Love Doesn't Matter

Chapter 105 – Downpour

Desperation paves the way.

Emilia stood before the roaring lion statue, contemplating those words. After several sleepless nights of pondering, she had found the safest and most certain way to reach him.

Right here, at Riccardi Palace, meeting Her Majesty the Queen.

“If you ever need my help, don’t hesitate to ask. We made a pact with Meyer Constance. You and I are no different than two sailors on the same ship,” Queen Yvonne had said, handing her a ring in place of Hadewig. The King and Queen were well aware of their relationship, and Hadewig’s choice to appoint Emilia as her guardian spoke volumes about her strength and trustworthiness.

Moreover, she had borne three children. As a woman well-versed in pregnancy and childbirth, she had every reason to come here.

Suppressing her racing heart with her hand, Emilia handed a small card to the palace guards stationed at the entrance. It was the royal pass she had received with Hadewig’s belongings.

Fortunately, the guards recognized the Queen’s personal signature at a glance. The massive iron doors swung open as if awaiting her, and Emilia stepped inside.

As she walked along the corridor, Emilia felt her legs grow weaker than when she had received the King’s belongings. She passed by a quaint pond and a grand fountain, finally arriving at the hall, where an attendant approached, verified her pass and conducted a body search.

“This way.”

The fluid steps led Emilia into a growing sense of relief.

Finally, in front of the audience room, Emilia sat on the waiting stone. She examined the delicate statues and floral decorations with vacant eyes, meticulously organizing her thoughts on what to say to Queen Yvonne.

Suddenly the door swung open, surprisingly fast and abrupt. Emilia instinctively stood up, her body jerking unknowingly.

As the familiar perfume wafted through the air, Queen Yvonne appeared before Emilia, catching her off guard. She could only be surprised, as she had expected the maidservant to come out first.

“B-Be, Bern’s daughter… greets Her Majesty the Queen…”

Uttering the words that the attendant should have said on her behalf, Emilia was taken aback.

“Enough. Come inside for now.”

The Queen smirked and grasped Emilia’s trembling arm.

Thud. The door closed behind them.

A face, unguarded and smiling without any reservation, began to etch itself sharply into the depths of Emilia’s quivering pupils.

“How intriguing. When Young Lord Meyer asked me to give you that, I wondered if there was such a pressing need for it.”

Queen Yvonne glanced at the card tightly clenched in Emilia’s hand.

“Lord Meyer is cunning and cautious. He must not have thought you would go so far as to use that card.”

“…”

“Now, tell me. What significant event occurred that made you suddenly seek me out like this? It must have taken great courage for an ordinary person like you to use that card.”

Her soft voice prodded at the corner of Emilia’s heart and urged the impending collapse.

“I-I…”

Like a raft meeting a great ship while drifting, Emilia couldn’t hold back her tears any longer. They poured out like a waterfall, accompanied by her words.

* * *

“Really?”

The coral earrings hanging from her thick earlobes swung with a loud tinkling sound.

“You simply let them go? Without any conditions?”

“…Yes.”

Caitlyn couldn’t close her mouth. Her flickering eyes were filled with disbelief.

“…You’re saying that nearly 200 bandits…were dismissed without resistance? Right now?”

Erdua wiped the sweat from her face with a handkerchief before opening her mouth.

“Yes.”

“Ha!”

Whether it was a sigh or an exclamation, Caitlyn couldn’t tell, but her heart pounded in her chest.

This incident was completely unexpected, much like the incident at the Luyen’s ball. Improvised actions often brought about big and small crises, and the aftermath was never easy to handle.

As expected, Caitlyn didn’t show joy. The opportune moment arrived, and she turned her attention to Erdua instead of Caitlyn.

“Nevertheless, the situation has been resolved, hasn’t it?”

“Yes. It has been resolved neatly.”

Erdua replied with a calm gaze, much more comfortable dealing with a secretary than the Countess.

“But there is one problem. The situation has calmed down, but with so many workers suddenly gone, three mines have come to a halt.”

