I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess - Chapter 77: Growing Suspicions

Editor : Aizen

Tomorrow is the day Yulken will return.

Until then, Ariel laid out various paving stones to be as fully prepared as possible.

She stayed in the office alone after asking Elfred to step aside because she wanted to think on her own.

When Ariel heard a knock on the room door and told the person to come in without asking who it was, Shuri cautiously appeared.

“It seems there was no harvest.”

“Yes, sorry, miss.”

Ariel expected it when she saw Shuri coming in with a deadpan look, but she couldn’t help but feel regretful.

If possible, Ariel was thinking of interrogating the assassin she picked up that day to somehow dig up information, but it didn’t work out as she had hoped.

But she didn’t think things would go so easily, so she didn’t care too much.

“Well, those cunning guys probably didn’t leave a trace.”

Ariel didn’t know if those assassins were direct subordinates sent from behind the scenes or mercenaries hired with money, but either way, they would have eliminated any clues about their existence.

Ariel, hoping for a great harvest, didn’t ask Shuri for anything else. She comforted her by saying that it was okay and motioned her to come this way.

“Silentium.”

Then, in a calm voice, she asked the question she wanted to ask, after activating magic to prevent the sound from leaking out.

“Did you say anything else?”

On the day Ariel returned to the castle, there was one more thing she secretly requested from Shuri.

To investigate the actions of some of the retainers present there, whom she had noticed.

Of course, it was a daring task for Shuri to do alone, so they hired additional staff.

There may be some who believe that Ariel lacks subordinates she can control like limbs because she has not yet assumed the position of head of the household, but that narrative is mistaken.

Apart from Shuri, there were four personal subordinates who lived and died solely on Ariel’s orders.

These were the exclusive escorts who had been by her side since childhood.

Initially, when Ariel knew nothing of leadership, they merely played the role of escorts. However, as Ariel grew older and desired subordinates she could trust completely, the nature of their roles changed somewhat.

This was the first time she had written in earnest like this, but fortunately, they were performing their duties well.

“To begin with, Sir Julius mentioned that he had shown no signs of restlessness. All the people he met separately had only been inside the castle, and he had not left the castle premises for the past few days.”

“Yes?”

Ariel nodded as though she already knew this, having no doubts about Julius.

Julius, at best, is naïve, and at worst, indifferent to others.

The character assessment she received from her father described him as “an honest soldier.”

If Edgar hadn’t shown an interest in the man, Ariel wouldn’t have been hostile towards him or even contemplated schemes against him, as she had already predicted in her heart.

As soon as it seemed that she was convinced, Shuri promptly proceeded to discuss the next subject.

This time, it was Gail’s turn.

“Sir Gail, on the other hand… that’s a bit odd.”

“Is that so?”

Could it be that she noticed something disconcerting?

Ariel inquired again, squinting her eyes.

“The lady said he went to his parents’ house the day after he returned. Upon investigation, it turns out that the carriage he used was made in Delion.”

“If it’s Delion…”

Delion is a city situated on the border between the northern and central regions.

It is a place accessible only by carriage, as passage through the dimension stone is not possible. However, the distance is quite considerable.

“Where is Sir Gail’s home?”

“It’s a place called Fortuna.”

“Hmm, then it wouldn’t be inaccurate to say he went to his parent’s house.”

Delion and Fortuna are quite close to each other.

The wagon might have made a brief stop during the journey, which makes sense.

Of course, the act of trying to erase any traces the day after the incident would be suspicious, but Ariel’s perspective was somewhat different.

“It’s not impossible, but we can eliminate Sir Gail from the list of suspects.”

“Yes? But…”

Ariel fully understood Shuri’s emotions, as she seemed to be struggling to articulate her thoughts.

Therefore, Ariel wanted to clarify things for her.

“Let’s think about it from another angle. Who is currently aware of this case?”

“That would be the young lady, the young master, and myself… right? Of course, also including the person who plotted this scheme.”

As Shuri mumbled while tilting her head, Ariel snapped her fingers.

That was the crucial point.

“Exactly. If the culprit’s tracks are not even exposed, what reason would they have to hide? Unless your adversary is a complete fool, they would know that remaining concealed in a situation like this would only arouse more suspicion.”

“Ah…!”

“When you assume the presence of a sin and discuss it, it might sound convincing. However, on the contrary, if you assume there is no sin and discuss it, it also becomes plausible. Just because one wasn’t aware of something. That alone is enough.”

Indeed, because he was innocent, he didn’t hesitate to do things that could be seen as suspicious.

Shuri also nodded emphatically, as if she finally grasped the point.

“Moreover, if I were the culprit, I wouldn’t have chosen to leave the castle while the assassin was still at large.”

While in hiding, they needed to be more aware of the aftermath than anyone else in the castle.

Once the time had passed, it would become evident that the assassination attempt was thwarted due to a lack of contact, whether by subordinates or hired help.

