The Sixth Plan. To Know Thy Enemy. (3)
I didn’t think that Charlotte, who should be dead by tomorrow, would answer me gently today and I never even thought that she deserved to be taken out of the cell just to talk to her. It was the Duchess Dowager who had decided on the punishment, so Gellerhard and I headed towards her place instead.
The Duchess Dowager had been on the east side of the second floor of the inner sanctuary, but the overall atmosphere was somehow cluttered and dark. A few servants were carrying such seemingly heavy luggage before they stopped to greet us. On top of that, there had been maids walking around with aprons on as if they were cleaning as well.
“Is my mother in the boudoir right now? Tell her that Amanda and I would like to see her.”
“Yes, Duke.”
We went into the parlor and waited for her as we eventually noticed the reason for the chaotic mood. It hadn’t been the ornaments that originally existed in the Dukedom itself, but only the ornaments that the Duchess Dowager had brought from the south were all missing. The servants continued moving in line with the heavy luggage while the maids walked around wearing aprons as if they were still cleaning. The maids were actually packing up the Duchess’s personal belongings and the servants had been carrying them all along. It seemed like she was just about to take wing with her bags filled!
“Amanda, Gellerhard.”
The shoulders of the Duchess Dowager, who had always straightened her back and chest, were pitifully droopy. As she called out our names, she closed her lips with a sinful expression as if she could not bear to say anything more. She was different from Charlotte, who had brazenly held her face up despite the fact that she was clearly in the wrong, and she had even expressed her regret for the child as well.
Normally, she was the Duchess Dowager who would have always led the conversation as the head of the household, but she didn’t utter a single thing at that moment. This was absolutely ridiculous. I proceeded to jump up and Gellerhard immediately followed suit before he stretched his arms as he wrapped them around me.
“Mother, are you going to leave me?”
“Amanda… I’m—you, really… I don’t even know how to ask for forgiveness. How could I not understand the sorrow of losing a child when I had also lost my children who would have been Gellerhard’s brothers or sisters. And every time, I’ve hated myself to death, but you… All because of that cunning girl, you have lost that precious baby of yours…”
The Duchess Dowager’s eyes burned glaringly red. My heart throbbed at the words that leaked out of the Duchess Dowager which revealed that she hated herself to death, perhaps due to the fact that she also had a similar experience to mine. I hated myself as well. I loathed myself for not being able to protect my baby even more so than Charlotte who had evidently wronged me. However, I couldn’t just sit back and allow myself to be tortured on my own.
“This is all because of me who had raised her. Tomorrow, after the public execution is over, I will have no choice but to bear the responsibility and take my leave from here.”
As I listened to her words, goosebumps ran down my spine at once. She was the Duchess Dowager who had cared for Charlotte just as if she had been her own daughter, but she made a very clear distinction between Charlotte and her duty. Perhaps, she had even punished Charlotte more severely. Besides, it had been the case in which Charlotte had poisoned her own granddaughter right at the Duchy of DeMancier, so she was sure to have the means of justification for public execution.
However, once that public execution were to be conducted, she would have to first announce the crime that was committed by the criminal just before the execution. The fact that the daughter of the Countess, who was executed for poisoning the Young Lady of DeMancier, had been the handmaid of the Duchess Dowager of DeMancier herself would also spread widely. The Duchess Dowager would then have to take the responsibility for bringing Charlotte in before she had to leave the Duchy in disgrace and it would eventually become difficult for her thereafter to wield the same influence over the Dukedom and the North as she had right now.
“No. If Mother were to leave, it would only do good for the others.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Mother, you may not be able to fully trust what I am just about to say. But please, believe in me and help me—even if it’s just this once.”
“Amanda, my sweetheart. Of course. You have undoubtedly become my son’s wife, but you are my daughter as well.”
The Duchess Dowager softly came up to me and squeezed my hand. Last season, during the period of my pregnancy, I didn’t depend on her completely, but now it was entirely different. The Duchess Dowager would support me unconditionally because of her guilt, even if she couldn’t fully believe what I was going to say.
“I suspect that there is a collusion between Count Petrika and Charlotte.”
The Duchess Dowager’s pair of blue eyes did not waver at my words. She must have had some doubts about that as well.
“I always depend on Mother very much, and… before Mother, I had used to depend on Count Petrika. If Mother leaves because of this, I might have to turn to Count Petrika once again. Or maybe, he had devised other plans already—probably. Even though this had just happened, I simply couldn’t rely on Count Petrika yet again. So, please do not leave us.”
I reached out and grabbed the Duchess Dowager’s hand. When she held my hand tightly in return, I finally realized that my own hand was already trembling.
“I need to know if they are really colluding with each other and if Charlotte has any proof, we can stop the Count, the Count’s conspiracy as well.”
Until now, we had tolerated Count Petrika’s actions for the sake of Carl’s strong background. Perhaps we should hit him once—that maternal grandfather of Carl’s. The Duchess Dowager seemed to be not worried at all.
Want to read more chapters and support us? Please consider becoming a patron to read up to 7 chapters in advance!