“I see.”

Caitlyn interjected as if muttering to herself.

“Yes, there is such a problem. Hadius must have known it would end like this, so why did he create such a situation?”

“I, too, thought that after eliminating the main actors and those responsible like Andrei, we could negotiate and allow the rest to return. But dismissing all of them…I am also perplexed by this unheard-of action.”

Caitlyn struggled not to furrow her brow.

As she desired, both the main actors and the thorns in her side disappeared, so she should be pleased. She should be impressed by her son, who achieved the seemingly impossible. So why did she feel so uneasy?

Caitlyn’s gaze turned sharply toward Erdua.

“You should have gone with him…. Come to think of it, why did Hadius go alone?”

Seeing her suspicious gaze, Grozhang had to swallow drily again. Caitlyn turned her focus back to Erdua.

“Did Hadius say anything else? He can’t have sent you here without any countermeasures while the mines came to a halt.”

“…Yes, Lord Gong said that he will completely restore the second ironworks to its original state and then return to Norvak. He also made a humble request to the Lady. He asked for the convening of a council to replenish the large number of vacancies with new personnel. He also asked me to attend the council and explain the situation.”

“Yes, for now, that takes precedence.”

After thinking deeply for a while, Caitlyn called the butler.

“Can you tell me about my schedule?”

The butler took out a memo with the schedule written on it and began to read it out loud. Before he could finish, Caitlyn raised her hand to stop him.

“No, tell me only the urgent and important matters.”

“…Today afternoon, you need to attend the opening ceremony of the newly established ‘Lien Arcade’ on Mepix Street. Twenty percent of the merchants there are our main customers, so it would be beneficial for you to attend.”

“Very well, I understand. Since I have to go to Ludwick anyway, let’s convene a board meeting tomorrow. Make sure to prepare for it.”

“Yes, understood.”

As soon as the butler disappeared, Caitlyn turned toward Grozhang.

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“Could you spare me a moment?”

Seeing the signal that she wanted to have a private conversation, Erdua quickly vacated her spot.

“You should go to Elingwood immediately.”

“Now?”

“Yes, for the time being, it seems you need to keep an eye on Hadius again. Something feels off. He went off on his own, leaving you behind…”

“Yes, I understand.”

Caitlyn let out a short sigh.

“I thought I wouldn’t need to make such a request since he’s my son, but I really can’t read his mind. Even though there doesn’t seem to be any reason to suspect anything strange… it feels oddly suspicious.”

“Don’t worry. I will observe from a suitable distance and inform you immediately if anything out of the ordinary occurs.”

“Yes, I trust you. Now, go. I have to start preparing as well since I need to attend the opening ceremony.”

That afternoon, Caitlyn arrived in Mepix, the bustling downtown area of Ludwick, as planned.

The newly established “Lien Arcade” was a shopping district with a unique structure, with roofs connecting the buildings. Thanks to extensive publicity through newspapers for the past few months, on the day of the grand opening, numerous nobles and wealthy citizens flocked there like a swarm of clouds.

After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, which could be considered the highlight of the opening, Caitlyn strolled along the splendid streets, engaging in small talk with some noblewomen.

“This year’s Elfort graduation ceremony was like a cake without cream. The representative of the graduates couldn’t attend!”

“That’s right, my cousin went to the ceremony and was so disappointed. She said she had expected to see Young Master Meyer dressed as a naval conqueror.”

“And during the admission ceremony, there was a commotion in the gossip columns of the newspapers. They said Young Master Meyer, standing at the front as the class representative… looked like an elegant leopard.”

“It was only Young Master Meyer, right? Actually, everyone had high expectations. Lady Reinen said that if Young Miss had become so beautiful…”

Caitlyn listened to everything with a composed smile. The news she heard from Elingwood lingered in her mind and left her with a sense of unease.

At that moment, a young man approached Caitlyn. He was dressed in an ordinary frock coat and politely greeted her before handing her something.

It was a letter.

