Chapter 170: Chapter 21. Razor's Dream

— The young gentleman's state of health was not found to be threatening.

— Are you sure? — Maxie interrogated.

The healer was confused.

— Y-yes… At least his pulse and his vitals are normal.

The Marquis's daughter exhaled angrily. If the family physician of the Ashford family-which was considered one of the best-said there was nothing wrong with the prince, then there was. So what more could she do?

Except it didn't make things any better.

— Then why the hell wasn't he conscious yet? — It's been almost ten days!

The healer mumbled excitedly.

— Honestly, I don't know… It's the first time I've ever seen anything like that.

When Maxie realized that the man was completely useless as well, she waved her hand. There was no point in keeping him any longer.

— You may go now.

The healer obediently bowed and left. Maxie sighed and sat down in the chair beside the bed. Razor's expression remained the same serene and his breathing steady. All the healers who examined him stated as one — that the boy was just sleeping.

«Asleep?» The girl doubted that very much. At first glance it looked more like a coma. But why was the second prince in her all of a sudden?

It was bad timing, too.

— Listen,» Maxie growled, turning to him in her sleep, «I give you my word. If you don't wake up in twenty-four hours, I'll kill you myself.

She was in a bit of a pickle right now. Yesterday Leriana had been arrested for attacking the crown princess — and now there was no telling how the future fate of the archdukedom would unfold. Not only that, but there are several others attached to this one case.

Rachel suspected, in all seriousness, the girl in connection with the slave traffickers. And this might not be the only crime that would fall on her shoulders. Simply put, no one knew what would happen tomorrow.

Someone's intentions to bring the Archduchess to justice were becoming very obvious.

However, all of this might not have happened-if Leriana had not provoked Rachel. She did come to the palace and beat the hell out of Camilla. Maxie was still in shock over it… and even more surprised that the girl had not yet been executed for it.

Leriana had never acted so impulsively before. Instead of thinking up a meticulous plan of revenge, the girl had simply come and beaten her. Now Camille will be in the infirmary for a long time.

Frankly, it was more like Maxie. She was the one who preferred to settle things with her fists. And therefore did not expect this from the usually calm and elegant Archduchess…

However, what is the point of speculating about it now? One way or another it is urgently necessary to get her out of there.

At least Maxie had the good sense to stay out of the way and not break into the Imperial dungeon by force. To find a way to save Leriana, Maxie must remain free. Otherwise, two people behind bars would solve nothing.

The case was serious.

And Maxie could not believe that Razor was really going to just sleep it off. After all, help was needed now more than ever. And with the second prince's brains, they would surely think of something…

Tired of staring at the sleeping guy — who didn't even lift a finger — the girl left the room. There was little time before the trial. Maxie tried in vain to think of something by herself. Maybe to use the help of her father's army…?

However, all these thoughts stopped in flux. For passing by the living room, the girl caught a surprising sight.

While the Archduke was in a complete hole — Her Ladyship's private secretary sat casually in an armchair and drank tea. Maxie fell out from this calm atmosphere in the midst of total chaos.

— Old man, you don't look like you're blowing it out of proportion.

Although the girl pointed it out eloquently, the secretary was not the least bit embarrassed.

— Don't mock me, Your Highness,» he asked delicately.

Maxie hummed, dropping into the chair opposite.

— Oh, yes! You don't seem to care at all what's going on.

— Don't say that. Of course I am concerned about the future fate of the Archdukedom.

— I can see that… It must be delicious tea. Will you share the recipe?

Despite the obvious irony, the old man remained unfazed.

— Of course he was. It's crimson oak leaves from the empire…

Maxie got angry.

— I don't want your tea for nothing! — «What kind of secretary are you, if while your mistress is in prison, you…

— Your Highness, don't worry,» Andrew interrupted her, «We'll soon release Her Ladyship.

— Wha…? What do you mean? — The girl was astonished.

— I have already prepared everything,» said the secretary reasonably, «Apart from the charges of attacking the crown princess, Her Grace is suspected of complicity in illegal business. To clear her name, we must prove that the evidence against her is false.

It sounded logical, except that the Marquis's daughter still couldn't understand how he was going to do it.

— And…? What of it? — She was perplexed.

— Ergo, that's what I did.

