She had no intention of being swayed by her words. However, the conversations about to take place here could potentially have a profound impact on her life. Stella entered the prison where Lady Decrit was incarcerated. Of course, knights stood guard outside the door. Stella got straight to the point.
"What is the reason you spread false rumors about me?"
"A false rumor?"
Lady Decrit burst into laughter out of nowhere.
"Do you think I spread that?"
Stella frowned.
"I have to make sure what isn't true is clear. The woman in the photo does resemble me, but on that day, I was at the hospital looking after a patient in a vegetative state. If that alibi can be proven, I'll be able to get out of this prison."
Does that mean Lady Decrit isn't the culprit either?'
Stella observed Decrit's expression. It was a confident look.
'I need to check.'
She had the maid who came with her bring paper and a pen.
"?"
Lady Decreet stared intently at Stella with a puzzled look.
"Are you going to paint my portrait?"
Stella wrote, unfazed by her sarcastic tone. Her hand moved slowly, worried that Lady Decrit might discover she was a wizard. Then she recalled Skyle’s reaction when he first encountered Stella’s magic. He had never suspected that Stella was a wizard, thinking that these tools were simply special things.
She squeezed out a piece of writing for five minutes—a time that could be considered long or short.
A woman paid a newspaper to spread false rumors about Stella Adrian. When her deed was exposed, she was imprisoned, but a sudden earthquake caused the prison to collapse. The woman was unable to escape and lost consciousness.
Stella handed this extreme writing to Decrit.
"What is this?"
Decrit held it and started reading it out loud.
"One woman..."
The voice faded and disappeared. Her pupils began to tremble. Haa. Decrit took a deep breath. Then, squeezing her eyes shut as if seeing something terrible, she waved her hands wildly.
"Aaaah! It's an earthquake!"
Stella was also startled by her scream.
"Save me. Please save me!"
And Stella sneered. Whether Decrit had escaped the hallucination of the earthquake or not, she lay face down on the ground with her ears covered, unable to even see Stella's expression.
"Breath, breath, I can't breathe. I have to breathe. Haa. Haa."
She even mumbled earnestly, as if worried that she might lose consciousness. Stella nudged her.
"Snap out of it, Decrit. There's no such thing as an earthquake."
She slowly lifted her head. Tears welled up in her eyes.
"What did you do to me?"
No, her face was completely smeared with tears. This confirmed that Decrit was the culprit. If she hadn't spread false rumors, she wouldn't have thought the woman in the text was herself.
'To lie so shamelessly while being the culprit.'
Stella let out a sigh and ran her hand through her hair.
'This makes this woman's words unreliable.'
Then, she looked at Decrit with a look of disdain. Decrit looked around, assessed the situation, and instead got angry at Stella.
"To think you even prepared a hallucinatory magic tool just to play a trick on me!"
It was a sharp voice that seemed to pierce the ears with glass. Stella also raised her voice.
"What on earth is the reason you spread false rumors about me?"
Why on earth is this woman interfering in her life like this? All the stress she had been suffering because of her burst out at once.
"What do you gain by doing that?"
Decrit let out a sigh as if dumbfounded.
"Ha."
Stella's expression crumpled even more.
"I went to such lengths for you."
She wanted to hear what Decrit had to say.
"What?"
"You need to know how ugly Duke Kendrick is so you can escape from him."
Stella found Decrit's words ridiculous.
"Why is Kendrick ugly?"
How could you disparage Kendrick like that without any basis?
"I told you to come back then, so why didn't you come sooner?"
'Did they spread that rumor on purpose to provoke me?'
"I even sent it to you by letter."
Stella realized that Decrit had been looking forward to meeting her more than she had thought.
"...because there was no reason to go."
"Then what about now?"
"I only came because you asked to meet."
"You wanted to check because you had a nagging feeling, right?"
Stella couldn't deny Decrit's words. Every time she brought up Decrit, Kendrick would change the subject, and strange messages would come flying in.
"Did you find out? The reason Kendrick left the Empire was as if he were running away."
"My husband said he only studied abroad for the sake of the family. And I'm going to believe that."
"You are so naive."
Stella's heart began to pound. She had turned a blind eye to it all this time, thinking of Kendrick, but today, she was finally able to find out what had happened between them. She felt her body heat up for no reason.
"Listen carefully."
The inside of the prison fell silent for a moment.
"Kendrick killed someone. He went abroad to study because he was afraid of getting caught."
And Stella's mood turned cold. She gritted her teeth. Decrit was framing Kendrick with a ridiculous accusation.
"Kendrick isn't that kind of person."
As Stella's face stiffened, the corners of Decreet's mouth curled up. Her smirk was sickening to look at.
"Do murderers go around with 'I'm going to kill' written all over their faces?"
