Of course, even with all that, it was a far-fetched hypothesis.
Ethan knew that himself. But until the truth was clearly revealed, he had to keep all possibilities open.
The decision to release Liam Bernard was also a trap.
If Camille is indeed playing a double game, this will be an opportunity to expose her. For this reason, he assigned someone to monitor Bernard, and then assigned Jack to secretly monitor him.
However, there was no trace of a trap anywhere.
Jack had an uncanny ability to sense anything abnormal. No matter how much Gerard set the trap, if anything, Jack would have sensed the contradiction.
“It's hard. Whether it's black or white.”
“……”
Ethan frowned silently.
Whether Camille was innocent or not, there was no evidence to prove it, so he had no choice but to confront directly.
He didn't trust anyone easily. He had to see with his eyes and judge with his mind. Over the past decade, he has learned this lesson well.
To protect Dumont, he could not afford any complacency, even if the person in question was his wife of five years.
Ethan stood up from his seat.
***
After History of the War of Eärendel, I continued to borrow and read books from Ethan's library. Thanks to this, I was able to gain a general understanding of the level of civilization and social norms in this world.
While I was working tirelessly to dispel Ethan's doubts, I also needed to think about my life after leaving the Duke's house after things settled down.
This was a valuable investment of my time for this.
One day, while I was reading a book I borrowed from Ethan, I heard a knock on the door.
“Mary, can you see who it is?”
“Yes, ma'am.”
Mary opened the door and sighed involuntarily.
“What's wrong?” I asked, looking up.
Behind the open door, Ethan stood,
“Can I come in?”
Until then, he had always sent someone to deliver letters, and whenever we met, it was in his office. It was no surprise that Mary was stunned.
“Please, come in. Mary, can you make some tea?”
“No need for tea, but I want her to leave us alone.”
Mary looked at me, looking for confirmation, even though Ethan was the master of the house. It was very endearing, reflecting how well she had mastered training over time.
“Leave us for a while, Mary.”
“Yes, ma’am,” she bowed and left the room.
“A killer has shown up, I think?”
Ethan's gaze was fixed on me.
“I thought it was time. And you're not going to personally visit my room for something less important, are you?”
“Yes, you are right.”
“Sit down. Even if you don’t want tea, it is not appropriate to have a conversation while standing.”
I guided Ethan to the couch and he followed me and sat across from me.
“So what's the news?”
“As you expected, someone tried to kill Liam Bernard.”
"And the Baron? Did he confess?"
“Yes. He confirmed that Gerard was behind his contact with you.”
“Okay. So, your doubts about me should be gone now, right?”
“……”
Ethan stared at me with an ambiguous expression.
"Why the silence? Is there something else?"
“Are you really asking because you don't know? You haven't explained how you knew Gerard was after Bernard.”
“I told you, I have my reasons for not revealing it.”
“What are the reasons?”
“If there was something I could tell you, I wouldn't have needed to hide it in the first place.”
Ethan tapped the sofa armrest, his face expressionless.
“Are you serious?”
"On what?"
“Do you really think I would abandon my suspicions with such a poor explanation from someone as smart as you?”
Hearing that from Ethan made me feel strangely good. It was proof that his view of Camille had completely changed over the past month.
However, it is more confrontational than I expected.
I knew that this issue would eventually become a stumbling block.
For the past month, I've racked my brain trying to find a convincing answer, but nothing convincing has come to mind.
I could have made up a story about seeing Liam talking to Gerard's subordinate, but knowing Ethan's nature, he would have reconsidered the matter by questioning Liam.
If this lie was exposed, things would have become more complicated.
I can't quite admit that I'm from another world...
I sighed quietly.
It wasn't that I was completely without a plan.
Sometimes, if you cannot give a satisfactory answer, not answering may be a solution. It's just a matter of how you do it.
"I can't tell you, I have no other choice. I thought you would understand some of this."
“Are you saying this is a matter of life and death?” Ethan asked, his eyes narrowing.
I didn't answer, and I kept looking at him calmly.
"I may not need to remind you, but you are the Duchess of Dumont, under my protection. I will protect what is mine. No one, not even Gerard, will harm a single hair on your head."
I knew he wasn't lying.
In the original story, Ethan did not use his followers as disposable pawns, even in critical situations, and protected everyone until the end.
Of course, he was also cruel towards traitors.
Knowing this, I deliberately left my expression skeptical, and lowered my gaze.
“We will see”
“Are you saying you don't trust me?”
"You'll protect me? I trust," I emphasized the "I," suggesting that someone else's life was at stake.
This means that my hesitation to clarify was to protect someone else.
This is the strategy I devised – suggesting that there are causes that are too important to reveal, creating an aura of mystery.
Ultimately, this was a strategy of reading the opponent's signals and adapting as needed.
In the end, this is my specialty. That's what brought me here...
Ethan narrowed his eyes at me.
“What are you hiding from me, Camille?”
“Wives tend to keep a lot of secrets from their husbands.”
“…Are you really kidding in this situation?”
“I'm just saying it's not unusual for me to have secrets. You have a lot of them.”
“This is different. This is about Dumont’s security. I didn’t feel the need to share irrelevant matters with you.”
“The matter is not separate. I am the Duchess of Dumont and the lady of this house. You are the one who decided on your own that it was not necessary to tell me,” I made an angry expression on my face.
“Stop trying to change the subject, Camille.”
“I'm not. The two matters are interconnected. If you had trusted me and treated me properly as Duchess Dumont, this situation would not have happened.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“If I had told you beforehand that a suspicious man was approaching me and there seemed to be an evil conspiracy behind it, would you have believed me?”
“……”
Ethan fell silent at my words.
“Of course not. You would think I was making up nonsense to get your attention, and you wouldn’t take me seriously. You probably wouldn’t even give me a chance to talk, claiming that you were too busy.”
“Camille”
“If I were sure you trusted me, I wouldn't have to act secretly. I wouldn't need to hide the source of my information from you.”
“……”
Ethan's eyes became cloudy, just as she expected.
“Despite everything, I live with you in the same house, under the same roof. You seem to forget that sometimes.”
When I said something similar earlier, Ethan showed a feeling of guilt.
It was surprising. From what I read in the original story, Ethan seemed completely indifferent to Camille, and usually treated me coldly.
At least he feels guilty for neglecting his wife.
Despite his outward appearance, Ethan had a surprisingly tender heart. This was demonstrated in his close relationship with his daughter, Elodie.