Chapter 23

***

When Lancelot learnt of the death of Duke Edenbahir, he was going to greet the newly arrived Countess Milena at the Duke’s house.

“Young Master!”

The quickness of Countess Milena’s vision sometimes shocks even Lancelot.

The moment in which Leonard lost his face as a butler and fled in haste.

The time when he whispered a secret into Lancelot’s ear without noticing Countess Milena.

Eventually, Lancelot’s visage toughened considerably.

‘Oh… something happened.’

Countess Milena’s gaze could not help but be filled with intense curiosity.

“What happened?”

Lancelot cocked his head in response to her query. As though he had stiffened his face, he responded courteously.

“I’m sorry, Lady Milena. Appointment for today seems to be postponed till later. The Duke of Edenbahir has died away.”

Countess Milena was compelled to inquire with a perplexed expression.

“I beg your pardon?”

She assumed that the reason for Lancelot’s refusal to fulfill his vow was a simple family matter due to his serene expression.

‘Who is now deceased?’

“His condition was not life-threatening this morning, but it seems he may have had a heart attack.”

Instead of swiftly departing, Lancelot shared with Countess Milena the day’s happenings.

“What can one say? This is devastating news.”

Honestly, the duke’s death has also gone… This fatigue-inducing tranquility of Lancelot was even more astonishing.

‘In any case, Young Master—’

Sometimes, he’s not really that human.

“Would you wish to ascend with me? Father will be able to go with more ease if we spend our final moments together.”

‘If he has already shut his eyes, then what?’

However, she and the Duke of Edenbahir were childhood friends. Even considering it, it was harsh for her to visit this location and pretend she was unaware of the duke’s death.

“Yes.”

Lancelot escorted her directly to the bedroom of the Duke Edenbahir.

The room of her friend, which had been visited for the first time in years, reeked of medication.

‘Medicine seemed to keep his life afloat for a long time.’

The scent indicated how long the Duke had been resting on the bed.

Possibly since the peacock’s sickness had lasted so long, the atmosphere was not as gloomy as he had anticipated.

Likewise, the number of individuals in the room was minimal. There was just one assistant, Jill, who was acquainted with Countess Milena’s eyes.

‘Poor lad. His wife left his side early, and he doesn’t know what to do with the matriarch of the house. And he left his only family… his son.”

The owner of this enormous estate has passed away, but Lancelot is the only family member who can mourn for him. The countess was unable to avoid getting sad.

“You’re here Mr. Lancelot.”

Lancelot stepped to the duke’s bedside and removed the white cloth covering his face.

What was so unsatisfactory? The Duke had closed eyelids and a slightly wrinkled forehead.

The Duke of Edenbahir, Ludwig, has died.

Lancelot reconfirmed the truth with his own eyes and retracted the curtain. His face was so mute that no one could comprehend his inner thoughts.

On the other hand, Jill, who was wearing a disappointed expression, softly opened his lips.

“As stated by the Duke during his lifetime, the will would be made public during the inauguration ceremony.”

The words that were left behind.

“You did not leave me anything.”

Lancelot cocked his head leftward. The doctor, whose stare had been poisonous, responded with a heavy voice.

“I was not here… his heart suddenly stopped beating—”

“You have drafted a will for Anita Boloni, but what about a farewell for me, your son?”

Volches’s expression hardened to the point of pity. Countess Milena immediately recognized him upon seeing him for the first time.

‘Look at this.’

The name of Anita Volloni was raised during the debate of the duke of Edenbahir’s testament.

The Countess opened her ears wide as she listened. 

“What are your thoughts, Mr. Volches?”

Volches responded by taking a big breath.

“I… As asked by the Duke in advance—”

“Anita, who visited the green storage of the amusement park, abruptly departed for a villa in Budort this morning.”

Shallywood for Eden, the green storage.

It may seem unremarkable to an observer, but Countess Milena heard something very different.

It must be a covert storage space used by narcotics and organ traffickers.

The only daughter of Volloni, who grew up like a flower in a greenhouse but was not aristocratic, entered the storage room.

There is a relationship that immediately comes to mind.

