The Obsessive Male Lead Wants To Become My Husband - Chapter 86

In fact, the County of Garneid had enough money. There was only one thing that needed to be borrowed from the Duke of Brudenell… It was an information organization, ‘Aisle.’

“Give me full authority over the Aisle.”

The Duchess’ reply was also quick.

“I don’t even know if I have the authority to do that.”

“…Haven’t you had any contact with them since Lord Cassius was arrested?”

At my question, she answered rather pointedly.

“If it were at a level where contact was possible on my side, it wouldn’t be called an intelligence organization in the first place.”

“….”

The Duchess was not wrong. ‘Aisle’ was the highest-level intelligence organization in the Empire and was characterized by blind loyalty that only followed its owner. So, after the Duke died, it passed on to his successor, Cassius.

‘…No way.’

I gazed straight at the Duchess.

“Lord Cassius, do you think he’s making contact with them?”

“Well?”

The Duchess replied with a serene face.

“I don’t know, but it should be possible.”

I was lost in thoughts for a moment.

If Cassius was in contact with Aisle, there was nothing to worry about because he meant that he was preparing to clear the frame he had laid on himself. If he were handling it, I wouldn’t have to worry about being harmed.

However…

‘…There’s a high enough chance that he’s unable to be contacted at all, or even the Aisle can’t grasp the truth.’

No matter how much the Aisle was the best information organization in the Empire, it didn’t move and couldn’t move without the owner’s order. Duke Brudenell would have been in full control until the last moment, but it was clear that he was knocked down by one of my maids.

…In a word, it meant that they knew as much as the owner.

Worst of all, the members of the Aisle would think that Cassius killed their master.

‘Still, the Duchess knows that that’s not the case… I don’t have to worry about this.’

Then, there were two ways left—making the Aisle move by somehow contacting them, or contacting Cassius and telling him all the information I had… Seeing as he killed Kitty at the risk of being found out by me, it seemed that things were quite urgent for him as well.

“That means there’s nothing the Madam can do to help me.”

“It’s too bad to say that already, Lady Garneid.”

The Duchess waved her hand gracefully as she went on.

“Is it necessary to use the Aisle?”

“Are you telling me to find a private investigator?”

“Exactly.”

The Duchess nodded her head.

“Actually, there are private informants I have entrusted with investigating. They were the ones who uncovered the details about the Young Lady. If it weren’t for that, I’d still be wondering what the hell my son went to prison for.”

“But, you didn’t accuse me…”

“I was just grateful for killing my husband, that’s all.”

Saying so, she was now resting her chin on her hand and speaking freely.

“However, that’s not the case if it’s not the Young Lady. And, my son is in prison for nothing.”

“….”

There was subtle pressure in the Duchess’s voice.

“Meet my informants.”

ﾟ･ : * ✧ * :･ ﾟ 

“These things aren’t evidence, Young Lady. Is there any evidence that you aren’t blaming the dead maid for her sins?”

“…Then, how come they only found the things that my maid could easily access?”

“That’s because they were items that even the Young Lady could apply poison to without feeling burdened.”

Unfortunately, the Duchess’s informants had less capabilities than expected.

I mean, it was inconvenient.

Even though I presented various circumstantial evidence that Kitty was the culprit, when they saw them, they still thought that I was the culprit. Well, they were the ones who approached that decision after setting the conclusion in the first place.

It couldn’t help.

‘As expected, I’ll have to contact the Aisle at any cost.’

I couldn’t expect this from the Duchess, then…

‘…There is only that mansion.’

I remembered the mansion where I worked briefly before I was captured by Cassius and taken to the island. Since it was a mansion where members of the Aisle were selected, I wondered if there might be some clues going there.

If I was lucky, I might be able to get some help from the head maid, who was quite fond of me.

However, it was too far away to go directly and I was worried about what would happen while I was moving, so I called the maid of the so-called ‘leader of the merchants guild mansion’ in a letter.

“Long time no see.”

I smiled at the head maid.

“…I didn’t expect to see you like this, Young Lady.”

