Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Thud, thud.

A white-haired man wearing a white coat while holding an old leather bag in one hand strode down the hallway on the first floor of the Loengram mansion. Walking quickly, he kept looking behind him as if being chased by something and sped up his steps.

Since there were not many people walking in the hallway, his vigilant look around him seemed rather suspicious.

As he went down the hallway avoiding the people passing by, he stood in front of a wall clock at the end of the hallway. Then, after glancing around him one more time, he placed his palm on the body of a wall clock that was the size of him and gently pushed it.

Kkiikk―

At that moment, the grandfather clock twisted slightly, revealing an empty space between it and a staircase going down.

The white-haired man looked back once more before eventually taking out a match and a small candle from his bag and lit the area around him. He did not forget to return the clock to its original state only after entering a space filled with darkness.

Trapped in darkness so deep that he could not see even an inch ahead, he slowly descended the stairs, relying solely on the light of a candle in his hand.

How far did he go down the solid stone steps?

Finally, the man who came down the stairs reached a stone door a few steps ahead and knocked on the door a couple of times.

“Who are you?”

Then, a young woman’s voice emitted from inside.

“It’s Dr. Hoffman.

“Come in. I’ve been waiting for you.”

As the man introduced himself as Dr. Hoffman, the stone door opened as if waiting.

The white-haired man, Dr. Hoffman, took a moment to tidy up the messy clothes in front of the door and went inside. What he saw was a completely different space from the dark, slightly dismal underground staircase that he had passed a while ago.

The room was quite cozy and luxurious, with a dark red curtain surrounding the walls and a purple chair with a high back in the center.

In the center was a lady with her face covered, along with some servants and maids, and a lady with red hair raised up high. In addition, there was the blonde-haired young man as well.

Unlike the two ladies who were sitting calmly, the blonde young man, who had a wrinkled expression on his face, swept his dazzling blonde hair restlessly. He turned his head to see Dr. Hoffman’s presence and hurriedly approached him.

“Are you Dr. Hoffman?”

“Yes, Viscount Guinivis.”

“Did she take the medicine I gave you well?”

“Of course.”

“How was her condition? She lost consciousness and fell, did she regain consciousness? You must have checked that out, too, right?”

“…I’m sorry. I made sure she took the medicine, but I couldn’t confirm that she had woken up yet.”

“Why?”

“The Duke of Persen was so vigilant that he wouldn’t want anyone in the bedroom where the Duchess was lying. Even they had to search my body when I left the room.”

Rupert Guinivis, the young blonde with a rush of questions, was irritated by Dr. Hoffman’s answer.

“Tsk…”

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he then turned and walked over to a high-backed chair and flopped down. Dr. Hoffman followed carefully with his frightened face and stood beside his chair.

The next moment, Rupert spoke in a growling voice.

“Damn it. That lowly bastard…”

“…I’m sorry, Viscount Guinivis.”

“…Huu. No one had noticed that I had sent you?”

“Of, of course! Although they were very wary of outsiders, the Duke of Persen and the knights were all concerned about the condition of the fallen Duchess, so there would’ve been no doubt about me as a doctor.”

“…No. He’s cunning and meticulous. He would smile calmly in front of you and would put his sword in the back. You might’ve lost your guard and told someone to come after you. Doctor, did anyone follow you?”

“No one was there when I looked.”

“I see. Then, it means you don’t even know what her condition is now.”

“However, the medication you gave was administered on time, and there were no abnormalities in her breathing or pulse when taking the medication, so she would probably be conscious within thirty minutes.”

“All right, I see. Get out the way you came.”

“…Yes. Yes, Viscount.”

Fearing that he might offend Rupert, Dr. Hoffman spat out only the words he would like as much as possible. Fortunately, as if the effort had paid off, Rupert’s gaze on him softened slightly. In response to the celebration, Dr. Hoffman hurriedly opened the stone door behind him and went outside.

Glancing at Dr. Hoffman until he could no longer see his back anymore and as the door closed, Rupert gave orders to one of the attendants standing in front of the door.

“Send an assassin to his mansion this evening.”

“Yes. Viscount Guinivis.”

“Damn it. I wish I could’ve gone myself, but that lowly bastard wouldn’t want to get away from her at all… If Minase doesn’t wake up…”

“But, she’s a pretty good girl too. Swallowing the mulberry that her brother-in-law gave to her, which would be a mess even if she ate a little. Has that woman never seen or touched mulberry before?”

“Don’t call Minase that woman in front of me, Louise.”

Just as Rupert was expressing his concern about Minase with a nervous expression on his face, the masked woman who was looking at him with displeasure suddenly snorted and uttered.

