As soon as the words were finished, the other servants began dragging out the three maids.
"Wait, wait a minute! You're mistaken! It's a misunderstanding!"
"Yes, future mistress! Mistress! Mrs. Carmel!"
"Young Duchess!! It wasn't us!"
Carmel, clearly flustered, opened her mouth to look at the Duke, then looked at the three maids, and hurriedly spoke.
"I'm sorry, Father. I never ordered this, but because their loyalty to me was so strong..."
"Miss!!"
"Please save me. Save me...!"
The three maids who had been begging in screams were dragged out by the other servants.
"How dare these pathetic bug-like creatures play tricks on my table..."
The Duke muttered softly with a very displeased expression.
Roselyn stared at them blankly, then put down her cutlery and continued speaking.
"Do you happen to know a place called 'Makluxa'?"
When Roselyn asked in a low voice, Aegis, who had been sitting in his seat and gulping down water with a displeased expression, slyly raised one eyebrow.
"Makluxa? You aren't talking about that low-quality trash group, are you? Those criminal bastards who act like a decentralized organization?"
Roselyn nodded as she looked at Lady Carmel, whose eyes were trembling, though it did not show on her face.
"Yes. Lady Carmel is a 'Bishop' raised in Makluxa."
The dining table froze coldly at Roselyn's words.
"And she intends to bring down the Duke's family."
At the series of bombshell remarks, this time, puzzled glances turned toward her.
Roselyn turned her head to look at Lady Carmel, who could no longer even hide her expression, and smiled prettily.
"See, I told you not to bother me."
Carmel opened her eyes wide at Roselyn's nonchalant remark.
"No matter how long you've been home, how can you... make such a false accusation with words bordering on delusion! Just how much must you hate me..."
Roselyn lightly ignored Carmel, who was shedding tears while pleading her innocence, and continued speaking while keeping her gaze fixed on Aegis.
"If you need evidence, you can look at the heels of the feet."
As soon as Roselyn said that, Lady Carmel's lips stuck together.
"Since it is special ink, your body temperature would have to rise above a certain level, though."
Makluxa.
It is a criminal group that uniquely uses chess pieces as ranks.
The ranks extend from the lowest 'Pawn' to 'Knight', 'Bishop', 'Rook', 'Queen', and 'King'.
And there was a special rank called the 'Reaper'. The assassins of Makluxa who carry out the most secretive and dangerous missions.
The current 'Makluxa' was a decentralized organization operating underground, holding its breath and waiting for the right moment; it was a group where even the leader, executives, and fellow members did not know each other's identities.
So, it is a place where information is strictly restricted, where you can cut off the tail at any time.
And 10 years later, they were the kind of guys who actually established a guild and were openly active.
So, Roselyn knew most of the information about Makluxa.
After all, Roselyn had used Makluxa to escape once, and conversely, had also been stabbed in the back by those guys.
The turning point that allowed Makluxa to grow so rapidly, even establishing a guild, was when they intercepted the Duke's business.
They expanded their business by stealing internal secrets and poaching technicians, eventually stealing clients.
And the biggest contributor there is Carmel.
It was not only the Duke of Bellion whose internal information was leaked.
It would have been resolved if it had been settled early like other families, but the situation was not good because a series of incidents broke out at the Duke's family around that time.
Aegis, who had never liked Lady Carmel, left the Duke's household on the day of the wedding.
'And I, too, couldn't stand my stepmother who picked fights over everything, so I overturned the dinner table, grabbed my jewelry, and left the house.'
And three years later. Not long after the Duke contracts an incurable disease of unknown origin, he is attacked while on his way to visit the estate and dies along with his butler.
The only remaining direct descendant was Roselyn's father, the young Duke Cherty, but he also suffered from a disease similar to the Duke's and was rarely in his right mind.
Naturally, Carmel took on the role of acting Duke and handled the affairs.
It was like leaving a fish shop in the care of a cunning cat, so you can imagine what it must have been like.
By the time Aegis arrived at the Duke's mansion after realizing the situation belatedly, it was already in such a mess that it was beyond repair.
With all business partners cut off, the territory on the verge of rioting due to excessively high tax rates, and the storehouses empty, there were too many gaps for Aegis, who had not received successor training, to manage.
Nevertheless, after bowing his head here and there and pleading for recognition, he somehow managed to lead the Duke's household, but in the end, those who had been a hindrance to such a man ended up killing even Aegis.
So, 10 years later, the Duchy of Bellion did not exist in the world where Roselyn lived.
"I told you not to talk nonsense! How dare you...! Even if you are uneducated, to only pick up the bad habit of lying...!"
"Stop."
Duke Bellion, who had been silent, lightly tapped the corner of his mouth with a napkin and spoke.
"Is there any need to keep talking? If you are innocent, all you have to do is verify it."
The old man spoke leisurely, holding a wine glass in his hand.
“Father!”
Duke Bellion, who had been tilting his glass, narrowed his eyes, took a sip of wine, took out a cigar, put it in his mouth, and nodded half-heartedly.
"Even Father is suspecting me? How...!"
Carmel shed tears. She turned her head sharply and looked at the young Duke, Cherty.
"Please say something, too. Did I... did I ever do anything wicked enough to be suspected of being part of such a vicious group? I just loved you..."
Cherty frowned at the tears falling down.
He pressed his hand firmly against his chest at the strange throbbing sensation in his heart.
It felt like facing an unpleasant yet obvious proposition that everything hostile to her must be eliminated.
He turned his head silently and paused as he looked at Roselyn, with whom he hadn't had a proper conversation for a long time.
It was because the child was staring intently at him.
As their eyes met, Roselyn casually shifted her gaze and tilted her wine glass again.
"Father, let's stop there. I'll verify that separately..."
"No, please do it yourself, Butler. You have a good memory, so please take care of yourself."
Roselyn interrupted Cherty and briefly asserted.
"Ah, since you know how to use things like hypnosis, it would be good to blindfold them and drag them along."
At the added remark, Carmel gaped, as if she had forgotten to hide her expression.
Even in 'Makluxa', the only people who know that she is skilled in hypnotism are the superiors above the bishop.
To be precise, it was only a very small part of them.
Carmel was a rookie member who was sold to and raised by Makluxa as a child, so only the old members knew of her abilities.
I mean, it was information that outsiders could never have known.
Carmel simply couldn't understand how such a gloomy, self-esteem-less, and stupid woman knew about it in the first place.
"What on earth are you?"
"Oh dear, have you given up on acting, Lady Carmel?"
"I asked you how on earth you know!"
You gave up.
Roselyn lowered her gaze and smiled faintly as she finished emptying her wine glass.
She soon casually rested her elbows on the table, propped her chin on her palms, and tilted her head slightly.
"How did you ask how I knew...?"
Roselyn brought her lips close to her ear and spoke in a voice quiet enough for only her to hear.
"Well, those guys actually offered me a scouting job, too."
"...What?"
"They asked if I wouldn't become a 'Queen'."
Seeing Carmel's expression of near-shock, Roselyn rolled her eyes and smiled brightly.
"That makes no sense. That kind of talk is...!"
"You probably haven't heard of it. That's understandable, since you're at the bottom."
To say it was the lowest rank... considering that a 'pawn' was the lowest rank, a 'bishop' wasn't that low a rank.
"Do you dare think the position of Queen is even worthy of a woman like you!"
"Yeah. That's why I refused."
Roselyn removed her chin from her hand, leaned deeply into the backrest, and spoke.
"Bye."
She smiled sweetly and waved her hand gently.
Previous Next
Comments
Post a Comment