Stella clenched her fist tightly.
"I only told you for your own good, Stella. If you don't want to believe it, that's fine."
She had vowed not to be swayed by Decrit, but the word 'killer' affected Stella.
"Ah, but I'm not sure if that will be easy. Just looking at your face, the word 'killer' will come to mind."
Decrit even gave a wink, finding Stella's reaction amusing.
"I hope you continue to have a happy married life."
Stella grabbed her wrist. She had to find out why on earth Decrit was calling Kendrick a killer.
"Say it clearly. Who on earth is Kendrick..."
She could not finish her sentence.
"Stella!"
Decrit looked at Stella's back and made a surprised expression. Stella also turned around.
"Kendrick..."
Kendrick was standing there, looking extremely angry.
"Didn't I tell you not to come because it's dangerous?"
He approached this place with uncharacteristically hurried steps. Kendrick's gaze passed Stella and landed on Decrit. His eyes were so cold that Stella involuntarily flinched.
"D-Duke..."
Decrit was so surprised by Kendrick's momentum that he even stammered.
"Decrit. I told you to stop messing around beforehand, didn't I?"
Stella even felt a sense of relief at the fact that she was not the one receiving Kendrick's cold gaze with her whole body. Lady Decrit's arm trembled.
"Did you still not understand what I said?"
Stella felt as though she were lying to Kendrick for no reason. Kendrick grabbed Stella's wrist and dragged her out of the prison. Stella felt uneasy the whole time.
'I believe in Kendrick. But....'
Kendrick looked like he was barely holding back his anger.
'I can't just let this slide.'
"Kendrick, let go of this."
'Whether he was unfairly misunderstood or something happened, I need to hear his story.'
Kendrick did not stop walking while holding Stella's hand.
"Kendrick!"
Stella screamed. It was a relief that the prison was in a secluded location. Only then did Kendrick stop walking, turn around, and look at Stella.
"What did you talk about? How far did Decrit go?"
He urgently grabbed Stella's shoulder. His red eyes wavered slightly. Stella slowly closed and opened her eyes to regain her composure.
"She said you killed someone."
Then Kendrick's pupils widened.
"...No."
Kendrick rubbed his forehead in pain, then grabbed Stella tightly again.
"Surely you don't believe that, do you?"
Instead of answering, Stella placed her hand over the back of Kendrick's. It was to pry away his hand that was gripping her shoulder tightly. Stella wanted to hear about this matter in the most rational and calm state possible.
"Tell me. What on earth happened to you before you studied abroad?"
However, Kendrick was different from Stella. Realizing that this was the Imperial Palace, he avoided conversation.
"We'll talk about it again later."
Stella noticed in a split second that Kendrick could not meet her gaze.
'Kendrick avoided my gaze.'
"Later, when?"
Of course, she also did not want to have a marital argument in the imperial palace where everyone could hear. So, whether by moving to a different location or getting into a carriage, she wanted to create an opportunity to talk.
"I trust you. So you trust me too, and put your mind at ease...”
However, Kendrick seemed to be avoiding the conversation itself.
"Do you trust me?"
There was also a hint of resentment toward Stella.
"If you really trusted me, you wouldn't have come looking for Lady Decrit."
She bit her lip.
'Kendrick came here, too.'
It didn't seem like he had come knowing that Stella was there. If he had known, he would have stopped her beforehand. He, too, had clearly come to talk to Decrit.
'Trying to silence Lady Decrit?'
Stella grabbed Kendrick's cheeks. And she met his eyes.
"Kendrick, what on earth are you hiding?"
"Do you trust that woman's words more than mine?"
Don't be sarcastic and try to change the subject like that. I don't want to argue."
"You shouldn't have come here, even if it meant deceiving me."
Stella struggled to swallow a sigh.
'I didn't mean to deceive you.'
She felt wronged. She hadn't intended to deceive him from the start. It was simply that she couldn't speak because Kendrick was avoiding conversation. She was exhausted. She had used up a lot of energy meeting Decrit, and she didn't want to engage in a war of nerves with Kendrick like this. Perhaps she felt even more drained because she had used magic earlier to verify if Decrit was the culprit.
"Stop it now."
She spat out the words in a weak voice.
"What?"
"Yes. Let's talk about it later, just like you said."
Kendrick felt uneasy as Stella withdrew her hand from his cheek.
"Stella. I."
Seeing the look of hesitation as if he were about to say something, Stella did not leave her seat for a few seconds and waited for his next words.
'Ha.'
However, the kind of explanation Stella was hoping for did not come from his beautiful lips. Despite the heated argument, Stella tried to understand Kendrick. It seemed like the better choice to wait without pestering him until he spoke. In a situation where she was utterly exhausted, it didn't seem like a rational conversation would be possible.
