Chapter 29
****
Celine sat meekly in a blue wooden chair and wept profusely with a lace handkerchief.
A man facing her across the iron desk with a serious expression on his face wrote something down in his notebook. The man gently raised an eyebrow and asked.
“Is it true?”
“I tried to hide it because she’s my precious sister, but ……… it’s going to put us all in danger. I thought it wasn’t right if I keep hiding the truth.”
Celine’s voice gradually weakened and became tearful. The man gave her time to calm down for a while and then asked calmly again.
“Do you have any evidence for the story that your sister was deeply involved with the Duke of Progen?”
“She has a rose diamond necklace from Medea, one of the Progen’s Allies.”
“Are you saying that your sister has it?”
“Yes. And it’s a very expensive gem, so it can only be purchased by high-ranking nobles who interact with Medea.”
“The necklace is a luxury item, so why did the Duke give it to her?”
It wasn’t the Lieutenant Colonel who gave Diana the necklace. A soldier in a country at war wouldn’t give a rose diamond which could only purchase from the enemy country as a gift. He must have lied to cover for Diana.
Celine wiped away her tears, soothing her sadness. The reddened tip of her nose and the corners of her eyes were miserable. Slowly, Celine fanned herself, looked at the ceiling, and sighed,
“Oh, my father had no idea. When I found out about this, my sister tried to set my room on fire. Even though I couldn’t bring the necklace as evidence, the servants who were there will be able to testify.”
“Yes, Miss Claire, thank you for your testimony.”
“Detective, please don’t reveal what I’ve declared. I am very afraid of the consequences. I came here and confessed the truth to protect my father.”
“We keep a thorough secret to protect the reporters. Please don’t worry. We will make every effort to protect Miss Claire in the future.”
“Thank you very much.”
Celine, her face stained with tears, quietly stood up and bowed her head politely. Her beautiful platinum hair shimmered and fluttered down.
The detective saw Celine’s neat appearance and dainty face and had no doubt that she was a righteous and good woman who would prosecute the wrongdoers.
Such was her accusation of Diana.
For Celine, Diana was a mean and evil person. This was just an act that has revealed evil behavior beyond the relationship of family.
So it was a necessary evil to punish the wicked. To her, Diana was a bad person.
Celine let out a shallow sigh as she remembered and justified what she had always taken for granted.
***
The Admiral’s residence was located in the port city where the naval command center was, so it was situated close to the sea. Numerous people gathered like ants in the port seen outside the window of my room.
This was to welcome the warships that were returning after the sea battle. Ships were coming in.
The atmosphere was lively and festive, harmonized with the whistles of the ships.
However, the returning warships were the same as a blackened and distorted lump of old iron.
That was it. The sight was like looking at defeated soldiers, and the atmosphere that had been lively became more and more solemn.
As the horrible sight of the warships approached, the cries of women waiting for their husbands and lovers on the battlefield mingled with the horrible sight of the warships slowly coming into port, pouring out oil and black smoke, as if it had been heavily fired.
“They were defeated in this eastern sea battle.”
My nanny, who was standing beside me and looking out with me, spoke. I nodded slowly and sighed. The war would continue until the armistice negotiations were completed. My nanny put a thick book on my desk and turned her gaze to me.
“Lady, why don’t you come with me to the bookstore in the square today? You like books. You like to read, you also like to write, so I’m going to buy a composition book.”
She suddenly suggested that I go out with her. I shook my head lightly, as I don’t like to go out and don’t want to go out much because of my nature, but she was strangely persistent.
“I know you have a lot of books you like. But I hear the bookstore is quite large.”
I didn’t know she had so much interest in me to begin with. We weren’t even close to going out together from the beginning. Recently, she visited me occasionally and talked to me. The unintentional suggestion struck me as odd and aroused my suspicion.
“I don’t want to go.”
“If you go….It would be nice.”
The appearance of the nanny with her wrinkled hands gathered showed earnest wish. I glanced at her and turned my head indifferently, but she carefully clenched my shoulder and persuaded me.
“Is there a place you usually want to go, by any chance? Why don’t we go there today?”
“Why do you keep wanting me to go out?”
“Because I have to.”
The nanny’s voice, her forehead deeply wrinkled, had sunk into sadness. She was now…..
She even looked worried, as if she would be in trouble if I didn’t go out.
Suddenly I felt an uncomfortable tingling in my skin.
‘What the—‘
Before I could notice the unsettling premonition, the door slammed open without a knock. Men in dark blue uniforms walked in, alternately looking at the nanny and immediately fixing their gaze on me. The bearded man came closer and closer, standing in front of me and calling my name.
“Miss Diana Claire.”
“Yes?”
“I have received a report regarding your relationship with a high-ranking Progen official, but considering that you are the daughter of the Admiral, I will not handcuff you, so I would appreciate your cooperation.”
