The Isolated Marchioness Just Wants to Make a Living - Chapter 263

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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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Part 2, Episode 68
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The moment Duke Dibostane appeared and roused Audrey back to consciousness.
The partition wall between the two conference rooms collapsed. Now we were all in the same space.
Audrey, who had been rolling on the floor behind Duke Dibostane, let out a soft laugh.
“The structure is identical, so I must have unconsciously assumed this place would mirror the Duke’s Estate in every detail.”
Ethan was now staring at us with a blanched face. Audrey sat up and continued speaking.
“You thought the soundproofing would be reliable, so you let your guard down, didn’t you? But how unfortunate—there are so many witnesses now.”
I wasn’t particularly startled by the Duke of Dibostane, very much alive.
‘I’d have been more shocked if he’d actually died.’
I’d gathered as much from the fact that Saya’s death was ruled accidental and Jerdian’s letter noted that the body wasn’t displayed publicly.
‘Still, he’s the leader of the Eastern Region—he wouldn’t fall so easily.’
For a merchant leader commanding so many, manipulating a corpse was trivially simple. And with the Duke’s consent, they could have easily drawn in his personal physician as a co-conspirator.
The situation itself had been far too artificial from the start.
“What if that woman coaxed him into writing the will however she pleased, and then killed him?”
It was a hypothesis I couldn’t accept.
No matter how much the Duke loved Audrey, I doubted he would have written a will ceding his dukedom to Marcel.
‘If Audrey could have so easily killed a duke willing to write such a will, Marcel would already be ruling by now.’
Which is why, when I first heard the news, I’d muttered this to myself:
“When exactly did Cardipol Guild Master prepare that will…….”
She hadn’t had the time. Until recently, she’d been on the New Continent because of me.
Even for Audrey, pulling off something this massive in such a short span would have been impossible.
More than anything, the Duke’s attitude remained indecisive. His decisions didn’t seem likely to shift rapidly.
It made sense. There was no precedent for ceding a noble title to a bastard child—one who didn’t even bear the family name—when a legitimate eldest son existed.
Aside from sentiment, the Duke must have been in considerable anguish. So naturally, both women’s hearts would be seized by urgency.
“What if that woman coaxed him into writing the will however she pleased, and then killed him?”
“Perhaps. Though neither seems easy.”
In any case, the seasoned intelligence agent’s opinion proved sounder than bellicose speculation.
Even granting Audrey formidable abilities, leaving no evidence while killing the Duke would be difficult.
But if she’d told him: “I’ll uncover the crimes of the Duchess and the Young Duke. If I do, naming Marcel as your heir would have sufficient public justification, wouldn’t it?”
Cheria of the Southern Region was immediately stripped of her title as Young Marquis on the charge of colluding with the Dark Mages.
Merely revealing a connection to the Dark Mages would expel the Duchess and Ethan from the Ducal House immediately. I could readily imagine how Audrey had pressured the Duke into submission.
“They made our Marcel into a monster……. They turned Dark Magic upon your own child! The very ones who did this to our Marcel are your eldest son and your wife…….”
“But there’s no proof. I understand your pain, of course, but you can’t hold anyone accountable without evidence.”
“Then what if I showed you proof? What if I revealed to you that they’re in league with the Dark Mages?”
The Duke hadn’t known how deeply Ethan and the Duchess were entangled with Dark Magic.
In truth, he had little interest in it—but because he possessed Nullify, he knew with absolute certainty that Dark Magic could never harm him.
The traces of Dark Magic throughout the Eastern Region, the frequent comings and goings of Dark Mages—he paid them no real attention, secure in the knowledge that his Nullify made him untouchable. That’s why he’d never bothered installing Defensive Scrolls on the Duke’s Estate.
“I have a plan. If you simply follow my lead, you’ll certainly see proof that both of them are working hand in glove with Dark Mages.”
“Really? Must we go this far? Audrey, please, calm down.”
“This is for your benefit as well. If the Young Duke’s connection to the Dark Mages is exposed, you won’t be free from blame either. Wouldn’t it be better for you to uncover it yourself first?”
“……That’s true enough. Now that I hear it this way, letting this sit is dangerous for me as well.”