“A gentleman asked me to deliver this to you, madam.”

“Hmm?”

Caitlyn accepted the envelope, her head slightly tilted in confusion. Before she could ask who it was from, the man gracefully disappeared into the bustling crowd.

As Caitlyn stood there, staring blankly at the empty spot, she carefully tore open the envelope, which seemed surprisingly flimsy.

Inside, there was a single sheet of paper that felt too thin to be called a letter.

However, when she read the contents, Caitlyn felt as if she had been struck by lightning, stiffening in place.

The noblewomen, noticing Caitlyn’s pale complexion, exchanged curious glances. Without even considering hiding her condition, Caitlyn struggled to stand up from her seat.

“Just a moment… Excuse me.”

She swayed on her feet, looking around anxiously.

“Oh, Ophelia…”

Caitlyn trembled as she desperately searched for a maid. In the midst of her dizziness, she recalled the fact that she had allowed Arcade to explore Eringwood while she engaged in conversations with the ladies of the house.

Clutching her chest, Caitlyn stumbled uneasily. It felt as if her heart would give out any moment, as if she would have a seizure. Dizziness overwhelmed her. She couldn’t breathe. To supply her lungs with oxygen, she had to inhale deeply and continuously.

How could this happen?

Huddled in the shadows of an empty alley, she leaned against the wall, gasping for air. Her trembling hands pulled out the unbelievable and shocking letter once again.

“You know what you did to Kanoa and the illegitimate child.”

Caitlyn sank to the ground, overcome by terror, unable to utter a word.

* * *

“It has been delivered safely.”

To deliver that news, the messenger had to rush all the way to Elingua through the night. Hadius casually tapped his fingers on the edge of the desk.

How could this have happened?

The messenger discreetly glanced at his master’s face, which showed no signs of tension.

“The Lady seems very suspicious of the Young Master. Although it’s unimaginable that the letter is the Young Master’s doing… the situation in Elingwood wasn’t resolved easily, was it?”

“Yes, it would seem strange to think otherwise. Sooner or later, she will start to suspect me.”

Contrary to his words, the expression on the Young Master’s face remained calm.

“I… am a bit worried.”

In front of his unresponsive master, the messenger found himself inadvertently expressing his concerns.

“…There are too many mountains to climb. Even if we succeed in catching the likes of Jetson, who spread falsehoods planted in Krambitz, Lady Meyer will surely try to sever the tail. There’s no way a servant like Jetson would easily betray his master and reveal all the truth.”

“….”

“Even if things go well, and we manage to turn the case over to the Lady for trial… would the court dare to easily pass a guilty verdict on the Duchess? It’s such an old incident, and it involves the death of the mistress and the illegitimate child…”

“Don’t worry, Messenger.”

Hadius’ gaze flashed coldly.

“Didn’t I say it? I have no interest in justice or the truth. The letter is just a decoy. It’s meant to trap Lady Meyer in an even bigger snare.”

As he spoke, Hadius reached toward something on the desk. The messenger saw an object he had never seen before.

“Struggling so desperately, only to lose all momentum in the end. Like a fish trapped in a net.”

With a calm murmur, Hadius suddenly picked up the Pegasus sculpture from the desk. Just then, a soft knock came from the door.

“A messenger from the Ricardi Palace. I have an important message to deliver to Lord Meyer.”

Startled, the messenger’s gaze involuntarily turned toward his master. Hadius, too, stiffened at the unexpected news.

As the door opened, a man in ordinary attire, so plain that it was hard to believe he was a royal messenger, revealed himself.

“A message from Her Majesty the Queen.”

The messenger quickly received the letter and verified the royal seal. Then, with a knife, he opened the envelope and handed it directly to his master.

Sensing the gravity of the situation, Hadius pulled the letter from the envelope with his rigid hand.

The elegant handwriting, clearly belonging to the Queen herself, flowed like a shower. As the man read, his heart plummeted with each word.

For the young Meyer, it was also a moment when he encountered the most shocking news of his entire life.