Episode 127. The Mysterious Whereabouts
Where on earth has Cedric gone?
News of his disappearance reached the Grand Duke.
The Grand Duke was leaning against the large window, holding a secret telegram in his hand.
His icy eyes scanned the letter repeatedly. The Grand Duke clutched the letter in his hand so tightly that it made a cracking sound.
“Cedric...”
Where on earth has Cedric gone?
News of his disappearance reached the Grand Duke.
The Grand Duke was leaning against the large window, holding a secret telegram in his hand.
His icy eyes scanned the letter repeatedly. The Grand Duke clutched the letter in his hand so tightly that it made a cracking sound.
“Cedric...”
A low, angry voice echoed quietly.
The letter was from Serun, who had become the Grand Duke’s spy. Its contents were about Cedric’s sudden disappearance.
“Suddenly disappearing? What are you planning?”
He slowly crossed his arms and closed his eyes.
“Are you trying to finish the Chicagor case?”
According to Serun, Cedric stole the biological experiment information and then burned it.
“...Even the prisoners."
He had given orders not to spare a single one.
They had committed heinous crimes, but Cedric had no right to take an individual's life.
Furthermore, many of them were falsely accused and imprisoned.
People who had done nothing wrong. They were taken to Chicagor without a clue, forced to live their entire lives as lab rats, and met a miserable end.
Grand Duke Artaeum blinked his long eyelashes and lifted his eyelids.
"I'll have Serun keep a close eye on Chicagor for the time being."
The prisoners of Chicagor. He wouldn't stand by and watch them die in vain. He wasn't simply offering them a favor and saving their lives.
They were interested in the Grand Duke for one reason: clear evidence that the Emperor had forced the people of the Empire into vivisection. Their very existence was a threat to the Emperor and Cedric.
Conversely, keeping them alive would make it easier to strangle the Emperor.
However, he couldn't rashly release the prisoners.
If the vicious criminals suddenly disappeared one day, the people of the empire would fall into chaos.
The Grand Duke of Artaeum decided to bide his time.
A small flame lit on his right hand. He set the letter Serun had left on fire.
In an instant, it was reduced to black ash. This was how he always handled letters from Serun.
There was nothing wrong with being thorough.
The black ash rippled and rose into the air. The slender, snake-like shape soon ended up in the trash can.
The Grand Duke continued on as if nothing had happened. His footsteps led him to Rose's office. Rose was always in the office at this hour.
He knocked on the door and entered. The first thing he saw was Rose, hands resting on the desk, clutching her head.
Judging by the way she was frowning, she seemed to be in deep trouble.
Could something be wrong? The Grand Duke approached Rose with a worried expression.
“Are you alright? You don’t look well.”
Rose straightened up with an awkward expression. Then, she rose from her seat and faced the Grand Duke.
“Ah, that’s actually...”
Her rolling eyes looked terribly troubled. Rose’s expression was complicated, and she opened and closed her mouth repeatedly.
What was the unspoken reason for her to be so silent?
“Are you having trouble with business? Or is there a problem with the lawsuit?”
“No. Business and the lawsuit are going smoothly.”
The Grand Duke stared intently at Rose, as if asking what the problem was.
“You know that my parents moved to the Artaeum estate not long ago, right?”
“I know.”
The Grand Duke was well-versed in Rose’s affairs. He had even sent them a gift.
“The Serviat Mansion... is really close to the Grand Duke’s mansion.”
They were so close that their noses would touch if they fell over.
“Right.”
“So I think I should go back now.”
Rose mumbled in a crawling voice. The Grand Duke, at first unable to grasp the meaning of Rose’s words, asked back.
“What do you mean, going back...”
The Grand Duke trailed off and paused, because he understood what Rose had meant.
“You’re going back to the Serviat Mansion?”
“Yes.”
Rose nodded weakly.
“Why on earth?”
They were about to get married. Rose, who he never wanted to be apart from him for even a moment, was going back to the Serviat Mansion.
The Grand Duke couldn't agree with Rose's words. Rose's presence was so deeply ingrained in the Grand Duke that he couldn't imagine the mansion without her.
The Grand Duke, who had been facing Rose, silently walked behind her. Then, he wrapped both hands around Rose's stomach and said,
"Don't go."
He lowered his head and pulled Rose closer. The Grand Duke's fluttering hair tickled, but his breath on her ear was even more stimulating.
Rose gasped at the Grand Duke burrowing into her. Her face took on a luscious shade of red, like a ripe peach.
"Don't leave my side."
"Your Highness."
