The knight sensed something strange in Eric's unfamiliar appearance.
The gentleman he knew, the Duke of Brant, was never the type to get emotional; He always handled matters rationally and carefully.
But now, Eric's eyes in front of him were relentlessly fierce, like a rampaging beast.
This doesn't look like the master at all.
Then Eric's voice rang out again.
“I told you, answer me!”
The knight swallowed hard before speaking.
“Your Highness, an accident occurred while the Grand Lady, Miss Arjenne, and the Duchess were returning together.
The carriage lost its wheel, causing it to slide and collide.”
His heart was beating harder.
No, it can't be.
Nothing bad could have happened.
Eric thought this to himself.
Maybe the cart just broke down, or there were some injured people, so they came to ask for help.
But the knight's next words dashed Eric's hopes.
“In the process, the Duchess fell off the cliff.”
Knock-!
At that moment, his mind went completely blank.
After Cornelia's carriage fell, the remaining knights were doing their best to find her.
“She's not here!”
Chester frowned.
“The search will be more difficult once the sun goes down.”
Two knights left for the palace and the royal palace, respectively, leaving only three knights.
Honestly, this manpower was not enough to conduct a proper search, but he went down to the riverbank below the cliff to continue searching.
However, there was no trace of Cornelia.
As darkness fell, Chester felt despair creeping up on him.
They have called for reinforcements, but the search will become difficult once the sun sets.
This will delay time, and Cornelia's chances of survival will diminish even more.
“No, we can't let it end like this...”
The grand lady was watching this scene, unconsciously biting her nails anxiously.
“Is she really dead?”
Madeleine approached the grande dame's side.
“Cornelia, you'll be fine, right?”
Even though she was pretending to be sad, the Grand Lady instinctively knew.
Madeleine was happier than ever.
What is this?
Could it be that she wanted to get rid of Cornelia?
Of course, the Grand Lady was also planning to fire Cornelia one day.
She was a troublemaker and a failure in the imperial family, completely unsuitable for her son.
But still, she never had any intention of killing Cornelia simply because she was the Emperor's daughter.
Who knows what the Emperor might do with this incident as an excuse?
And that scammer...
At that moment, Madeleine hugged the grand lady and whispered.
“Ma’am, what would you do if you still had the poison?”
Upon hearing that, it seemed logical.
As Madeleine backed away, the Grand Madame bit her lip.
Yes, this might become a problem one day...
So the eldest lady looked for an opportunity to secretly get rid of the poison.
But…
“Ma’am, are you feeling unwell?”
Because Giselle was talking next to her, the Grand Lady couldn't get rid of the poison.
Why on earth is this woman following me?
Grand Mrs.
Brant tried to pretend to be sad, and sighed involuntarily.
But right now, the knights seem to be busy searching for Cornelia, so I can carefully hide the evidence, including the poison.
While the Grand Lady was thinking these thoughts, “Where is she?!”
A sudden sound rang out, not very loud, but the dark emotions contained in it made the listener's blood freeze.
When the eldest lady was sure who the voice was, she involuntarily drew in a sharp breath.
The false son, who was supposed to be in the north, was here in the form of a demonic presence.
How could he be so miserable here...?
The eldest lady, confused for a moment, began to tremble involuntarily.
What if he finds out what you did?
She was afraid.
Afraid of how the fake son would react if he found out the truth.
Then Eric spoke again.
“I asked where.
Where did my wife fall?”
His penetrating blue eyes, filled with madness-like excitement, radiated with frightening brutality.
While everyone remained silent, unable to respond to the terrifying presence of Duke Brant, someone finally spoke.
It was Chester, commander of Duke Brant's knights.
"here."
Chester bowed his head and clenched his fists.
“I have no words to defend myself from any punishment the Duke may impose upon me.”
He had gone down to the river bank, but had abandoned his search because of the darkness.
Now, the Duke, who they thought was in the north, was here, looking for his wife.
He couldn't bear to face his master.
“I failed to protect the lady.
Please, punish me.”
Even as he knelt, admitting his failure, Eric's gaze remained fixed on the cliff.
As a master swordsman, or at least an aura user, he should have been able to descend safely, but…
It's too high.
He tried not to think about it, but the ominous possibilities of what might have happened after her fall kept floating in his mind.
Eric, who had never lost his composure even in the war, now felt a desire rising within him—to throw himself off the cliff and follow her.
Gradually, Eric gritted his teeth.
“No, that's impossible.”
She was a stubborn woman.
