Chapter 226
How many lives could one person’s ambition ruin? Sebelia felt as though she’d just encountered the answer to a question she’d never dared ask herself.
The answer was: too many to count.
Even if it was only her and Dehart here now, there was no telling when or where the people ruined by Gren Inverness might appear. It was an obvious truth.
She wasn’t alone. Her own father, and perhaps even the First Queen herself, could have conspired with Gren for who knew how long.
The sheer absurdity of it made Sebelia laugh hollowly.
“Ha…”
She had thought Gren’s resentment was simply because she was an illegitimate child from the capital. That foolish assumption flashed through her mind.
I thought her malice was directed only at me.
Until she arrived, Gren Inverness had been the rightful mistress of Hillend Hall. Sebelia had assumed Gren wouldn’t want to relinquish that power and prestige to someone as insignificant as her.
But that wasn’t the case. To Gren, Sebelia was nothing more than a minor obstacle. What Gren truly wanted was likely something else entirely as Sebelia realized.
She lifted her head as if seeking an answer—and immediately met a gaze. Golden eyes, dazzling like the midday sun, locked onto her.
“Dehart.”
Sebelia spoke his name softly. As if waiting for her, Dehart rose and approached.
“What should we do?”
She was slightly taken aback by his composed demeanor. Such calmness and unwavering voice.
For a moment, she thought he was hiding his pain, refusing to show weakness in front of her. But when she looked deeply into his eyes, that thought vanished.
The golden eyes that shone so intensely at her weren’t merely loyal. They focused solely on her, unconcerned even with himself. Unable to help herself, Sebelia asked
“You… aren’t affected at all?”
“If you mean Mrs. Gren, not really.”
The answer was almost too quick, too casual. Sebelia found herself more surprised than he was. Noticing her hesitation, Dehart murmured with a dry expression:
“I wasn’t shocked or hurt, so if you’re worried about me, there’s no need. From the moment I realized she intended to kill you, she ceased to be family to me.”
“What? Wait… what do you mean?”
Sebelia clutched her head in disbelief.
“Mrs. Gren tried to kill me?”
“Ah.”
Dehart bit his lip and glanced at Watts and Claude behind him. Seeing his hesitation, Sebelia gave him a pointed look, silently urging him to speak. After a pause, he explained:
“This was before rumors spread that you were cursed. She tried to hire assassins from the underground to make it look like a suicide.”
Dehard told her he had found the assassination orders in Gren’s room. Sebelia let out a hollow laugh. She realized that Gren’s malice was far more persistent and vicious than she’d imagined.
“My goodness.”
She shook her head and brushed goosebumps from her arms and shook her head. The thought that she had nearly become the victim of such a horrifying plot sent chills down her spine.
Should I call this divine luck?
If it hadn’t been for the thorny illness she thought incurable, she wouldn’t have left the estate. And she likely would have been killed by Gren.
But Gren hadn’t reached for her. Of course, she hadn’t done it out of sudden pity.
She must have assumed I’d die soon from the supposed curse of the First Duchess.
Even so, having a target to eliminate at just the right moment would have been a delight for her. Since Sebelia would self-destruct without Gren dirtying her hands, she must have been overjoyed.
“So that’s why she kept sending servants to check on me at the villa…”
The words slipped out without her realizing, making her flinch. Dehart had already heard them. The faint snap of his teeth echoed, followed moments later by him catching his breath.
Finally regaining control, Dehart lifted his gaze. His lightning-bright golden eyes glimmered at the center of the study.
Dehart took Sebelia’s fingertips.
“It’s for the best.”
His deep, low voice resonated like a cavern.
“Wheddon may have driven you to despair, but it was everyone at Hillend Hall who pushed you toward death. They must pay for it.”
Sebelia blinked, stunned. What had she just heard?
That’s the final line of the will I wrote.
Had he remembered it all along?
She felt her heart hammering and stared at Dehart in shock. Her wide blue eyes met his golden ones, shining like discs of light. But the moment didn’t last long.
“Hm.”
Claude, who had been long sidelined, cleared his throat and raised a hand.
“Shall we get to the main point?”
“Yes!”
Blushing, Sebelia carefully withdrew her hand from Dehart’s grasp.
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