ITMWG 120

Chapter 120…

Without a fuss.

Avar was so close to losing his mind.

The situation he thought he had under control had gone awry, and his mind went blank for a moment.

However, he quickly came to his senses and grabbed his daughter’s arm, who was sick of the dirty prison.

“Don’t lose it, calm down.”

“Do I look calm right now?”

Melissa snapped, but Avar, who had been locked up in Balstead for a long time, knew the atmosphere here better than anyone else.

“No matter how much you scream, it’s no use. The guards will just ignore us.”

It was just as Avar said.

Melissa kept making a lot of fuss, but no one paid any attention.

There was no attempt to suppress them, and the outside of the prison was quiet.

The guards weren’t the only ones who were quiet.

The countless prisoners who were locked up in Balstead were also unresponsive.

It seemed the prisoners had lost their energy due to the bleakness of this place.

Melissa shivered as she realised where the strange silence came from.

“Instead of going wild like this, you should think about the future.”

“…Do I even have a future?”

Avar let out a deep sigh as Melissa answered in a much calmer voice.

“First, explain how you were brought here.”

“About that…”

Melissa explained everything that had happened today to Avar.

She told him that she had threatened Baron Aylesford with the medical certificate he had left behind, and that things had taken a bad turn and she had been locked up in the mansion. Avar’s face crumpled.

“You can’t use such a good weapon like that!”

“What good weapon…wasn’t it just a fake document after all? That girl Nadia is pregnant!”

“It was definitely true! They must have had time to deal with it because you carelessly showed that document to the Baron.”

“How can someone go from infertile to pregnant overnight?”

“That’s not because she was born infertile…!”

Avar’s blood pressure rose and he grabbed his forehead at his daughter’s short-sighted rebuttal.

Was it because he didn’t properly educate her because he thought only she couldn’t inherit the title anyway?

He felt dizzy, regretting the past days when he had only bought her cosmetics, accessories, and pretty clothes, telling her to take care of her appearance.

But that was already in the past.

Avar tried to calm his feverish feelings and whispered in a low voice.

“You’ll probably be out of here in a few days.”

“In a few days? Not today? I can’t stay here even for a day!”

“Shh. Do you think that’s something you can control?”

Avar looked at Melissa, who pursed her lips in discontent.

“Anyway, your crime is not so great that you deserve to be thrown in Balstead. The Emperor simply gave you a harsh warning for your recklessness. It must also be to keep that girl Nadia from any trouble until she inherits the title of Marquis.”

“If Nadia really becomes the Marchioness…”

Melissa’s eyes widened.

“Where am I going? Is my house being taken away? What about my clothes? My jewels are all there?”

“Yes. They’re taking everything away. Everything!”

Avar ground his teeth as if he had completely forgotten that they were all the things he had robbed Nadia.

He couldn’t lose it again, just because of that little girl.

Even though he was stuck in Balstead, there would still be a chance.

Avar pulled Melissa closer, his eyes flashing dangerously.

“There’s still a way. All in all, you’re still a successor candidate for the Vine Marquis. If that girl Nadia disappears, you’ll become the Marchioness. Do you understand what I mean?”

“What do you mean?”

“Obviously, that annoying girl has to die somehow!”

“Can we even kill her? Now she has the title and the property, while we have nothing!”

“We have nothing left to lose. What on earth could we be afraid of? Huh?”

How reckless could a cornered person be?

Avar began to whisper a scheme in his daughter’s ear in a much lower voice than before.

Melissa’s lips hardened as she listened to him.

❈❈❈

“Ugh!”

“Ah!”

As soon as the couple finished talking and opened the door, everyone fell forward.

Everyone seemed to be curious about what Altair and Nadia were talking about, so they pressed their ears against the door.

“Oh my, my back….”

Cain, who was at the bottom, groaned, and Blan, who was on top of him, awkwardly looked at them and laughed awkwardly.

Anna, who never missed such things, confidently greeted Nadia, and Marie, who had naturally become one of them, quickly straightened her posture with a blushed face.

“Ahem. Are you done talking? Where should I take you?”

When Marie asked as if nothing had happened, Altair, who was looking at the two knights lying on the floor with contempt, lightly clicked his tongue and gave instructions.

“Take the madame and go to the Marquis of Vine.”

“Aren’t you going, my lord?”

When Cain asked, only raising his hand from the floor, Altair nodded.

“I owe Duke Viosques, so I should properly thank him. I’ll follow you later.”

“Ah. In that case…”

They certainly received a lot of help from the Duke.

As Nadia was about to say she would stay with him, Altair shook his head as if he already knew what I was going to say.

“You need rest. Even though you seem okay now, you must not be in a normal state because you were so shocked. I’m sure the Duke understands the situation, so you can talk to him next time.”

