Lady to Queen - Chapter 89 - There's No Smoke Without Fire

Chapter 89 – There’s No Smoke Without Fire

“I’m going to obtain a confession around this afternoon. Rosemond will be put on trial for attempting to assassinate a royal family member.”

“Will there be a death penalty?”

“If nothing unusual happens,” Patrizia said with a thoughtful look. “When the scandal breaks out, there’s no reason for Duke Ephreney to cling to Rosemond. No one would object.”

“I believe so too,” Petronilla agreed.

“When will Duchess Ephreney return?”

“This afternoon. It would be around 4 o’clock if nothing else happens.”

“Alright, Nilla.” Patrizia exhaled. “It’s quite chaotic when everything happens all at once, but…yes, I’d rather have it all finished now.”

“Isn’t that the plan? How nice would it be if everything happens one by one. The problem is, the world doesn’t work out like that,” Raphaella said, and Petronilla nodded in agreement.

“You’d better get it over with, Rizi. The punishment is short, but the reward is long.”

“That’s right,” said Patrizia with a sigh. “But even so, I would like to speak with His Majesty only after Rosemond’s sins are proven.”

*

Duchess Ephreney stared outside the cabin window with a dreary expression. Blue waves crashed against the ship’s hull. A seagull wheeled nearby and gave a cry.

It was a peaceful seascape, but Duchess Ephreney could only look out the window with a pale face. It was as if she had lost all pleasure in life, and no emotions remained inside her. Someone called out to her.

“My Lady…”

“…”

She remained silent. The speaker was one of Duchess Ephreney’s old ladies-in-waiting, but she wasn’t hopeful for an answer.

“We will arrive at the Mavinous Empire soon,” the lady-in-waiting announced.

“…”

A single word would be answer enough, but Duchess Ephreney didn’t speak. The lady-in-waiting took in a breath and quietly stepped out of the cabin. The door closed shut with a thunk, and the Duchess remained in place, alone. She was still staring at the sea with her unfocused eyes. After which, tears streamed down her dry cheeks.

*

An hour later, the ship carrying Duchess Ephreney anchored at a large port in the Mavinous Empire. The lady-in-waiting came to the Duchess to escort her.

“We have arrived, My Lady. Let’s go, please.”

“…”

The Duchess moved her body silently. Everyone around who knew her circumstances watched her with sympathetic gazes. It was normally forbidden to stare upon a high-ranking duchess, but the rules were ignored for now. Neither Duchess Ephreney or her servants made the effort to stop the stares anyway.

Soon, a carriage from the residence came to a stop in front of Duchess Ephreney. She didn’t budge at the sight of the familiar carriage coming to pick her up. It was as if her soul escaped, and the shell of her body remained. The lady-in-waiting pulled the Duchess in the carriage without a word of complaint, then got inside.

“…”

On the way to the residence, the Duchess sat still, her lips not moving a millimeter. She had been exactly this way one week ago too.

*

Meanwhile, Petronilla scheduled to meet with Lady Trisha—Duke Vasi’s daughter—in the afternoon. An invitation had been extended in a previous event, and Petronilla had put it off. Now was a good time for a visit.

“Greetings, Lady Trisha.”

Petronilla entered Duke Vasi’s garden with an elegant social smile. Lady Trisha was interested in gardening, and she looked as gorgeous as the surroundings. She wore a dress of light green and brown, looking like an elegant tree, and she greeted Petronilla.

“Welcome, Lady Petronilla. I can’t believe you came like this,” she said in a slightly puzzled voice. “Isn’t the palace upside-down right now? I thought you wouldn’t be able to come.”

“Not at all, My Lady. In fact, because of all the commotion, Her Highness regrets that she hasn’t been able to invite you over as of late.”

“I’m sorry that Her Majesty has so much work,” said Trisha, and she swallowed nervously. “I hope they capture whoever dared harm the Imperial Mother.”

“Of course,” Petronilla replied calmly. “Many people in the prison are working hard right now to extract a confession.”

“I hope everything goes well. I heard that Lady Ethylaire is the prime suspect.”

“It’s a shame. Hasn’t she already been under suspicion of attempting to assassinate the Queen recently? Perhaps the suspicions weren’t unfounded,” Petronilla said with a tut.

Of course, Rosemond had been officially cleared then. Petronilla accepted a cup of tea brought by the maid.

“Is this Earl Grey?”

“Yes, My Lady. Do you like it?”

