I Will Seduce The Northern Duke

Standing in the doorway, Selena carefully scanned the room.

It was somewhat similar in size to Kalcion's room, but the patterns on the wallpaper and the color of the furniture were completely different. It was much brighter and more colorful.

"Was this room made according to your mother's preference?"

"Probably. I heard that Miss Irelle added a few items, but most of them were Mother's possessions."

"It seems I can see what kind of person she used to be. Gorgeous, greedy, and attention seeking."

"Indeed, she was."

Kalcion laughed and agreed.

This room, to which he had little access even when he was young, was left unoccupied after Irelle's death. So much so that the first time he visited this room once again in recent years was when he heard of the accident in the morning. Even so, he had no time to see what the room looked like.

"Miss Irelle was lying in the middle of this bed."

He began to retrace his memory of the day.

"She was wearing the dress she was supposed to wear in the engagement ceremony the next day, and had sharp cuts running from her wrists to elbow. I couldn't get a proper look at her because she was already covered in blood everywhere……"

Was this room supposed to be used by someone else? The blood stains were removed without a trace, and the bed sheets were changed.

"The windows were closed and the door was locked from the inside. Unless you open it from the inside, the only way you can enter the room is to go through Mrs. Janet’s room…..”

He pointed to a door on one side of the room. The room of the lady-in-waiting, required for any necessities at night, was bound to have a doorway to their owner's room.

"Even Mrs. Janet's door was locked that day, so it must've been impossible for an intruder to enter through the next room."

"Then if you had someone to suspect, wouldn't it be Mrs. Janet?"

Kalcion was reluctant to put Mrs. Janet on the list of suspects from the beginning. Even though she was the closest to being the murderer.

"Is there a reason for Mrs. Janet to kill her?"

"Perhaps Irelle's status and reputation was not a match for the house of Renbird, so she rather……."

Selena's voice trailed off as she realized.

If killing the nominated bride had happened in order to secure Renbird's honor, it would also have brought disgrace to the family. It didn't make sense.

"And, first of all, Mrs. Janet is not so foolish as to think she would not be suspected. Even if I suspect that it was murder, no matter how I look at it, she seemed to be alone in a completely enclosed space."

According to Kalcion, Irelle didn’t get those wounds by accident. She most likely watched calmly while the deed was being done.

"But isn't that weird as well? If someone did murder her, she wouldn’t have been able to stay calm upon seeing someone hurt her wrists."

"Indeed, it is strange."

This seemed more complicated. The cause of her death was still unclear. It felt like they were trapped in the middle of a labyrinth, far away from the truth.

"However, the wounds she received were not something a woman who had never held a sword could give."

“Unless she turned her eyes away while she was hurting her wrists, and had a ridiculously powerful will. Isn’t it something you can do if you have enough determination?

The two stared at their forearms. However, neither of them could imagine themselves doing so.

Naturally, Selena had a hard time imagining committing suicide. There were times when she would try in the past. But, she would quit every time at the thought that her heart would give out.

If she wasn’t murdered, what bothered Irelle so much that she could not fill the Duchess' seat and live a rich life?

"What if she was so tired that she became determined enough to hurt herself?"

Kalcion glanced at Selena.

"It might be true that Irelle hurt herself, but what if someone incited her to do so?"

"…….."

"Then, would they be the culprit?"

"They would be."

Kalcion replied without hesitation.

“Even if it’s not just one person, but most, if not all, of the people she met? Including those who didn’t give her a helping hand and stayed as onlookers?"

"Even them."

"Even those who didn't know her back then?"

"……….."

Their eyes met sharply, which caused Kalcion to see Selena as Irelle.

The only reason why he was furious was because his fiancée was murdered inside his own mansion during their engagement ceremony.

He didn't know anything about her, who was the actual victim, as well as what kind of situation she was in or how her emotional state was.

"…….I was equally a sinner."

Kalcion muttered in vain.

"She was meant to be my wife, not anyone else. Right, I knew nothing. I was negligent."

He acknowledged his mistake willingly.

If she hadn't died, he wouldn't have considered his own mistakes a crime. The same would be the case with his parents and many other nobles who trampled upon the weak and stayed as onlookers. Kalcion only followed what society held faith in.

But if such faith resulted in the sacrifice of a person named Irelle, then his excessive indifference was also a sin. He definitely felt responsible when Selena's eyes, which were on him, eventually stabbed his heart.

"How did you come to that?"

At his question, Selena slowly blinked a few times as if she just came to her senses. In an instant, those eyes of hers that seemed dead just a second ago returned to being firm and lively as usual.

"What? Oh, haha. I didn't realize that I was so immersed in what Irelle might’ve felt."

Flustered, she mumbled with a smile. It seemed that she was unconsciously submitting to Irelle, and that it wasn’t a simple matter where she simply thought of herself as Irelle and what she might’ve felt.

Kalcion uttered a thought that came to his mind.

"Have you ever experienced something similar?"

"…….Not that I know of."

She vaguely replied.

"I'm not forcing you to answer. It was just a thought."

"If that’s the case, will you give me a gift of consolation if I answer?"

"Anything necessary."

"I already have everything I need……"

Selena, who refused with a smile, glanced at the bed as if in a trance once again.

“Doesn’t that happen to a person at least once? An instance would be when I came to a point where I started to think, ‘I don’t think the world sees me as anything special, rather, it seems to hate me. If that’s so, wouldn’t it be better if I disappeared since I have nothing I’m living for anyway?’ A number of people may also think the same way.”

"Who caused you to think so and go as far as considering hurting yourself?"

"Um….. It's hard to say who is responsible. It’s the same with Irelle. A stranger who doesn't even know my name would pass by while swearing at me in a language I’ve never even heard of, and rumors would spread about me with someone I've never even met. Wouldn't that kind of situation directly affect one’s mental health, and perhaps even lower their will to live?"

As she was reminded of the old days again, she recalled that it was a life full of ups and downs, which made her smile absent-mindedly.

"It's all in the past. After enduring so many hardships, I was finally able to stand as a great actress loved by the whole world."

She muttered lightly. However, Kalcion's face sank even more upon hearing her response.

"You don't have to face any misery in this world."

"Then what do you suppose I do?"

"You may tell me. I don't see a reason for you to hide anything."

"If I don't tell you, will you punish me?"

"Punish?"

"…..Then, will you do something worse than that?"

Kalcion couldn't answer that.

"……?"

The smile she had not too long ago disappeared from her face.

"Hold on, why aren't you saying anything? Does this mean there’s something worse you can consider doing to me? Are you going to kill me?"

"I don't know."

It would've been more suspicious if he changed the subject for no reason. In any case, this means that if she made a mistake, he would kill her.

"Then why won’t you answer? It's weird. It's suspicious."

"Killing people is not something to brag about."

Selena's mouth opened wide.

"…….Are you serious?"

"It's nothing personal. Even conflicts between territories lead to tropical battles. There is nothing we can do about those who are sacrificed due to the conflict every time."

"Ah…… It's not illegal."

"Fortunately, I was able to threaten those who irritated me."

It seemed he was able to recall the faces of those who got threats from him seeing as a rare satisfied smile appeared on his lips.

Selena, who sympathized with his victims she didn't even know, suddenly realized that she was one of those people.

***

The next day. The store named ‘Diatte' contacted her.