It was true that she was surprised by Melissa’s sudden behavior, but it wasn’t as serious as Altair was worried about.

Besides, since she left for the Vine mansion in a hurry without even saying goodbye, it would be right to visit and greet him now.

However, Marie gently grabbed her arm and backed up Altair’s words.

“Madam, please do as the lord says. Let’s go back to the mansion quickly and ask the doctor to check on your condition. Even if you’re okay, the baby might not be.”

Marie sure knew what Nadia was most worried about right now.

When Nadia kept her mouth shut and stroked her slightly swollen belly with concern, Altair whispered softly.

“And there’s something I need to tell the physician. Blan has captured ‘that guy’.”

“Oh…”

‘That guy’ was the culprit who killed Leon’s parents!

Nadia nodded, realising Altair’s intentions a little more clearly.

Leon still hadn’t cleared up his misunderstanding about Altair, so it would be better to correct it before meeting him again.

“I see. I’ll take care of that matter.”

Altair frowned as he clenched his fists and showed his determination.

“Why do you think I’m telling you to do it? You should never step forward. Leave everything to Blan. ‘That guy’ isn’t in good shape either…”

“His condition is not good?”

How bad is he?

When her eyes widened, Altair hurriedly waved his hand.

“No, well, it’s not that bad.”

At Altair’s somewhat frantic appearance, Blan muttered as if he were bewildered.

“‘It’s not that bad’, sure. He’s just a mess-…”

“Watch your mouth.”

Of course, Blan’s mutterings did not last long after Altair’s short and curt warning.

❈❈❈

Nadia returned to the Vine Marquis in a comfortable carriage at everyone’s concern.

When she left, she sneaked out of the annex, but when she returned, she was able to enter the main building through the main gate with confidence.

I feel strange. This is really my house now.

She couldn’t feel overjoyed because it hadn’t really sunk in yet.

As she strode through the mansion under the escort of two knights, the servants who had worked under her uncle glanced at her with eyes full of questions and wariness.

They seemed to have realised that something was going wrong.

This mansion also needs a major cleanup.

They were all long-time employees of Vine, but they had turned their backs on her and sided with her uncle right after her parents passed away, so she couldn’t let them work at ‘their house’ any longer.

It seemed like she would be busy for a while cleaning up the mansion.

Nadia naturally walked towards the room she had used since she was little, but she changed direction when she realised that it was now being used as Melissa’s room.

It wasn’t because she was concerned about Melissa’s feelings, but because she didn’t really want to set foot in a room that had traces of her.

Instead, she chose the Marchioness’ room.

Her uncle had lost his wife a long time ago and had not remarried, so even after he received the title, the Marchioness’ room that her mother had used was unoccupied.

So Nadia thought she could rest comfortably without any trace of her uncle or Melissa there.

However, I could not enter the room. It was because the butler blocked her at the door.

“You cannot enter here. This is not a place where guests dare set foot.”

“Guest?”

Cain let out a hollow laugh as if he was astonished at the butler who was stiffly raising his chin.

“Who are you calling a guest?”

“If not a guest, then what? The Marquis of Vine has never allowed guests to visit. Please leave. When the Marquis is away, I, the butler, am in charge of the mansion.”

Cain let out a scoff, astonished at the confident attitude, but strictly speaking, what the butler said was not wrong.

Anyway, since she hasn’t officially received the title yet, she’s still a guest.

But I’m sure he doesn’t know the circumstances of my return.

Everyone must know that her uncle wouldn’t be back, and he must be counting on Melissa.

What happened in the courtroom today probably hasn’t spread to the capital yet, so that could be the case.

But at this, her desire to get rid of all the servants became stronger.

As Nadia stood there, lost in thought, Blan and Cain looked at her with eyes that wondered what they would do.

Both of them seemed to be itching to go wild.

Since these people would soon face reality anyway, Nadia didn’t plan on making a fuss here.

No, but…

Still, it’s annoying.

Then let’s resolve it without making a fuss.

I smiled and looked at Cain.

“Can we quietly arrest this person? Without making a fuss.”

“What on earth are you saying?!”

The butler shouted in surprise, but Nadia didn’t even look at him.

Cain nodded excitedly at that sight.

“Of course.”

“How dare you do this in Marquis Vine’s residence… ugh!”

As if to prove what he had promised, Cain covered the butler’s mouth and dragged him out.

It was very quiet, without a single commotion.

Blan smiled contentedly and opened the door to the Marchioness’ room wide.

Nadia felt her heart pounding as she calmly entered the room.

The butler knew her old self, so he boldly blocked her path.

However, she was no longer the scared and cowardly Nadia Vine.

She was willing to do bold things that she couldn’t even imagine before.

Somehow…

Nadia felt like she was becoming more like Altair. That felt really good.