If You Leave Without a Word - Chapter 240

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

As Cain continued to speculate, a single candidate increasingly stood out: Grand Duke Norfolk.

Through the servants of Count Schuck, Cain had learned that Grand Duke Norfolk had arrived in Pahel, and he was convinced that he had passed through this area.

That he could move through Arta faster than Cain himself was likely because he had hijacked the fast ship Cain had reserved.

The pieces of the puzzle were starting to fit. If the Grand Duke had used that fast ship exactly as Cain had prepared it, it explained why Mobishi’s body had been found hanging along the route from the port to Arta.

Upon arriving at the northwest port, for reasons unknown, the Grand Duke seemed to have killed Mobishi, hung his body, and then stormed into Arta, leaving death and destruction in his wake.

But why?

What possible reason could he have for doing this? There were suspicions, but no concrete motive. Cain already knew that the Grand Duke did not particularly favor him. But mere personal dislike was hardly reason enough to turn Arta into a land of death.

Why? Why? And where was Esther?

Cain’s mind went blank. Nothing came to him. His head felt like it might split.

“…Sir.”

It was a soft voice that brought him back to reality. Slowly raising his head, he looked toward the sound and saw Agatha, her belly huge as a mountain, standing a few steps away.

Just standing seemed to take effort—one hand rested on her hip for support—and the sight was pitiable.

Cain hurried over and helped support her, muttering a few concerned words: Could she move like this? Shouldn’t she rest?

“I’m fine, Sir.”

From the capital to Arta, from Arta to the south, and then back again—Agatha had been traveling across half the empire and was now near the end of her pregnancy.

Cain planned to meet up with the Kristin knights in Arta to secure safety so that Agatha could give birth without risk. It wasn’t as comfortable as a capital residence, but given the lack of time to return to the capital, Arta was the best place to settle temporarily.

Yet the knights were gone, and Arta—once a reliable ally’s land—had become a dangerous land of death.

Uncovering the deadly secrets left behind in this land was, of course, the urgent task of the Kristin and Vernat knights. But above all, ensuring that Agatha could safely deliver her child was paramount.

Cain’s anxious gaze fell upon Agatha’s face.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

“Fate is a strange thing, isn’t it?”

The Grand Duke burst into laughter, finding amusement in the situation. The opportunity to seize and manipulate the arrogant Vernat had presented itself without any effort—and in a way he had never expected.

This was a chance granted by heaven: to eliminate the impure forces that interfered with him and perhaps even seize the throne.

“Tell me, will you answer me, Amasril woman?”

Leaning back, the Grand Duke occasionally tapped the head of the woman kneeling beside him with his foot.

“Answer me, insolent girl…”

The woman being transported in his carriage to the capital was none other than Vernat’s younger sister. Now that the Grand Duke knew Cain Vernat’s background, he contemplated how to use this powerful card to maximum effect.

He wanted to drag the Amasril girl before the Emperor and expose Cain Vernat’s secrets entirely.

But doing so immediately would not create the dramatic effect he desired. The Grand Duke knew that Cain had begun to fall out of the Emperor’s favor, so even if he eliminated him now, the gains would be minimal.

Removing the empire’s war hero could actually strengthen the Emperor’s position. That would ruin all the Grand Duke’s plans. He needed to create distance between the Emperor and Cain, but gradually.

The Emperor, noticing Cain’s absence, would search for loyal subordinates to fill that void—and the Grand Duke planned to seize the opportunity to take all of Cain’s authority and trust for himself.

So first, he would bring Vernat’s sister to the capital, keeping Cain’s fatal weakness close at hand to be used at the most decisive moment.

The thought thrilled him. Not only would he eliminate a thorn in his side, but he could finally seize the throne he had long coveted. The throne he had only ever imagined was now within reach.

“Lift your head, Amasril woman.”

The Grand Duke tapped her head with his toe, but Esther did not respond.

She had lost everything. She had witnessed the brutal death of her beloved husband and lost everything she had worked to build for her new life in a single instant.

No matter if she opened or closed her eyes, the memories of hell haunted her: the screams of countless refugees pleading for their lives, and the bloodied, dying Mobishi she could not forget.