Audrey had clearly been confident that tampering with the will would allow her to catch Ethan red-handed colluding with the Dark Mages.
I’d caught on to all of this the moment I entered the mansion.
“The corridor is completely identical too……. Even if I’d been caught in some strange magic and trapped in a memory from years past, I’d understand it that way.”
Perfect replication of the Duke’s Estate from years back meant one thing: the Defensive Scrolls weren’t installed.
Audrey had even removed every last Defensive Scroll—just in case a vampire somehow got inside.
‘The fool Ethan fell for it beautifully. Because without Defensive Scrolls, it looked just like his own residence!’
And summoning Maximus to this place was surely to secure a witness.
I still couldn’t fathom why she’d summoned me as well. Several hypotheses had crossed my mind, but…….
Of course, Ethan wasn’t the type to simply say “understood” and retreat.
And besides, he had a vampire at his command.
Ethan barked orders through ragged breathing.
“Attack! Kill them all! Just tear this mansion to rubble!”
He screamed with fury.
“This is war now! Do you think I’d stand by and let these contemptible things sully the Dibostane name like this?”
Ethan’s eyes glittered with madness.
“I know Father well. If Father—with Nullify—and I are the only ones left standing in this mansion, Father will have no choice but to bury this incident. He’ll pin it on faulty construction by Audrey Cardipol. Isn’t that how Father has always lived?”
It was a rational point, but honestly, I was certain this scenario too fell squarely within Audrey’s calculations.
‘The fool. He’s actually planning to fight in the enemy’s stronghold?’
According to intelligence gathered beforehand from the Western Region, Audrey had transformed this house into a potent weapon. One gesture from her, and any section she desired would crumble, just as that partition wall had moments ago.
‘She could collapse the floor beneath Ethan and the vampire right now if she wanted.’
Moreover, since she’d styled herself as the “Duchess’s lawyer,” the Duchess herself—absent from this room—wouldn’t be spared either.
‘If things proceed as they are, this is Audrey’s complete victory…….’
Maximus shouted urgently.
“Be careful! The strength is monstrous—even touching a commoner means instant death!”
That’s when the door burst open.
Observing the people who suddenly flooded in, I stood with my arms crossed and thought:
‘Perfect timing.’
It was Alpheus, Jerdian, and Gillab.
I’d sent Jerdian a letter beforehand, instructing him to bring Gillab here to coincide with the will announcement.
Of course, Gillab was exactly the sort of person who’d never willingly step into a situation like this.
“But this card rarely comes up, so it’s quite difficult to play. For one thing, it’s not suited to aggressive moves.”
Still, if I wanted to position Gillab as Marcel’s counterbalance instead of Ethan, I had to give him some role to play. Even if it was the smallest, most trivial role imaginable—we could still package it for him.
“But I’ve drawn it out anyway. I’ll show you soon enough.”
So I’d arranged for him to appear here in the first place.
“And you have your part to play too.”
Alpheus’s role was to wait in the reception room, then lead them here. Dispatching servants was far too easy for him.
Seeing three people suddenly burst in, everyone froze for a moment.
“Gillab?”
The Duke blinked.
“How on earth……?”
Gillab himself trembled as he echoed the question.
“What—what—what exactly…….”
Maximus rolled his eyes once, then whispered very softly:
“Exactly…… how……?”
All three of them were muttering the same words. Of course, the questions they left unspoken must have been entirely different.
Maximus’s question was obviously: ‘How did you drag that coward out here?’
‘Crops, that’s the leverage.’
If he’d just do one small thing as instructed, I’d teach him a profitable crop and cultivation method perfectly suited to Behila. It was bait custom-made for Gillab, who was surely wailing about having no money to squeeze from anywhere.
‘Even a coward like that could manage something that simple, surely?’
With Maximus already earmarking him as the next Duke, in a sense Gillab had been handed an opportunity to become a hero of the Eastern Region with the tiniest gesture.
Of course, Gillab had no idea what situation he’d wandered into.
‘Now.’
I caught Gillab’s trembling gaze, my eyes sharp. The message: ‘Hurry up and do what I told you. It’s not even difficult.’
According to my plan, Baekgu—who would soon need to move—tensed inside my possession.

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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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