Celebrity Lady - Chapter 63

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Celebrity Lady
Chapter 63
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Crown Prince Lark’s office.
After escorting Rubetria to Lyubon and returning straight to the palace, Lark found Ren waiting in his office.
“Did you see the young lady safely to her destination?”
“Yes.”
Lark smiled bitterly at the thought of Rubetria.
Lyubon, a rural estate nestled in the foothills, was inconvenient in almost every way except for its proximity to the border.
“The air is really wonderful. A full year of rest out here would be perfect for clearing her head, don’t you think?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what? If you really feel that way, use your authority as Investigation Commander to visit her often.”
He recalled Rubetria touring the villa built halfway up the mountainside, her forced brightness unable to mask her weariness.
Lark’s eyes sharpened with sudden intensity, his earlier sighs forgotten.
“Let’s work. I owe her far too much to face her with empty hands.”
“Right. Start by looking through those carefully.”
Ren pointed to the documents already spread across the desk.
“The Duchess’s activities up to now. Everything from her days as the young lady of Baron Bert’s household—her family connections, past associates, and the names of every noblewoman she’s close to in High Society.”
Ren smiled wryly.
“We’ve pulled everything.”
“Good work.”
Lark scanned through them quickly.
“In the future I saw, Father died three years later. When I looked into why, it was because he kept taking medicine that didn’t suit his body. The attending physician had been bribed by Grandmother.”
The Duke’s death, glimpsed in that future, had led Rubetria to uncover a truth far darker than any of them had imagined.
That the Duke’s death was murder, and the killer was none other than the Duchess herself—Molga Diolus.
“She didn’t use poison outright. On the surface it looks like a perfectly harmless medicine, but taken together with alcohol, it becomes lethal. Just from that alone, you can see she’s someone who leaves herself an escape route and works with terrible cunning.”
“That’s why my suspicions didn’t stop there. Ever since Grandmother—Molga—entered our family, my grandfather died, my paternal grandmother died, and my mother died as well.”
“Of course, that’s a leap, and right now there’s no evidence at all, but none of those deaths feel like they could be coincidence.”
Lark found himself agreeing with Rubetria’s sharp reasoning.
“I’m sorry for asking you to do what should be my responsibility, Your Highness.”
“As long as I’m in exile in Lyubon, it’s nearly impossible for me to investigate Molga’s background. I have no network, and frankly, working alone I face significant obstacles.”
In truth, Lark found himself relieved. There was comfort in being able to do something for Rubetria.
And even setting aside what he wanted to do for her, if all these suspicions proved true, Molga would have to face judgment under the law.
“What’s the easiest way to kill someone subtly within a household?”
Lark murmured, his eyes suddenly sharp.
Their gazes locked across the empty space. Both smiled slightly, then spoke in perfect unison.
“Death by poison.”
“Death by poison.”
Lark quickly extracted several sheets from the pile of documents.
“The way she bribed the attending physician alone makes the pattern obvious. Likely she used similar methods on the other members of the Duke’s household.”
“Hell, if all that’s true, she’s genuinely insane, isn’t she?”
“She wouldn’t have used anything as crude as common poison. She committed these murders so the poisoning wouldn’t be discovered at all.”
After sifting through the documents for a time, Lark held up a single sheet.
“She must have had connections on the outside who could safely provide such things. I suspect this might be it.”
“Her family home, right? The House of Bert.”
Without even asking what the document was, Ren spoke. Lark nodded in confirmation.
“Yes.”
“Molga Diolus’s father, Baron Bert. Originally a minor lord of the Central Bert Estate, but when Molga became the Duke’s wife, the previous Duke of Diolus transferred one of his baronies to him.”
As he spoke, Ren shifted forward in his seat.
“From what I’ve gathered, he’s now regarded by his subjects as a broadminded lord. Despite being from the Diolus family itself, he’s known for being neither arrogant nor corrupt, and he shows no interest in the political world—just quietly tends his domain.”
“He seems to be managing his reputation quite carefully.”
“But here’s what’s interesting.”
“What?”
“The young Baron of Bert. That is, the heir of his household and Molga Diolus’s younger brother—Gael Bert.”
Lark immediately reviewed Gael Bert’s personal records. His mouth curved upward in something like a smile.
“A nobleman with a physician’s license and keen knowledge of Herbalism?”
“The Central Bert Estate was originally famous for producing high-quality medicinal plants. Gael Bert has been known since childhood as a genius in Herbalism.”
“Ah.”
Lark let out a dry laugh.
“That’s incredibly suspicious.”
“Blatantly suspicious. If he’s skilled in pharmaceuticals, he’d be intimately familiar with poisons. Honestly, the picture is almost too obvious, isn’t it?”
“True. If we dig into this angle, something should turn up. Oh, and from now on, let’s move carefully.”
Lark rose and tapped Ren’s shoulder a couple of times as he added,
“This situation has taught me a great deal.”
Lisbet, falsely accused. Rubetria, who had taken on half of Lisbet’s punishment and suffered an Exile Sentence as well.
After Lark had confirmed the malice in Second Prince Nathan’s heart, a crisis had erupted from his attempt to strangle the prince.
A situation born from Nathan’s growing desperation—when he tried to use even his full sister Bella’s life as leverage against Lark.
So from now on, there could be no obvious moves. Every action had to be subtle, careful, deliberate.
“Molga doesn’t know I suspect her this far. On purpose, I’ve kept Father’s attending physician in place and had him continue preparing the medicine—I only cut off the alcohol.”
“I’m doing this so she won’t have any chance to escape. We must move with caution.”
As Lark thought of Rubetria, he shook his head slowly.
“She’s incredible. Really.”
Her precision stood in sharp contrast to his own impatience, the way he’d acted recklessly only to suffer a counterattack.
Lark scratched his head awkwardly, then his eyes suddenly blazed with resolve.
“Don’t let her discover that you’re investigating. Give her no loophole to slip through.”
To repay the debt he owed Rubetria, Molga Diolus must be brought to him without fail—
“Whatever it takes, I’ll capture her with my own hands and deliver her.”
* * *
Day one of exile: this place is a forest-adjacent estate blessed with beautiful mountains and water—Lyubon.
I was seething with anger exactly one hour and thirty minutes after arriving.

