The Grand Duke’s Fox Princess

Episode 29: Truth Hunting (II)

*******

Eristella was still pensive, staring intently at the basement entrance.

‘The flowers that bloomed in the Abbs area were secretly planted under the orders of Marquis Decayden, who said that they could be used as important herbs.’

They were planted all over the square like flowers that naturally bloomed, under the pretext that competition might arise if the value of those medicinal herbs became known.

‘From then on, I followed the tracks of Marquis Decayden and quietly observed any suspicious activity.’

No matter how close their relationship was, the number of visits Marquis Decayden made to the Grand Duchy of Adelasia was strangely high.

In addition, it was even more concerning as the Marquisate of Decayden was a family famous for medicine.

‘At that time, the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess met all sorts of famous doctors.’

She couldn’t stay still, fearing that Marquis Decayden might have approached the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Adelasia, using the herbs he knew well from black magic.

‘So I went to check it out.’

But it was already too late.

In the end, the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Adelasia passed away like that, and Eristella dug up Marquis Decayden’s embezzlement and drove him away.

‘Back then, it was a mistake to pretend to have slightly missed Marquis Decayden and try to use him as bait to find out more about black magic.’

Thanks to him, she was able to get a lot of information about black magic.

It was a big defeat on Eristella’s part to let him go completely because it became like this.

‘He’s been captured by Heinricion, so he can’t do anything more.’

Eristella stared intently at the office, which was still brightly lit.

*******

Heinricion took the lead and moved to the room where the previous grand duke and his wife stayed.

Heinricion left the place as it was even after the two of them died. It was a space he had found difficult to enter.

“Can’t you feel something strange here?”

Heinricion entered the room and beckoned to Rowen.

“What do you mean strange? Except that there’s a lot of research from your predecessor, the previous Grand Duke, compared to the other rooms…”

When Rowen, who had answered indifferently, blurred the end of what he was saying, Heinricion responded immediately.

“Why? What’s weird?”

“Uh… no. There doesn’t seem to be anything unusual about it.”

Rowen shook his head, but couldn’t take his eyes off the room, like something was holding him.

“Definitely, there is nothing strange… But why do I feel uncomfortable? What am I missing?”

Rowen looked around the room several times, narrowing his brows, but he couldn’t find it, so he uttered in confusion.

“I hadn’t even noticed until now. The reason for the sense of incongruity in this room.”

Heinricion continued, poking around the numerous research materials stacked against a wall of the room.

“There are some items that are not here.”

“…It’s not here. Magic stone.”

At Heinricion’s words, Rowen muttered with a trembling voice and an anxious gaze, looking at the magic stones displayed.

“Okay, to be precise, there is no magic stone made by a living wizard.”

The magic stone of a living wizard had a clear difference from other magic stones.

“The only things in this place are the magic stones left behind by the predecessors of the Adelasia family and the naturally occurring magic stones.”

The difference was surprisingly simple and clear, although there was nothing to distinguish them.

Rowen and Heinricion simultaneously recalled an invisible magic stone.

A magic stone made by a wizard was relatively precious, so just because it wasn’t there, they couldn’t figure out how weird it was.

But this time, since there was an incident with the Count and Countess of Azurdi not long ago,  he recognized the difference.

“Did I really know my parents?”

Come to think of it, the Grand Duke of Adelasia and his wife had few interactions with Heinricion for several years before their deaths.

Heinricion often wandered around various battlefields, and when he returned to the mansion, there was a different awkwardness than before.

So if someone asked him how well he knew the previous Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Adelasia, Heinricion could not answer confidently.

However, the parents he knew as a child were people with strong convictions and pride. They were clear on what was right and wrong, and they were full of compassion.

Moreover, in Heinricion’s memory, his father and mother had always been like strong pillars to him.

That was why he had never thought of it that way.

“These are all speculations and we cannot be sure of any of them.”

“Right. There is no evidence.”

“Yes. It’s all just circumstantial. So this assumption may not be entirely true…”

Rowen was about to say that they should consider the situation carefully, examine it again and then assess. But in fact, it was a denial of the report he had brought. Heinricion also wanted to deny it. However…

“Rowen.”

