Chapter 7 – Part 2

As Glenn’s body descended halfway down the ladder, Olivia quietly murmured. Glenn smiled softly at her, like he would at a young niece, then continued down.

The creaking of the ladder was unsettling. Worried about Glenn, Olivia leaned out to look. The surroundings were silent.

“No one is here. Come down.”

Olivia frowned slightly before climbing down the ladder first. Bay followed.

“It’s quite run-down… but someone has been living here.”

Glenn gestured to a smoldering campfire. Nearby were small animal bones, evidence of something having been roasted and eaten.

“It doesn’t stand out much, but the air is ominous. They might be making materials for magic here. I should go ahead and check it out.”

Bay suggested with a sharp gaze. Though he didn’t say it aloud, Olivia felt it too. Going further inside might expose them to the same hallucinations they faced in the forest.

“Is there any protective magic for ordinary people?”

She refrained from calling it spell at this point and just referred to it as magic. Bay looked troubled.

“I’ve heard of it, but I don’t know how to use it. I apologize, Marchioness.”

Bay bowed slightly, but it wasn’t something to apologize for. It was suspicious enough that he could use various kinds of magic in the first place.

‘Would Marsden know?’

The man who had to learn his enemy’s magic to get revenge—how many difficult spells could he use?

“I’ll go in first and if I don’t return after a while, then you can come.”

Whether it was a trap or just an empty place, there was no sign of life inside. Whether that was good or bad was still unclear, so Olivia hesitated.

“Okay, up to where we can see the light. No further.”

She wanted to go herself, but she knew that doing so might put them in danger. Bay bowed and quickly moved.

“Don’t worry, Marchioness. Didn’t Duke Marsden already deal with most of the sorcerers in this empire? The ones left can barely grow their stones in the forest.”

“The fields were widely and frequently distributed. It’s not just one or two. And all those people wouldn’t leave their place unattended at the same time.”

Getting caught would mean losing their heads, so it was hard to believe they had all gone out for a stroll together. It was not something to take lightly. Olivia kept her eyes on Bay’s position.

The light from the torch flickered like a mirage from the opposite side as if Bay was shining it here and there. Olivia watched the flickering light anxiously.

“Marchioness!”

At that moment, Bay called out loudly to Olivia. It seemed he had found something.

“A corpse!”

The echo of that word was startling enough, and even more so when the door above suddenly slammed shut.

Olivia looked up. As soon as she saw the closed door, a gust of wind blew from somewhere.

All the torches went out.

* * *

Lottie had managed to get onto the mansion grounds under the guise of being a baronet’s daughter.

But she couldn’t even get near the bedroom. As soon as she entered the main building, the head butler, Ricardo, blocked her path.

“I’ll just take a quick look at his face, Ricardo. You know about my relationship with the Duke.”

“Forgive me, but what exactly is the nature of this relationship you speak of, young lady?”

However, Ricardo was like a fortress. Lottie’s face flushed with shame and anger.

“The Duke and I are close enough that there have been talks of marriage. I can’t just leave after hearing he’s been seriously injured.”

Though her pride was hurt, Lottie knew that Ricardo was the servant Marsden trusted most. Yelling at him wouldn’t do any good. But having to beg a mere butler bruised Lottie’s noble pride.

“I can guide you to the drawing room or a guest room, but I cannot permit you to enter the Duke’s bedroom.”

Lottie bit her lower lip. While entering a noble’s bedroom was something done between lovers or spouses, and thus there was nothing more she could say, she still couldn’t back down.

“I might become the Duke’s wife in the future, and yet?”

Lottie raised her head haughtily. Indeed, she was currently the lady with the highest chance of becoming Marsden’s wife. If she could become the Duchess, she was determined to prevent her pitiful sister from becoming the Countess of Abyss.

Marsden hated Gael Abyss. Just like her.

“Until the Duke declares he will make you his wife…”

Ricardo’s sharp eyes gleamed shrewdly.

“I cannot allow you into his bedroom.”

