SWWYV CHAPTER 146

Chapter 146

[I can’t let go of all the weight on my heart because of this, but I’m always grateful.]

Garfield’s farewell ended with the hope that Killian would safely return and read this letter.

Killian bit his lip at the empty conclusion.

No matter how many times he read the letter, he couldn’t accept such a farewell.

Holding the letter, he left the study.

As he staggered into the corridor, a servant who had been awake since dawn, worried about his master’s condition, rushed to him in alarm.

“Master!”

“Bring Garfield.”

“What? The butler went home for a while….”

“You must bring him.”

Killian showed a part of the letter to the servant.

The servants working in the grand duke’s residence were generally literate, so they could understand the contents of Garfield’s letter.

“I will send someone immediately! Master, please go to your room and rest for now…”

The servant escorted Killian to his room and instructed another to find Garfield.

The household staff, shocked to hear that Garfield had completely left his position, eagerly set out to find him.

Killian assumed Garfield would be at his daughter Anne’s house.

Since Garfield had been living at the grand duke’s residence, that was the only place he could go.

* * *

“Butler Garfield has… left?”

Sophia, who came to see Killian early in the morning, noticed the commotion at the grand duke’s residence.

Killian nodded silently, waiting for news of Garfield.

If Garfield had gone to his daughter’s house, it would take at least a day to confirm and bring him back.

“…I’m scared this might be my selfishness.”

“Selfishness?”

“Garfield must have had his reasons for leaving the grand duke’s residence… I’m afraid that searching for him might harm him.”

Killian bowed his head.

Garfield was careful and thoughtful; there must have been a reason for his departure.

Perhaps he fled to avoid the Empress’s eyes.

Since he had helped Sophia and Killian, the Empress would not leave him alone…

“Still, we should try to contact his daughter’s house. The Empress knows about his family connections, so he might need protection,” Sophia suggested.

If Garfield had hidden well, there would be no need to force him out, but it was better to check on him if he was within the Empress’s reach.

“Somehow, Mr. Garfield didn’t seem well that day…”

Sophia recalled the dawn when she last saw Garfield.

That day, he had cleaned the room diligently with his usual gentle smile, but occasionally, deep sadness crossed his face, which then settled into a resigned calm.

She had thought it was because he was worried and felt guilty about Killian being captured.

Or because he had honestly revealed his hidden relationship with the Empress.

“But I didn’t expect he was planning to leave.”

Sophia was also worried about Garfield.

“Let’s not talk about this anymore,” Killian said, changing the subject when he saw a shadow cross Sophia’s face.

They would hear news about Garfield soon, and until then, he didn’t want to weigh their hearts down with worry.

He had something else he wanted to ask Sophia.

“Sophia, do you know anything about the black moon that appeared while I was imprisoned?”

Killian had intended to ask about his release but nodded when he saw Sophia’s expression twitch.

“Was it your plan?”

Killian asked, looking at Sophia intently. She nodded slightly.

“Then, that Black Moon was…?”

“Yes, it was me…”

Sophia bowed her head and clasped her hands together.

Killian’s eyes widened at her words.

“You… it was you?”

He looked at her with a mix of surprise and anger.

He had assumed she had asked Mikhail or someone else for help.

“Why did you do such a reckless thing…!”

“I found the mask while cleaning the room over there and thought it was the only way to prove your innocence.”

“But the knights said they chased the Black Moon.”

Though he didn’t know the details, the Black Moon had been seen and chased by the knights and had successfully escaped.

But as far as Killian knew, Sophia didn’t have the physical ability to evade knights.

“Yes. Ian chased me…”

Sophia confessed everything to Killian.

After getting Killian out of the underground prison, she went to Niore’s small villa and sought Estelle’s help.

‘The Grand Duke is searching for a royal illegitimate child. But someone wants to erase the existence of that child.’

‘A royal illegitimate child…?’

‘Yes. Both Marquis Fideut and Viscount Percel died while pursuing that truth.’

Estelle had heard rumors about a royal illegitimate child when she was very young.

As the Niore Viscounty was in a remote area, the rumours reached them late, around the time the royal family was silencing the nobles.

However, it was such an old story that it was thought to be a baseless rumour and was forgotten.

‘The Grand Duke recently found the royal illegitimate child.’

‘Is that true? Are you even allowed to tell me this?’

Sophia honestly revealed a part of the truth to Estelle.

In her heart, she wanted to disclose that Estelle was that illegitimate child.

But the weight of the entire truth was too heavy to reveal all at once.

Estelle reassured Sophia that there was no need to share such important information right now.

Then she joked, ‘I can’t be targeted by those murderers, can I?’

Estelle believed Sophia’s words without needing further evidence or persuasion and readily agreed to help.

“So, you involved Lady Estelle?”

“There was a reason it had to be Estelle.”

Sophia bowed her head as she spoke.

While Estelle was the only person she could ask for help, there was another reason.

If Estelle became the target of the Black Moon, Mikhail would actively protect her.

“I made sure Estelle wouldn’t be in real danger, but she needed to have some injuries to deceive people….”

“So you played the role of the Black Moon instead of the skilled Lady Estelle?”

Killian was not angry about involving Estelle. What infuriated him was that Sophia played the role of the Black Moon.

What if something went wrong…?

“I couldn’t let Estelle take on the role of the Black Moon.”

If something went wrong and Estelle got caught, she would walk right into the Empress’s trap.

If it became known that Estelle was the Black Moon, Beatrice would gladly execute her.

It would be exactly what Beatrice wanted.

“I wanted to protect Estelle, but I couldn’t put her in danger…”

“And it’s okay for you to be in danger?”

Killian lifted Sophia’s head to make her meet his eyes.

He was angry at her recklessness.

But Sophia replied,

“You were in danger.”

‘How could I stand by when you could have died at any moment?’

“But the path you chose could have led to both our deaths.”

“But we are alive now, aren’t we?”

Sophia answered without backing down.

Killian sighed and rubbed his forehead. He felt a fever rising again.

“How did you manage to fool them into thinking you were the Black Moon?”

It was still baffling that Sophia, with her small stature and lack of skill with a sword, was believed to be the Black Moon.

“Ah… there’s a problem with that.”

Sophia, who had just been replying firmly, now spoke in a timid voice. She then revealed everything about her encounter with Ian.

Killian needed to know that Ian knew the truth.

“Ian Fraus… did he lie in his testimony?”

Killian asked incredulously after hearing Sophia’s explanation.

He couldn’t believe that Ian, for personal reasons, would lie in a way that favoured Killian.

“Ian cares about the Fraus family.”

“Cares about the family?”

“He probably hid me because he didn’t want a blemish on the family’s name. Besides, he knew I wasn’t the real Black Moon….”

Killian’s expression grew more serious as he listened to Sophia.

“Why would Ian Fraus?”

“Of course, if Ian had captured me, I would have said I found the mask and he just discovered me. People wouldn’t believe I was the Black Moon anyway.”

Sophia Fraus was an unlikely suspect and could be easily excluded from suspicion.

So, if she denied it, there wouldn’t be much to investigate.

People would be more likely to believe she found the mask and rosary pea in the forest.

She had coordinated this with Estelle as well.

“It was still too reckless.”

“I know. But there was no other way. Butler Garfield said the Empress would fabricate evidence to frame you.”

Sophia explained.

But Killian still looked like he couldn’t forgive her reckless actions.

At that moment, someone knocked on Killian’s bedroom door.

“M-master! Butler Garfield…!”

News about Garfield, expected the next day, had arrived unexpectedly early.