But if that were the case, why is Ariel keeping quiet about this?

If there were doubters, they remained unknown.

Therefore, while staying hidden in the castle, the person involved must be searching for additional information somehow.

This is why Ariel also excluded Gail from the list of suspects.

Though not as confident as she was with Julius, her intuition assured her of Gail’s innocence.

Now, the last person on the investigation list is

“Sir Vincent.”

“Yes.”

Vincent Roland.

Among the three people on the list, Ariel had met him the least.

He was a person who always appeared pleasant and left a good impression, making it hard to discern his true character.

Ariel hadn’t even inquired about his personality from Yulken, as she had no particular interest in him.

“There is nothing suspicious about Sir Vincent.”

“Yes? Please tell me everything, just in case.”

“Yes, to begin with, he stayed in the castle for two days after the lady’s return. The next day, he went hunting with Sir Lux, and yesterday he had an appointment outside, so he went out for a while.”

“…”

It seemed like a very ordinary daily routine.

Perhaps Ariel had chosen the wrong person to be suspicious of, so she went through the confirmation process to be thorough.

“What about the people he met while he was outside?”

“Oh, actually, he was seen with his son.”

Apparently, the person’s identity had even been verified. If that was the case, then it was surely reliable information.

However, Ariel’s frown persisted as an unsettling feeling lingered.

She couldn’t express it clearly, but it seemed like she was forgetting something important.

Sometimes the heart reacts before the head, which was one such instance.

Clearly, everything seemed solid and without a doubt. Even though she knew that, something within her chest refused to let go easily.

‘What is it?’

It might be easy to dismiss it as a whim, but Ariel continued examining that point, trying to recall something forgotten from her memory.

Vincent. What memories are there, when she didn’t even have memories of talking to each other?

One month, half a year, a year. She tried to recall the timeline of their memories step by step.

It might have been a casual conversation, but in the current situation, even a small fragment of memory could prove useful.

It happened about two years ago from the present.

It was a time when Ariel had reconciled with her father and was growing closer to him.

On that particular day, after a conversation with Yulken, Ariel unexpectedly bumped into Vincent as she was leaving the room.

“It’s good to see that you’ve grown closer to His Highness, young lady.”

It was welcome news for her, so Ariel accepted it with a smile, even though she wasn’t very familiar with the person speaking to her.

“I don’t know how happy I am. I wonder if Vincent is close to his own children?”

“Unfortunately, I think I am rather indifferent to them due to spending a long time on the battlefield.”

“That’s a pity.”

Ariel genuinely felt that way at the time.

So, when Vincent playfully asked her a question, half-jokingly and half-seriously, she must have earnestly given him advice.

“If you tell me how you became closer to His Highness, I’ll take it as a reference.”

“Uh… But Vincent’s children must be adults by now.”

“Hehe, well, he actually has a daughter that’s a late-bloomer. She’s much younger than you, young lady.”

Ariel’s eyes immediately lit up at the unexpected revelation.

The reason why parents and children often grew apart was the lack of opportunities for conversations, with parents giving long speeches and sharing their own experiences.

“In that case, how about going hunting or fishing together? It might help build a relationship between father and daughter.”

Without hesitation, Ariel suggested going fishing with a girl younger than herself.

She suggested it because she thought it could be a good way to get closer to one’s father.

“Fishing? That’s an unexpected suggestion. Unfortunately, hunting seems difficult.”

“Why hunting?”

“I’m embarrassed to admit it, but my stomach can’t handle hunting. I can’t do it at all.”

That was what he said quite clearly.

“Then you’ve never been hunting?”

“That’s right. I was invited to go hunting occasionally, but I always had to decline.”

that I had never been there before

At that realization, a dark smile curved on Ariel’s lips.

“… Shuri, did you investigate Vincent’s hunting trip?”

“Yes, he had a companion, so there was no suspicion. I didn’t record any information about it when I was in charge.”

Looking at the papers in her hand, Shuri nodded, and Ariel’s smile grew even darker and more cunning.

“Inform your men. Investigate Vincent and even Lux.”

“Are you talking about Lord Lux?”

“Yes.”

Why did they have to go hunting together?

Perhaps it wasn’t exactly hunting; there might have been other reasons to build a connection between them.

As the puzzle pieces started to fit together, Ariel didn’t recoil from the idea of betrayal but felt a shiver of delight.

‘You have a weak stomach.’

If the day comes when her predictions prove true, she couldn’t help but want to test the limits of how far she could endure.

[T : As someone who forgets their studies once the semester finishes, I am not definitely not feeling ‘face slapped’ by Ariel at all, definitely not !!!

Ahem! Ready for fast releases and a new novel? Check this out ‘ I am the madman of this family’ The MC truly fits the title, the madman who can’t stay put and make troubles wherever he goes. ‘ Thank you for reading till here.]