“Me, too. Thank you for treating me well then.”

Although I was taken by Cassius because of the recommendation by the head maid, I had no regrets about her.

Her fault was that she thought highly of me.

“I’ll be straightforward. I want to meet with the person in charge of Aisle. How can I meet them?”

The head maid wasn’t at all surprised, but she gave an unhelpful answer.

“…Isn’t Lord Cassius imprisoned in the Imperial Palace right now?”

“There must be someone in charge right below the Lord.”

“There isn’t.”

The head maid shook her head and continued.

“All members of the Aisle are equal. Interactions with each other are also extremely limited to prevent information leaks. As for the leader you think of, Lord Cassius Brudenell is currently the only one.”

I pursed my lips.

Her words didn’t sound like lies. Still, if it was really according to her words…

“Isn’t there someone who was investigating Kitty?”

“I don’t know what the Young Lady is talking about.”

“My maid whom Lord Cassius killed.”

I answered calmly.

There was once a time when just thinking about Kitty or mentioning her name made my throat choke up. Nonetheless, those days felt far away, like it was a long time ago… even though it hadn’t even been fifteen days.

“Well…”

The head maid was lost in her thoughts.

“I can ask around. If it were the Young Lady’s maid, the informants in charge of her would also be staying in the Capital.”

“Thank you. I’d like to ask you one more thing.”

“Say it.”

“If Lord Cassius is not released… Where does the full authority of the Aisle go?”

The head maid raised her head. At the same time, her strange gaze lingered on my face before she opened her mouth slowly.

“As long as Lord Cassius is alive, whatever his status, the Aisle is subject to him. However, if the Lord dies…”

I immediately understood the implications of her words.

…In case Cassius got the death penalty. The head maid was talking about just that case.

“We’ll move on in the order specified in his will.”

“A will?”

I asked back in surprise.

‘Cassius wasn’t even over thirty yet, though there was a will…?’

The head maid tilted her head.

“I heard that you were engaged, but he didn’t say anything to the Young Lady at that time? All members of the Duke of Brudenell write a will after they’re ten years old and amend it every year.”

“….”

I swallowed dry saliva.

It wasn’t something that they just wrote it down and forgot at all, writing a will every year… It wasn’t that I didn’t have a clue, and that was why this situation was even more frightening.

I held out my hand to the head maid.

“Thank you. I’ll compensate you for it.”

“Thank you.”

She didn’t turn down my offer. After I gave her a large sum of money, I then prepared a carriage for her to go back to the mansion where she was supposed to work.

I closed my eyes.

Even though I’d have to see the will to be sure, maybe you didn’t have to. If what I thought was right…

‘…Cassius wants to die, leaving everything to me.’

What he wanted was the death penalty.

…Perhaps, committing suicide.

I gritted my teeth. Unless Cassius was dead, there was no way for me, who was not the party, to see the will at all.

If so, there was only one way left.

ﾟ･ : * ✧ * :･ ﾟ 

Hermia looked intently at the woman in front of her.

“Young Lady Garneid.”

Her voice echoed strangely in her room.

“What did you come to see me for?”

As Evelyn Garneid’s pupils trembled anxiously, Hermia’s body tensed up. As far as she knew, there was only one instance where she would be so nervous like this… Cassius Brudenell.

‘He’ll be executed within this year, so I’ll have to tell her not to worry.’

The evidence presented by Cassius Brudenell was enough to astonish the entire Empire, and calls for execution as an example were rising. In any case, with the head of the family dead and the heir serving at least life imprisonment, there would be no possibility of a revival of the Duke of Brudenell.

The Emperor was thinking of executing Cassius, and reverting the Brudenell Dukedom itself to the treasury. Of course, according to the will, the actual property would pass to someone unknown by Cassius, but the powerful family of Duke Brudenell wouldn’t be resurrected.

It was when Hermia opened her mouth that Evelyn Garneid’s earnest voice startled her.

“…Please, let me meet Cassius Brudenell.”

A half-crying voice.

“I’ll pay whatever the price… Please let me see him.”

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