Married Couple’s Qualifications

“It’s already been a month.”

“….”

“You don’t have to pretend you’re okay. I’m on your side.”

Luzen put down the calendar he was holding and turned his head.

From where he stood, he couldn’t see what Calix looked like while looking out the window, but he had a good idea of what to expect.

There was no good reason for a man who could not show his face without officially attaining the status of a member of the royal family to be in and out of the Imperial Palace every day.

“Why don’t you pretend you don’t know and go to her?”

“…”

“…Don’t raise your eyebrows, just listen to what I have to say first. Isn’t it a good chance? If you hold a woman who is sad about the loss of her child to your heart and comfort her, you will naturally feel compassion for her.”

“….”

“Think positively… It’s sad that the child had to go through that, but if you think about it in a good way, you didn’t have to raise someone else’s child.”

Luzen grumbled, “On closer inspection, I can’t tell who the master is,” and pulled out a pre-written sealed letter from inside his desk.

“Stop by Clayton’s mansion on your way and give this to them.”

“Did you finally get the result?”

“Yes. And it’s a very interesting result, too.”

The academy was an imperial institution directly under the control of the imperial family, and it was managed exceptionally well for the children of nobles to stay there.

It actually didn’t make sense that a fire broke out at such an academy.

Knowing this, the imperial family and the Clayton family were working together to investigate the cause of the accident.

In particular, the victim of this fire was the only daughter of the imperial rich man Clayton.  It was clear that the Academy would be in danger of extinction if it did something wrong.

Since the Academy’s noble children were not only talented people of the Empire, but also great contributors, the imperial family needed to properly investigate this case and avoid responsibility.

That was how thoroughly the investigation had been conducted, and the incident that had caused an uproar in the capital was already being sorted out as if it had never happened.

At least that was how it appeared on the surface.

“While we’re at it, let me ask you one thing.”

“….”

“For your information, if you don’t answer, I won’t tell you what was written here. You understand that you should not open the emperor’s sealed letter unnecessarily, don’t you?”

“… What do you want to ask me?”

“Mariel Clayton. Does that kid really have nothing to do with you?”

Luzen slowly looked at Calix’s jawline with the tip of the letter.

And his eyes were narrow and curved in an arc, but the pupils between them were sunken, as if sediment had accumulated.

***

“… Who killed Mariel?”

“Rose Hamilton.”

“Rose couldn’t have done it.”

The rebuttal came straight out without any time to think about it.

To Rivianna, Rose was like a sister to her, and Rose took care of Mariel like a niece.

There was no way Rose would do anything to harm Mariel.

She was one of the few people Rivianna trusted, and she felt safe leaving her young daughter in Rose’s care.

“I know it’s hard to accept. But it’s true.”

Bake held out the papers he had brought with a grim expression.

On it, along with the face of a woman Rivianna had never seen before, was the name Rose Hamilton. 

“This is not Rose.”

“Well, to be precise, she is the real Rose Hamilton.”

“What?”

“The Rose Hamilton you know was a fake.”

Bake handed Rivianna the next set of papers.

This time, it contained the face of the Rose Rivianna knew and a strange name: Rose Sader.

“The Sader family is apparently……….”

Rivianna covered her mouth with her hands.

She remembered them.

The Sader family who had worshipped the Pierre family for generations, and the family line that had been destroyed together in the events of ten years ago…

“She seems to have harbored a grudge against Clayton for a long time.”

“…”

“But the Rose I know…”

Rivianna looked at the Emperor’s seal stamped on the end of the documents and closed her eyes.

She had to continue speaking, but she couldn’t find the words.

She had no idea who to trust anymore.

She couldn’t trust her husband, her friends, or anyone else around her.

In the end, she couldn’t stand the confusion and sat down helplessly and exhaled in vain.

She had to make sure of the truth, but she didn’t even have any strength left.

‘If Rose is really the culprit…….’

She closed her eyes and felt dizzy at the blurred vision. She felt like if she let herself go even a little bit, she would never be able to wake up from this forever.

Nonetheless, Rivianna raised herself up. She wasn’t convinced yet to accept the ridiculous results.

