didn’t get to meet him as he was making rounds to nearby villages.”

“Come to think of it, your previous visit happened precisely when he was away.”

Stroking his chin, Seyard turned his gaze back to Kisa.

“Anyway, if you heard about Brother Emil from Brother Vishius, did you also hear about the friction between us?”

“A little.”

“Brother Vishius tends to be quite talkative.”

“I-I was the one who asked!”

As Kisa defended his former colleague, Seyard gave a slight smile.

Thanks to this, the tense atmosphere loosened somewhat.

“Though Brother Emil was the only one who directly expressed his displeasure to me at that time, I felt hostility beyond just his. There were already many who didn’t approve of me, and when Cobi, who had been friendly with me, stole medicine and ran away, it was perhaps natural that suspicion fell on me.”

According to him, many monks considered Cobi ungrateful for repaying their kindness with betrayal, creating quite a hostile atmosphere.

Kisa’s mood sank as she imagined Seyard having to bear so much antagonism alone.

“So you needed somewhere to catch your breath away from there.”

“Exactly. That’s why one day I impulsively left the monastery and headed to an unfamiliar city where nobody knew me. I cooled off there and then returned.”

Suddenly, his voice deepened.

“…That’s the excuse I presented officially.”

“What?”

“The real reason was different.”

He leaned back against his chair and looked at Kisa.

“Cobi summoned me there. He sent a letter with a code only we could understand.”

“Cobi did? Why?”

“I don’t know. Despite urgently calling me there saying he had something important to discuss, he never showed up no matter how long I waited.”

Seyard said he waited for days at the location Cobi had specified.

“Part of me thought I needed to stop Cobi before he went down an irreversible path, but honestly, my pride was more at stake. After all, he was the fundamental reason I found myself in such an awkward position at the monastery.”

But one can’t wait forever for someone who doesn’t come. With no choice, he eventually returned to Pavela Monastery without accomplishing anything.

“As you might expect, there was quite an uproar there due to my disappearance for several days. Well, they were receiving considerable money from the Hillan family to monitor me. They all rushed to interrogate me.”

“About why you disappeared?”

“And where I had been. I told the truth about my whereabouts, but I couldn’t be honest about the reason. Already under suspicion because of Cobi, I saw no benefit in revealing that I was involved with him again. It would have been different if I had brought him back after convincing him to surrender as originally planned.”

For this reason, Seyard explained his impulsive action as simply a momentary escape.

“The abbot seemed to be contemplating whether to report this incident to the Hillan family. But… not long after, he realized there was essentially no need to worry about it.”

News arrived that Vischer Hillan had unfortunately perished in a fire.

Having lost their head in an instant, the Hillan family had no capacity to concern themselves with Seyard’s unauthorized absence.

Moreover, Vischer’s death without leaving any children completely changed Seyard’s situation.

“…It was a strange feeling to hear that my brother, whom I had once resented so much, had died.”

With an expression and voice that made it difficult to discern what emotions they contained, Seyard spoke quietly.

Kisa silently placed her hand on his, which rested on the table.

Somehow, she felt it was the right thing to do.

Seyard responded by gently squeezing her hand.

“Anyway, I naively assumed that since I would now become the Duke of Hillan, my unauthorized absence wouldn’t be held against me. But my relatives were desperate to dig up any weakness to claim the family fortune, and some of them succeeded in learning about the incident from people at the monastery.”

A cold gleam formed in Seyard’s eyes.

“They suspected me. They suggested I was lying about being in a neighboring city and had actually come to the capital to harm Vischer.”

“…They really say whatever they want.”

“Objectively speaking, my actions were quite suspicious. It truly was a remarkable coincidence that Vischer died right when I committed this transgression.”

Why? Why at this moment did phrases from a diary she had seen flash through her mind?

[I cannot accept this.

So I will take everything.

Everything you have.

No, even the things you don’t have.]

Recalling those cries full of hatred toward his twin brother made her shudder.

‘No.’

Seyard isn’t that kind of person.

That was simply an old grudge from his youth.

Besides, Kisa had already decided to trust him.

“But…”

Kisa looked desperately at her lover, wanting reassurance.

“But Seyard didn’t do that, right?”

The man who had been quietly meeting her gaze finally spoke.

“Of course not. I did not kill Vischer. I swear to God and to you.”

His face appeared so genuinely truthful that it seemed impossible he could be lying.

As Kisa felt inward relief, Seyard continued.

“Fortunately, they couldn’t publicly accuse me of killing my brother. It seems they hired people to investigate, and there were multiple testimonies from people who had seen me at the inn where I was staying.”

He said that the innkeeper and several guests had witnessed him leaving the inn once or twice a day and returning.

“That’s such a relief!”

“I hadn’t particularly tried to make my presence known, but I hadn’t hidden it either, so it was only natural.”

From what Kisa had learned from newspapers, the villa where Vischer Hillan lost his life was located near the capital.

To get from the city where Seyard had stayed to the capital would take nearly two days of travel.

In other words, it was impossible for Seyard to have murdered Vischer since he had never left the inn for more than a day.

“In truth, their claim was unfounded from the beginning. Looking at the records, Vischer’s death was clearly an accident from any perspective. If there had been any criminal circumstances, the royal family would have led a massive investigation.”

Indeed, this was the death of none other than the Duke of Hillan.

If there had been any suspicious signs, it wouldn’t have been dismissed lightly.

“With no further recourse, the voices of suspicion eventually died down. They probably realized there was nothing to gain by remaining hostile toward me once they couldn’t prevent me from becoming the next Duke of Hillan.”

However, that didn’t mean all his relatives were completely convinced.

“I’m sure there are still quite a few who harbor resentment toward me. One of them must have leaked information to Daniel Lowens. But to bring up such a risky claim… This Lowens must have thoroughly interrogated my relatives.”

Kisa pressed her forehead as she felt a headache coming on.

She felt terrible thinking that Seyard had become entangled with such a leech-like person because of her.

“What should we do now? Even though Seyard’s innocence is firmly established regardless of what that man claims, if rumors about murder start circulating, things will get messy.”

A brother who killed his sibling to secure the family title. Regardless of its truth, it was a topic perfectly suited to excite the public.

A person in their right mind would refrain from such accusations out of fear of retribution from the Hillan family…

‘But Daniel has been acting like a madman lately.’

It seemed difficult to expect rational judgment from him.

“It’s all right.”

However, Seyard reassured Kisa as if such matters were trivial.

“I’ll handle it, so don’t worry.”

As always, he spoke words that gave her peace of mind.

“Everything will be fine.”

A few days later, news came that Daniel Lowens had been assaulted while walking down the street and was now bedridden.