"But after listening to what everyone has to say, I don't believe that it's a groundless claim."
The one who answered Duke Valentine's harsh declaration was a young man—Duke Freesia.
His eyes, containing the verdant shade of a midsummer thicket, flashed delicately.
Everyone knew this was due to the injury that his beloved younger brother had sustained.
Allegedly, his younger brother was still lying bedridden after he got hurt while protecting the ducal lady.
Of course, the ducal lady that Daniel had protected was, 'Alicia Valentine', but due to the lady's connection to the surname attached to her identity, it's inevitable that this would bristle the duke's ire.
He was letting his personal feelings cloud his judgment, but wasn't that only a natural human emotion?
Valentine nodded in a relaxed manner.
His golden eyes shone like a predatory bird, circling the pitch-black sky.
"Is that so, Duke? You see, to me, all I'm hearing right now is a load of bull."
A load of bull.
It was a rather vulgar term for the iron duke to utter.
And this was enough to know just how livid he was.
The others could not breathe properly.
The three dukes looked to be on the verge of fighting right then and there.
Of course, these onlookers were the ones who fanned the flames in the first place.
"You all are accusing someone without any concrete evidence. Is that not simply laughable?"
"However it's true that the Ducal Lady is suspicious. There are more than just one or two people who can attest to this."
"Even if the situation seemed suspicious in their eyes, this could not be considered as concrete evidence—just mere speculation."
Am I wrong?
No. He was not wrong.
Not a single witness could come forward and say that they saw the ducal lady order the monsters to do her bidding.
Their claims of, 'This or that is the reason why the Ducal Lady is suspicious,' held no ground at all. These truly were just mere speculation.
Duke Freesia himself also had nothing to say to counter this. He didn't have a choice but to close his mouth.
Meanwhile, the only person laughing silently to himself here was Carter, enjoying the scene that was unfolding in front of him.
Duke Valentine's darkened golden eyes scanned the hall.
Then, one corner of his lips turned up to form a crooked smile.
"Tell me, because I'm not quite certain. Are you all here to find who the true culprit is behind this incident, or are you all here only to try and besmirch the name of Valentine?"
The atmosphere in the hall sank even further with such heavy tension.
As though a cold, turbulent storm was about to come near.
"Enough."
With one word, the tense air eased up.
Regardless of how truly powerful the three dukes were, the fact of the matter was that they obeyed one liege, and that was the emperor.
Because, from the very beginning, each of their histories were rooted in the imperial family.
Silence fell, and the emperor looked around the hall.
"It is not right to point fingers while there is no evidence. You are all entitled to your opinions and suspicions, however concluding with only that would be nothing but a dangerous act. Be cautious."
After the emperor intervened, the discussion shifted its focus to another topic.
To be precise, it was about the two men who held significant roles during the hunting festival.
One of them was Leo Carter.
Yet, the man who actually held everyone's interest was the other one—the man who wielded that strange weapon and used aura.
But then, because it had been revealed that this man was the escort knight of 'Rosetta Valentine'… everyone once again fell to an implicit hush.
They were all itching to talk about the other man, however as they were in the presence of Duke Carter, they complimented and praised only Leo Carter to curry his favor.
And thus, the meeting—which began with an overheated atmosphere just moments before—ended with a friendly competition of who could compliment the young duke better.
Everyone stood up from their seats, their expressions light and gleeful.
The only one who did not smile was Duke Valentine.
* * *
"Haha."
Duke Carter, as he was cutting the steak in front of him, laughed quietly, and this was because the discussion that transpired yesterday in the conference room crossed his mind.
"You look like you're in a good mood," Duchess Carter commented.
"Of course. I saw something good."
"Do you mean… at the meeting?"
Nodding as an answer, he soon moistened his throat with a sip of wine.
The duchess' eyes turned to look at the glass of wine for a moment, then looked at the duke's lips, which slowly opened.
"Things are about to become quite interesting."
He did not make any effort to hide the delight in his tone.
Right. It's bound to become fun.
Quite literally, many things were turning out to be pretty interesting.
In no way did he expect that 'Ducal Lady Valentine' would be blamed for the monster attack.
Even if Duke Valentine and the emperor had stopped the heated discussion yesterday, this did not mean that the matter would be buried just like that.
People were already pointing their fingers at Ducal Lady Valentine, asserting that she was the culprit.
With Duke Valentine being as sensitive as he was, this only made him look like he had a guilty conscience, and the clamor surrounding the situation just kept noisier and noisier.
On this side of the fence, it was a lot of fun to watch his nemesis be in such a plight. Carter was thrilled to see it.
Besides that, this wasn't the only good thing.
"Leo."
"Yes, Father."
Wiping the corner of his lips with a napkin as Duke Carter called him, he replied with a smile.
It was a smile that resembled the duke's.
"Many people in the meeting complimented you. You played a significant role in the hunting festival, didn't you?"
"I'm flattered."
"There's no need for you to be too modest. Arrogance, of course, should be avoided, but you do not need to deny the envy of others and the praises that might come your way."
"Yes, Father."
