Chapter 23

TL: Jaemicy

Chapter 23

“If the count ordered it, why would he post a note on the front door saying I was dead?”

I clicked my tongue at the butler’s stupidity.

“The count knew that I was dead, so you went across the hall to his office and reported it, writing it all the way to the Western District in the middle of the night?”

“Well, that’s……!”

The blue-eyed butler opened his mouth and shouted.

“That’s what the count ordered, too! The count was in constant communication with the high nobility in the capital.”

“Oh, yes! You die and I die!”

The mad Count grabbed the butler by the collar and began to shake him.

“What about you, count! You’re making Young-ji look like this! You’re just saying it! You even let my granddaughter go missing!”

The butler didn’t lose and hit the count’s chin with his head.

“Now, now, shut up, both of you. Ugh………!”

I only got kicked in the stomach trying to separate the two.

Cardan, who was standing next to me, laughed in vain as if I were pathetic. Then he said in a low voice.

“It’s so loud.”

The count and the butler shut up as if the disturbance a little while ago was a lie in a word that even contains light flesh.

As a duke, they didn’t even listen to my words, and it was exhilarating to watch him look at Cardan carefully, who is supposedly a junior soldier, but I decided to move on for now.

“Well, I’ve finished searching his room………… This?”

Pointing to the butler and asking Cardan, Cardan held out a thick package of paper.

“It was a false wall, a fake drawer, and it’s well-hidden. It’s annoying.”

The butler, who recognized the item, struggled to stand up, but it was useless because the count held him firmly by the collar.

“Thank you.”

I hurried to take the paper packet with both hands.

The moment it brushed my fingertips, the familiar scent tickled the tip of her nose.

The notes were yellowed, but the scent of perfume was still faint.

That means it’s a high quality perfume.

Suddenly, I remembered the invitation from the Empress.

I immediately buried my nose in a note.

“I’m sure.”

The same scent.

The sweet smell of perfume that a girl would use.

“It was the Empress Dowager.”

***

The palace conference hall was noisy.

“Did you see the official letter that came down yesterday?”

“I still can’t believe it. The Duke of Baloa is dead.”

The aristocrats were all in a hurry to whisper.

“How did that happen?”

“Didn’t you read the official letter? I can’t believe such a strong woman is poisoned.”

The Marquis of Sherrington clicked his tongue.

“I can’t believe a gentleman who drinks alcohol like it’s water died from the poison in wine. There will be no contradiction like this.”

“Did the Duke die after drinking wine?”

The Marquis of Sherrington nodded and the other nobles shook their heads.

“Oh, that’s a strange fate.”

I watched this whole mess quietly through the door.

As soon as she returned to the Imperial Palace, the official letter she distributed seemed to have played its role.

“Is it that fun?”

There was a deep breath of warmth behind my back, and a low whisper rang in my ear.

Later, I realized that Cardan was standing behind me and shuddered.

Cardan, whether I was surprised or not, leaned over my shoulder and peeped through the door.

It was almost a cuddle, so I took my breath away. Not because I’m excited, but because I’m scared.

“Everyone’s surprised.”

Cardan clicked his tongue small.

“Half of them would have thought to themselves that they wanted to kill the Duke at least once.”

Before I could say anything, Cardan slammed the door into the conference room.

“Your Majesty!”

The nobles, who were surprised to see Cardan, were even more stunned to see me coming in after him.

“Gasp! Ah, Duke!”

“How is it that the duke…………!”

From those who rub their eyes in disbelief to those who are frightened as if they saw a ghost.

The responses were also varied.

The Marquis of Sherrington could not keep his mouth shut at all.

I walked past the startled aristocrats and took the top seat on the right side of the Cardan.

As Cardan’s eyes slowly scanned the place, the chatter subsided in unison.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.”

Cardan’s red eyes turned to me.

“Especially the Duke of Baloa.”

I bowed naturally.

“Thank you for your care, I came back safely from the trip.”

Cardan has been fickle all along, but the more he did, the more I stooped.

“Everywhere I went, the people were moved to tears in admiration of your grace, and they were amazed at your great will and couldn’t hide their joy.”

I could feel the eyes of the nobles looking at me as if they were tired of the Duke of Baloa’s three tongues.

“However.”

I stretched my back slightly.

“I was met with an unsavory situation in one place.”

Cardan raised his chin interestingly.