Heinricion calmly called out his name. Rowen, who had been talking a lot, immediately shut his mouth.

“You really think it might not be?”

“Yes? That is…”

Rowen couldn’t help but trail off.

“Me too.”

No matter how much he thought about it, he could not deny the information Rowen had brought. Heinricion continued speaking calmly.

“Actually, there is no expectation that there will be another story other than this.”

Every circumstance and his intuition said so.

“…Sorry.”

Rowen shook his head as if he had done something wrong.

“Why are you sorry? You only showed your abilities at my command. Well done.”

“…….”

But Rowen couldn’t lift his head easily.

How could it not be so? Perhaps the shock received by Rowen was greater than Heinricion’s.

Heinricion was surprisingly composed. To the point where Rowen thought he was prepared without knowing.

“Did Eristella know all this?”

Heinricion, who had been immersed in his thoughts, muttered softly.

“Perhaps, under these circumstances.”

Rowen answered with a complicated face.

Heinricion’s face was horribly distorted.

Only now did he understand Eristella’s behavior.

The reckless princess who suddenly intervened in the affairs of the Grand Duchy of Adelasia.

Holding a funeral and arranging it so that it would not leave any traces.

It was then rumored that she had acted that way to cover up what she had done to the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Adelasia.

Heinricion also thought to some extent that would be the case.

‘But it was the other way around.’

It was to protect the honor of Heinricion and the Grand Duchy of Adelasia.

If the funeral of the previous Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Adelasia was delayed, there would be traces left and someone could learn the truth.

In that case, the long history of the Grand Duchy of Adelasia would collapse in an instant, and Heinricion would not be able to get rid of the suspicion that he was also involved in black magic.

‘Rather, did she believe in me?’

Eristella didn’t think for a moment that Heinricion had anything to do with black magic.

Misunderstandings from the past flooded in.

*******

Heinricion stayed up all night with open eyes. His assistants entered the office one by one and started their work, but Eristella stayed in his mind the whole time.

Where should he start talking?

It was a time when his worries were growing.

“You don’t have much work today, so why not take an early break?”

Rowen, who was aware of Heinricion’s confusion, looked up and said so.

“No. The work must be finished.”

Heinricion didn’t know if he wanted to put it off for a while until then.

He was about to try to look at the documents.

“Oh, you’re going to get hurt. Be careful.”

“If it’s hard, should I hug it? Give it to me.”

“What do you mean? I’m not tired at all. I will carry it until we arrive.”

“Then this way. I will open the door!”

There was a commotion outside, and suddenly the door swung open.

Several employees came to Heinricion with expressions of self-satisfaction.

‘It’s not this. Just let me go! Why are you bringing me here!’

And one of them was holding a struggling fox in her arms.

What’s going on?

One of Heinricion’s eyebrows rose. When he questioned the employees, the answer came out right away.

“The fox was wandering around the front door, so we brought it in.”

‘You brought me here just for that?’

“That is… I don’t know why, but the fox keeps wanting to go outside. I brought it here because I thought it would be better for it to be with Your Excellency.”

According to them, the fox seemed to be trying to run away. So they found it, captured it, and brought it to Heinricion.

“It’s a big deal if it leaves the mansion by itself and can’t come back by mistake.”

“It was going to go out?”

Heinricion’s question was directed at Eristella, not the employee.

‘Oh, no… not that…’

Eristella shook her front paw hard in the middle of the exchange, but no one gave her a glance.

“Yes. So, please take a closer look.”

Heinricion looked at Eristella silently.

“I’ll take a good look. Everyone, you can return to your duties.”

“Me, too? We can look at the fox a little more…”

‘Wait a minute. Everyone, it’s okay to stay here! Just stay here…’

“Yes. We’ll leave.”

Eristella’s silent cry dispersed in vain, and the employees, including Anessa, retreated at the cold, frozen face of Heinricion.

In the end, only Heinricion and Eristella were left.