The Villain's Terminally Ill Wife

Chapter 42

Knight Lorenz loosened his hold on the child. However, he didn’t completely let him go. The child could stand up but was still held in place to prevent any chance of escape.

“What’s your name?”

I asked him while he was getting up slowly and looking down shyly.

“…I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

His voice was barely above a whisper, filled with remorse. I met his gaze and spoke again.

“Do you realize how terrifying the thing you were about to do was?”

“…Yes.”

“If Sir Lorenz hadn’t stopped you, I could have been seriously injured or killed. And you would have faced a public execution for the crime of murdering a noble.”

“…….”

Tears dripped down from his eyes, filled with fear.

Seeing a child, who looked no older than ten, unable to speak properly and crying before me stirred my heart with pity, but he was someone who had attempted to harm me, regardless of the reasons behind it.

I was not kind enough to consider the circumstances of a child who meant to do me harm.

“Tell me. Who ordered you to do this? If you cooperate and speak up, I might be able to consider some leniency.”

“…….”

“Are you not going to say anything? Well, I have a good guess about who it is, so I don’t really need you to tell me. But by not speaking, you’ve thrown away the chance I gave you. It’s unfortunate. You’ll die soon.”

After saying this to him, I stood up. As expected, a small voice came from behind.

“…I don’t know who it is either.”

I knelt down again to meet the child’s gaze.

“You don’t know who it is?”

“Yes…”

“Then why would you go so far as to do something like this? You were going to commit murder for someone you don’t even know?”

“That’s…”

He began to speak with trembling voice.

“My younger sibling is very sick, so…”

His quiet voice spoke about his younger sibling.

“To get treatment… I need money… but… I don’t have any…”

Tears flowed down his cheeks without even leaving a trace, falling to the ground.

I couldn’t assess how credible the child’s story was, but if what he said was true, it made me realize how vile the person who ordered him was.

The child appeared to come from a poor background.

It was likely that they were struggling to make ends meet and couldn’t afford to visit a doctor. Or perhaps they had gone and been turned away.

Consequently, the condition of his sibling must have been worsening.

To approach such a child and promise to give him money to kill me…

Since it was a matter concerning his family, the child had no choice but to comply with the order.

I frowned at the malicious scheme. Then I looked at the child and spoke firmly.

“I can’t take your words at face value. Lead me to your home. I need to verify if your sibling is truly sick.”

At my words, he hesitated and looked at me nervously.

He didn’t seem worried that his lie would be discovered.

Instead, it appeared that he was anxious about whether I might blame his sibling for the situation.

“Can’t you do it?”

I could have coaxed and comforted the child to lead us to his home, but I chose not to.

He had attempted to kill me. If he had succeeded in stabbing me with that worn-out kitchen knife, I could have been injured or even lost my life.

In such a situation, I couldn’t treat him with kindness.

“Then I suppose you’ll have no objections if I consider everything you said to be a lie.”

“…No.”

“What?”

“It’s not a lie…”

The child struggled to speak.

I nodded slightly, encouraging him to continue.

“My younger sibling is really very sick. I’m truly sorry. I shouldn’t have done something like this…”

After briefly looking down, he met my gaze with a determined expression.

“I’ll take you to my house. But… my sibling has done nothing wrong.”

“I know. If what you’re saying is true, I have no intention of harming your sibling.”

“…Yes.”

He answered in a shaky voice and slowly turned his body. Knight Lorenz seemed to loosen his grip on the child’s arm slightly to allow him to guide us.

The child walked ahead, still held by Lorenz, while I followed behind them.

He began to lead us further out into the outskirts, far from the city. With each turn into an alley, the roads became more dilapidated and dirty.

Other than Knight Jason whispering to me to be cautious in case it was a trap, nothing else significant happened.

Finally, we arrived at the oldest and most rundown house. Its appearance was so shabby that it was embarrassing to even call it a house, with holes riddling its walls.

“…This is it.”

The child said this and opened the door to enter.

“I’m back.”

