Chapter 4
But just then, the man standing behind Ergon approached and whispered something to him. Agnes, who had been feeling relieved, suddenly became curious and pricked up her ears.
She couldn’t hear a single word of what was being said. However, Agnes could guess the content. That was because the man whispering was the aide she had seen when she held Ergon’s hand earlier.
“It seems you’ve run into some trouble. You should go.”
“You heard that?”
Ergon furrowed his smooth brow. Aware of his gaze, Agnes slowly brushed back her blue hair.
“Well, it seems an unexpected guest has arrived at the Duke’s residence.”
“…You have very sharp ears.”
At Ergon’s backhanded compliment, Agnes stretched her lips into a faint smile.
For now, let’s focus on ruining Victoria’s marriage. To do that, she needed to leave a strong impression on this man.
“I take a great interest in Your Highness.”
Jack Rockingham, the young Emperor of the Karlia Empire, was twenty-eight years old. He had a younger brother, five years his junior, named Ergon.
Jack cherished Ergon greatly. No, he had cherished him. Because as Ergon grew, Jack’s affection for him had gradually diminished.
“That came about because Duke Ergon is just too capable. Ever since the Academy, it was always Duke Ergon who attracted people’s attention between the two brothers.”
The elderly Head Steward and Head Maid, who had served the palace for over fifty years, enjoyed talking about the brothers they had watched since birth.
“But His Late Majesty appointed the current Emperor as Crown Prince and never changed his mind until his passing. As for Duke Ergon, His Majesty personally bestowed upon him the dukedom and territories.”
“His Late Majesty saw it clearly. He knew that if he didn’t do that, His Majesty the Emperor would eventually kill the Duke.”
After Jack ascended the throne, they thought his minor inferiority complex towards Ergon would quickly disappear. However, within just three years, Ergon’s territories prospered and his population doubled, causing the inferiority complex to swell once more.
The ministers, who enjoyed taking sides, subtly began to divide into factions supporting Jack and Ergon, and some even appeared who actively tried to sow discord between the brothers.
“Well then, the Emperor’s only consolation at present is that Duke Ergon is a womanizing philanderer. Furthermore, the woman Duke Ergon is to marry is the daughter of a once-noble family that has now all but declined.”
“Perhaps thanks to that engagement news, His Majesty seemed to be relaxing somewhat lately, but then this incident happens. Tsk tsk.”
Just yesterday, a taster who was checking the food to be presented to the Emperor died after ingesting poison. Some ministers, suspecting Ergon once again, stirred and provoked Jack, claiming it was clearly an attempt on the throne.
And today, poison was found among the items seized from Ergon’s residence.
When Ergon arrived, the Duke’s residence was in shambles from the aftermath of the Imperial Guard’s house search. Ergon’s office and bedroom in particular looked as if a bomb had been dropped.
Ergon slumped wearily onto a desk from which all the drawers had been pulled out, grimacing.
“How much longer…!”
His hand, lying limply on the solid wood desk, clenched into a fist.
He was long tired of the incessant suspicion and was starting to get angry. And with good reason—every time something untoward happened at the palace, he was suspected of being the instigator.
Even when he was innocent, people would naturally stir things up and hound him, and when it was finally proven that he truly had nothing to do with it, they would sneer that he had somehow managed to cover his tracks. The stress Ergon endured in the meantime was immense.
He had deliberately immersed himself only in territory-related work and trivial romantic affairs to reassure his brother, so why did they keep harassing him?
Ergon simply could not understand his brother. Come to think of it, this wasn’t the only thing he didn’t understand.
“It seems an unexpected guest has arrived at the Duke’s residence.”
The thought of Agnes brought an inexplicable sense of discomfort. Ergon recalled Ian’s actions just before she had spoken those words.
“Should I just pretend to whisper like this?”
After that brief, whispered exchange, Ian had said nothing. Yet Agnes had spoken as if she already knew that an unwelcome situation was unfolding at the Duke’s residence.
“You seem quite close with the boutique madam as well.”
Furthermore, she had been certain that the lip print on the handkerchief belonged to the madam. It wasn’t as if the lip print had a name tag on it.
