CH 48

"I am going to the Kingdom."

Carlo gulped at Mariabelle's statement.

Renato stared at Mariabelle with blue eyes that reminded her of the depths of the sea.

"What will you do when you get to the kingdom?"

"First, I will contact my mother and brother who are in the territory. Then, I will go to pick up my father in the capital."

"Do you think that will work?"

Renato asked quietly, not assuming that Mariabelle would not be able to do it, but asking how she would accomplish it.

She was not being tested, but he was worried.

Sensing the flicker in the depths of Renato's eyes, Mariabelle gently took his hand.

His hand, which was bigger than hers, was hard and had sword dents on it, and Mariabelle's small hand could not hold it entirely.

Still, she gently put her hand on his as if to reassure him.

"The house is probably under the watchful eye of the kingdom. If we go in through the front door, we will be caught."

"Then what do we do?"

"We will use the hidden passageway to get to the lord's room. My mother or brother will probably be waiting for me there."

The hidden passage that was once made when the princess of the kingdom married into the Berkeley family has been handed down only to the direct descendants of the family.

"If you use it, you'll be able to slip through the kingdom's surveillance and enter the mansion."

"As it is, I will accompany Berkeley's territorial army to the royal capital. As this document is a forgery, it is likely that the truth will be revealed when I go to the royal capital."

"Are you sure it's a forgery?"

"It is possible that the crown prince has been deceived as well."

"How is it possible that the crown prince is unaware of the forgery when Mariabelle is aware of it?"

Renato, never dreaming that the crown prince was unaware of this, raised his voice in surprise.

He had assumed that this whole affair was the crown prince's plan, but he may have overestimated the extent of his involvement.

However, when he thought about it, Edward had easily given up Mariabelle, who was a marquise's daughter, and replaced her with a commoner's daughter. He could not have been a wise man.

"Even so, isn't he too foolish to be the heir to the throne of the kingdom...?"

"The royal seal is so well made, I don't think... something like this could be done overnight. Has it been used secretly before, or..."

"Or did you just bring it out into the open at this moment?"

Mariabelle nodded at Renato's words.

"If it had been used, His Majesty the King would have noticed. If so, it is very likely that it was used only for this document."

"Forgery of the Imperial Seal is a great offense."

"No matter how high one's status is, the crime is equivalent to death."

"That is why it could not have been handled casually, and if it had ever been used, it would surely have been exposed at some point."

"The Kingsguard, which reports directly to the crown prince, can only be moved by Edward."

"If that is the case, then there is someone who forged the king's documents and gave them to Edward, who is at the center of the kingdom."

"And..."

"Carlo!"

"Ha!"

"How is the king of the kingdom? Is he alive and well?"

"He has not been seen for some time now, as he has been ill."

"I knew it."

Renato and Carlo confirmed Mariabelle's prediction.

"The king is not currently engaged in political affairs and is probably unaware of this letter."

"It would be better if he was just resting because of illness, but if... he would be in a better position to know about it."

"Find out if the king is alive or dead as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir."

Watching Carlo's back as he quickly left the room, Mariabelle could not help but feel a sense of foreboding crawling up from under her feet.