“I don’t dislike it,” Petronilla replied, and took a sip. It was still a little too hot, but she thought she should drink more.

“So, what happens if Lady Ethylaire turns out to be the culprit?” Lady Trisha asked.

“Well…nothing that’s unusual. Mavinous law states that a person who attempts to assassinate a royal family member will be executed, regardless of the reason. It’s not that much different from other countries. It won’t be easy to clear Marchioness Ethylaire’s guilt, even if she is also a daughter of the Ephreney family.”

“So if that happens…well, I don’t know if the Ephreney family will be able to protect her.”

“I think so too.” Petronilla gave a soft smile, then changed the subject. “Are there any other interesting stories these days? I haven’t been in the social world lately, and I feel like I’m falling behind.”

“Ah, come to think of it, you have been very busy,” Lady Trisha said with a nod. “Well, there must be an interesting story or two. Who had an affair with who…that kind of scandal?”

“But among those…there must be an interesting rumor.”

“Rumor? Well…let’s see.” Trisha pondered for a moment, and then her face lit up. “Well, I don’t know about this…this may not be a rumor at all.”

“Oh, what is it?” Petronilla asked interestedly.

“As you know, the Ephreney family has been through a lot these days. Not good things, of course,” Trisha said, but then suddenly looked like she had made a mistake. “Oh, come to think of it, you’re close to Duchess Ephreney.”

Petronilla gave a small smile. “Well, I somehow managed to get involved with the household, but…the actual management is done by the butler.”

“But it’s not easy to leave it to someone else, is it? That’s how much the Duchess trusts in you,” Trisha muttered. “Yes, well. Maybe it’s preferable to leave it to someone else rather than the mistress.”

“They don’t appear to be on good terms,” Petronilla noted.

“Of course, given how much Duchess Ephreney gave to the Duke. I thought that the Duke would ever bring in a mistress. But then, a mistress gave birth to a son! Now that Prince Ephreney has passed away, Duchess Ephreney’s wounds would be even greater.”

“I am worried about that too. I hope that she will be able to overcome it…” Petronilla said with the appropriate amount of grief, then returned to the original topic. “So what’s the rumor?”

“Don’t tell this to anyone else. It’s…it’s a secret, alright?”

“Of course,” Petronilla said with a smile. There were no secrets in this area. Everyone supposedly had a secret that no one else knew, but everyone spread it through other acquaintances. The phrase “You’re the only one who knows” was completely meaningless.

Lady Trisha began her story. “When the Duchess was still Princess Ephreney, there was a lot of talk about her marriage to Duke Ephreney, who was then a lowly baron, right?”

“Yes.”

The current Duke Ephreney was not a direct blood successor to the Ephreney family, but had married in from a baron family. It was only after he married the Ephreney’s lone daughter that his position rose. Such a union was unprecedented at the time, and stirred up a lot of talk, but Petronilla did not know that back then.

Lady Trisha continued. “Well, rumor is that the Duke raped the Duchess, and when she became pregnant, she was forced to marry him.”

“Oh my god.” Petronilla already knew what Trisha was about to say, but she pretended to be surprised. The rumor was indeed true. Duke Ephreney, baron at the time, raped Duchess Ephreney, then rushed to marry her when she was discovered to be pregnant. The poor Duchess forgot all memory of the night she was violated, and firmly believed that she had fallen in love with him. The snake-tongued man would have seduced her the next morning with words. It would be a tragedy if the Duchess discovered this.

“No way. It has to be just a rumor,” Petronilla gasped.

“I hope so. Otherwise, I pity the Duchess. Meanwhile, the Duke would be divorced, and he would be punished for deceiving her.”

“Does everyone know this rumor?” Petronilla asked, and Trisha lowered her voice even though no one else was around.

“It’s a rumor that has been circulating the ladies’ mouths for several days now. Maybe a little longer, and everyone in the Imperial Palace will know about it. I don’t know who started the rumor.”

“Well, would there be smoke if there was no fire?”

“Well, only the parties involved know the answer.”

“Only the ones that know it correctly. Duchess Ephreney may not remember it right.”

“My God, if it’s true, I feel so sorry for her!” Trisha exclaimed with a shake of her head, and Petronilla smiled softly. Duchess Witherford was good at her job. At this rate, the rumors soon reach the ears of Duke Ephreney. How would he react?

Petronilla smiled inwardly as she imagined the look on that shameless Duke.