TVTIW Chapter 76

Chapter 76

For now, I stayed in a safe place, observing the situation. Thanks to quick action, the fire was gradually being brought under control, and Richard, perhaps feeling that Jason wasn’t enough, had sent a few knights and soldiers to search for the arsonist.

“I’m just glad we were out here,” Olivier said, brushing her chest in relief.

I agreed with her. If we hadn’t taken a walk in the garden, we wouldn’t have realized there was a fire until much later. If that had been the case, it would have been much harder to suppress it in time. The fire could have spread, and the entire Duke Tristan’s castle might have burned down. Not only would there have been financial loss, but lives could have been lost as well.

It was a relief that we discovered the fire before it could spread and minimized the damage.

However, my mind wasn’t at ease. Was it really Cecilia who set the fire at Duke Tristan’s castle?

In the chaos, I had assumed that Cecilia, who had a grudge against me, was the arsonist, but I hadn’t actually seen her start the fire, so I wasn’t entirely sure.

The knights and soldiers had gone to track down the fleeing Cecilia, so I could ask her directly later.

If Cecilia really had set the fire, I wouldn’t be able to forgive her. Even if her actions were driven by resentment and hatred, there had to be limits. Setting fire to the castle, and potentially causing casualties… just imagining it was horrifying.

A shiver ran down my spine, and I shrank instinctively.

“Lady, perhaps it’s better for you to go inside. It’s safe here, but I’m still concerned about your health,” Olivier suggested, her worry apparent.

But with the fire and the confusion, I couldn’t just sit inside and rest while everything was happening outside.

Although I might not be of much help, I still wanted to keep my eyes on the situation.

“No, I’ll stay for a little while longer,” I said.

“…Alright, but if you need to rest, please let me know right away. If you’re not feeling well, don’t hesitate to say so.”

“Okay. Thank you, Olivier.”

I sighed softly as I watched the busy people rushing about. Everyone was working hard to put out the fire, and I felt strangely detached, like I wasn’t part of the effort.

* * *

Finally, by the time dawn was breaking, the fire was completely extinguished. By then, everyone working at Duke Tristan’s castle had come outside to help with the firefighting, carrying water.

But that wasn’t all.

After the fire was put out, there was still the matter of dealing with the blackened remains of the storage shed. Of course, there wasn’t enough time to address that now. For today, we could only focus on the fact that the fire had been put out and leave the rest for later. The shed could be dealt with once the sun rose.

The people who had checked the completely burned shed looked at it with a sense of helplessness in their eyes.

“Diarna.”

Richard approached me, looking worried as he scanned the area. When I turned to face him, I saw his concerned gaze on me.

“It’s late. Go inside and rest. The fire’s been put out, so don’t worry. I’ll stay here and handle the situation,” he said.

“Are you sure? It’s already so late.”

It was already dawn. Although the sun hadn’t risen yet, the darkness would soon fade. Knowing that Richard had been busy leading everyone, I couldn’t help but worry about him staying here longer.

On top of that, he must have been exhausted after training with the knights earlier.

“This is nothing. It’s you I’m worried about,” he said casually, shrugging his shoulders. Then he took off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders.

“The dawn air is chilly. Go inside and warm up.”

“Alright.”

I couldn’t refuse. I adjusted the jacket on my shoulders and nodded. But before leaving, I took one last look at the scene of the fire.

Indeed, thanks to everyone’s efforts, the fire was completely out, and there was no trace of embers. Only the blackened, soggy ashes remained, scattered on the ground.

“Then, Richard, don’t push yourself too hard,” I said.

“Yeah, see you later.”

I smiled faintly at Richard, who said he’d see me later, before turning to head back into the castle. The castle was noisy, even though it was still early morning. It was all because of the fire. It had been so sudden and so significant that it became the center of conversation.

The main topic was whether Cecilia was the arsonist. Since I had caused quite a commotion when the fire started, it seemed rumors had already spread through Duke Tristan’s castle that Cecilia might be the one who set the fire.

As I returned to my bedroom, I couldn’t help but wonder whether Cecilia had been caught or not. However, I hadn’t heard any news from the knights and soldiers, including Jason, who had gone to track down the arsonist while I was in the garden. It seemed like they hadn’t found anything yet.