Rose turned to face the Grand Duke. The Grand Duke and Rose's eyes stared at each other with longing.
"I'm also troubled. I won't be able to see you often again once we return to the Serviat mansion."
To Rose's words, which sounded like a tragic heroine, the Grand Duke responded even more solemnly.
"That's unacceptable."
To anyone, it seemed as if one of them was about to leave for a faraway place.
"Grand Duke."
"Rose."
Without a word, the two embraced each other. And then,
"...What are you two doing?"
Neruan, who had been watching all this, let out a trembling voice. It was as if he was watching a third-rate play, and goosebumps were rising all over his body.
Neruan had entered this room with the Grand Duke in the first place. He had been silently observing them in the serious atmosphere, but finally, when he found it impossible, he spoke.
"If anyone saw you, they'd think you were going to war."
He furrowed his eyebrows with a deeply aggrieved expression.
He didn't like the Grand Duke fussing over Rose, who had to return to her family home right next door, but there was something else that was irritating him.
The Grand Duke's arms, affectionately embracing Rose. That irritated Neruan even more.
No one would be unfazed by the sight of the woman they loved in the arms of another man.
Even if she had a lover, the heartache was unavoidable.
It was a shame for Neruan not to see Rose every day, but it was better to see her less often than to see her like this.
Besides, work would undoubtedly require frequent contact with Rose anyway. He forced himself to ignore the tingling pain and spoke to the Grand Duke.
"It's only five minutes away by carriage. If Your Excellency goes to the Serviat Mansion every day, there won't be any problems."
The Archduke didn't respond.
He had no intention of letting Rose go so easily.
"Rose, are you planning to leave for the Serviat Mansion?"
Rose fell silent, lost in thought at the Grand Duke's question.
She didn't want to return to the Serviat Mansion.
Having lived at the Artaeum Mansion for over six months, she had become quite accustomed to it.
At the Artaeum Manor, there was Gwen, along with the wizards and scholars the Grand Duke had summoned.
Staying here was the most efficient way to work. And, above all, the manor housed her lover, the Grand Duke.
In fact, this last reason was the biggest reason she didn't want to leave.
"My father was so upset,"
Rose recalled the conversation with her father.
'He told me to come back because Eric wouldn't be able to visit easily anymore.'
The letter was from Serun, who had become the Grand Duke’s spy. Its contents were about Cedric’s sudden disappearance.
“Suddenly disappearing? What are you planning?”
He slowly crossed his arms and closed his eyes.
“Are you trying to finish the Chicagor case?”
According to Serun, Cedric stole the biological experiment information and then burned it.
“...Even the prisoners."
He had given orders not to spare a single one.
They had committed heinous crimes, but Cedric had no right to take an individual's life.
Furthermore, many of them were falsely accused and imprisoned.
People who had done nothing wrong. They were taken to Chicagor without a clue, forced to live their entire lives as lab rats, and met a miserable end.
Grand Duke Artaeum blinked his long eyelashes and lifted his eyelids.
"I'll have Serun keep a close eye on Chicagor for the time being."
The prisoners of Chicagor. He wouldn't stand by and watch them die in vain. He wasn't simply offering them a favor and saving their lives.
They were interested in the Grand Duke for one reason: clear evidence that the Emperor had forced the people of the Empire into vivisection. Their very existence was a threat to the Emperor and Cedric.
Conversely, keeping them alive would make it easier to strangle the Emperor.
However, he couldn't rashly release the prisoners.
If the vicious criminals suddenly disappeared one day, the people of the empire would fall into chaos.
The Grand Duke of Artaeum decided to bide his time.
A small flame lit on his right hand. He set the letter Serun had left on fire.
In an instant, it was reduced to black ash. This was how he always handled letters from Serun.
There was nothing wrong with being thorough.
The black ash rippled and rose into the air. The slender, snake-like shape soon ended up in the trash can.
The Grand Duke continued on as if nothing had happened. His footsteps led him to Rose's office. Rose was always in the office at this hour.
He knocked on the door and entered. The first thing he saw was Rose, hands resting on the desk, clutching her head.
Judging by the way she was frowning, she seemed to be in deep trouble.
Could something be wrong? The Grand Duke approached Rose with a worried expression.
“Are you alright? You don’t look well.”
Rose straightened up with an awkward expression. Then, she rose from her seat and faced the Grand Duke.
“Ah, that’s actually...”
Her rolling eyes looked terribly troubled. Rose’s expression was complicated, and she opened and closed her mouth repeatedly.
What was the unspoken reason for her to be so silent?
