Chapter 72
“This is a specialty of Cornello. Please accept it comfortably, as a token of my gratitude for the invitation.”
“Thank you for such a precious gift, Lady Marconi.”
The two of them sat facing each other, conversing in the common tongue, Alterian.
The Roblet Kingdom used the same Grastean language as the Grastea Empire.
But Deborah, who had been adopted young and raised in Cornello, was not entirely fluent in it.
Out of consideration for her, Raul continued the conversation in the common tongue.
“You’re Muriel’s… biological sister? The one she was separated from as a child.”
“Yes, that’s right. Unfortunately, I was the only one who ended up being adopted.”
“…May I hear more about what happened?”
“Hmm, where should I begin…?”
The story Deborah recounted was brief, but realistic. Convincing.
Above all, she had no reason to lie.
Deborah was the sole heir of the Marconi family.
Like her adoptive mother, she would soon enter politics herself.
With such a secure position, why would she fabricate some absurd falsehood?
Especially over a single individual from another country—Muriel Tierney.
And so Raul had no choice but to let go of his doubts and believe her.
Muriel… was not of the Tierney bloodline.
“…You wish to see Muriel.”
“Yes. May I meet her today?”
“…I’m afraid that would be difficult.”
“Pardon? Why?”
Deborah had gathered various pieces of information about Muriel while staying in Lapienne, but she did not yet know about Muriel and Raul’s divorce.
Watching Raul’s troubled expression, she frowned slightly in confusion.
After opening and closing his mouth a few times, Raul finally lowered his head as though confessing to a crime.
“The truth is… Muriel and I formally divorced not long ago.”
“…What?”
Deborah’s eyes widened, caught completely off guard.
Blinking rapidly, she pressed him, her tone sharpening.
“If you divorced Muriel, then where is she now? It didn’t seem as though she returned to the Tierney ducal house.”
By now, the news would likely have reached Tierney as well—but during the time Deborah had stayed in Lapienne, no one had known.
Raul let out a small sigh before answering.
“Muriel… has become an apothecary affiliated with the Veratis Guild.”
“…Excuse me?”
The words she had just heard were so unexpected that Deborah let out a half-bewildered laugh, caught between shock and disbelief.
As for Raul, though he tried to appear composed, he was anything but.
He was afraid. Wracked with guilt. Confused.
He could not bring himself to confess to Deborah that he had exiled Muriel to the contaminated zone.
A deep crease formed between his brows as he recalled what had happened not long ago.
‘I met an elderly man who retired after serving at the Tierney ducal estate.’
‘…And?’
‘It seems his children also worked there and recently quit. The old man says that if we offer him and his children protection in Winterberg, he will tell us everything he knows.’
Raul immediately ordered that the old man and his children be brought to Vintzheim.
Not long after, Raul met them at the Winterberg ducal residence.
And what he heard there… was nothing short of shocking.
‘It wasn’t something any human should do…. What they did to Lady Muriel at the Tierney estate….’
Digging a deep pit, filling it with insects, and throwing her inside.
Inviting her on a boating trip to a winter lake, only to seat her alone in a boat with holes drilled through its hull….
Things only a devil would do.
‘On Lady Muriel’s right side, there is a scar where an arrow pierced her…. It was Young Master Kabil who shot it.’
Raul suddenly recalled Muriel calmly revealing her scar.
The story she had told him then had not been fabricated… it had truly happened.
But the “hunting incident” had been only the tip of the iceberg.
There were countless times the Tierney siblings had driven Muriel to the brink of death.
The old man recounted them one by one, in the order he remembered, leaving nothing out.
‘That day was the birthday of both Juliet and Lady Muriel. By coincidence, they shared the same birthday. Lady Juliet had long found that fact deeply displeasing.’
‘…….’
‘So every year on that day, Lady Muriel was locked in her room and forbidden to come out. Lady Juliet could not bear the thought of her being seen.’
‘…….’
‘But that year… for some reason… a kitchen maid used the leftover ingredients from Lady Juliet’s birthday cake to make a small portion for Lady Muriel and secretly brought it to her.’
