Chapter 93. Instigating a Whale Fight

“If presented with attractive conditions.”

Camilla smiled, indicating there was room for negotiation. Isabelle’s eyes wavered.

Though she wanted to reject Camilla’s offer, she was in a desperate situation. It was too sweet an offer to refuse out of pride.

Isabelle pondered what attractive conditions she could offer Camilla. Then she recalled the list of corrupt dealings she had secretly compiled.

Isabelle wasn’t someone who believed in love. She knew well that a woman’s beauty faded with time.

She lived grandly as the Duke’s wife because she was smart. Isabelle had gathered plenty of evidence to attack the Duke, preparing for the possibility of being discarded.

She had collected a significant amount without the Duke’s knowledge. Currently, she couldn’t act directly because her own flaws had been exposed. But things were different with Francis.

The issue was whether Camilla intended to strike at Duke Blanche, as she had become part of the Blanche family and had no reason to attack him.

While Isabelle was lost in such thoughts, Camilla ended her hesitation.

“Oh, by the way. When we encountered the demonic beast that day, the Black Shadow was also there.”

“What?”

“I remember they were only focused on capturing the demonic beast and paid no attention to us.”

“Ha…!”

Isabelle finally realized the truth and let out a hollow laugh. It was clear now that the Duke had shifted the blame for his actions onto her.

The Black Shadow was a close-knit organization that only followed the Duke’s orders. Isabelle had only recently come into contact with them, so it was certain.

In the end, it was the Duke who had attacked the Francis carriage.

“Hahaha.”

Isabelle bent over, laughing. The realization that she had been deceived by the Duke for ten years and had done unnecessary things was disheartening.

After a moment, Isabelle’s eyes sharpened. She spoke to Camilla.

“So, you came here for revenge.”

“I have no personal grudge against you, Mother. My target is Duke Blanche.”

“Of course. The carriage accident was the Duke’s doing.”

“What will you do? Can you think of any attractive conditions to offer me?”

“Of course.”

Isabelle straightened her back and took a deep breath. She then spoke meaningfully.

“I have plenty of evidence to thoroughly punish the Duke.”

“In that case, I’ll help you, Mother.”

Camilla placed her hands on her knees and continued. She planned to start negotiations by addressing what Isabelle wanted most.

“First, let’s discuss the conditions for releasing Paris.”

* * *

Meanwhile, Aster, who had returned to the bedroom, was deep in thought. He had learned more about Camilla’s condition through Marco.

Aster recalled their conversation.

‘The Maved Stone in my body isn’t complete. It’s just a patchwork of the fragments the Duke lost ten years ago. And it’s incomplete because he couldn’t find the last piece.’
‘……’
‘Creating another Maved Stone is nearly impossible. There can’t be two Maved Stones under the same sky. So the Duke conducted experiments to create a stone equivalent to the missing fragment.’

In other words, the fragment embedded in Camilla’s body had slowed down the Duke’s experiments.

‘After the recent resonance, I realized that the last fragment is with Camilla Francis. She must have gone to the laboratory. It was a magic circle that attracted the Maved Stone.’
‘Does the Duke know this?’
‘Not at all. If he did, he would kill both me and your wife immediately. …Of course, if you refuse my proposal, I plan to tell him right away.’
‘I could kill you before that.’
‘Hahaha! Didn’t you see earlier? As long as this is embedded in my body, I can’t die.’
‘But you will die if the Duke gets the remaining fragment.’
‘Yes, that’s right. So I want you to get me out of here before that happens.’
‘Tell me how to remove the Maved Stone fragment first. Depending on what you say, I’ll decide whether to spare you.’

At Aster’s stern attitude, Marco smirked. He then spoke.

‘Telling you is easy. But do you know? Unlike the Maved Stone, the fragment is like a parasite in the body. The longer it’s exposed, the greater the side effects.’
‘Side effects?’
‘Yes. She might have survived so far by luck, but now that she’s resonated with me, your wife’s life will gradually be eaten away.’
‘!!’
‘So it’s best to remove it quickly, for both your sake and mine.’

Marco smirked wickedly. In the end, it meant that to save Camilla, Aster had to give the Maved Stone fragment to Marco.

The magic circle was essentially a trap set by Marco. Once resonated, the fragments had a force that drew them together.

Marco said he had been sold to the Duke ten years ago. From street children to orphans, the Duke had bought children with no ties and conducted unscrupulous experiments.

The Duke had crossed a line that shouldn’t be crossed by experimenting on people to ensure it was safe to embed the Maved Stone in his body.

Marco was one of those children, forcibly embedded with the Maved Stone and turned into a living corpse. He had tried to die multiple times but couldn’t.

‘I was secretly researching a way to safely separate the Maved Stone without the Duke knowing. Because if I removed it hastily, I would die.’

He was right. Camilla had also used a sealing technique because the Maved Stone fragment had fused with her mana core. If it had been forcibly removed, Camilla wouldn’t be alive.

Marco was pretending to be loyal while secretly seeking a way to survive. It seemed the illegal drugs he had embezzled had inadvertently ended up with Paris.

‘So, did you find a way?’
‘Of course.’

Marco smirked wickedly. But he didn’t reveal it easily.

‘When the Duke goes to meet with Black Shadow, bring Camilla Francis and the Duke of Francis. Then I’ll tell you the method.’

It meant he wouldn’t reveal it unless he was saved. It seemed he was desperate, as his life was on the line.

This matter required discussion with Camilla. If Marco’s words were true, Camilla’s life was also in danger.

Just then, Camilla returned to the bedroom. She was smiling, indicating that her conversation with Isabelle had gone well.

“Ash.”

Hearing Camilla’s call, Aster approached her. When she reached a familiar distance, Camilla naturally stood on her tiptoes and kissed him.

The sweet scent slightly alleviated his anxiety. Even though she was in his arms, he couldn’t feel at ease because he knew more about her condition.

Aster cupped her cheeks and kissed her more deeply. Camilla didn’t resist, even as she fidgeted.

As her soft lips parted, sweetness filled his mouth. Aster gazed at her deeply and asked,

“Did it go well?”

“As expected, she had a hidden card.”

Camilla smiled broadly. The result was very satisfactory. As soon as Isabelle realized that the Duke had framed her, she switched sides.

Since it was already a desperate situation, she revealed the locations of the ledgers she had hidden from the Duke. Isabelle, being confined, couldn’t leave the room, so she told Camilla to check them herself.

Camilla had suspected there would be more hidden cards when she heard from Helen that Isabelle had a habit of recording things.

In relationships formed for profit, people usually prepared excuses to attack each other in case things went wrong.

Of course, the Duke probably had many cards to discard Isabelle. The recently revealed truths were so serious that he hadn’t needed to use them yet.

But at this rate, Isabelle was at too much of a disadvantage. Leaving her alone would only benefit the Duke.

Camilla, who needed to bring down both the Duke and Isabelle, couldn’t let one side be destroyed so easily.

So she planned to help the weakened Isabelle a bit. If Isabelle regained her momentum and bit back at the Duke, it would be perfect.

Moreover, if they fought each other to destruction, there would be nothing better.

Camilla revealed the deal she made with Isabelle.

“In exchange for releasing Paris, she told me the locations of the hidden ledgers. I’m going to check them tomorrow.”