An event that turned the nobility of the kingdom of Montevio on their heads. The vanishing of Vincent Volloni.

‘As the Patriarch’s situation became unclear, the daughter inherited everything under his name, as well as the Callasgo Trust. She must be all over the place looking for him.’

What a pity.

The Callasgo Trust’s investment management privileges were too extensive for the typical individual.

Obviously, it would not have been hefty when the firm was first established. The Callasgo Trust began as a modest real estate firm.

In ten years, the Callasgo Trust grew to be the greatest trust firm in the country as the Duke of Edenbahir took over the business and hundreds of aristocracy flocked there for tax evasion purposes.

Countess Milena was also one of the nobility affiliated with the Callasgo, thus she was closely observing the situation.

“Mr. Volches.”

“…”

“Let me ask you one question. Have you met Grandmother?”

Volches, who had momentarily blinked his eyes blankly, leaped up and disputed it.

“No! What is this? I’ve never seen her face!”

With unkind eyes, he peered up at Lancelot from beyond the bed while knelt on the floor.

“I really am. Believe it! If I had been the Lady, the Duke would not have appointed me as his physician!”

The countess’s eyes narrowed.

She was suddenly thoroughly integrated at the location where they were questioning Volches.

‘Hmm. It doesn’t appear like a falsehood.’

Jill questioned, gazing at Volches with an expression of mingled disbelief.

“Then, who the devil gave you such a directive—”

That instant.

The calm voice of Lancelot resounded.

“Why are you here?”

Everyone turned their attention to him.

He intended to reprimand Volches, but his attention was focused elsewhere.

He was awkwardly facing the two maids who were standing at the entrance.

“I presume I instructed you to pursue Anita Volloni. You weren’t on the train to Budort with her, were you?”

Countess Milena covertly rolled her eyes and stared at the side face of Lancelot.

‘He knows how to get enraged.’

The servant on the left of the two servants promptly responded courteously.

“This morning, I was notified that another servant would assume the responsibilities that Lancelot-nim had assigned to me. This servant, went with Lady Anita—”

“Jill. Obtain a ticket to Budort immediately.”

This…

Besides the death of the Duke Edenbahir, there were apparently more situations happening in this household.

“Did that individual go with Anita Volloni?”

Jill answered with composure as she, a mere third person, regarded Lancelot with interest.

“Mister Lancelot. At 3 p.m the first trains to Buidort depart. For immediate departure, the steam vehicle—”

“If you don’t want to see me return from Budort with Anita Boloni’s corpse, catch the train that departs in 30 minutes.”

Countess Millena was startled by the young man’s initiative, which seemed difficult to believe.

‘I knew they were from an affluent family, but I did not expect them to take such harm so lightly.’

‘Well, it’s Anita Volloni… she might be a long term investment.’

Jill suggested an alternative instantly,

“I will borrow the whole train. Where will you transport Mr. Volches?”

Volches’s eyes were as icy as snowflakes and were green.

“We go by train. There seem to be many tales that ought to be heard in their entirety.”

“Mr… Mr. Lancelot! No… Duke… I’m—”

“The agency has been taken care of. We don’t need further investigation.”

Volches, who had been moaning about his mistreatment, was immediately hauled away in silence.

Lancelot apologized nicely to Countess Milena.

“I apologize for exposing to you my boisterous side.”

“Well.”

Even Countess Milena will no longer be able to believe that he took her without a second thought.

“This is the passing of a family patriarch. I understand. From now on, you… No, you must shoulder the burden.”

‘What in the devil are you doing?’

“I do not want to waste your time by postponing our meeting. If it’s alright with you, I’d like to explain why I requested a private meeting.”

The rationale is obvious.

‘What if it is unrelated to the Callasgo Trust’s operation?’

Even in social circles, the rumor that Lancelot, his heir, went to the nobility to bargain on behalf of the duke while he was in bed circulated without awareness.

“It was now my time.”

The Countess of Milena nodded in anticipation of the new Duke of Edenbahir’s argument.

“Tell me, sir.”

However, Lancelot’s response was really odd.

“Assist my wife.”