Having been ignored precisely three times, I sent Wishet a telepathic message.
“Have these bastards lost their minds? Who do they think they’re being this rude to? They’d better prepare to die.”
“Greg, show them what respect really means. They’ve disgraced me too. Don’t they know who this young lady is—”>
Before me stood the Baron of Lyubon with his vulgar navy mustache, his thin and sallow attendant Greg, and between them, two small children trembling in fear.
Wishet, standing beside me, shrugged in response.

My voice, sharp with frustration, made Wishet flinch.
Then.
“Bow down this instant!”
Greg’s hand swung through the air—toward a little girl who looked barely six years old.
Crack!
“Ugh!”
Fortunately—or was it fortunate?—the boy shielding his sister took the blow instead of her head.
“Hey! I told you not to do that! Stop!”
I couldn’t take it anymore. I waded straight into the chaos.
The siblings clung to each other, shaking. The girl sobbed while the boy gritted his teeth, glaring at me.
“Who does this little bastard think he is, staring like that? Greg!”
“I said don’t do that! I’m fine, Baron!”
“My apologies, Baron. This brat was always disrespectful—”
“No, wait—what’s your name? Greg? Don’t hit the children!”
“I’ll beat him to pulp! Isn’t the young lady clearly furious? Make sure she trembles and crawls at her feet whenever she passes!”
“Shit! Please, Baron! Just listen to me for a second—!”
“I’ll do as commanded!”
“Hey, wait—!”
Greg stepped forward and seized the boy’s hair.
That moment.
I abandoned my plan to maintain a cordial relationship with my steward, the Baron of Lyubon, and spend the year quietly in this domain.
“Stop!!!”
At my shout, finally, everyone froze.
Greg, startled, turned to look at me. I walked straight toward him and kicked his shin hard.
“Gah!”
“Listen to me carefully this time.”
Then I turned to the Baron of Lyubon, who’d been yapping away behind me, and spoke.
“That’s eight times you’ve ignored me.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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