IMTVD| Chapter 13

Episode 13

“My lord, we… couldn’t find the madam—”

“Find her.”

“…Understood.”

Over half the manpower of the duke’s household was now focused on finding the missing duchess.

They’d been tracking Emilia’s movements since she vanished, but so far there wasn’t a single clue as to where she’d

gone.

Chris never really considered the possibility that she might’ve left for somewhere far away. She’d never once left the

capital in her life.

And in noble families, it wasn’t unheard of for someone to “run away” just to be found later, almost as if to say, Come

get me. He figured this might be the same.

They hadn’t found her yet, but Chris was confident they eventually would.

The bigger problem was elsewhere.

“What about that thing I told you to look into?”

“My lord, she may have been the lady of the Casper estate, but before that, she was a Hermann.”

Chris wanted Edwin to take a step back and see the situation objectively.

Yes, the household staff had treated her badly—but from their point of view, their actions weren’t without reason.

“You’ve been with me since we were children, and even you say this. Makes me wonder how she could have endured

here at all.”

“My lord—”

“I thought she’d be safe here.”

He’d wanted her close, somewhere he could keep an eye on her. With people he trusted around her, surely she’d live

a better life than she had before.

In the end, this is my fault.

Edwin blamed himself.

He’d thought she was fine. In reality, she’d just been pretending in front of him.

He’d given Beaty many of the duties the duchess would normally have not to strip Emilia of authority, but so she

wouldn’t have to work herself to exhaustion.

He’d known she was already worn down when she came from the Hermann house. He’d wanted her to rest, not labor.

But looking back, he saw how short-sighted he’d been.

No one here was ever going to see a duchess who did nothing as a real mistress of the house.

She had no favor from her husband, no real authority, and no heir to strengthen her position.

She’d had nothing to help her survive in this family.

A picture formed in Edwin’s mind of himself saving her from jumping at that imperial banquet, only to push her off

the edge later with his own hands.

“…Chris. Tell me.”

That meant: tell me what happened to her while I wasn’t watching.

Chris winced internally.

But as Edwin’s chief aide, he couldn’t lie.

Yes, he’d withheld this from Edwin before, and it had created a hint of distrust between them—but Edwin had also

neglected to check on her himself, so Chris couldn’t fault him entirely.

Even so, he hesitated—until Edwin pressed.

“Out with it.”

Hearing the edge in Edwin’s voice, Chris knew his patience was gone. He could only answer and hope Edwin wouldn’t

lose control after hearing it.

“She wasn’t just treated poorly—she was barely treated like a human being.”

Edwin froze as Chris went on.

“She only ate twice a day. Even then, the maids tampered with her meals—too much salt, or spoiled ingredients.”

“They wouldn’t let her wear the clothes you gave her—only what they picked. If she disobeyed, they’d hide the

garment or mock and humiliate her.”

Edwin clenched his fists so hard his knuckles split.

Chris kept going, unaware—

“They treated Beaty like she outranked the duchess. If someone greeted the madam before Beaty, they’d be

punished sent to do the roughest chores, like laundry duty. So the staff learned to look down on her and gossip

behind her back…”

“That’s enough.”

Edwin’s teeth ground together.

“Chris… you weren’t just like the rest of them, were you?”

“…My lord.”

“Was it hard for you to accept her, too?”

There was a strange, pleading look in Edwin’s eyes.

For a second, Chris wanted to lie—say he’d wanted to serve her with all his heart. But loyalty to Edwin meant telling

the truth.

“The only one I serve is you, my lord. Everything else is… irrelevant.”

“…I see. Of course.”

His gaze wavered, then steadied again. Chris almost relaxed—until Edwin gave his next order.

“Make a list of everyone who disrespected her. Then throw them out. If they can’t serve their mistress, they have no

place here.”

Chris tried to stop him. Technically the servants were in the wrong, but in his eyes, they’d acted out of loyalty to the

house and they could still be useful.

But one look at Edwin’s cold eyes told him it was pointless.

“Beaty doesn’t leave here alive.”

“…As you wish.”

At that moment, Chris knew he couldn’t change his mind.

And he admitted to himself—he’d misjudged Edwin. He didn’t know him as well as he’d thought.

“She must’ve hated the estate… the family… and me, too.”

Edwin didn’t want to believe it. That he was part of the reason she left.

But the truth was right in front of him.

He’d let it happen. His own behavior toward her alone was enough reason for her to walk away.

He wanted to make it right.

The first step was finding her himself. Once things were settled here, he’d search personally.

“My lord, while you’ve been avoiding messages, the palace sent word.”

At the mention of the palace, Edwin’s expression turned sour. Chris handed him a sealed envelope, worried he might

rip it up.

Anything from the royal family had to be treated with care. Even a personal note, if mishandled, could become a

political issue.

Fortunately, Edwin didn’t destroy it. He sliced it open neatly and skimmed the contents.

“…What does it say?”

Edwin’s mood sank, and Chris suddenly felt uneasy—but still, he had to know.

“They want me at Peridot Palace.”

“My lord… you must stay on good terms with the princess.”

If he wanted to be the head of the Emperor’s faction, he had to get along with the Emperor and that meant staying

close to the Emperor’s darling, Princess Diana.

Edwin knew that. But Chris was saying it because, right now, Edwin looked… dangerous.

“Chris. You’ve asked me more than once if things were going well with the princess, haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

Edwin thought of Emilia how he’d hurt her without even realizing it. Now he wanted to dig up every truth he’d missed, so he’d never wound her again.

“Did you know about the rumors between me and the princess?”

If life in this house had been unbearable for her, she could’ve asked for a divorce ages ago.

But she’d endured for so long meaning something had kept her going. And something had made that reason vanish.

It was tied to him. And to his family.

And possibly… to the princess.

So he asked.

Chris’s eyes went wide.

“You really don’t know?”

That was—did he truly not know the gossip swirling about him and Diana?

Edwin’s blank look was answer enough. Chris let out a frustrated sigh.

The man in the middle of the scandal didn’t even know it existed.

He considered how to start explaining, then decided to confirm one thing first.

“My lord… who is it you love?”

Chris thought he knew—but he’d been wrong before, and he wanted to be absolutely certain.

Without hesitation, Edwin replied—

“Emilia. She’s the one I truly love.”

He said it like a vow.

That was all Chris needed.

“Then you should hear everything. These are the stories going around about you and the princess…”

And Chris told him that every rumor, every ugly bit how the gossip had spread like wildfire, as if someone had made

sure it did.

By the end, Edwin’s face was hard as stone.