The Murderous Duke's Domestic Affairs - Chapter 75

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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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Chapter 75
Garnet had lost considerable blood, but Maili assured me the injury wasn’t critical. Her diagnosis brought profound relief to my shoulders.
Had I, in my gratitude for saving my life in childhood, dragged this child down an unbearably difficult path? The worry had gnawed at me constantly. Of course, Garnet had laughed it off, insisting I needn’t concern myself and could ask anything of him.
When Hale Siaz returned from escorting me back to the Siaz Territory, I’d assigned Garnet to Lauren’s side partly out of concern for her, but also hoping to give the boy some respite. Lauren had a way of warming those around her—surely someone who’d suffered on the battlefield at such a tender age could find rest in her presence.
But.
I gazed quietly at Garnet’s sleeping face, drained of all color. The face of a boy barely come of age looked far younger in sleep than when awake. I swallowed back a sigh that threatened to escape more than once.
Though fortunately the wound had avoided vital areas, Maili had warned that careless treatment might have cost him the use of his left arm. My hand swept back his hair with mechanical precision, but my heart was anything but composed.
It wasn’t that I worried more for Garnet than for Lauren. The thought of where she was, what she might be enduring, made it difficult to breathe.
Yet I couldn’t bring myself to press Garnet for answers. That reluctance stemmed from the anguish of knowing the boy was injured because of my own poor choices—guilt, nothing more. It had to be nothing more. I closed my eyes tightly and drew a deep breath.
Garnet had always followed me with particular devotion. Believing himself indebted to me for his life, he wanted to be useful above all others. And all I had to teach such a child was swordsmanship.
I wasn’t even the heir to the Lilywood Dukedom, merely a cadet officer attending the Military Academy. But that excuse wouldn’t suffice. It was I who’d taught him the blade, I who’d made him my subordinate and thrust him onto the battlefield, I who’d allowed him to be wounded like this. It was my responsibility.
I could do nothing for Garnet. As I always had, I could only leave him be. I mustn’t show how precious he was to me. I couldn’t create another person for Blaze to exploit. I knew this truth better than anyone, yet I couldn’t bring myself to leave his bedside. All of this was my responsibility.
“…Your Grace.”
The thin voice reached me as I sat bowed under the weight of self-recrimination, staring endlessly at my own hands. When I lifted my eyes, they met crimson irises brimming with pain. Those eyes, dulled by suffering, lacked their usual vibrant sparkle.
“Garnet.”
I spoke his name, but couldn’t meet his gaze. My green eyes fixed themselves on the bandage plastered across his cheek, unable to look away. My brows furrowed deeply, my lips trembling beneath a forced smile. Yet still, I gripped his hand tightly, refusing to let go.
Garnet tried to force himself upright. Rest was supposed to aid recovery, yet he was determined to sit up. I reached out to stop him, telling him to remain lying down, but he leaned back against the headboard instead. The boy was stubborn as they came.
“I apologize, Your Grace.”
Garnet’s first words were an apology. As I watched him bow his head, my brow deepened with a frown. I could predict exactly what he would say next.
“I failed to protect the lady.”
And Garnet proved my expectations entirely correct. I gazed at his bowed head, at the pale crown of his hair, then closed my eyes tightly. I wanted to tell him it was all right, but I couldn’t say such things.
“It’s not your fault.”
So I said only that. Yes, Lauren’s disappearance was not Garnet’s doing—that was an undeniable fact. There was no reason to blame him, no reason to resent him. How could a guard knight who couldn’t even enter the ballroom be expected to protect someone who vanished within it?
I reached out and gently stroked the head of this child I cherished. The boy who used to beam at such touches offered no smile now. Though I’d deliberately told him it wasn’t his fault, Garnet continued to blame himself—just as he had on that day when he’d hidden away injured.
I wasn’t unaware of his nature. Such traits rarely changed. I let out a bitter laugh despite myself.
“Um, Your Grace.”
Garnet lifted his head and called to me hesitantly. Our eyes met—crimson and green. For some reason, I thought my gaze looked more sunken than usual. It was likely worry over Lauren.
If only I’d been a more capable knight. My kind master had said it wasn’t my fault, but I couldn’t shake the thought.
I had to be of use somehow. I had to give my master even the smallest clue that might help find the lady. As I desperately searched my memory with bowed head, a carriage flashed through my mind—one that had fled the estate at high speed just before the fighting began. And the seal proudly emblazoned upon it.