“I have to see Cheshire.”

“Rivianna.”

“Let me go.”

“It won’t solve your problem.”

“I told you to let me go!”

Rivianna couldn’t contain her anger anymore and roughly pushed Bake away.

She didn’t want to put up with nonsense any longer.

What she wanted was a proper result.

How could an accident that had never happened at the Academy before have happened right after Mariel entered?

Why was no one next to the child while the fire broke out?

Why did her daughter, that little child, have to die?

There were too many suspicious circumstances, too many unanswered questions.

“Rivianna, please calm down!”

“Calm down? How do I calm down?”

“I know it’s hard for you to accept. But it’s true.”

Bake clenched Rivianna’s shoulders tightly.

She couldn’t look into his red eyes anymore.

“…I can’t accept it, no matter how much you do.”

She looked straight up at Bake and removed his hands on her shoulders coldly.

‘If he couldn’t, I’d find out for myself,’

“Where are you going?”

“I can’t believe anything until I see it for myself. I want to know who killed my daughter.”

“How can you do that?”

“At least it’s better than just sitting here.”

“Rivianna!”

A strong force forced Rivianna to turn around.

Her husband’s face was wrinkled as he was forced to face her.

“This is not like you.”

“What is unlike me? I don’t know anything about that.”

“Rivianna. Please. Look at you now.”

Bake muttered through clenched teeth and dropped his gaze.

As she followed his gaze, she saw a strange woman’s reflection on the marble floor and she chuckled.

Wrinkled dress, disheveled hair, a haggard face and dark eyes.

She, of all people, was dressed in the shabby, miserable outfit that she hated so much.

Still, she just smiled.

This was no big deal, her daughter was trapped on the cold floor of the temple, shapeless and darkened.

“Move.”

“Rivianna, please. Don’t be so stubborn.”

“What? Stubborn?”

“How long are you going to do this? How much longer do you have to torment me with this?” (Bake)

“………………I torment you?” (Riv)

“Yes. You’re not the only one who lost a daughter. When you realize how hard I’m trying not to blame you, please stop.” (Bake)

“…”

Rivianna’s mouth dropped open for a moment.

Because belatedly she realized that she wasn’t the only Mariel’s parent.

She didn’t know what to say, so she just stared blankly at Bake, swallowing the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

“I know how painful this is for you and I know that instead of blaming yourself, it’s better to blame someone else. But how much longer can you keep doing this?” (Bake)

“…Are you saying it’s my fault?” (Riv)

Looking at her emaciated husband’s face, Rivianna stepped back.

Everyone said that Mariel and Bake didn’t look alike, but that was impossible.

Because there was no child who didn’t look like their father.

No one saw it, but she could see the traces of Mariel on Bake’s face.

The more I thought about that fact, the more I couldn’t help but think about it.

The more she reflected on the fact, the more she couldn’t control her nauseous stomach.

It was like her daughter was looking at her with a face of resentment.

“No, that’s not what I’m saying. Mariel won’t come back no matter what you do.” (Bake)

“It’s my fault, because if I hadn’t sent Marial to the academy, my daughter wouldn’t have died.” (Riv)

“….”

“Furthermore, I was the one who directly hired the murderer who killed my daughter.” (Riv)

It was a fact that she already knew, but now her voice grew hoarse.

She couldn’t stop the guilt that she had been trying to press from leaking out like a burst of water. She could tell with words just by looking into her husband’s eyes.

‘My husband blames me.’

She couldn’t hold it in any longer and sat down helplessly.

She spilled so many tears that she thought they were dry now, but they trickled down her cheeks. Bake said to look for something to resent and try to channel her emotions elsewhere. But no matter how hard she tried to endure, she eventually came to the realization. 

‘The brutal truth was that I killed my daughter.’

***

Marchioness Clayton lost her mind.

The story that everyone had been clamoring about in secret was now a story that everyone knew.

Of course, not everyone believed the rumors from the beginning.

After the day of her daughter’s funeral, Rivianna disappeared from the society, but she was the Marchioness of Clayton.

