Chapter 69
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The Male and Female Leads Broke Up - Episode 69
"How is Adela?"
I asked Aiden Byon about Adela's condition.
"She is currently resting and recovering."
"Is that so? I'm relieved she's awake. But would it be alright if I visited her? Last time, Byon Duke prevented me from seeing Adela at all, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to go...."
I recalled the time I had gone to see Adela after her accident, only to be turned away by Byon Duke after hearing nothing but criticism.
So I was worried that I might not be able to visit her this time either.
"If my sister permits it, there should be no problem."
"Ah, is that so? Then would you tell Adela that I'd like to visit her soon?"
"I will."
"Thank you."
I felt delighted at the thought of seeing Adela soon.
With the Knight apprehended and Adela awake, I thought everything would proceed smoothly from here on, and I was just about to enter the Interrogation Room.
"Young Master Byon!"
A Knight approached, calling out to Aiden Byon.
"What is it?"
"Byon Duke is urgently looking for you."
"For me?"
"Yes, he asks that you come at once."
When our eyes met, I gave a slight nod.
"Go ahead."
"But...."
"I can handle the interrogation alone. So go."
"I'll return shortly."
And so Aiden Byon left as quickly as he had arrived.
I watched his retreating figure until he disappeared from sight, then turned my attention away and entered the Interrogation Room.
There, I could see Owen Est bound entirely and huddled in a corner.
"Bring Owen Est before me."
At my command, one of the Investigation Team's Knights forced Owen Est to kneel before me.
He trembled violently, his head bowed low.
"Raise your head."
Owen Est slowly lifted his head.
Like all those I had encountered in this place, his eyes were filled with fear and terror as he looked at me.
"Are you Owen Est?"
"...Y-yes. Y-yes, that's... correct."
"You remember escorting Lady Adela Byon on the day of the carriage incident, don't you?"
"Y-yes... I remember."
"Tell me the details of what happened that day."
"Pardon? P-please wait a moment. I-I'll try to recall the events as best I can."
Owen Est furrowed his brow for a moment, then began recounting what had transpired that day, piece by piece.
And his testimony aligned perfectly with that of the Coachman and the other Knights.
"So you're saying you were at the Lady's side when she screamed, is that correct?"
"Y-yes, that's right."
"Good. Now I'll ask again. Why did you flee? Why did you claim to be taking leave and never return?"
"That is... well..."
I could clearly see bewilderment and anxiety crystallizing in his eyes at my question.
"You must answer truthfully."
I pressed him further without hesitation.
"If you lie, you will never leave this place alive."
"P-please spare me!"
"If you speak only the truth, you will not die."
"I... I..."
Despite my restraint, Owen Est's face drained of color as though death itself were imminent.
His trembling body made it clear he could barely remain on his knees.
That was when it happened.
Thud—!
He finally lost control and collapsed to the side.
As he fell, something glimmering caught my eye between the folds of his shirt collar before vanishing from view.
'Could it be...?'
Even as doubt seized me, the need to verify consumed my thoughts.
I rose from my chair and approached Owen Est.
"Why are you doing this?"
I gestured to the Knight standing nearby and spoke.
"Lift him up."
"Yes, understood."
As the Knight raised Owen Est to his feet, my eye level aligned perfectly with his neck.
"Why... are you doing this?"
Owen's gaze wavered uncontrollably, as though he'd realized what I was looking at.
I glanced at his eyes briefly, then lowered my gaze to study the area around his neck.
And immediately, I brushed aside his shirt collar.
'Why is this...?'
Around Owen Est's neck hung a necklace—its shape slightly different, but its material unmistakably familiar.
"What is this necklace?"
Though I already suspected what it was, I questioned him nonetheless to confirm my suspicions.
"It's... just a necklace I wear."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, yes."
Yet he lied to me, as if I wouldn't understand what he was hiding.
"It's just a necklace..."
Of course, on the surface, it appeared no different from any ordinary necklace.
But I had already seen a similar necklace before.
That's why I knew what Owen Est was wearing was no mere trinket.
"I told you that if you lie, you won't leave this place alive. Don't my words sound credible to you?"
"No, no! I, I... Ah, ugh!"
It was the moment Owen Est was about to say something.
Suddenly his face contorted in agony, and he began rolling across the floor.
"Ugh! Ugh!"
Anguished cries filled the Interrogation Room.
I had witnessed a situation like this before.
So I quickly approached Owen Est.
Hoping the same action I had used on Aiden would work on him, I placed my hand lightly against his neck.
Of course, I made sure to appear as though I was interrogating him, so the nearby Knights wouldn't notice.
"What is this? Why are you doing this?"
"Ugh! S-save me- Ugh!"
Moments later.
Owen Est's convulsing body suddenly went still.
Like Aiden before him, he had lost consciousness.
'What is this...'
Even as I witnessed it, I couldn't bring myself to believe it.
As the empty puzzle pieces drew closer to the truth and filled in one by one, I wanted to believe the puzzle itself was wrong.
But now I couldn't do that anymore.
Now...
I could no longer turn away from it.
"Lock Owen Est in the Underground Prison."
"Yes, understood."
There was a reason I had chosen this Manor as the Investigation Team's base.
In the basement of this small Manor, there was a prison where criminals could be held.
There was no need to call the Doctor.
Owen Est would awaken soon, just as Aiden had.
So I had him locked in the prison and returned to the Conference Room.
And I fell into deep contemplation, recalling all the information I knew.
'Who could it be?'
Could it be Byon Duke?
But his reaction on the day of the incident seemed genuinely ignorant of everything.
Of course, one cannot easily judge a Duke of the Empire who has experienced everything under the sun based on a single meeting, but he had no reason to corner me like this.
He still didn't even know why Adela had collapsed at the banquet.
More than anything, it was clear that Cain Maxius was far more of a thorn in Byon Duke's side than I was.
Therefore, if one of the two families were to be attacked, the Maxius Family seemed the most likely target.
And most crucially, Byon Duke was not the sort of man to orchestrate such schemes while putting his own daughter in danger.
He wielded tremendous power, and he would need only to exercise a fraction of that influence—yet to resort to something like this was entirely beneath his station as a Duke.
So I concluded that Byon Duke could not be the culprit.
That left only two people.
Aiden Byon and Adela.
Could it possibly be Aiden?
No.
It couldn't be him either.
He... it couldn't be.
If it were him, then why?
For Adela's sake?
No, that couldn't be it.
I didn't know why I wanted so desperately to believe in him, but I simply did.
I couldn't bear to believe that the warmth in his gaze, the tenderness of his touch, were anything but genuine.
And like Byon Duke, he too possessed the means to harm me without ever placing Adela in jeopardy.
Then that meant...
Only one person remained.
Adela Byon.
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