Chapter 84. Tragic Accident

I was dumbfounded by this insane situation. The original purpose of attending today’s opera was to plant a seed of doubt in the Duke of Blanche.

Afterwards, I planned to use the evidence Alyssa provided to completely sever the relationship between the Duke and the Duchess.

But I never imagined Paris would act so recklessly. His crazed laughter continued to pierce the silence.

“Hahaha! He’s dead! After all that suffering, he died so easily? Hahaha!”

Paris couldn’t stop laughing, seemingly finding something incredibly amusing. Judging by his glazed eyes, it wasn’t just alcohol influencing his actions.

I frowned and said,

“It seems Paris has been using illegal drugs.”

“Yes, it looks that way.”

Aster agreed, his face grim as he looked at Joseph and Alyssa. In a critical moment, Alyssa had reverted to her old way of addressing Joseph, and as he took his last breath, she broke down in sobs.

After a while, she closed Joseph’s eyes and glared at Isabelle.

“Sis, you’re the worst. First, you, his wife, almost had him killed, and now by his own son?”

“Alyssa! How can you lie like that…!”

Isabelle, her face pale, tried to cover Alyssa’s mouth. But Alyssa, having lost her reason due to Joseph’s death, didn’t stop.

“Sis, just stop! Aren’t you ashamed of pretending to be a virgin and rising to the position of Duchess while carrying another man’s child? Greed always brings disaster.”

At Alyssa’s accusations, the Duke of Blanche intervened.

“Is this true, Duchess?”

“No! It’s not true at all!”

Isabelle vehemently denied it, appealing to the people. But having just watched the opera, no one believed her.

“It’s just like the opera…”

Someone muttered, making Isabelle even more on edge. Meanwhile, Paris, restrained by the guards, incited the crowd.

“Haha, my dream was always to be an opera actor. Hahaha!”

“Y-you…!”

The Duke of Blanche clutched his neck, seemingly affected by high blood pressure. As Aster supported him, I ordered the guards.

“Gag the young duke.”

The guards roughly handled Paris, and Isabelle erupted in anger.

“How dare you lay hands on my son?”

The sound of her slapping the guard echoed through the hall. Already pushed to her limit, she seemed to have lost control.

I had no intention of causing a scene in front of so many witnesses, but the situation had already escalated. Now, I had to ensure that Joseph’s death wouldn’t be in vain and bring this demonic woman down.

I spoke with a stern expression.

“We’ll determine whose son he is in Blanche. So please, don’t cause any more trouble, Duchess.”

“You…!”

The switch from calling her ‘Mother’ to ‘Duchess’ made Isabelle’s face turn red. But she couldn’t refute my next words.

“Do you want to escalate this further? Don’t you care about the honor of Blanche, which has been tarnished by your actions?”

“……”

“The family will handle the disgrace you’ve brought upon Blanche. So don’t commit any more discourtesy.”

With that, I signaled the guards, and they gagged Paris and dragged him away.

* * *

The reception hall fell silent after Paris’s removal. Isabelle, staring blankly at the spot where her son had disappeared, belatedly appealed to the Duke of Blanche.

“This is a setup. It’s the truth, dear.”

“……”

“You know those two are lovers and have nothing to do with me.”

“I thought his hair was graying because he lacked abilities.”

“D-dear…”

“Now that I see it, he resembles that man, Isabelle.”

The Duke roughly shook off Isabelle’s hand, which was clinging to his arm. The only thing left after piecing together the puzzle was the realization that he had been played like a fool by a woman.

“Damn…!”

This was an unprecedented humiliation. The Blanche family, who were always mentioned alongside Francis as a prestigious family in Ahivith, was now reduced to a family of swindlers.

For Samuel Blanche, the family was everything. To see it fall into disgrace and to suffer such humiliation was unbearable.

It was suspicious that the Letia family invited Blanche at this time, and as expected, they had ulterior motives.

In the end, not only Isabelle but also Alyssa had dealt him a blow.

“You’ve fooled me well.”

The Duke of Blanche gritted his teeth, his voice icy. Isabelle trembled, glancing around nervously.

The attendees were all influential figures in society. Isabelle was too shocked by the realization that she had fallen into a trap to think clearly.

“Take that woman away!”

The Duke’s command made the Blanche knights hesitate. They never imagined they would have to escort the Duchess away.

“What are you waiting for? Take her away!”

“Yes, Your Grace!”

The knights belatedly grabbed Isabelle’s arms. She, who they expected to resist, was surprisingly compliant. The Duke glanced at Aster and said,

“I leave the rest to you.”

“Understood.”

With that, the Duke of Blanche left without looking back, moving quickly as if he didn’t want to stay a moment longer.

* * *

After the reception, Aster, Camilla, and Christopher helped Alyssa handle Joseph’s body.

The person who had been laughing and talking with them just yesterday was now a cold corpse, leaving an indescribable emptiness and sorrow.

It was a tragic accident, one where he lost his life to his own son. Paris was taken away by the guards, and Isabelle was dragged like a dog by the Duke of Blanche to the dungeon of Blanche Castle.

Without needing to present the evidence, the Duke seemed to take all the revelations as facts. The recent play had likely provoked him further.

Though the dramatic reveal was intended, the tragedy that ensued was unexpected.

“I shouldn’t have brought Joseph. He wasn’t meant to die like this. I was the one seeking revenge. If only I hadn’t insisted on giving that gift…”

Alyssa muttered, tears streaming down her face. Joseph had suffered because of her impulsive decision.

If she had left quietly, Joseph wouldn’t have died, and the thought made Alyssa unable to stop crying. Camilla comforted her.

“Lady Brilly, don’t blame yourself. Sir Joseph died honorably, saving you.”

“Ugh…!”

Alyssa buried her face in her hands, sobbing at Camilla’s words. Joseph had kept his smile until the very end, which made it all the more heartbreaking.

“Please make sure to throw those people into the fires of hell.”

Camilla nodded at Alyssa’s plea.

“Yes. We won’t let Joseph’s death be in vain. So please, leave the rest to us and get to safety.”

“Are you telling me to go to Kamatie as planned?”

Alyssa asked tearfully, and Camilla held her hand tightly.

“No. Go to Letia Castle for now. Returning to Kamatie immediately is too dangerous. The Duke of Blanche will likely try to eliminate you after suffering such a disgrace.”

“I agree with my sister-in-law. The Duke’s eyes were terrifying earlier. It’s safer for you to go to Letia Castle.”

Christopher chimed in, comforting Alyssa. The Letia family was neutral. While it was easy to intimidate Alyssa Brilly personally, dragging away a guest from Letia was a different matter.

Once Alyssa and Christopher left for Letia Castle, Camilla paid a brief tribute to Joseph’s burial site.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.”

His death was not part of her plan. Camilla, like Alyssa, felt a deep sense of guilt.

The situation had escalated due to Paris’s reckless actions. The question was, who had given him those drugs?

At that moment, Aster pulled something from his pocket.

“The guards who took Paris away gave me this. It seems he indeed used illegal drugs. The question is where he got them.”

“Who could have…”

Regardless of intent, a thorough investigation would follow due to the involvement of a noble’s murder.

Camilla sensed something unusual in Aster’s expression and asked curiously.

“Do you have any leads?”

“Well…”

Aster held out the bag containing the drugs, revealing an emblem.

“I’ve seen this emblem recently.”