Chapter 55 – Unprecedented Shift
Perhaps because her nervousness from the ball lingered, Diana woke up later than usual before starting her routine. Last night, she dreamt of a still pond, devoid of ripples.
“It was nothing.”
In the meantime, there was a tension of fear building up inside Diana from their previous encounter, even though she bore hatred toward Lucas. But Lucas was not the kind of person Diana would fear. The thought of it relieved the burdens of her mind.
“Charlotte?”
There was no one in Diana’s room today because she has instructed her maids not to disturb her when sleeping. A little hungry, Diana left the room and found Charlotte.
“Oh my god, that terrible thing…”
“Aren’t you supposed to know?”
“Charlotte will take care of it. Once we give a command.”
Diana could hear the maids hushed whispers down the stairs. She gently leaned her back against the wall and held her breath.
“It’s so scary to think about it.”
“Yes, even a simple murder is scary…”
At that time, the maids’ voices were interrupted.
“If you have time to gossip around, wipe the dust off. Did you forget that I gave you warnings?”
It was Charlotte’s voice. Soon the maids became quiet, and there was a sound of Charlotte ascending the stairs.
Should I go into the room and pretend I didn’t hear them? Diana thought for a moment, but somehow she didn’t want to. Brushing off trivial things had become a habit of hers. Recently, Diana realized how much it meant to be the master of her decisions.
“Miss?”
Charlotte appeared, a hint of embarrassment plastered on her face. In comparison, Diana looked calm. She opened the door and went in. Soon after, Charlotte followed inside.
“What happened?”
“Miss, can you believe that giving the order was not meant to deceive you? ”
Diana smiled gently at Charlotte.
“I heard it was scary, but Charlotte was going to tell me herself, right?”
Charlotte nodded.
Diana was once a different person, but when she came into the book and became Empress Diana, she lived a miserable life as time passed. Now, she thought nothing would surprise her anymore.
“Listen calmly, my lady.”
Diana nodded.
“On the night of the ball, something terrible happened to Baron Blanc.”
“A terrible thing?”
Diana didn’t want to hear more about Trisha.
“If it’s not too important.” Diana interfered.
“No, it’s quite a hot topic. I think you should know.”
“What is it?”
“The house of Baron Blanc was burnt down when Trisha came home last night.”
“Burnt down? There was a fire? No, Trisha is a maid. Why was she at home?”
“I’m not sure about that.”
“Anyway, after the incident, the local district guards were looking into it, and there was something strange going on. So, the case had been formally delegated to the Imperial Guards for the investigation. The reason was…”
Diana seemed to know the conclusion before Charlotte reached the end of the story. If it was a simple investigation, the local guards were the ones to handle the case. The Imperial Guards only step in when their names are summoned.
But there was an exception: when the occurrence is too terrible and details are shrouded, the case becoming the talk of the whole town.
“The second floor didn’t collapse completely, but when the guards arrived, Trisha’s mother fell from the stairs and managed to escape. They said her whole body was scorched.
At that point, Diana paused.
“Trisha was not at home, so she seems to have expelled her anger. Baron Blanc’s remains were found on the ground floor.”
“That… that sort of thing.” Diana gasped. It wasn’t in her memory. In other words, it didn’t happen in the original story.