Favored by the Family That Will Become the Strongest! - Chapter 14

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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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At those words, Varcan glanced toward the maids beside Bianca. Diana was nowhere to be seen.
There was no time to dispel Bianca’s misunderstanding. A sudden urgency seized him instead.
“Where is she right now?”
The maid hesitated, her eyes darting away. But she couldn’t withstand Varcan’s chilling gaze and finally opened her mouth.
“……M-Matilda locked her in the Solitary Cell.”
“What?”
Bianca, hearing this for the first time, raised her voice in shock. Varcan’s face turned cold as he headed toward the Solitary Cell.
As he walked down the corridor and approached the cell, he saw Matilda standing before the door, shouting.
“A noble may kill a commoner without facing punishment.”
It was an arrogantly outrageous statement. At Diana’s reply that followed, Varcan froze entirely.
“Then what if it comes to light that you tried to kill Miss Bianca?”
“What?”
“You’re starving me to death, just as you do Miss Bianca.”
Had he heard correctly? Starving Diana to death? And starving whom else? Bianca—was she insane?
“What on earth are you talking about?”
He couldn’t hold back any longer and spoke.
* * *
“Answer me, Matilda. What exactly do you mean by that?”
Matilda stumbled backward in alarm.
‘How did he arrive so soon? He couldn’t have heard our entire conversation, could he?’
It took considerable time to return from the Imperial Palace to the Cardian Mansion. She had orchestrated this whole affair with that delay factored in.
But Varcan’s return was faster than anticipated. She hesitated, her eyes darting back and forth, before speaking.
“I merely disciplined an insolent commoner maid, Varcan. Nothing more.”
“A commoner maid?”
“Yes, a commoner maid. She failed to understand her place and was exerting a bad influence on Miss Bianca. I could not tolerate it any longer, so I administered punishment.”
Her voice trembled at the edges, but her mind calculated swiftly.
‘Disciplining an insolent commoner maid is commonplace in noble society.’
There were plenty of ways to escape this.
‘The Cardian Family only recently became nobility. They must be particularly concerned with appearances.’
She thought confidently.
Surely Varcan would not punish her merely for chastising a mere maid.
Yet Varcan’s expression grew colder by the moment. Then he smiled thinly.
“I see. In that case, there’s a greater problem. She isn’t a commoner.”
“……Pardon?”
“Diana, whom you claim to have disciplined and punished, is a noble.”
Matilda’s face drained of all color in an instant.
“That—that can’t be. A noble wouldn’t work as a maid.”
“And what of your remarks concerning Bianca?”
Varcan stepped forward, ignoring Matilda’s protest.
His oppressive presence made her shrink back.
“You said you were starving my Bianca.”
“That’s truly unfair! Miss Bianca simply chose not to eat. You know how obsessively she manages her weight.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Yes, yes. Exactly! So I……!”
“Enough. It doesn’t matter.”
“M-missing?”
“I’ve grown tired of talking. I’ve already decided there’s no reasoning with you.”
Matilda opened and closed her mouth as if to protest.
“Such a thing…….”
“I’ll handle the punishment myself. Now stay silent and still.”
Varcan cut her off firmly.
But Matilda sealed her lips without another word. She sensed that if she spoke even once more, he would show her no mercy.
Varcan ignored her completely and strode forward.
Then he ripped the lock away with brutal force.
Crack!
Before the strength of a Top-Tier Combat Ability User, the lock was meaningless.
Watching this, Matilda’s face went ashen. The lock felt like herself in that moment.
The door opened slowly, and Varcan peered inside.
At the sight of Diana, his expression hardened with cold fury. He turned an ominous gaze upon Matilda.
“Hey.”
“Y-yes?”
“Why is she in this state? What did you do?”
His tone was far too rough to belong to a noble.
But before she could be startled by his words, Matilda craned her neck past his shoulder. She needed to see Diana’s condition for herself.
Diana’s face was ghastly pale. Cold sweat dripped down her bloodless cheeks. Her eyes were shut, and all she could manage was ragged, labored breathing.
When Matilda had locked her in the cell, Diana had appeared perfectly fine. Yet in just this short time, she had deteriorated to this state?
“What—what is this? Why is she like this?”
“Why are you asking me? You must have done something.”
“I—I’m innocent! When I locked her up, she was fine.”
“Shut your mouth.”
“……!”
This was truly unjust. He asked the question himself, yet wouldn’t let her defend herself.
But Matilda clamped her lips shut like a clam, her face ashen. Varcan issued an order to the knights standing behind him.
“Lock her in the Underground Dungeon immediately.”
The knights dragged Matilda away roughly and disappeared. Varcan moved slowly. He placed his hand upon Diana’s forehead.
Feeling her fevered brow, scorching as embers, his brow furrowed harshly. When he turned his head, he saw the maids frozen in place, trembling.
“Where is Diana’s Room?”
“T-that is…….”
“I’m asking where it is.”
His low voice made the maids stifle their cries and hurry ahead.
When they arrived at the entrance to Diana’s chamber.
A frustrated sigh escaped his lips.
His gaze fell upon the maids, who stood with their heads bowed, watching only each other’s reactions. They couldn’t bring themselves to meet his sharp eyes.
“What is this room condition?”
“It’s—Matilda assigned…….”
It was a remote corner room the household had used as a storage space for years. Inside, it was cold and damp. The furniture was old and warped.
Diana’s spirit was strong, but her body was frail. It was only natural she would fall ill in such a place.
“Damn it.”
Varcan turned his steps toward his own quarters, his expression dark.
He laid Diana down slowly upon his bed. Soon, a knight who had followed him asked a question.
“Varcan, we’ve locked the head maid in the Underground Dungeon. How shall we handle her?”
Varcan looked down quietly at the sleeping Diana before answering.
“I will interrogate all of the staff myself, beginning with the head maid.”
* * *
Varcan’s mood was at its worst.
After Matilda was dragged to the Underground Dungeon, he began interrogating the staff in Bianca’s quarters.
And from the confessions he extracted, he learned the truth: Matilda’s conduct as head maid defied imagination.
Skimming portions of the maids’ wages was merely trivial. She had deceived Bianca with cunning flattery and systematically undermined her health in secret.
“Of all the nerve.”
He could only sigh.
He was furious at his own blindness. He had rested easy while ignorant of his own sister’s condition.
Varcan moved slowly toward the Underground Dungeon.
Cold water dripped from the ceiling of the Underground Dungeon onto Matilda’s head.
But Matilda had no mind for such things. She trembled with terror, her teeth chattering as she stared at Varcan before her.
“What was your true purpose in coming here? What did you mean to do to Bianca?”

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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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