Andrew Noyles told her the details of the plan with such a relaxed look — it was as if he were talking about the weather. But Maxie's pupils were getting wider and wider.

— …You let them steal the seal of House Ashford?! — The girl exhaled in shock.

The old man coughed.

— When Mistress assigned me to investigate the matter, I immediately suspected something amiss. So I set a trap.

— «A trap?» — Maxie said indignantly, «How could you use the family seal as a trap? It is such an important thing!

For the Ashford family, as for other noble houses, their seal was as important as for the Imperial family. It was handed down from one heir to another and asserted his position as head of the family. The seal existed only in a single copy. And Maxi could not believe — that he really dared to take such a risky step…

— And how else could we have caught the criminal? — Andrew objected, — Obviously, Her Ladyship is not an ordinary aristocrat. And a sacrifice must be made to uncover him.

Maxie snorted in annoyance. She immediately thought the old man's plan a failure.

— A sacrifice! What a sacrifice! The seal had already been stolen, so now…

— …Now all we have to do is wait,» the secretary finished for her.

— What?

— Shortly before the kidnapping, I put a special compound on the seal. So anyone who touches it will have an indelible mark on their hands.

— «A mark?» — I asked again.

— To avoid suspicion, it won't show up right away. But when it does, it cannot be concealed. That way we can easily expose not only the kidnapper, but also his accomplices. Sёarᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Maxie's mouth dropped open.

— Are you serious…?

Andrew nodded, sipping his tea with the same calm look.

— Don't worry, Your Highness. With this composition, I won't have any trouble finding the seal in the imperial palace. When it's over we'll return it safely.

The girl grinned.

— So you knew it was Camilla, didn't you?

— Of course,» the man made no secret of it, «her people came to me months ago to entice me to her side.

The Marquis's daughter was not at all surprised by this information. However, she could not help but ask:

— And why didn't you agree? Blizzard would surely have had you under her thumb.

Frankly, the girl had always been distrustful of the secretary. But there were objective reasons for that. After the overthrow of the previous Archduke, Andrew «changed his shoes» in the blink of an eye and sided with Leriane. It was extremely difficult to believe in the sincerity of such a man. And Leriane herself left him only because it was convenient.

And Maxie was surprised that Andrew did not betray her — when there was such a lucrative offer. After all, the crown princess herself wanted to cooperate with him.

In response, the secretary smiled.

— Your Highness, I have lived for many years. And of course I'm not that stupid.

— What do you mean?

— Lady Fernandez lies even to Her Majesty. So why would she do honest business with an old man like me? She'd get rid of me as soon as the Archdiocese fell.

Maxie snickered.

— You may be a rat, but at least you can tell black and white…

— Of course,» Andrew grinned, «Even though I'm old, but I still want to live. And if my life depends on the welfare of the Archduke, then I'll do anything for it.

The daughter of the Marquis was involuntarily surprised. She did not expect that such an ancient and quiet-looking old man would be so clever.

— I guess now we know why you lived to your present age,» the girl said with a smirk.

— No kidding.

Maxie sighed. Andrew was probably thinking the same thing she was thinking. In the current situation, the only way to save Leriana was to shake the trust between Camille and Rachel. The latter hated being lied to.

And if it turned out that the princess had really tampered with the evidence: it might be possible to change the verdict. That was all they could hope for.

However, Maxie still felt uneasy about the future.

«Belle… Just wait for us!»

***

Opening his eyes, Razor immediately realized where he was. He was back in the foggy space of his subconscious.

This place… Which the boy had long ago become accustomed to.

Sighing — Razor looked around. He still found no way to get out of here on his own. All he had to do was wait for the dream to let him go.

And that woman… was here again.

Razor wasn't surprised.

— Why don't you just tell me what you want me to do? — My friends are waiting, and I'm not going to waste my time…

The woman's low voice echoed through the void:

— You can't leave.

— And why is that…?!

For the first time ever, the woman smiled at him.

— You want to know the truth, don't you?

Razor shuddered.

— Or, to be more precise, to remember…

Again incomprehensible things the other prince didn't understand. And yet, her words caught his interest involuntarily.

— So you want to tell me everything?

The woman nodded.

— It was time.

Razor did not resist when the stranger took him by the hand and led him somewhere. He soon realized that she was leading him into a colorful kaleidoscope of memories.

— I'll show you everything from the beginning.