‘…….’
‘A stable boy happened to witness it and ran straight to inform Lady Juliet.’
‘…….’
‘Naturally, Lady Juliet flew into a rage. The kitchen maid had both her eyes gouged out and her wrists cut off before being abandoned at the hunting grounds… She likely became food for the beasts. And Lady Muriel… as if a brutal beating weren’t enough, she was bound atop the tower for an entire week.’
‘…….’
‘After that incident, no servant at the Tierney estate dared to help Lady Muriel even in the slightest. No one knew what would happen if they incurred Lady Juliet’s or Young Master Kabil’s wrath.’
The truth—that Muriel was not even an illegitimate child but an adopted one—was kept under strict secrecy by the Duke of Tierney and his children.
No one dared to reveal it. Not a whisper leaked beyond the estate walls.
The kitchen maid, they said, had no family—an unmarried woman executed alone. But the devils of Tierney were more than capable of invoking guilt by association.
To protect themselves. Their families. Their friends and lovers… they all shut their mouths. Closed their eyes.
As long as only Muriel was sacrificed.
As long as she alone endured that horrific hell.
Then everyone else could remain safe. Happy. At peace.
‘As the years passed, tormenting Lady Muriel became second nature to Young Master Kabil and Lady Juliet.’
‘…….’
‘At some point, even when a servant made a mistake, they punished Lady Muriel. Even when a vassal committed a crime, they disciplined Lady Muriel instead.’
‘…….’
‘And so every sin of the Tierney family was poured onto Lady Muriel alone.’
A child raised in hell had no vitality about her. It was as if she had forgotten how to smile.
And yet, to survive, she had learned to wear a hollow smile—one devoid of meaning—like a habit.
When she first stepped into society, those who knew nothing mocked that smile as insincere.
‘Such a pitiful child. If only she had been adopted somewhere far away, like her sister….’
‘…Sister?’
‘Ah, you didn’t know…. Lady Muriel has a biological sister she was separated from as a child. A foreign dignitary took her away, and after that, all contact ceased.’
The old man had added one more thing.
Come to think of it, there was a young woman in Lapienne recently asking around about Muriel.
Green hair, dressed in elegant attire….
Perhaps that woman was Muriel’s sister.
Upon hearing that, Raul had sent word to Michelle in Lapienne, ordering her to find the green-haired woman.
Not long after, Michelle located her.
Deborah Marconi, who wished to see the younger sister she had long ago been separated from.
“……”
Returning to the present, Raul stared at the person before him, fear flickering in his eyes.
Since hearing of Muriel’s past, doubts had flooded his mind like a rising tide.
All those crimes Muriel had supposedly committed at Winterberg Castle….
What if—just as she had insisted—they were truly false accusations?
The mere thought of it made his chest tighten.
Cold sweat slid down his spine.
Deborah’s voice echoed as though from somewhere far away.
“How did Muriel end up becoming an apothecary? And she even joined an adventurers’ guild…. I’ve heard of the Veratis Guild. Isn’t it an elite guild made up only of Rankers? To think she’s affiliated with such a place—my sister is impressive….”
She chattered in amazement, yet tilted her head, clearly puzzled.
Raul felt his hands tremble slightly as he wove together truth and falsehood.
“Muriel wished to be independent, which is why we divorced. If you go to the dungeon hub city east of Vintzheim… there is a branch of the Veratis Guild there. You will likely be able to meet her.”
“I see. It’s a pity I can’t see her today, but I’ll visit that place tomorrow. Thank you for your help.”
“It was nothing…. If you don’t mind, you’re welcome to stay at my castle.”
“That’s very kind of you. Then I’ll trouble you for one night.”
That night, after confirming that Deborah had fallen fast asleep in the guest room,
Raul summoned every servant, attendant, and vassal within the castle to the banquet hall.
He made them all stand at attention and interrogated them one by one with relentless persistence.
And at last, he uncovered it.
The contradictions and lies hidden within the testimonies of those who had framed Muriel as the culprit.