"I have an appointment with Skyle, so I'll leave first."
Stella's voice was cold. Cold enough to surprise even herself.
"What is the reason you spread false rumors about me?"
"A false rumor?"
Lady Decrit burst into laughter out of nowhere.
"Do you think I spread that?"
Stella frowned.
"I have to make sure what isn't true is clear. The woman in the photo does resemble me, but on that day, I was at the hospital looking after a patient in a vegetative state. If that alibi can be proven, I'll be able to get out of this prison."
Does that mean Lady Decrit isn't the culprit either?'
Stella observed Decrit's expression. It was a confident look.
'I need to check.'
She had the maid who came with her bring paper and a pen.
"?"
Lady Decreet stared intently at Stella with a puzzled look.
"Are you going to paint my portrait?"
Stella wrote, unfazed by her sarcastic tone. Her hand moved slowly, worried that Lady Decrit might discover she was a wizard. Then she recalled Skyle’s reaction when he first encountered Stella’s magic. He had never suspected that Stella was a wizard, thinking that these tools were simply special things.
'She'll assume I used the magic tool, so it’s okay.'
A woman paid a newspaper to spread false rumors about Stella Adrian. When her deed was exposed, she was imprisoned, but a sudden earthquake caused the prison to collapse. The woman was unable to escape and lost consciousness.
Stella handed this extreme writing to Decrit.
"What is this?"
Decrit held it and started reading it out loud.
"One woman..."
The voice faded and disappeared. Her pupils began to tremble. Haa. Decrit took a deep breath. Then, squeezing her eyes shut as if seeing something terrible, she waved her hands wildly.
"Aaaah! It's an earthquake!"
Stella was also startled by her scream.
"Save me. Please save me!"
And Stella sneered. Whether Decrit had escaped the hallucination of the earthquake or not, she lay face down on the ground with her ears covered, unable to even see Stella's expression.
"Breath, breath, I can't breathe. I have to breathe. Haa. Haa."
She even mumbled earnestly, as if worried that she might lose consciousness. Stella nudged her.
"Snap out of it, Decrit. There's no such thing as an earthquake."
She slowly lifted her head. Tears welled up in her eyes.
"What did you do to me?"
No, her face was completely smeared with tears. This confirmed that Decrit was the culprit. If she hadn't spread false rumors, she wouldn't have thought the woman in the text was herself.
'To lie so shamelessly while being the culprit.'
Stella let out a sigh and ran her hand through her hair.
'This makes this woman's words unreliable.'
Then, she looked at Decrit with a look of disdain. Decrit looked around, assessed the situation, and instead got angry at Stella.
"To think you even prepared a hallucinatory magic tool just to play a trick on me!"
It was a sharp voice that seemed to pierce the ears with glass. Stella also raised her voice.
"What on earth is the reason you spread false rumors about me?"
Why on earth is this woman interfering in her life like this? All the stress she had been suffering because of her burst out at once.
"What do you gain by doing that?"
Decrit let out a sigh as if dumbfounded.
"Ha."
Stella's expression crumpled even more.
"I went to such lengths for you."
She wanted to hear what Decrit had to say.
"What?"
"You need to know how ugly Duke Kendrick is so you can escape from him."
Stella found Decrit's words ridiculous.
"Why is Kendrick ugly?"
How could you disparage Kendrick like that without any basis?
"I told you to come back then, so why didn't you come sooner?"
'Did they spread that rumor on purpose to provoke me?'
"I even sent it to you by letter."
Stella realized that Decrit had been looking forward to meeting her more than she had thought.
"...because there was no reason to go."
"Then what about now?"
"I only came because you asked to meet."
"You wanted to check because you had a nagging feeling, right?"
Stella couldn't deny Decrit's words. Every time she brought up Decrit, Kendrick would change the subject, and strange messages would come flying in.
"Did you find out? The reason Kendrick left the Empire was as if he were running away."
"My husband said he only studied abroad for the sake of the family. And I'm going to believe that."
"You are so naive."
Stella's heart began to pound. She had turned a blind eye to it all this time, thinking of Kendrick, but today, she was finally able to find out what had happened between them. She felt her body heat up for no reason.
"Listen carefully."
The inside of the prison fell silent for a moment.
"Kendrick killed someone. He went abroad to study because he was afraid of getting caught."
And Stella's mood turned cold. She gritted her teeth. Decrit was framing Kendrick with a ridiculous accusation.
"Kendrick isn't that kind of person."
As Stella's face stiffened, the corners of Decreet's mouth curled up. Her smirk was sickening to look at.
"Do murderers go around with 'I'm going to kill' written all over their faces?"
Stella clenched her fist tightly.
"I only told you for your own good, Stella. If you don't want to believe it, that's fine."