I clenched my right fist and called out to Aster. What I’d seen might have been mistaken. The carriage might have simply been making an unrelated visit. But regardless, I had to tell my master. Working as his instrument, I’d learned that even the thinnest thread of a clue must never be overlooked.
“An Imperial carriage departed from the Enbail Estate.”
My lowered voice was clear and distinct. In that instant, light blazed through Aster’s green eyes. I felt an inward laugh of satisfaction. I was glad to see my master’s gloomy expression transform. There was pride in knowing I’d drawn forth that look, and satisfaction too.
It was absurd, really. What right had a knight who’d failed his master’s orders to feel proud or satisfied? And yet I did. For me, if my master’s mood improved, that alone was enough. I understood this truth anew.
“They attacked me the moment that carriage left the estate.”
As if to conceal the carriage’s departure. Aster nodded slowly at my account. It was certainly suspicious. Moreover, neither the guest list from the Charity Party that Elliot Enbail had provided, nor the estate’s entry records, contained any names connected to the Imperial Court. What that meant was singular and unmistakable.
Abarid Bestes.
I felt my insides twist, but forced the sensation down. Now that I thought of it, the Countess was Abarid’s mistress—a fact so widely known in High Society that even someone as uninformed as I was aware of it. Why hadn’t I remembered sooner? Had I recalled it before Lauren attended the party, I would have forbidden her from going.
There was no use regretting now. I bit the inside of my lip hard. It would have been better if Ilita Enbail had acted out of jealousy alone. But of all people. Still, there was something I needed to do before indulging in regret.
My task was singular: find Lauren before anything worse could happen. That she’d been taken by Abarid was desperate, but it was far better than having no leads at all.
I drew in a slow breath, then offered Garnet a smile. I reached out and stroked his hair, offering quiet thanks along with my gratitude. The boy who hadn’t smiled moments before finally showed me a faint smile in return.
“I apologize, Garnet, but I must take my leave now.”
Garnet nodded silently, his demeanor matter-of-fact. That very acceptance weighed on my heart. Still, I rose from my seat. Without thinking, I placed my hand atop Garnet’s head. Two round crimson eyes gazed up at me.
“Don’t dwell on anything else. Rest well. That way, you’ll be able to return to duty all the sooner.”
Return to duty—what a hasty thing to say to an injured child. I hesitated before speaking, turning the words over in my mind. Yet I wanted him to know that his place remained here. Garnet took pride in his station as a knight, after all.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
And fortunately, Garnet smiled as though truly reassured. It was such a beautiful smile that I found myself smiling in return. I patted Garnet’s shoulder and turned to leave. I thought that my swift departure would help him rest better.
“Thank you, Garnet. You’ve done well.”
Just before stepping through the door, I looked back at Garnet. His smile, bidding me farewell, met my gaze. It was a smile that seemed almost to offer me encouragement.
* * *
With Garnet’s report, the pieces fell into place. I summoned the Lilywood Knights. The knights who had been stationed on patrol duty in the Capital Outskirts began searching the villa district on the Duke’s orders, which they had not received in some time.
Though it was winter, when there was little use for villas, it was only natural that their owners grew discontented. I had apparently steeled myself for the Duke’s Mansion to fall into chaos, yet the nobility still feared the “murderer.” Their complaints were directed toward the Emperor.
Aster Veil Lilywood was tearing through the villa district.
The nobles who came before the Emperor spoke in unison. The Countess’s disappearance was regrettable, but hardly surprising—surely she had simply gone to indulge in some amusement with a lover, as any noble of the Empire might. She would return once she tired of her diversions. They urged him to restrain the rude “murderer.”
Emperor Porto Bestes pressed his brow. I had thought that marriage might have tempered me somewhat, yet the crude epithet “murderer” still held sway. In the end, the Emperor issued a summons to the Lilywood Duke. Under ordinary circumstances, I would have ignored an imperial summons, but I appeared at the Imperial Palace without resistance.
Though I wore only a shirt beneath my coat, and made no proper obeisance before the Emperor. My gaze remained as grim as it had been not long after returning from the battlefield.
Porto was at a loss. It had not been long since the Countess and I had dined at the Imperial Palace. At that time, Aster Veil Lilywood had seemed quite composed and courteous. He claimed to love the Countess, yet in mere days, he appeared visibly gaunt. An incomprehensible light burned in his sunken green eyes. I had not realized that Lauren Lilywood’s disappearance would devastate him so thoroughly.
“Lilywood Duke.”
Porto cleared his throat softly and called out to me. But as though I had not heard his voice, I stared at the Emperor for a long moment. Should he charge me with disrespect? The Emperor sighed inwardly.

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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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