"This is a good opportunity to paint an even bigger smear onto the Valentine name. So, be careful with everything that you do. Keep some distance with the daughters of House Valentine for now."
And do not forget— be alert at all times.
Duke Carter brought his knife forward and sliced the meat on his plate.
As it was being sliced further, Leo just kept staring at the meat.
"Yes, Father."
His answer was brief.
So succinct, that it was impossible to tell whether or not he was telling the truth.
Or a lie.
* * *
As the duke was in a pleasant mood, he drank a little too much during dinner. And so, when they finished eating, he headed back to his chambers early.
The only ones left in the spacious dining hall were Leo and his mother.
Out the window, nothing but the darkness of the night could be seen.
"It seems like the hunting festival has been handled well."
When the duchess said this, Leo nodded in response.
"Yes. The only thing that people will be talking about in the near future is the hunting festival."
"Even so, the reactions…"
Tap, tap, tap.
The duchess tapped a fingernail upon the wooden surface.
Each time, the candle on the table flickered dangerously.
"You claimed that your contributions during the event would be enough to encourage your immediate appointment as the household's official successor."
"Still. If I had been declared as the successor, I was worried that your position might be weakened."
"My title is something that I'd have to hand over anyway. It doesn't concern me whether I do so earlier or later."
The duchess leaned back against her chair.
As one foot nodded, her uncomfortable toes stretched out and pointed towards a certain direction.
Haha.
And when her foot stopped moving, a brief chuckle rang through the hall.
After letting out a laugh, the duchess looked positively amused.
"Well, anyway. 'Be alert,' he says?"
She hummed to herself, then picked up the wine glass that was in front of the duke's now empty seat.
"Who exactly should be alert now?"
Five fingerprints left a thick mark on the crystal goblet.
And she tilted it over and let it go without any hesitation.
As it still contained red liquid, it spilled directly to the floor.
Crash.
A small echo rang out.
At the same time, the red liquid started spreading out.
Atop the red liquid, some red powder could be seen rising up.
She crushed them with her heeled shoe.
So as not to leave any traces.
Leo stared at the spilled wine, which was as red as his eyes.
"You said that the drug will start working in earnest around the time of the coming-of-age banquet," Leo said.
"Yes. By the time that the coming-of-age banquet is held, and once you become an adult…"
The duke's seat shall be empty.
It was a vicious prophecy, but at the same time, it was a definite warning.
Above the slightly smiling mouth, eyes glinted sharply.
"In other words, that's the time when you should be officially declared as this household's successor. Foolish, greedy people might rush in later after all."
There was not a single hint of hesitation in her quiet murmur.
She was much too cold and much too composed even as she was talking about the 'death of her husband'.
Well, of course. If she did not have this demeanor in the first place, she would not have planned this herself.
Leo stared at his mother, then turned to look at the glass of wine in front of himself.
His controlled expression could be seen reflected on the round, transparent glass.
As if he, himself, was submerged in that red liquid… that red color.
"I almost forgot. There's one particularly annoying wretch."
"Annoying?"
"The escort knight of Lady Valentine. He nearly ruined the plan."
"…Are you talking about that knight who used aura?"
"No. It's not aura."
"It's not… aura?"
When Leo answered firmly, the duchess was left perplexed.
She recalled the brilliant blue light that had risen from the knight's sword.
If that wasn't aura, then it should be…
"Don't tell me… Magic?"
"Yes, it was magic. Magic of quite a high caliber, too."
Without answering back, the duchess looked slightly away.
The escort of a knight family's daughter was a mage.
"He was persistent in keeping his face covered. But you know, he's about the same height as Cassion."
The mere mention of Cassion made the duchess pause.
"Cassion? You're suspecting that he's Cassion?"
"It's just a nagging suspicion."
Hmm.
The tip of the duchess' long fingernail scratched at the table. However, as she continued to lean back against her chair, she looked unbothered.
"But that child doesn't have any talent in magic. His body hadn't been found, but if he did survive, I doubt that he would have lasted long."
Leo tilted his head to the side, then replied calmly.
Hidden beneath the shadow that was cast over his face then, a sneer found its way on his lips.
'Indeed, that's likely.'
One long finger of his tapped on the wooden surface.
A habit that the duchess also had.
Tap, tap.
Only this distinctive sound echoed inside the dining hall for a moment, until a voice took over.
"However. In life, unexpected things always happen, right?"
Mother.
Their eyes met.
The duchess was not smiling.
She looked to be lost in thought.
"Unexpected things…"
Ha.
A small bark of laughter was let out, but her eyes remained serious.
Now that she thought about it, her life had always been a series of unexpected events.
So, her son was right.
Yes. Just in case, it's better to nip it in the bud before it could bloom.
Besides, she knew that her son took after her, especially with his distinctively sharp senses.
It wouldn't hurt to look into it.
"Then, allow me to confirm it. Do you know what that man's name is?"
As the duchess asked, Leo smiled.
As the candle flickered, shadows danced across his face.
"Maxwell."
And like a snake's voice, he hissed out the name.