Chapter 94
“Did you just say Lord Kaiden has gone mad…?”
Diana blinked wide-eyed at the strange statement. What could he possibly have done to warrant that reaction?
“Yes. Otherwise, there’s no way…”
Harold’s brow furrowed deeply. He glanced distastefully at the letter in his hand and continued.
“Otherwise, He wouldn’t be asking us to release Lady Ella.”
He what?
Diana’s mouth dropped open in disbelief. That really did sound insane.
Just then, Harold crushed the letter in his hand with a scowl.
He tossed it into the trash as if it wasn’t worth another glance.
Diana’s eyes followed the crumpled paper. Curious, she got up and pulled it out.
“Diana.”
“Can I read it?”
“It’s completely useless… but suit yourself.”
“Thanks.”
Diana carefully smoothed out the crumpled paper. As Harold said, the letter asked them to release Lady Ella before her sentence was decided. It even offered a reward in return.
Kaiden wrote that he was making the request on behalf of Amanda.
“That’s odd. Lady Amanda and Ella were close… but not this close.”
Were they really so close that Amanda would go this far for her?
“Hmm. Could it be connected to… that?”
“What do you mean?”
Diana looked up from the letter. Harold gently took it back from her hands.
So smooth and quick she barely saw him move.
Then came his calm, low voice.
“There was a mansion. Kaiden’s birth mother (Amanda) had bought it in secret through Lady Ella. She used it to entertain herself with young male servants… indecently.”
Oh. Diana knew of that place.
It had been mentioned in the novel.
“One of my men was planted there as a servant. I was expecting a report, but nothing came.”
“…”
“I sent someone to investigate. Turns out all the servants had disappeared.”
“What? Don’t tell me…”
“They were all killed. Most likely.”
Harold continued grimly.
“I thought it was strange when they suddenly cleaned the place out. And now Kaiden is asking to have Lady Ella released? That can’t be a coincidence.”
Diana lowered her head, deep in thought. Harold stared at the top of her pink hair, then glanced back at the letter in his hand.
If that mansion’s secret came to light, Amanda’s reputation would be destroyed.
Kaiden wasn’t the type to let his mother be publicly disgraced—and by extension, have his own name dragged through the mud. That’s probably why he sent the letter.
From a cold, strategic viewpoint, Harold could gain a lot from this.
It wasn’t a bad offer.
But he still didn’t like the idea of letting Lady Ella go.
He looked at Diana again, still quiet and thoughtful. Then, he crushed the letter once more.
The sound made Diana raise her head.
She reached out and grabbed his wrist before he could throw the letter away again.
“Wait, Harold.”
“…?”
Their eyes met in the air.
Her blue eyes were now clear, like sunlight reflecting off a lake.
Harold realized it right away.
“Seems like you’ve already decided not to agree with Lord Kaiden…”
Diana didn’t agree with him.
Then she asked, her voice steady,
“Would you listen to what I have to say?”
Harold smiled at her.
“As much as you want.”
He had no intention of stopping her from speaking.
A moment later, Diana began explaining her thoughts. After saying everything she had prepared, she finally fell silent.
Harold asked,
“Not a bad idea… But are you really okay with this? There’s nothing in it for you.”
“Of course!”
Diana answered firmly.
Inside a moving carriage rolling along a paved road, Kaiden and Amanda sat facing each other.
Kaiden’s red eyes glared coldly at Amanda, while she nervously kept her gaze low, unable to look up.
They hadn’t spoken a word since getting into the carriage. The air between them was heavy, like a stone pressing down on their chests.
“…Sigh.”
Kaiden exhaled, and Amanda flinched.
But Kaiden only looked at her with contempt. Amanda bit the inside of her cheek.
What should I do now…?
After parting with Ella, she quickly cleaned up the mansion. She had no idea who among the servants might have been loyal to Ella, so she had them all eliminated.
Then she tried to track down the ones who had already left the mansion.
She dealt with those still in the capital and sent mercenaries after those in the provinces.
But the real problem was the missing ones.
Somehow, they had sensed something was wrong and disappeared. Amanda hadn’t been able to find them since.
I was so good to them, and this is how they repay me? Rotten cowards.
She clenched her fists.
With Ella’s trial date fast approaching, there was no way she could find and silence them all in time.
In the end, she had no choice but to confess everything to Kaiden, who immediately rushed back to the capital.
Since then, Amanda had been constantly watching her son’s mood.
“Kaiden, I promise—this will never happen again. I’m sorry I wasn’t a better mother.”
“I’ll assign someone to watch you.”
“Kaiden!”
“…”
“…Fine. Do as you wish.”
Amanda backed down quickly, knowing this was all her fault.
Kaiden rubbed his eyes.
“At least my brother didn’t reject the proposal outright.”
“Yes, that’s a relief.”
“…Although I’m worried about what he’ll demand in return.”
Everything Kaiden originally offered in his letter had already been denied.
Instead, Harold had asked him to come in person.
What could he possibly want?
Or maybe he just wanted to humiliate them for fun.
Kaiden clenched his jaw. He hated that he had to bow his head just to clean up his mother’s mess.
Amanda leaned in and spoke sweetly.
“Don’t worry too much, Kaiden. No matter what we lose now, once Harold is gone, we can get it all back.”
“…True.”
Kaiden looked out the window.
The streets were bleak, and it felt like snow would fall at any moment. Despite that, everything reminded him of Diana.
He pressed a hand to the pocket over his coat and slowly closed and opened his eyes.
“If my brother dies, I’ll get everything back.”
It was already told by our family doctor that Harold would die before the age of thirty.
When that time came, Kaiden would become Duke—and take everything Harold had.
They arrived at the Baisen estate, and the carriage came to a halt. The butler, sent personally by Harold, came to greet them.
“Welcome, Madam Amanda. Lord Kaiden. Please follow me to the drawing room.”
“Why is the butler here? Where are the Duke and Duchess?”
“They are waiting for you in the drawing room.”
“…Hmph.”
Amanda narrowed her eyes and opened her fan, annoyed.
She was the elder—how dare they not come greet her in person?
Kaiden held out a hand to stop her.
“Mother.”
“…Yes. I know.”
Now was not the time to provoke Harold.
Amanda swallowed her pride and closed her fan.
“Lead the way.”
“This way, please.”
They followed the butler toward the drawing room, where Diana and Harold were waiting.