“Are you having trouble with business? Or is there a problem with the lawsuit?”
“No. Business and the lawsuit are going smoothly.”
The Grand Duke stared intently at Rose, as if asking what the problem was.
“You know that my parents moved to the Artaeum estate not long ago, right?”
“I know.”
The Grand Duke was well-versed in Rose’s affairs. He had even sent them a gift.
“The Serviat Mansion... is really close to the Grand Duke’s mansion.”
They were so close that their noses would touch if they fell over.
“Right.”
“So I think I should go back now.”
Rose mumbled in a crawling voice. The Grand Duke, at first unable to grasp the meaning of Rose’s words, asked back.
“What do you mean, going back...”
The Grand Duke trailed off and paused, because he understood what Rose had meant.
“You’re going back to the Serviat Mansion?”
“Yes.”
Rose nodded weakly.
“Why on earth?”
They were about to get married. Rose, who he never wanted to be apart from him for even a moment, was going back to the Serviat Mansion.
The Grand Duke couldn't agree with Rose's words. Rose's presence was so deeply ingrained in the Grand Duke that he couldn't imagine the mansion without her.
The Grand Duke, who had been facing Rose, silently walked behind her. Then, he wrapped both hands around Rose's stomach and said,
"Don't go."
He lowered his head and pulled Rose closer. The Grand Duke's fluttering hair tickled, but his breath on her ear was even more stimulating.
Rose gasped at the Grand Duke burrowing into her. Her face took on a luscious shade of red, like a ripe peach.
"Don't leave my side."
"Your Highness."
Rose turned to face the Grand Duke. The Grand Duke and Rose's eyes stared at each other with longing.
"I'm also troubled. I won't be able to see you often again once we return to the Serviat mansion."
To Rose's words, which sounded like a tragic heroine, the Grand Duke responded even more solemnly.
"That's unacceptable."
To anyone, it seemed as if one of them was about to leave for a faraway place.
"Grand Duke."
"Rose."
Without a word, the two embraced each other. And then,
"...What are you two doing?"
Neruan, who had been watching all this, let out a trembling voice. It was as if he was watching a third-rate play, and goosebumps were rising all over his body.
Neruan had entered this room with the Grand Duke in the first place. He had been silently observing them in the serious atmosphere, but finally, when he found it impossible, he spoke.
"If anyone saw you, they'd think you were going to war."
He furrowed his eyebrows with a deeply aggrieved expression.
He didn't like the Grand Duke fussing over Rose, who had to return to her family home right next door, but there was something else that was irritating him.
The Grand Duke's arms, affectionately embracing Rose. That irritated Neruan even more.
No one would be unfazed by the sight of the woman they loved in the arms of another man.
Even if she had a lover, the heartache was unavoidable.
It was a shame for Neruan not to see Rose every day, but it was better to see her less often than to see her like this.
Besides, work would undoubtedly require frequent contact with Rose anyway. He forced himself to ignore the tingling pain and spoke to the Grand Duke.
"It's only five minutes away by carriage. If Your Excellency goes to the Serviat Mansion every day, there won't be any problems."
The Archduke didn't respond.
He had no intention of letting Rose go so easily.
"Rose, are you planning to leave for the Serviat Mansion?"
Rose fell silent, lost in thought at the Grand Duke's question.
She didn't want to return to the Serviat Mansion.
Having lived at the Artaeum Mansion for over six months, she had become quite accustomed to it.
At the Artaeum Manor, there was Gwen, along with the wizards and scholars the Grand Duke had summoned.
Staying here was the most efficient way to work. And, above all, the manor housed her lover, the Grand Duke.
In fact, this last reason was the biggest reason she didn't want to leave.
"My father was so upset,"
Rose recalled the conversation with her father.
'He told me to come back because Eric wouldn't be able to visit easily anymore.'
It was different from the old mansion where Eric could come and go freely. Knights guarded the walls. Unlike before, they could easily expel unwanted guests.
The Serviats wanted Rose to be with them.
To them, Rose was still no different than a child left at the water's edge.
Even though a child had grown into an adult, in their parents' eyes, they were still infinitely small. Rose knew exactly how they felt about her.
Parents' hearts were no different in Korea or here.
It was truly a great blessing to have parents who loved her so much.
However, just as ideals differ from reality, Rose had no intention of remaining a spoiled child in her parents' arms.
"Your Excellency,"
Rose, gathering her thoughts, called out to the Grand Duke.
"Let's go to the Serviat mansion together."
She closed her eyes into crescent moons and smiled brightly.
