Chapter 61

Four days had passed since the incident at the Mabelin Ducal household.

Nine’s mood was not good as he headed out to the garden for a tea time with Chacha, a routine he had brought back with him from the North.

“I can’t understand what they want. The person who tried to slander the duchess is already under investigation.”

He had gone to the Emperor every day for the past four days to demand a full investigation into the incident but was flatly rejected.

The answer remained the same no matter how many times he asked.

‘The family of the parties involved cannot participate in the investigation process, so trust the Imperial Family and wait.’

But Nine knew well enough that this answer was a result of the Emperor having already received various things from the aristocratic faction.

Having succeeded to the dukedom since he was young, he was sick of seeing such political maneuvers.

In the end, the Imperial Family had sacrificed a young lady from a humble baronial family and covered up the entire incident.

There was nothing more Nine could do.

‘Damn it.’

The thought of having to tell this to Chacha, the victim, pressed heavily on his chest with guilt.

He felt that the Eclipse family’s distance from central politics and society had caused her this suffering.

That fact bothered him deeply.

Nine sat down across from Chacha at the tea table prepared in the garden and checked her condition.

Fortunately, she wasn’t retching like when he first saw her, and her complexion looked better.

Clink.

The aroma of the tea being poured by a servant wafted up.

Nine didn’t have a broad knowledge of tea, so he usually let the servants choose, but one day, Chacha began choosing the tea leaves herself.

She always chose a herbal tea that helped with calming the mind and recovering from fatigue, which made him worry about her health, but he had learned that she usually preferred fruit or flower teas.

‘Is it rosemary today?’

Unlike the North, the tepid breeze mixed with the scent of flowers, characteristic of the full spring in the central region, ruffled Chacha’s hair.

The light pink hair fluttering in the wind looked like cherry blossom petals, Nine suddenly thought.

His heart was strangely throbbing.

Even though he knew she was different from the cherry blossom petals that would fly away to an unreachable place in an instant, he felt an urge to wind her scattered hair around his hand.

‘…I must be tired.’

Suppressing the strange impulse, he took a sip of tea.

Then, he placed the newspaper he had brought down in front of her.

[Duchess Eclipse Slandered!]

Her gaze lingered on the large headline.

“The investigation is over.”

He wanted to add more, but given that he couldn’t fully reveal the truth, there was nothing more he could offer her.

Chacha picked up the newspaper, quickly checked the article, and then spoke to Nine.

“Thank you for letting me know.”

He couldn’t understand what she was grateful for.

Nine felt the weight of her thanks and silently swallowed his tea.

‘She must be upset. Is she holding it in?’

Worried, he put down his teacup and looked at Chacha’s face.

But instead, Chacha seemed to be subtly watching Nine’s reaction.

‘Why?’

He couldn’t understand why she was being so careful around him—and yet, something in him didn’t want her to be.

And what she said was unexpected.

“We only have one planned social event left, but since that’s at the end of the season, I was thinking of showing my face at a few other events in the meantime.”

“…”

“So, I picked out a few invitations I received.”

Nine was inwardly taken aback.

The reason for only spending a month in the social season, and for not scheduling many events, was entirely out of concern for her health.

But she constantly seemed to disregard her well-being and kept trying to increase her schedule, which made him feel frustrated.

Moreover, the slander incident had only happened three days ago.

“Duchess, not many days have passed since this incident.”

He spoke out of concern, but Chacha seemed even more self-conscious at his words.

As if she hadn’t expected him to reply this way.

Her timid expression bothered him more than he wanted to admit.

Nine deliberately regained his composure and thought.

‘…I cannot control her actions just because I’m worried about her safety.’

It would be pathetic to take away Chacha’s freedom because he failed to protect her.

However, since she might get caught up in political fights or Helena’s schemes, it would be best to assign someone to protect her.

He wanted to do it himself, but another surge of monster activity in the North while he was briefly away had piled up work, making it impossible.

“Instead, take Norman with you.”

So, Nine assigned his trusted and valued aide. This would offer some peace of mind.

Chacha, who had been silent for a moment, eventually replied that she would do so.

‘This should ease my mind a bit.’

“I’m thinking of going to Blueberry county this afternoon. If you’d like, Norman or Sir Kroel can accompany me.”

Unlike the previous situation, there was nothing to worry about, and it was a place where she could be more comfortable, so Nine easily permitted her outing with a simple nod.

He gazed at the garden, which she had looked at, waiting for Chacha’s usual small talk.

However, contrary to Nine’s expectation, Chacha neither asked nor spoke anything further. An awkwardness, which he had never felt during their previous tea times, settled in the garden.

Since he wasn’t accustomed to conversation with women, Nine ultimately left the garden without exchanging any further significant conversation with Chacha.

Her behavior, different from usual, gave him a peculiar feeling. It was the first time a tea time had ended with such a sense of uneasiness.

***

After having a simple lunch in his office ordered through Van, Nine picked up a stack of documents lying on his desk.

It seemed to be the report Norman had placed there before leaving to accompany Chacha to Blueberry County.

As soon as he saw the blank first page, which didn’t even state what kind of report it was, Nine realized that this was the love potion incident report he had asked Norman to reinvestigate.

He started examining the documents with a slight sense of tension.

Flip, flip.

Turning the pages one by one, Nine finally unfolded the last page and unconsciously exhaled the breath he had been holding.

The last page contained Norman’s conclusion, summarizing the investigation’s findings.

[…Contrary to her reputation in high society and the Dragonia Academy, she had minimal direct involvement in malicious acts, and all confirmed malicious acts were carried out under the direction of Princess Helena Oswald. Upon confirmation with the Viscountess Ruinol’s daughter, who was a follower of the Princess and is now engaged to a young man from our pro-Emperor faction, the love potion incident was also a plan of the Princess. However, based on the Viscountess’s daughter’s testimony, Lady Chacha does not appear to be entirely innocent in this incident.]

The image of Chacha that Nine had actually seen and experienced flashed through his mind.

When he didn’t know anything about Chacha, he was convinced she was the culprit.

‘But she was not the kind of person to do such a thing.’

Tap, tap.

Nine tapped the desk with his index finger, lost in thought.

He didn’t lightly dismiss the Chacha he had seen and experienced.

Chacha was a person with a good heart who looked out for Adele, Roana, and even Kate, despite the environment being unfavorable to her.

Looking back, the sequence of events was not something he could believe was merely an act.

In the North, where everyone was hostile, who would want to look after the family of a person who treated them so coldly?

Everyone would have taken it for granted, even if she had shown no interest and ignored them.

But Chacha did not.

She extended her hand to people whom even he, their real family, couldn’t approach, enduring harsh words and treatment.

She won their hearts and changed the atmosphere of the constantly cold castle.

Could all that truly be accomplished through mere pretense?

‘…Such a person couldn’t have carried out such an inhumane plan.’

Nine’s intuition told him Chacha was innocent.

But even if she wasn’t completely innocent…

“…”

Nine stopped tapping the desk.

‘What am I thinking right now?’

When he first married her, he was so filled with displeasure that his teeth chattered.

He hadn’t wanted it, but he married her simply because he couldn’t fathom the dishonorable act of not taking responsibility for something that had already happened.

But if Chacha was not innocent in this incident.

If she truly carried out the act because she admired him.

“…”

Nine realized his feelings had changed. He covered his mouth and looked down at the documents with trembling eyes.

Unlike before, the possibility didn’t feel unpleasant.

His pitch-black eyes, filled with surprise, lingered for a long time on the name ‘Chacha’ written in elegant script.