I quickly figured out what had happened, so I got up from my seat.
The nanny put her hand on my shoulder.
“It’s cold. Let me get you a warm coat.”
The nanny’s face was resolute as she placed the thick cashmere coat over my shoulders. A familiar scent wafted to my nose. Draped over my shoulders was the coat that Noah had covered me with that day.
I belatedly realized a fact. The nanny had tried to get me to run away on the pretext of going out. She had been at the mansion the longest, so she might be related to Noah. It was extremely cold that day…..
It was also the day the weather turned, and she covered me with a blanket when I was trapped in the stable. The original Diana would have starved to death or frozen to death.
But I didn’t, and I lived. Although the nanny could not prevent Diana’s death in the end, she was helping her secretly.
I smiled at my nanny, and her eyes crinkled as she smiled bitterly at me.
‘You’re the one. The fairy tale writer who wrote the story of the dog and the wolf.’
I followed the officer, who urged me to hurry.
“Anonymous tip that abducted Diana Claire had a liaison with a high-ranking Progen official. The evidence is a rose diamond necklace, a mineral that can only be found in the Medea mines of the Progen’s ally………”
There were already many articles about Noah and my relationship. It must be the work of Celine, who harbored a grudge.
I’m sure Prime Minister Grenendall, a major political figure, wouldn’t stay still and turn his back on the Belford family. Because his son (Jeffrey) would be stigmatized for rescuing a spy and a lover of a high-ranking enemy officer.
For this reason, the Admiral could not have easily touched me. However, I was not as scared as he thought I would be, and I was a bold woman.
“Miss Diana Claire. I will be escorting you to the Security Bureau after an investigation there for stealing operational secrets of the Eastern Sea Battle and leaking them to the Progen.”
In a dimly lit interrogation room, I heard the stern voice of a man who appeared to be an investigator sitting across a steel desk.
I was startled by the sudden sound. I asked back, rubbing my cheeks.
“Secrets?”
”After the disappearance of the classified documents in the naval command center, we suffered a heavy defeat in this Eastern Sea Battle. There was testimony that you were seen entering the Admiral’s quarters and the commander’s office.”
As I was sitting with my hands hanging down in a daze, I suddenly realized. Did the desperate Celine steal operational secrets and pass them on to Progen to lose the sea battle and frame me?
It was just a maddening act that had significance only for the purpose of making me a spy. Having read the original story, I knew that the main character, Celine, was not stupid.
It was just the fact that she was so cruel that she would sacrifice the lives of the soldiers who went to the battlefield.
As long as I was cornered as a spy, the accusation of the despicable duplicity and Celine’s evil behavior would be dismissed as lies.
The only reason she had gone this far was that Jeffrey had dumped her or gave up on her. Feeling dumbfounded, I smiled in vain.
At this rate I would be hanged or shot. Fortunately, the investigation process was not as torturous or coercive as I had feared.
After a tediously long investigation, I was locked in a cell in a small prison facility on the outside.
I sat on a cold steel bed in the cell that was dull on all four sides, and muttered to myself with a sigh.
“Celine is as crazy as I am.”
***
Early in the morning, a reddish-brown woman with a newspaper in one hand, started running down the long corridor of the mansion like a relay. She opened the door and ran into Noah’s room without knocking. Molly, who was usually quiet and kept her cool, called out to him with a cry that didn’t sound like her.
“What’s the matter, traitor?” (Noah)
Noah, who was standing and buttoning his shirt, looked back at Molly with mischievous eyes.
“The fairy tale writer in the Belford newspaper…she wrote … It’s….”
Molly, who was catching her breath, handed him the newspaper, repeating the word “fairy tale writer”. Noah slowly sat down on the couch and unfolded the newspaper.
There was only one line written in the serialized section.
[Black dog, wolf, whoever you are, save the girl.]
With his eyes fixed on the newspaper, his face did not show any agitation or change in expression. He just stared meaningfully at the sentence and was immersed in silence.
It was a calm and composed attitude. Only the sound of Molly biting her nails nervously filled the room.
Noah quietly lowered the newspaper and jutted his chin up. His slender fingers tightened his tie expertly, tying the knot smoothly.
“That was quicker than I expected.”
Noah spoke briefly and rose from his seat, putting on the coat he’d taken off. His demeanor was loose and relaxed, but he seemed to be broken because it could not be pulled tightly.
Molly’s gray eyes, who stood looking at him, who acted leisurely even in an urgent situation, gradually became more and more perplexed. The beautiful Duke was smiling gracefully with his eyes curved.
On the other hand, he was holding a military pistol in one hand. The muzzle of the gun was pointed at her.
“Plans have changed, Molly. I should get going now.”
He let out a raspy voice laced with a deep sigh. As if to signal a beginning, a sharp gunshot rang out in the quiet mansion. It was the moment when the madness of Duke Noah Rothsilde began.