She had vowed not to be swayed by Decrit, but the word 'killer' affected Stella.
"Ah, but I'm not sure if that will be easy. Just looking at your face, the word 'killer' will come to mind."
Decrit even gave a wink, finding Stella's reaction amusing.
"I hope you continue to have a happy married life."
Stella grabbed her wrist. She had to find out why on earth Decrit was calling Kendrick a killer.
"Say it clearly. Who on earth is Kendrick..."
She could not finish her sentence.
"Stella!"
Decrit looked at Stella's back and made a surprised expression. Stella also turned around.
"Kendrick..."
Kendrick was standing there, looking extremely angry.
"Didn't I tell you not to come because it's dangerous?"
He approached this place with uncharacteristically hurried steps. Kendrick's gaze passed Stella and landed on Decrit. His eyes were so cold that Stella involuntarily flinched.
"D-Duke..."
Decrit was so surprised by Kendrick's momentum that he even stammered.
"Decrit. I told you to stop messing around beforehand, didn't I?"
Stella even felt a sense of relief at the fact that she was not the one receiving Kendrick's cold gaze with her whole body. Lady Decrit's arm trembled.
"Did you still not understand what I said?"
***
Stella felt as though she were lying to Kendrick for no reason. Kendrick grabbed Stella's wrist and dragged her out of the prison. Stella felt uneasy the whole time.
'I believe in Kendrick. But....'
Kendrick looked like he was barely holding back his anger.
'I can't just let this slide.'
"Kendrick, let go of this."
'Whether he was unfairly misunderstood or something happened, I need to hear his story.'
Kendrick did not stop walking while holding Stella's hand.
"Kendrick!"
Stella screamed. It was a relief that the prison was in a secluded location. Only then did Kendrick stop walking, turn around, and look at Stella.
"What did you talk about? How far did Decrit go?"
He urgently grabbed Stella's shoulder. His red eyes wavered slightly. Stella slowly closed and opened her eyes to regain her composure.
"She said you killed someone."
Then Kendrick's pupils widened.
"...No."
Kendrick rubbed his forehead in pain, then grabbed Stella tightly again.
"Surely you don't believe that, do you?"
Instead of answering, Stella placed her hand over the back of Kendrick's. It was to pry away his hand that was gripping her shoulder tightly. Stella wanted to hear about this matter in the most rational and calm state possible.
"Tell me. What on earth happened to you before you studied abroad?"
However, Kendrick was different from Stella. Realizing that this was the Imperial Palace, he avoided conversation.
"We'll talk about it again later."
Stella noticed in a split second that Kendrick could not meet her gaze.
'Kendrick avoided my gaze.'
"Later, when?"
Of course, she also did not want to have a marital argument in the imperial palace where everyone could hear. So, whether by moving to a different location or getting into a carriage, she wanted to create an opportunity to talk.
"I trust you. So you trust me too, and put your mind at ease...”
However, Kendrick seemed to be avoiding the conversation itself.
"Do you trust me?"
There was also a hint of resentment toward Stella.
"If you really trusted me, you wouldn't have come looking for Lady Decrit."
She bit her lip.
'Kendrick came here, too.'
It didn't seem like he had come knowing that Stella was there. If he had known, he would have stopped her beforehand. He, too, had clearly come to talk to Decrit.
'Trying to silence Lady Decrit?'
Stella grabbed Kendrick's cheeks. And she met his eyes.
"Kendrick, what on earth are you hiding?"
"Do you trust that woman's words more than mine?"
Don't be sarcastic and try to change the subject like that. I don't want to argue."
"You shouldn't have come here, even if it meant deceiving me."
Stella struggled to swallow a sigh.
'I didn't mean to deceive you.'
She felt wronged. She hadn't intended to deceive him from the start. It was simply that she couldn't speak because Kendrick was avoiding conversation. She was exhausted. She had used up a lot of energy meeting Decrit, and she didn't want to engage in a war of nerves with Kendrick like this. Perhaps she felt even more drained because she had used magic earlier to verify if Decrit was the culprit.
"Stop it now."
She spat out the words in a weak voice.
"What?"
"Yes. Let's talk about it later, just like you said."
Kendrick felt uneasy as Stella withdrew her hand from his cheek.
"Stella. I."
Seeing the look of hesitation as if he were about to say something, Stella did not leave her seat for a few seconds and waited for his next words.
'Ha.'
However, the kind of explanation Stella was hoping for did not come from his beautiful lips. Despite the heated argument, Stella tried to understand Kendrick. It seemed like the better choice to wait without pestering him until he spoke. In a situation where she was utterly exhausted, it didn't seem like a rational conversation would be possible.
"I have an appointment with Skyle, so I'll leave first."
Stella's voice was cold. Cold enough to surprise even herself.
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