Chapter 136
Click. Click, click.
“Axel? Axel!”
“I’m going to kill first!”
“Open the door, Axel!”
“Mother.”
Axel’s cold voice was heard.
“I was also your child.”
After those words, there was no more sound.
“I’m first!”
Somerset charged again, and Delani barely dodged, crawling on the floor. She couldn’t stay still, so she grabbed anything nearby and threw it. A glass hit Somerset directly, making him stumble.
Delani took that chance and pushed him hard.
“Ugh!”
Clang!
Somerset dropped his sword, and Delani quickly grabbed it.
“Give me back the sword!”
“Don’t come near! Somerset, snap out of it! I am your mother!”
“A mother? Trying to kill her son?!”
Delani shouted angrily.
“Why do you keep saying the same thing? I’m not doing that!”
But Somerset was drunk and didn’t listen. The anger built up from Axel’s manipulation exploded, and Somerset kept attacking her.
“I’ll kill you! Give me the sword!”
“Ahh! Don’t come!”
Delani screamed and swung her arm in defense.
Then, many footsteps approached, and the door suddenly opened.
Thud.
“Ugh…”
Delani’s sword pierced Somerset’s belly perfectly.
She dropped the sword in shock. Somerset fell sideways and coughed up blood.
Cough, cough…
Life faded from Somerset’s trembling eyes.
“Somerset? Somerset!”
Delani shook him desperately. Jacob, watching from the front, shouted.
“Arrest the Duchess immediately!”
Delani turned pale and stepped back.
“No! This was self-defense! Somerset killed Gemma and tried to kill me too…!”
Pavle adjusted his glasses and explained kindly.
“You’re not being arrested for that. During the barbarian war, it was revealed that you led the assassination attempt on Duke Blackwood. This time, we have all the evidence and witnesses. Denying it is useless.”
“No! I didn’t…!”
Delani pleaded, but Pavle cut her off.
“You must understand that the crime of trying to kill Duke Blackwood is serious. Put her in the dungeon immediately!”
Jacob signaled, and knights with Milos handcuffed Delani.
“No! Let me go! It’s a setup! It’s all lies!”
As she was dragged down the hallway, Dedrick stood tall before her. Her pupils shook violently.
Dedrick looked at her coldly and spoke.
“It’s over now.”
“Over? No…!”
Delani’s face was full of despair and misery.
“You killed my everything, so it’s only fair yours dies too.”
“I’m innocent! I only wanted to protect my position! What’s wrong with that?”
“No one threatened that position but you.”
Dedrick’s cold words made her legs shake. He continued calmly.
“It wasn’t just about protecting your place.”
“…”
“It all came from your greed.”
If there had been even a little kindness, this future wouldn’t exist.
Delani, caught in her true feelings, shouted in denial, bloodshot eyes showing her last desperation.
“I should have killed that monster! Right away…!”
“With you like this?”
“Tied up and unable to move a finger?”
Dedrick’s indifferent gaze was even more terrifying.
Her breath caught. The thought of not wanting to die filled her mind, and her lips moved on their own.
“A-actually… this is all because of Gemma! Gemma did it on her own! I didn’t know!”
Delani tried to claim she was innocent, mentioning the already dead Gemma.
“She even forged my seal on that letter…!”
“Always blaming others whenever you can.”
A low voice came from the end of the hallway.
Footsteps.
Carlos appeared, and Delani desperately clung to him.
“Honey! This is a setup! It’s all…!”
“A setup? Isn’t that your specialty? Starting from the tower.”
Mentioning the tower where Amelia was imprisoned, Delani’s pupils widened.
Dedrick looked down at her.
“There will be no separate interrogation. The evidence and witnesses are clear.”
“I… I…”
“The dungeon you’ll stay in is harsh, so be careful what you eat. I worry you might get sick.”
Though the words sounded caring, both Dedrick and Delani knew the real meaning.
It was a warning to her—the one who ‘poisoned’ his mother.
“Wait! Wait, Dedrick! I was wrong! Please, have mercy just once…!”
“I begged just as desperately, but you refused.”
Despair settled on Delani’s face. The knights led her down to the deep underground prison.
Only Duke, Dedrick, Axel, and Jenkinson remained in the hallway. Axel bowed deeply to Duke and Dedrick.
“Thank you both very much.”
Though Dedrick handled the Gemma incident, but setting up Somerset was Axel’s own doing.
“I accept my punishment.”
Honestly, Dedrick didn’t care. They were people who deserved to die anyway.
How cruelly to kill them was the issue, but they destroyed themselves without him shedding blood, which somehow felt like the peaceful resolution that Marilyn preferred.
“I’ll leave that to Dedrick.”
Without hesitation, Dedrick spoke.
“I have no intention of punishing you. But I don’t intend to keep you here either.”
“…Then.”
“Leave. Don’t ever come near me or Mary again. Forever.”
Grateful for such mercy, Axel bowed deeply.
“I’ll leave tonight. My goal is complete.”
Axel left lightly without regrets.
After a brief silence, Duke spoke first.
“When this is finished, I will hold a meeting with the lords.”
Dedrick looked at him, and Carlos added.
“At that meeting, I will officially announce you as the successor.”
“…”
“I leave Delani’s fate to you.”
Hesitant, Carlos patted his shoulder a couple of times.
“…Thank you.”
Carlos disappeared down the hallway. Before Jenkinson followed, he unusually added.
“If Dedrick wishes, the Duke will hand over the position immediately. But since you’ve worked tirelessly until now, the Duke decided to keep the title for a while so you can rest with Marilyn.”
“…”
“This won’t erase the resentment and hatred you held toward us, but I wanted to tell you this.”
Jenkinson added kindly.
“…Thank you very much for your hard work.”
After Jenkinson left, Dedrick slowly walked toward his room where his lover was.
At the door, he stopped without opening it.
He felt strange.
He couldn’t explain it. It was complicated and subtle.
Then the door slightly opened. Dedrick bowed his head, and Marilyn peeked out with a bright smile.
“All done?”
“…”
He answered by just looking at her.
The lover he once lost.
Just seeing her pure face made all his complex feelings vanish like a lie.
What remained was clear relief and happiness.
“You can come out now, Mary.”
To prevent any accidents, he kept her under strict protection until everything was over.
“Nothing here will threaten you anymore.”
“Yeah.”
Marilyn opened the door wide and hugged him brightly.
“It’s safe now!”
Dedrick melted into her warm embrace.
This warmth would last a long time now.
***
Deep underground in the Duke’s dungeon
Dedrick stopped at an iron cell. Inside was Delani, wearing a torn dress, collapsed.
Her whole body showed clear signs of torture. Dedrick motioned to the guard, who splashed water on Delani.
Splash!
“Ugh! Ack!”
The saltwater stung her wounds, causing intense pain.
“Ahhh!”
“Delani Saint.”
Her real name slipped from Dedrick’s lips. Delani, screaming, glared at the bars.
“You! You did this to me!”
“If I hadn’t made you like this, I’d be the one inside.”
Delani couldn’t deny and bit her already shredded lips hard with bloodshot eyes. She screamed in rage.
“Just kill me! Let me escape this pain!”