“What an unpleasant thing to happen. What is it?”

“I almost got poisoned.”

The council, who began to stir again, calmed down by Cardan’s ensuing words.

“Poisoning? Who dared to do that to my favorite servant?”

It was a simple voice that contained less than a gram of soul, but all the nobles in the conference hall shrank.

“Your Majesty cares so much for me that I am at a loss.”

I was the only one who straightened up and looked around.

“With your permission, I will find the culprit right here.”

Cardan nodded.

“Well, explain it to me.”

I clapped my hands with a small smile.

“Come on in.”

With my signal, the heavy door of the conference room was opened and Count Gessban came in.

The captive butler and the pigeon cage were behind him.

“What are they?”

I bowed to Cardan’s question.

“It was Count Gessban who was there when there was an attempt to poison me.”

The hall became noisy again.

“I can’t believe the culprit was Count Gessban………!”

“Why is he so stubborn and doesn’t care about central politics and just protecting the border?

“Didn’t it happen that the count went against the Duke’s will while she was in the count’s?”

One aristocrat’s timid speculation began to deceive others eagerly.

“As expected, I think he’s trapped.”

“There is no way His Majesty would stop the Duke…………”

“Only the count became pitiful.”

Sighs broke out everywhere.

I realized how trash the image of the Duke of Baloa was.

The Marquis of Sherrington, who had only been looking between them, opened his mouth carefully and shouted loudly.

“The Duke of the Empire was almost poisoned. I implore you to strike that criminal by the neck and confiscate his territory. Your Majesty.”

The nobles who were whispering followed also bowed down and repeated it.

“The Marquis of Sherrington is right.”

“Your Majesty, you must seize the authority of the family with swift punishment.”

“No matter how long he has devoted himself to the empire, I can never forgive him for this.”

In terms of trash roles, the nobles and I here seemed to be the same.

“No, what are you talking about? I swear I’m not the criminal! You know that, too!”

Unlike when he entered proudly, the count’s complexion turned white.

Cardan kept smiling, that I’m wondering what was so pleasant.

“Yeah………? I haven’t had anyone to execute these months, so I’ve been lonely, so what does the Duke think?”

The count, whose complexion was whiter than a sheet of paper, could no longer be seen, so she decided to step up quickly.

“Your Majesty!”

I bowed low.

“The count has nothing to do with this case.”

“Oh, really?”

Knowing that the count was innocent, Cardan raised one eyebrow as if he could not believe it.

The count’s knees began to tremble.

“Well, that’s too bad.”

Cardan sighed lightly, wondering if he was going to execute anyone because he was really bored.

“Don’t worry, Your Majesty.”

I raised my back in a hurry.

It would have been a big problem if he could execute the count without permission.

A war with Esland is already imminent, and if the border’s commander is executed, the country could be ruined even before she goes into exile.

“We will soon find out the real culprit and soothe your loneliness.”

Fortunately at my declaration, Cardan smiled with satisfaction.

“Let’s hear it.”

Now the knees of all the nobles in the hall, as well as the count, began to tremble.

I pointed to the butler who was arrested.

“Sire, it was the count’s butler who poisoned my wine.”

The Marquis of Sherrington, who was looking around, raised his voice again.

“You’re a commoner, but you’re trying to poison the noble. It’s not enough to rip your limbs to death! Put him to death right now.”

I nodded my head.

“The Marquis of Sherrington is right.”

When I agreed, the Marquis of Sherrington began to smile with pride.

“You’re a commoner and you’re trying to poison the noble. It’s too big to plan alone. I’m sure there’s someone behind it.”

The marquis quickly looked puzzled.

I lifted the pigeon cage.

“The butler was using this pigeon to communicate with the mastermind. Even the day everyone was convinced I was dead, the butler immediately tried to send a note saying, “As soon as she drank the poisoned wine, the duke died instantly.”

“That’s it.”

I smiled a thin smile.

She only smiled quietly, but the other officials hardened themselves as if Medusa had seen them.

“By the way, I think you thought I was dead, too, but who did you hear that from?”

The hesitant aristocrats slowly opened their mouths.

“I got an official letter yesterday.”

“We only believed in the official letter and thought that the Duke had died after drinking wine.”

I knew the content best because it was an official document I wrote myself.

I tilted my head slightly, still with a thin smile.

“There wasn’t an official letter saying that I drank wine and died. Who told you that?”