It had already been more than three days since Cedric had returned.
Tercia, without thinking much, began to feel something was wrong.
"Where on earth did he go..."
He wasn't a loving husband, but he wasn't indifferent either.
He always told her the basics—he was going somewhere, he'd be back in a few days. Tercia felt a strange sense of unease.
"Baku, he doesn't seem to know anything about him either."
Baku was Cedric's right-hand man. A fierce-looking man with a damaged eye.
He was the one who kidnapped Gwen on Cedric's orders, and he was a shadow who would carry out any order Cedric gave him without hesitation. The man who knew everything about Cedric knew nothing. No matter how much she thought about it, it was strange.
Tercia gritted her teeth and bit her fingernails. She shook the bell on the table. As the loud ringing continued, a maid entered the room.
"Call everyone who encountered Cedric when he left this mansion."
She turned to the maid, unable to hide her anxious gaze.
"Not a single one of them."
Did she sense the seriousness in Tercia's spirited voice? The maid nodded hastily and left the room.
Soon, a dozen people entered. Tercia sat on a chair, legs crossed, and asked them sharply,
“You saw Cedric leave?”
A resounding “yes” echoed from here and there.
“Well, tell me in order. How fast did Cedric walk? What was his expression? Was he carrying anything in his hands? Everything, even the smallest details.”
“He was no different than usual. No, he seemed in a very happy mood. He had a smile on his face the entire time he left the mansion.”
The others nodded, as if the servant’s words were true. Soon, another servant spoke up.
“He didn’t have anything in his hands... He didn’t even ride a carriage, so I thought he was just wandering around the mansion.”
When Cedric was feeling confused, he would often walk alone. The servant said that Cedric walked very slowly, as if he was taking in the scenery around him.
"I saw him riding out."
He wasn't a man who usually rode horses. Suddenly, he was riding?
Could that man's words really be true?
Tercia couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling that was building within her. Then, she looked at Cedric's right arm, the one that had spoken those words.
He was suspicious.
The Serviats wanted Rose to be with them.
To them, Rose was still no different than a child left at the water's edge.
Even though a child had grown into an adult, in their parents' eyes, they were still infinitely small. Rose knew exactly how they felt about her.
Parents' hearts were no different in Korea or here.
It was truly a great blessing to have parents who loved her so much.
However, just as ideals differ from reality, Rose had no intention of remaining a spoiled child in her parents' arms.
"Your Excellency,"
Rose, gathering her thoughts, called out to the Grand Duke.
"Let's go to the Serviat mansion together."
She closed her eyes into crescent moons and smiled brightly.
***
It had already been more than three days since Cedric had returned.
Tercia, without thinking much, began to feel something was wrong.
"Where on earth did he go..."
He wasn't a loving husband, but he wasn't indifferent either.
He always told her the basics—he was going somewhere, he'd be back in a few days. Tercia felt a strange sense of unease.
"Baku, he doesn't seem to know anything about him either."
Baku was Cedric's right-hand man. A fierce-looking man with a damaged eye.
He was the one who kidnapped Gwen on Cedric's orders, and he was a shadow who would carry out any order Cedric gave him without hesitation. The man who knew everything about Cedric knew nothing. No matter how much she thought about it, it was strange.
Tercia gritted her teeth and bit her fingernails. She shook the bell on the table. As the loud ringing continued, a maid entered the room.
"Call everyone who encountered Cedric when he left this mansion."
She turned to the maid, unable to hide her anxious gaze.
"Not a single one of them."
Did she sense the seriousness in Tercia's spirited voice? The maid nodded hastily and left the room.
Soon, a dozen people entered. Tercia sat on a chair, legs crossed, and asked them sharply,
“You saw Cedric leave?”
A resounding “yes” echoed from here and there.
“Well, tell me in order. How fast did Cedric walk? What was his expression? Was he carrying anything in his hands? Everything, even the smallest details.”
“He was no different than usual. No, he seemed in a very happy mood. He had a smile on his face the entire time he left the mansion.”
The others nodded, as if the servant’s words were true. Soon, another servant spoke up.
“He didn’t have anything in his hands... He didn’t even ride a carriage, so I thought he was just wandering around the mansion.”
When Cedric was feeling confused, he would often walk alone. The servant said that Cedric walked very slowly, as if he was taking in the scenery around him.
"I saw him riding out."
He wasn't a man who usually rode horses. Suddenly, he was riding?
Could that man's words really be true?
Tercia couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling that was building within her. Then, she looked at Cedric's right arm, the one that had spoken those words.
He was suspicious.
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