At the exact moment Richard conducts his interrogation with the assassin, Count Gyalcakes sits anxiously in his office, awaiting positive news.
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
"Enter," the Count calls out.
"Milord, I regret to inform you that the mission has failed. The assassin has been caught," the butler reported.
"Order our agent stationed at Ryntum Mansion to eliminate the assassin," Count Gyalcakes commands.
"Regarding that, milord..." The butler hesitates to continue.
"What!!?" the Count exclaims.
"We have lost contact with all our agents," the butler reveals.
"Lost?!!" Count Gyalcakes was shocked.
However, he quickly regains his calm and starts to think.
"If our agent lost, it implies that Ryntum likely grew suspicious of us long before. They may be waiting for a legitimate reason to retaliate." he muses aloud.
Even if he is confident, he still needs a solid justification to wage a war. Presently, he can only focus on making necessary preparations.
Planting a spy in other nobles' houses is normal. As a noble, obtaining firsthand information is crucial as it can influence decisions made. They also need to stay up-to-date with the situation.
"Then, slowly prepare for war without alerting them. Ryntum will definitely wage a war against us." the count commanded.
"What about Lady Maria, milord?", asked the butler.
"She is already useless to me. Leave her be," replied Count Gyalcakes without any concern in his tone.
That's how he treats his daughter. To him, they are merely tools to establish connections with other nobles, and he doesn't care about what happens to them afterwards.
'She should at least be grateful that I married her to a young man rather than some fat old noble,' thought Count Gyalcakes.
Among all his four daughters, Maria can be considered the luckiest one, as she married the promising young Richard years ago.
As Count Gyalcakes makes his next move, the news also reaches Cerdeaux, the capital of the Republic of Cerdeauxia.
President Matthew Milan is reading the report about the assassination. He grits his teeth attempting to hold back his anger. "How could a professional assassin be unable to eliminate a single kid?" he mutters in frustration.
To make matters worse, he even got himself captured.
If the King of Bagyarosia learns that he sends an assassin to assassinate a noble in his kingdom, Nicholas I might break the alliance agreement.
He needs to exert pressure on the king and demand that he hand over Riz to Cerdeauxia.
Riz's existence poses a threat to his governance. If the royalists were to discover that the royal bloodline still exists, a large-scale uprising could engulf the entire nation.
"Summon Andrew for me," the secretary promptly carries out the order.
Later, Andrew arrives at the presidential office. "Mr President, what do you require of me?"
"I want you to travel to Bagyarosia as an envoy and demand that the king hand over the individual to us. Apply some pressure on them."
"As you wish, I will depart for Bagyarosia immediately."
....
*Clank*
The guard opened the door to the prison. Richard and Riz were there watching Maria and Robert were thrown into the underground cell.
"You bastard! How dare you do this to your own son?!" Robert swore angrily. He had returned all the way from the border only to find himself in such a state.
His gaze shifted to Riz as he said, "No matter how much you dote on him, you should treat your sons fairly." He had endured a great deal of suffering due to Richard's favouritism since childhood.
"Hahahaha...Don't worry, I do treat my children fairly. If not, then Rachel would be here with you," Richard said, his eyes shifting towards Maria.
"What... what do you mean?" Robert couldn't comprehend.
Maria trembles on the side as Richard's gaze falls upon her. She has an uneasy feeling, sensing that something ominous is about to unfold.
"Anthony. The young promising knight who served the Gyalcakes family approximately twenty years ago. At one point, he acted as Young Lady Maria Gyalcakes's personal knight during her engagement with Young Master Richard. However, after Young Lady Maria married into the Ryntum family, he suddenly vanished as if he never existed," Richard begins narrating someone's life story while occasionally casting glances at Maria.
Maria's brow breaks out in sweat upon hearing the familiar name. Riz doesn't need to hear the rest to know where this story leads them as he can predict it.
Richard takes a sack held by the knight and hurls it at Maria and Robert.
Inside the sack was the said knight.
"Robert, meet your father," Richard says, his voice laced with a chilling tone.
Robert gazes blankly at the knight's head. His mind was seemingly frozen. The face bears an expression of fear and despair, causing a shiver to run down Robert's spine.
He turns to Maria, seeking confirmation or solace, but her face appears pale and drained of blood.
'It's over.' Maria helplessly acknowledges the fact. Not only had she deceived her husband for two decades, but she had also attempted to secure a noble title for their son.
No one could tolerate this.
Ignoring Robert's questioning gaze, Richard proceeds with his narrative, seemingly unaffected by the turmoil in the room.
"It takes a considerable amount of time to locate him. Maria did her best to conceal his existence. However, I am not one to easily give up. After years of relentless pursuit, my efforts finally paid off. When I found him, he was at his house, enjoying a meal with his wife and two young children. Do you know what he did when I introduced myself? He instantly fell to his knees, begging for mercy."
"But, how could I forgive him?" Richard said grimly.
He gazes at Maria, his eyes filled with a mix of anger and betrayal. "Do you think I'm stupid, Maria? I know everything about your heinous acts, from poisoning Eve to her death, to your attempts to do the same to Riz, and even your involvement in the forest incident."
Right now, Maria's only desire is to escape the room. She had never witnessed Richard in such a furious state before.
"P-please Father. I don't know anything. It's all Mother's fault," Robert pleads, clinging to Richard's leg. If Richard's claims are true, then his life will be in danger.
Richard delivers a brutal kick to Robert's face, his rage boiling over. "Don't call me 'father'. It disgusts me to hear it from your mouth."
Undeterred, Robert desperately clings to Riz for support. Meanwhile, Riz remains composed, placing a foot on Robert's throat while addressing Richard, "Father, what shall we do with them?"
'If I'm not mistaken, some of the punishment for adulterous women is whipping, head shaving, and parading through the streets.'
Seeing his father struggle to contain his anger, Riz knows that their punishment is unlikely to be so lenient. Nobody likes being cheated by others, especially someone close to them.
"Don't worry, Riz. I plan to publicly execute them in the square. The knight is currently preparing a stage for the event."
Riz contemplates for a moment before responding, "Hmm, don't you think that's too simple?"
"What? Do you have another plan? Let me hear it"
"Let's make it as grandiose as possible. Let's use their death as a declaration of war against Gyalcakes," he proposed.
"Hmm, go on and explain it to me quickly," Richard urges, intrigued by the idea.
"For Robert, a simple execution should suffice. He holds no significant value," Riz begins. "However, for Maria, while she can't escape punishment, let's focus more on tarnishing Gyalcake's reputation. We can devise a plan to expose her actions to the public."
Actually, he doesn't care so much about them.
However, upon learning that his mother in this life was poisoned to death, he experiences a deep, lingering emotion.
Perhaps, this is an inherent emotion left by the original owner.
So, he decided to make Maria's death and her tale as humiliating as possible.
"That's good! We do need to take this incident as an advantage and gain the upper hand towards our enemy," Richard commends Riz.
Maria, hearing the conversation between father and son, trembles in fear. She realizes that they regard her life as inconsequential, treating her with utter disregard.
....
After concluding the affairs concerning Maria and Robert, Richard summoned Josephine to inform her that she will now assume the role of the family's main wife.
Initially, Josephine is taken aback and confused by the sudden announcement but after explaining everything to her, she agreed to accept the role.
Even so, her heart was filled with fear.
'That man did not waver at all when he decided to eliminate the woman who lives with him for twenty years. No matter what, I will do my best to not displease him,' Josephine resolved.