“Whenever you make a fuss about touching other people…”
Then naturally, his conversation with Victoria also crossed his mind.
“Touch…?” Ergon murmured, his lips moving slightly.
When asked if she had guessed correctly, Agnes had avoided answering and held his hand. She had also mentioned the madam precisely when she took hold of the handkerchief.
“She’s been a strange child since she was young. Once, during etiquette lessons when they were learning how to shake hands, she absolutely refused to open her fist.”
The reason she hadn’t opened her fist…
‘Could it be… that when she touches a palm, she can see something?’
In an instant, Ergon’s green eyes flashed sharply.
“Ian!”
He called out to his aide, who was outside the door. Ian rushed in as if he had been waiting.
“Finally calling me, sir? What on earth did you have me pretend to whisper to you for earlier?”
“I needed to confirm something.”
A few hours earlier, Ian, who had come to find him in Victoria’s bedroom, mentioned that he had witnessed a strange scene on his way.
Ian, who disliked noisy commotions, had separated from Ergon when the party began and was wandering the garden as usual. Then, hearing news delivered from the Duke’s residence, he urgently sought out Ergon. However, the party had ended earlier than expected, forcing him to search all over the Earl’s residence for his master. During that search, he happened to see a young lady and the Countess in a room he was passing by.
He carefully opened the door and paused at the unusual atmosphere. At that moment, the young lady, who had been lying on the floor, grabbed the hem of the Countess’s dress and accused her of infidelity with the certainty of someone who had just discovered something she hadn’t known before.
Although her demeanor was somewhat theatrical, her words sounded grave because of the Countess’s reaction. Upon hearing this, the Countess became noticeably flustered and helped the young lady to her feet.
Finding Ergon was more urgent for Ian, so he didn’t know what happened after that. After meeting his master, he quickly relayed what he had seen, thinking that regardless, something dishonorable seemed to be happening in his master’s fiancée’s family, and he wanted to prepare for it.
Ian’s intention was simply to prepare for the fallout if the Countess’s relationship with the knight became public, but Ergon’s focus was elsewhere.
‘He said she grabbed the hem of the skirt back then too.’
That was why, as soon as he spotted Agnes in the garden, he had instructed Ian to pretend to whisper to him. In order to uncover the secret she was hiding.
“Sit down for a moment.”
Ergon sat at the round table in the center of the office and pointed to the seat across from him.
After a moment, having heard Ergon’s theory, Ian propped his chin on his hand.
“Are you talking about the ability to read the scenes imprinted on a person or object by touching it?”
“Yes.”
Ergon nodded, looking at Ian. Ian’s hazel eyes darkened as he fell into thought.
“Hmm. I remember reading about something like that somewhere.”
“I knew you’d know if anyone did.”
Ian, who had applied for the position of aide to the Duke a few years ago as a low-ranking baron, had cited his extensive reading history as his greatest strength, a point Ergon also highly valued. In his view, such experience wasn’t just helpful for drafting official documents.
“It sounds like the ability called psychometry.”
“Psychometry?”
It was an unfamiliar word to Ergon. He assumed it was related to magic. Due to a war among wizards some thirty years ago, their bloodline had dried up, and such stories now existed only in books.
“Is it a type of magic?”
“Yes. Most likely.”
“Most likely?”
As Ergon slightly raised his neat eyebrows, Ian fidgeted and gave an awkward laugh.
“I’ve only ever read about magic in books, you see.”
That was understandable; they were just young men in their early twenties. They had never actually seen a wizard or heard any news of them directly.
“Surely, you don’t think the young lady who grabbed the Countess’s skirt earlier has that kind of ability?”
Genuine curiosity flickered across Ian’s face. Ergon leaned back in his chair and replied.
“I’m not certain yet.”
“Ah, I see?”
Just as Ian expressed his disappointment.
Knock, knock.
A knock was heard, followed by Head Butler Albert entering.
“A letter has arrived from the palace.”
Ergon gestured for Ian to go check it. Ian quickly took the letter from Albert and unfolded it.
As Ian read through the letter, his complexion paled noticeably.
“They say poison was found among the items inside Your Highness’s drawer. Does that make any sense?”