The fact that they hadn’t returned by dawn meant that they hadn’t captured the arsonist, who was presumed to be Cecilia.

I sat down on my bed, still uneasy. Even though I was back in my room, my mind was in turmoil, still questioning whether Cecilia really did such a thing.

“Lady, you must be very tired after staying up so late. Please go to sleep now. If you can’t sleep, I’ll prepare some tea that’s good for a restful night’s sleep,” Olivier said.

“No, I think I’ll be fine. You and Julia must have been up all night because of me, so you should go rest now.”

“Yes, then if you need anything, please call for me.”

“I’ll go rest as well.”

“Okay.”

Olivier and Julia politely bowed and left the bedroom. I watched them until they were completely out of sight, and only when the door finally closed behind me did the exhaustion that I hadn’t felt before rush over me like a tidal wave.

* * *

Jason approached Richard, who was overseeing the wreckage of the fire. Richard merely glanced at him, acknowledging his approach.

“Did you find anything?” Richard asked.

Jason had been sent to track down the arsonist after Diarna mentioned that her stepsister, Cecilia, might be involved. Richard had sent him out immediately to follow up on the leads, but now, as Jason returned, there was no one with him.

“We couldn’t find her,” Jason replied.

“Couldn’t find her?” Richard asked, his voice betraying a hint of disbelief.

“Yes. We followed the direction the lady indicated, but we couldn’t find her stepsister, nor anyone suspicious. However, I’ve sent soldiers to continue the search, and we expect to catch the culprit soon.”

“Hmm…”

Richard let out a soft sigh as he processed Jason’s report. His mind was filled with several questions. Diarna had witnessed the fire breaking out just shortly after it started, so it wasn’t unreasonable that she might have seen the person responsible for it.

And if that person was Cecilia Hazel, who had recently shown animosity towards Diarna, the situation made even more sense. It wasn’t hard to imagine her committing such a petty act, especially since she had harassed Diarna the last time they met.

But then, Richard couldn’t shake off one doubt.

After Cecilia had been captured by the guards, how could she have been released so quickly? And what could have possibly driven her to commit arson after being freed?

Richard had already thought it was odd that Cecilia had been released so quickly. While he understood she hadn’t actually harmed Diarna, and therefore didn’t deserve a harsh punishment, he still thought she should have been made to fear consequences for her actions.

Yet, she had been released too soon. And on top of that, it seemed she had gone as far as setting fire to Tristan’s castle.

‘How?’

Richard couldn’t stop replaying the question in his mind. On top of that, the fact that Cecilia had set the fire and then managed to escape from his most elite knights—who were no strangers to the city’s terrain—didn’t add up.

Even if the knights from Count Theodore’s family weren’t familiar with the capital’s geography, they were still physically capable and wouldn’t have easily been outrun by anyone. Richard himself, despite being a skilled knight, would find it difficult to shake off his own knights if they pursued him.

At this point, Richard couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling that something wasn’t right. It might seem absurd to think so, but the thought kept nagging him.

Could someone be helping Cecilia?

“I’ll have to go visit the guards tomorrow,” Richard said.

“Is this because of today’s incident?” Jason asked, confused.

Richard glanced at Jason, then spoke.

“That’s part of it, but I also have something to verify.”

For instance, he needed to understand how Cecilia had been released so quickly and whether someone had been backing her.

Though Richard couldn’t know anything for certain at the moment, he felt that the guards, who had been responsible for releasing Cecilia, might hold some answers. In fact, he was almost certain that there would be some clues left behind.

There were too many things that didn’t add up, but Richard decided not to share these suspicions with Diarna just yet. He didn’t want her to worry and lose sleep over it, especially since she wasn’t in the best of health. If she ended up stressing out, her condition might worsen, which would be a real problem.

Though the rosebuds were starting to bloom, they weren’t yet at a stage where they could be used for medicinal purposes, so he needed to be careful.

Richard looked up, his gaze landing on where Diarna’s bedroom was. The room, once bathed in red light from the fire, had now been consumed by darkness. It seemed she had already fallen asleep.