At her sarcastic remarks, Rupert’s red eyes grew even deeper, and he spoke coldly to her. As the woman in the mask hardened her lips, the red-haired woman next to her glanced at the two of them before opening her mouth.

“Oh, don’t take it out on her, Rupert. Grand Duchess Blaine did nothing wrong.”

“…Ha. Nothing wrong? Who was it that made her position uncomfortable by openly demeaning that strong nobleness outright because of their low self-esteem?”

“Well, that’s—”

“Damn it. At that time, I should’ve somehow held Minase inside the tent. If that was the case, I could’ve dealt with the escort knights in moderation and somehow made time for the two of us. That way, she wouldn’t have gotten sick from eating that mulberry! Louise is responsible for this, but Young Lady Vivian, it can’t be said that you’re not responsible for it either.”

“…Yes. I’ll admit that. Still, who could have predicted that the woman would eat the mulberry in that situation? Even if she knew, no one could have stopped her!”

Seeing him reprimanding her in a cold voice, Vivian shot at him with a sharp tone. Rupert glared at her with a cold expression on his face and responded in a confident tone.

“No. She wouldn’t have eaten the mulberry, at least if she was kept her away from Persen.”

“…Why are you so sure?”

“Because before, when Minase was as old as that Persen kid, she went on a picnic with me and ate the mulberry that I had picked, and the same thing happened to her like today. After that time, she knew that she’d be endangered by the shortness of breath. She wouldn’t have swallowed it if it weren’t for the Persen around her.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes. I’m sure.”

When Vivian asked with a questioning look, Rupert gave a firmer answer.

At that time, Grand Duchess Blaine, a masked woman who was quietly listening to their conversation, interrupted.

“…Wait a minute. Now that you mention it, there’s something strange.”

“What do you mean?”

“No matter how many eyes are around you, even if there was a Persen knight and a child, and even if the person who gave you the mulberry was that child… But, she experienced such a situation and still swallowed it? Even though she knew it was poison to her body?”

In response to the Grand Duchess’s question, Vivian narrowed her brow slightly and added.

“…That’s true. If it had been a very uncomfortable situation, she could’ve pretended to eat or refused to eat instead. Still, she took the mulberry to her lips very naturally… It was as if she had never expected that mulberry would be harmful to her.”

“….”

Rupert looked lost in thought at the words of the two women.

Come to think of it, the appearance of Minase recently has definitely changed a lot from what he knew, so there were a lot of strange things.

Aside from her modest outfit, he suddenly noticed that she had improved her dexterity, or that someone who was disgusted with children was suddenly kind to them. In addition, the person who almost died because of mulberry took it and put it in her mouth as if she did not know anything.

Such behavior was peculiar, but the words she casually spoke were also strange.

‘…She said she learned how to make dolls from her mother.’

As far as he knows… No, as all the nobles in this Empire knew, her mother was a noble who could not move her own fingertips.

She would say that working was not noble, and even when she had to worry about her meal, she tried to solve the problem by marrying her daughter, Minase, for her own benefit instead. In short, she was a person who did not think about doing anything herself.

‘…Would such a person have a talent for making dolls? Enough to even teach someone?’

Above all, Minase Florence was not very close with her mother, Madam. Florence.

Living in the mansion, she would have a hard time even talking to her, so when Madam Florence fell ill, Minase did not mourn her. Furthermore, even after her marriage, she was sent to a nursing home outside the capital.

That was what happened… Though today, her voice referring to her mother was full of respect and affection for her mother.

…Now that he thought about it, everything was really weird.

Rupert felt like the veil that had been blocking his sight had been lifted. He never thought she was weird because he was in love with her and believed she was his. However, once he had doubts, his doubts kept growing bigger and bigger.

With a blank expression on his face, Rupert muttered a little.

“…Strange, certainly.”

“Is that what the Viscount Guinivis thinks so, too?”

“…Yes. Come to think of it, she’s been strange. She only saw me with her green eyes, but now, she suddenly fell in love with someone else… Right, that’s weird. Minase is definitely weird right now.”

“The part about the mulberry is strange, but isn’t it possible for her to fall in love with someone else? It doesn’t sound that unusual for her to fall for the Duke of Persen.”

As he continued to mutter to himself with a thoughtful expression on his face, Grand Duchess Blaine, who had been listening, raised a reasonable objection in an unpleasant voice. Rupert then looked at her with displeasure and replied with a confident tone.

“No, it can’t be. It’s impossible for Minase’s heart to leave me and go to another man. Much less, the other person is that lowly bastard? That’d be impossible even if the sky fell.”

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