“Welcome home. Have you eaten?”

Following the child’s voice, a small, frail girl’s voice could be heard.

Knight Lorenz and Knight Jason turned to look at me, as if asking what I would do next. I met their gaze and, after a moment, stepped through the door that the child had entered. The others eventually began to follow me inside as well.

“Who…!”

“She’s my guest.”

The little girl, startled by our sudden appearance, widened her eyes like a rabbit and seemed ready to shout.

Fortunately, the child who guided us calmed her down, preventing any unnecessary commotion.

Only then could I assess the girl’s condition.

Despite her filthy appearance, the girl had an unmistakably pale complexion. Her lips were cracked, and her eyes were sunken.

The child who had attempted to attack me was also quite thin, but he was in better shape than his sister.

I frowned and sighed.

It seemed clear that, as the child had said, his sister was very ill.

“Let’s step outside for now.”

I could have talked about the mistakes committed by her brother in front of the sick young girl, but I didn’t want to.

I feared that discussing it there might cause the sick girl to collapse from shock, leading me to feel guilty. No matter that she was the sister of the boy who tried to kill me.

I stepped back outside through the door we had entered. My retainers, along with the child, followed me out, waiting for me to speak.

It was painfully obvious who had instigated such an act.

It was probably my father.

With the lawsuit turning against him, he must have chosen to employ a poor child from the slums to kill me as a means to turn things around.

If he succeeded and I died, the lawsuit would cease, and the case would turn in my father’s favor since the party involved was dead.

Even if I were gravely injured, it would still be a positive situation for my father. The trial date would be postponed, or it might proceed in my absence.

Moreover, the child was from the slums. It would have been easier to dispose of him afterward.

Money?

A few coins would suffice. Then he could simply wait for the right time to get rid of them. No one would find it odd if two orphans from the slums disappeared.

Of course, that was assuming the children were alive.

The boy had targeted me. The current Countess Theodore, and legally the stepdaughter of Duke Tristan.

No one would doubt that I was a major noble.

Since an attempt was made on the life of such a noble, execution would be inevitable. If the child was executed, the sick girl lying in bed would soon meet her end as well.

As I pondered this, I felt a sense of relief that I had come outside with the knights.

Had I come out carelessly, I might have been stabbed by the child.

Without Knights Lorenz and Jason, I might have ended up dead.

“I don’t suppose you have any idea who sent you to kill me?”

“…No.”

“Really? You don’t know?”

“…No, I don’t.”

Dave, the child, hung his head, unable to respond. It was appropriate to say he could not. He was likely coming to terms with what he had done.

“So, Dave, would you like to help me?”

“…What?”

He looked up at me, surprised by my unexpected request.

Confusion filled his eyes.

“Tomorrow, come with me to the court and help me find out if anyone has instigated an attempt on my life. If there is, I need you to testify in front of everyone.”

If it were revealed in court that my father had tried to kill me, the situation would turn in my favor.

Then, without dragging it out any longer, I could win the case.

As I thought this, I noticed the child looking at me with hesitation in his eyes.

“Is that something you don’t want to do?”

“No, that’s not it, but…”

His vague response turned his gaze toward the closed door.

“Are you worried about your sister?”

“…Yes.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t know how much money the instigator offered, but I can offer at least that much.”

“Really?”

“Sure. If you want, we can settle this right here. How much did they offer you?”

“…10 silver.”

“How much?”

I asked in disbelief, surprised again by the ridiculous amount.

Was my life worth only 10 silver?

I was so astonished that I didn’t even feel anger. I almost lost my life for a mere 10 silver.

In a moment of disbelief, I let out a hollow laugh.

“I’ll give you 10 gold. How about that? That’s not a losing deal, is it?”

Saying this, I took out 10 gold coins from my pocket and placed them into Dave’s hands.

P.S: I am in absolute awe to see how Diarna has become a strong-willed lady with Richard’s support. Sometimes only one person is enough to make you believe in yourself. And that pathetic and disgusting Duke Tristan! He just make me sick!!