The flower of society, the butterfly, the beauty of all things, as she was called, was not so lofty even on the day she had preceded her blood relatives. It was practically unbelievable that such a woman could wander around like a madwoman without dressing well.

“What about Rivianna?

“She’s in her room again today.”

“What about food? She didn’t skip meals today, did she?”

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t persuade her.”

Bang!

The servant, who was hit by a cane that Bake wielded, was pushed and staggered. Staring at the servant who stepped down, holding her red cheeks, Bake breathed heavily. 

“You should have done your job well! I paired you to do that!”

“I’m sorry!”

“Prepare a new meal now. If I hear again that she’s skipped a meal, I’ll cut your throat first.”

“Yes, I understand!”

Bake walked roughly, looking at the hastily fleeing servant.

He had always insisted that the rumors circulating in the society were preposterous, but he knew better than anyone that the rumors were true.

After his daughter’s death, his wife, who had fainted and woke up several times, had been desperate to find the killer, but it had been a short-lived attempt.

The more the truth about the incident came out, the more lifeless Rivianna became.

It was timely that Cheshire was nowhere to be found, and now everyone was starting to whisper that Mariel’s murderer was Rose, under Cheshire’s direction.

No matter how much Rivianna refused to believe it, she would eventually have to accept the truth. Of course, but only if there were no unnecessary distractions.

Bake came and looked at the man sitting in the parlor, his eyes straining.

It was so annoying that the man had come all the way here, knowing what rumors were going around right now. 

“I never imagine that His Excellency, the noble Duke, would serve as an errand boy.” (Bake)

“It’s to convey His Majesty’s words, so there’s nothing wrong with being just an errand boy.” (Calix)

“The Duke is surprisingly good at jokes.” (Bake)

“I’m glad you heard it as a joke.” (Calix)

At that short moment, the eyes of the two men went back and forth.

Bake sat down on the sofa opposite him, not avoiding Calix’s sharp gaze.

After a long time on the battlefield, Calix was intimidating even just sitting there, but Bake didn’t want to admit that even if it killed him.

“As you probably already know, His Majesty feels greatly responsible for this, and has promised decent compensation and apologies for it, and to uncover the truth.” (Calix)

“If he wishes the Academy to continue in the future, of course he should.” (Bale)

Bake skimmed over the papers Calix held out to him.

At first glance, the document was filled with conditions such as the tax case that had been bothering him and the transfer of ownership of the territory he wanted. It was a big compensation.

It was proof that even the Imperial Family was treating this matter as a serious matter.

Inwardly satisfied with this fact, Bake reached for the document. He was about to check the details carefully.

While he was blinded by the documents, he had no idea how Calix was looking at him. Calm stared at Bake, but slowly opened his mouth as Bake turned the document to the next page.

“We have recently arrested and interrogated Cheshire, who was on the run, in secret at the Imperial Court. However, that person made some strange claims.” (Calix)

“…”

“…The accident of Young Lady Mariel Clayton has been manipulated.” (Calix)

“Manipulated? Don’t tell me that you believe that mercenary’s nonsense stories?” (Bake)

“Of course I don’t believe all of it. But if there are any suspicious circumstances, of course we have to find out the truth. Because that would be what the parents wanted.” (Calix)

Calix’s somber black gaze stared at Bake.

Bake gritted his teeth as he looked into Calix’s eyes, which were black and unknown.

They had been that way before, and not much had changed.

The black eyes that looked down on people were extremely unpleasant.

“It’s funny how someone who doesn’t even have children talks about parenthood.” (Bake)

‘I didn’t think it would come to this either, but lately I’ve been having second thoughts. It’s about the heart of a parent.” (Calix)

“…”

“At least if it was me, compensation might not have been the first thing I would want to see.” (Calix)

Calix’s gaze reached the papers Bake was holding.

Bake endured the redness of his face and tried to put the documents down on the table in a hurry as if throwing it, but stopped.

It was because it was noisy outside.

“What’s the matter? I’m sure I told you I have a visitor.”

“I apologize. But, the Marchioness….!”

The pale faced servant couldn’t continue her words properly and just cracked up. But even with that, the two men’s expressions warped at once.