She was annoying enough to torment anyone who approached her.
Over the years, she has stayed by his side, despite ignoring him.
So there was no way she could die senselessly.
Of course, she will survive and cause chaos in her own way.
At that moment, someone's voice interrupted Eric's thoughts.
“It's strange, no matter how you look at it.”
It was Marquis Philippe who came to inspect the carriage.
“What are you doing, Marquis Philippe?”
At Eric's low call, the Marquis bowed his head and then looked up.
The middle-aged man, who seemed indifferent moments ago, now had a serious and serious expression.
“Forgive me for interfering, Duke.
But this is a situation in which I have no choice but to intervene.”
"What do you mean by that?"
“As Commander of the Knights of the Middle, supervising the Metropolitan Police, Defence, Guards, and Investigation Units, I cannot ignore this situation that might involve the murder of a member of the Royal Family.”
"Killing a member of the royal family?
Did someone try to kill her?"
When he first heard the news of the accident, his only thought was to come here as quickly as possible.
But now, realizing that someone had tried to kill her, he felt an uncontrollable rage welling up within him.
“Who on earth could it be?”
Eric looked at everyone present: the knights who had always hated Cornelia, Madeleine, who had skillfully tortured her, and the Grand Lady, who had bullied and harassed her.
They were all suspicious.
The moment he realized this, Eric felt like killing everyone here.
Sensing the sudden change in Eric's demeanor, Marquis Philippe swallowed hard.
The Duke's martial aura...is directed at everyone here.
Eric's nickname on the battlefield was "Battle Reaper."
If Duke Brant was bent on killing, he could slaughter everyone present.
It's more than I can handle, but I can't let it go too far.
Marquis Philippe remained alert, prepared for any emergency.
However, contrary to his expectations, Eric slowly released the tension in his fist.
The reason was that a frightening scene from the nightmares he always tried to ignore had returned to his mind—the image of Cornelia holding a gun to her head right in front of him.
That was just a dream.
Eric's gaze turned toward the cliff, in the direction she had supposedly fallen.
Suddenly, one thought crystallized in his mind: she must be alive.
So you must…
However, Eric threw himself off the cliff towards where Cornelia fell.
“Your Highness!”
Everyone present was surprised by the Duke's sudden action.
But shortly afterwards, they were relieved to see the Duke running down the cliff as if it were flat ground.
Marquis Philippe let out a small sigh.
“It's an order from the Emperor, but I can't do this twice.”
Then Chester spoke.
“Marquis Philip, I would like to hear more about what you said earlier.”
Marquis Philippe nodded.
“When I examined the cart, I noticed something strange about the wheel connections.”
While he was speaking, the Marquis approached the carriage and removed the left wheel to show the coupling and interior.
“Normally, after the collision, the wheel assembly will show wear from friction, and the dust will come out like this from the wheel assembly.
Just like that.
However, the wheel of the right side of the carriage...”
Marquis Philippe examined the right wheel.
“One side is missing, and someone clearly cut that side with a tool to manipulate the assembly connection.”
The Marquis, examining the right wheel link, raised the corner of his mouth.
“Look, there's no dust left on this side.”
Seeing the astonished expressions on people's faces, the Marquis continued.
"Usually, under such a high-quality vehicle, there is a shock-absorbing spring suspension system to cushion the collision.
However, the suspension system on this vehicle sustained damage that resembled saw cuts."
The Marquis's gaze hardened.
"If the suspension system had been intact, even if a wheel had come off and the carriage had suddenly stopped, the Duchess might not have been injured.
But someone tampered with the suspension, which led to this tragic accident.
Could this be just a coincidence?"
Hearing the Marquis's explanation, the knights clenched their fists.
“So, someone intentionally tried to harm the Duchess?”
At that moment, someone intervened.
“Isn’t it hasty to draw such a conclusion based on that alone?”
“Are you saying you don't agree with what I'm saying, Miss Arjen?”
“Yes, because under normal circumstances, Cornelia wouldn’t have taken that shortcut, and if she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have fallen off the cliff.
I don’t see how this could be premeditated murder.”
“Do you mean this was an accident, Miss Arjen?”
“If there's no clear evidence of someone's plan, yes.”
“Proof...so will you be convinced if I bring proof?”
"Yes, of course."
At the moment Madeleine nodded, a gray owl flew to the Marquis.
Reading the letter tied to her ankle, Marquis Philippe's expression immediately hardened and he stared at Madeleine.
“In that case, I have reasons to arrest you, Miss Arjen.”