Lottie ground her teeth. It was an unbecoming look for a noble lady, but she didn’t care. She vowed to fire this butler the moment she became the Duchess.

“Fine. Then can I stay at the mansion until Mas wakes up?”

Her use of a familiar name caused Ricardo’s eyebrow to twitch slightly. Lottie turned her head abruptly. Just because that woman had given him that nickname didn’t mean only she could use it.

“Mas! I’ve waited so long!”

“Buddy, take it slow! You’ll hurt yourself.”

The various scenes she had witnessed when she visited the Duke’s mansion by chance. Lottie never intended to let Marsden be taken by Olivia Charbert.

Lottie smiled confidently. No matter how presumptuous the Duke’s butler was, he couldn’t expel a noble lady. Lottie was confident in that.

“I regret to inform you, young lady.”

But a cold voice echoed from the landing, shattering Lottie’s confidence.

“I don’t think that will be possible.”

“Ma… I mean, Duke?!”

Though she had addressed him with a familiar nickname in front of others, she corrected herself when Marsden appeared.

“I’d like to serve you, but I’m not in a condition to receive guests right now.”

Even in a simple shirt, his gloved hands shone with luster, looking remarkably composed for someone supposedly gravely injured.

“So please leave immediately. Before I have to throw you out myself.”

Lottie was taken aback by this side of Marsden she had never seen before. His cold aura pushed aside her pale complexion.

“Are you feeling very unwell? If so, I can stay close by…”

“What would you do if you came close, My Lady?”

Lottie’s words faltered, her lips merely moving without sound. She was only going to ask if she could check his condition up close.

But Marsden’s cold response seemed to mock her.

“You’re not a doctor. What would you know by being near me?”

“…”

Lottie was flustered, more than she had ever been. Where had the always courteous and polite man gone?

“Duke, is it because I suddenly came to the mansion? I was just worried about you…”

“If you truly cared about me, you wouldn’t have done something I would utterly detest.”

Lottie’s mind went blank, unable to comprehend his words. From the moment she met Marsden today, nothing had gone as she expected.

“What did I do…”

“You conspired with Harry Palmer to have Buddy forcibly admitted to a hospital.”

Lottie’s face turned as pale as if she had seen a ghost. Marsden leaned against the stair railing.

“It wasn’t difficult for a trusted retainer of the Charbert family to obtain that information from Harry Palmer. Have you heard of Illihan? That knight cares deeply for my lady.”

Lottie’s hands trembled. She had a thousand questions—how long had he known, why had he pretended not to know—but her lips couldn’t form the words.

“If Buddy is truly unwell and needs treatment, I would naturally support her in getting the care she needs. If she wants to travel to a place with fresh air, I would take her there. If she wants to walk in the sunshine, I would walk with her. But…”

Marsden straightened up and began descending the stairs.

“Who are you to interfere in Buddy’s life? Something even I can’t do properly.”

Marsden let out a small laugh with his last words. It was chilling and eerie.

“Who are you to…”

Marsden, now standing right in front of Lottie, looked down at her with sharpened eyes.

“Try to take that woman away from me?”

Never in her life had Lottie wanted to part from Marsden quickly. Whenever she pretended to meet him by chance somewhere, she always prolonged their conversations with trivial matters. Marsden had always looked only at that woman.

But now she was terrified. She wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible.

“Actually, the lack of time is an excuse. I’d rather not be alone with you anywhere in the Duke’s domain.”

Marsden stepped back and pointed to the lobby door.

“Luckily, it’s not too late. Please be careful on your way, Lady Bartram.”

A sound that seemed like a sob barely swallowed could be heard intermittently from Lottie’s throat. It was pitiful enough to evoke sympathy from anyone, regardless of gender, but Marsden did not even blink.

Lottie was merely a tool for observing Ronae Bartram’s movements. Even so, Marsden had kept a thorough distance, but Lottie had interpreted that in her own way. It was utterly laughable.

Tears streaming down her face, Lottie hurried to the lobby door. As if waiting for her, the knights opened the doors on either side.

“Oh, My Lady.”